January Wrap Up – World of Bai

Is it just me or did January fly by?! But seriously though, I felt like I was running out of time to get anything read last month and I have some regrets. If I am 100% honest January was my month of cozy gaming, I restarted my Animal Crossing Island, Played Coral Island and Stardew Valley but honestly didn’t read as much as I would have liked.

Physical Book

“Legends and Lattes” By Travis Baldree

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Full Review

Audio

“Babel” By R.F. Kuang

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

Synopsis From GoodReads

Full Review

“Comfort Me With Apples” By Catherynne M. Valente

This book was extremely short so I didn’t think making a full review was necessary so here are my thoughts.

I had seen this book on so many peoples wrap ups over the last year and It sounded so intriguing. I had just watched the movie Don’t Worry Darling and so this book really gave me those vibes to start which I loved! However I think because I listened to the audio book it didn’t let me get the full intense vibe that this book was trying to give off. I think I will be rereading this one soon just so I can understand it a bit more but overall I did enjoy this book.

Graphic Novel

“The Witch Boy” By Molly Ostertag

I Never write full reviews for graphic novels so here are my quick thoughts.

This is a middle grade read so I really didn’t expect a lot but the art was absolutely gorgeous. The overall message about gender rolls was really cute and I do think it will be great for younger kids to pick this up and see that they can be anything they want and put their minds to.

Favorite Quotes

“The combined aromas of hot cinnamon, ground coffee, and sweet cardamom intoxicated her, and as she brewed and smiled and served and chatted, a deep contentment welled up. It was a glowing warmth she’d never experienced before, and she liked it. She liked it a great deal.”
Travis Baldree, Legends & Lattes

“… The price of what I meant to do Was higher when the day was through, And when I took a different road, I almost couldn’t feel the load …”
Travis Baldree, Legends & Lattes

“If we push in the right spots – then we’ve moved things to the breaking point. The the future becomes fluid, and change is possible. History isn’t a premed tapestry that we’ve got to suffer, a closed world with no exit. We can form it. Make it. We just have to choose to make it.”
R.F. Kuang, Babel

“A lie was not a lie if it was never uttered; questions that were never asked did not need answers. They would both remain perfectly content to linger in the liminal, endless space between truth and denial.”
R.F. Kuang, Babel

QOTD: Favorite read so far in 2023?

The beginning of 2022 treated me pretty well book wise. I found a new book to love and a new book to despise! I read a total of four books this last month and I would say they were all very different from each other which made for a pretty diverse reading month for me.

I will post a quick thought on each book and also the link to the full review so you can easily find my full thoughts on the books. If you have read any of these please drop your rating below!

Books

Lets start from my favorite read all the way to my least!

“Crescent City” By Sarah J. Maas

This is my new all time favorite book! Just barley beating Verity and One Last stop out.

I loved this book with all my heart! The world building was well… Out Of This World!

I fell in love with all the characters as well.

Sarah J. Maas really knows how to captivate her readers and transport them into her worlds, that is what really made the book my all time favorite!

Full Book Review

“The Maid” By Nita Prose

I really thought this book would have been a quick five star read for me, but it wasn’t! It took me about 100 pages to actually get into this super short book and then towards the end I finally fell in love with the main character Molly.

I felt like this book was over hyped but to be honest it was still a book that maybe one day I would give another try to see if maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for that week.

Full Book Review

“Malibu Rising” By Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is another over hyped book that I read this month. I had heard so many great reviews for this book but I just don’t see why?

I felt like the book moved really slowly, if you like books that have a lot of background history into the characters this book would be for you.

The main issue was that they introduced too many characters and nothing ever paid off!

Full Book Review

“Leave The World Behind” By Rumaan Alam

This will be a mini Review

I HATED this book with all my heart. It made Anxious People sound pleasing to read again which was previously my least favorite book before this one.

I listed to this on audio and the only thing I enjoyed about the book was the narrators voice. It took all of me to finish listening to this book.

All it was is listening to people say “I wonder what is causing the black out?” “What was that noise” over and over again. I felt like every chapter was the same thing just written a tad different than the first.

I really don’t like to be a negative person but I really didn’t have a positive thing to say about this book. I guess they are going to make a movie out of it and I am wanting to know how? We will just be watching people sit down and drink and freak out over the world possibly ending? I am not sure if there is enough content to make a movie, but to each their own.

I highly recommend not wasting your time on this one.

Favorite Quote

“It sucks that everyone just…moves on, and forgets. They expect me to forget. But I can’t.”
From Crescent City

QOTD: What was your favorite read for January?

I just made a buy me a coffee site where you can go to support me and this blog! I am hoping to start making bookmarks soon and this is a way you can help me reach my goal and start my dream shop! I changed it a bit and it is called buy me a book, just to fit my theme!

Buy me a Book!