1deep220
Happy New Year Everyone!
As always, I would like to remove more books from my TBR than I add in a year.... which I normally fail. Maybe this will be the year! (fingers crossed)
Books:
1. Alchemy Of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
2. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
3. Circe by Madeline Miller
4. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
5. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
6. The Push by Ashley Audrain
7. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
8. Weyward by Emilia Hart
9. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kewon
10. There There by Tommy Orange
11. The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
12. When the Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker
13. We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
14. The Power by Naomi Alderman
15. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E Schwab
Currently Reading:
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Dr Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Next Roots:
The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab
Light breakers by Aja Gabel
The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss
Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
Those Who Saved Us by Jenna Blum
As always, I would like to remove more books from my TBR than I add in a year.... which I normally fail. Maybe this will be the year! (fingers crossed)
Books:
1. Alchemy Of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
2. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
3. Circe by Madeline Miller
4. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
5. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
6. The Push by Ashley Audrain
7. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
8. Weyward by Emilia Hart
9. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kewon
10. There There by Tommy Orange
11. The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
12. When the Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker
13. We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
14. The Power by Naomi Alderman
15. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E Schwab
Currently Reading:
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Dr Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Next Roots:
The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab
Light breakers by Aja Gabel
The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss
Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
Those Who Saved Us by Jenna Blum
2deep220
Book 1
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
4 of 5 stars
To me this book had a great start. Main character with tragic family secrets, obsession with finding real magic, danger around every corner but something happened... it just got kind of stale. I had to push before I was able to pick up the same excitement again. Good read but disappointed that it wasn't the great read I initially thought.
Description from Book:
It starts with a class in an old movie theater.
Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.
With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
4 of 5 stars
To me this book had a great start. Main character with tragic family secrets, obsession with finding real magic, danger around every corner but something happened... it just got kind of stale. I had to push before I was able to pick up the same excitement again. Good read but disappointed that it wasn't the great read I initially thought.
Description from Book:
It starts with a class in an old movie theater.
Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.
With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.
3MissWatson
>1 deep220: Welcome back and good luck with your project of removing more from the TBR than buying new. I always fail at that.
4connie53
Welcome back, Jennifer. Good to see you in 2026. Happy ROOTing.
>1 deep220: It can be done I did it last year.
>1 deep220: It can be done I did it last year.
5deep220
>4 connie53: Haha it's nice to know it is possible!
6deep220
Book 2
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
5 of 5 stars
I loved Tress of the Emerald Sea my first Brandon Sanderson read. So, I had high hopes for the 2nd novel in his secret project series. However, I had no idea what was going on. Nothing made sense, couldn't connect what/ why/ how - was going on. The characters were enjoyable and the world building intriguing. I trusted and enjoyed the journey and those last 50 pages.... worth it. Everyone was talking about Tress of the Emerald Sea, why is no one raving about Yumi and the Nightmare Painter? Highly recommend.
Description from Book:
Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society―but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero―a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.
Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
5 of 5 stars
I loved Tress of the Emerald Sea my first Brandon Sanderson read. So, I had high hopes for the 2nd novel in his secret project series. However, I had no idea what was going on. Nothing made sense, couldn't connect what/ why/ how - was going on. The characters were enjoyable and the world building intriguing. I trusted and enjoyed the journey and those last 50 pages.... worth it. Everyone was talking about Tress of the Emerald Sea, why is no one raving about Yumi and the Nightmare Painter? Highly recommend.
Description from Book:
Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society―but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero―a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.
Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.
7deep220
Book 3
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.5 of 5 stars
Madeline Miller is a yes for me... always a yes!
Description from Book:
In the house of Helios, God of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.5 of 5 stars
Madeline Miller is a yes for me... always a yes!
Description from Book:
In the house of Helios, God of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.
8Henrik_Madsen
>7 deep220: Nice review - might be time to finally read my copy as well!
9rabbitprincess
Welcome back and have a great reading year! I've been working my way through Brandon Sanderson's oeuvre over the past year and am looking forward to reading Yumi eventually!
10kaida46
Hi, I enjoyed Tess of the Emerald Seas and purchased the Sanderson books when he was pitching the crowd funding. I have not yet read Yumi though, so maybe I should add that title to my ROOT list!
11deep220
Thank you everyone. I will say I had a very pleasant start to the reading selection this year.
Can't wait to see if I have any of your book selections wasting away on my shelves. lol
Happy rooting all!
Can't wait to see if I have any of your book selections wasting away on my shelves. lol
Happy rooting all!
12deep220
>8 Henrik_Madsen: I read Song of Achilles at the end of last year and became obsessed with Madeline Miller. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
13deep220
>9 rabbitprincess: I will say I think I enjoyed Yumi even more than Tress because it was outside of my normal cozy adventure style fantasy read. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
15deep220
Book 5
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
5 of 5 stars
Holy Hell. This grabbed me from page one and didn't let up. I will have a difficult work week as I was not willing to go to bed until I had all the pieces. I will be digging for additional Karin Slaughter books on the TBR shelves.
Description from book:
Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.
It's been more than twenty years since Claire and Lydia last spoke. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire; Lydia, a single mother dating an ex-con, struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the disappearance of their sister Julia two decades earlier- and the shocking murder of Claire's husband brings the horror and heartbreak of the past roaring back into their lives.
The vanishing of a teenage girl and the killing of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: What could connect them? As they form a wary truce, the surviving sisters unearth the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago... and find the astonishing truth where they least expected it.
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
5 of 5 stars
Holy Hell. This grabbed me from page one and didn't let up. I will have a difficult work week as I was not willing to go to bed until I had all the pieces. I will be digging for additional Karin Slaughter books on the TBR shelves.
Description from book:
Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.
It's been more than twenty years since Claire and Lydia last spoke. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire; Lydia, a single mother dating an ex-con, struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the disappearance of their sister Julia two decades earlier- and the shocking murder of Claire's husband brings the horror and heartbreak of the past roaring back into their lives.
The vanishing of a teenage girl and the killing of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: What could connect them? As they form a wary truce, the surviving sisters unearth the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago... and find the astonishing truth where they least expected it.
16connie53
>15 deep220: I felt the same about that book, Jennifer. 4,5 star for me.
19deep220
Book 8
Weyward by Emilia Hart
5 of 5 stars
Another book read in 24 hours just could not put it down.
Book 9
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
4 of 5 stars
Weyward by Emilia Hart
5 of 5 stars
Another book read in 24 hours just could not put it down.
Book 9
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
4 of 5 stars
22deep220
Book 11
The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
4 of 5 stars
Book 12
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker
5 of 5 stars
The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
4 of 5 stars
Book 12
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah Parker
5 of 5 stars
24deep220
Thanks Connie! So many good reads waiting on the TBR shelves. Never enough time in the day.
25deep220
Well, my first DNF of the year. I am still counting it as a read root because I gave it over 300 pages.
Book 15
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E Schwab
Book 15
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E Schwab
