January 2014 Reading Recap!

The first monthly update on my reading challenge! Its a switch up from my full-on reviews.

January was a good month, I’d say.  I’m right on track with my reading 🙂

1) The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies #3) by Pittacus Lore

(COMPLETED JAN.8)

If you haven’t happened to read this series and you like thrilling sci-fi books, well, let me ask you, “What are you waiting for? Go and get it!” I devoured this book (and the past two) within probably two-three days max.  These books are amazing.  I really wish that they could be made into decent sci-fi thrillers, at least a second attempt or something.  Its really a joy ride.  Its rare to have a third book in a series going so strong and still have me hooked.  There’s always some new discovery and because of the alien factor, there’s so much that the readers discover along with the characters as the plot develops, thickens and intensifies.  If you like young adult, sci-fi thrillers packed with lots of action, this is a series you shouldn’t miss and this is a worthy sequel.  I can’t wait to read the next book, The Fall of Five. 🙂

If you’d like to read my review of the previous few book, you can find it HERE.  I read the first book of the series before I started reviewing so I don’t have one written but they are all awesome! 🙂

2) The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

(COMPLETED JAN. 16)

Its been a while that I’ve dived into the world of Agatha Christie.  I’ve been impressed by her mysteries.  The ABC Murders starts off quite slow but finally picks up the pace and the mystery gets increasingly engaging after about halfway.  The story itself is quite original and as always, there is an unexpected twist at the end.  Its something of a signature in her books.  The concept of playing with the alphabets and the aging Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings was actually fun to read.  However, I can’t help but think that the book could have flowed a bit better.  It was a good read but just takes time to get into.

3) Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

(COMPLETED JAN. 31)

There is no doubt in my mind that Gillian Flynn is an amazing thriller author. So far she’s 2 for 2.  Her latest novel Gone Girl was a slow-burning and batshit crazy investigation.  Its also THE MOST anticipated movie in 2014 for me.  Because of that book, I went back and bought her first two books also. Sharp Objects was a pretty crazy intense one. I welcome you to check out my reviews HERE and HERE for Gone Girl and Sharp Objects respectively.

Dark Places is her second novel. The beginning brings us into a girl now in her 30s, Libby Day, who is the survivor of her family, her mother and 2 sisters, that were murdered by her brother who is now in jail.  The story starts off pretty slow and Libby is one of those girls that I wouldn’t associate with because they dug their own hole and choose to live on and manipulate other people’s pity and sympathy and she’s pretty negative.  But, I get it, right? If I lost my family at such a young age, I’d have issues too, right? As the characters developed more with viewing each side of the story and jumping from past to present, the situation intensifies, we get to see what is happening from the viewponits of Ben Day (Libby’s brother and the suspected killer of his family) and Patty Day (Libby’s mother) on the day of the murder and then we alternate to the present with Libby Day and her investigation.  You know, I’m a sucker for character development and I think that I felt like I could see Libby change as the mystery deepens.  The only main issue I had was that I felt like it dragged the beginning too much but after reading the final third, I realized it was necessary because of the details. Its a good thriller.  My least favorite out of Gillian Flynn’s novels but the ending really is quite awesome.

Have you read these ones? What did you think of them?

What books did you read in January? Anything you’d recommend?

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