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Wow, it has been some time since I updated this blog with all my bookish thoughts! I apologize immensely for that, but life has been the busiest it’s ever been and it honestly hasn’t been the greatest year. I still can’t believe we’re just about halfway through the year now and already so much has happened. But, I’m still trucking along and trying to get as much reading in as I can and ready to share my January reading wrap up with you all!

I’m going to be updating this blog with my monthly reading wrap ups over the next few weeks. This way you can see everything I’ve read this year and all my thoughts! Not only do I need to catch up on this blog but I need to catch up on my reading in general as I’m quickly following behind on my reading goal! But without further ado, let’s jump into all my thoughts on January’s reads!

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

This is the first book in Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series. Now I say “series” loosely as they’re all stand-alones and you don’t need to read them in any particular order. However, I usually always recommend reading books in publishing order and that goes for this series!

Neon Gods focuses on the story of Hades, the God of the Underworld, and Persephone, the Goddess of Spring. This book is set in a modern day world in the city of Olympus where the city is run by a group called, The Thirteen. This consists of your usual Greek Gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hermes, etc. Each of these roles can be won by different means but are mostly secured by political conniving. The only three roles that are passed down through family are the roles of Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. Although there hasn’t been a Hades in many years since the last one was killed off.

We start this book off with Persephone at a big party being thrown at Zeus’ behest. It’s there that he announces his engagement to Persephone. Persephone knows it’s all a power move made by her mother, Demeter, as a means to move up in this world. However, she knows this isn’t what she wants; she wants to escape this political and power hungry world and has been planning her escape for a while now. So this engagement to Zeus throws a wrench in those plans.

Persephone escapes from the party and is chased by some of Zeus’s henchmen who end up pushing her towards the River Styx. She knows that if she crosses this threshold she’ll be in the Underworld and in unchartered territory. But it’s either that or return back to the worst person ever, Zeus. She runs across the bridge, crossing the River Styx, and right into Hades arms. It’s then she realizes he’s not a myth but a gorgeous man ruling the Underworld. They concoct a plan that benefits them both and will solve all their problems. This inevitably leads into their tumultuous love story that we all know and love.

This book is extremely smutty and has very little plot beyond what I described above. But honestly, it was exactly what I was looking for at the time. It’s not going to be the next great literature piece that is analyzed, however, it’s fun and super entertaining! If you can look past the flimsy plan that’s thrown together and you’re looking for an easy read, then this is your book! While I had to stop to roll my eyes at some of the corny dialogue and the half-assed plan they put together, I really enjoyed this book. Plus, I’m always a sucker for a retelling of Hades and Persephone.

If you’re in a reading slump this is also a great one to pick up to snap you right out of it. This book is short enough to read quickly and you can fly through it!

Electric Idol by Katee Robert

This book is the second book in Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series. Again, I say “series” but you can definitely read this in any order as they are all stand alones. HOWEVER. Be warned that if you read them out of publishing order you may spoil some things for yourself as some characters are mentioned in later books. However, it’s not usually relevant to the plot of the current book. I just wanted to mention this in case you choose to read them in a different order. But then realize you learn how the first one ended because you hear where Persephone is at and what she’s doing. Okay, with that being said let’s jump into this next book!

Electric Idol is a retelling of the love story between Psyche and Eros. Eros is the son of Aphrodite and, in this retelling, is basically her hitman too. In this world of political conniving and backstabbing, Aphrodite is not the best mom. When Aphrodite is humiliated by something Psyche has done, she decides to send Eros to take her out. Well, we all know how that goes. Eros ends up striking a deal with Psyche, very similar to the deal in Neon Gods, and thus begins their love story. In this version Psyche is the daughter of Hermes so Persephone is her sister.

I feel very similar to this book as I did the first one. It’s smutty, full of drama, and just an overall fun read. Again, I feel that the “deal” they strike up is flimsy but it gets the job done. I really enjoyed this story also because I’m not as familiar with Eros and Psyche’s love story. It made me want to dive head first into research to find out how their story differed from this retelling. 

Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

This is the third installment of the Dark Olympus series. This story follows the love story of Achilles and Patroclus as well Helen from the famous story Helen of Troy. So let’s just say things get even spicier in this book. Within this world the positions of The Thirteen is earned. But in this case, the position of Ares is won by competing in an athletic competition. Helen, Achilles and Patroclus are competitors for this coveted role and everyone has their own agenda. Helen is tired of not having any power or notoriety in this world besides being Zeus’ sister. Achilles knows he’s destined for more. And Patroclus wants to see his lover, Achilles, succeed and will take out anyone in this competition who gets in their way. Not only will someone win the role of Ares but Zeus has decided that they will also win Helen’s hand in marriage. 

Queen really said, I’ll just marry myself. This book was even spicier than the first two (I didn’t think that was possible) but I thoroughly enjoyed this one as well.

Just like Psyche and Eros’ story I’m not all that familiar with Achilles and Patroclus. I got to learn more about them with Helen added in as an extra treat! While this one didn’t have a lot of deals being made (although there were a few) it focused more on the tournament and the different challenges they each had to face. These reminded me a lot of the deals being struck in the last two books. They were sort of flimsy. I wanted there to be a bit more action and adventure and it just fell a little flat.

But again, you don’t read this series for the action scenes, we’re here for all the in between moments, if you know what I mean.

A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This is the third book in the prequel series From Blood and Ash. This book throws us right back into the action where the second one left off. If you’re not familiar with this series, you can read my previous blog, My Top 5 Favorite Reads of 2023, where I discuss this a little bit more. Just know that this series takes place hundreds of years before the main series, From Blood and Ash. But what’s a few hundred years to a few immortal Gods? This prequel tells the origin story of the Primal of Life and Death, Nyktos, and his consort and how everything they’ve done has had a direct affect on the characters in From Blood and Ash.

Let me start off by saying, I love this prequel series so much! It has easily become one of my favorites and I love it way more than the main series that Jennifer L. Armentrout has created. Although I can still appreciate that series and that it laid the foundation for the prequels. The characters created in this series just give me so much life and I’m obsessed with their story. All of that being said, this third book fell flat for me, unfortunately. There always has to be one in every series and this was that one for me. 

This book served to lay the foundation for the last book that will be coming out later this year and there wasn’t too much else going on. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good breather in between epic battles and mind blowing revelations. But this one just moved too slow for me and wasn’t giving me any of the information I was craving. 

I’m still excited for the last book to be released and I’m still massively obsessed with these characters. But this particular book, I can tell, is probably going to end up being my least favorite in the series.

Crescent City 1-House of Earth and Blood & Crescent City 2-House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

I am mashing both of these books together since they are a reread for me and they are the first two books in the Crescent City series. 

These books have got every creature under the sun. We’ve got vampires, werewolves, merpeople, fae, angels, witches, and even shifters of other kinds such as deer shifters and hound shifters. Oh and can’t forget those humans! This series is set in a pretty modern day world with technology and a lot of things we’re used to in our everyday lives. They just also happen to include magical beings.

The first book starts off with our main character Bryce Quinlan, who is half-fae, half human, living her life to the fullest. She’s known as a major party girl and lives up to that reputation. Her and her best friend, Danica, are living together and having the best of times. When Danica, who is head of the Pack of Devils, a wolf pack, dies along with her whole pack, Bryce is left alone with hardly anyone left that she trusts and loves. We move forward a few years after the murders and Bryce is thrust right back into the investigation as it seems the killer is back on the loose. 

Now don’t mistake the summary I gave above as an indicator that this is a mystery novel. It has a lot of those elements in the first book, however, this is very much a romance fantasy book with mystery intrigue. This is definitely not at the top of my list of favorites from SJM, however, I really enjoyed my reread of these first two books. There were a lot of plot points and characters I had forgotten about so I had some exciting moments where I got to rediscover these things.

SJM does a really great job of crafting a lot of characters that appear throughout this series and makes the reader really feel for every one of them even if we only get a short amount of time with them. I really enjoyed the chemistry that is brewing between Bryce and her love interest. And of course, the ending of the second book just sweeps you off your feet and topples you over before you even realize what’s happening. 

There’s A LOT of world building that goes on in the first book especially, but if you can muddle your way through the first 100 pages, the rest of the books are a breeze. They get easier as they go along. But whew, those first 100 pages are a doozy so strap in and just go along for the ride.

That’s it! That is everything I read in the month of January! I also made a BookTube video highlighting a lot of what I wrote here in this blog. If you want to check it out, I’ve linked it down below. Let me know what you’ve been reading this year down in the comments or if you’ve read anything I’ve mentioned here, I’d love to hear your thoughts!