January. Is. Over.
Someone pour me a tall glass of white and tuck me in with a good book, a roaring fireplace and copious amounts of blankets, I’ll just hibernate the rest of the winter.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Shelf- Worthy- 4/5 Stars
In the aftermath of the Kejari tournament, Oraya’s world lies in ruins—her family gone, her kingdom unstable, and her trust shattered. To survive, she must forge an uneasy alliance with Raihn, the vampire now on her father’s throne, even as love, vengeance, and power threaten to destroy them both.
I just genuinely enjoyed reading this. As always with Carissa, the writing was good, plot was a little more stream-lined than the first, and some plot holes were filled. There was good character development and things felt like they were moving along more naturally. What really struck me was the perspective of fear and courage within love, as love will always make you vulnerable, while simultaneously challenging those vulnerabilities.
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent
Shelf-Worthy- 4/5 Stars
In the aftermath of the Kejari tournament, Oraya’s world lies in ruins—her family gone, her kingdom unstable, and her trust shattered. To survive, she must forge an uneasy alliance with Raihn, the vampire now on her father’s throne, even as love, vengeance, and power threaten to destroy them both.
I just genuinely enjoyed reading this. As always with Carissa, the writing was good, plot was a little more stream-lined than the first, and some plot holes were filled. There was good character development and things felt like they were moving along more naturally. What really struck me was the perspective of fear and courage within love, as love will always make you vulnerable, while simultaneously challenging those vulnerabilities.
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Read-Worthy- 3/5 Stars
Drawing on Anishinaabe knowledge, personal experience, cultural history, and ecological insight, this book examines water as a teacher, connector, and guide for how we relate to land, each other, and the world at large.
I did love that much of Leanne’s content and tone was in line with what I’d learned of Anishinaabe culture through Braiding Sweetgrass, and she actually references Robin Kimmerer a number of times throughout the book. However, I did find it quite politically geared and those parts felt a little out of sync with the rest of the message. Having said that, I do plan are re-listening to it in the future to see if it sits any differently.
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
NotMyThing
Code Noir by Canisia Lubrin
Canadian Author, winner of the 2025 Carol Shields prize for fiction, an examination of the 1685 decrees by King Louis XIV of France defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire; this book had a lot of potential for me but was ultimately a few good fictional short stories, a really good final chapter, and quite a lot of ‘eh?’ in between.
DNF
Lycan Princess & The MerCommander by Stina’s Pen
I picked this off Net Galley thinking ‘weird could be good’, not realizing it was the 5th book in a series. Merfolk, Lycans, Vampires that control forests, Parallel Universes and Portals. All in the first 37 pages, it was just too much for me and I couldn’t keep up, so it seemed a little erratic.
And we are officially caught up on my January reads and I can already tell you the month of February is going to much better, I can’t wait to share my current reads with you!
What was your favorite read this month?
-Anna R.
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The Weekend Readers 
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