We’re more than midway through February so I should probably tell you about what I read last month. January was a little bit slow for me on new reads because I ended up doing re-reads of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame in order to prepare for Onyx Storm. As a general rule, I never reread books — there are just SO many on my TBR list — who has the time? But I couldn’t really remember where we left off in the series so it was fun to get excited for the third book. Spoiler alert 🚨 I will be talking about what happened in Onyx Storm below and sharing all the unhinged theories that I now subscribe to (thanks TikTok!).

Books I read in January

Iron Gold - Pierce Brown ⭐️

I hinted at this in my last post, but the fourth installment in the Red Rising series was NOT IT for me. I struggled so hard with this one that I almost did not finish. The narrative has moved away from Darrow as the main character and starts jumping around to other character’s POVs in a way that feels disjointed and lacks momentum. I’ve been assured that, despite this one being a stinker, the next two are great. Still, I’m going to need a long break before revisiting this series.

Party of One: How to be Your Own Best Partner - Meghan Keane ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don’t read a ton of non-fiction, self help-type books, but I did want to support my former colleague Meghan’s debut. If you’ve never listened, Meghan is the brilliant host of NPR’s Life Kit podcast, which basically offers instructions on how to do, well, everything. It’s like a guide to Adulting 101. This particular book feels like a deeply personal extension of one of her episodes — how to be alone. It offered fascinating insights around the cultural, emotional and financial impacts of being single in our society. I can appreciate that, while this book isn’t exactly written for me (a married woman), the advice imparted here about how to thrive on your own is applicable to people in basically any situation. It’s all about creating the community you want to surround yourself with, and finding both comfort and challenge in being by yourself.

Swan Song - Elin Hilderbrand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had heard a rumor awhile back that she was going stop writing books about Nantucket, which, if true, makes me so sad. Her novels are like salt water taffy. They instant transport me to Nantucket and always make me miss New England summers. This aptly named story was no different. It follows the drama of the island’s newest residents and their attempts to ingratiate themselves into Nantucket society and ensuing scandal. I appreciated the implicit and explicit discussions of class, wealth and race here, which are not topics Hilderbrand typically broaches in her beach reads.

Come and Get it - Kiley Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reid’s latest novel follows a magazine writer leaves big city life behind to get away from a wobbly relationship but also to do research in a southern college town. She finds a wealth of material around how college kids think and talk about money. I could definitely relate to the revelatory nature of the financial disparities and privilege discussions she finds (as well as a stark North/South culture divide). On the whole though this one didn’t totally connect for me. I found the lack of real consequences and to be unfulfilling.

The Goddess of Warsaw - Lisa Barr ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hands down this is the best historical fiction I’ve read in awhile. The story follows a Hollywood icon as she recounts her little known past as a young Jewish actress turned Nazi resistance fighter. This book has a little bit of everything — a true femme fatale, Old Hollywood glamour, a love triangle, dark historical nuance, international intrigue, and more.

Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Was I the only one let down by this book? For me the pacing was way off. The plot jumped so often that it was nearly too chaotic to follow. It didn’t answer so many of the questions I had from the second book and yet managed to set up even more for the next one. Perhaps that was Yarros’ vision — to make it so convoluated that you can’t tell which details and clues are important? Either way, I found it generally dissatisfying.

However that will not stop me from indulging in a slew of fan theories that are floating around TikTok. Stop reading right now if you haven’t read yet and don’t want it spoiled for you…

@enchantedbookworm_

Yo… no spoilers here but gosh dang it Rebecca. By far my favorite book of the series so far, what an adventure for real #booktok #onyxsto... See more

….Okay we good? Here are my top theories/musings:

• Violet and Xaden obviously got married in those 12 hours and Violet wanted to forget whatever else she learned in order to protect Xaden. I suspect Xaden wanted Violet to have power to rule Tyrrendor in his absence (because he’ll be away for awhile). She also knows he is venin and cannot let anyone know that by accident.

• Brennan turned venin to save Naolin. They were in love and that’s why Brennan would do anything, including nearly burn out to save him. We’re going to see this play out again, in a slightly different way with Violet and Xaden.

  • Related: Naolin is the other dream-walker. Violet has a mental connection to him via Tairn.

• As an aside: These people know absolutely fuck-all about their dragons. I’m sure there’s an entire history of Andarna’s kind that will be revealed soon, but also something Tairn has been keeping from Violet (like the Naolin bit).

• I’m super curious about how the second signets are explained away (or not) in the next book. Some of them are more dangerous than others. And what will happen to Aaric when his is revealed?

• Predictions:

  • All the weird gifts from Zinhal will become vitally important. The broken compass will point them to each other or equally cheesy yet romantic.

  • Violet got pregnant while having sex on the island without magic. Does the magic birth control still work there? I bet she produces the heir to Tyrrendor soon.

  • Sloane’s ability to siphon will be incredibly important in the next book.