January 2022 Wrap-Up & Favorites

Source: personal collection

Hi fellow readers! I'm late on posting wrap-up reviews again. Honestly, I didn't read much in January because I found new favorite series to binge on. That's what I did. I binge-watched. I was bored and had no motivation to read so I browsed the watchlist on my HBOGo subscription and watched a lot of em. Seriously though, I finished Big Little Lies, Mare of Easttown, a couple episodes of Insecure, and Girls. I'll tell more about it later. Before that, here's the list of books I read in January.

Books read in January

	The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan (★★★)
	This book is the second installment in the Kane Chronicles trilogy. It still follows Carter and Sadie Kane as they attempt to stop the apocalypse from happening. Since this is the second book, I won't write much about the plot but all I'm saying is they figure out what's worse to come and how they could stop it. In the second book, the characters show some growth. Sadie literally has her 13th birthday in this book. More cast of characters added in with their own story lines but thankfully don't take away the focus from the main conflict in the book. It's still as action packed and fast paced as the previous one. I definitely enjoyed reading this one and excited to read the final book in the series.
	The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan (★★★)
	This book is the final book in the Kane Chronicles. In this book, the magicians finally facing the big bad final boss, Apophis. It has a lot of action and it's fast-paced like the previous books. As the final book in the trilogy, it concludes the Kane vs Apophis mission nicely. In the end there's an open opportunity for another adventure and I do know that there is another adventure waiting for them. The crossover between The Kanes and Percy Jackson has already been published. So that's what I'd read next. Overall, it's a fun series. If you enjoy Percy Jackson and the Olympian God series, you'll enjoy this one too. Even if you're new to Rick Riordan, this series could also be a good start.

January Favorites

TV shows

Big Little Lies

This show has been on my radar ever since it first came out. But my snobby-bookworm-self insisted on reading the book first before watching the show. Let's face it, seeing my ever growing TBR list, I don't think I'll read the book anytime soon. So I decided to just dive into the show. Oh My God, I love the show. The cast, setting, soundtrack, overall vibe? *chef's kiss. This is the show that I won't regret on having decided to watch first.

Girls

I know this show was popular and critically acclaimed but I was never really interested to watch it. I got bored and looking for a light show to watch while eating lunch so I decided to try watching this show. The first couple episodes, I was not into it. I think the characters are obnoxious. The more I watch it, the more I realized 'hmm wait a minute, I think I can relate to their problems'. Resulting in me binge-watching the show.

Mare of Easttown

This show is also one of those that are on my watchlist. I was in the mood to watch some crime shows. It was either this or True Detective. Mare of Easttown wins because it has less episodes. I finished the show in 2 days. It's a slow burn show. I'm glad I was able to see Evan Peters's performance outside of American Horror Story because he delivers.

There you have it, my super late January wrap-up. Truth to be told, I don't mind spending more time watching series than reading because I watched some good shows. Anyway, is there any good shows that you'd recommend to watch?