January reading recap

As a new thing this year, I decided to start summarising what I’ve read each month. I read a lot of manga that I only review on Goodreads, some of them review copies, and I’d like to give them a wider audience.

In January, I read and reviewed 24 books, 22 of which were mangas/manhwas. Well, Dawn of the Dragon vols. 1-2 I’d read as a webtoon on Lezhin last year, but they have entries on Goodreads now, so I added them there.

Eight of my reads were review copies for NetGalley and Edelweiss, plus I started but didn’t finish one review copy that I didn’t like. Only one review copy was a novel, Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao, an interesting but not entirely satisfying read. 

The rest were mangas/manhwas. My favourite was I'm Here, Beside You, Vol. 1 by Tea Natsuno, a second chance high school romance where the main character finds himself back in his high school body. Hell Is Dark with No Flowers, Vol. 1 by Ruka Todo was also interesting, a paranormal manga of a young man who can see criminals as monsters, so he ends up working for an envoy from hell who punishes the monsters. Men of the Harem, Vol. 1 by Yeongbin is, despite its name, a court intrigue fantasy.

Of the reads that weren’t review copies, my favourite novel was, unexpectedly, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, Vol. 5 by Mikage Sawamura. It’s a comfort read series that hasn’t failed me yet. I also started, but didn’t finish yet Remnants of Filth vol 5 and Ballad of Sword and Wine vol 3. Those I will read and review here eventually.

A favourite manhua was Sanctify by Godstation about an exorcist trying to solve two massacres that have happened decades apart. It was advertised as a romance, but it’s definitely not that. You can read my Goodreads reviews here: vol. 1, 2, and 3. 

On the lighter end of manga spectrum were My Kitten is a Picky Eater Vol. 2 by Migiri Miki, and Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol. 2 by Julietta Suzuki. Both fun and cute. Mobsters in Love by Chiyoko Origami finished with vol. 3. It was a good ending. And vol. 2 manhua of Dinghai Fusheng Records by Fei Tian Ye Xiang came out last month too.

Mostly though, I’ve been binge reading Solo Leveling by Chugong & Dubu, of which I read vols. 4-8. I’ve been reading it on Tappytoon, but reviewing volume at the time on Goodreads. You can read my reviews at: 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.  I’ve also started other similar manhuas there, but those haven’t progressed to reviewing state yet, on top of which I’ve continued reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint by singNsong and all the ongoing series on Lezhin.

All in all, a fun reading month, even if I didn’t read or finish all the review copies of novels I was supposed to. I have three novels and several mangas waiting to be reviewed in February. Hopefully I’ll do better this month.