It’s hard to believe it’s already Monday again and we’ve completed another week in January 2025! This week really flew by for me. I don’t know if the rest of you felt that too? Because I also had an increase in my workload, I only had enough time to start and finish one book this week. (Living the life of a freelance contractor will always keep you guessing on your schedule.) However, it was an absolutely excellent book that I had been looking forward to. I thoroughly enjoyed having this one in my head the whole week.

1. Don’t Let the Forest In – CG Drews

CW: Mentions of Child Abuse/Neglect, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Disordered Eating, Codependency, Parental Death, Bullying

This book was the only thing I asked my partner for when he asked what I wanted for Christmas. Specifically, the special edition from B&N. This book and its author had been all over my recommended feed, and I ended up following the author on a couple social media platforms. Their posts are snarky and funny, and oh-so-relatable. When they started showing off the stunningly gorgeous special-edition printing with its forest-green sprayed edges, beautifully creepy illustrations, bonus annotated chapters… I knew I had to have it.

It was absolutely everything I hoped for. I think the first time I saw the author refer to this book, they described the narrative with the words “deliciously unhinged.” Truly, it’s hard to think of a more accurate description with as much brevity. The main characters are deeply disturbed. In their own words, they are broken. Even those aware of their faults have no idea how to fix them and little desire to try. They’re all made up of sharp, jagged edges, but have a desperate craving for softness that they hardly know how to admit to. Characters behave toward each other in wildly problematic ways, but the reader can always understand why sometimes the response is sympathy or even pity instead of anger. These are the kinds of relationships that are downright thrilling to read about in fiction, but you never want to experience first hand.

Since I didn’t have a lot of breathing room in my schedule this week, I got a lot less reading done per day. There was one day where I didn’t even reach ten pages, which is markedly abnormal for me, especially lately. I can’t say that I minded, though. Having this story in my head for a full week was really quite pleasant. I liked theorizing about what the big plot twist at the end was going to be. When I guessed right, I felt thoroughly triumphant, and then the author added another level of detail and nuance to it that I never could have predicted. It was very satisfying.

As messy as all the main characters are internally, they were so much fun to watch and I am very much looking forward to the next book. I’m under the impression that it’s a sequel, although I cannot fathom where the story might go from this book’s ending. I’m very excited to find out.

Next Week is Yet Another Week in January

There’s another week in January coming up now, and there will be even more after that. We have two more Mondays left in the month after today, so you can expect two more of my Reading Recap write-ups. You may have noticed that the video embedded in last week’s write-up was linked from YouTube instead of TikTok. It’s looking pretty certain at this point that those of us in the US will be losing access to TikTok. Therefore, I’ve created a new YouTube channel for my bookish videos. I still have my older channel dedicated to fiber arts to hopefully avoid confusion. The videos will continue on even if their current platform does not.

As always, I want to hear from you! What have you been reading lately? Are you having fun with it? Have you read any of these titles, and if so, what did you think of them? Tell me everything, and follow along for more!