Capital City Reads

We started 2025 off with a bang over here at Capital City Reads! I read a total of 6 books in January. I know to some people that doesn’t sound like a lot, but for me it’s a pretty solid number. Let’s dive into them!

Like I said, I was able to read 6 books in January. That is equivalent to 1,623 pages and 47.02 hours of listening put in. Of the 6 I read Brandon Sanderson’s The Well of Ascension was definitely my top read! I gave its a 4.25-4.5 star rating (out of 5). It was the perfect 2nd book in the Mistborn Era 1 Trilogy. I will say that I did step out of my comfort zone a little bit this month by reading a bit more Romance and Mystery books than is typical for me!

Of the 6 books I consumed in January I physically read 3 of them and read the other 3 via audibook. God bless Libby and my local libraries for allowing me to pick up audiobooks for my commute! I somehow managed to rate each of these books 4 stars and higher. I feel like that never happens. January felt like a million years long in the grand scheme of what’s happening in the world, but I managed to pull myself out of reality for a bit with some really stellar books.

I will say, if you are trying to step out of your own comfort zone with reading, the books above may just help you! I have NEVER picked up a cowboy romance book until I saw the Rebel Blue Ranch series on instagram. And let me tell you, I am hooked! I blew through books 1-3 between the end of December & mid January. I need book 4 injected straight into my veins when it comes out this April!! I’ll do a full series review once I devour that one.

Other books that took me by surprise were A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. The Thursday Murder Club only surprised me a little. I had tried to read it a year or so back but just could not seem to get into it. It wasn’t bad, I just felt like that wasn’t what I wanted to read at the time. Mood reader problems. But put that shit on audio and I ate it up! The characters in it are just the goofiest group and they kept me entertained. The series currently has 4 books with a 5th on the way, so I am curious to see how it plays out. As for Deanna Raybourn, I have read Killers of a Certain Age and really enjoyed it (very much falls in line with The Thursday Murder Club). Raybourn’s wit and banter really stands out between her characters and Veronica Speedwell was no exception! Both of these series are ones that I plan to continue, but as of right now I am in no rush.

And of course, I had to do a quick reread for Iron Flame before the infamous Onyx Storm came out on January 21st. Spoiler alert. I have since finished Onyx Storm and I really don’t know how I feel about it. My reread of Iron Flame did shock me a bit, I ended up liking it more the second time through. Fourth Wing still remains on top for me and I am curious how Rebecca Yarros will bring this series to an end.

Like I said above, my favorite book of this month was Brandon Sanderson‘s The Well of Ascension. If you aren’t familiar with his work, this book is the second in the Mistborn Era 1 Trilogy. And it was phenomenal! I truly think Sanderson has made his way to the top of my favorite authors list. I really need to do a blog post on how I plan to tackle his Cosmere-verse because WOW. There are so many books and series that intertwine and tangle and I have no idea how he keeps it all straight! (If you have any tips or reading order info please let me know!)

That said, The Well of Ascension came in with a 4.5 star rating for me. It definitely suffered a little from the second book syndrome, BU T none of it felt unnecessary. I feel like with this one you have to remember that slow and steady wins the race. Brandon isn’t about to give you any information that won’t be necessary by the end.

I know I am behind, but my February wrap up will be out here shortly. In the meantime, what are you reading? Any exciting books on your March TBR?? Let me know what I should read and cover here. You can always find more current reads from me over on instagram. Otherwise, I’ll catch ya soon!