Things that have Never Been

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

OK, OK, I know it’s not the new year. But it kind of is in a sense for me. I’ve restarted my exercise regime for the first time since my 2.5-year-old was born and it feels amazing. I’m also writing at a minimum twice a week now which has not happened consistently since before kids.

And I’m reading. Oh, I’m reading up a storm.

Not only am I reading, dear reader, but I’m reading with a promise to review. Yes, I finally signed up for Netgalley. Nothing like a social commitment to challenge oneself.

I’m already two books deep and heeding the wisdom of my bookish heroes by not requesting too many. But I’ve been dying to share my thoughts on these out-of-the-ether (read: nor previously on my radar) books that have reinforced by belief that there is room at the literary table for all writers.

And so, without further ado, my first Netgalley review below.

Mini Review: Perus and the Nine Moons #1 – The Stolen Sun

This was my first ever NetGalley read and it was a good one! I’m honestly not sure when the last time I read science fiction was so some of the concepts took a bit of getting used to but the story was absolutely compelling. The characters were interesting and well-developed, I definitely had no trouble at all cheering for Perus. My only complaint was that the language itself was sometimes overcomplicated and felt a little over-written (as if the author had a thesaurus on hand and consulted it every couple of words). This made some of the paragraphs harder to get through than others but didn’t take away from the story overall. I look forward to the next book in the series!

What do you think? Will you read it?

At the beginning of this year, Louis suggested “return” as our word for 2025. A return it has been thus far and yet also something entirely new, full of things that have never been.

There. Who said I couldn’t be succinct.

And remember, dear reader, regardless of when you celebrate a new beginning: Life is Beautiful.

XO Erin