Try a Chapter Tag

Are you a mood reader? There are so many times where I have no idea what I am in the mood for, so I thought that I would try the first chapters of five books that are calling out to me and see which ones appeals to me most. I found this so helpful and will definitely be doing it more often!

Book #1- Honey Girl

I expected to enjoy Honey Girl but I was blown away by how beautifully the prologue and the first chapter were written. The prologue is written in second person, which is a unique way to grab a reader’s attention. I immediately felt a connection to Grace and I am invested in her journey. I have a feeling that this a book that I am going to want to annotate and will pull a lot of quotes from as I am so impressed with Morgan Rogers’ writing style.

Book #2- Hall of Smoke

Hall of Smoke was sent to me by Penguin Canada, and I was not sure how I was going to feel about it. I love the writing and am so curious to see where this is going! I am so thrilled that I decided to do this tag because I don’t know that I would have ever made this book a priority if I hadn’t. That said, the type in here is really small and I am realizing that I may not be in the mood for an epic fantasy right now! I really want to get to it soon though because I have not seen a lot of people talking about this one.

Book #3- Jade City

Now I am so torn! I know I said I wasn’t in a fantasy mood, but something about Jade City is calling to me and the first chapter ended on a cliffhanger. Loving this world already and so intrigued to see where the story is going. The only question is if I am ready to dive into a 560 page book right now, especially since I was in a bit of a reading slump last week.

Book #4- Luster

Wow. The first chapter for Luster was not at all what I expected. I am not sure how to feel about it but I am curious enough to continue on. This is one of those books people seems to either love or hate, so I am curious to see where I land on this. It is also a short book, so it’s not too much of a commitment. I really do want to read this before the shortlist for The Women’s Prize is announced!

Book #5- Detransition, Baby

Detransition, Baby is definitely a contender! It has been a while since I read a literary fiction that I really loved, and this one has so much potential. I can already tell from the first chapters that this is going to be a character-driven novel, which I love! I am also intrigued by the timeline. The first chapter was one month after conception and chapter two is eight years before conception, so we are also going to get a lot of background information about these characters!

Final Verdict

I kept going back and forth between Honey Girl and Jade City, but ultimately decided that Honey Girl was the one that was calling to me most. I just read a fantasy novel, so I was in the mood for something different. I was also blown away by the writing in the first chapter and I know that this will be a quick read!

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