Hey!
January was a good month. I had a lot going on in January in my personal life, but I still managed to read a lot (10 books)! I read a few ARCs and was able to get some reviews up for those. I even read two books toward my Reading the Alphabet challenge. I put an “ABC” next to the titles below that indicate which ones I read for my Reading the Alphabet challenge. I think I actually had a really good month as far as reading and blogging goes with being busy at home with other life happenings. February might not be as great with reading (more about this later in the post), so I am glad I was able to read so much this month. You can find a full list of these books and the other books I read this year over here. All will be linked to Goodreads below and I will also link to individual blog posts for them if I did a review.
Physically Read Books:
These are the books that I read myself (not audiobooks) throughout the month of January.
George by Alex Gino – 4 out of 5 stars. (ABC)
I’ve had George on my TBR for awhile, so I finally picked it up for my Reading the Alphabet challenge. I am so glad that I finally read it, because I really liked it a lot. I liked the story and the characters. It’s also an important read and I highly recommend.
The Wicked King by Holly Black – 3 out of 5 stars – Review.
I was so stoked when I received an ARC of The Wicked King. It was good and I liked it, but it was not anywhere near as amazing as The Cruel Prince was, sadly. There wasn’t as much excitement like TCP. The first 60-70% of the book there just wasn’t enough happening and it got boring at times. Everything crazy and exciting happened right at the end of the book. You can check out my review for more about that.
Famous In A Small Town by Emma Mills – 4 out of 5 stars – Review.
Famous in a Small Town was a cute and fun read. I really liked it and it was my first Emma Mills book. It centered around friendship more than romance, which was nice. Great characters and store. Feel free to check out my review for more.
The Perfect Girlfriend by – 3 out of 5 stars – Review.
I had some mixed feelings about The Perfect Girlfriend. I thought it was good and I liked it, but it was also really slow to start and I really didn’t care for the ending. Feel free to check out my review for more.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – 4 out of 5 stars. (ABC)
YOU GUYS!!! LOOK! I finally did it! I finally read Six of Crows after saying I would for over three years. It didn’t completely blow me away enough to get five stars, but I did really like it a lot and it was a lot of fun to read. I am really looking forward to reading the sequel hopefully in February or early March. Waiting on a copy from the library since my physical copy is packed away right now.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – 5 out of 5 stars.
The Great Alone wrecked me. Ripped my heart into a million pieces. I can’t count how many times I cried throughout this story. I don’t think I ever stopped crying. It was so heartbreaking and hard to read. It was also everything and forever has a piece of my heart now. Hands down already calling it as one of my favorites of the year and it’s only been less than a month in the new year.
Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks – 4 out of 5 stars. – Review to come.
I read Comics Will Break You Heart pretty quickly, which was awesome. I actually liked it way more than I originally thought I would because I’m not that huge into comics or superheroes. Although, the book is way more than just about those things! It was cute and fun to read. It was also a little heartbreaking at times. I haven’t had the chance to write my review yet, but it will be coming soon.
Circe by Madeline Miller – 3 out of 5 stars.
I started Circe at some point last year and got about 60% through it and was just so bored so I put it down. I was still on the fence if I even wanted to actually finish the book or not. I decided to finish it this month since I had already got through so much of it and a lot of people said the ending was good. So did I like the last 40% of Circe? The last 40% wasn’t that bad. It was definitely a lot more entertaining. I’m glad that I decided to finish it instead of DNFing it.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta – 4 out of 5 stars.
I thought Bloom was so great! I really liked it. I loved the illustrations and color theme of them. The story itself was so cute and fun to read. I really enjoyed the characters, except Cameron. He was a total jerk and had me rolling my eyes quite a bit. I loved Ari and Hector together. The story had me craving bread and cupcakes the entire time too. At the end the author even included a recipe from one of the things the characters baked and a playlist!
Release by Patrick Ness – 3 out of 5 stars.
At the time of posting this I am not finished with Release, but I will have it finished later today so I wanted to include it in my wrap up. I am about 60% into the book right now and it’s pretty interesting. For the most part I like it, but it is a little strange. I always find Ness’ books strange though. I’ll add another update about this book in a future post with my final thoughts and rating. EDIT: I just finished Release and added my rating. Overall, I liked it. It wasn’t mind blowing, but it was still pretty good.
What books did you read in January? Have you read any of the ones that I read? Feel free to link me to your post, so I can check it out!
I don’t know how much reading I will actually get to do in February, because I am FINALLY moving at the end February, so I will be spending a lot of time packing and trying to stay organized with that so I don’t lose my mind. Also, Kingdom Hearts 3 just released at the end of January!! I’ve been waiting so long for this, SO LONG! I’ve been a fan of the games since they first came out many many years ago on Playstation 2 when I was a kid, lol. So it’s been years waiting for a new game. I have a feeling that KH3 will be taking over my life for awhile….it has already started! 😛
I figured if I read at least five books a month, I will be able to reach my Goodreads challenge goal at the end of the year. I read two months worth in one month (!!!), so I feel pretty good going into February knowing that I probably won’t get a chance to read that much. February is going to be so busy for me with the move. We’re moving 3.5-4 hours away from where we currently are, so it’s a lot to do. I am apologizing in advance if I can’t hop on here as often in the coming weeks.
And it’s the last time I can say this, but I have a book giveaway happening on my blog and this is the last day to enter. I am picking two winners tomorrow (2/1). It’s international as long as Book Depository ships to you. Feel free to check it out if you want to enter.
In case you missed it;
Book Haul|| January.
2 Star Reads of 2018.
I hope you have a great day!
Looks like you had a great reading month! I have had The Great Alone on my shelves since it came out but haven’t read it yet. I need to get on that!
Good luck with the move!
I am so happy that I was able to read so many books this month. I hope you get the chance to read The Great Alone soon. I still think about that book a lot. It always seems to cross my mind daily since reading it. Thank you 🙂
I also read The Wicked King this month and I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as TCP, I think a like it a bit better than TCP if I’m being honest.
Good luck with moving, I know how stressful it can be!
I am so sad that I didn’t enjoy The Wicked King as much as I hoped. I’m still really excited for the third book though. I hope it’s better. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it though. 😀 Thanks!
You read so much, Ashley this is amazing! I’m happy you enjoyed Famous in a small town and Bloom, I read both last month as well and I really loved them both 😀
Best of luck for the move, sending you tons of love!! ❤ I hope you'll have a great February ❤
I am still shocked by how many books I was able to read in January! I’m glad you really loved Famous in a Small Town and Bloom too. They were both great! Thank you, I’ll need all the luck I can get with this big move haha. ❤ 🙂
I get that, moving is always so exhausting, but YOU CAN DO THIS! sending you tons of support!! ❤
Looks like you had a great reading month! I loved The Great Alone as well and really enjoyed George and Six Of Crows… Good luck with your move in February and happy gaming! 😉 xx
The Great Alone was so great. I still think about it every day. I am so happy that I finally read George and Six of Crows. I’m hoping to read Crooked Kingdom this week. 🙂
Wow! You had a great month! I’m so excited to read Famous in a Small Town. It made me happy you enjoyed it.
I’m still surprised by how great I did in January with reading. I really hope you enjoy Famous in a Small Town.
I did enjoy it! Thanks!
Great job 🙂
Thanks 🙂
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You had a pretty great January! And I wish you all the best for February to be an awesome reading month!
Thank you! I wish you all the best for February as well! 🙂
The great alone sounds really good, definitely going to get this soon!
I hope you get the chance to read The Great Alone. I really loved it.
Yay, you finally tacked Six of Crows. There are a few past hyped books that I have yet to get to (Vicious) that feel like big mountains I have yet to climb. Wishing you lots of luck with your move. Happy February!
Took me long enough to get to Six of Crows, haha. I am hoping to start Crooked Kingdom this week so I don’t completely ignore the sequel like I did Six of Crows for so long haha. I still need to read Vicious too, oops. 😛 Hopefully we can finally tackle some of our older hyped books soon. Thank you, I think I’ll need all the luck I can get with this move. I hate moving, ughh. I hope you have a great February! 🙂
Awesome wrap up, Ashley! I felt the same about Circe! I nearly DNF’d it myself when I first read it. The latter half was much better imo, than the first half. And I’m SO happy to see that you enjoyed Six of Crows! Fingers crossed that you get your hands on Crooked Kingdom soon! ☺️
Thanks, Kelly! I’m glad I’m not the only one that felt that way about Circe! I seen so many raving reviews and I was so disappointed that I wasn’t on the same level as everyone else with loving it. Just started Crooked Kingdom the other day and so far so good! 🙂
Howww do you finish all these books so quickly?! Teach me your wayyyys!!!! haha. Sounds like a great group of reads 🙂
I have no idea how I did this! HAHA. 😛 It’s rare for me to read ten books in a month. I don’t see that happening this month, lol.
You had such a great month, Ashley ❤
I’ve seen Bloom on lots of people’s blogs and it sounds so cute, I am definitely interested in reading it. The same goes for Famous In A Small Town, I think I’ve mentioned it before but I am so excited to get my hands on this book!
I still haven’t read Six of Crows (it’s shameful I know) but I am so happy to see that you’ve enjoyed it. Good luck with the move and I hope you have a great month xx
I’m so stoked that I had such a great month. 🙂
I hope you get the chance to read Bloom soon. It was such a cute and fun read. Quick too since it’s a graphic novel. I hope you enjoy Famous in a Small Town! It took me FOREVER to finally read Six of Crows, haha. Thank you!
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