January 2020 Reading Recap

♡This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thank you so much for helping to support my little family!♡

What a MONTH for reading! Kicking 2020 off with a bang.

The reason I read so much this month was because we were all sick nonstop and it was too cold to leave the house buttttt at least there was a good side to that…I read 15 books this month!!

As always, you can follow along with my reading in “real time” on Goodreads, Instagram, and in my reading community on Facebook!

These are in no particular order, BUT the first two were my favorite two of the month by far!

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (literary fiction) – This was a tender, beautiful, sweet, and respectful exploration of grief and these pages settled into my heart and bones. Certain passes cracked my chest right open and broke my heart. I found myself nearly breathless by the end of the book. Staggering and stunning, it feels wrong to say I “loved” a book that covers such a heavy topic…but man am I glad I read this. It will stick with me for a long, long time. 5 stars.

When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald (up lit)- Things this book is not: Light, easy, simple, purely humorous.

Things this book is: Endearing, heartwarming, sad, hopeful, quirky, wonderful. I fell in love with Zelda and her tribe. Some of the portions of the book made my heart hurt and some of the themes are dark. But oh man…does love ever win. This for sure earned a spot in my “favorites of up lit”.

Similar to Eleanor Oliphant, our heroine will make you root for her and the pages will fly as you are praying that Zelda gets her happy ending. I don’t want to spoil the story so I’ll just say I’m a better person for knowing Zelda. 4.5 stars

_________

Ellie and the Harp Maker by Hazel Prior (up lit) – Well this is exactly what my heart needed. What a simply sweet, love filled, adorable book this was. If you love up lit with quirky and lovable main characters, then this one will be for you. Precious. 4 stars

_________

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rae (contemporary romance) – I love the chemistry in this book. Great diverse representation, and kudos for the strong female characters. I also love the gentle giant Samson. I look forward to the next book in the series! 3 stars

_________

The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake (romance/women’s fiction)- This book is absolutely precious and adorable and sweet and will leave you feeling cozy with a big smile on your face. It was perfect for me to read in January in Alaska. It made me want to put on my coziest socks and wrap myself in my warmest blanket and light some candles! My only small gripe is that the book ended too abruptly… But other than that it was perfect! 4 stars

_________

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (romance/women’s fiction)- This book was sweet and charming and as someone who loves both planners/lettering and reading…it was a dream combination for me. I loved how the heroine pictured words as signs and letters as emotions, I just adored the descriptions of fonts and colors and signs.

I got a little annoyed with the author’s personal vendetta against “bloom where you’re planted” which was mentioned over and over in the book as being dumb and pedestrian and lame. Of course this has always been my mantra as a military wife and it’s even the name of my reading group on Facebook. So that part kept needling me and ruined my enjoyment a bit, because I don’t like being made to feel like I’m silly or unfashionable…but I realize that’s a highly personal critique and didn’t deter from my rating.

If you are looking for a fun, simple, somewhat steamy book with some great chemistry this one is for you. Especially if you love hand lettering and fonts.  4 stars.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (fiction/historical fiction)- Diane Chamberlain is a master storyteller. Her novels just draw you in and captivate you and this one is certainly no exception. The dual storylines complemented each other beautifully and weren’t at all confusing… I found both of them equally interesting. I didn’t expect this to be a page turner at the beginning but I was wrong. I stayed up way too late finishing it and I found it immensely satisfying and intriguing. Masterfully written and one I’ll think about many times in the future, I’m certain.  4.5 stars. 

_________

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena (thriller) – What a convoluted mess. First of all… I genuinely hated every single character in this book. Second of all, the story was unbelievably repetitive. Just a pretty generic thriller. 2 stars

_________

Stolen Things by R.H. Herron (mystery/thriller) – Too vulgar, dark, violent, explicit and brutal for me. Just too, too much. Bad cops, sexual assault, rape, prostitution…with a random sprinkling of social justice? Just not for me. 2.5 stars.

_________

The Last by Hanna Jameson (dystopian fiction) – Holy cow did this book terrify me. Goosebumps, constant dread, pounding heart…you name it. Nuclear war, dystopia, an isolated Swiss hotel, and a murdered child. What a freaky combination. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the other shoe to drop. Haunting and chilling and gritty, this one isn’t for the faint of heart. I have to say I was super underwhelmed by the ending. I know endings are hard but this one was just disappointing to me. Nevertheless, this was one crazy ride. 4 stars

_________

Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff (thriller)- Dude. What a screwed up, crazy story! Bioethics and kidnappings and hidden identities and insane twists all rolled into one. 3.5 stars

_________

The Nanny by Gilly MacMillan (thriller) – Just OK for me. I was really into it the first half or so and then I realized that Hannah seemed like a cardboard cutout to me. I couldn’t get a good feeling for her personality or imagine her in my mind. And her speech was so odd and stilted. Also… It’s such a pet peeve of mine when mothers believe everyone but their child when the child is telling them they are in danger. 3 stars

_________

You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (thriller- Advance Reader’s Copy, publication date 3/3/20) – WOOOHOO! What a twisty, turny, WTF-inducing thrill ride! I loved this fast paced, entertaining romp and I devoured it in a day. Make sure to block off some reading time for this one because you won’t want to put it down! I thought I had it all figured out but boy was I wrong. Also, I just want to say that I am sooooo tired of twisty just for the sake of being twisty. I’m over books that have twist after twist after twist after twist. I love thrillers like this one. Good, solid books with a solid twisty ending. I’m all about it! 4 stars

_________

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher (thriller)- polygamist thriller say what? But for some reason this one just didn’t grab me, though everyone else seems to love it! The “twist” had me scratching my head and saying “Huh? That’s it??” 3.5 stars

_________

We Met in December by Rosie Curtis (romance)- Sooooooo slow. I wanted to like it but it just dragged on and on. Also, don’t assume this is a good wintry/holiday book based on the title and cover. 2.5 stars.

WHEWWW! What.a. MONTH!! So what do you think? Have you read any of these and what did you think? What was your favorite read this month?

Happy (almost) February, ya’ll…and HAPPY READING!

xoxo

S