January Wrap Up

January always comes in with a flurry of books, meaning, I always start off my year with very good intentions and the belief that I will 100% read all the books on my TBR despite knowing that this is an impossible task since for every book I read, I add 3 more. But still... goals. 

This January I read 13 books and for the most part they were pretty solid! I've started letting the picker wheel determine by TBR pile choices and it's worked out remarkably well. 

​So without further ado... my January Wrap Up. 

Favorite Book I Read: I read a few 5 star books this month- but my favorite of the bunch was probably Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, it was just so much fun, and sometimes reading just really needs to be fun, and this book is bonkers. There's Lovers to Enemies, there's a kidnapping (kind of), runaway carraiges, misunderstandings, a rogue bee and the romance is top notch. I loved it so much. ​

Book I can't wait for everyone to read: I was lucky enough to get access to an ARC of Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve through NetGalley and I fell 100% in lvoe with these characters. Arden is a kid who is in the thick of it. They are dealing with relationship issues on multiple fronts, her family is shifting and she has to reckon with the reality of being from a broken home. 

Arden is also coming to terms with who she is and what kind of relationship she wants with people… family, friends, and romance. In this book we see things like broken homes, abusive relationships, people exploring different unidentified, and shifting friendships. None of it is easy, because life isn’t easy. I’m so thankful that Stoeve chooses to let it all sit in the light.

Graphic Novel I didn't know I needed: Back in 2009 I was a brand new mom and embarking on the best adventure - becoming a moderator of the TwilightMOM's Book Club. One of the first books we featured after I joined was Graceling. I loved everything about this series, so when I saw the Graphic Novel version on Twitter, I knew I absolutely needed it ASAP. 

It did not dissapoint. The story is exactly as I remember it. Full of adventure and heartbreak, mystery and magic, only know it's accompanied by beautiful illustrations. Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds knocked this out of the park. 

Audio Book Surprise: I have not traditionally been a big audio book person. My commutes were too short to really get into it, but this year I've found myself itching to listen to books and Spotify surprised me by having my all time favorite book, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater. I don't know that I'd want to listen to a new book that I'd have to pay close attention to, but 

revisiting my favorite? It was great. I loved hearing the story and catching moments that I maybe didn't read the same way, and even hearing my favorite parts, like, "The sky, and the sand, and the sea, and Corr" and "It's too late for that Puck" hit different on the audio book. 

Full video wrap up: