Hi Readers! January seemed to drag on forever. I blame the weather. Although, it did make me feel like I had time to accomplish a few things. Today I’m going to take a look at what I managed to read and what I managed to add to my shelves for the month. Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

January Wrap-Up

I started the month finishing up my holiday reads with Winter Solstice, the final book in the Winter series by Elin Hilderbrand. But I didn’t mind extending Christmas a few more weeks. You can find my review of the series here.

My Rating: 4 stars

I typically read an ebook at night when I’m reading a physical book, so I read It Started One Christmas by Susan Mallery while I was reading Winter Solstice. It’s a quick novella, but I didn’t know when I started it that the characters were introduced in a previous book. I felt a little lost, but I still enjoyed it.

My Rating: 3 stars

I also wrapped up reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with my son. We didn’t finish it by Christmas, but we still enjoyed it. I enjoyed rereading it, too. It had been several years since I’d read it with my daughters.

My Rating: 4 stars

I succumbed to the hype and purchased the ebook of A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer with some gift card money. I’d never read a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t blow me away. I’m still torn about reading the next installment. We’ll see if I succumb to the hype again. You can check out my review here.

My Rating: 3.75 stars

Next, I finally delved into my advance reader copies. Big Lies in a Small Town is an eARC I received through Netgalley. It was my second Diane Chamberlain book and I loved it! I’m a fan of historical fiction that brings to light unknown parts of history, and Chamberlain is a master at that. You can read my full review here.

My Rating: 4 stars

My next read was another eARC from Netgalley, The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin. Once again, I didn’t realize the characters in this novel were introduced in another one. Apparently, I need to pay closer attention to books’ synopses. 😉 It took me a bit to get into this story that was more about character growth and less about romance. But I did enjoy it. You can find my full review here.

My Rating: 3.25 stars

My final book for the month was Things in Jars by Jess Kidd, another eARC I received through Netgalley. I was a bit overwhelmed with this one. And I cared more about the hints of romance than the mystery. You can read my review here. I had hoped this would be my first five-star read of the year, but maybe that will happen in February??

My Rating: 3.5 stars

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I also have an eARC of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins I fully intended to read this month, but the day I was ready to start it, I came across all the controversy surrounding the book. (If you’re unaware of the controversy, you can read about it here.) I was confused at first, especially since Oprah Winfrey was endorsing it, but I no longer felt comfortable reading it. While I do think authors should be able to write from different perspectives other than their own–for example, different sexes, different ages, different cultures–they must tread carefully and be mindful of stereotypes that can cause more damage. So, I’m torn. I decided to set it aside for now and possibly reconsider it at a later time. I would love to have more discussion on the topic. Have you read American Dirt? What’s your opinion about the controversy?

January Book Haul

I had an awesome haul this month thanks to a trip to a thrift store, Paperbackswap, and the single ARC, Beach Read, I received in the mail. And while I did add 13 books to my shelves, I also did a big un-haul and got rid of about 50 books! It felt great! I spent some time combing through my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ list and my wishlist on Paperbackswap, removing all the books I was no longer interested in. I managed to drop my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ list from 1000 to 850. 850 is still an out of control number, but it also includes about 230 books that I’ve marked as ‘possibly interested’. Now on to the books I added to my shelves!

• Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
• Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
• Run by Kody Keplinger
• The Position by Meg Wolitzer
• The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
• The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan
• Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
• Saint for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
• The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
• Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich
• Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates
• Beach Read by Emily Henry

I also added a few Kindle ebooks thanks to sales and gift cards:

• One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (my current read!)
• She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor

One audiobook:

• As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes

And I broke my Netgalley ban to add The Night Swim by Megan Goldin. I read The Escape Room, which didn’t blow me away, but I did enjoy. I couldn’t resist the buzz for her next one, which I’m even more excited about!

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Have you read any of the books I added to my shelves? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!