Hello Readers! I had a nice reading month in January and you can check out my January Wrap-Up if you’d like to see what I read. I added quite a few books to my digital and physical shelves last month, although most of them were used or free, so I wasn’t too hard on myself for the larger haul. And I only added one ARC, which I’ve already read, so that was nice. Especially since I’ve set a strict goal to read less ARCs this year. 😍

Let’s take a look at my haul for January!

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

My eARC

I never say no to an invitation from Camilla Isley to read one of her books. I always find myself swooning and laughing out loud. So when an invitation arrived to read Falling for Her Best Friend, which is included in the rom-com collection, My Funny Valentine, I picked it up right away. This collection of full-length novels is currently available for pre-order for 99 cents! I’ll be sharing my full review soon.

Synopsis:

A friends to lovers fake dating romcom!

Lori desperately needs a date to her best friend’s wedding. Especially since Aiden—fair, blond, everybody’s All-American dream—is the lost love of her life.

Enter Jace—her tall, dark, brooding other best friend—who reluctantly agrees to step in.

Jace has always been too wild for Lori—the personification of danger and excitement. But when he starts acting like the sweetest, most attentive boyfriend… Lori doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be in love with him, the more it feels like she might be catching feelings for real…

Expected February 14, 2023

My eBook Purchases

• The Neapolitan Novels Boxed Set by Elena Ferrante – When I saw this set on sale, I snatched it up! I also had a credit, which made it even less. My daughter recently read and enjoyed these, but she’s a much faster reader than I am. 😃
• Running Wild (Wild, #3) by K.A. Tucker – I had every intention of reading this one last year, but never made it happen, so I purchased and read it right away! It was just as amazing as I knew it would be.

Giveaway eBook Wins

I was just thinking the other day—as I entered one of the several Goodreads giveaways I enter daily—that I haven’t won in a long time. And then I won two within 3 days. 😃

• Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka – I’ve heard good things about this married writing duo, and their previous novel The Roughest Draft is on my tbr, so I was happy to win a copy of their newly published romance. I did read a few chapters, but it didn’t consume me. I’ll pick it up for another try later on, though!
• Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker – An author I don’t mention too often on the blog, I was obsessed with Buroker’s first series, The Emperor’s Edge—a steampunk series—back in 2011. I’ve read several of her other books, as well, and I’m always impressed with her writing. This one is an urban fantasy series. Maybe it’s time to revisit Buroker!
  

Vintage Novelizations

You might have seen me mention in previous posts that I collect vintage movie novelizations (screen-to-page adaptations). I picked up quite a few this month from Paperbackswap and Thriftbooks. Some novelizations are hard to find and can sell for quite a bit, for example, the original Home Alone!

• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York by Todd Strasser
• The Goonies Storybook by James Kahn
• Raiders of the Lost Ark by Campbell Black
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by James Kahn
• License to Drive by A.L. Singer
• Adventures in Babysitting by Elizabeth Faucher

More Paperbackswap Books

• Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett – On paperbackswap, you can create a wishlist and move up the wishlist for a book as they become available. Then you pay with credits you’ve received from trading your own books. All you pay is shipping! This book was on my wishlist. Despite having four of Bennett’s YA books, I’ve yet to read one.🤦‍♀️ If you’ve read and enjoyed this author, let me know which ones are your favorites!
• Icebound by Dean Koontz – This is an older Koontz book that he originally wrote under a pseudonym. When I ordered several of the novelizations from above, the seller let me pick another book for free, so I chose this one. I’ve been a fan of Koontz, but I haven’t read much of his older books.

Free eBooks & Audiobook

• Taste (Cloverleigh Farms, #7) by Melanie Harlow
• Embracing Her Heart (Oak Falls, #1) by Melissa Foster
• The Guy at the Wedding: A Short Story by Katherine Center – I did not know this existed until I was perusing the author’s website, where I found it for free! It’s the story of when Jake and Helen (from Happiness for Beginners) first meet.

Amazon First Reads Selection

In January we were able to choose two selections, I chose The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson, a fake-dating romance about a chemist, and Meru (The Alloy Era, #1) by S.B. Divya, a space opera!

Published on February 1, 2023

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

Happy Wandering!