Hello Readers! As I’m writing this, we’re in the midst of a winter ice storm here in Texas. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be as bad as the last storm we had in 2021. But it definitely made me want to snuggle down and read, and I was able to squeeze in one more book the last two days of the month.
I had a nice reading month after reading only three books in December. I eased back into reading, despite being behind on my ARCs, but I was able to catch up and read ahead. If you look back at My January TBR, I read five of the six books I had planned, plus one I didn’t plan, for a total of 2,551 pages, including five ARCs and two backlist books. The one book I didn’t get to will probably make an appearance on my February TBR.
Let’s see what I read!
Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!
January Wrap-Up
(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)
I began the month finishing up my third reread of In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. I was determined to complete my new tradition of reading this one over the holidays, even if it took me into January. I never tire of rereading this one. It hits all the right notes for me.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My (original) Review
Next, I picked up The Stranded, a dystopian YA debut by Sarah Daniels. It had a slow build, but an amazing ending. It also had a very dystopian nostalgic feel, reminding me of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on January 3, 2023
Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame is the second book by Meg Long and continues the story started in her debut novel, Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves (which I enjoyed, as well), but with a different character’s POV. However, it’s not necessary to read the first one before you pick up Swift the Storm. This one is action-packed and does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I’ll definitely be watching for the next book by Long.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Review
Published on January 17, 2023
I continued catching up on my ARCs with a romance that’s been getting all the buzz, Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. I read and adored her previous novel, Love at First, so I was excited to pick this one up. It did not disappoint! One of my favorite books of the month, I won’t be surprised if it ends up among my favorites for the year.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on January 24, 2023
One of my most-anticipated books, I couldn’t wait to read Katherine Center’s next romance, Hello Stranger, even though it won’t be available until summer. While this one didn’t quite reach the five-star status of some of her previous books for me, I still really enjoyed it. Especially the unique and refreshing storyline.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Expected on July 11, 2023
I was invited to read Falling for Her Best Friend by the author Camilla Isley. This cute romance will be included in the rom-com Valentine collection, My Funny Valentine, which will include full-length novels by various romance writers. It’s currently available for pre-order for 99 cents! Entertaining, it definitely had me laughing out loud. I’ll be sharing a full review soon!
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐.5
Expected on February 14, 2023
When the weather turned bad and I just wanted to snuggle up with a book, I finally picked up Running Wild (Wild, #3) by K.A. Tucker. I thought it would be a perfect time to read a romance set in Alaska. I so loved being back in this world, and Tucker did an amazing job making me fall for Marie, a character I didn’t like much in the previous books.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
In case you missed it…
- My 2022 End-of-the-Year Reading Wrap-Up
- TTT: My Favorite Books of 2022
- My Popsugar Reading Challenge for 2023
- TTT: Most Anticipated Book Releases | January-June 2023
- TTT: 10 Backlist Books I’m Determined to Read in 2023
- TTT: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022
- TTT: Spotify Wrapped Book Tag 2022
What I’ve been watching…
- It’s been awhile since I’ve updated you on what I’ve been watching! We binged both seasons of The White Lotus—which I highly recommend—I got completely caught up on The Crown, watched the second season of Only Murders in the Building, binged High School (based on the book by musician twin sisters, Tegan and Sara), and caught up on Abbott Elementary—which I just adore!
- We have many gamers in this family (all but me 😃), which meant we were very excited about The Last of Us. So far, so good!
- I feel woefully behind on movies. Let me know what you’ve been watching!
How was your reading month? Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Such a great reading month!! Georgie was amazing and love seeing all the hype lately.
Yes!! Georgie deserves all the love! Such a great book.
A great month of reading. I’m reading Running Wild now and have enjoyed it so far (and loved the whole series). Will be adding a few to my TBR. Happy reading this month.
Oh yay! I hope you enjoyed Running Wild as much as I did. It was such a pleasant surprise.
Glad you had such a good reading month – and what looks like some interesting books. I have Cold Night, Fast Wolves on my TBR and knowing the 2nd one is out, that might move it up the list. Have a terrific February!
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/wrap-up-january-2023
I hope you enjoy Cold the Night as much as I did. The series has great world building and such unique characters. And it’s written very well. Happy reading!
It looks like you had a fab reading month, Dedra! I can’t wait to read Georgie, All Along cos I’ve heard so many amazing things about it and I enjoy Clayborn’s writing a lot. I also still need to catch up on Tucker’s series cos I’ve still only read the first one but hopefully, I can complete it this year? 😂 I hope you have a fabulous reading month in February!
Oh, I think you’d enjoy all of those, Dini! I loved Georgie even more than I expected, and the Wild series is still one of my all-time favorites. I would love to hear your thoughts on them all. Happy reading this month!
My nephew lives in Texas (Plano, near Dallas) and they sent us pictures of the SNOW!!!! Stay warm!
We’re more south so all we got was ice. I wish we would have had some snow to play in! It’s finally warming up now. Sunny and 67 degrees today!
OMG stay warm, okay?? I grew up in TX and I know exactly how unprepared that state is for winter weather.
It felt like it lasted forever! But it’s finally warmer. Sun is out today and that’s so nice! Yes, Texas goes into chaos mode when cold weather hits. 😃
Ice storms are so treacherous, I hope you and your family stay safe. You had a great month of reading. I want to watch The White Lotus, my sister raves about it.
We’re finally thawing out! Sunny and warmer today. Thankfully we didn’t have to get out at all during the storm, so we just hunkered down and ate lots of comfort food. 😃 The White Lotus was such a nice surprise. I didn’t expect it to be as well done as it was!
LOoks like you read some great books this month!
I had a fun reading month, which was very much needed after such a dismal December. 😉
I am surprised by the Center rating. I will be reading closer to publication, but her books are always highly anticipated for me. You had a pretty great month though. We both loved Georgie and Running Wild, and I adore In a Holidaze too.
I was pretty shocked by my Center rating, as well. And so bummed. I wanted to love it as much as I loved The Bodyguard. But I also only rated What You Wish For with four stars, so I had to remind myself that four stars is still really good! 😃
I bought The Stranded! I’m glad you liked it. I’m excited to get to it. My family is also watching The Last of Us. I like it so far but it’s also a litttttttle slow. I hope the next episode picks up a bit. But I do enjoy the nods to the video game.
Yay!! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Stranded. Since I haven’t played the game, I have nothing to compare The Last of Us to except other shows. It’s kind of reminding me of the pace for The Walking Dead (which I watched the first 3 or 4 seasons of) and Breaking Bad—an action episode and then a more in-depth character episode. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes!
YES! I said the same things about TLOU. Its like the walking dead in that one episode is a lot of talking, and the next is action. My husband was like “I’ll just watch it every other week” lol
Sounds like January was a good month! I am so far behind on movies that I have no input on that front—other than to say that I’ve been recommended to watch Strange World on Disney+. I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t give my own rec, but I can pass along the rec I was given! 😉
Oooh, I’ll take the recommendation. I don’t think I’ve heard of that one yet, and we do have Disney +! Happy reading in February!