I’m doing something different with my book reviews this year (it seems like every year, I revamp the way I write my monthly book recap – keeps things interesting at least). This year, I’m only going to write reviews of the books I give 4 or 5 stars. Obviously, these are the books that really spoke to me and the ones I recommend. And this is what this monthly feature is all about, right? Talking about the books I read and why I think other people should read them. So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite reads of January:

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (★★★★★) –  What I love most about this novel was how uniquely written it was. It follows the story of a girl, Aviva, who has an affair with a married congressman and what happens in the aftermath once their affair becomes a news item. Of course, as it always seems to be, the congressman keeps his job and his dignity, but Aviva is scorned and slut shamed and dragged through the media. And so, she flees to another state and builds a new life for herself – new name, new job, and all. This novel gives you a glimpse into how her affair affects everyone involved: Aviva herself, her mom, the wife whose husband she had an affair with, and even Aviva’s young daughter. It’s a fascinating look at motherhood, ambition, and love.

My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – This is your typical, formulaic romance novel, but there was something so sweet and charming about it. In this story, Bailey is recovering from spending her late teens, early twenties fighting cancer and is finally in remission and ready to start living. She is commissioned to paint a mural at a ski resort and while there, she meets Hud who is everything she wants – sexy, kind, and funny. But Bailey has big dreams of seeing the world and she’s only going to be at the ski resort for a short time, so what’s the point in starting something new with Hud? I loved that Bailey wasn’t your “typical” romance heroine and that she was so darn easy to love and root for. And Hud had his own hangups that he needed to figure out. The plot was so well-drawn and thoughtful, but the romance was still sizzling that it made me remember why Jill Shalvis is always my go-to romance author recommendation.

The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker (★★★★★) – The Animators is a story about female friendship. It’s the story of Sharon and Mel, two female animators who have just released their first full-length feature and are high on life. Sharon and Mel couldn’t be more different – where Sharon is shy, Mel is brash – but they have a fierce love for each other and an undeniable attraction to the art of drawing and animation. Through this story, we see these friends go through the gauntlet of tragedy together but one thing that’s always certain is their love for each other. I listened to this on audio and I really recommend it (even if it’s a long audiobook at nearly 16 hours) because the narrator is so great. (I don’t typically love when narrators make up crazy voices for the characters, but in this instance, it really worked for the story.) I was super impressed by this debut by Kayla Rae Whitaker and I dearly hope she blesses us with more writing.

Undercover Attraction by Katee Robert (★★★★☆) – I never, ever thought I would fall in love with a mob family, but Katee Robert has proven me wrong with this series. In this novel, we get Aiden’s story with former cop, Charlotte. I have no love for Aiden because he was a straight-up jerk in the previous novels, but with this story, I started to realize why he did what he did and there’s a sense of respect for how he protects his siblings, even at his detriment. The chemistry between Aiden and Charlotte in this novel was hot, hot, hot, but there was also plenty of story beyond the bedroom scenes (nothing bothers me more than a romance that seems to be one sex scene after another… give me some story, authors!) Anyway, this is a series I highly recommend. I haven’t loved some of Robert’s other series, but this is her latest one and it seems like she’s truly coming into her own as an author with The O’Malleys.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (★★★★☆) – I had high hopes for this thriller because it had the most intriguing premise I’ve seen in a while. Thankfully, it fairly lived up to them and the novel definitely took some twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. The kind of twists and turns that have you gasping when you realize what’s happening and flipping back through the pages to see if you missed something critical. I really don’t want to say anything about the plot because I think it unfolds nicely in a way where you don’t necessarily need to know the plot beforehand.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (★★★★★) – I finished this thriller in less than 24 hours – it was that good. The novel starts off with a bang, Anne and Marco are spending the evening at their next-door neighbor’s house. They have a six-month-old, but their babysitter canceled at the last minute and their next-door neighbor explicitly stated this was a “baby-free” kind of party. They don’t want to cancel on their friends, so they leave their baby sleeping in her crib (checking on her every half hour) and proceed to spend the evening with their neighbors. And then the unthinkable happens when they come back home around midnight: their baby is gone. What follows is a twisty-turny thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know who to trust or believe, and I was thoroughly shocked by the ending.

Other January reads: Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid (★★☆☆☆), All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (★★☆☆☆), Foolproof Love by Katee Robert (★★☆☆☆), Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (★★☆☆☆), Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (★★★☆☆), Stealing Home by Jennifer Seasons (★☆☆☆☆), and Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You by Kunal Nayyar (★★★☆☆).

January Book Stats

Number of books: 13
Number of pages: 4,524
Genre breakdown: fiction (3), romance (6), historical fiction (1), thriller (2), nonfiction (1)
Number of diverse reads: 4 (31%)
Where I sourced my books: library/Overdrive (11), Book of the Month (1), gift from a friend (1)
Money spent on reading this month: $14.99

I rounded out 2017 with a solid month of reading in December. I know December can typically be a crazy month for people with all the shopping and the parties, but I try to keep my December sacred. I know I don’t function well when my social life is all over the place, so I said no to some parties (most notably, my work Christmas party) and did just about all of my shopping online the weekend after Thanksgiving, allowing myself to slowly wrap the gifts as the month progressed. All of this also allowed for plenty of reading time as I finished nine books, one of which ended up on my top 10 list for the year. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Top Read of the Month

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (★★★★★) – I was determined to read this book in December because I was pretty sure it was going to easily make my “Best of 2017” list and I was not disappointed. I wasn’t a fan of Gay’s book, Bad Feminist, but she completely sold me with this novel that is all about what it means to live as a fat person in today’s fat-phobic society. I could relate to so much of what she wrote in this book. I’ve had many of the same experiences, the same thoughts, the same feeling of wishing I could be that rah-rah-body-positive-all-bodies-are-beautiful person, but not exactly being there. And I think that’s what I appreciated most: this was not a book about body positivity, it was not a weight loss book. It is simply a book about what it means to be fat. And it’s the best nonfiction book I read in 2017 – a book I want all of my friends who struggle with their weight to read. (And I think it’s a book that those who don’t struggle with their weight could do well to read to gain a new perspective.)

Top Romance of the Month

Neanderthal Marries Human by Penny Reid (★★★★☆) – This novel is the continuation of Janie and Quinn’s story, who I met for the first time a few months ago when I read Neanderthal Meets Human and fell completely head over heels for these two. I was both excited and not excited to read this book because a) hooray for more Janie and Quinn and b) ugh, do I really want to waste precious reading time on a romance sequel? The good news is, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it was totally worth diving back into their world, as there was some unfinished business that needed to get resolved, such as Quinn’s strained relationship with his parents. This novel follows Janie and Quinn after they are engaged and planning a wedding, and it is as delightful as the first novel. Penny Reid really knows how to write quirky characters that are so darn lovable.

Other Notable Reads

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (★★★★☆) – All of the girls in book club raved about this book, and after reading it, you can add me to the list of someone who absolutely loved this novel. It’s a tough novel to read because it deals with a very difficult subject matter (I can’t be any more specific than that as it’s a spoiler, but sensitive readers who have to be aware of trigger warnings should probably stay away from this one), but Colleen Hoover writes it beautifully. There’s humanity to it. One of my favorite things about the novel is the letters the main character writes to Ellen DeGeneres. These are basically diary entries, but she frames them as letters to Ellen because it’s easier for her that way. These letters are simple in their language, but complex in their content, and it was such a unique way to tell the backstory. Anyway – It Ends With Us is a story that really needs to be read, in my opinion, and I encourage anyone to pick it up.

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (★★★★☆) – This is the second book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and I loved it so, so much. There’s something so comforting and cozy about these novels. I’m already beginning to feel like the people of Three Pines are near and dear to me, and there’s no getting around the fact that Gamache is a truly sensational character. This novel follows the investigation of the death of a newcomer to town – someone nobody truly liked because, well, she was wholly unlikable. So there’s the question: who wanted her dead? The townspeople because she was such an awful human being, her husband for the insurance money, or someone else entirely? I guessed the “whodunit” pretty quickly, but it was fun how Penny unraveled it all at the end.

The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean (★★★★☆) – Another fantastic Regency romance from Sarah MacLean and I’m getting very worried that I’ve almost read all of her novels. What am I going to do with myself when I don’t have a MacLean romance in my queue? This novel begins a new series of hers, although the main character was referenced in a previous novel, so it felt more like a continuation. This novel follows Sophie right after she’s publicly shamed her brother-in-law after she caught him kissing a woman who is not her sister. Sophie becomes scorned by society and flees in the night, masquerading herself as a boy and riding on the back of a carriage. Turns out, the carriage she’s on belongs to the infamous rogue, Marquess of Eversley, and thus begins their story. A story that has the most perfect enemies-to-lovers trope, a feisty heroine that I just adored, and a grumpy marquess who cannot help but be charmed by Sophie. It was perfection.

Other December reads: Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆), Rising Strong by Brene Brown (★★★☆☆), New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan (★★★☆☆), Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (★★☆☆☆), and Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆).

What was the best book you read in December?

I hit my reading goal for the year in early November when I finished Little Fires Everywhere and then kept on trucking to finish the month with 8 books read. I am well on my way to reading 115 books this year, but I don’t think I’ll hit 120. Not that I wanted to hit 120; it was just a number I pondered about hitting once I knew I’d blow my 100-book goal out of the water. We’ll see what happens in December, though. I tend to want to finish off the year with romances, which I zip through in a day or two.

But let’s focus on November first. It was an outstanding reading month with two BOTM picks that I handed off immediately to friends once I finished reading them, some terrific romances, and a memoir I’ve had on my Kindle for at least a year.

Top Read of the Month

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (★★★★★) – Celeste Ng’s debut novel Everything I Never Told You was one of my favorite books from 2015, so I was super excited when her next novel was announced and even more excited when it was part of October’s Book of the Month (<– referral link) options. I didn’t even look at the other books on the list – I just selected it right away. Just like in her first novel, Ng begins this novel with the end: we know that a house is burning down and we have a strong suspicion of who set the fire, but we don’t know all of the details. After that initial scene, Ng takes us back to where everything began: when a woman named Mia and her teenage daughter Pearl move to the idyllic neighborhood of Shaker Heights, renting a house from the family that would soon in the future watch their house burn to the ground. Mia and Pearl cause a bit of a ruckus with their arrival, including getting into the middle of a custody battle involving a Chinese-American baby. What I loved most about this novel, other than Ng’s incredible writing style, is the way I was forced to think about certain situations, situations where I thought I fell wholeheartedly on one side of the debate, in an entirely different way. It’s an important book, and it’s a book I finished while sitting in a rocking chair in Asheville with the fall colors on display around me, which only added to my delight with this novel.

Top Romance of the Month

Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – Jill Shalvis has never let me down when I need a quick and fun romance to cleanse my mind and make me happy. Second Chance Summer begins a new series by Shalvis where we’re introduced to a cast of new characters that I already love and cannot wait to learn more about. The first book in this new series involves the love story between Lily, who has come back home after ten years away due to being fired from her job at a high-end salon in California. She hasn’t been in town for very long when she runs into her old flame, Aidan, and from there, sparks fly. I loved Lily and the way she stood up to Aidan and everyone else in town. And I loved Aidan and the way he was so strong in his feelings and didn’t back down from them. It was the perfect romance that had everything I need to make me happy. Jill Shalvis is my author crush, for sure.

Other Notable Reads

Artemis by Andy Weir (★★★★☆) – This is another Book of the Month selection, this time for November! And it was another example of loving the author’s first novel and getting super excited to see his second novel available as a BOTM selection. Again, didn’t even look at the other books, I picked this one right away. Of course, I was nervous about Artemis because The Martian is one of my most beloved books of all-time. I still consider Mark Watney to be one of my favorite fictional characters. Can Artemis live up to the pedestal I’ve placed Andy Weir on? Happily, he can! Artemis was excellent and such a fun book to read. This time, the scene is the moon where the one and only city has been formed, called Artemis. Artemis is mostly filled with eccentric billionaires and super-rich tourists (just imagine how expensive it would be to vacation on the moon!), but there are a few misfits and those just barely skating by – people like Jazz Bashara. Jazz makes her money illegally by smuggling contraband onto the moon for people. And then Jazz is given the opportunity of a lifetime – a crime so big and so illegal that the reward is way too lucrative to pass up. And so she doesn’t. And that’s when she’s thrust into a conspiracy plot and on the run for her life and YOU GUYS THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Ughhhh. Andy Weir is such a phenomenal writer and I loved every single character I came across, most especially Jazz. This novel definitely had Weir’s signature wit and hilarious one-liners. Andy Weir is a genius and I will read everything he writes.

Anchored by Kayla Aimee (★★★★★) – I started following Kayla Aimee when her daughter Scarlette was born because I kept seeing tweets from people I followed online about her and the micro-preemie she delivered at just 25 weeks. Scarlette was 1 pound, 8.5 ounces when she was born and from there, Kayla and her husband spent every single day at the hospital, praying for their tiny baby to hold on and keep fighting. After 156 days in the NICU, Scarlette came home and now she’s a healthy (and hilarious!) seven-year-old. In a word, this memoir is beautiful. Kayla’s writing is both gorgeous and witty. She mixes in the funniest anecdotes with vulnerable words filled with pain and suffering. It’s a story of struggle, a story of survival, and ultimately a story of hope. A fair warning that it is heavy on Christian themes, as Kayla is a Christian and relied heavily on her faith in God to see her through this tragic time.

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon (★★★★☆) – I listened to this novel on audiobook, and I think it enhanced my experience with it in a much more positive way than if I had read it myself. It’s a slowly-paced book, and for me, those are best listened to on audiobook. The novel is about Stella, Maria, and Ritzi, and how all three of them react to the disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater. Stella is Crater’s wife, Maria is his maid, and Ritzi is his mistress. There was a twist near the end of the book that I wasn’t expecting and it only added to my enjoyment of this interesting novel. (And side note, Judge Joseph Crater is a real person who actually disappeared! WHAT.)

Other November reads: Riding Wild by Jaci Burton (★★★☆☆), Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan (★★★★☆), and The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (★★★☆☆).

What was the best book you read in November?

October was a terrific reading month for me, which is great because September was rather meh. I read nine books and the book I’m currently reading (and will finish this weekend) will mark 100 books read in 2017! So, yeah, I’m going to blow my goal of reading 100 books out of the water. Now the question is, can I make it to 115 or 120 books read? That would be insane. I’m not going to go crazy trying to make that happen, but it’ll be a goal in the back of my mind, for sure.

This month, I finally read The Hate U Give and it’s officially knocked Me Before You out of the top spot as the best book I’ve ever read. It was incredible and I don’t see any other book impacting me as much as that one did. It’ll definitely be my favorite read of 2017, no doubt. Here are my reviews!

Top Read of the Month

Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book, especially since every person whose book recommendations I trust implored me to read it. It’s phenomenal. It is so well-written that I cannot believe this is Angie Thomas’s first novel. The writing is vivid and descriptive and I felt like I was right there in each scene. I was with Starr and Khalil and Maverick and Chris and Seven and Kenya. I was there with them. In this novel, Starr, a sixteen-year-old, is the only witness to her friend Khalil being shot by a police officer. And yes, Khalil is black and the police officer is white. (Ripped from the headlines, you might say?) The novel follows Starr as she tries to come to terms with not only her friend dying, but also the news and what people are saying both about Khalil and the police officer. This book made me so angry at times because it was so true to life. And it’s a book I want every person who shouts “All lives matter!” or “Blue lives matter!” every time someone says “Black lives matter!” to read. Because those people? They don’t get it. They don’t understand the systematic racism that people of color deal with on a daily basis. The Hate U Give is the best book I’ve ever read, hands down. (Add to Goodreads.)

Top Romance of the Month

Title: Last Man Standing
Author: Cindy Gerard
Published: 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the final book in Gerard’s Black Ops, Inc. series, and it’s such a good one. Earlier in the series, quiet and unassuming Joe and Stephanie, whose brother died a few years ago on an op that Joe and the rest of the Black Ops team were on, started dating. It was a secondary plot in another book, and so I thought their love story was complete. Apparently not, because Joe is back with his very own book where he tries to avenge Stephanie’s brother’s death. He winds up in a prison in Sierra Leone, and when Stephanie stumbles across a photo of him in a newspaper, she knows she has to go there to rescue him. What I loved about this novel so much is that Stephanie got to be the badass rescuer, not Joe. Of course, she was terrified, but what was more terrifying was living without Joe. And so she dug deep and found her inner badass. It’s a terrific novel, so damn well written, and a perfect ending to this incredible series. I will be re-reading this series in the future, that’s for sure. (Add to Goodreads.)

Other Notable Reads

Title: Escape
Author: Carolyn Jessop
Published: 2007
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the second memoir I’ve read this year about a woman escaping from a cult and it blew me away just as much as the first one. This book follows Carolyn Jessop’s story, a woman who escaped from the FLDS with all of her eight children. The book starts with Carolyn’s early life in the FLDS and we learn about how she came to marry Merril Jessop who was many decades older than her, when she was just 18. Carolyn doesn’t hold back when she talks about her life as one of Merril’s many wives, the way she was treated by the other sister-wives (spoiler: it was not a pleasant situation), and all the ways in which the FLDS failed her. It’s a harrowing book that gets to the brutally honest truth about what the FLDS is actually about and how poorly it treats its women. But damn, Carolyn is a badass and there are not ifs, ands, or buts about that. She is an amazing, resilient woman and I felt honored to read her words. (Add to Goodreads.)

Title: Forbidden Promises
Author: Katee Robert
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this contemporary romance from Katee Robert and read it in a day and a half. This is the fourth book in her The O’Malley’s series and follows another sibling in the family: Sloan, who actually ran away from the family in the previous book. She’s living next door to a man named Jude who seems dangerous, but Sloan can’t take her eyes off him nonetheless. She’s grown up sheltered, but something about Jude makes her think he could give her everything she’s been looking for. I really, really enjoyed both Sloan and Jude’s perspectives in this novel and loved seeing Sloan grow a backbone and start standing up for herself as the novel progressed. It was a fun reading experience, and I want to read everything Robert writes. (Add to Goodreads.)

Title: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
Author: Alyssa Mastromonaco
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★☆☆

I went into this book with high expectations, and the writing didn’t meet them. I read so many rave reviews of this book, but it just didn’t do “it” for me. I found the book to be disjointed at times, a slog at others. Mostly, I think what I wanted was a portrait of what it was like to work with Obama, but it was more of a memoir of Mastromonaco. Which is fine, but not what I wanted. And I thought it would be funnier because… of the title and the cover, maybe? It wasn’t. It was heartfelt, but don’t go into it thinking you’re going to laugh. That’s not what it’s meant to do. But, hey, if I had to read this entire book only to find out that Obama called Mastromonaco from Air Force One to offer his condolences on the loss of her cat? Well, it was worth it because that story straight-up killed me. Tears, man. That Obama dude is one of the greats. (Add to Goodreads.)

Other October reads: The Way to London by Alix Rickloff (★★★★☆), Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid (★★★★☆), Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean (★★★☆☆), and Just One Night by Lauren Layne (★★★★☆).

What was the best book you read in October?