What I Read in January

Happy Wednesday, friends! I had a very good reading month to kick of 2022 with 11 books read. There were a lot of 3-star reads in the mix, so it wasn’t a total knockout month, but I’m okay with that. Hopefully, things will get better as the months go on.

Also, to the surprise of maybe nobody, I’ve decided to bring back my weekly reading recaps. I know, I know. How many times am I going to stop doing them, only to bring them back? One of the reasons I stopped doing weekly reading recaps is because I wanted to do a monthly reading wrap-up post and thought it might be overkill if I did weekly recaps and a monthly wrap-up. But… so what if it is? This is my blog and I get to write about what I want! So starting next week, you’ll start seeing weekly reading recaps on Mondays and at the end of every month, I’ll post a wrap-up post where I’ll reflect on what I read and give some updated reading stats.

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s dive into my January reviews:

Overall Favorite Read of January

The Banker’s Wife by Cristina Alger (★★★★★) – This thriller was phenomenal! It was smartly written, propulsive, and filled with characters who were easy to root for. (Who else is tired of the unreliable female narrator? *raises hand*) When the novel begins, Annabel has just been informed that her husband has been killed in a plane crash, but the more she learns about the crash and her husband’s life as a banker, the shadier things seem. Meanwhile, Marina is working on the story of a lifetime with her mentor when tragedy strikes, and she has to decide if the truth is worth the pain. It’s a fast-moving thriller that taught me a lot about offshore banking and the secret business dealings of the supremely rich, and the conclusion was super satisfying. Give it a try!

Favorite Romance of January

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker (★★★★☆) – Lucy Parker is probably my all-time favorite romance novelist. All of her books have been 4- or 5-star reads for me. She just knows how to write funny banter, great characters, and hot sexytimes. And there’s just a way she writes her male characters that just makes me fall head over heels for them. This book was no different! In Battle Royal, Dominic and Sylvie are enemies who have competing bakeries located across the street from one another. When Princess Rose announces her engagement, Dominic and Sylvie are now not only fighting in their bakeries, but also for the most lucrative cake-baking contract of all. I loved every single thing about this novel: the banter between the characters, all of the fun baking anecdotes, and how Dominic and Sylvie fell in love. These two crazy kids are going to make it, I think.

Other Favorites of January

Columbine by Dave Cullen (★★★★★) – I have never been so happy to finish a book than I was to finish Columbine. This book was hard, heavy, and I firmly believe contributed to my anxiety spiral early in the month. (As a highly sensitive person, books can affect me on a deep level.) It’s also insanely well-researched and well-written. Dave Cullen takes readers through the entire Columbine massacre, using police reports, journals and videos from the killers, and interviews. From the days leading up to the massacre, to what it was like to be in the school during it, to how the students, teacher, police, public, and media reacted in the days, weeks, and months after the shooting. It’s not easy reading in the least, but the subject matter is important and necessary, and I appreciate all of the hard work that went into researching and writing this book.

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (★★★★★) – What another fascinating mystery from Louise Penny. This series is just so good. This book is the sixteenth in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, and I know it can be intimidating to start a series with so many books in it, but man, I really recommend it. I’ve been very slowly working my way through the series (I read the first novel in 2017!) and I really enjoy them on audio. I don’t like talking too much about the plot because I feel like it can give away specific details that people who are reading earlier in the series may not want to know. Suffice it to say that there was so much to love here: a complicated father/son relationship, a sweet godson/godfather relationship, and a thrilling mystery with an ending that totally surprised me!

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas (★★★★★) – Another mystery series! This one’s backlist isn’t as extensive as the Chief Inspector series. This book is the sixth—and latest—in the Lady Charlotte series. It reimagines Sherlock Holmes as a woman, and I have loved every single book in the series. They’re historical mysteries, so they have a really unique element to them that you don’t always get from the mystery genre. Also, this book had such a surprising twist near the end that made me want to speed up my audiobook listening speed so I could get to the conclusion faster. Whew!

More January Reads

• While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory (★★★☆☆) – You guys, I’m just not a Jasmine Guillory fan. I read her first book and didn’t love it, but had heard good things about this book, so I gave it a try. And I was just mostly bored by the plot and spent more time editing the writing than enjoying the reading experience. I’m happy that Jasmine’s books are so popular because we need more Black romance writers, but she’s just not for me.
• The English Wife by Lauren Willig (★★★☆☆) – This literary mystery had such a sense of place and I loved how everything was revealed, but it was verrrrry slow-moving and could have been at least 50 pages shorter.
• The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood (★★★☆☆) – This book was fine, but nothing outstanding. I found both of the main characters hard to root for, though I did enjoy the humor that was slipped in between some of the heavier moments.
• A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria (★★☆☆☆) – Oof, I usually enjoy Alexis Daria’s romances, but this one was not good. I never felt a real connection to either of the main characters, and there was a fanfiction element that I could have done without.
• A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (★★★☆☆) – I was excited to read this YA love story, but it just fell a bit flat for me. I loved the Muslim representation, but the whole time I was reading this book, I felt annoyed with the main character and the choices she was making.
• My Cone and Only by Susannah Nix (★★★★☆) – This was such a fun, best friends-to-lovers romance! The chemistry between the two main characters was sizzlin’ and I couldn’t get enough of them.

January Book Stats

• # of books read: 11
• Fastest read: While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory (6 days)
• Slowest read: All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (13 days)
• Star average: 3.7
• % of books by or about BIPOC or the LGBT community: 55%
• Sources: Libby (6), library (2), Book of the Month (2), Target (1)
• Formats: print (5), e-book (3), audiobook (3)
• Abandoned books: 1 (I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson—I feel really guilty for abandoning this book, but it was just not working for me.)
• Goodreads goal check-in: I set a goal of 135 books this year and currently, I am 1 book ahead of schedule!

What was the best book you read in January?