What I Read in January: Romance, Fantasy, and Sometimes Both
My goal for the year on Goodreads is to read 75 books and I am 10% of the way there after January. Getting back into reading has been so good for me and my sleep patterns. I started turning off the TV and reading before bed with my Trader Joes Well Rested tea and magnesium and I am sleeping like a baby. Lets review what I read in January!
I have read a few Taylor Jenkins Reid books (Malibu Rising is my favorite of hers that I have read so far. Go comment on my instagram if there is another one of hers that I need to read!). “Daisy Jones and the Six” was really good and in interview format almost like reading a movie script. I will say I liked but didn’t love. What saved it for me was this really gorgeous monologue from Karen about being a mother (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers!) and I hope they put that monologue in the show! It was so pertinent and beautifully said. The series comes out in March and this would make a perfect pick for book club & do a viewing party together!
Homegoing is absolutely without a doubt one of the best written novels I have read in a long time. The writing is absolutely poetic and stunning to read and the storytelling and weaving is mesmerizing. I will say, because I read on my kindle I missed the family tree in the front so I would get lost sometimes reading through it so just note that! It would have helped me a lot. Homegoing gives beautiful insight to African / African American / Black experiences through history in a way that was compelling and in a lot of ways heartbreaking. It gave me such incredible perspective into history in a way that was emotional and lovely to read. Would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a quality novel and to broaden their understanding of the Black experience through history. A must read in my opinion!
This is probably my favorite book of the year so far. I literally couldnt put it down. I was reading it until the wee hours of the morning after everyone went to bed on a girl’s trip. It is a perfect amount of drama, romance, and fantasy. The pace of the book is also amazing – you never feel like you’re dragging along to get to the meat of the story. Don’t tell anyone BUT I actually think I might like this better than I like A Court of Thorns and Roses! I added the novella sequel, Of the Dark Moon, to my TBR for February! If you are looking to start fantasy romances or you are already a fan of fantasy romance this is for you! It is also currently free on Kindle Unlimited and you know my Kindle changed my life!
Meghan Quinn is my go to romance author. I fell in love with her writing with Not So Meet Cute (the first book in this series) and I loved her play on Princess Diaries with spice, Royally Not Ready. Having read the first two books in this series I was so excited for this best friends to lovers romance from MQ. Highly recommend this series if you are looking to spice up your life! You don’t have to start at Not So Meet Cute but it will definitely set the scene for the rest of the series. It is also free on Kindle Unlimited – and you guys know that I LOVE my kindle!
I picked this book to be our first Big Sis Book Club pick of the year. It is a great book to start off your year reflecting on ways you may self sabotage and get real life examples of how to fix it. I actually pulled some of my favorite quotes and made them into journal prompts for you as well to work through. This book is a great place to start your self love and healing journey. It is written so beautifully and there are so many compelling quotes in the book as well.
Okay let me start by saying I hate giving anything a bad review because I know how much love and energy went into something especially a book. This is another fantasy romance that came suggested to me from Booktok. For me this one dove into the plot too quickly and didn’t give me enough of an emotional investment up front to care deeply once we got into the action. I knew I was supposed to feel more invested in the character than I did when the drama started. I had read this earlier in the month and when I went to do this round up I couldn’t remember a thing about it which isn’t a good sign. I want to try another one of her books because people really seem to love them but this one wasn’t it for me personally.
I was full a teen romance girlie growing up. I loveddddd a beach read teen romance (without the spice of course at that time!). This really reminded me of that but with spice. I enjoyed this one, I thought it was well written and the plot was good. For me I just couldnt get past the fact that they were both like 18 years old (in the book they are second semester seniors in high school) and it just made me feel weird. Like i said, not a bad book just couldnt get past the age thing!
Go comment on my latest Instagram or TikTok post what books you think I should add to my list next!