January
Books read this month: 11
Last year my goal was 100 books and I did it! So it would be pretty boring to just I got pretty many books read this month because it was gross and cold and rainy and I would much rather stay inside and read than do anything else. Which honestly is true of most months. I’ve also been trying to read more happy/positive books this recently rather than endless murder mysteries. It’s good for my mental health. I highly recommend it.
My favorites
- Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson- This was a charming book about a woman running from past heartbreak by buying a flower shop in New York City. With her two trusty employees she helps to brighten the lives of the customers with flowers. When a New York socialite starts recommending her shop, trouble ensures. Soon she is caught up in a confusing friendship with the socialite’s soon-to-be son-in-law, and must also come face to face with the heartbreak she’s been trying to leave in the past.
- Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life by Jen Hatmaker- I picked this book up on a whim last year when I was looking for audiobooks to take on a road trip and I FELL IN LOVE. Jen is hilarious and her insights on life are wonderful. It ended up taking me a long time to finish it because I don’t often have long drives, but I finally got to the end and I cried. I cried and laughed through a lot of it actually. While a lot of her stories revolve around motherhood, women in any stage of life can find things to relate to in her amusing anecdotes.
- American Panda by Gloria Chao- I loved this story of a Taiwanese-American girl learning to be her own person and break the molds that her parents in to which her parents have forced her. Mei has always tried to be the perfect daughter, but when she heads to college she realizes that there is more to life than pleasing her parents and that while she loves them, she doesn’t always agree with them. I loved everything about this story, even though I couldn’t always relate to it culturally. It’s a great read for anyone who is a YA fan, but especially teens who may be struggling with where they fit in.
- The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson- First of all, this is the sequel to Truly, Devious and I have been waiting a whole year for it. I read it in approximately two days and was DEVASTATED when, like its predecessor, the book once ends in a cliffhanger. The next book doesn’t come out until January of 2020, so here we go again. Other than that, the story was captivating, if creepy at times, and it drew me even farther into the Truly, Devious mystery laid out in the first book.
January reads:
- The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop by Caroline Roberts
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson
- Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life by Jen Hatmaker
- That Night by Amy Giles
- The Hammett Hex (Book Collector Mystery #5) by Victoria Abbott
- A Killing in Antiques (Lucy St. Elmo Antiques #1) by Mary Moody
- My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper
- American Panda by Gloria Chao
- Love à la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm
- The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson