25 Best and Worst Books of January

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A detailed look at January’s best and worst: 25 books read, two DNFs, 7 books read from my Up Next Shelf, 12 new books I want to read – one I’ve already started – and so many Goodreads reviews!

Overview

January Blog UpdatesJanuary Goodreads Reviews
📖 Weekly Wrap: January 4th to January 10th
📖 Weekly Wrap: January 11th to January 17th
📖 Weekly Wrap: January 18th to January 24th
📖 Weekly Wrap: January 25th to January 31st
📚 Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
📚 When She’s Bold by Ruby Dixon
📚 Handfuls of Shattered Pieces by Kerry Taylor
📚 Shadows of Shattered Souls by Kerry Taylor
📚 Realm of Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis
📚 Waiting on the Rain by Claudia Connor
📚 There’s Something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon
📚 After The Fall by Claudia Connor

Outline

January Reflection and Into February

I don’t want to sound repetitive but January was such a re-set month for me. I posted no book reviews and no other bookish content besides my Weekly Wraps. However, giving myself the time to find my footing now that I’m back in school was desperately needed. I’m also trying to reorganize my publishing schedule so that everything is more streamlined.

To focus back on my January reading habits, I’m really pleased that I read 25 books. I also finished quite a few books that have been on my Up Next shelf since August so I’m ecstatic they’ve been read and that I adored them! I reviewed quite a few books solely on Goodreads in January (as you can see above), which is something I want to continue in February. However, I’m looking at posting all my reviews on this blog so I can have one location that holds all my reviews.

I get into my February plans towards the end of this post, but I want to touch upon the plans I briefly discussed in my last Weekly Wrap. Along with a weekly reading update and book review, I want to get back to creating book articles that discuss some overarching themes and opinions I have about certain genres, as well as some thematic lists. Finally, I’m going to be conducting an inventory on my Goodreads reviews and bringing all my old reviews onto this blog and updated them! I’m hoping to also revamp my old reviews already on this blog from 2014. My focus for this week is ‘organization’; I’ve created lists upon lists of little things to do, so keep an eye out for some refreshed posts!

*These buttons (🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇺🇸) and the Bookshop.org Embeds contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Books I Read This Month

Key: 🔁 re-read | 🤓 reviewed on this blog | 📜 Up Next Shelf

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 📜
Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5) by Lisa Kleypas 🔁
Kulti by Mariana Zapata 🔁
Feminism Is for Everybody by bell hooks
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) by Talia Hibbert
Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) by Talia Hibbert
Waiting For You (McKinney/Walker, #2) by Claudia Connor 🔁
There’s Something About Sweetie (Dimple and Rishi, #2) by Sandhya Menon
Waiting on the Rain (McKinney/Walker Brothers, #3) by Claudia Connor
After the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1.5) by Claudia Connor
Finding Strength (The Searchers, #5) by Ripley Proserpina 🔁
Perfection of Suffering (The Shadows of Wildberry Lane, #1) by M. Sinclair
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert 📜
Her Destiny by Fiona Davenport
When She’s Bold (Risdaverse, #6) by Ruby Dixon 📜
Handfuls of Shattered Pieces (Pieces of Us, #1) by Kerry Taylor
Shadows of Shattered Souls (Pieces of Us, #2) by Kerry Taylor
Daddy’s Worst Nightmare by Jessa Kane
Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary women, #1) by Evie Dunmore 📜
Love at First Fight (Dimple and Rishi, #2.5) by Sandhya Menon
Wolf Hunted (The Last Shifter, #1) by Sadie Moss 🔁
Wolf Called (The Last Shifter, #2) by Sadie Moss 🔁
Wolf Claimed (The Last Shifter, #3) by Sadie Moss 🔁
Wolf Freed (The Last Shifter, #4) by Sadie Moss 🔁
Realm of Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1) by Jennifer Anne Davis 📜
N/A
Shadow Knights (Knights of the Realm, #1) by Jennifer Anne Davis @ 4%
America’s Geekheart (Bro Code, #2) by Pippa Grant @ 26%

Book Types: Most books were on Kindle.

Rating Distribution: Most of January’s reads were 3-stars.

January Breakdown

Want to Read from this month

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

Roots by Alex Haley

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

Until We Are Free Edited by Rodney Diverlus et al.

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇺🇸

Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

The Pink Line: Journey Across the World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

Twenty Guys You Date in Your Twenties by Gabi Conti

Get the book: 🇨🇦 ~ 🇬🇧 ~ 🇺🇸

Most Favourite and Least Favourite*

*Can’t be a re-read

Most Favourite: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. My full review will be posted later in February, but you can see my preliminary thoughts here.

Least Favourite: Realm of Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis. See why here.

Longest and Shortest Books

Longest Book: Kulti by Mariana Zapata ~ 570 pages

Shortest Book: Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon ~ 47 pages

Statistics

Most Read Genre: Reverse Harem Romance

Origin Breakdown: Most of the books I read were “instant” reads (meaning I purchased and immediately read them).

Most Read Author: Sadie Moss with four books!

*Person of Colour includes non-white human characters in fantasy novels

Best Performing Bookstagram Posts

My February Hopefuls

In 2021 I’ve decided to be kinder to my mood reading tendency so from now on I’m only listing three books I want to read at minimum per month.

My February to-be-reads are:

  1. The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  2. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  3. The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole

Anticipated February Releases

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Releasing February 9th

I love YA fantasy novels and cannot wait to get my hands on The Gilded Ones. I love fantasy plots that have kick-ass feminist storylines and this book looks like it has a great character development arc.

Dancing with Danger by Kerrigan Byrne
Releasing February 9th

I’ve been looking for a new historical romance author to read for a while since I’ve read all of Lisa Kleypas’s books. The Heroine in Dancing with Danger has intrigued me, I’m also currently enjoying the mystery set-up, so I’m hoping this book will be my new go-to historical romance re-read.

See my Upcoming Release page for more of the books I’m looking forward to in February!

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