Clare's January Wrap-Up and February TBR

January:

This month I read a total of 18 books, the 2 classics I read this month I will talk about in my Classic of the Month Wrap Up tomorrow (Can now be found here). Of the 16 listed here 8 were either 4.5 or 5 stars which I think is a pretty great start to the year! 

16. The House on Sunset Lake by Tasmina Perry: The first two thirds of this book were fine, some beautiful writing and an intriguing plot but I was really unhappy with the way the last third of the book went and it left me very disappointed.

15. Trapped in Wonderland by Dani Hoots: I will be posting a full review for this later today for the blog tour - I struggled to connect with the main character who was a bit immature but I liked the world.

14. The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath: Mostly forgettable unfortunately. It was a fun read but I read it at the beginning of the month and have now forgotten most of the plot points.

13. Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh: My least favourite of the series so far but I am still really enjoying these books and I can't wait to read more of them in the next few months. 

12. The Secret by Kathryn Hughes: I have a full review up for this linked below, I really liked the writing style and the majority of the characters and the plot was packed full of drama.

11. The Art of Sinning by Sabrina Jeffries: Not my favourite of Sabrina Jeffries' books but still a really fun, quick read. I liked the characters and I will probably pick up the rest of the series.

10. The Trouble with Dukes by Grace Burrowes: The first Grace Burrowes book I've ever read but hopefully not the last - this was sweet and engaging with a very interesting though not overly dramatic plot. It was just really nice and I enjoyed it a lot.

9. Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh: As I've mentioned before, I am aiming to finish this series this year. This was book 2 and I did enjoy it - I liked Vaughn more than I liked Faith but I was a fan of their romance and the plot was entertaining.

8. Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh: The third book in the series and possibly the best so far. This was dramatic and a lot darker than the other books I've read - and I liked the main couple a lot.

7/6/5. The Other Side of Midnight/An Inquiry Into Love and Death/Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James: These were my first reads of the year and they were re-reads because I was in a bit of a reading slump. I enjoyed them just as much this time as the first time I read them and I know I will come back to these stories again.

4. The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid: This was almost perfect. I loved the characters and the relationships and the plot - I do wish there was slightly more world building but I do know that there are two more books planned so hopefully the world will develop more.

3. Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown: I just loved this. The characters were incredible and all so unique and all the elements of the plot were great. 

2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows: I enjoyed this even more than I expected to. Lady Jane Grey is a person I've always felt sorry for so it was great to see her story diverge from the reality and head into fun Princess-Bride-esque territory (also made me really want to re-read The Princess Bride actually)!

1. The Smoke Hunter by Jacquelyn Benson: My absolute favourite this month (although that's hard with the last three being so great as well). This book just felt like all my favourite things coming together to make a novel that was basically just my kryptonite. Feminism, adventure, romance, history, a little bit of mysticism! I just loved it. Five minutes after finishing it I wanted to read it again!

Reviews Posted This Month:

• Game of Fear by Glede Browne Kabongo
• The Secret by Kathryn Hughes
• The Smoke Hunter by Jacquelyn Benson

Challenge Progress:

• 18/200 for Goodreads Reading Challenge - 9%
• A Classic a Month: Read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Emma by Jane Austen
• When Are You Reading Challenge: 4/12 - The Secret for 1960-1979, The Smoke Hunter for 1800-1899, The House on Sunset Lake for 1980-1999, Georgia Peaches for 2000-Present.

February TBR:

And I am back to having a TBR! I really enjoyed last months just reading what I felt like in the moment but I got a lot of books in January that I really want to read soon - I hate buying books and then putting them to one side so I would like to focus on reading books as they come in! Displaced and Sweet Lake are both books I received for review recently and want to review in February so those are my priority, then I am buddy reading Hold Back the Stars with Veronika from The Regal Critiques and I will then move on to the books I bought in January. I also have some pre-orders coming in February that I'd like to get to but we shall see!

Ann's January Wrap Up and February TBR is now up here!

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading.