January Wrap up

January was an amazing reading month and a great start to the year. I managed to fit in a fantastic number of books and despite there being a couple of disappointing reads in there it was still overall a great month. I am also trying a new look for these posts. I decided to keep it simple and keep the focus on the books. There also should be clear links to all my reviews that I have posted so far. Which I am please to say is in the majority on this list (though I need to catch up with a few).

WRAP-UP STATS

BOOKS: 14

PAGES: 4,165

(Page count includes Audiobook page numbers)

RATINGS:

5 STARS: 4

4.5 STARS: 1

4 STARS: 4

3.5 STARS: 2

3 STARS: 2

2.5 Stars 1

Book of the Month

Suprise suprise that my book of the month is:

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry

I adored this book! and it received a very high 55 on the ESACPE rating system. I have a full gushing review for it here. I don’t see this being knocked off the best reads of 2020 list very easily.

WHAT I READ –

First I am going to assess how well I managed to stick with my January TBR Game! Then I will talk about the other books I managed to fit into the month. I have been trying to keep up with my reviews, but still have a good chunk still to be posted! if I can keep on top of writing them I may have to up my posting schedule.

How did I do With my TBR Game

I managed to read 5 out of the 6 books on my TBR. The only book I failed to finish within the month was Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This means it becomes part of my Feb TBR. If I put off the book for three months I have to unhaul the book!

I also made one substitution, instead of reading Gideon the ninth as my adult Sci-fi read I exchanged this for Vengeful. This is because I had a buddy read for this book and I decided it was better to prioritise it. Gideon the ninth ha been returned to the TBR shelf without penalty this time.

YA FANTASY

The Bone Season
Samantha Shannon

My Review : The Bone Season

This was a re-read for me and I think I actually enjoyed it more this time round. Though overall I ended up with the same rating overall. I intend on continuing with the series, if i can fit the Mime order into my over ambitious February TBR.

YA SCI-FI

Starsight
Brandon Sanderson

I am really loving the direction of this series is taking. Sanderson is always great at creating fantastic worlds. I split this between reading the the physical copy and listening to the audiobook. The Audiobook makes this even more enjoyable than it is just to read. I enjoyed that the UK version had a verity of accents including Mbot being Scottish and Brummy Aliens!

SCI-FI

Vengeful
V.E. Schwab

My Review: Vengeful

Another Great Buddy read with the Talks and Thoughts Book Club. There were mixed views all round but the majority were positive I just think we didn’t love it as much as Vicious.

MYSTERY

Sad Cypress
Agatha Chrsitie

My Review: Sad Cypress

There is nothing like a good Poirot mystery to start the year off. This was my chosen first read just for that purpose and I really enjoyed it, it was interesting as it followed a court-case that Poirot was involved in.

MYSTERY

The Last of August
Brittany Cavallero

I didn’t love this one as much as the previous I found it a bit slow at places and rushed in others. I will have a review up for it soon.

What Else I read

Rivers of London Vol 7: Action at a Distance
Ben Aaronovitch

My Review: ROL Vol 7: Action at a Distance

I adore the books and the graphic novels and I was so happy that this one focused around Nightingale. its great to get some of his history as he is such a curious character.

Warm Up
V.E. Schwab

My Review: Warm up

I fine little prequal that gave insight into Eli. I always enjoy V.E. Schwabs work so I was bound to enjoy this little free story.

The Hollow
Agatha Christie

My Review: The Hollow

This might make it into one of my top Christie books I really really enjoyed it! it was so different from some of the other Poirot mysteries!

A Heart so Fierce and Broken
Brigid Kemmerer

My Review: A Heart so Fierce and Broken

This sequel was slightly disappointing, it just didn’t live up to expectations. the lack of Harper and the changes to certain characters personalities just didn’t work for me.

Dreamland
Nancy Bilyeau

My Review: Dreamland

Another one where the story didnt really match what was in the blurb. The mystery was a sub plot that just didnt pay off and the rest of it was more just a description of 1930s Socolites life which didn’t really interest me.

The Test
Sylvain Neuvel

This was a facinating short story, that would have been a 5 star read if it didnt have a few niggles that threw me out of the story. There were some aspects of British life/speech etc. that were incorrect and as I am British caused me to pause. I will have a review up soon.

The Case of the Somewhat Mythic Sword
Garth Nix

My Review: The Case of the Somewhat Mythic Sword

This was an awesome little free story from Tor.com and one of my favourite authors. It was great such a cool take on the world of sherlock. I recently found out there is another story featuring these characters so i am going to see if i can find time for that soon!

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So that was my reading month and I am really happy with it. While there were a few disappointing reads there were also some amazing reads in there too that I am sure to be raving about!

What did you read in January? Did you read any of these books too? I would love to hear your thoughts on them or to chat all things bookish with you! You can comment down below or find me on Twitter or Goodreads!

Happy Reading!