I read 23 books this month with an average score of 3.59. 12 were YA books, but only one was a graphic novel. My most-read genres were contemporary, fantasy, and mystery. I've slowed down a bit on my reading pace from last year where I was hitting over 30 each month. I knew I couldn't maintain that pace, so I'm not surprised. I didn't think I was going to hit 20 this month until the final 10 days of the month where I suddenly had a reading spree and read 9 books.

My favorite read was The View from Flyover Country - Sarah Kendzior. The essays could get a bit repetitive since they were written over several years and combined into one book without being rewritten, but the messages they conveyed were important and worth reading. My least favorite was Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love. The book was not as advertised. I thought I was getting an anthology of short stories on love gone wrong, but it was actually authors giving advice to teens who wrote letters in. Their responses were mixed in quality.

5 Stars

4 Stars

3.5 Stars

3 Stars

2.5 Stars

Books by author gender:

• Male: 3
• Female: 18
• Male/Female Mix: 2

Books by format:

• Physical: 6
• Audio: 17

Hello and welcome to my first wrap-up of 2019. I hope everyone is staying warm. We are in the path of an ugly cold front and I'm getting really tired of cold and snow. But to be honest, it doesn't take long for that to happen lol. January was really quiet here, reading and blogging wise. I did get plenty of books in and got most of my review books done. I always update on Goodreads and BookLikes if you want to follow me there as well, in case you don't already. 

For February I don't have any real goals yet just knock off some more reviews copies and maybe even start the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo before I read King of Scars and it is coming to Neflix. 

Here are some books that are released in February that I'm looking forward to. 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard

Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

Right now I'm reading Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard ....so far I'm loving it just as much as the first two books in the series, if not more because it is centered largely around my boy Aeduan.

Fans of Susan Dennard's New York Times bestselling Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.

High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.

The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.

And I'm also working on Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff on audio and Hardcover. I had hard time getting into the series reading the actual book so  tried the audio and I'm LOVING it. I'm still reading along sometimes or switch to the book. 

A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

After those reads I will get to more review copies and then maybe getting to Shadow and Bone, but we shall see what I'm in the mood for. 

That should be it for now, sometime mid February I will add a new giveaway, so keep your eyes out for that. They always free and easy to enter :) 

Here are my January reads. I hope everyone will have a great February. As always you can find the buy links in the reviews that are linked .

Happy Reading 

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg

Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenny—her American grandniece, and her only relative—give her great joy and remind her of her own youth.

When Doris was a girl, she was given an address book by her father, and ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. Looking through the little book now, Doris sees the many crossed-out names of people long gone and is struck by the urge to put pen to paper. In writing down the stories of her colorful past—working as a maid in Sweden, modelling in Paris during the 30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War—can she help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family and finally look to the future? And whatever became of Allan, the love of Doris’s life?

A charming novel that prompts reflection on the stories we all should carry to the next generation, and the surprises in life that can await even the oldest among us, The Red Address Book introduces Sofia Lundberg as a wise—and irresistible—storyteller.

4 ★

Slayer by Kiersten White

Into every generation a Slayer is born…

Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.

Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.

Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.

As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…

But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.

One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

4 ★

Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

A delicious new heart-pounding romantic adventure from USA Today bestseller Amanda Bouchet!

Captain Tess Bailey and her crew of Robin Hood-like thieves are desperate and on the run. Pursued by a vicious military general who wants them dead or alive, Tess has to decide if she can trust Shade Ganavan, a tall, dark and arrogant stranger with ambiguous motivations.

Shade Ganavan had oodles of arrogance, oodles of charm, and oodles of something that made me want to kick him in the nuts.

What Tess and Shade don’t know about each other might get them killed…unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other—while ignoring their off-the-charts chemistry.

 1 ½ ★

Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

Death wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…

Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella’s fellow novitiates, disguised and hidden deep in the French court years ago by the convent—provided Sybella can find them.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she struggles to remember who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. Her only solace is a hidden prisoner who appears all but forgotten by his guards. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands—even if it means ignoring the long awaited orders from the convent.

As Sybella and Gen’s paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife’s edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?

4 ★

The Afterward by E.K. Johnston

It has been a year since the mysterious godsgem cured Cadrium’s king and ushered in what promised to be a new golden age. The heroes who brought the gem home are renowned in story and song, but for two fellows on the quest, peace and prosperity do not come easily.

Apprentice Knight Kalanthe Ironheart wasn’t meant for heroism this early in life, and while she has no intention of giving up the notoriety she has earned, her reputation does not pay her bills. With time running out, Kalanthe may be forced to betray not her kingdom or her friends, but her own heart as she seeks a stable future for herself and those she loves.

Olsa Rhetsdaughter was never meant for heroism at all. Beggar, pick pocket, thief, she lived hand to mouth on the city streets until fortune–or fate–pulled her into Kalanthe’s orbit. And now she’s quite reluctant to leave it. Even more alarmingly, her fame has made her recognizable, which makes her profession difficult, and a choice between poverty and the noose isn’t much of a choice at all.

Both girls think their paths are laid out, but the godsgem isn’t quite done with them and that new golden age isn’t a sure thing yet.

In a tale both sweepingly epic and intensely personal, Kalanthe and Olsa fight to maintain their newfound independence and to find their way back to each other.

3.5 ★

Monthly Run Down - January 2019

Books I Read:

Playboy Pilot  - 4 Stars - Read like a RomCom movie so I loved it.

Becoming - 4 Stars - Very candid. I especially loved the part where she meets Barak.

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told - 2.25 Stars - They seem very in love and make each other laugh.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time - 4 Stars - Another lovely RomCom for me.   

Black Sheep - 4 Stars - Very relatable.

The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell - 4 Stars - I’ve been following his comedy for a while and it was good to learn more about his background and where his comedy comes from.

Two Henrys - 2.5 Stars - An honest story about Kevin growing up and realizing he is gay.

Identity Thief - 4 Stars - Maybe not the moral but Rachel’s capacity for forgiveness after this ordeal still astounds me.

The Third Man - 4 Stars - The trials and heartbreak of building a family.

British Bedmate (a.k.a. Dear Bridget, I Want You) - 4 Stars - Where can I sign up for a Simon of my own?

Adulthood is a Myth - 4 Stars - So funny and epically relatable.

The Paper Magician - 4 Stars - An epic adventure. I like the relationship between Ceony and Emery.

Prisoner of Night - 3.5 Stars - It was good to see other vampire citizens of Caldwell but it ran a bit long.   

Whiskey in a Teacup - 3.75 Stars - It was good getting to know Reese.

Verity - 5 Stars - Stand out story of the month. I’m still in shock and don’t quite know what to believe.   

DNF:

Well Hung Over in Vegas  - Kimberly Fox - The characters were just too unlikable.

Currently Reading:

Jar of Hearts - Jennifer Hellier - I’m not hooked yet but willing to keep going a bit longer.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling - Re-reading or listening I guess.

The Varlet and The Voyeur - L. H. Cosway & Penny Reid - Just started.

Year to Date Totals:

January: 16 books     1,324 Pages Read         57 Hours Listened

2019: 16 books     1,324 Pages Read        57 Hours Listened

Mr. Ridley

by Delilah Marvelle
Book 1 of The Whipping Society

This book is definitely a breath of fresh air in comparison to the historical romances I'm used to reading.  In truth, it's not the best written book in the world and could benefit from a bit more editing, but you soon forget that there are any quibbles and flaws in the face of how much fun it is to follow the interactions between Jemdanee and Mr. Ridley.  This couple is brilliant together, and even as some of the dialogue can be a bit incredible and tacky, the banter is to die for!

While I love that Jemdanee is a gem of a heroine--sunny disposition even in the face of everything that's happened to her, and a smart tongue that makes you smile--I honestly feel like it's Mr. Ridley that stood out for me more.  I'm so used to the broody, mysterious alpha heroes.  And in a way, that's what Mr. Ridley is, except that he's so much more.  To be honest, his fatalism got a little frustrating at times, but his blunt, straight-forward actions and mannerisms just made him a bit more refreshing than the typical historical hero.

Don't get me wrong--I loved Jemdanee as well.  She's basically everything I love about strong heroines with a level head on her shoulders, a heart of gold, with appropriate flaws, as well as some girlishly adorable quirks.  She's young, but sometimes you forget how young she is because of how mature and worldly she acts.

Meanwhile, I wish there had been a bit more about the murder mystery, and I wish we could have seen more of Jemdanee using her botanical savant skills for the investigation.  But it's quite apparent that this book was more about the slow developing lust and romance between our main couple.  There was also a heavy emphasis on the BDSM proclivities of our hero, but the theme is fairly underplayed compared to other romances I've read (and I honestly haven't read many) with this theme.

And to be fair, I'm not as interested in BDSM as much as others may be, so the honest truth is, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book anytime soon based on the summary, if not for some of the high praise, and lots of interesting quotes, I saw from a trusted reviewer I follow (a quick shout out to Whiskey and her Romancies for 2018, which is where I made the decision to read this book!).  Even if this book really does come off more BDSM-lite.

I'm quite glad this book caught my attention in this fashion, though, because in the end, it's the interactions between Jemdanee and Mr. Ridley that really made me fall for it.

This is my first favorite read of 2019, with hopefully more to come, and a good outlook for the rest of the year!

My reading progress over the past week had been quite pathetic, and the truth is that I did most of my reading over the weekend during the 24in48 readathon.  So, with my determination to try and do a weekly update on my reading life via the 'It's Monday!' meme, I present a joint post this time, which is much more fitting... and also serves my laziness in creating only the one post for two updates together!

Anyway...

After my last update a little before midnight on Saturday/Sunday, I crashed to a sleep and didn't wake up until around nine or so, Sunday morning, and completely missed my Hour Thirty Two Update.  After piddling around for a bit and getting ready for the day, I decided to just make the most of my morning and hope to have some progress by Hour Forty...

Well, then my brother and his wife asked if I wanted to join them for lunch.  And me, being a food fanatic, decided that that would be an excellent idea.  Following, I spent a good chunk of the afternoon hanging out with him, mostly helping him assemble a newly bought exercise machine.

As the day wore on, I figured I'd finally get some time to do some reading...

Which also didn't happen due to other family socializing that was calling my attention.

As is per usual during a readathon, I let myself be distracted.  But oh well, it's the thought that counts and I still think I did quite well for all the progress I made on Saturday, but didn't make on Sunday.  I spent that last two hours of my Sunday night diving head first back into Mr. Ridley and almost lost track of the time spent reading that I was tracking for the rest of 24in48.  Then I proceeded to continue reading the book after midnight until I realized that, maybe I needed to get to sleep if I wanted to be bright and shiny for Monday at work.

We all need to be bright and shiny for Monday at work, otherwise it just feels like a bad omen for the rest of the week.

Moving right along...

My totals for 24in48 are as follows:

• Total Time Spent Reading:  7:33:15
• Total Pages Read:  415
• Total Minutes Listened To:  57
• Total Books Read:  0

So I finished no books over the readathon weekend, which in turn means that I managed to finish no books at all the entire week leading up to readathon weekend.  This 'It's Monday!' post now ends up fairly lackluster indeed.

But no fear, as I'd already stated, I think I made very good progress over the weekend anyway.  Meanwhile, this post was supposed to go up earlier, but I ended up caught in Mr. Ridley, flying through the rest of the book and finishing it, and now stuck in a hangover of FEELS.  I am DEFINITELY getting the next book, and sort of wish that the third book was already published so there would be no waiting.

Following, I'm going to jump back into Lethal White next, and maybe give The Disappearing Spoon a couple chapters each day until I finish it.  Being that Lethal White is an e-book borrow and is due back by the first of February before it cycles back into a long hold/wait list, I'm actually more determined to get it read before it gets auto turned in... which then I will have to probably wait another two or three months before I can check it out again.

Following, I only have around two and a half hours of The Neverending Story to finish, so I will also be getting back to that book as well, with the hopes that I can make full marks on my Reading Assignment Challenge for January.

Books Read

I didn't actually finish reading Mr. Ridley in time to count it for either books read last week nor 24in48, but I'd like to acknowledge it as read anyway since this post is going up later than I'd intended.

Currently Reading

What's Next

Obviously I'm not going to be getting to all of these books in the next week.  But February is rolling around the corner, and that begins a new round of Amanda Quick books and Historical books.  Being that I don't know which book I'd like to start first (I will probably employ a monkey post-it random book draw again), I'm just listing all the books I'm planning on getting to soon.

February also marks the beginning of the next Discworld read, so I AM going to try to start Equal Rites when February starts.  I'm also itching to get my hands on The Devil is French, all the while knowing that the last book won't be released for a while and that I can't just jump right into it... so I'm going to try to restrain myself.

But that's okay.  I can always find joy in Amanda Quick books, and I will also be reading Pamela Clare's Blakewell/Kenleigh Family trilogy for Professor Genre's Reading Assignment in February.  And I've always enjoyed Pamela Clare, even if they were usually contemporary, so now I'll get to see how well I like her historical books.

But before any of that, I've still got three books to finish...

Until the next readathon, folks!  =D