January Reads

I declare January 2023 to be the new March 2020. Did it feel like it dragged for anyone else?

It didn't help that after three years, I finally got knocked out of the world wide dodgeball game that is Covid-19 during the last week.

I blame the longer than normal month for the WAY above average number of books read.

Fifteen books! FIFTEEN!!! And we're not talking short books. All but two were over 300 pages, with one being a whopping 564 pages (more on that one later)

My New Year's Resolution to be more diverse is still holding up. While thirteen of the fifteen books were romance, I did not read more than one book by the same author. That being said, several January authors will make a reappearance in February. . . I'm looking at you B.K. Borison, Talia Hibbert, Vi Keeland, Elsie Silver, Lily Gold . . . Yeah, I may have started the new year off by discovering a few new guilty pleasures.

Okay, on to a more detailed rundown of the month's reads. I did have the foresight to break the month in half. Thoughts on the first seven books of the month can be found here.

Here are my thoughts on the remaining eight :

We Shouldn't 3.5

I have yet to meet a Vi Keeland book I haven't liked. Already have February's queued up on my Kindle.

Get A Life, Chloe Brown 4.0

I know I'm late to the Talia Hibbert bandwagon. Absolutely adored this. Again, Dani Brown is waiting patiently on my Kindle as well.

The Man I Never Met 3.5

For being one of the shortest books, this one took me forever to read. I really wanted to love, love, love it, but the more I think about it, the more I disliked it. My main objection is that I hate it when there's a lack of communication between characters and that's all this book was about. In hindsight, my initial 3.5 rating was generous, but I'm letting it stand.

Much Ado About You 3.5

This is one of the most highly recommended historical romances in my reading groups. While I enjoyed it, I think if I had read it, say, ten years ago when I was on a huge Bridgerton kick, I would have liked it more. While I may get around to the other books in the series, they're not must-reads in February.

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match 3.5

Well, this was a far cry from her debut The Hating Game. That probably accounts for the overall low ratings and bad reviews of the book. I, however, enjoyed it. While I enjoy picking up a book by an author and knowing exactly what I'm going to be getting from them (ie. Vi Keeland) it's also refreshing to be surprised. Angelika Frankenstein was definitely a surprise. I hope Sally Thorne continues to keep us readers guessing.

Puck Me Secretly 3.25

There's just something about a hockey romance . . .

Faking with Benefits 3.25

Remember me mentioning the 500+ page book? This was it. It was long. So, so long . . . One does not usually expect a reverse harem book to be so . . . long. I'm not saying it was bad. There was a good balance between steam and story. Lily Gold is definitely on my read more list.

Well Played 3.75

This is actually my second attempt at getting through this one, and while I don't normally check reviews before reading a book, I did peek at this one. It's definitely the lowest rated of the series, so I'm glad I pushed through it and look forward to April and Mitch's story next.

So, that's January for you. I'm still battling a fever and tons of fatigue so I guess we'll be starting out February in bed with a good book. Whichever one shall I choose???

Cheers,

C.J.