January Wrap-Up – 2021

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Hello Hello! How are you all?

I can’t quite believe that it’s already February and that I am writing my first monthly wrap-up of 2021! This year is off to quite a good start book-wise as I was able to get through some great books.

Although the start of January was so hectic and crazy with the final papers I had to hand in and so many different things happening with my university, new organisation for classes, and now going to a few classes in face-to-face to ALL classes in face-to-face, I don’t know how, but I managed to read quite a few books and I’m happy with that!

I know that February is going to be a very busy month, but I was ambitious once again and have a total of 18 books on the TBR (I forgot one in my post and we had a little switcheroo for the Shadowhunter mission as Erika from And On She Reads (who will be joining our buddy read from now on) mentioned that the recommended reading list had been updated – and thank goodness she did! You can find out what I’ll be reading in my February TBR post!

January was a surprisingly successful reading month as I was able to read a total of 11 books, so I am very pleased about that! Enough of my waffling, let’s see what I read last month!

BOOKS READ

My Favourite Books of the Month

The Binding by Bridget Collins – 5 stars

This is a book I buddy read with Candyce and I loved it from the minute I started it to the minute I finished it. Set in a parallel universe similar to 19^th century England, this book is whimsical, intriguing, it has its own kind of magic, it has human relationships and love, secrets and books and I highly recommend it. It’s my first 5-star read of the year and one I will not forget soon, I will post my review for this soon, but I already have a short version on Goodreads.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron – 4.5 stars

I couldn’t write this wrap-up and not include this absolutely beautiful book. This is also a book I buddy read with Candyce (YAY) and it is a retelling of Cinderella but a lot darker and more sinister than you could ever imagine. This one grabbed my heart and didn’t let it go until the end where I was tearing up because it was incredible. There is more to fairy tales than just a happily ever after and this author completely breaks down this concept. I adored this book and will get my review up on my blog soon, but here is my short review of Goodreads.

January Books

The Unadjusteds (#1 The Unadjusteds) by Marisa Noelle – 4 stars

This was the first book I read for a blog tour organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads and it was honestly so good. I love dystopian stories and this one was so unique, and actually quite creepy! I enjoyed it so much and you can read all my thoughts in my review for it here.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (#1 Charlie Bucket) by Roald Dahl – 3 stars

This was the only book I managed to read from my TBR Game list for January and I have to say, I was expecting to like it more. I think I just saw this from an adult point of view and got quite angry about the badly-behaved children and the food waste, hence my lower score, but it was still a fun read and you can read my short review on Goodreads while you wait to see my full review on my blog in the coming weeks.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (#4 Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie – 3.5 stars

This is the first book that I read for the TWR Gang book club (we picked two books) and I was so shocked that I actually worked out the culprit right from the start! I found this one to be SO clever, I don’t know how Agatha Christie did it but I was hooked and that reveal at the end was amazing. I loved this book, only something right at the end was not what I was expecting, so I had to just reduce my rating a little bit, but you’ll read more about this in my review coming soon!

White Trash Warlock (#1 The Adam Binder Novels) by David R. Slayton – 4.5 stars

This is the second book that I read for a blog tour organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads and it was another one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It has magic, complex characters including LGBTQIA+ ones, a dark, eerie and creepy atmosphere and just SO MUCH FUN! I read this so fast and I’m now obsessed with this world, so I can’t wait to read book two, but in the meanwhile, here are my complete thoughts on this story!

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus – 3.5 stars

I buddy read this book with Stephen and this was my last Karen M. McManus book to catch up on. I think this was also my least favourite by this author which is a real shame because for the first 75% of this book, I was immersed and loving it, but that ending…. Let’s just say that I can’t believe it and it just doesn’t seem plausible to me, so lessened my enjoyment! I will be posting a full review on my blog soon, but here is my short one on Goodreads!

Clockwork Princess (#3 The Infernal Devices) by Cassandra Clare – 4 stars

I buddy read this book with Fiona as part of our Shadowhunter mission and this was actually a great series. A lot more different to the other trilogy we have read by this author so far, but I love this world and these characters. The ending did fall a little flat for me unfortunately and I thought that it was a little bit strange, but it was such a fun book to read and discuss, so head over to my mini-review and Fiona’s thoughts here, and Fiona’s mini-review and my thoughts here!

A Pinch of Magic (#1 A Pinch of Magic) by Michelle Harrison – 4 stars

This was the book we read in January for the Middle Grade Marvels BOTM and it was such a great read. I never expected it to be as dark as it was because that cover made me think it would be sooooo sweet and magical, so don’t be fooled by the cover. I think an older MG audience would be best for this book, but I loved it so much and had so much fun reading and discussing it with the Middle Grade members. I’ll try to get my review written and posted in a few weeks!

Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney – 4.5 stars

The last blog tour organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads for January was a bundle of fun and a great read for me. I really enjoyed this book and laughed out loud numerous times which is unheard of for me. I liked reading about Alex and seeing her try to set up The Vagina Monologues as a play at her school and see her grow and learn. It was hilarious and feel-good, you can read my full thoughts here.

Murder on the Orient Express (#10 Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie – 4 stars

And the final book that I read for January was another TWR Gang book club pick and I LOVED it a lot. This one had such an eerie setting and some very suspicious characters. I loved to see more of Poirot and see how he came about the reveal right at the end. I’m officially obsessed with this author and this series. I can’t wait to read more Poirot mysteries, I just have to get my review written and posted soon!

January Reading Stats

Number of books: 11

Number of pages: 3,977 pages

Star ratings:

3 stars: 1 book

3.5 stars: 2 books

4 stars: 4 books

4.5 stars: 3 books

5 stars: 1 book

Average rating: 4.04⭐

Genres: 1 YA science-fiction dystopia, 1 Children’s fantasy, 2 Classics mysteries, 1 LGBT urban fantasy, 1 historical fiction fantasy, 1 YA mystery, 2 YA fantasies, 1 MG fantasy, and 1 YA contemporary.

Physical Book left for Ellie’s TBR Game: 709 (I added a few over Christmas and Birthday, oops).

I thought that January was a REALLY good reading month. I enjoyed every single book I read, some more than others and found my first 5-star read of 2021. Here’s hoping that I can keep up the good reading and find more 5-star books!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx