January Wrap-up
Hey, friends! Mackenzie and Shari here. We’re always mentioning how fun it would be to do more joint posts, so we’re taking every opportunity to do one. 😉
M: I definitely say something like this every time the month comes to an end but like, how is January over?? I swear we JUST started 2019. APPARENTLY, time has no regard for my feelings so a month has passed already.
S: Tell me about it! It hurts me because I just want the days to SLOW DOWN so I can enjoy them more, you know? It looks like we both had a great reading month though — let’s share our wrap-up!
Mackenzie’s reads:
Let’s start off with the covers of my reads because who doesn’t like looking at beautiful covers??
And here is the full list with my ratings and links to the book/reviews 🙂
- The King of Attolia by Megan Whelan Turner – 5/5 ⭐️
- Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst – 3/5 ⭐️
- Magic of Blood and Sea by Cassandra Rose Clarke – 5/5 ⭐️
- This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada (mini review here) – 5/5 ⭐️
- Magic of Wind and Mist by Cassandra Rose Clarke – 4/5 ⭐️
- The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo (mini review here) – 4/5 ⭐️
- Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (mini review here) – 3.5/5 ⭐️
- Company Town by Madeline Ashby (mini review here) – 4/5 ⭐️
- Gate Crashers by Patrick S. Tomlinson (mini review here) – 4/5 ⭐️
- Cranesong by Rona Wang – 4/5 ⭐️
- A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whelan Turner (mini review here) – 4/5 ⭐️
- The Test by Sylvain Neuvel – 5/5 ⭐️
- Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye – 2/5 ⭐️
I’m actually shocked that I was able to read this much! I guess that’s what happens when I go on vacation. So for these 13 books my total number of pages read was 4615 and my average rating was 4.1. I’ve started reading more adult scifi, and read some reeeeally amazing ones this month (Company Town, Gate Crashers, The Test). I also started reading the Kate Daniels series (Magic Bites is the first book) and it’s a lot of fun. Some of my friends on bookstagram are big proponents of the series so I’m really excited to continue. If you want to see any other short reviews for those that aren’t already on the blog, you can take a look at my Goodreads page.
S: 13 books? Wow! It seems like our Kate Daniels friends have done a fantastic job talking about those books. I can probably name 10 people who are reading them! The power of book bloggers, eh? 😉
Shari’s reads:
I read 11 books this month which is actually way more than I expected! I was in a non-fiction kick for one, and read 5 books in this genre. I think that’s the most non-fiction I’ve read in a month!
- We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations that Matter by Celeste Headlee 4/5 ⭐️ | RTC
- Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life by Tasha Eurich 3.5/5 ⭐️ | Review
- The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own by Joshua Becker 4/5 ⭐️ | Review
- Art Matters Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Chris Riddell 5/5 ⭐️ | Review
- Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas 4.5/5 ⭐️ | RTC
I didn’t plan to read so much non-fiction this month but I’m glad I did because I found all of them insightful!
Of course, I can’t have a month without reading fantasy:
- Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett 3/5 ⭐️ | Review
- In An Absent Dream by Seanan Mcguire 4.5/5 ⭐️ | Review
- The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks 4.5/5 ⭐️ | Review
- The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan 4/5 ⭐️ | RTC
It was such a great month for fantasy for me and I love that I read a mix of new releases and backlist titles!
I also read two other books I loved and I can’t wait for everyone to read them:
Release date: Feb 5, 2019 
Release date: Feb 13, 2019
Let’s chat!
- Have you read any of the books we read this month? If not, do you think you’ll read any of them?
- How did January go for you? Did you discover any favourite reads?
Gosh, January was SUCH a long month for me, so I’m really glad it’s over! My rather small page count of 700 pages really shows how little time/energy I had for physical reads, haha. Audiobooks were definitely great for helping me to read in January, even though I kind of got into an audiobook slump by the end of the month (I blame not loving two of them as much as I’d hoped I would :P).
Ooh, I know Shari rated The Test 5 stars very recently and, Mackenzie, your 5-star rating has me very intrigued too! I have yet to find a short fic I *LOVE*… 🙂
“It seems like our Kate Daniels friends have done a fantastic job talking about those books.” – hahahaha, I am so happy to be part of that group! 😛 Which reminds me… I should get back to Ilona Andrews’ books at some point in the near future.
I’m in the same boat as you, Steph! I didn’t break the 1000-page mark in January either, but at least we have audiobooks. 😄 I absolutely loved The Test! I was quite impressed with how much it accomplished in those short amount of pages and it was nice to see the author writing in a different style than The Themis Files. I hope you enjoy it!
Haha, I bet! I need to read the second book at some point. 😆
I think I should break that page count this month, but never mind if not! Physically reading can be a bit hard when I’m tired. 🙈
I still haven’t found a piece of short fiction I’ve rated 5 stars yet. I wonder if The Test could be it! 👀