JANUARY WRAP UP ⇀ I read 44 books in 31 days! 💕📚🙈

Hi friends, welcome back to my blog! Today I’m coming to you with my (rather long) January wrap up! I’ve decided that this year I want to do my wrap ups differently and that they’ll be spread across 3 different blog posts… is that too excessive?

I’ll still have my usual cohesive wrap up, which is what you’re reading now, where I’ll review everything I read and everything I watched (which this month wasn’t much). And then I’ll have a monthly blog post reviewing the books and movies for my monthly challenge I’m doing with Rebecca. On top of that, I’m also going to start doing a monthly wrap up featuring my reading statistics for the month. This will feature graphs from my StoryGraph profile as well as from my reading spread sheets over on Notion. So, I hope you will all find them interesting since I’ve really enjoyed thinking abou them and diving deeper into my reading this month!

As for my quick summary of how January went for me, it was realllly long! I did a ridiculous amount of reading, far surpassing a book a day and often reading 2 or 3 per day. I also participated in the third round of the Graphicsathon so I got 7 graphics read during the mini-round! I started back at work, ran a readathon, house sat for some family friends and got super stuck into the Fast and Furious franchise. All in all, I’d say it was a success!

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Stats:

• January: 14,327 pages
• # Read this month: 44

🌻 – Buddy read // 🎧 – Audiobook // 📚 – Library book // 🔁 – Re-read
🌈 – LGBTQIA+ rep // ❤ – 2021 release

*Click on the titles to go to my Goodreads reviews!

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• Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol [01/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I loved the first half of this and found it really interesting but considering I don’t actually drink alcohol I found the second half’s self-help aspect for those addicted to alcohol, completely irrelevent to me so I was pretty bored. But, that’s a me thing, not a book thing.
• Persuasion [02/01] 🎧🔁 ↢ 4.5⭐ ↣ My absolute favourite Austen novel BY FAR
• Hammer & Tongs [02/01] 🎧🌈 ↢ 1⭐ ↣ So short it effected the story, I wish this had been more fleshed out because it was an interesting idea.
• When He Was Wicked [03/01] 🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ SO MUCH FUN, possibly my favourite book in the series so far!
• It’s In His Kiss [04 – 05/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.75⭐ ↣ One of my favourites in the series! Definitely in my top 3!
• On The Way to The Wedding [05/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ One of my least favourite books in the series, it felt so juvenile!

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• The Duchess Deal [06/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Not what I was expecting, especially after just finishing the Bridgerton series, but I did enjoy the writing.
• The Governess Game [06/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ I defintiely enjoyed this more than book one!
• The Bromance Book Club [07/01] 📚 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I didn’t *love* this but, I did really like the concept and the characters. It’s probably the only second chance romance I’ve ever actually enjoyed. I won’t be picking up book 2 because it doesn’t appeal to me, but I’ll defintiely try book 3!
• The Wallflower Wager [08/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ My favourite book in the series so far, I loved the dynamic between the main characters! I recommend this one if you enjoyed Beach Read by Emily Henry.
• Truth or Beard [08 – 09/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ It took me a minute to get into this, but once I was in, I was in! Honestly, I could’ve done without the gang elements but I enjoyed everything else! (I also thought different elemens could’ve been more fleshed out and less rushed.)
• The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After [09/01] 🎧 ↢ 2.5⭐ ↣ I wish this had been better, honestly.

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• The Unhoneymooners [10/01] 🎧🔁 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ Not as good as the first time I read it but I loved the Maui setting and Olive as a character so I’m sure I’ll re-read this again in a few years.
• Annihilation [10 – 11/01] 🎧 ↢ 5⭐ ↣ My first 5 star read of 2021! I finally clawed my way out of my adult romance haze to listen to this before my loan time ran out on Libby and I am so glad I decided to give it a try instead of returning it early! It was so weird and so confusing and really, barely anything was explained or clarified and I loved it!
• Murder on The Orient Express [11/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ An interesting mystery but something about this didn’t click for me.
• Every Heart A Doorway [14/01] 🎧🔁 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ My favourite re-read so far!
• Down Among The Sticks and Bones [14/01] 🎧🌈🔁 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ So good!
• Beneath The Sugar Sky [14/01] 🎧🔁 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I absolutely loved this! I’m so glad I re-read this!

Graphicsathon Round 3!

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• In An Absent Dream [14-15/01] 🎧🔁 ↢ 4.5⭐ ↣ This book really is fantastic and has once again reminded me to do more research on The Goblin Market!
• Come Tumbling Down [15/01] 🎧🌈🔁 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I definitely enjoyed this one more the second time than I did last year.
• Across The Green Grass Fields [15/01] 🌈🎧↢ 3⭐ ↣ Can confirm: I am not a horse girl.
• The Tea Dragon Tapestry [16/01] 🌈📚 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ This was definitely my favourite of Katie O’Neill’s works so far, I loved how they explored grief and as always, the artwork and colouring were fantastic!
• You Have a Match [16/01] 🖤🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ I’ve never read an Emma Lord book so I had no idea what I was walking into but I absolutely loved this one and I’ll definitely read more of her books in the future! 
• Snapdragon [16/01] 📚 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ I wasn’t in love with this in the first half but as soon as the magic really kicked off I was having a great time and I loved the colouring for the magic too. 

• Your Name Vol 1 [17/01] 📚 ↢ 3.75⭐ ↣ Not as good as the movie but I still really enjoyed it!
• Bingo Love [19/01] 🌈📚 ↢ 2.75⭐ ↣ I wish I could say that I loved this because I really wanted to but honestly it just wasn’t for me
• Superman Smashes The Klan [19/01] 📚 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ An interesting story with an art style that I LOVE (as well as great colouring!) but there was something missing and I genuinely don’t know what.
• The Wicked + The Divine Vol 1 [19/01] 📚 ↢ 2⭐ ↣ I’m sorry to say it, but this was just too confusing and I won’t be continuing this series.
• Death in The Clouds [20/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Finally an Agatha Christie nmystery I can actually follow! My favourite so far!
• A Darker Shade of Magic [17 – 20/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ A very interesting world but very EH characters!

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• A Silent Voice Vol 5 [21/01] 📚 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ I loved this volume and it’s totally revitalised my love for this series, coincidentally, it was also one of the saddest volumes in the series. I absolutely CAN’T WAIT to read volume 6.
• A Notorious Vow [23/01] 🎧 ↢ 4.5⭐ ↣ I genuinely don’t know what to say right now. I’ve never read anything by this author before so I had zero expectations going into this but I ended up loving this!
• A Night to Surrender [23/01] 🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ God damn okay where’s the next book?
• A Week to Be Wicked [24/01] 🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ Okay, so I have officially found a new favourite series!
• A Lady by Midnight [24/01] 🎧 ↢ 2.75⭐ ↣ This was… not good. I genuinely wish I’d enjoyed this more than I did but as much as I liked Kate, I couldn’t stand any of the other characters and I found the plot completely uninteresting.
• A Duchess Will Do [24/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Not as good as the first two but a vast improvement over book 3! I really liked the characters and it involved one of my favourite tropes so I was having a great time!

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• Lord Dashwood Missed Out [25/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Cheesy in just about every way but I really liked the main characters and got a real kick out of seeing the characters from the previous books all working together.
• The Assassin’s Blade [11-25/01] 🌻🎧 ↢ 2⭐ ↣ Yeah… this was not for me, unfortunately.
• Do You Want to Start a Scandal [26/01] 🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ All I know is this title reminds me of Do You Want to Build a Snowman from frozen and it’s really distracting.
• Splendid [27/01] 🎧 ↢ 3.75⭐ ↣ A lot of fun, I loved the main characters!
• Dancing At Midnight [27/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ so ridiculous it hurts
• North and South [02 – 28/01] 🎧 ↢ 3⭐ ↣ pride & prejudice but make it b o r i n g

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• The Honey-Don’t List [29/01] 🎧 ↢ 4.5⭐ ↣ So stressful but I loved it!
• The Bone Season [13 – 31/01] 🎧 ↢ 4⭐ ↣ I wasn’t so sure about this when I first started it (super confusing!) but I ended up really enjoying this one and I’ll defintiely be continuing this series!

*Click on the titles to go to my Letterboxd reviews!

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• We Can Be Heroes [12/01] ↢ 0.5⭐ ↣ Starting 2021 on a true low note.
• Love Actually [13/01] ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ Haven’t seen this one in years but actually genuinely really enjoyed it.
• Valentine’s Day [13/01] ↢ 2⭐ ↣ There should’ve been more Mark Sloan.
• Candace Against The Universe [16/01] ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Phineas and Ferb are a curse on my brain now.
• The Fast and The Furious [18/01] ↢ 3⭐ ↣ the car go vroom vroom the boy go 🤬🤬
• 2 Fast 2 Furious [19/01] ↢ 2.5⭐ ↣ Loved this much more on my re-watch!

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• The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift [20/01] ↢ 2.5⭐ ↣ Oh my god, this was terrible i hate it here
• Fifty Shades of Grey [21/01] ↢ 1⭐ ↣ This is like a sick guilty pleasure to me at this point. I don’t know why I keep coming back to this series, I htink it’s the soundtracks.
• Fifty Shades Darker [21/01] ↢ 1.5⭐ ↣ A mess but the second half was better than the first.
• Fifty Shades Freed [22/01] ↢ 1.5⭐ ↣ The best movie of the three but the story was everywhere.
• Instant Family [22/01] ↢ 3⭐ ↣ Don’t mind me just causally crying my eyes out over dora the explorer
• Fast & Furious [22/01] ↢ 4⭐ ↣ My favourite movie so far. I am seriously loving this franchise.

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• Fast Five [22/01] ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I 😭 love 😭 fast 😭 cars 😭 and 😭 furious 😭 men 😭
• Hobbs & Shaw [22/01] ↢ 4⭐ ↣ A perfect movie. 2 furious boys yelling at eachother and saving the world ft. great sweeping shots of Samoa.
• A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits [28/01] ↢ 1.5⭐ ↣ The first half was low-key pretty funny but overall this movie was too bad to be laughed at.
• Chuck Season 1 [29 – 30/01] ↢ 3.5⭐ ↣ I’ve been meaning to watch this for YEARS and I finally did it and I ended up loving it so much! I loved the family dynamic between Chuck and Ellie (also Captain Awesome!) and I really hope that continues in season 2!

• WandaVision [15/01 – ??] – I’m currently 4 episodes in and really loving this show so far! I wasn’t fussed on the first 2 episodes but have LOVED 3 and 4 so hopefully I continue loving the show!

What content did you love this month?
Did we read/watch any of the same things in January?

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