Alison’s January Reads
Turns out…
Twenty-one days of fasting from social media, temperatures that didn’t want to exceed 20°, and a dead transmission leads to lots of hours spent reading.
I kicked off the year with eight finished books, and even I second-guessed that number and double checked for accuracy! I haven’t logged this many books in a single month in a very long time and I’m feeling a mixture of pride and guilt, I won’t lie.
But for the first time in a long time, I also have a mix of non-fiction and fiction, and I actually read more than just rom-coms! I also had TWO five star reads, which is also something that hasn’t happened in a long time! What a good reading month!
Cabin Mate by Leah Brunner (3 stars). It may be because I’m a peasant (family inside joke at the moment), but I don’t really dig books where the characters are uber rich. I do, however, love the best friends to lovers trope so that really saved this book for me. But really, if they wouldn’t have made it clear in the first chapter that she was going to leave her snobby rich boyfriend for her nice (but also super rich) best friend then I would have ended it immediately. Gosh, that was a harsh review…
Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman (5 stars). Simply put, I loved this book and would totally reread it (which is not something I normally do). This book was like a hug. The emotion was so real. You literally could go from snobbing to laughing in a matter of words. And, while yes this is technically a Christmas book, I don’t think you can wait any longer and should absolutely read it now. It’s not all that Christmasy really.
24 Hours in Paris by Romi Moondi (2 stars). Why did I even finish this? The book drug on and on. I didn’t love the characters at all. They ate alllllllllll all the time, and I’m even a foodie type of girly. It was really rather boring.
Gospel Mom by Emily Jensen & Laura Wifler (4 stars). This Christian motherhood book has been on my radar for over a year and I finally picked it as an audiobook to help pass the time with my many long car rides this month. Practical, but pertinent reminders that our goal in discipling our children isn’t perfection but teaching them that grace comes from Jesus (and boy do we need it!).
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (5 stars). I found this book interesting for so many reasons. I love learning about life in the early 1900s. I love Appalachia (and could so vividly picture the setting because we just took a trip there last July). I love learning about people. And I love a good redeeming love story. Ask my family, I literally could not stop talking about this book while I was reading it (and may still bring it up…).
The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson (4 stars). After I finished a non-fiction book and a historical fiction read, I needed to return to my true love: rom-coms. This was the perfect pallet cleanser for me. Likable characters, no spice, and friends to lovers! I’ve read a few books by Melissa Ferguson, and if I’m honest, they’ve either been hit or miss. This was one of my favorites I’ve read by her for sure.
The Inheritance by Kate Horan (3 stars). This was a general fiction read about finding family through DNA testing. I found the read interesting for sure, but I’m not really sure why it is titled The Inheritance and that threw me off so much…
Can’t Help Falling by Cara Bastone (3 stars). SO, I really enjoyed the storyline - taking in his little sister who had been abandoned by her mother, but the characters… ooof. They weren’t for me. Tyler was ok, but still not my fave, but Serafin… Let’s just say we have very different spiritual outlooks, and while I tried to look past that, she was just a little too eccentric for me. Also, this book is kinda spicy - beware.