I’m going to do these Wrap-Up posts a little differently than I did last year. Instead of sharing the synopses of each of the books, I’m just going give a brief few sentences as a tiny review, and I’ll link the Goodreads page for each.
I feel like a lot of the time; my Wrap-Up and Haul posts are so similar – in books and formatting – that they feel like the same post and therefore repetitive.
I had a pretty good reading month. I’ve mainly been rereading series, and I’m not upset about it at all. It’s been so nice being back in each of these worlds. There were a few standalone novels, but the two series The Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and The Air Awakens Series by Elise Kova have occupied the majority of my time. I didn’t notice it before, but they are pretty similar plot wise, and I’ve realized I have a WEAK spot for these kinds of stories.
Besides these two series, I read five other books, one I absolutely loved, two I thoroughly enjoyed and the other two were so-so books for me. Didn’t hate them but didn’t love them.
With that being said, let’s get into the books I read in January!
(I’m going to group the series together)
The Air Awakens Series – Elise Kova
Air Awakens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/29/19) GR / Fire Falling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/31/19) GR
I listened to these via Audible and fell back in love with the characters and the world. Elise Kova knows how to write, and she does it so well! The narrator, Devan McGaughey (for the first three books) was a perfect choice – in my opinion – I felt like she got the characters correct. I was pretty bummed when I realized she didn’t narrate the fourth and fifth books.
Elise makes you love all the characters and makes the world she created come to life. These are some of my favorite fantasy books. Ever.
The Covenant Series – Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pure ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/14/19) GR
I started this reread of the series back in December 2018, mainly because I was in such a book rut that nothing held my attention. Jen is one author who can pull me out of a reading slump, and it had been quite a few years since I read this series. The Covenant Series is still a favorite and being back with Aiden and Alex has been so much fun, but now that I’m on the last book, I’m in full dread mode. This series is so good, and the characters are so much fun, and you fall in love with them. Next month you’ll see the rest of the series on that Wrap-Up post.
Call It What You Want – Brigid Kemmerer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5 (Finished 1/29/19) GR
I loved this book and am so thankful that Brigid gave me the chance to read it early! It wasn’t my favorite contemporary she’s ever written – that goes to More Than We Can Tell – but it made me happy and kept me in engaged. I will absolutely continue to champion and read anything Brigid writes because it always makes me feel all the emotions. I don’t want to go into too much detail since I will have a full non-spoiler review up in a few weeks.
Moon Struck (Hillcrest Supernaturals #2) – Ben Alderson & Danielle Rose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/18/19) GR
My review for this book is already up, and I really have been enjoying this series. So far, Crimson Bite and Moon Struck have been very enjoyable reads, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. I honestly, didn’t expect to like these books as much as I have, but I’m so glad I do.
Salt for Air – M.C. Frank
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/22/19) GR
This book. I’m so conflicted on my thoughts about it. On one hand it kept me engaged and interested in what was happening, but on the other, it had so many issues. I * think * the issue is that the author tried to execute some plot elements and they fell flat, which detracted from the story. I do plan on writing a full review for this book later, so I won’t go into too much detail. I had a hard time connecting with the characters.
The Stolen Marriage – Diane Chamberlain
⭐️⭐️2.5 (Finished 1/24/19) GR
I never would have willingly picked up this book – it was a book club pick, so I had no choice. It wasn’t a bad book, and it was a pretty easy read – only took me a handful of hours to read the whole thing. It was interesting, but damn, I did not like it. Even though the main character does change from the start to the end of the book, she ends up in the exact same place she started. It just kind of felt like everything she went through was pointless? And everything she went through could have been avoided if she had just talked to her fiancé – which I legit said to my mom at the start.
Apparently, it’s supposed to be kind of factual of the author’s life, but don’t take my word for it, because I didn’t enjoy the book enough to actually look into it. (Sorry if that negligent on my part) but this book genuinely made me angry. And sitting here writing this mini-review is just bringing my frustrations back to the surface.
Only a Breath Apart – Katie McGarry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Finished 1/18/19) GR
I didn’t expect to love this book. I’m not super into Contemporary novels, and this one has become a new favorite. Here’s my review! I stayed up until 5:30 AM reading – that’s how good I found it. I could not put it down. I surprised my friend with how much I loved it. Since I finished it, I’ve been screaming about it, and in like two months’ time, when it’s my turn to pick the book club book, I’ve already chosen this one.
I’m happy with what I was able to read this past month! After being in a reading slump from Kingdom of Ash it’s been nice to just continuously dive into new books. I’m almost done both The Air Awakens Series and The Covenant Series which is bittersweet, but I cannot wait to get to some of the other amazing books I have sitting on my TBR shelf – and if you want to know what those are, go check out that post – I’ve linked it above!
Now that my posts are done for the week, I’m going to power of my Mac and get some more reading done!
Have you read any of these books? If so, what were your thoughts? Let me know below in the comments!
Writing The Universe 