Monday, February 4, 2019

Monthly Wrap-Up | January 2019

I had a great start to the new year!  I read a lot of amazing books and one will probably be on my favorites for 2019.  

Monthly Stats

Books



The Lies We Told by Camilla Way | Clara recently moves in with her boyfriend and one night he doesn't come home from work.  There's also another story line running simultaneously about Beth and her daughter Hannah who is in my option a psychopath.   This book was super interesting and thrilling until the last 80%.  I really enjoyed it and than that ending KILLED IT!!  The ending repeated the big reveal multiple times, if it didn't do that this would of been a very high rated thriller.  So unfortunately this was my most disappointing read of the month.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys | This is set in WWII in East Prussia and it follows four refugees and they are making the trek to seek freedom to a ship, Wilhelm Gustloff that promises salvation.  Although this book was super powerful and very informative about a part of history I did not know about, I did not connect with this characters at all.  The first 20 pages I was super lost and was confused between the characters and then the chapters were super short and you really didn't get to know the characters like I wanted.  So I really didn't connect with the characters, but I liked the story if that makes any sense.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee | This book is set in 1930's in a small southern town where racism is apparent.  Scout and Jem's dad, Atticus is a lawyer and one of his cases is a black man who is accused of rapping a white girl.  I never read this book in high school, so this was my first time reading this.  I thoroughly liked it, Atticus was a very inspirational father, he teaches his son and daughter very good lessons in life.  I feel like this is a very important story that everyone should read!

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon | West Hall, Vermont is a small town that has strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is in 1908 of Sara Harrison Shea who was found dead behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. This book is set in dual timeline between 1908 and present day. In 1908 you are reading dairy entries from Sara until her death. And present day with two women Ruthie and Katherine. Ruthie's mom goes missing and while trying to find her she digs up the diary from Sara. Katherine's husband dies in a car accident in West Hall and she goes there to investigate why he went there. The story is all tied together as you find out why throughout the book. This book was very atmospheric, eerie and creepy. I was dying to know who and what the winter people were. I loved how it jumped between time lines it just made you want to read more and more to get the full story of Sara and what happened to her and why so many people would go missing. This is definitely a good book to read on a cold winter night. 

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager | Fifteen years ago Emma stayed at Camp Nightingale and her three cabin mates go missing and are never found again.  Present day Camp Nightingale is reopening and Emma is asked to be a counselor.  She wants to go back so she can figure out what happened to her old cabin mates, but in the meantime the three kids that she is bunking with go missing.  So not only are you trying to figure out what happened to the three girls fifteen years ago but you are also trying to figure out what happened to three more girls that have gone missing.  This book was super atmospheric and I loved the camping aspect.  I loved all the twists and turns throughout the book!  I definitely recommend this book!!

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi | This is a historical fantasy set in Paris in the late 1800's.  Severin is a wealthy hotelier and a treasure hunter, he’s been determined to reclaim his true inheritance as a member of one of the French houses of the Order of Babel. In order to do this, he must locate and secure a powerful ancient artifact with the help of Tristan, Enrique, Zofia and Laila. With science, puzzles, history and magical abilities they try to find what they are all looking for.  I really like this book a lot, it was very intricate and unique. I thought this was a very fast paced fantasy and I loved the puzzles.  I really liked all the characters and I can't wait to dive back into this series when the next book comes out!

Dark Lover (The Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward | Wrath is the last pure-bred vampire and he is the king in the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  When one of his brothers dies, he finds out he has a daughter and she will be transitioning to becoming a vampire.  He takes her under his wing and sparks FLY!  I loved their story to pieces, it was sexy and hot and everything in between.  This book also follows a few other characters and I enjoyed their stories as well.  If you are looking for a hot vampire romance definitely pick this one up!  I can't wait for the ride in the next book of the series.  

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia |  Alex is diagnosed with schizophrenia at a very young age. Throughout her whole life she has had to question if everything is a hallucination or reality. When Alex was younger she met a boy at a supermarket and then later on she meets him again. Their connection and his loyalty to her is so amazing, he understands her diagnosis and doesn't judge her or mistreat her because of it. There's a part in the book where I do not agree with Alex's parents, it was pretty frustrating when I learned what they did. I liked the schizophrenia rep in this book, I found it very fascinating. At times I didn't know if what was going on was real or not. Overall, I really liked this book and I definitely recommend this book!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling | No need to describe this book, everyone knows what this book is about!  I LOVED IT!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Monique is a reporter for a local newspaper and she was contacted by Evelyn Hugo to write her biography.  Monique is unsure why a famous movie star wants her to write her biography and is really hesitate about it.  She agrees to write it and she meets with Evelyn and she tells her life story and about her seven husbands.  This is the most beautiful book I have ever read.  I love everything about this book.  You find out who her one true love is and its absolutely magical, their love story and all the ways that had to struggle to be together was amazing!  This book made me cry so much, their was just soo much substance to this story.  I highly recommend this book to everyone!  This is by far one of my favorite books of all time!  Go read it NOW!!

Well there you have it my January wrap-up!  I read some really amazing books!  Have you read any of these books, what did you think about them?  Let me know in the comments!!

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