What I Read In January 2023
I read a total of seven books this month. When I looked back at the books that I read this past month, I was shocked that I read so many. I always think back, “I must’ve only read about three books. There’s no way that I could read more than three.” But then I remember that I listen to audiobooks while I read paperbacks, and it all makes more sense now.
I read quite a few good books this past month—some even that have been on my TBR forever. I also joined Netgalley, which is a resource to access advanced reader copies in the form of e-books from publishers. I only have been requesting Christian books, but hoping to request some good old fashioned romance books soon.
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
I put off this book for a long time because it had two things in a romance book that I hardly pick up: friends to lovers romance trope and books about vacation. Idk why, but books about vacation just don’t interest me. (The Unhoneymooners is the exception!) Same with the friends to lovers romance trope. But Emily Henry has done it again—she is a romance book writer that I just can’t say no to. I got this in my BOTM box as an add-on and it was well worth it. I loved Poppy, especially knowing the Taylor Swift song she relates to most (as told by Emily Henry herself) is You’re On Your Own, Kid, my favorite song of Taylor Swift (as of October 2022). Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college (think When Harry Met Sally) but have since drifted apart since their last vacation two years ago. Poppy, a travel magazine writer who gets paid to travel and the nwrite about it, has been feeling burnt out. She decides to take a trip with her old friend Alex, but it doesn’t get approved by her magazine and her boss, so she decides to fund it herself and take Alex along. If you’re a fan of Nora Ephron movies, especially When Harry Met Sally, then you’ll love this Emily Henry book.
Rating: 5/5
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The Score by Elle Kennedy
I have become obsessed with this series in the past two months and the third book in the series did not disappoint. The third book told the perspective of Dean DiLaurentis, a roommate of Garrett and Logan, and Allie, Hannah’s best friend. Allie has been in a relationship since freshman year with Sean until her senior year. She doesn’t want to jump right into a relationship, but she wants a fling … and can’t ignore her best friend’s boyfriend’s roommate who is also a player, Dean DiLaurentis. After one steamy night, they decide to keep it casual … but do they actually keep it casual? Definitely, definitely pick up this book if you’ve started this series. It was steamy, and didn’t really have a lot of character/plot development, but it still was good and I loved the development of Allie and Dean’s characters and relationship with each other.
Rating: 4/5
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Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons
This one has been on Christian book list for a while now because the headline literally says “trading stress and anxiety for a life of peace and purpose.” I was definitely expecting this book to be all about eliminating stress and busyness amidst hustle culture and rather finding peace as a Christian, and half of the book was that—however, she did include some parts of the book to pursuing steps to put in the work and change routines. Not bad, but just unexpected. I listened to this one on audio and thought it was a great reminder to slow down and not be on the go and hustling all the time but rather finding peace—especially on Sabbath.
Rating: 4/5
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Look What You’ve Done by Tasha Layton
This was my first book on Netgalley and I wasn’t disappointed! It was slightly slow at times. I haven’t read the best Christian books (I can expand more on this in another blog post) lately and this read more like a memoir. That’s exactly what this was, though. This was her journey of finding freedom in Jesus through life’s twists and turns. She talks about her moving to LA and then auditioned for American Idol, touring with Katy Perry, shifting into worship music and then shifting out of that and then shifting back into worship music, meeting her husband and starting their family, and everything else in between. In addition to the memoir parts of it, she helps readesr to discern God’s truth from the world’s lies, find freedom in Jesus, and more. I do encourage you if you are a Christian to pick up this book! Perhaps it’s good on audio. It’s also cool that the title of the book is the title of her hit song, “Look What You’ve Done.”
Rating: 3/5
Pre-order on Amazon.
The Reunion by Kayla Olson
This was such a great and refreshing romance to read! It’s a Hollywood romance on the set of a reunion of a teen show (spoiler alert: it was Boy Meets World) that went off the air 20 years ago. But then the show comes back for one final episode/episode special—with rumors circulating that there might be a reboot. The main character, Liv Latimer, is the main character on the show and we follow her reuniting with her costars—some heartwarming, some a little awkward, and some VERY awkward with one person in particular., I liked that the characters knew what they wanted out of each other and they all seemed pretty much together. That was no “rivalry” as I somewhat expected out of a book about an old TV show returning for a reunion special. I LOVED the Hollywood and TV show setting (big fan of those) and overall, really liked the main leads, Liv and Ransom. I totally see Ransom as Andrew Garfield.
Rating: 4/5
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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
I’m not a fantasy reader but this one came highly recommended and let me tell you … IT IS WORTH THE HYPE!!!! Usually when I read fantasy, I struggle to get through the world building and the first few 100 pages and then get stuck in the middle again. But with Legendborn I was hooked from the very beginning. I liked reading about Bree and her moving through her grief and adjusting to a new life stage. Her grieving journey was a central theme throughout the book as she learned who she is and who her mom was when she was a student at UNC. The “fantasy” of it all or the magic definitely interested me as well! The secret society and magical world hidden from the normalcy of a college campus hooked me in. Overall, it kept me on the edge of my toes. If you’ve been thinking about picking this up, GO READ IT!! It’s worth the read. I’m excited to read the sequel!
Rating: 5/5
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The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
See my review here!! Loved this book on audio.
Rating: 4/5