How are we already wrapping up the first month of 2021? As is often the case at the beginning of a new year, I found my love of reading was rejuvenated in January and I just wanted to read all the books. However, I was still working full time and work, as always, has been crazy, so I didn't quite manage to read as many books as I would have liked.
I read a total of 9 books in January, which is more than I read in any month of 2020. I read predominantly adult or new adult romance, with a couple of adult and YA contemporary fiction books thrown in, and one non-fiction. I didn't rate anything lower than 3 stars, which is always good, and even had a 5 star read.
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary -
My first read of 2021 was one I had every intention of reading at the beginning of last year, but just never did. It was incredibly popular when it was first published, so I'm probably one of the last people to get to it. It follows Tiffy and Leon who share a flat, and a bed, but have never actually met, due to their opposite work schedules. The two develop a friendship through notes, which of course develops into a really adorable relationship. I loved these characters, their relationship and how it develops, and their friendships and family relationships. I enjoyed that there were some more serious topics dealt with in the story, including Tiffy's toxic past relationship and Leon's brother's imprisonment, which added another layer to the story. My only issue was the way Leon's chapters were written. I just didn't click with the unusual writing style, it kept pulling me out of the story. I have a full review for this book where you can find out my more in depth thoughts.
Rating: 4/5
Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese -
This is a new adult sports romance, featuring the best frenemies to lovers slow burn relationship. We follow Willa, a college soccer star who is struggling with a Professor not accommodating her athletic schedule. Instead, he encourages her to ask Ryder, a fellow student, for help. However, when he ignores her in class, Willa can't believe he could be so rude. Their banter-filled battle ensues from there, but when Willa discovers Ryder is actually deaf, their relationship dynamic changes. I really enjoyed this book. I loved how sassy Willa was, but also the fact she struggled to address certain situations due to her anxiety. That was an aspect I very strongly related to and I really saw myself in her. Ryder was a really great hero, he was so sweet, but snarky, and just adored Willa so much. I loved that we got a deaf main character, I can't speak to the representation but it was a very interesting aspect of the story. Basically, I just loved these characters and their relationship. I was let down by the fact a lot of the conflict could have been avoided with communication, which is something that gets on my nerves a bit in books. I did really like this book though, and can't wait to read more from this author.
Rating: 4/5
The Duke And I by Julia Quinn -
I picked this up after bingeing, and loving, the Bridgerton Netflix series. This was my first ever historical romance and will not be my last. For anyone that hasn't experienced the Bridgerton hype yet, The Duke and I follows Daphne, the middle child and oldest daughter in the Bridgerton family, who embarks on a fake courtship with The Duke Of Hastings, one of London's most eligible bachelor's and the best friend of her eldest brother. There is a lot of negativity surrounding this book, and a specific scene, which I will get to. That aside, I did enjoy this book. My feelings on the book and TV series are mixing together, as I read the book immediately after finishing the show, so I can't get into too much detail. I liked the characters, especially the Bridgerton family as a whole, and enjoyed the relationship between Daphne and Simon. This would have been a solid 4 star, maybe even 5 star read has it not been for that one scene. I won't go into detail in case anyone feels this is a 'spoiler' but there is a rape scene within this book. That scene in itself, though obviously not enjoyable, was not where I had an issue. My issue was the repercussions, or lack of, of what happened. I don't feel like it was dealt with well, or even really addressed, which was where my issues lie. I will still continue with this series and hopefully have a better experience going forward.
Rating: 3/5
One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London -
I talk about this book in quite a lot of detail in my last post, in which I read some of my favourite Booktuber's favourite romances of 2020, so I'll not say too much here. This follows Bea, a plus size fashion blogger who is approached by the producer of Main Squeeze, a bachelorette style reality show, and asked to be the show's first plus size 'main squeeze'. I really enjoyed this initially. Despite a small issue I had in the beginning, I loved Bea as a main character. She is so real and this book focuses a lot on her struggles and fears, and we follow her journey as she begins to overcome them. I really enjoy fiction about reality TV, so found that aspect a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I ended up getting quite bored towards the end. I didn't care enough about the men to be bothered about who Bea ended up with and I found the ending a bit dull. I did have a few other issues, which I discuss in that post I mentioned previously, but this was an OK read.
Rating: 3/5
Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven -
This was the only YA book I read in January, which seems so strange to me as someone who used to read almost exclusively YA. It is a YA contemporary following Libby, who is infamous for being 'America's Fattest Teen', and Jack, who can't recognise faces and is keeping that a secret from his family and friends. The two develop a friendship after Jack essentially bullies Libby quite horrifically and the two end up in group counselling together. I felt pretty much the same about this one as I did about the previous book I have read from Jennifer Niven. I liked some aspects of it and really disliked other aspects, so it ended up just being pretty average. I liked the friendship between the characters and how that develops despite the not so great way it starts. I didn't like the fatphobia and bullying that is really prevalent. It has some good messages but is generally quite forgettable.
Rating: 3/5
Inevitable Conclusions by Christina C Jones -
This is another one that I read as part of my reading booktuber's favourite romances of 2020 post, so again I wont go into too much detail. This is a friends to lovers second chance romance. It follows Kora and Tariq who have been best friends since childhood and remained friends after a previous attempt at a relationship that didn't work out. The pair have a friends with benefits arrangement but neither of them want to take things further and risk their friendship. This was such a sweet romance. It is clear to see how important this friendship is to both of them and why they are so scared to risk ruining it with a relationship. I loved seeing how much they cared for each other, and how they helped each other to deal with their traumatic pasts and difficult family lives. It was just beautiful to see the way that lovely friendship developed into something more. I also really enjoyed the relationships with other characters, in particular both main characters' relationships with Kora's teenage daughter. I can't wait to read more from Christina C Jones in the future.
Rating: 4/5
Dream A Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher -
This is my third Giovanna Fletcher book and, unfortunately, my least favourite so far. It follows Sarah who has been having dreams involving a handsome man, but things get awkward when he makes an appearance in her real life. I love Giovanna as a person so it pains me to say I was disappointed by this book. It felt quite juvenile. Sarah, our main character, is still a part of the same friendship group as the ex-boyfriend who left her several years ago and is struggling with the fact she has to see him be so happy with the woman he left her for. The way she treated his girlfriend just felt very immature, although this was addressed later on in the book. I really loved Sarah's friend group and particularly her friendships with her best girl friends. The way they all support each other through the difficulties that arise throughout the story was really great. Everything else was just really average for me. I don't even have much to say about this - it was fine.
Rating: 3/5
Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Song by Sara Bareilles -
This was my one non-fiction read of the month. It is a collection of essays written by Sara Bareilles about her life. They cover her childhood, discovering her love of music and songwriting and her journey throughout her career. I really like Sara Bareilles, mostly because I am a huge musical theatre fan and she is the person behind the music in one of the best musicals. I didn't really know much about her personal life before reading this so I was very surprised by how much I got from this book. This talks a lot about Sara's personal struggles, a lot of which are things I have struggled with on some level. Each of the essays are related to one of Sara's songs, which I really loved as it gave the songs an even greater meaning. My favourite part of this book was the section in which Sara reads letters to her younger self. As someone who has been, and still is, struggling with a lot of the same things she struggled with, it was as if she was talking directly to me. I really didn't expect this book to have such an impact on me, but I loved it so much and it was exactly what I needed to hear when I read it.
Rating: 5/5
Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills -
Again, I read this as part of my reading booktuber's favourites romances of 2020 post. It is a high school NA romance involving a girl, Ava, who is sexually assaulted at a party by one of the 'Sharks', the most popular people at her prestigious school. Upon returning to the school a year later, Ava is paired up with the head of the 'Sharks', Knox, for a class project. She also finds a letter from a secret admirer in her locker. There is a lot of background plot in this book, but the main story is a 'enemies' to lovers romance between Ava and Knox. I say 'enemies' as the enemies aspect was just not there for me. They 'hate' each other for all of about ten seconds before realising they both like each other. I liked the two of them together, I really enjoyed their banter and the fact they could be vulnerable and be themselves around each other. Everything else seemed very background. The secret admirer aspect, that seemed from the synopsis to be the main plot, was hardly touched on at all. This was another one that I got a bit bored of towards the end and really didn't like how many epilogues we had. I really thought I would love this but it ended up being a bit disappointing.
Rating: 3/5
I thought it might be good to check in on my goals in my wrap ups to stop me from forgetting about them until the end of the year. You can see what my 2021 goals are here.
So:
I am currently 5 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge, which makes me happy.
I did read January's buzzword with Dream A Little Dream.
I completed 5 of the Year Of Smut prompts.
I read 3 books from my physical TBR, which is the most I have read in a while.
I read my minimum of one book by an author of colour with Inevitable Conclusions. I'm disappointed I didn't read more than that.
I tried a reading something new with The Duke And I, which was my first historical romance.
I kind of participated in a readathon as I read The Duke And I during the Historical Romance Readathon.
I'm so glad I'm doing okay with my goals so far, although we are still only in the first month of the year. January was a pretty good reading month, both in quality and quantity. I'm hoping for an even better reading month in February.
What was the best book you read in January?
Sophie :)
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