January 2018 Recap

I’m going to try something new for my monthly recaps; instead of talking about the books I reviewed each month I’m going to feature the books I read, there will be an update on how my WIP is going, and some snapshots of my life in general.

I feel like I start most of my recaps this way, and I know a few other people have for this past month, but January is now finished so I have to put in this post my usual ‘how is January already over’ question. Seriously though, where did the last month go, does anyone know? Overall January was a great month for me, but more about that a little later in my recap.

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Books I Read

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert – Four stars
Check out my review here.

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr – Two stars
Check out my review here.

The Truth and Lies of Ella Black by Emily Barr – Two stars
Check out my review here.

The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven – Four stars

Furyborn by Claire Legrand – Four stars

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman – Four stars

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – Three stars

Iron Gold by Pierce Brown – Five stars

The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman – Four stars

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman – Five stars

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So far I’m on track to complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 125 by the end of the year. I’m hoping I manage to keep my current reading pace going, because I feel like at one point this year I am going to fall behind a little.

The best book I picked up in January was, no surprise, Iron Gold. It was my first five star reading of the year and while it wasn’t as good as Morning Star it was a brilliant addition to my favourite series. I’m very excited that we’re getting the next book in the Red Rising Saga later this year because I can’t wait to see where things go for Darrow next.

The worst book I picked up in January was The Truth and Lies of Ella Black. There were so many plot points in the story that made no sense, I hated the main character, and the relationship in this book was the worst case of insta-love I’ve ever read. The only thing I can say I enjoyed about The Truth and Lies of Ella Black was the setting.

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My WIP

So I fell a little behind when it comes to my WIP in January. I had planned to focus on research and re-planning everything, but I started off with naming my characters (all of my characters, because I have a tendency to call some of them UMC or UFC (Unnamed Male/Female Character)) and that turned out to be a big mistake.

I’m still hoping to start writing in March, it just means I need to get a lot more planning done in February. I’ve put the naming of my characters asides for one moment to focus on world building which is much more fun.

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Life in General

At the end of last month (you may have noticed I went on a mini unplanned and unannounced hiatus) I went to Romania with my friend. We travelled through Bucharest, Brasov and all the way up to Bâlea Lake. We saw Bran Castle, Peles Castle, and froze most of our toes off staying overnight in the Ice Hotel. All in all a great way to start off the year.

I went to launch party for the release of Alwyn Hamilton’s Hero at the Fall. I haven’t managed to get around to reading the book yet (I was flying to Romania the very next day) but it’s high on my to-read list for February.

I got promoted at work! I mentioned in my end of year recap that I’d gone for a new job and I found out at the end of the month (the same day as the Hero at the Fall launch party) that I was successful and I was being promoted.

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Christmas money from December means I brought a lot of books this month, I just couldn’t resist.

Books

• Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
• Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
• Shadowblack by Sebastien De Castell
• Wires and Nerve Volume 2: Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer
• The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
• Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
• Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

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Meraki Candles

• Antari

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Fairy Loot

• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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There’s not a lot being released this month; so my reading goals are going to be on getting around to some of the books I brought last month but haven’t picked up yet before my highly anticipated March releases are out. High on my list are Hero at the Fall and The Bear and the Nightingale, I also need to finish my reread of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

I want to try and end February being on track to complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge, and as well as blogging I need to research my WIP like I’ve never researched anything before and I want to start baking again.

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I hope everyone else had a good January, and I hope you all have an even better February as well.

Let me know what books you’ve read during the first month of the year, and if you’ve been anywhere on holiday yet? Does anyone have any big plans, reading or otherwise, for February? And if anyone has advise on naming characters in their WIPs please share it with me.

Happy reading!