A Wrap Up: January 2019 Part Two

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's post is going to be a summary of the remaining books I read in January 2019; if you want to know about the rest I read in the first half of the month, you can read the first blog post here. For now though, on with the wrap up...

Holly Black’s The Wicked King

5 stars

SUCH an incredible sequel. I almost always hate the second books in fantasy/dystopian series, but this was just so, so good. The chemistry between Jude and Cardan is absolutely one of the the best written chemistries I've read?! The ending actually pained me; I'll be thinking about it until 2020 when I can finally find out what happens next!!! I don't think I'll be posting an individual review of this book here on my blog, purely because it isn't a standalone but when I've read book three too, I'll do an entire post dedicated to this awesome series, I promise!

Rachael Lippincott’s Five Feet Apart

3 stars

I have to be really honest and say that the main reason I was even aware of this book and then that I was interested in reading it was because I knew Cole Sprouse was going to be in the movie adaption and since becoming a fan of Riverdale, I'm down to watch whatever Jughead shows up in. Unfortunately the story read like something I'd read 45 times before. It was really cool to shine a light on CF and I felt more educated on the condition afterwards, which is always a good thing. 

Lily Anderson’s Undead Girl Gang

4 stars

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was pretty light, considering it's about raising the dead into zombies and avenging their murders!! It's got witchcraft, a strange sort of zombieish magical realism kind of vibe, female friendships and a good mystery (with some decent red herrings thrown in there, too). I'll be excited to read Lily Anderson's next novel.

Rainbow Rowell’s Landline

5 STARS

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to Rainbow Rowell's adult fiction novels, because she is one of my ultimate favourite authors of all time. I loved this story so much. It had a cool magical realism/time-travel element that made it really unique and interesting, plus just a great sense of humour and those quintessential perfectly pitched, subtle romantic elements. I'm definitely going to read every book she has ever published by the end of this year!!!

Stephanie Elliot’s Sad Perfect

3-3.5 stars

I have such mixed, complex feelings about this one, due to its subject matter which is very personal to me. In some ways, reading it was a ridiculously special, relatable experience for me and in other ways I did find the narrative problematic. I'll direct you over to my Goodreads review to read my slightly more coherent thoughts about it.

Anna-Marie McLemore’s Blanca & Roja

4.5 stars

Anna-Marie McLemore's writing style is honestly just like a dream to behold; it is so enchanting and dark and lyrical. Her characters are incredibly bold, unique and somehow have this magical quality of feeling like they are 50% mythical beings and 50% as concrete and real as though they are stood right in front of you. This is a beautiful, haunting story to read and I really, really recommend it.

So those are the rest of the books I read in January 2019!! I think I got so lucky this month to experience so many amazing books. I'd love to know your favourite book of this new year so far - leave a comment down below!

Till next time

Katie