January has been a banner reading month for me—this is what happens when you binge read (seriously, I read four books in one weekend…the hermitting was real). I was planning to do reviews for each of these, but, really, who has the time? Instead, I’ll rank them from least favorite to favorite with tweet-length reviews thrown in for good measure.

13. Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg ⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Pretty sure Lee Goldberg was sponsored by Garmin—that’s the only explanation for multiple passages in this middling detective story featuring turn-by-turn route descriptions. #FirstReadsFail

12.  The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher ⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: See my full review of The Princess Diarist at the link above 😉

11. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead ⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Another entry in the “Girls in Gowns” YA cover subgenre (see also: The Selection series, The Winners trilogy). I am not opposed to gratuitous fashion descriptions and overall found the story fun, but, wow, the pacing in this is WILD.

10. A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck ⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Discount John Green feels. A preponderance of basketball-related prose. A sadder story than the cover would lead you to believe.

9. One of Us is Next by Karen McManus ⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: I really liked One of Us is Lying when I read it 3 years ago, but then I promptly forgot all of its pertinent details, which made this sequel hard to get into. A slow start didn’t help, but it ends on a high note.

8. Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart ⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: This is 100% a gender-swapped Talented Mr. Ripley told in reverse, and I don’t hate it!

7.  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: An interesting look at a wealthy, dysfunctional family that also happens to be a pretty well-done mystery story.

6. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Reese’s January Book Club pick, this funny and engaging novel examines the potential pitfalls of white “wokeness,” however well-intentioned. A great audiobook.

5. Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: This is non-fiction which really does read like a political thriller in a lot of ways. The story is important, but the vast number of characters in Farrow’s cast makes the action difficult to follow.

4.  Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Originally titled Royals (confusing), this book contains many of my favorite YA tropes: fake dating for reasons™, a Mr. Darcy-esque love interest, a fish out of water character, a makeover montage. I LitLol’d many times.

3. The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Jojo Moyes writes touching contemporary fiction featuring zany heroines and lovely historical fiction featuring strong female leads . This book was a bit of both.

2. The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: A great ending to one of my favorite crime series. Murder and mystery at a remote boarding school? Snarky teens who are too smart for their own good? Yes, please.

1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tweet-length review: Is this magic realism? Historical fiction? I went back and forth. The writing is lovely and the story was engrossing—I’ll never say no to a fairy tale reimagining! This one will be a re-read for sure.

Bonus: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center, which I finished on 1/31 ⭐⭐⭐

January by the Numbers

• Total Spent: $33
• Total Saved: $114
• Genre Breakdown:
  • 7 Adult, 7 YA
  • 12 Fiction, 2 Nonfiction
  • 9 eBooks, 2 book-books, 3 audiobooks

A combination of library loans, old Audible credits, gifted books, and some last minute Kindle sale purchases technically made in 2019 helped keep my book budget down this month. I actually only bought THREE new books in January, which is pretty dang good for me. However, I really only read one book from my TBR backlog, so less progress on that front. The B-ADD is real.