Hi and welcome to another monthly overview!
Normally this is where I say that the month flew by and I have no idea where it went, but January, heavens above, it was the lousy gift that kept on giving. Seriously, did that month not last a year?! It was way too busy, both socially and at work, and all the rain and lack of sun got to me, so basically the entirety of January felt like one looooooong blue Monday. I don’t know about you but I’m ready for spring!
To make matters worse, our cat Mel has been having health issues he can’t seem to shake and we even had a cancer scare when the vet found some abnormal cells. The findings were sent on immediately to a specialised lab, and, fortunately, we were informed shortly after that it wasn’t cancer but a severe bacterial infection. This despite the antibiotics and the anti-inflammatory drugs he had been taken for weeks. I really do hope he’s on the mend now, although the new stronger meds are not working quite as quickly as hoped and another visit to vet is due soon. I don’t know who hates those visits more, Mel or me.
Despite all of the above, my bookish month was pretty great. I read some fantastic books, and thanks to my insomnia, I got through quite a few audiobooks as well. It’s good to know that lying awake at silly o’clock is good for something, I guess…
Honourable mentions to Expectant, The Smallest Man, Human Monsters, How to Sell a Haunted House and Cursed Objects but these were my favourite reads of the month:
In figures January looks like this:
January
Novels: 5398 pages across 16 books
Audiobooks: 58 hours across 9 audiobooks
And here’s what I did in January and some of what I’ll be posting in February:
What I read:
Little Ghost, Chris McDonald
The Ceremony, Sheryl Browne
The Forcing, Paul E. Hardisty
Mystery in Provence, Vivian Conroy
Beautiful Shining People, Michael Grothaus
The Wrong Woman, J.P. Pomare
The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
Expectant, Vanda Symon
The Smallest Man, Frances Quinn
Dark Matter Presents Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology
Esto no es una canción de amor, Abril Posas
Small Angels, Lauren Owen
Immortelle, Catherine McCarthy
Liberation Street, Laurence Westwood (review to follow)
How to Sell a Haunted House, Grady Hendrix
Mala’s Cat, Mala Kacenberg
What I listened to:
Dirt Town, Hayley Scrivenor
The Seamstress Of Warsaw, Rebecca Mascull
Five Survive, Holly Jackson
That Green Eyed Girl, Julie Owen Moylan
Heartsick, Chelsea Cain
Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Facts of Life and Death, Belinda Bauer
Square³, Mira Grant
Cursed Objects, J.W. Ocker
What I read earlier but reviewed in January:
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, Janice Hallett
I also shared an excerpt from So Pretty and Dirt, and I did a cover reveal. And I looked back on 2022 by wrapping up my goals and challenges, talking about my favourite books of 2022 and my bookish year in stats.
Let’s have a look at the books that landed on my lap in January:
One for the Orenda collection I preordered as soon as I’d read the eARC, a gorgeous hardcover I’d been wanting to read for ages and happened to on sale last month, and two highly anticipated reads (one of which was also on sale):
Four eBooks that had been on my wishlist for a while (all 99p deals), four NetGalley eARCs and an eARC courtesy of the author:
I hope you had a good month and that you are safe and well! Thanks for joining me today and happy reading xxx
Poor Mel! It seems to have been an awful month when it comes to both our furr babies. It’s such great news that it isn’t cancer, hopefully the meds do their work now and then he’ll be good as new. I’m crossing my fingers for it.
I’m happy to see that you listened to Heartsick by Chelsea Cain.. I loved this one! I’m hoping to give Grady Hendrix a chance soon, I’m curious about his work!
I know, our poor furry friends and poor us as well 🥺 Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed 😘
I actually have an old Dutch copy of Heartsick from a Boekenfestijn years ago. I’ve been wanting to reread it and when I spotted the audiobook on Scribd, I decided to listen to it instead.
Aha so you got the 99p Babel as well! Isn’t Liberation Street a chunkster! Looking forward to your review!
Yes, I had Babel on my audio Scribd list for a while but after hearing some things about it, I thought it might work better as a book, so when I spotted it for 99p I didn’t hesitate 😂
I’m so sorry to hear that Mel is feeling so poorly. I’d rather be sick than have either of my cats have something wrong. I know how to treat myself but feel so helpless when it comes to them. Hope he feels better soon!
Me too! At least I’d know what’s going on and he doesn’t, my poor boy 😿 Thanks Tessa 😘
Hope Mel returns to full health very soon. 😻
Thanks so much, Lynne 😘
Some great-looking books there!!!
Sorry to hear about Mel. Hope he gets better soon!! Cats are such a worry. I keep thinking I ought to get another cat but I just can’t face the responsibility at the moment!!
Thank you! You’re not wrong there, they’re a huge responsibility and it’s terrible when they’re not well and you’re helpless.
Oh no, poor Mel! I hope we will be on the mend soon. Looks like you had a fab bookish month though… So many titles I can’t wait to read myself. I hope February will treat you better! xx
Thanks lovely xx