Monthly Wrap-Up – January 2023

Hello everyone,

Well, we are already one month into 2023. Just 11 to go and they will probably be gone in no time at all…which is a rather scary thought! Anyway, it is time to look back on a January that began a bit unhappily for me but got progressively better towards the end.

Nothing bad happened at the start of the month, but maybe the end of the festive season and being super anxious at first about going back to work had an effect on me. Having started my new job shortly before Christmas I was quite nervous about everything, but it has turned out to be alright in the ensuing weeks and I feel more settled now.

I was also getting slightly restless at not having visited any interesting places for several weeks, but despite adverse weather and travel disruption I was able to have some nice days out towards the end of the month, which made me feel much better! They were fairly local, to the Roman Baths Museum in Bath and then Tintern Abbey in South Wales, but I really enjoyed both.

But how about all the books I read in January?! I have made no secret of the fact that I am really excited for the books I am set to read this year, and January did not disappoint. I read a total of five books, and all of them were very good reads. Here they are!

Not A Happy Family ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
They Lie Here ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Book Of Form And Emptiness (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Vanishing Stair ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Silence Of The Girls ⭐⭐⭐

As you can see, I have started 2023 with a bit of a mystery kick. Having really enjoyed Truly Devious last year it was always the plan to continue the series and I loved The Vanishing Stair for so many reasons. The biggest surprise was Not A Happy Family – Shari Lapena’s books have been hit and miss so I had relatively low expectations going in, but it turned out to be her best one yet.

In terms of uniqueness, I was enthralled by They Lie Here and I am so impressed with how my book blogging friend NS Ford created such a great story. Elsewhere, I returned to Greek myth with The Silence Of The Girls, and listened to the audiobook of The Book Of Form And Emptiness, which is last year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction winner, which was brilliantly narrated.

Looking ahead to February, and it is a month full of exciting buddy reads. I hope to finish Foul Lady Fortune which so far is amazing and intense. I am planning to start These Deadly Games by Diana Urban and Wild And Wicked Things by Francesca May in the coming days too. Also on the TBR is The Cloisters by Katy Hays.

All of these books have me super excited, but easily my most anticipated read for the month ahead is Heart Of The Sun Warrior, the sequel to Daughter Of The Moon Goddess – my favourite book of 2022.

January was also a landmark month, as it marked my five-year book blogging anniversary! I would never have imagined that I would maintain a blog for so long that people are interested in reading, so I am grateful for everything and still full of ideas. I have already marked the occasion with a couple of blog posts and have more to come in February including a Q&A, so stay tuned.

I have recently started working on the next edition of the Soccer 360 magazine and have the deadline next week, so that will take up a lot of my time in the first week of February. In terms of other writing, I really hope that one day soon I will find the motivation to do poetry again – we shall see.

But overall, January was a fairly good month in the end and there is lots to look forward to in the month ahead.

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Let’s Chat

How was January for you? What was the best book you read during the month and what are you excited to read in February? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading 🙂

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