It is a new year and so far it has been a busy one! Along with my normal job, I’ve been busy with things that happened in the latter half of 2024. One of those things was my mixer broke. From December 23 through the first weekend of January, I had plans to bake and freeze food (Such as cookies and muffins) to eat in the first half of 2025, but I couldn’t because I was without a mixer. Even though I ordered a new mixer, it didn’t show up until mid January. Since I allocated a lot of time to bake, I spent this time reading.

I do not consider myself a fast reader, yet, in January, I was able to read three books the whole way through. Some of the books I’m really enjoying while others I am not. Still, I wanted to talk about them in a post, just in case I don’t remember to talk about them on this blog again!

The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West

This is the first book I finished reading in January. It is about Gia, a senior in high school. On the night of her senior prom, her boyfriend dumps her in the parking lot. In order to avoid embarrassment over the fact her friends don’t believe he exists, she enlists a stranger she finds in the parking lot to fill in as her boyfriend at prom. This January’s reading is actually a reread and debate if I should keep it. I like the way the book’s blurb spells out a plot that peeks my interest, yet I don’t actually like how the book’s plot plays out. I keep going into it thinking it is one way but in reality it is different. I’m going to keep it, but I still feel conflicted about it.

 

Back on the Boulevard by Samantha Robinson

Back on the Boulevard is another book I finished reading in January and is another reread. It is the second book in a two book series. I like quite a bit. It ties everything leftover from the first book really well and explains more about the family dynamics that caused some of the problems in the main character’s life during the first book. Even though it is a reread, I enjoyed it and plan on keeping it.

 

The Burning Hills by Louis L’Amour

This Burning Hills is the third and final book I finished reading in January. And I didn’t like it. It was a good story and would potentially make a great western film, but I still struggle with the editing of the book. There aren’t many breaks in the writing, causing it to become a run on of ever shifting perspectives that don’t make any sense at all. It makes me upset that all the newer printings of the L’Amour books they have this problem. It really ruins the enjoyment from reading the novel.

 

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

I finally decided to finished my reread of A Far Wilder Magic that I started last year. After reading nearly half of it, the month was over. I plan on finishing it this month. As for the book, I like Saft’s writing! It is so descriptive and well done. The only complaints I have about the book are about the gore, curse words, and other topics that bother me whenever I read a book. Still, I enjoy her writing and am looking forward to reading the novel she wrote for Disney about Tinker Bell. That book will come out sometime in March of this year.

 

The Alehouse Murders by Maureen Ash

The Alehouse Murders was a book I read many years ago, but forgot all about until recently. I began rereading it and so far am really enjoying it. It is a medieval murder mystery. It is about a man that belongs to the Knights Templar and had been sent to England to recover from his injuries. While there, he investigates murders that took place in an alehouse.

 

On the Fence by Kasie West

On the Fence is another Kasie West book I decided to read. After reading and remembering why I didn’t like The Fill-in Boyfriend, I began to wonder if I still like West’s characters and the stories she writes anymore. So far it’s ok, but it isn’t my favorite young adult clean romance novel I ever read or read written by her.

 

Murder in Moscow by Kelly Oliver

This was the last book I read in January. It is about two spies that go to Russia in the 1920’s. Even though that plot summary isn’t very good, I haven’t read enough of the book to give a better summary! I look forward to reading it in February.

 

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!