So, I’m just going to keep this short and quick.
Since I didn’t start this blog until mid-January, I didn’t get a chance to post my TBR for the month so here’s what I planned to read in the first month of the year:

It was an okay reading month for me – not the best start to the year, but okay. I finished 4 books.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
A young adult contemporary romance novel following a Muslim-American teenager named Shirin as she’s starting at a new school in a new city post the events of 9/11; her two means of escape from the cruel reality – music and breakdancing. This story is inspired by the author’s own experiences.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find my review here.
Sweet Valley Twins #92: Escape From Terror Island by Francine Pascal
This is kind of a short episode in a long middle-grade series about twin sisters and their life in Sweet Valley. In this episode, the twins are stranded with their friends on an island after a storm wrecked their ship, along with two thieves/hijackers who are planning to kill them.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fortune’s Soldier by Alex Rutherford
A historical fiction novel about a Scotsman who is sent to India to work as a ‘writer’ for the British East India Company right before the Jacobite Uprising, and about his life and the various roles he plays, and his friendship with Robert Clive.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Find my review here.
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
A young adult contemporary romance novel about a seemingly comfortable-in-her-skin fat girl, daughter of a former beauty queen, as she is dealing with the loss of a loved one and starting to face her true feelings about herself, her size and the strong-and-silent type guy she works with at the local fast food joint in their tiny town. Oh and there’s a beauty pageant.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Find my review here.
I’m also about 150 pages each into two very long books, but more about those in my WWW Wednesday post coming up in a few days. 🙂

How many books did you read in January? Which one was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!
Oooooo I have A Very Large Expanse of Sea on my shelves to read at some point. I read 2 books in Jan which I’m happy with, as it was one shy of meeting my 3 book goal but I’m not overly fussed. Out of the two I read the first one I read was my favourite The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak hehe. Hope you have a great Feb, and welcome to the blogging world; how are you finding it so far?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Clo! Thank you, I’m really enjoying blogging, I’ve made tons of friends and it’s been a warm welcome. ☺️
I haven’t heard of The Heartbreakers but I’ll check it out. 🙂 Hope you read even more than your goal in Feb! 😍
LikeLike
11 for me, 12 if you count comic books! I think my favorite was a tie between The Alienist and The Parisians…no no The Crystal Cave…okay I can’t pick lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
😋😋 I would count them..and 12 is amazing! Oh I haven’t heard of any of these – cool, new books to check out. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agghhh I need A Very Large Expanse of Sea, I have been hearing so much about it and all good at that. I definitely will be reading it soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I think it’s a very important story that everyone must read at least once.. it made me feel a lot..🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am interested in reading Dumplin as well. I did watch the Netflix show and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, so I think I will give the book a try
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually watched the movie in bits and pieces while reading the book and that may have contributed to me not enjoying the book as much as I’d hoped but it was going so slow and I really wanted to see the movie, I couldn’t resist. 🙈 It wasn’t a bad story, and I did like it, sort of..the book is quite different from the movie.. You should definitely give it a try though and I’d love to know your thoughts on it since you watched the movie first! 🙂
LikeLike
That’s great! I read 6 books this month, all towards the start of it. It seems that school has taken a toll on me and my reading right now.
all the best for Feb!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jayati! 🙂 I haven’t been getting much to to read lately either..hope we get to read a lot more this month!
LikeLike
I would say 4 books is pretty good considering how a few were big ones. I read 7 books but most of them were pretty small 😛 And congratulations once again on starting your new blog 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sim! ☺️ I’m okay with my reading for January, I just wanted to read a couple more books but I had days when I couldn’t read anything at all. Also, I kept watching The Office because that was calling to me more than the books..🙈
7 books is great! 😍 Found any new favorites?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Eleanor Oliphant is definitely a fav 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
I should probably give it another try. 🙈
LikeLike
4 books is a pretty solid start! I somehow got through 26 books … but I was on break for most of the month and didn’t really get anything else done 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wowwwww 26?!! 😍 That’s amazing, Isabelle! That’s like nearly half my annual goal..😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
yeah I was honestly surprised too, and it definitely couldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had literally 2/3 of the month off from school and everything else! and of course, reading is more about quality than quantity (I know, easy for me to say) 😜
LikeLiked by 1 person
😜😜 Hahaha, true! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooooo, I can’t wait to see your thoughts on Dumplin’ and A Large Expanse of the Sea! I think I read 12 books in January? Maybe 13? I definitely read more than usual thanks to the holiday break.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow..that’s great, Soph! 😍 I wish I was reading this much..I don’t know where all my time goes – well, I do now, watching shows, but I don’t know it at the time.🙈
Oh, my review for A Very Large Expanse of Sea is already up..here: https://areadertowhateverend.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/a-very-large-expanse-of-sea/ 🙂
LikeLike