I was in a bit of a reading slump in January. It's so cold and dreary out, I was playing more video games, and figuring out my work life. All that said, I did read 8 books this month!

The Fate of The Tearling by Erika Johansen
The first book of 2017, which I reviewed in this post, was The Fate of the Tearling. I won't say much more about it, because I talked it about in the post, but I rated the book 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, so I wasn't a huge fan.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
This is the second book in a series, and I put it off for some reason, but I actually really enjoyed it. It takes place in a world with magic, and there are basically four Londons. Gray London, Red London, White London, and Black London. They are parallel worlds in a way, but magic plays a part. I won't tell you too much more, because that was enough to intrigue me to start the series. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads!

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
This is one of those books that everyone has been talking about for a while now. I don't know how I just got around to it this month, but I absolutely loved it. I think I read it in one or two sittings, it was that compelling. I really want to watch the movie now, too. This book is about a young woman who starts a job as the caregiver of a 30-something paraplegic man. Their stories intertwine and the way we learn about these characters and come to really love them is what made this book so worthwhile to me. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads! (I hardly ever give a book 5 stars.)

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han 
This was a cute pallet cleanser of a read, after the heavier topic in Me Before You. This is the second book in this series as well, and it's a read that is probably more geared toward early high schoolers. However, it's a super cute, quick book, and I liked it. In the first book of the series, the main character writes love letters to all of her past crushes, from middle school on. And then, all of these letters get sent out to her crushes, and she has no idea how. The series basically just deals with all that happens because of that. It's very high school, but like I said, it's a cute read.

Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
Another sequel! I really loved this series though. It takes place in a world where time travel exists. There's a hierarchy of certain families who control people with this talent, and there is a bunch of lore and mythology that goes along with the world. I always love historical novels, even if they only show a slight bit of history, like this one. You get to read about all different times in the world, and I felt like the author did a pretty good job portraying everything realistically. I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads.


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Illustrated Edition) by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay
I don't know how I haven't read any illustrated editions of the Harry Potter series yet, but my boyfriend got the first one for me for Christmas, and it was amazing. Obviously, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so the writing had me all nostalgic. But the illustrations really brought the story to life, and it was interesting to see a different interpretation than the one I have in my head. Of course, I gave it five out of five stars on Goodreads.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
This book was probably one of my least favorites this month. I really, really liked the world in the book, but I hate love triangles. And the one in this book just felt so unnecessary. I really liked the main character though, so I did give this book three out of five stars on Goodreads. This is a series, but if you like books with adventure and a little mystery, you'd probably enjoy this book.

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda
I'm a big Hamilton fan, and just a fan of Lin-Manual Miranda in general. I can also finally say that I'm going to say Hamilton this year. So excited, even though it's still months away. But this book really showed all the thought and every detail that went into the production of Hamilton. There's definitely some things mentioned in the book that I'm going to have to watch out for when I see it on stage. It's definitely an interesting read for any Hamilton fan.

So that's it! I know eight books seems like a fair amount of reading, but I just feel like I didn't read that much this month! I don't know why! Hopefully next month I'll be able to read even more! What did you read this month?