January & February Wrap Up 2018 | A very slow start to the New Year!

Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year?! Because I feel like I haven’t done that yet on my blog.  

I had a very slow start this time around. It is taking me forever to sort everything blog and reading related, and get back on track. Which is sad, because I love blogging and everything that comes with it, and when I put it aside, there is a part of me that is missing. But that is a story for another time!

Today, we are talking books and more precisely the 7 books I read in January and 1 and a half books from February. Which, may I add, were fantastic! Two of them made it to my «Favourites 2018» shelf on GoodReads.

1 – ★★★☆☆ «The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo» by Stieg Larsson. After laying on my shelf for over a year, I was finally in the right mood for some crime / thriller and not too scared of its size. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to, considering that it was recommended to me so many times and people spoke so highly of the book. I had a general «Meh» feeling. Yes, it wasn’t bad, but for the most part, incredibly slow paced. And honestly, I have no desire to continue with the series for now.

2 & 3 – ★★☆☆☆ «Glass Sword» and «King’s Cage» by Victoria Aveyard. YES! I did it! Didn’t I start the second book in the series in early September? And it just laid next to my bed for months. I would read 20 pages here another 30 there but never felt like I couldn’t function if I didn’t finish it ASAP.

I was very disappointed because I remember reading «Red Queen» and thinking “Wow, this book is amazing!” It was one of my first fan-girling reviews on this blog. But the second book and even the third – «King’s Cage» that I also read in January, did not live up to my expectations and both received two stars.

4 – ★★★★★ «The Immortalists» by Chloe Benjamin was the first book I added to my 2018 favorites shelf on GoodReads! And I am curious to see how much more will make it to my top list of this year.

There is already a full review on my blog and on GoodReads, make sure to check them out. But let me just say that it was an incredibly gripping novel, and the whole concept of knowing exactly the day of your death just blew my mind.

5 – ★★★★☆ «This is not a love letter» by Kim Purcell is a YA thriller / romance / suspense? written from Jessie’s point of view, when her boyfriend Chris is gone missing. Full of heartbreaking emotions, this book will not leave you indifferent and will bring your attention to numerous topics, like racism, mental illness, poverty, and others.

6 – ★★★☆☆ «Everything Here is Beautiful» by Mira T Lee. Presented through multiple points of view, «Everything Here is Beautiful» showcases the life of Miranda, Lucia, Manny, and Yonah, connected through deep emotions – Empathy, towards each other and towards Lucia’s mental illness. Emotional and vivid, this was an amazing novel to plunder through during the colder months of the year.

7 – ★★★★★ «The Girl in the Tower» by Katherine Arden – my most anticipated book of 2018! The second installment of the Winternight Trilogy, the first being The Bear and the Nightingale, it delivered to the fullest! I’m in love with Katherine Arden’s writing style and the Rus’ settings. And the waiting time for the final book begins…

8 – ★★★★☆ «The Lost Path» by Amélie Fléchais. This was the “half” book I counted for the month of February. The first Amélie Fléchais graphic novel that I’ve read was «The Little Red Wolf» that I actually disliked quite a lot (there will be a post on this soon). However, «The Lost Path» was so much better, in my opinion. Illustrations were gorgeous in both novels, but this one actually had a plot and carefully selected words, much more appropriate for the audience it is written for.

9 – ★★★★★ «The Toymakers» by Robert Dinsdale. An absolutely magical historical fiction? literary fiction? magical realism?, this book has it all, you name it! Written from the early 1900s until 1953, it captures the life and inhabitants of the Emporium, a toy shop in central London, that is open every year from the first frost until the first snowdrops. The toy shop owned by Papa Jack and his two sons, Kaspar and Emil, who never fail to surprise the children and adults every Christmas. Until the War comes. Even the inhabitants of the Emporium get affected by its ruthlessness and savageness.

How was the start to your new year 2018? Have any books left a big impression? Let me know in the comments down below! 

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