The time it was a monthly recap {30}

You guys. Okay, so it’s February and here we are again…I didn’t realize that I never did a recap for December until I started this one, so there’s that.  Looking at my calendar, there wasn’t too much going on and I’m still lacking the ambition, so that explains a lot.

Anyhoo, I’ll do a double recap of sorts. Settle in.

December: 12 books

• Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross — 4.5 stars
• The Rancher’s Baby by Maisey Yates — 3 stars
• About that Kiss by Jill Shalvis — 4 stars
• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson — 4.5 stars
• A Devil in Scotland by Suzanne Enoch — 3.5 stars
• S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett — 3 stars
• Surrender to the Highlander by Lynsay Sands — 4 stars
• Indecent Exposure by Tessa Bailey — 4 stars
• Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L Armentrout — 3.5 stars
• Zero Hour by Megan Erickson — 3 stars
• The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory — 4 stars
• Smooth-Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates — 4 stars

I was able to finish 2017 with a total of 283 books, which I’m pretty pleased with. Not too bad for no challenge. I have set the 2018 challenge for 250 books and I’m already feeling the stress for being behind. Sigh.

January: 17 books

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — 5 stars
• This Tiny Perfect World by Lauren Gibaldi — 2 stars
• Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett — 5 stars
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton — 4 stars
• The Wish Granter by CJ Redwine — 5 stars
• Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes — 5 stars
• Daughter of the Siren Queen by Trisha Levenseller — 4 stars
• Everless by Sara Holland — 3 stars
• Shatter by Aprilynne Pike — 4 stars
• The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda — 4 stars
• Any Groom Will Do by Charis Michaels — 5 stars
• A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab {reread} — all of the stars ever
• People Like Us by Dana Mele — 2 stars
• The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Muran — 4 stars
• The Wicker King by KA Ancrum — 3.5 stars
• Lady Be Reckless by Megan Frampton — 4 stars
• Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston — 2.5 stars

I need to come up with a different way to share the books I’ve read for the month, so I’m trying this listing way. The link will take you to my review on Goodreads. Adding the covers was a huge pain in the ass and even though it’s aesthetically pleasing to me, it’s also taking up a lot of my storage. So yeah.  We’ll see how this goes. If anyone has a better way, please let me know.

• Simon Pulse sent me a bound MS of From Twinkle, with Love and I screamed at the post office
• Penguin Teen sent me a finished copy of Immortal Reign and I screamed on my front porch
• Sourcebooks Fire sent me an arc of Furyborn with the pretty cover and I screamed at the gorgeousness of it

I also got a super cute mailing of The Wedding Date from Berkley, a finished copy of Wires and Nerve 2: Gone Rogue and a box of lovelies from Fierce Reads, and an arc of Between the Blade and the Heart from Wednesday Books.

Fangirled over:

• Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner for Unearthed

Interviewed:

• Morgan Rhodes for the Fallen Kingdoms mega blog tour
• M.A. Bennett for S.T.A.G.S.

Special stuff:

• Paula Stokes shared an excerpt from The Key to Everything

• Mysterious Galaxy had their holiday party.  Michelle and I pre-gamed as always before spending some time at the bookstore and flailing over Christina Lauren.
• I may have had a few mimosas with my favorites before the event started.

• The day after the holiday party, Leigh Bardugo {aka The Queen} was at the store.  It was fairly informal, but ticketed.  We got to spend a few minutes chatting with her and I was able to collect the rest of the SoC cards I needed to complete the set.
• I didn’t recap either of these events as there wasn’t any sort of presentation slash Q&A and I doubt anyone wants to hear the random conversations we tend to have.
• Fangirling over: Holly Black, Susan Dennard, and maybe Melissa Albert and Neal Shusterman
  
• Interviewing: Dhonielle Clayton, Mary Pearson
• Reading Rewind: YES. Seriously, I need to do this.
  
• Discussion post: Perhaps.
  
• Special Stuff: blog tours for Hero at the Fall and A Wrinkle in Time.
  
• Extra Misc: in January, I co-hosted my first Instagram photo challenge with Cait and Brittney and it was so much fun. We’ll be doing another one for February! If you’re interested in joining us for the month {or like me for a couple of prompts}, check out #febbookstagram18. You can also find the prompts on the highlights of my IG profile.

Obviously I haven’t been as active as I was expecting to be.  I’m still behind on replying to comments and visiting blogs.  I can’t even keep up with my own features.  I’m really hoping to get back into the swing of things soon.  Please stay with me.

In the meantime: How was your January? What was your favorite read for the month?