What I’m Reading – January 2019

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It’s time for my favorite post of the month…the post where I tell you about all of the books I read the month before! Last year my resolution was to read 100 books and I read 120 which I’m totally chalking up to being sick in December and I am so proud of myself! I read some amazing books!

Since I completely killed my 2018 resolution of reading 100 books for 2019 my resolution is to read 120 books. I’ve done it before and I know I can do it again!

I think my reading kick rolled over into January because somehow I managed to read a whopping FIFTEEN books last month. I’m super proud of my great start to my reading resolution and I know that every month won’t be like this but for now I’m proud! So let’s see all of the books I read in January…

ONE. Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. This book number four in the Blossom Street Series and I am seriously loving this series!! This books is about some of my favorite Blossom Street characters and some hardships they are facing. Lydia, the yarn shop owner, and her sister have a family emergency and Alix is a few months away from her wedding and all chaos is ensuing during the planning. I love that this book brought back some of my favorite characters and got us up to date on their lives!

“Debbie Macomber’s name on a book is a guarantee of delightful, warmhearted romance.” – Jayne Ann Krentz

TWO. Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber. Book number five in the Blossom Street series, Twenty Wishes, introduces a new store and new characters to Blossom Street. This book is about Anne Marie Roche and her bookstore, Blossom Street Books. Anne Marie is a recent widow and has a book club night for other widows in the area and for Valentine’s Day all of the women decide to make a list of twenty wishes/things they want to accomplish in the coming year. The year is full of wonderful surprises for all of the women and I love how characters from other books are brought into this book as well.

THREE. Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. Book number six in the Blossom Street series, Summer on Blossom Street, takes place back in the yarn shop. Lydia is holding another knitting class for people who want to get over something and thins brings back Alix and a few new faces to the yarn shop. At the same time as the class Anne Marie is dealing with a life change and Lydia and her husband have decided to foster a teen girl who is a little more than they can handle. Loved this Blossom Street book!

FOUR. Hannah’s List by Debbie Macomber. Book number seven in the Blossom Street series, Hannah’s List, is one of the sadder in the series. In this book Dr. Michael Everett is a widow of just a year after his wife, Hannah’s, passing. On the anniversary of her death her brother gives Michael a letter Hannah had written for him and it contains a list of things he must do if he has not gotten on with his life. This book had me in tears (good ones) and introduced a few new Blossom Street characters!

FIVE. A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber. Book number eight in the Blossom Street series, A Turn in the Road, is about a road trip taken by Bethanne Hamlin (from a previous Blossom Street book) , her Mother in Law, and her daughter. It is a bonding experience for all of the ladies as well as a learning experience. Such a great read!

SIX. Starting Now by Debbie Macomber. Book number nine in the Blossom Street series and the last one I read this month, Starting Now is about a few new Blossom Street characters! Libby Morgan is a lawyer who got laid off and is having to start her life over and her best friend Robin (Sister in Law to Bethanne Hamlin) is her best friend who is helping her. Libby may not have a high powered job anymore but that just means she has time for the things in her life that really matter like re-learning to knit, joining a gym and getting in shape, eating better and volunteering at a local hospital. Another great Blossom Street read!

SEVEN. Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber. NOT a Blossom Street book, but another great Debbie Macomber book, Any Dream Will Do is about a woman named Shay who found herself making the wrong decision to protect her younger brother and went to jail for it. This book is about truly starting over from the very bottom and learning to make it on your own but with the help of some amazing new friends.

EIGHT. 17th Suspect by James Patterson. I eventually moved on from sappy romance novels and read the 17th book in James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. I love how these characters have evolved over time and it’s fun to jump back into a series with characters you already know. This book is about a serial killer in San Fransisco who is killing homeless people. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer gets a tip from an anonymous source about who is behind the killings and all hell breaks loose. Great read!

NINE. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks. I used to read Nicholas Sparks books like they were going out of style and actually thought I had read this one but I guess not. This was a great read about a single mother who is in a car accident and who’s son with severe learning disabilities goes missing afterwards. A fireman stops to check on the wreck and winds up in the swamps of North Carolina in the middle of a storm searching for the little boy. A bond is formed between mom and fireman that gets complicated…

“All of Sparks’s trademark elements–love, loss, and small-town life–are present in this terrific read.” – Booklist

TEN. Jinx by Meg Cabot. Most people think about The Princess Diaries when they thing about Meg Cabot but she has written some other great books as well! Jinx is about a girl who goes to live with her Aunt, Uncle and their family in New York City after a mess she caused in her small hometown. While Jinx is super pumped about the move her cousin Tory isn’t so excited. You see, Tory has secrets and her secrets could put the whole family in danger if anyone were to find them out. Overall I really loved this book. It was a great quick read and I love pretty much any book about NYC!

ELEVEN. Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark. Oh gosh I love me some Mary Higgins Clark! Two Little Girls in Blue is about the abduction of twin girls from their home on the day of their third birthday. One twin is eventually returned home and the second is presumed dead and everyone believes that except the mother because she thinks the returned twin is using twin telepathy to communicate with her sister. Overall this was a very good read and has an interesting look at twin telepathy!

“Riveting….Rivaling Clark’s debut, Where Are the Children?, this suspense thriller is certain to send terror into the heart of any parent.” – Publishers Weekly

TWELVE. Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green. This is the story of Ronnie Sunshine, star of the silver screen, and her three daughters who couldn’t be more different. Ronnie is diagnosed with a terminal illness and hides it from her family for as long as possible until she finally decides to call her girls home and tell them her final wishes. Each girl comes home but brings her own emotional baggage with her…this is a story of family, forgiveness, friendship, lost love, old wounds and good old mother/daughter relationships.

“All women will recognize something of themselves in one of the Sunshine sisters. Jane Green’s best yet. I raced through this.”—Jojo Moyes, New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You

THIRTEEN. Tempting Fate by Jane Green. This is the story of the woman who has it all…a great marriage, wonderful children, great friends, a neat little side business and yet still wants more. Call is a mid-life crisis or call it just the need to feel needed this book is about a woman who is tempted in the worst way possible and then has to live with the consequences forever.

“Green skillfully depicts a woman trapped between contentment and temptation, crafting an insightful look into married life and middle age.” – Publishers Weekly

FOURTEEN. Dune Road by Jane Green. Recent divorcee Kit has had a drastic life change since divorcing her Wall Street husband. She now lives in a small, modest home and is looking for a job which she finds as an assistant to a well known, yet reclusive, novelist who lives in a mansion on Dune Road. Things get shaky when a new person enters Kit’s life and the whole town turns upside down during a financial collapse.

“The kind of novel you’ll gobble up at a single sitting.” – Cosmopolitan

FIFTEEN. The Invited by Jennifer McMahon. This book comes out April 30, 2019 and I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book is a classic ghost story but with a modern day twist. Former teachers Nate and Helen have decided to give up modern day comforts and build their dream home on their own in the middle of rural Vermont. After they start building strange things start happening and it is then that they discover the dark history of their land and the woman who used to live there. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it! It was truly fascinating digging into the local legends and trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I LOVED this book!!

And there you have it folks, all of the books I read in January. If you are a reader I hope you found a new book to read!

What have you been reading lately??