Monthly Recap: January 2016

Happy February, my lovelies! January alternately flew and dragged for me. Here's a recap of the month:

~ In Real Life ~

I kicked off 2016 with my mum and youngest nephew. We had a little party at home with lots of snacks and movies, and we watched the ball drop in Time's Square at midnight. Right after midnight, someone set off fireworks nearby, so we watched those from the window, which was fun. It was a great night - one I'll definitely remember for a long time.

As for the rest of the month...not so great. It's been a rollercoaster for a lot of reasons, none of which I'll go into, but let's just say I wished multiple times for a reset button on the year. Hopefully February will be better!

~ On the blog ~

• I started the year by taking a look back on 2015, in which I shared three big things I learned last year, plus shared my hopes for 2016.

• I started a new monthly feature with my friend Jessica from  Thoughts at One in the Morning called Thoughts and Daydreams. Our first topic was Getting Back to Basics, and we talked about simplifying things in regards to reading and blogging. Be sure to watch for our second post on February 5th!

• I participated in the Clean Slate Read-a-thon hosted by Novel Ink, Lost in Lit and Latte Nights Reviews, and I managed to read three books, plus participate in all three mini challenges.

• I reviewed With Every Breath by Lia Riley (4 stars), The Turning Point by Marie Meyer (4 stars), The Distance From A to Z by Natalie Blitt (4 stars), The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall (4 stars), Royal Marriage Market by Heather Lyons (4 stars), From Bad to Wurst by Maddy Hunter (4 stars), and Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (5 stars). 

• On the last Monday of the month, I started participating in Lovin' Los Libros's weekly meme, The Monday Musts. The idea is to share a must-read book, a must-listen song/artist/album, and something that's a must see - TV show, movie, picture, blog, etc.

• I'm participating in the 2016 Contemporary Romance Challenge, and I did the monthly topic, which was Top Ten Most Anticipated Romances for the First Half of 2016.

~ Books Read in January ~

• The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie

• Summerfall by Claire Legrand

• The Turning Point by Marie Meyer

• The Distance From A to Z by Natalie Blitt

• Jewel of the Thames by Angela Misri

• Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

• From Bad to Wurst by Maddy Hunter

• Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

• Complementary and Acute by Ella Lyons

• The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin

• Chasing Spring by RS Grey

~ Favourite Books of January ~

January was a fantastic reading month for me - I enjoyed everything I read, which is incredibly rare, especially considering the number of books I read. Out of all of them, The Abyss Surrounds Us and Emmy & Oliver were my top favourites.

How was your January? Any highlights? What was the best book you read? Do you have a favourite blog post (feel free to link me to it in the comments so I can check it out)?

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