Monthly Wrap Up: January 2022

Hello everyone!

I can’t believe we’re already in that time of the month in which we look back to everything we did in it. January went by so fast, but I think that we think like that about almost every month.

This wrap up to me is very special because is the first one that I do in over a year. It was also the month in which I read the most in a long while, and I’m happy because that means that being back to blogging has motivated me to step up my reading game once again. When I came back, I was scared to not have read wnough books to be able to do a wrap up, fortunately that’s not the case!

Another big achievement of mine this month is that I redesigned my blog in its entirety and though it wasn’t easy at first to put all my ideas together into something cohesive, I’m pretty happy with the result. This is my tiny safe space and it’s important to me being happy with the way it looks. Without more rambling, let’s begin with the wrap up!

S T A T S

This month I read 4 books, 1,207 pages in total. It is not much to most people but it’s a big achievement to me as I’m just recovering from a huge reading slump! Below, you’ll see my thoughts on each book.

1. Tú y yo invencibles by Alice Kellen (You and Me, Invincible)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Even when this book is in Spanish and I don’t think it’s available in English, I still add it here because there might some Spanish-speaking readers out there, and if that’s the case I highly recommend you to pick up this book. It’s set in the 70s and follows the tumultuous relationship between a model and a rockstar, the story addresses drug addiction and how a couple can get broken without separating from each other. This isn’t a healthy love story by any means, but I don’t think that was the author’s aim. I think that it pretends to show how self-destructive some people can get to be and how that can destroy not only themselves but also everything that surrounds them. I love each and every book this author writes, and this one did not disappoint.

2. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I meant to read this book last year, a little after it came out, but I wasn’t captivated enough to do so. That happened again a couple times last year and I wondered if I had stopped feeling connected to TJR’s works -thankfully, I was wrong. I gave another chance to MR in early January and past the 10% mark, I was hooked and couldn’t stop until I finished it. Taylor Jenkins Reid does a fabulous job when it comes to depict fame, and broken superstars, and the complexity of their relationships with family and lovers. She throws unexpected plot twists that leave you speechless. And those are the things that have made me fall for her work. She remains one of my favorite authors after this book. I could connect really well with all the Riva siblings, but I think that I felt the most engaged with June and Mick’s toxic and failed relationship as she was able to capture June’s feelings very well. Needless to say, I’d give my firstborn for Jenkins Reid to write another book on broken superstars.

3. A Gentle Reminder by Bianca Sparacino

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I didn’t expect to read this book or love it as much as I did, and that’s because I hadn’t heard about it until I saw a tiktok titled “Books that feel just like All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” and well… that is enough to sell a book to me. This book indeed made me cry (almost) as much as ATW. It is… brilliant. I think that this is the perfect book for those people that just went through a breakup or are struggling with loving and accepting themselves. It isn’t exactly a poetry book, but more like a diary that someone else is opening for you to see and heal through it. I think I’m being overly sentimental, but I think that Sparacino has a way to communicate her message that doesn’t get redundant, or old. It is impactful, it is real and (at least for me) it was very helpful. I highly recommend it and I can’t wait to read her other works.

4. Heartstopper (vol I) by Alice Oseman

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is the first graphic novel that I read, and I’ve been hearing a lot about this book for years and years but never read it until now, and I have zero regrets. It is exactly what the people who’ve read it promised -fluffy, romantic, swoony, emotional and just so cute. This is the perfect read when you want to pick up something that makes you smile and feel giddy and positive, no drama, just sunshine. Nick and Charlie had my entire heart within minutes. I can’t wait to read the rest of the novels, and I heard there’s a show adaptation coming soon so I’m very excited about that too!

---

For the next month…

In February I hope to catch up on some ARCs. Recently I was approved for one of my most anticipated books of the year (Siren Queen) so I can’t wait to read it and share my thoughts with you! I’m also currently reading You and Me on Vacation and given how much I enjoyed Beach Read by the same author, I have high expectations on it. Those are reviews you can expect to see on the blog soon!

I will always bring you some posts I’ve been planning for some weeks now. I don’t want to share a lot now, but they’ll be helpful posts on book blogging, ones I would have liked to read myself when I was beginning to blog. I want to keep being constant with blogging and try to stay out of slumps, and those are basically my very simple goals for the month lol.

---

This is it for today! I hope you liked my *very* short wrap up and perhaps get motivated to read some of these books. Which was your favorite book of the month? Which was your least favorite? What books do you look forward to read in February? Let’s talk in the comments!