Bookopoly TBR game – January 2021

I am making this post a little later than usual because I wanted to finish one book I had leftover from December. The rolls for January were made well back in December sometime after Christmas to have enough time to pick my books. As it turned out I have already read one of the books from this list this month and am choosing which I will read next. So without further babble from me here are the rolls and the books I picked for my Bookopoly reading challenge this January:

The first roll for January was an eight and it landed me on a 5 Star Prediction tile for the first time ever! I was debating for a book to choose for this and decided to go with the book that I am most excited to read and really want to love: Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) by Laurell K. Hamilton. I am very fond of the Anita Blake book series and sometimes I even feel it to be a lifeline of a sort trough some tough times. I pushed reading this book in digital form since the mass market paperback is not out yet and the next book of the series comes out in paperback next month and I already preordered it!

Prompt: 5 Star Prediction

Book: Sucker Punch (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #27) by Laurell K. Hamilton

My second roll got me to a Chance card spot. This time the book on the card was: The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice. I had so much issues with reading the first book of the series and a lot of problems to stop imagining movie version of characters and parts of the plot. The book is a different medium and I hope I will have less problems with this book. The first book took me months to read trough and I would like to avoid the repeat of that as well.

Prompt: Chance card

Book: The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice

Third roll got me another six and landed me on Community shelf tile. The card I got said: Historical romance and that even made me a bit happy. I picked out a book from my TBR that would fit this prompt perfectly but then I changed my mind on it to accommodate a book my book club choose for February: Vitez slavonske ravni by Marija Jurić Zagorka. It is a historical adventure and romance book by one of the most popular Croatian female writers and a first Croatian female journalist. I have never read anything by her before and she is well beloved author.

Prompt: Community shelf

Book: Vitez slavonske ravni by Marija Jurić Zagorka

Next roll got me another Chance card tile! I am running out of these even faster than anticipated and after a careful review of the cards I got left I realized I got four left out of starting sixteen. some of the book on the cards I read already as a part of some other challenges and had to take them out as well. I decided that I will be adding more books after I finish all that are left. The book I got this time is : Master of Chains (Forgotten Realms: The Fighters #1) by Jess Lebow. This is one of the books I have for a very long time and I am glad to have a reason to pick it up.

Prompt: Chance card

Book: Master of Chains (Forgotten Realms: The Fighters #1) by Jess Lebow

And since I did not roll any doubles this time my fifth and last roll for this month was an eleven and got me a prompt I have already been on: Young Adult. I had to actually stop and think carefully about the options I have on my own shelves. I am not really into Young Adult book that much and with a few notable exceptions from last year I had to carefully choose among the books I own. In the end I decided on one of the last books I bought: Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin. This one is a buddy read with a friend this month so we will see how we both like it.

Prompt: Young Adult

Book: Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin

January Book Wrap Up 2020

Monthly reading review – January 2020

This January I have read:

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

King of Scars (Nikolai Duology, #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1) by Holly Black ★★★★

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) by Holly Black ★★★★★

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3) by Holly Black ★★★★★

The Witch With No Name (The Hollows #13) by Kim Harrison ★★★

1. How many books have you read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read? 

This January I read 7 books total. I am happy with the amount and page count in particular.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in January? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

All of the books were fantasy genre. The first half of January I was totally into Grishaverse and managed to read everything Leigh Bardugo had written related to Grishaverse. The second part of the month I was happily enjoying Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series – I’m still confused as to why they are called that though But the characters Jude and Cardan have become favorites right away!

This is just one of the beautiful pictures I found of Cardan and Jude – all rights belong to the author and artist!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The only book I had any issues reading this month was The Witch With No Name. I got overwhelmed by the complicate metaphysics supernatural elements of the book. I let too much time pass between reading this last book of The Hollows series and the previous one. I had problems keeping up with the book plot. You can check out my review for more details HERE.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I made a list of the books I own I wish to read this year and five of them I read this January already. I’m very happy with that score and enjoy making reading plans so I can keep better track of my reading.  You can check out the whole list HERE. I will be making  a separate post and update on it later in February.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

Having finished all books related to the Grishaverse universe I will have to wait for the next book in Nikolai duology which happens to be one of the most anticipated books this year! I have finally finished with The Hollows series by Kim Harrison (insert little happy/sad dance here). That felt like a chapter of my life has been finished as well – this is how long I was a devoted reader to this book series. As for The Folk of the Air book series – I managed to make a run trough the whole trilogy this month and will probably need to turn to some fanfiction and hope that the author writes some more books soon!

 

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

I have become a devoted reader fan to both Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black. I’m going to try some other books by Leigh Bardugo in February – primarily Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) which I have ordered and received already. Anyone who likes fantasy will probably like both of the Grishaverse and The Folk of the Air book series. I find the plot engaging and the books are just beautiful as well!

Monthly reading review – January 2018

This January I have read:

The Scoundrel Takes a Bride (Regency Rogues #5) by Stefanie Sloane ★★

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman ★★★

A Test of Mettle (The Iron Druid Chronicles #3.5) by Kevin Hearne ★★★★

A Prelude to War (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #7.5) by Kevin Hearne ★★★★

Three Slices by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson and Chuck Wendig ★★★★

Taurus by Božica Dragaš ★★★

The Shab-al-Hiri Roach by Jason Morningstar ★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

In January I have read six books in total. I have decided leave the short story from one of them out of the count. I would like to read a bit more in general and get the number of books I read in a month closer to ten.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in January? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

I loved getting back to The Iron Druid Chronicles in the form of short stories and they were the highlight of my reading in January. The Shab-al-Hiri Roach has given me some food for thought in January as well.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The historical romance The Scoundrel Takes a Bride did not impress me much. I guess I was not in the mood for romance books this January.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

Only planned reading I did was finishing The Golden Compass from December and reading the Taurus book for my book club meeting at the start of February.  The rest of the books, excluding the TBR Jar Draw The Shab-al-Hiri Roach were not planned.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

Technically I tried out three new series: His Dark Materials #1) by Philip Pullman, Blud short story by Delilah S. Dawson and Miriam Black short story by Chuck Wendig.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

This January recommendation goes for Kevin Hearne and Iron Druid Chronicles. I enjoy the stories from the world of Iron Druid a lot and hope to continue reading the next book soon.

Final thoughts on January reading

I have posted three book reviews in January:

The Scoundrel Takes a Bride (Regency Rogues #5) by Stefanie Sloane ★★ – REVIEW

Three Slices by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson and Chuck Wendig ★★★★ – REVIEW

The Shab-al-Hiri Roach by Jason Morningstar ★★★ – REVIEW

I am still reading A Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics by Erich Fromm and I am slowly trudging on with Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3) by E.L. James. I am having trouble with it and hope to finish it by the time the movie comes out.

I have yet to do the TBR Jar Draw for February and start on the other book for my book club reading in February which is Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Monthly Reading Review – January 2016

This January I have read:

La Liste De Mes Envies by Gregoire Delacourt ★★★

Le ragazze di Sanfrediano by Vasco Pratolini ★★★★

Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book 2) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★

The Rosie Project (Don Tillman book 1) by Graeme Simsion ★★★★★

Žena s drugog kata by Jurica Pavičić ★★★

Cosmétique de l’ennemi by Amelie Nothomb ★★★

Back on the Street (Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1) by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertston ★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

January is one of the slowest reading months for me. Reading seven books in January is a pretty good score.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in November? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

There were some interesting new books and there were some favorite rereads. I think Rosie Project was the book I enjoyed the most this January.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

I was fortunate enough and my reading menu was all good. Žena s drugog kata and Cosmétique de l’ennemi were weird and out of my usual reading scope.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

Again I did all the RL book club reading and for the rest I just improvised with lots of reading in the moment picks. This resulted in quite a bit of unusual reading material for me. This no reading plan and Shelfari chaos are making me spin in circles what might not be such a bad thing.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I started one graphic novel series Transmetropolitan and did a second reading of two favorite book series. The rest of my reading was strangely not part of any book series. I’m not sure how I feel about this.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

I would like to recommend both of my rereads Rosie Project and Laughing Corpse. 

Reading in progress

Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark, #15) by Kresley Cole

Moć albiura (Saga Albiurana, #1) by Daria Keršić

Moja ti by Jasna Jasna Žmak

 

Afterthought

This thing with Shelfari closing down has put me on a loop. The result was not one review in January! Now when I look back on it I would have liked to have written a review on some of the more unusual reading picks I did. With my reading this month I was all over this world and visited some others as well! I won the lottery in France, fell in love in Australia, made out with five women scorned in the Italy, torched some zombies in St. Louis and then went out to live out the rest of my life on a small isolated island in the Adriatic sea.