January Reads 2022

How is January already over?! The first month of 2022 flew by so quickly. I surprised myself by reading 7 books this month. They were all great books that I would recommend and include two of my favorite authors, Colleen Hoover and Jodi Picoult. I even had my first 5 star read of the year. Here are my January reads that I’m sharing with Steph and Jana’s monthly book link up.

4 stars:

Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover (Contemporary Romance, August 2020) Beyah has grown up poor and basically raised herself, since her mother is always high on drugs. She is spending the summer with her father, a man she hardly knows, and his new wife and stepdaughter at their summer house on the Texas shore. There she meets Samson, a rich boy she has nothing in common with. As the two become closer, they realize that they have more in common than they think. But they agree that they will only have a summer romance and then he will answer all of Beyah’s questions that he has left unanswered. But the truth comes out sooner than he anticipates and both their lives are changed. If you’ve never read a Colleen Hoover book, I high recommend giving one of her books a try. This was another great book of hers.

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan (Contemporary Romance, April 2018) Ella Durran has a Rhodes scholarship and is spending a year studying in Oxford. She has a rough first encounter with Jamie Davenport, whom she soon discovers is her English Literature professor. The two start a romance but then Ella discovers Jamie has a secret, which will ultimately affect her future plans. I read this book not knowing much about it and honestly, didn’t have high expectations. But I was surprised at how enjoyable I found it to be.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin (Contemporary Fiction, June 2021) Lenni is seventeen and living in the terminal ward of a hospital. She ends up meeting 83 year-old Margot at an art class. The two become fast friends and decide to embark on an art project where they paint events for each year of their lives, creating 100 pieces in total. As they paint the pieces, we learn more about each of them and their lives. This was such a great book about friendship and love.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (Contemporary Fiction, August 2021) Aleisha works at the local library. Mukesh is a widower and begins to visit the library in hopes of connecting with his granddaughter through her love of books. When he asks for a book recommendation, Aleisha gives him books off a reading list that she finds left inside a book. The two end up reading through the books together, forming a friendship in the process. I had never heard of this book but am reading through some of the goodreads Choice Awards 2021 nominees and this one was a fiction nominee. While I haven’t read all of the books on the list, it was fun to read a book about books and book lovers.

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner (Historical Fiction, February 2015) Two sisters, Emmy and Julia Downtree, are evacauted during the bombings in London during WWII. When Emmy returns to London with Julia for an appointment she doesn’t want to miss, the two end up separated and their lives are transformed. The book is told between present day and 1940’s England. If you’re a fan of WWII historical fiction, like me, I recommend this book.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (Contemporary Fiction, November 2021) Diana O’Toole works at Sotheby’s. Her boyfriend Finn is a surgical resident at a NYC hospital. They are planning a vacation to the Galapagos but then COVID hits and Finn is needed at work. He tells Diana to go on the trip without him since the trip is nonrefundable. While in the Galapagos she befriends a teen girl and becomes close with the girl’s father. While on the trip, Diana starts thinking about her life choices. It was weird reading a book about COVID while still living through COVID. For some people, the hospital scenes in this book may be too difficult to read. However, Picoult is an excellent storyteller and this book is another example of her well researched work.

5 stars:

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (Contemporary Romance, January 2022) After a tragic accident, Kenna spends five years in prison. When she is released from prison she returns to the town where the accident took place, in hopes of reuniting with her daughter. However, her daughter’s grandparents will do everything to keep the two apart. Can Kenna be forgiven for a mistake that happened many years ago? Or will she have to leave town without her daughter? Hoover tells a good story and this one did not disappoint. It is very rare nowadays for me to be able to read a book in two days. But I couldn’t put this one down. I haven’t cried while reading a book in awhile but this one had me grabbing the tissue box.