January Wrap up and February TBR (To Be Read)

January Wrap Up

January was a great kick off to the year. I entered many reading challenges and I got a good kick start on reading. I read 6 books in January and if you look below I have five in my TBR. At the beginning of January I finished up my Christmas reading and dived back into my normal reading. I was able to read some great books in January. Read and enjoy ~ Rachael

1. The first book I finished in 2013 is Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh. This book just was a very warm touching story. It was about Rick who came home after his step father has a stroke to run his mom and step father's Christmas Shop. It was a great book and this author reminded me a lot of Nicholas Sparks. I really enjoyed the warm touching, story, and it was exactly what I needed to start the year off with. I gave this book 4/5 stars because it got terribly unrealistic in places.

challenges this fit into: A-Z (R), Library, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, Quick Fix, New Authors, Book Bingo

2. The second book I read was The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson. This book was basically a modern update on the traditional Christmas story. This book was a sweet feel good book that I read within a day. Edith was the inn keeper and our narrator. She was sad that none of her children would be home for Christmas so she opens up the house to rather grumpy guests. You can tell that Edith is a sweet lady and she is willing to help. This book was great and I gave it a 5/5 stars.

challenges this fit into: A-Z (C), Library, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, Quick Fix, Book Bingo

3. The third book I read in January is On Top of Concord Hill by Maria D. Wilkes. This is the fourth book in the Caroline series and the first book I truly got into from this series. I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this novel and I started some more research on Laura Ingalls Willder because of this book. It made the book a great experience. What is strange is that the next four book in the Caroline Series are by a different author. I gave this book 5/5 stars for finally getting me into the Caroline Series.

challenges this fit into: A-Z (O), Library, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, Quick Fix

4. The fourth book I read in January was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This was my second time reading The Time Traveler's Wife and I loved it as much as I loved it the first time. I fell in love with Henry and Claire's life all over again. I will most likely reread this novel again in a few years. I gave this book 5/5 stars because I love the story, the characters, the relationship, and the traveling. 

challenges this fit into: A-Z (T), Library, Book to Movie, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, Chunkster, Book Bingo, Monthly Keywords (December)

5. The fifth book I read in January is Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I absolutely loved this book. I fell in love with the characters, the story, and this quickly became my favorite read of the month. I would recommend this novel to everybody. I gave this book 4/5 stars for the slow beginning, but I truly loved this novel and I would recommend this book to Supernatural fans.

P.S. There will be an authors I love post about these two up in a couple of weeks. This was definitely my favorite book of the month and this is the book I know I will be recomending to everybody throughout the year. 

challenges this fit into: A-Z (B), Library, Book to Movie, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, Chunkster, Seriously Series, Book Bingo, Books-In-A-Series, Monthly Keywords (February), and new authors

6. The sixth and final book I read in January is Paper Towns by John Green. This book was super relatable for me and I loved every page of it. John Green's casual writing style allow you to jump into the novel and you instantly fall in love with the characters of this novel. I'm excited to read more of John Green's books. I gave this book 5/5 stars. The character development was superb and I love the story. 

challenges this fit into: A-Z (P), Library, Let me Count the Ways, Outdo Yourself, In the Middle, Book Bingo, and new authors

February To Be Read

I'm very excited to read all of these novels in February. For the month of February I decided it was good month to go back to some of my favorite authors such as Jodi Picoult, Susane Colasanti, and Nicholas Sparks, but then I also wanted to continue reading some of my new favorite authors such as John Green, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl. February should be another great month for reading so look forward to more reviews and posts in February because I have some exciting news I can't wait to share with my readers. 

Thanks for reading.

Rachael