Last month I decided to start reading regularly again. I used to read a lot but then I moved to Poland and I struggled with this. First because I was alone in a new country and I needed time to adjust and then because I struggled to find English books. Don’t get me wrong, there are places to get these but seeing as I have 18 boxes of books back home in South Africa, I didn’t really want to spend so much of my salary buying more…and more…and more.
Then I found this wonderful online store in Poland where you can buy second-hand books and I fell in love. Honestly, I have probably bought about 60 books from this place…so far! It has been amazing to pick up a book and read again, so, I have decided to share my thoughts on the books that I have read each month. I am really excited about this so here are my January reads.
Secrets – Freya North
Short blurb? Tess applies to be the housekeeper for Joe and when she arrives he notices that she has a lot of secrets. He too has secrets. Surprise, surprise.
But there’s something about her – even though sparks fly every time they meet.
And it looks like she’s here to stay…
I think we can all guess what is going to happen here. Before I even started reading the book I had my own ideas and…I was correct! My thoughts on this book was that it was way too long. The storyline was fine, the writing was fine, the book overall was…fine. I definitely felt like there a lot of unnecessary parts to this book and I didn’t really feel like there were any OH MY GOODNESS secrets. The characters were alright and even though they had some good qualities, overall there was something lacking, especially with Tess. This was the first of my January reads and it was a very low 3.
Rating: 3/5
The Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson
Fran thinks that her boyfriend, Michael, is going to propose to her, turns out he isn’t, and they end up breaking up. She wants to win him back but her friends have other ideas. They set her up on 8 blind dates…and that is when things start to happen.
I quite enjoyed this book actually. There were a few twists and turns along the way which added to the excitement. Some things were maybe a bit unrealistic but it is a romance novel after all and that can’t be helped I suppose. I also found the leading character, Fran, to be a bit too much at times . This was rather a long book and her feeling sorry for herself and always doing everything with the express purpose of getting Michael back was a bit annoying.
Rating: 4/5
Perfect Day by Imogen Parker
Instead of going to work, Alexander decides to spend the day with a waitress her met the night before, Kate. His partner, Nell, goes to the beach to try and let the sea air blow away her doubts about her life.
This review might have some spoilers but honestly, you won’t be missing much. Again, this book was very long and honestly, not much happens. The characters were not all that likeable unfortunately. Yes, they had some good and interesting aspects to them but Alexander goes off to spend a day with a waitress he just met, knowing that it is wrong, and Nell, who is not blameless in the relationship, is very woe is me; a quality I can’t say that I enjoy when reading a book. In the end? Nothing changes, it was like the entire thing was a dream and now they’re back in the world of reality. Overall, I was underwhelmed. Another one of my January reads that received a very low 3 from me.
Rating: 3/5
Dying for Christmas by Tammy Cohen
Jessica is held captive by a blue-eyed stranger (Dominic). For the 12 days of Christmas, he gives her a gift each day, each one more horrifying than the last. She knows what will happen after the 12 days. But…she has a secret.
I really enjoyed this book and I felt it was well written. The imagery was fantastic. It really kept you on edge while reading it and there were some good twists and turns along the way. My one complaint about this book would be that it was very long. I don’t think that it needed to be as long as it was and I think that it could have had the same effect by being even just a bit shorter. This story takes place in two parts and from different points of view which I think helps add to the story as well. While the word “Christmas” features in the title, I don’t think this could be classed as a Christmas book (aside from the gift a day for the 12 days of Christmas which could have been done another way). It really didn’t feel all that festive to me.
Rating: 4/5
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
Short blurb time again. Some ladies have a book club where they take turns to choose books. In-between talking about the books they talk about their lives and we get the chance to find out all about them as they take turns telling us all about themselves.
Well, this book was meh. It was very long and a lot of it was quite unnecessary. I felt some people’s stories were more interesting than others. This made me want to skip the other people and go to the ones I cared about (I didn’t but still). There was something missing. I felt like it might have been more natural for them to all get to know each other in a different way. Having this book club didn’t seem very natural. They were all from different walks of life and were kind of a hodgepodge of personalities. Sometimes this can work but I felt the book club didn’t fit. And yes, I know that is supposed to be the point of the book but it lacked something. Yet another one of my January reads that I had to give a low 3 to.
Rating: 3/5
Blast from the Past by Ben Elton
Polly was 17 year old peace protestor, Jack was a U.S. Army Captain stationed in England. The two of them had a secret affair but he sacrificed their love and chose his country instead. Fast forward 16 years to where Polly (who now has a stalker) and Jack meet again.
This book was full of twists and turns and boy was it interesting. You just never knew what was going to happen. I gasped more than once in absolute shock. However, there were also some negatives in this story. Some things that were a bit unrealistic and a bit unbelievable. There was also a lot of repetition when it came to the things that the characters said which I feel could have been left out and wasn’t completely necessary. It also meant that the novel was maybe a bit longer than it needed to be. This would make a very good movie, but as a book there was just something lacking. Although I gave this book a 3, this one of my January reads was more on the upper 3 side.
Rating: 3/5
You are next by Katia Lief
A serial killer changes the life of Detective Karin Schaeffer by going after her family. After he has destroyed the people that she loves, he leaves her a message saying… You Are Next. She refuses to run and hide.
I loved this. It was well written and kept you guessing. I enjoyed the fact that it took you back to what her life was like before her family was killed and gave you some insight to everything the way it happened. Although the beginning might start off a little bit slowly, that picks up and it becomes gripping. Despite the theme of this book, there is a bit of a romantic aspect but this is no way detracts from the main story. It adds to it in a really great way. I could write more about this but I don’t want to spoil anything for you. This book will have you on your toes – a real page turner. This was definitely one of my favourite of my January reads.
Rating: 4/5
All You Need is Love by Carole Matthews
This story is about three people…mostly. Sally, a single mum living in Liverpool, Johnny, an artist with not a penny to his name, Spencer, a rich man with a Porsche and a penthouse. Oh, and Sally and Johnny used to be a couple. See where this is going?
Okay, so while it might sound like your typical love story, this one is so much more.
Sally wants to improve the area where she lives by building a community centre and cleaning up the garden for children and adults. She applies for money to do this from the council and it gets granted. While this is a great idea, it seems a bit unrealistic that they would give this money to a random woman who has had no experience in the past with doing this kind of thing.
Johnny is an artist who doesn’t sell his work and doesn’t appear to have much ambition, however he is still in love with Sally, and her son. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Johnny is a wonderful character who really doesn’t get given a fair chance by Sally. Yes, he lacks ambition but even when he tries, it seems it won’t be good enough for her.
Spencer is a wonderful character, mostly. However, he is really rich and comes from an incredibly wealthy family and, in reality, he could never understand Sally’s world, just as she could never understand his. Overall, a well written book, with a good storyline and fairly easy to read.
Rating: 4/5
So, there are my January reads. Some of them I will definitely read again and some of them will be finding themselves a new home. All I can say is that I am excited to be reading again and I am excited to see what I’ll read next.
If you would like to keep up with my reading journey then you can do so on Goodreads 🙂
What is your favourite book? What genres do you enjoy reading? Have you read any of the books from my January reads? Let me know in the comments.
Love, Kirsty.
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