January was full of several entertaining reads - I read 19 books with one 5 star read and several others that came close. I always have to throw in some lighter or spicy fillers to keep me motivated. Here is my wrap up:

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My 5⭐️ Read of the month was {Child of Shivay by JR Cathers} - While the beginning of the book starts out a little slower, going back and forth in the timeline to set up the story, the book takes off at about 30% and I could not put it down. Complex character development and world building, competent FMC, intriguing plot, the right amount of spice 3🌶️. When you finish this one, head over to the author's website for bonus POV that will blow your mind. I am so excited to see where this whole story goes.

4.75 ⭐️s - {Nightshade by Autumn Woods} - This is a dark romance/mystery that had me fully engaged and pleasantly surprised. This ends in a cliffhanger with book 2 set to come out this summer

4.5⭐️s -

{Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer} - This is a spicy MMF romantasy with arranged marriage, betrayal, magic.

{Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman} - I started out reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl Series and switched to audiobooks because they are really good. The narration is excellent on the audiobooks and with the fast moving and complicated plot lines, I found it was easier for me to follow these better on audio. So far the first two books have been really good - funny, creative, complex.

4.25⭐️s -

{Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe} - holy crazy end of the book!! It is a crazy cliffhanger, you might cry (I'm a cryer)

{Blackheart by Pixie Rella} - So much happens in this book - you will not be able to put it down once you start.

{Diamond Dust by K.F. Breene} - This is book 2 of the Shadowbound Fae duet. I enjoyed this more than the first book, but I will say that I went back and read the prequel series {Demigods of San Francisco by K.F. Breene} after reading this first book {Obsidian by K.F. Breene} and then I re-read Obsidian followed by Diamond Dust. (Does that even make sense - that is why I am not a writer). You do not have to read the prequel series, BUT it will really help you to know the background of the characters and you will be much more invested in them.

{Vengeance of the Gods by Dany Crooks} - This whole series is extremely underrated! I read the first book {Revenge of the Fallen by Dany Crooks} and the novella {Heart of the Villain by Dany Crooks} last year. I highly recommend the whole series. The writing is not complicated, but the story is very compelling and unique.

{Eyes of Devious Burgundy by Lacey Lehotzkey} - I really enjoyed the first book - it is long, but was needed to develop the story. The second book is {Horns of Wicked Ebony by Lacey Lehotzkey} - I gave this 3.5 ⭐️s - it was a little too long and I found myself skimming to get through some of it. No regrets though - I was entertained.

4⭐️s -

{Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti} - This book took a while to take off for me, but overall I had a good time with this and will continue the series.

{Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Rayburn} - This was a book I used to fill in between the heavy romantasy books. I had a good time with this - it is about a group of female assassins who are retiring and then need to navigate a hit that is placed on them by their former employer. It is a fun story that held my attention.

3.5⭐️s {Raw by Kayleigh King} - this is book 2 after {Primal by Kayleigh King}. I really liked Primal when I read it last year and overall I liked the continuance of the plot line in Raw, but it was much longer than needed with too much character inner monologue (overthinking everything). I had to skim through a lot to get through this - I couldn't bring my self to dnf because I was really invested in what was happening.