January wrap up + favorites! And February TBR!!!! (REALLY AMBITIOUS!!!!)

January was a pretty awesome month for me!!!! It was a great start to 2019 (apart from the days that I was sick) and I can only hope that the rest of the year will be equally good or why not better!!

So...  If you remember my January TBR that I had posted here , you may remember that it was pretty ambitious!!!! Well, with some little changes I did it!!! This month I read 7 books! SEVEN! It is my record if I am not mistaken!!!!

If you have also read my bookish goals here, I have completely failed goal no2 as all seven books were fantasy!!! Well, what's new!!! 

Without further ado, during January I read:

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the illustrated edition by J. K. Rowling and Jim Kay which of course I gave 5 stars!!! It felt so nice re-reading my all time favorite book series and I plan on doing it each holiday, by reading at least two of the Harry Potter books! 

2. Lord Of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Another re-read which I also gave 5 stars! This time I also listened to this on audio as well and it was AMAZING!!! The narrator does an incredible work! James Marsters' voice makes you feel like you're trully part of the story! It makes the whole experience so vivid and unique!! He also narrates Queen Of Air And Darkness and I CANNOT WAIT for Feb 13th to be available again on scribd!!!

3. Then I read Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch. This is the third and final novel to the Snow Like Ashes fantasy trilogy. Thus, I completed my first book series of the year towards my bookish goal no3! I rated this book with 3.5 stars. (review coming soon)

4. Theeeeen, I listened to my first solo audiobook. Meaning that I only listened to the audiobook without reading a physical copy at the same time!!! Well english isn't my first language and I am a "physical book" type of reader so that was a big accomplishment for me! So, I listened to City Of Ghosts by V. E. Schwab. It was a short one that's why I chose to start slowly with my audiobook experience. It was really enjoyable! I loved that it took place in Scotland! Well, ok... that's why I read it to be honest!  This one was also the first book series that I started in 2019 and I am looking forward to the second book that will take place in Paris! I rated this book with 4 stars!

5. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard! Another re-read! My goal is to get ready for Bloodwitch that comes out this month and I wanted to revisit this world and remember the details I had forgotten! The first time I read it I rated it with 4.5 stars and I stick to it still!!! Really cool world! Beautiful cast of characters! Interesting plot!!

6. A Gathering Of Shadows by V. E. Schwab! Another book by her! This took me almost two months to finish! It kind of gave me those second book feelings as it seems to be the bridge between books no1 and no3 but the ending saved it from a poorer rating! I gave it 3.5 stars! P.S. I love Alucard! 

7. And last and least in this case, I listened to the audiobook of Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire which I gave 1 star! Maybe 1.5 or 2 on a really really good day..... Unpopular opinion here!!! Oh guys I am so sorry! All of you seem to love it but I was completely uninterested in the characters and the story! I didn't connect to any of the characters and couldn't care less about any of them! I wanted to love it so much... This is the first time that I rate a book with just one star... Should I continue with this series or should I accept the fact that this is not for me and move on?????

January Favorites!

1. BOOK

I have to choose Harry Potter for the obvious reasons!!!

2. TV SERIES

I loved this season of both Outlander and The Last Kingdom! I also watched Vikings which I didn't enjoy that much... Especially Floki's story-line was sooooo boring!!!!! And I started rewatching one of my most favorite tv series ever.... How I Met Your Mother!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!! But, my favorite series for January will have to be OUTLANDER! So many things happen and I can't wait for next year... NEXT YEAR....😭😭😭 I don't want to spoil my anticipation by reading the next books because this is my top tv series ever!!!

3. FITNESS

I love fitness as much I love reading books! You may know that I am a @toneitup member and I love the workouts in their app Studio Tone It Up! So... we are currently on week 3 of the Love Your Body Series and this challenge has motivated me to start new healthy habits and take care of my body! It's been what I needed to start 2019 right and it's 8 weeks long so yay!!!! 

4. MUSIC

I have two things about music! Wrong... 3 things! First of all, I have been listening A LOT to the ACDC Live at River Plate vinyl album which I got as a present and I love it!!! Second, Imagine Dragons released a video clip of their song Bad Liar which I also love!!! And third... there's that song that I keep it on replay and its video is also amazing... and it is called Let You Love Me by Rita Ora!

5. SNOW

January is the only month that we get to see a snowy day in Athens of Greece! Well, it was only for one day but I loved it!!!!

Moving on with my February TBR, as this post is getting really huge!!! A pretty ambitious TBR so let's see.... If you remember the TBR challenge of 2019 that I posted here you'll understand!

For February, I want to keep that winter-y feels and add a bit of love cause you know... Valentine's Day! 

1. I want to finish Deception Point by Dan Brown, It takes place literally on the North Pole so pretty winter-y! 

2. Queen Of Air And Darkness by Cassandra Clare. I am so not ready for this! But Emma and Julian hold my heart and I can't wait to see what it's going to happen! 

3. Winter by Marissa Meyer. The finale to the Lunar Chronicles series! I want to re-visit all my favorite characters once more and I am sad it will be over! It is one of my all time favorite series and I was saving this last book for this winter!

4. Catherine Of Aragon by Giles Tremlett. I own this boos for so many years and I still want to read it so much! You may know that The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory made it to the best of 2018 list and Katherine of Aragon was the main heroine there. So I of course want to read more about her!!! And I can't wait for the tv adaptation of The Constant Princess as well!!! It will be called The Spanish Queen! 

5. Windwitch by Susan Dennard! My re-read before Bloodwitch arrives, which is one of my most anticipated releases of 2019. It won't arrive early I believe so I'll probably read Bloodwitch in March!

6. I want to continue listening to audiobooks this month as well! For February I chose The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi which everybody seems to love but the problem is that from the bit I've heard the narrators read it with an accent that makes it difficult for me to understand it that well so... wish me luck!

7. February without a Colleen Hoover book does not exist! So, for this year I chose Without Merit! I don't know anything about it so if you have any other Colleen Hoover books to recommend me I'm all ears!!!

8. The eighth and last book is a greek short romance book by Chrysiida Dimoulidou. It is quite short so I'll fly through it!

That's a wrap!

What will you be reading this month?????  Which book was your favorite in January???

Tell me in the comments below!!!

See you next time!
xoxo
Joan!

*Also follow @booksreadbyjoan on Instagram!