My Monday Musings…It's a Wrap - The January recap

My reading is still slogging along. I read 3 books in January – which is 2 more than I read the previous month lol

Two were ehh and the other was great and really helped make me excited about reading again.

READ

The The Prince and the troll (Faraway #1) by Rainbow Rowell – This is an audible exclusive and I, mostly, enjoyed reading this fairy tale about the potential starcrossed lovers – or Starbucks Lovers – if you ever misinterpreted the Taylor Swift song. The reason I mention it is that Starbucks plays an important role in the story so I kept thinking that lyric in my head while reading lol And it might be a deal breaker if you hate brand name dropping.

Adam brings the bridge troll a Starbucks drink every day as they start to talk and fall in love but can they ever truly be together with his need to live on “the road” while she is a troll that needs water and mud. And might eat bones…it’s the little things lol

I liked the different perspectives and learning more about the (nameless) troll. She was witty, and kind of cute with her burgeoning SB’s addiction. Adam’s growing feelings and longing were palpable but ultimately it wraps up too fast and is too short to leave a lasting impression. But still cute with interesting commentary on climate change and consumerism.

Roommate by Sarina Bowen – This is the first romance I’ve read in ages. Bowen always has a nice mix of humor and heart so I snagged this new one when I saw it.

It was sweet. Roderick moves back to his small hometown hoping to reconcile with his parents who threw him out when the found out he was gay. Yeah – that doesn’t work out so well and he’s living on the streets until his new co-worker, Kieran takes pity on him.

Nice romance, lots of yummy baking/food talk (Roderick is a baker), a little drama – it was a nice, typical type of romance.

The winner winner, MVP book for the month goes to 

drumroll.....

🥁🥁🥁

The Houseplant by Jeremy Ray – I learned about this book through A Book A Week (you can read Ethan's much more detailed review here). I love gardening but kid of suck at keeping house plants alive. Still I was immediately drawn to this short (31 page) story told from the pov of George, a fern (reluctantly) going home to live with his new owner, Brenda.

There’s so much humor, grief and hope packed into this little novella. Loved it!

READING

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Tomas – I’m listening to this one on audio now and it’s way more fun than I was expecting. I guess when I initially saw it was about brujo’s and cemeteries, I was thinking spooky.

Yadriel, a transgender teen, has problems being accepted by his traditional latinx family and block his efforts to become a brujo.

After his cousin is murdered, Yadriel sets out to prove himself by performing a ritual to find the killer, but instead raises hot, murdered teen, Julian Diaz, who has NO interest in passing on until he finishes his business. 

I’m at the 30-ish% point and, like I said, it’s more funny than scary but I enjoy all the characters and how well they play off of each other. I will hopefully finish in my lifetime and before the audio is due back at the library lol

What are you all reading now?

What were your favorite reads from January?