January Wrap-Up | January pages challenge & my first ARC

Posted on by Sophie @ Me & Ink

Greetings folks,

The first month of 2024 is officially over. I don’t usually do monthly wrap-ups, and this is not the start of them. Sometimes my wrap-ups will be one month or two or four. Life is a rollercoaster, etc. etc.

I wanted to share my January reading because I completed Storygraph’s January Pages Challenge. Every day, you had to read (any format), even if only a page. I liked the flexibility of this challenge and the reminder to pick up your book daily, ideally to wind down at the end.

image of graph detailing number of pages read every day in January 2024

I succeeded at reading every day. Yay! My lowest amount of pages read was 4. I remember that day because it was 11.30pm and I didn’t want to read. The rest of the time I really enjoyed reading daily. I’m not sure I will keep it up but, nonetheless, a positive step for January. I used to think I was a consistent reader, averaging 50 pages a day. I knew it wasn’t true for the present day at all, but this graph has shown how far away I am from being consistent!

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24 books for 2024 progress check: 3/24

Song of The Huntress by Lucy Holland

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Thank you to Pan Macmillian for the ARC via NetGalley.

A historical folklore retelling of The Wild Hunt. But I would suggest only reading for the characters. Every aspect of this book served them, rather than the atmosphere you might imagine from this story. The characters are in first place by a long shot. The king, the queen and the huntress. Although, I am sorry to report that in this feminist retelling, my favourite character was the man. But don’t be too alarmed because each character was well-written. Each had their strengths and weaknesses as they tackled the tensions of the time. It made the characters feel real as they acted with all their traits in mind. A compelling story because of this decision.

read my full ARC review

The Switch by Beth O’Leary 🎧

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I thought this wasn’t a romance, but it was. In fact, it was two for the price of one. I need to read synopses more carefully.

Beth O’Leary excels at the rom-com genre. I do have a soft spot for this story of a grandmother and granddaughter switching lives though. The former seeking new adventure and the latter trying to find inner peace. I love that an elderly woman is celebrated for trying new things and achieving new desires. You are never too old for something different. On the flip side, it was hard not to fall in love with the granddaughter’s wholesome village life. The whole book had charm, good morals and sweet, emotionally-led characters. I don’t think this story needed all the romance and the side plots involving it (cough cough, Leena’s boyfriend). At least, both endgames were charming. Too charming to complain about it too much.

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once again, I need to pay better attention to the synopsis. I thought this was a competition. It was not. You shouldn’t listen to me, I’m a dreadful book blogger apparently.

This book was just what I wanted. A fun fantasy adventure. I think it represents what the 15-18 young adult fantasy should be like. Capturing the feelings of coming-of-age against an interesting, but easily understandable world. It carefully led you along on a journey of mystery, magic and emotional struggles. In a fun, heartfelt way. Nausicaä stood out to me. The “action hero” love interest. She was brilliant. Her cock-sure attitude, violent tendencies and sly humour were delivered unapologetically. To see this in a female main character was actually wonderfully refreshed, I hadn’t seen it delivered to this level before and all I can say is thank you.

Each character had their own personality and motivation. The social set-up of the world ensured they all had a different outlook to their world depending on how it treated them, it added more to the world-building and murder mystery. It made it a long book but established a solid foundation for the start of the series, solved the first section (so important in the first book) and left me wanting more. Bonus: the villain’s insights were such a highlight. A small layer that added a lot.

Green Frog by Gina Chung

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thank you to Pan Macmillian for the ARC via NetGalley.

A short story collection about what it means to be a woman. Each story focuses on a different emotion, a different life. Yet each one had the capacity to look into their past, asking why someone might make these decisions and react the way they did. The writing was emotionally intelligent and personal, in a way that both touched me as a reader and inspired me as a writer. There was an undercurrent of a moral to gain from each story read and it was the reader’s duty to uncover it by the end, often easily achieved. The use of fantasy enhanced the uniqueness of my experience and the delivery of the message of the story. It made for a memorable read. Perfect for fans of unique short stories.

full review coming soon

Some 2024 Anticipated Releases

click on covers for Goodreads

BIG BOYS SEASON 2 // A delightful series following life as an uni student during 2014. I love the characters; both how they face challenges and seek joy in their life. It captures a slice-of-life vibe with a little nostalgia and subtle humour that is often more effective than the outlandish approach.

MARIE-ANTOINETTE // I am halfway through this series and really enjoying it. It is relatively slow but captures the nature of the court politics behind the curtains as each character deals with their own trials. It is stylistic in its cinematography which adds an additional layer to this grand show.

THE GREAT POTTERY THROW DOWN // This charming weekly show. I love to see people crying over pots (in a good way).

THE TOURIST SEASON 2 // I enjoyed the latest series. I felt like the start was stronger than the finish but the suspense, characters and dry humour created a balance that made for a captivating watch.

My Latest Posts

Posts I’ve Loved Lately

End-Of-Year Reviews:

  • May @ Forever And Everly complied a 2023 wrap-up, full of books I must read immediately and beautiful graphs. The post seriously deserves admiration.
  • Sumedha @ The Wordy Habitat discussed her favourite media of 2023 from books to music, and looked forward to 2024 with new goals. Check out her beautiful blog ASAP.
  • Nefeli @ BiblioNebula provided her year in review for 2023 with her favourite books, TV, musicals, personal details and more. It was wonderful to see the highlights!
  • Caro @ bookcheshirecat wrapped up 2023, discussing her favourite media and new goals, and she shared her reading challenges for 2024! There are so many fun ones!
  • Line @ First Line Reader talked about her favourite books of 2023, so many I have to read after seeing them on her post, and reviewed 2023 with some fabulous graphs!
  • Tasya @ The Literary Huntress shared her 2023 review with graphs, favourite books, disappointing reads and more. Check the organisation out now!
  • Stephen @ Stephen Writes discussed his reading statistics from 2023, I loved the insight into the figures!
  • Abi @ Scribbles & Stories shared their year in review by reflecting on the reading, blogging and creative goals set for 2023. I loved it!
  • Karla @ Another Bookworm returned with a thorough post reflecting on 2023 sharing life updates, graphs and many favourites! It was lovely to see!
  • Naemi @ A Book Owl’s Corner wrapped up her 2023 with graphs and goal check-ins. An epic post about numbers and books, what’s not to like?

Other:

How has your start to 2024 been? Do you try to read every day?

26 thoughts on “January Wrap-Up | January pages challenge & my first ARC”

  2. It looks like your reading has gotten off to a fantastic start. I think its a good idea to try and read a bit each day but with some flexibility too (like the day you mentioned when you really didn’t feel like it).

    Ooh you’ve already crossed 3 books of your list, that’s fantastic.

    I think I’ll miss the atmosphere in Song Of The Huntress but I still want to check it out. Especially as I’m very intrigued by the characters 😍

    I haven’t read The Switch but I get what you mean about the setting anyway from other things. Sometimes you need some wholesome comfort. And it does sound like an intriguing premise all round.

    I’m glad you enjoyed A Bright & Hollow Star so much!! I really want to reread it and finally pick up at least one of the sequels. Nausicaä stood out to me too. I love characters like that when they’re crafted well (when they’re not they can kind of be all over the place) and I remember the end leaving me very intrigued too.

    I haven’t heard of that short story collection but it sounds like a fairly unique one and rather powerful too.

    I’ve got to look up a couple of your anticipated books as they’re new to me. Sins Of Their Bones was so close to making my anticipated books list though. I changed my mind about including it numerous times but I was trying to be strict 😅 Needless to say its still majorly high priority on my tbr.

    I still need to watch the latest season of The Tourist, although it does worry me a little to see that the start is stronger than the end. Weak endings on thrillers are such a massive let down.

    I hope you have a wonderful February too and discover lots of new favourites.

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    1. I have been very lucky 🤗 reading every day is a great habit to get into, very rewarding, but like you say in a more relaxed way!

      It is satisfying to have some books ticked off my list already 😁

      Song of the Huntress has an almost rhymthic tone that gives the story an atmosphere, but descriptive-wise not so much! The characters are interesting 😍

      Beth O’Leary is a great writer for rom-coms, I always want to compare her to Bridget Jones. This one was especially wholesome ☕

      It was a fun read! I’d love to know what you think to the sequels, I hope to pick them up one day especially as new character POVs are added, yay!
      She was a great character, I love her!

      The short story collection was different but I loved the focus on emotions.

      Aw.. Hope you enjoy looking at the books 🤗 I can’t remember all the plot details for Sins of Their Bones but I saw it on Instagram and I was immediately intrigued!
      It is hard to pick the top choices when you have a long list 😂

      The Tourist ending still had my attention and I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, the beginning was more what I liked though. Does that make sense?!

      Thank you, wishing you a lovely February too 💞

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      1. I find it frustrating when you try to read and really want to but your eyes are exhausted and you can’t or you won’t take anything in 😪

        Yes it must be!!

        Hmm it’ll definitely be interesting to see how I find it then. I don’t know if I’ve read a novel with that sort of tone before, unless it was in verse.

        I’ll have to let you know if I think the same when I finally read one of her books.

        Wait if you know that have you already read them?? I definitely plan to soon. Although I still need to get the third book.

        Thank you, I added a couple. It sounds fantastic, lots of intriguing elements at play 😍 I think some of the mythology is going to be new to me, some familiar too from other books that I read so it’ll be interesting to see another version of them.
        Next year I want to stick to 25…its going to be tough 😬

        Yeah that makes sense. I guess I just worry about anticlimactic endings in thrillers as they can feel so disappointing.

        Thank you ❤️❤️

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        1. It is a shame when that happens, but you can’t force it. Sleep wins!

          I think the tone reminds me of being told a folk tale more than poetry, probably because I listened to her first book via audio. I like that side to it though!
          You will ✨

          No, I haven’t sadly. I wish I was that on top of sequels, but I was checking out the cover for the second book on Instagram and saw it mentioned in the description, (or the preorder campaign?!)

          Yay ✨ it is fun when there is more than one version, the risk of being too similar can be there but the difference of interpretation can make you think.
          Oh wow, good luck then 😅🍀

          It can be disappointing, especially for thriller fans!

          ❤️❤️

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          1. I suppose you could try but I imagine it would be a losing battle. Or else you’d miss out on a lot of details due to your exhausted state

            Folk tale appeals to me more than poetry anyway so that’s a plus in my eyes 😅

            Don’t feel bad, I read (and loved) book one way before you and still need to read the sequels (made worse by the fact that I ordered the first of them over a year ago now 🙈) but yes that makes sense. I wonder who the POV are 😍

            Yeah definitely a danger of repetition but good for contrasts and sometimes the differences can be quite vast.
            Thank you ❤️❤️

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            1. Yeah, you do tend to miss the details if you’re too tired!
              Yay, hopefully you’ll enjoy them!
              It is hard to keep on top of sequels, there are so many in fantasy as well 😅
              Oohh.. I could tell you but I want you to see for yourself! 😁
              Indeed!
              ❤️❤️

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              1. Thank you.
                That’s very true. And some of the books are quite lengthy so once you fall behind catch up can take a while 😅
                I look forward to discovering them 😍 I’ll let you know when I read it
                ❤️❤️

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  3. This is so random but every time I visit your blog I always forget to mention it but I *love* your blog’s look. 😍 It’s probably been a while since you’ve made the changes but I love the new colour and the simple but elegant design! It looks like you had a good reading month. I’m super excited for Tia Williams’ romance—that cover gets me every time. I hope you enjoy all of these books and have an amazing February. Thanks so much for featuring my post 🥰

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    1. Aw.. Thank you so much 🥰 it means a lot and I’m sooo happy you like it 🤗 I wanted a simple design and I am really happy with the dark colours. Thank you, thank you 💞
      I was very lucky reading-wise in January, I hope you had a good month too.
      Tia Williams is an author I must check out, I love that the latest features music 😍 and, yes, the cover is beyond stunning ✨
      Thank youu, wishing you a lovely February too!
      Of course ❤️

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  4. That pages graph looks so inspiring – and it sounds like you found many great books this past month, too! I haven’t read any of them, so I can’t give you any opinions, but fingers crossed that your year will continue on such a gread trend readingwise! 💙

    Also, thanks so much for sharing my post! 🥰 Have a wonderful February!

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    1. Of course 🥰
      It was fun seeing my daily page count, I never really think of it so it was nice for a change!
      The Marie Antoinette series is really good, I hope you enjoy it as much as I am 🤗

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  6. OHMYGOSH SOPHIE IT’S A MONTHLY WRAP UP FROM YOU!!! WHICH IS SO EXCITING BECAUSE I DONT THINK IVE EVER READ ONE OF YOURS BEFORE?? also like ive always thought that they’d be very fun to read if you ever decided to write one. AND IT WAS OK!!! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

    but like. it’s downright criminal how you’ve finished THREE of your 24 books for 2024 already?? SOPHIE I HAVENT EVEN POSTED MY LIST YET HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME. but also i love your thoughts. “I am sorry to report that in this feminist retelling, my favourite character was the man.” had me cackling. I WANT TO READ IT TO SEE FOR MYSELF, THANKS. ha also the switch turning out to be a rom com in disguise is such a tragedy ok.

    the marie-antoinette tv show poster looks ridiculously intriguing, I’D LIKE TO WATCH IT TOO SOMETIME. have a great february, sophie!!!!!

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    1. I know, it is a rare occurance. I used to do them regularly, I promise, in 2019 but I’m an old book blogger now so it seems like ages ago 😂
      But THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, I’m glad it lived up to your expectations 🥰😉

      I am very happy for progress to be made on my TBR list and you clearly need to catch up because I need to see your post immediately!! 😁
      I am genuinely sorry my favourite character was the man though 😂 the women were great too, but the man was allowed more nuanced flaws and I loved that!
      I can’t believe I didn’t know The Switch wasn’t a romance, I played myself there and then I played you, once again, sorry!!

      Marie Antoinette is a very intriguing show, I definitely recommend! Thank youuu, wishing you a wonderful February too 💞

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  7. Congrats on completing Storygraph’s January Pages Challenge, I participated last year and it was a lot of fun 💖 I love that you also included some anticipated 2024 releases! Thank you so much for featuring my posts! 🥰
    I hope you’re having a good February ❤️

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    1. Thank you Caro 💞 it is a fun challenge and a nice way to start the year ✨
      I had heard about these books over the past month and couldn’t resist sharing them! 😁
      Of course 💞 ty, wishing you a lovely February too! 🤗

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