What a month January has been! It’s been a busy time, but also a great time for settling in with a good book in the evenings. I got a lot of reading done this month, with a total of seven books finished! Unlike last year, which got off to a slow start, I already have a couple of five star reads under my belt.

As always, this post wraps up my favorite reads of the month and also covers the honorable mentions, aka the other books I read that didn’t quite earn the “best books” title.

(Full disclosure: This post uses Bookshop.org and Amazon affiliate links. Books marked with an asterisk were received as complimentary review copies in exchange for my honest review.)

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The Man I Never Met* by Elle Cook

Format Read: Paperback (ARC)

This book started my year, and it was a great way to dig into 2023 reading. I received an ARC of this one, so many thanks to Random House for the opportunity to read and review The Man I Never Met. Definitely a lot more emotional heft with this one than I anticipated, but in a good way.

My full review went up earlier this month, and you can check it out here: Break Your Heart Wide Open with “The Man I’ve Never Met“

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Matrix by Lauren Groff

Format Read: Hardcover

This book about a medieval abbey isn’t quite my typical read, but I couldn’t help but be intrigued after I heard some of my favorite podcast hosts discuss it. I grabbed a copy ages ago and just now finally got around to reading it in my quest to tackle the TBR. Matrix is a quiet, interior sort of book, but I really enjoyed it.

My mini-review is available here, if you want to know more of my thoughts: Mini Review: Matrix by Lauren Groff

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Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Format Read: Paperback

I am always stoked to see a new Jen DeLuca title, and Well Traveled was particularly great because it really satisfied my secret wish of runnin away to become a tarot reader at the Rennaissance Festival. This may be my second favorite of the series, after Well Met.

I managed to do a mini-review for this one as well, which you can check out here: Mini Review: Well Traveled

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Happy People are Annoying by Josh Peck

Format Read: Audiobook

I love a good celebrity memoir, but you never quite know what you’re going to get with them. Josh Peck surprised me with the topics he tackled in this memoir, and it turns out the answer to the question “What has Josh Peck been up to?” is… a lot of things! I very much enjoyed this audiobook, narrated by Peck himself.

I’m 4/4 for reviews of my best books this month, which is unusual. Here’s my review for Happy People Are Annoying: Mini Review: “Happy People Are Annoying”

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Honorable Mentions

• What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon. I wanted to love this book more, but a lot of its contents were also discussed on Gordon’s podcast. So, while it was a great book, a lot of it felt familiar to me as someone who listens to every single episode of podcasts. It also wasn’t narrated by the author, which was a bummer when I know her voice well. Such a good book but not one of the best reads of the month for me due to these personal reasons.
• American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal* by Kerri Kelly. This book wasn’t quite what I expected. Rather than focusing on specific issues in the wellness industry, this book takes a broad look at societal wellness. The writing comes across a bit like a lecture, and I struggled to get through it. There’s some valuable information here, but it wasn’t the reading experience I’d hoped for.
• The Rom-Com Agenda* by Jayne Denker didn’t quite hit the spot like I hoped it would. My full review is available here.

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In all, it’s been a great start to the 2023 reading year! I am keeping pace with my Goodreads challenge thus far, which isn’t something I can usually say at this point in the year.

What are the best books you read in January? I’m always looking to add to the ever-growing list of books I want to read!

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