January was a fabulous month for books — honestly, a stellar month when it came to 4-5 star reviews. I read two amazing fantasy duologies, two fiction novels, and a historical fiction book, resulting in 7 books in January!

Let’s take a look at them, shall we?!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Well, this book was a heartbreaker. The Berry PIckers is about a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia who continue to experience tragedy. This is a stunning debut novel that explores themes of loss, identity, grief, forgiveness, and hope. The book spans 50 years and alternates between two perspectives. It was captivating from the start and I really enjoyed it.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Bright Young Women was absolutely fantastic. I did a combined audio and print read and LOVED listening to Sutton Foster play the part of Pamela. This book gripped me from the start and I really appreciated its premise. The book is about Ted Bundy and is based on his real-life murders of bright young women. The author had the characters never refer to him by name. Rather, it focuses on the victims and characterizes them. It calls out the media and society for sensationalizing “The Defendant” as an intelligent, handsome, young man, rather than reporting on the facts.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Letters of Enchantment #1)

My goodness, gracious. Let’s just talk about one of my favorite boos of 2024, perhaps ever. I was absolutely enchanted by Ross’s Letters of Enchantment duology. I loved the storyworld. Loved the setting. The writing was superb. The dialogue and romance were just *chefs kiss*. I loved every second. You can read more in my full review.

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (Letters of Enchantment #2)

Beautifully wrapped up. I just swooned over the letters, the magic, the journalism, the characters, the action. It was a perfect blend of all the things. Ross did a great job keeping this story to two books, and I was satisfied with the ending.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (The Shepard King #1)

Another duology from a new-to-me author who shone as a writer and storyteller. One Dark Window has beautiful prose. It is masterfully written with great attention. The story is CREEPY, the main characters and side characters are fully developed. This was just so craftily done — I hadn’t read a fantasy book like this one before. What a cool story! And the romance wasn’t all that bad either.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (The Shepard King #2)

Like Ross and her Letters of Enchantment duology, Gillig did a fantastic job wrapping up the story. She introduced multiple POVs in this book (thank goodness; I loved the characters so much), and brought in another love story that had me screaming. I absolutely loved these books and will automatically read anything Rachel Gillig writes. Brava. Again, these books are so creepy but so intriguing. Such good winter reads.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

And then I wrapped up the month with Kristin Hannah ripping my soul out and crushing it in her hand. I really appreciated this book and its insight into a part of American history that I do not know much about. My only small complaint was the pacing. I read through it but felt like 60% of the book could have been edited down to make room for the last 40% (which I was more interested in, honestly). The ending of this book felt abrupt, but I almost wonder if that is Hannah’s intent. Life is fleeting; so is the ending of this book?

What did you read this month? Share in the comments!