It’s February already and that means it’s time for my first monthly wrap up of the year! In contradiction to other people, I thought January actually wasn’t moving very slow. In fact, I was astonished that I had to write my monthly wrap up already and I didn’t think about it for one bit. Unfortunately I started of 2025 with a nasty cold, which lasted for at least a week. On top of this, we got an outbreak of glanders at the stables so I wasn’t able to go horse riding for half the month. It looks promising though, so I might be able to start again next week. In terms of books, this was the moth of unplanned emergency rereads, a minor slump and dragons. Lots of dragons. Oh, and a pretty extended bookhaul.

My monthly stats

I don’t know why, but they aren’t accurate for this month. Maybe I switched editions for 2 books along the way and that was too late? I read the Dutch edition of Iron Flame and that one is not an audiobook. However, I switched after finishing, so it might be that this didn’t work out. Same applies to Fourth Wing. January was a pretty good month in terms of ratings, because my average rating for this month is 3.88 stars, whilst I read 8 books. I only read 2 audiobooks this time, the rest was digital. I hauled 12 books, of which I read 2 in January. This was definitely a fantasy month, and I feel like I need a break from this genre in February. I still finished a book in an average of 4 days, so that’s good. Without further ado, let’s break it down!

My read books

1. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – My first book of 2025 and it was a good one! I always seem to read less when I’m on leave from work, but on the first day I actually listened to the audiobook, I already got through 41% of it. However, it still took me a few more days before I actually finished it. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it greatly and can’t wait for the sequel. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – A book I initially ignored, because I thought this wouldn’t be for me. However, I gave it a chance as it was a book of the month in a Discord server and it actually contains elements I typically love. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out really well in the end, the past timeline was much more interesting than the present day one. ⭐⭐⭐,5
3. The Girl With the Louding Voice By Abi Daré – This book has been on my TBR for years and made it onto multiple Top Ten Tuesday lists. I finally had the courage to pick this one up yet and the outcome was not so great for me. I truly admire Adunni and her strength and courage, but this book didn’t leave as much impact on me as I would have expected. I think this is mainly because I read it in  Dutch translation and whereas Daré invented a language for Adunni that isn’t correct English, the translators had a tough job here. Unfortunately, I think this story and its impact got lost in translation. ⭐⭐⭐
4. Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman – I already owned this audiobook since 2020, but never picked it up until now. It was definitely good, but somehow I felt a distance to the characters. I thought this approach of such impacting themes as racism was interesting, because in this story black people are the majority whereas white people are the minority in society and face a lot of backlash and racism. However, I was able to finish this book in one day because of the writing style and short chapters. ⭐⭐⭐,5
5. A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson – I got this book as a review copy from the Dutch publisher. I usually don’t get review copies, but this was an exception. I have no regrets, because the hype is justified. This is a book with dragons, but very different from the other popular one. Studying languages and how these languages impact a rebellion is the story’s approach and there is little to no romance. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. Beautiful mess by Claire Christian – I left this book collect some dust for like seven years and was on the fence whether I should give it a try or should just let it go. It definitely is not perfect, but I’m glad I gave it a try in the end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca yarros – An unplanned emergency reread of the first two books in the “The Empyrean” series was not in my plans, but I started Onyx Storm and was completely lost. So I had no choice. I already had the Dutch version, which I bought upon release. I didn’t read it, because I heard the translation is poorly done. This was my chance to experience it for myself and I have to agree, some things are too literally translated whilst the saying is very different in Dutch. However, its job was to refresh my memory and it succeeded. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros – Yes, I had to reread this one as well and I forgot how long this book actually is! The translation made me roll my eyes again, but some stuff is fresher on my mind now. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Bookhaul

1. The Lost bookshop by Evie Woods
2. James by Percival Everett
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt
4. Déssenchantées by Marie Vareille (not available in English, I got the Dutch version as my French is too rusty)
5. A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
6. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
7. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
8. Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage
9. The Dixon Rules by Elle Kennedy
10. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (Dutch edition)
11. Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
12. Consider Me by Becka Mack

Currently I’m reading Onyx Storm (finally), but I really need to read a different genre after I finish that book. Something a bit shorter, and contemporary probably. All in all, I have no complaints for January!

How did you start your reading year?