January. A new year. A new motivation. A motivation that, usually, doesn’t last all that long. But when it does, it feels wonderful.

The weather in England is still bitterly cold, if not more so than before Christmas. It is no longer fun anymore. But still, we manage. There’s worse things than a cold wind biting at our faces, after all. Worse things than numb fingers. And the comfort of a warm blanket and hot water bottle can soon rid those nuisances.

What better way to spend those cold evenings than reading?

Let’s see what January brought…

I seem to be on a roll with reading lately. Where I usually read only 4 books a month – one each week – I seem to be reading 6 or 7 now. Partly because I’ve had time off towards the end of last year, I thought that would slow down now. Well, apparently not. I read 8 books this month!

I am SLAYING my TBR. 

Sort of.

If I didn’t keep replacing each book with five more. SHHHH.

I’m actually going to do this a little differently to how I usually do. While I normally write my thoughts down, this month I haven’t been prepared AT ALL, meaning I’m having to do both my video and this post the day before. Which is taking forever. And since I’ve already been through my thoughts once today (and then another 20 more while editing), I figured I’d just give you all the video, with a shortened list below. Hope you don’t mind! I can easily change it back to normal next month if the majority of you prefer 🙂

The video also includes my February TBR for anyone interested!

Look below the video to find my star ratings, and the minute I keep talking about each book – just in case you don’t want to/can’t watch it all!

The Colour of Magic

by Terry Pratchett

 Review | Time – 1:07

Heartless

by Marissa Meyer

 Review | Time – 2:27

Red Queen

by Victoria Aveyard

Did Not Finish

 Time – 4:26

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

Review | Time – 5:33

The Complete Maus

by Art Spiegelman

Review | Time – 6:28

Uprooted

by Naomi Novik

Review To Come | Time – 7:43

Hiroshima

by John Hersey

Review To Come |  Time – 9:00

The Cavalier Historian

by Dorinda Balchin

Review |  Time – 9:51

I’m currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Or at least, I might be. There’s the possibility that I finished it the evening before this was uploaded. But at the moment, I’m the majority of the way through this one, and it’s honestly incredible. Brutal, but incredible.

I’m actually buddy reading this with Aimee over @lovelybookloves, though she finished it days ago and I’m a slowpoke 😆

If I’ve finished it by now though, my next read is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller!

January was full to the brim with book reviews, in an attempt to catch up with all the books I read. Only thing is, it didn’t really work, since I kept reading at the same pace. But since I don’t link reviews in this section, here’s the rest:

Big December Book Haul | The aftermath of a 3 month book buying ban

2016 End of year book survey | In it for the long haul

December Wrap Up | The one where I fly through books quicker than usual

Top 10 books I need to read in 2017 – both anticipated releases and books I already own

It’s been 5 years, mum…

Let’s Talk: Can being a book reviewer ruin the overall enjoyment of reading?

A little look into my bullet journal | A preview of my bujo & some tips alongside

Well hasn’t this month been a rocky one?

I’ll try to do a brief overview…

Nothing really happened in the first couple of weeks. Then the 20th came, which brought the 5th anniversary of my mum passing away. I wrote the “It’s been 5 years, mum” blog post, and you wonderful people made me sob happy tears with how lovely and caring you all are. Thank you so so much for caring ❤ On the day, we scattered her ashes in her favourite woodland spot, and it was actually a really lovely day spent with my dad. Now I can know that she’s part of the earth, rooted in her favourite place.

In that same week, I had an allergic reaction that lasted 2 weeks, which was just plain irritating, and I broke up with my boyfriend. So it was a pretty dramatic week in the world of Ashleigh.

BUT. 

There’s always good things too.

I received an offer from my first choice University. So if all goes to plan, I’ll be going to the university I’ve wanted to study at for years now. I just need to kick my way through college first 😆

I also reached 200 subscribers on my booktube channel, which I really appreciate! I can’t believe there’s over 200 of you out there tuning into my videos every week. It’s amazing ❤ Here’s to hoping my channel will continue to grow, because I really love making my videos!

Other than that, January brought forward my new obsessions: Moana and Hamilton. YES. I finally listened to the Hamilton soundtrack and actually dedicated time to it. So of course, the addiction ensued 😀 I also ended up uploading a video of me singing on Twitter, which was quite nerve wracking, but I’m so glad I did! It was a song from La La Land, which I saw towards the beginning of January. While I’m not so keen on the film, I do like some of the songs from it.

---

---

So there’s my January, all wrapped up!

Have you read any of the books I read in January? What did you think?

How many books did you read this month? Which was your favourite of the month?

Did you buy any new books? How many and which ones? (feel free to link your haul!)

Did any interesting events happen this month for you? Visit anywhere nice? 

What are you currently reading, going into the month of February?

Also, let me know whether you prefer the old method of my reading wrap up (the list with thoughts) or the new one I shared today!

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

Come and visit me!

Snapchat: frolic_fiction