the 11 books i read in january | january wrap up

[@emonroe26]

"I've been gone, but I've been happy." You get it, girl.

[@booksnlipstick]

I did notice you hadn’t been posting and I assumed you were just talking a much needed break. I’m glad you did - content creators don’t owe their viewers never ending work. I’m glad you took care of you and keep doing so. :)

[@evildoesnotsleep-x2b]

Worst Best Man is what all enemies to lovers books wished they were. Both heroes have personality and individual stories, they're funny and they banter, their hating resolves naturally, there's great Latino representation (the heroine is from Brazil) and generally it was a delight to read

[@oliviaharris1245]

no worries! i'm glad you gave yourself that break! i hope you're still having a great time

[@RamblingsOfAnElfpire]

Just proves how different everyone's mental health is! I also have OCD and Turtles all the Way Down (and John Green's video about his OCD just before publication) was the first time I'd ever really related to a character in that way. I just cried most of the way through because it felt like someone else had experienced the same things I had and with mental health, that's difficult to imagine sometimes. I've tried rereading since and can't get into it but I think I'd have to be in the exact reading mood to read it again.

[@chandlerainsley]

i'm so glad you connected with it! i was desperate to have a similar reading experience

[@lp8024]

ROMEO AND JULIET (Recomposed) by Jason Rudge THE PROLOGUE The CHORUS enters. CHORUS Our scene is set in an enticing city Where two rival households swap stinging scars, Uglifying the air two teens make pretty When true love blows their hearts across the stars,... Which rouse a prickly sun imparting heat To twisting blades that twist the plot on stage For the benefit of worms seeking meat From fools who rashly court despair and rage. Youth can make fools of all the greatest lovers, But sometimes outside forces play a part And in this tale a foolish youth discovers His love can't keep old hatreds from his heart -- Nor halt hearts taking trips to heaven's gate, Which fast becomes the lovers' tragic fate. The CHORUS exits.

[@wildreads1]

I agree Naked Fisherman was not one of Jewel E Ann’s strongest book. However I do love many of her other books, her Jack and Jill trilogy, A Place Without You, Naked Love, and When Life Happened are a few of my favorites.

[@Maraleftthechat]

Totally agree with you on ‘Such a quiet place’, what a duuuuuud!!

[@danyahnaumani6176]

Finally someone who loves the worst best man over the hating game! I couldn’t agree more with all your sentiments about it

[@escaladegrises7519]

FYI: The narrator for the audiobook version of Kill the boy band is actually the actress for one of the first productions of the Musical: Heathers; she is Veronica Sawyer.

[@brennasullivan8273]

In January I read: 1) Go the Distance by Jen Calonita 2) She's Faking it by Kristin Rockaway 3) All- American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney 4) Preacher Man by Jessa Kane

[@lightscamerasashley.]

the sunflower sweatshirt 🌻💞

[@jampsonn1826]

Totally get the taking a break thing. Between last year and this year I've noticed that i tend to need a reading break in Jan. and Feb., but I would always fight it and try to read anyway. Last year I leaned into it and felt so much better, so I think this year I'm going to do the same and pick back up in March. Giving yourself allotted time off is necessary!!

[@AngelaBruns84]

Your mental health and happiness is most important! I’m glad you’re back but I’m happy you took a much needed break ♥️

[@r.erykahlynnmitchell5708]

Love the honesty. We missed you. Take care.

[@sherbert48778]

As a fellow human with OCD I actually really enjoyed Turtles All The Way Down but looking back I'm not sure if it's because of the story or just because I was enchanted with the thought of reading about another person with OCD.

[@sophiehiii]

I actually clapped at the end. Yes take care of yourself! You’re always so comforting for me to hear so I hope you give yourself whatever you need to be in a good place.

[@raffaelae1020]

I loved Darling Venom and well as The Words. Best ones for me this month.

[@tonipilato1]

i totally agree the good gone bad with the flashback scenes inked in lies was the BEST when it came to flashbacks though

[@taylorlien569]

The narrator of Kill the Boy Band is/was a Broadway musical actress and she's done the off broadway version of Heathers

[@laurenhuchton7507]

was just about to comment this! love Barrett!

[@lauraramosdelgado]

Lovely to be seeing you again over here but happy that you are giving yourself more grace and taking it slow. Your reviews are amazing! Thanks. Take care. L

[@bookswithbray]

I just read The Worst Best Man too and really enjoyed it!!! Glad you’re doing good

[@carlyboyer3918]

YAYY so glad you’re back!!

[@chandlerainsley]

[@beatrices2076]

Currently reading A Marvellous Light and my friend described it as “basically adult, gay, edwardian slightly smutty harry potter" I love your book reviews and they make me happy

[@t.a.summers]

Glad to hear you're doing well and thanks for posting your thoughts on what you read last month. ❤

[@beatrices2076]

I just realized that it’s Barrett Weed that narrates the book so I’m definitely starting it today! I loved her on broadway but it’s cool to see her doing new things!

[@annadenys127]

If you haven’t read the graphic novel ‘How to be Ace,’ you should! The main character has OCD and for me, as someone who struggles a LOT with OCD, I found it was the first book that accurately expresses what I go through/feel.

[@moodyfloral6234]

As someone with OCD as well, this sounds really good!

[@claryy8]

It's so good seeing you upload again!!

[@brittneyreads]

Glad you’re back, but glad you took some time for you! 💙💙💙

[@lu__libros5015]

happy to hear that you are doing well! take all the time you need :)

[@FourPawsandaBook]

Glad to see you’re doing well and are taking care of yourself!

[@wiktoriabadora1243]

I missed you so much Chan 😭🥰

[@tznwin]

Unrelated, but you look SO GOOD. I love your makeup!

[@chandlerainsley]

thank you!!

[@maxiliadesir3507]

I love The Worst Best Man like it’s such a great read I gave it 4.5/5 stars

[@johnadams7145]

Your channel definitely inspires me to read more

[@moodyfloral6234]

I see Chan uploads, I click! Love the car wrap-ups so much. Welcome back

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

You know, happy is good! Glad to hear you had a great time while you were away. ^-^ 💜

[@krxspykream111]

How do you feel about the Vampire Academy tv series coming out this year?

[@chandlerainsley]

excited to see how it is, i like julie plec shows typically

[@lua_ferraz]

I did the same thing when I finished Kill the Boy Band and was SO sad she had only narrated one book! It was truly a wild ride

[@TheLoveLibrarian]

The second book of the Naked Fisherman duet is definitely better than the first!

[@alexandra-zi2ve]

THANK YOU IVE MISSED YOU

[@chandlerainsley]

i missed y'all!

[@crbysrnsn]

You should try Alone in the Ether by Olivie Blake (since you liked the Atlas Six!). One of the most unique romances I’ve ever read, the writing as per usual is ridiculously good.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Lol omg I remember reading kill the boy band back in like 2017, so entertaining

[@courtney9602]

Kill the Boy Band was the most unexpectedly rocking good time I had reading last year. Not my favorite of the year overall, but definitely in my top 5. The satire was incredible, I loved it. And my thoughts on Turtles All the Way Down pretty much match yours, minus the OCD because I don't have it. But yeah, the plot was kind of dumb and not interesting.

[@crystalsbookishlife]

Also thank you for mentioning me 🥺❤

[@annajo6576]

great to hear you’ve been enjoying your life! kill the boy band sounds fuckin fun, putting it on hold now.

[@melsshelf9196]

Kill the boy band sounds right up my alley (as a former fangirl). So disappointing to hear you didn't like such a quiet place - it's been on my list for some time!

[@chandlerainsley]

so many people seem to love it, hopefully you will too!

[@nefeli8914]

I missed you soo much 💜💜So excited to see your new video 😁

[@LittleRedRubyWong]

I didn't vibe with the Naked Fisherman as well.

[@ΧριστίναΚ-τ6ω]

You have to read the first and last duology by laurelin paige 🥰❤

[@crystalsbookishlife]

Totally agree with you about the immature writing style of The Naked Fisherman, it's especially evident in the way the heroine was written. Naive and immature in a very extreme way, but also so was the hero.

[@talathussain5078]

Perfect.

[@crystalsbookishlife]

I get upset when my friends enjoy books I do not 😂

[@laurendimke967]

omfg i was kinda hype for naked fisherman but i won't even pick it up now - imagine making your heroine INTENTIONALLY bigoted??

[@InLoveAndWords]

I feel the same way about Tessa Bailey’s backlist, unfortunately

[@juliekeller1877]

You mention another author that writes psychological thrillers like Gillian Flynn, what was the authors name? Always trying to find more good writers of this genre!

[@ph_read_be]

Karin Slaughter ☺️

[@juliekeller1877]

@@ph_read_be thank you so much!

[@mariaklein9442]

Darling venom sounds exactly like November 9, or vice versa

[@chandlerainsley]

it's pretty different tbh

[@mariaklein9442]

@@chandlerainsley im literally obssesed with your videos! they are great company through the day and very informative !! keep them coming :)

[@monikaliane]

Your lips are super glossy looks good on ya.

[@TheLoveLibrarian]

Good Gone Bad was my least favorite in the series. I think Welcome to the Dark Side and Dead Man Walking are my favorites

[@chandlerainsley]

excited to get to Dead Man Walking!

[@TheLoveLibrarian]

Parker S. Huntington is almost certainly a pen name for LJ Shen so I knew I wasn’t going to read Darling Venom😂

[@chandlerainsley]

where did you see that?

[@TheLoveLibrarian]

@@chandlerainsley If you’re in her FB group and Parker’s FB group you’ll see a lot of crossover and several authors have confirmed it behind the scenes. She’s not going to confirm in public though because after the bully rumors surrounding LJ Shen, writing with a pen name is still a way for her to have readers read her books that won’t read books written by LJ Shen. Not to mention the writing style of Parker and LJ’s books are eerily similar.

[@elinam1139]

@@TheLoveLibrarian wait are you sure? Bc on Parker's twitter it says she's vietnamese american and last I checked Lj isn't asian?

[@TheLoveLibrarian]

@@elinam1139 We’ve also never seen pictures of Parker either🤷🏾‍♀️.

[@westdallasbutterfly]

So glad I'm not alone with "Such a Quiet Place" as someone deeply invested in the true crime podcast community, intellectually I appreciate the ending and the books kinda message about perceived guilt. However I totally agree that it was just BORING the whole time.

[@EdenIsaacs]

omg is that Delilah Loeppky’s merch sweatshirt?! 😍 you look stunning in this video 🧚🏻

[@chandlerainsley]

it is! and thank you :)

[@rosac464]

The naked fisherman was terrible. He was such a weird perv.

[@alyssavillhard2619]

When you talk about age gap romances, can you say what the age gap is, and how old they are?

[@chandlerainsley]

i rarely remember tbh, i always recommend checking goodreads for those details and triggers

[@rosac464]

Darling venom was strange and yet I sort of liked. It. The sex scenes were very weird though.

[@chandlerainsley]

i think the strangeness kept me reading, felt a little different from the standard KU fare

[@indepthana]

Damn imagine reading a romance novel and relaxed and having fun and then the heroine turns out to be homophobic 😂😂😂 holy shit I’d get whiplash

[@Asmamx6]

darling venom was really really bad imo 😭

[@doridoo5715]

Can uou bump a rating in real time? Sarah McClean is hit/miss for me....the audio of Brazen was cringey, the oohs/ahhs...nope, nope, nope

[@biancadolcee5521]

I agree with you 100% with "such a quiet place"

[@amandaborbe4351]

Me too!