What I Read This Month: January

This is the beginning of a monthly series on The Caro Diaries where I share the books I read every single month. You can follow along here. 

As you may know, I started reading a lot more in 2018. In fact, between September and December last year, I read more than 30 books. This year, I've committed to reading 52 books (that's a book a week!). Since that's a pretty lofty goal, I want to make sure I'm keeping myself accountable by sharing what I read month-to-month. 

If you follow me on Goodreads (and if you don't, you definitely should), you'll see that I chronicle every book I've read and want to read, and I rate and review them once I've finished. I've also created an Instagram Story Highlight where I share my star-rating as I read. 

I'm kind of playing catch-up in sharing my reads, so I'll be sharing January today, February on Thursday, March on Monday and then from here-on out, the previous month's on the first Friday of the new month (ie. April reads on the first Friday of May, May reads on the first Friday of June, and so on and so forth). That being said, I read six books in January, and today I'm sharing them with you. 

JANUARY

6 books

ONE DAY IN DECEMBER: 4/5 stars

This one is so cute! I started it just after my Christmas in Vermont and it's the perfect, easy read for a cozy day curled up on a couch in front of the fireplace! It follows a girl, Laurie, who experiences love at first sight on a bus one day – she looks and looks for this guy everywhere after, and cannot seem to find him, until one day, her BFF introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend.. who is none other than mystery man himself. The book follows her journey for love, and it was definitely a cute read.

THE HONEYMOON: 3.5/5 stars 

I didn't expect to enjoy this one, and to be honest, it was a hard one to get into right away – but once it hooked me, I couldn't put it down. A couple goes on their honeymoon, get a little drunk one night and get into a big fight, and the next morning, the wife wakes up and her husband is missing. Did he run away? Did he get kidnapped? Did he just go for a midnight swim and drown? Who knows.. but they'll definitely find out.

FINAL GIRLS: 4/5 stars

This was one of those books that everyone was talking about, so I read it to see if it lived up to the hype, and it totally did! The book follows this group of three women called the 'Final Girls': each a lone survivor of separate mass murders. When one of the three final girls is found dead, and there's a cryptic message from her only hours before her death in another's inbox, then things get interesting. I don't want to say too much cause I'll give the plot away, but the ending had me shook.

THE PROPOSAL: 3/5 stars

Unlike most romantic novels that end with a proposal, this one starts with one: an unwanted one. When Nik gets proposed to be her douchey, not-even-serious boyfriend at a baseball game, she has to awkwardly say no – and she gets rescued by super-cute Carlos and his sister Angela. Their friendship evolves, and turns into a super cute love story you won't be able to put down. (This technically is a sequel, though the books can be read out of turn.. you're just introduced to the characters in the previous novel).

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW: 2.5/5 stars

Former psychologist Anna Fox is a recluse who stays home, drinks way too much and spies on her neighbors – until one day she witnesses something in the window of her new neighbors, and she needs to tell someone. But will anyone believe what she saw, and can she even believe her own eyes? 

This was another one of those books that everyone and their mother was talking about, and honestly I found it a little over-hyped. I'm a huge fan of psychological thrillers, and this one really disappointed me. I figured out the plot line (and almost all of the twists, even the huge one) pretty early on. If you're a fan of unreliable narrators (I'm usually not), then you might be into this one! 

THE WEDDING DATE: 4/5 stars

This book is actually the first book in the same series as The Proposal, and it was SO cute. Like, I had all the feels reading it! It follows type-A, workaholic Alexa who gets stuck in an elevator with a super-cute doctor, Drew, in their hotel. She's there to hang out with her sister, and he's there for the wedding of his ex.. to his best friend. Oof. The two instantly click, and just as they go off on their separate ways, Drew asks Alexa to be his date to the wedding. What follows is the cutest love story that'll make you wish you were in it! 

Have you read any good books lately? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!