Kiss List {Best Books of January}

As I said in my post on Friday, I read so many amazing books in January that I just could not decided which book to highlight! So I decided to make a Kiss List specifically devoted to books. Shocker. But it's really rare to LOVE so many books in such a short period of time. It was like book hangover hair of the dog, I just kept picking up incredible books, lucky me! I was going to post this yesterday but decided to postpone it until today because it's my birthday SO I figured I'd flail about some of my new favorite books!

"Try looking with your soul, instead. The soul sees what truly matters."

MARIANA  by Susanna Kearsley was a book that completely transported me to it's location and time. The present day story molds into the past with ancestor memories bringing a fascinating edge to this story. The romance was heart-breaking and beautiful, the location tangible, and I just DO NOT understand why I don't live in an old house in the English countryside.
Pick This Book Up If...You love historical fiction with a breathtaking love story and a perfectly complemented present day story. Also, if you love any and all stories set in England!

"I am Athena. Before that I was Thea, singer and slave and lover of gladiators. Before that I was Leah, daughter of Benjamin and Rachael of Masada. I am as mortal as you, you common little man. And I fear no one!"

MISTRESS OF ROME by Kate Quinn was a book on my Goodreads TBR for years! I decided to boss it and read everything I left sitting there for years and FELL IN LOVE! This story spans over a decade the trials and triumphs these characters go through are hard won. The romance is subtle but immensely deep and complex.
Pick This Up If You...Love a lot of drama with your storylines and are in the mood for some historical fiction with a side of soap opera. Big, hot gladiators also a plus.

"When they expect you to give up, that's when you should put your foot down and double your speed."

MY NOT SO PERFECT LIFE by Sophie Kinsella was a perfect book that was lighthearted but not fluff. It had a fantastic heroine who was trying to figure out her place in life and I am always a sucker for a great coming of age story. It's also super relevant to this social media obsessed culture of being jealous of people's highlight reels. Again, the English setting never hurts.
Pick This Book Up If...you love great heroines figuring out their lives with a great message to take away from it. Also, if you love England. 


"I did it only for him actually."

NO ANGEL by Penny Vincenzi is one of those books that just sucks you in. Family saga set in 1910-1920s England, this book is a beautiful piece of literature that moves along as a leisurely pace and makes you feel like one of the Lytton family members. As with any ongoing story you get their moments of defeat and despair but also their moments of triumphs and victories.
Pick This Book Up If...You love family dramas that span a long period of time and looking for a leisurely-paced read to absorb you. (Also, England. Are we sensing a theme, here?)


"The groom always smiles proudly because he's convinced he's accomplished something quite wonderful. The bride smiles because she's been able to convince him of it."

A KINGDOM OF DREAMS by Judith McNaught was a book that I had been told to read forever if I love Julie Garwood and I was NOT disappointed! A feisty, badass heroine who takes zero shit from her accidental captor hero and we have sexual tension and banter on another level. The Highland setting is fantastic, the rivalry between hero and heroine unmatched, and the ending made me tear up. Not a shocker on that one.
Pick This Book Up If...You love historical romance with a Scottish setting and a badass heroine and broody hero. Also, Scotland. And England.

"It was a feeling all too familiar for her, experiencing intense loneliness in a room so crowded it must be nearing fire regulation risk, feeling as if life was happening elsewhere. Right when she was supposedly in the beating heart at the center of everything."

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU by Mhairi McFarlane was right on par with all her other books. Relatable, emotional, and laugh out loud funny. I loved that I wasn't sure how the book would end and it was such a fun journey to get there. Aureliana will speak to every girl who wasn't part of the in crowd as a teenager. While her journey was quite extreme, it is still relatable. My heart ached with her and laughed with her.
Pick This Book Up If You...Love to laugh with your heroines, ugly ducking underdog stories....and England.