firewhiskeyreader

Honestly, it’s really difficult to believe it’s already April. This year is flying by. I don’t know if I’m the only one who is feeling that way, but I definitely am. It’s like I blinked on January 1st and here were are. This year has been hectic and stressful and challenging on so many levels, but it’s almost like there’s not time to process any of it. Regardless, I have read 57 books in the first three months of the year and now we’re going to talk about my favorites! I will say, my reading has felt weird in this first quarter. Maybe because I was finishing my Wheel of Time reads, but regardless, I’m curious to see the books that stay on my favorites list throughout the year. We’ll see what happens! Anyway, let’s talk about my faves, shall we?

10. The rest of the Wheel of Time books, but specifically Knife of Dreams and The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

I really don’t consider these books perfect by any means, but I did really enjoy my time with them so much. I loved the characters so much and I just wish we could have so many more stories in this world. I’m so curious about all the things Robert Jordan wanted to do and will never get to. It makes me so sad to think about! But I’m grateful that this series was completed at least.

9. Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt, with an honorable mention to Darling Beast and the Maiden Lane series as a whole

I started reading the Maiden Lane series as a loose exercise in the #ButDoTheyBang readathon, except, I’m actually terrible at reading books at the same speed as other people so whoops. Anyway, I particularly loved Duke of Midnight and Darling Beast, but mostly I’m just loving the way Maiden Lane has utterly captivated me. I’m delighting in these series binges I’m going through right now.

8. Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood, Honorable Mention to Under One Roof

Hazelwood’s writing just really works for me and these novellas were short and fun so I had a great time with them. I think I preferred Stuck with You just because I actually really enjoyed learning about what had gone wrong between them. I do wish we could have had just a little bit more of the aftermath though.

7. The Spire by Kate Canterbary

Erin Walsh and Nick Acevedo are both brilliant characters and honestly, Canterbary just excels at writing characters that feel so real. The trauma, the recovery, the just… absolutely glorious way Canterbary writes this book was great. I loved it.

6. A Delicate Affair by Lindsay Evans

Honestly, I went into this book not knowing what to expect at all. I realized I don’t actually think I have a solid understanding (or any understanding?) of what the actual first decade of the 1900s looked like, which is the time period A Delicate Affair is set during. And for me, it wound up feeling a little resonant with the 1920s books I’ve read in my life, which admittedly aren’t many. And I suppose that makes sense given how time works. Anyway, I really loved this book! There were a couple of things I wished had gotten fleshed out a little more, but overall, this historical romance is really sexy and wonderful. I would definitely recommend.

5. Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (ARC Review)

What a gorgeous book. It was really lovely and soft and I enjoyed it tremendously. It’s arguably one of the best incorporations of a reality TV show that I’ve read because it incorporates the show so well into the romance. It’s an integral part of the plot, but it doesn’t overwhelm or detract from the romance. I don’t know how to explain it, but the balance was fantastic.

4. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (plus books 2 & 3)

I’ve really been in a series reading mode this year and I devoured the first three books in the From Blood and Ash series, whatever it is called. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with the series. I think sometimes I get some sort of reading snobbery type thing going on and it’s really dumb. Especially since I actually loved this book, exactly like my sister told me I would. She was not at all incorrect. This fantasy romance series gives me so many of the same feelings SJM gives me and I love SJM’s worlds. Now to read book four and then impatiently wait for the next release…

3. The Wedding Ringer by Kerry Rea

Y’all. I think about this book constantly. Sometimes these blended contemporary fiction/romance novel situation books don’t work for me (and a lot of other people), but when they work? They work. This book gave me the same sense of feeling seen as The Ex Talk did last year and Beach Read the year before last. It talked about loneliness and how hard it can be to make friends and just everything about that felt so real. I really loved this book and I look forward to reading more from Rea in the future.

2. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roark

Shout out to Nick for this recommendation, which I read and loved. It made me cry so hard though so I do not thank her for that part specifically. Like The Wedding Ringer, one of the things I liked the best about this book was the character growth Drew experiences. Like, this line: It leaves me wondering if maybe I haven’t gone far enough. If maybe I’ve been letting a lot of people walk on me for a very long time, because the worst things they say about me aren’t nearly as bad as the things I say about myself. I mean, it’s heartbreaking, right? But when Drew has this realization and slowly (so slowly) works to extricate herself from a bad situation, it’s just really wonderful. And the anxiety representation with the panic attacks was (as always) nice to see. And I loved the way a misunderstanding was handled, which almost never happens. I just really loved this entire book. I can’t wait to read book one!

1. Love’s Truth by K. Lashaun

What an absolutely brilliant marriage in trouble (except technically the couple is already divorced) romance novel. This book was perfect and exactly what I want out of a marriage in trouble type situation. There’s nothing super bad that either character did that led to the marriage coming to an end and then there’s a ton of chemistry and steam that helps bring them back together. Perfect book. No notes.

What were your favorite books of the first quarter of 2022? Do you also feel like time is flying? Let me know!

xx