Well… We made it through month two of the year! This was a very rough month for me, but I watched so much reality television and today, on March 2nd, as I write this, I am feeling better. I would not say I’ve managed to get fully back to my preferred state of being, but there’s at least a few inches between me and spontaneously quitting my job instead of a millimeter. Dealing with burnout is not the easiest, but we all do what we have to in order to survive or whatever. As far as reading goes, I read some truly excellent books this month. I also sat several books off to the side. Not DNF’d just paused. So we’ll think my very specific mood reading for the good reading month I had! And with that, let’s talk about the books I read.
Books by Rating
5 Stars
In a Rush by Kate Cantebary is truly the most fantastic book. I picked it up during the Super Bowl because Taylor’s boyfriend’s team was losing and while I really like the Eagles (a lot, honestly), I was very sad that I wasn’t going to get my needed serotonin boost from Taylor and Travis being on the field together. So I turned to Kate Canterbary and what an excellent choice. How KC has written two marriage of conveniences in this series and they’re both so different despite many similarities is wild to me. In a Rush and In a Jam are proof of how you can take some tropes and spin them in very different directions if you’re good at writing character, which she is. I am truly obsessed with this book, I’m in love with both books in the series, and I cannot wait for more! And it sounds like we’re probably getting one or two more releases this year? So, that’s a huge win for me.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood is one of the last two books I read in the month and it came because I was curious about all of the talk around this book and because of how much I loved Not in Love and Check and Mate recently from AH. Well, let me tell you, Deep End knocked it out of the park for me. Truly, such a good book. AH has improved so much from The Love Hypothesis, which I also really loved, in the way that her character work is just lighting up the page. And the way she’s writing tension?? AH had my whole body tingling because I wanted the two of them to kiss before they did. Basically everything about this book was perfect for me.
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano is a book I had as an ARC so shout out to Netgalley and the publisher, but it’s also out on Tuesday, so soon you can have your own copy! I am so in love with this series and I’m so grateful that people in my real life read it too. This is a book I have to read at the right moment though because if I’m too on edge, Finlay’s habit of committing felonies spins my anxiety so far out, it’s honestly ridiculous. Although, in this one, somewhere in the first third, I sent a text to one of my friends and I said, “She’s only committed misdemeanors so far, thank God.” And then she got another text later that said, “Well, that didn’t last long enough.” Fortunately, I did read it at a good time and this book brought me a lot of laughs and joy. I also found myself kicking my feet and squealing over some of the relationship developments in this book. What a delightful time all the way around. I need Cosimano to write these books forever.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a book I read with my best friend throughout the entire month. We split the book into one or two chapters per day and would text about our thoughts on the day’s reading. It was such a fantastic way to consume this book, I absolutely loved it. Honestly, it’s my favorite way to consume a book right now, is reading it with someone else. But also, I listened to this book on audio and the days that I started my day by listening to a chapter truly started off so positively. These chapters almost feel like meditations on gratefulness, but then there’s so much where you’re like, “Wow, capitalism sucks” or “Wow, climate change…” and you sort of want to spiral. But I appreciated that RWK really kept the book grounded so that she would keep me from spiraling by bringing me back to changes that I could make that were generally small. She also has me wanting a garden, despite living in a basement apartment where I don’t have any outdoor space. So… not exactly sure how that will work, but I’m keen to try it now!
And now, my three favorite romantasy reads of the month! I started Rain of Shadows and Endings despite not having finished the Lady of Darkness series because everyone kept talking about this one and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This book is honestly much darker than what I would normally want to read, but I absolutely fell in love with it. I don’t know if it was my mood or what. But essentially, Theon chooses Tessa to be his bonded fae because he’s a Legacy heir and Tessa does not want this life. The two of them have a lot of power and control struggles and everything about it was tense but delicious. I don’t really know how to explain it. Regardless, what I can say is that I had a truly fantastic time and I’m looking forward to continuing.
City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards is an urban fantasy situation where there are a whole lot of mythical creatures who live in one city and there are demons that randomly appear. I really enjoyed this book and I went in a little apprehensive because of the way people talk about how slow it is. Instead, I found myself flying through it and wanting to listen to the audio at all times. Loren is a little (a lot) softer/weaker than a lot of FMCs in fantasy romance, but I don’t dislike that or her at all. It felt like what my life would be if I was in a setting like this because I too would be like, “I want to be a badass but also, let me hide from everything.” So I got it. And Darian? He’s a badass enough for them both, tbh. I’m a big fan.
Finally, Rebel Witch was the best conclusion that I’ve read to a series in a long time. It picked up just a few weeks, maybe months?, past where Heartless Hunter left off and everything about it was just quick and fun and engaging. It had so much adventure and good times and I was a fan of every bit. Did I predict some things? Sure, but like, who cares? I had a great time and I would like to read more from the author now. Preferably she could go ahead and age fully into adult because I really don’t think this duet belongs in YA anyway.
4.5 Stars
I’m not sure I could pair more different books side by side, but I really enjoyed both The Fall Risk and Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? They weren’t five star reads for me because in both cases I wanted more of something, but they are both truly fantastic reads and I would recommend.
4 Stars
I really liked both of these books and would absolutely recommend. I have an ARC review posted for I Think They Love You, which you can find here if you would like more thoughts. But the tl;dr is that I found Denz pretty relatable with his chaotic ADHD, but I think the book could have felt a little more mature. Then Full Speed to a Crash Landing was such a good time. I really enjoy sci-fi romance and I was very happy to read just a quick 200 page book. Now, the romance like, starts here, but it doesn’t go very far so this book by itself does not deliver the HEA. So I’ve got to pick up the next book in the series soon and then book three, which I think is the conclusion, comes out in… April? Maybe?
3.5 or Less…
Heavenly Bodies was a 3.5 star read for me. I think part of the problem was that my expectations were so high because I’ve only seen people raving about it. And then I picked it up and felt like the first half was dragging, but the second half was so intriguing, it has me excited for book two. I’ve shared the cover of the Indie edition just because that was already saved in my media, but it did go the Indie to trad pub route and so I also have the Indie version of book two on my kindle. We’ll see if I wait for the trad pub or if I just pick up the Indie version. I would love to see someone talk through any differences between the two versions. I really think this book was too short so I wonder if I would have liked the Indie version better.
Fight by Sloane St. James was… fine? I liked a lot of it, but then I also was very apathetic about a lot of it. I finished it for some reason, but honestly, it’s one where in hindsight, I should have just DNF’d. I rated it a three star, but probably it’s more like a 2? 2.5?
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao was just aggressively not for me. I finished it because it was an audiobook I had from the library and I was driving home so I just left it playing the whole way. I don’t think I’m a whimsical fantasy kind of girl. I think I need it a little more grounded. Especially because to me, the stakes seemed quite high? But it’s written almost cozy fantasy like? But that creepy thing was very much a high stakes situation. Also the world made no sense to me. So, I think this book will absolutely be for so many people. But it was not for me. And that’s not on the book! Just a reader/book mismatch.
Closing Thoughts
I’m skipping statistics in my wrap up and I haven’t been linking the posts that I’ve made or ones I’ve found around the internet. Is that a piece that you’re missing? Is it fine? Let me know if you have any opinions. Also, what were your favorite reads of the month? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 