I want to bring over the two new releases from last month:
In Stormy Weather was introduced in the July TBR, so I won’t rehash the premise, but I did want to talk a little bit about why I’m excited to read this book. I do love a good rivals-to-lovers story, because usually they are familiar enough with each other to have a lively banter. Not only was this a women in STEM romance, but it takes place in Florida (and Quincy lives near Orlando, which is where I was based for my Nuke A school). Donald and I both have ties to Florida, and – as he will attest – I am the girl who is cheering on the hurricane. Not that I want there to be people hurt or property damaged, but I do love a good storm.
Resist Me is the sequel to Ruin Me and I enjoyed the nostalgia for an underground gambling ring romance, if that’s a thing. A little bit of danger spices things up every once in a while. In Ruin Me, we saw a little bit of the start of Ford’s infatuation with June, and I’m ready to see where it goes. I’ll be honest, I keep getting flooded with Kelsie Rae’s ads on social media and they are what made me pick up the first book.
New Releases
This month, there were only two new releases that I pre-ordered:
However, I’m not going to be reading either of these in August.
Adversary to the Villain is the fourth book in the Assistant to the Villain series, and while I have the other books in the series, I have not read books 2 or 3 yet. I’m trying not to read the blurb on the back of this book, so I don’t accidentally spoil myself for those books.
Chasing the Rush I am saving for September, since that’s when the NFL football season officially begins and this is a football sports romance. I like to stay on-theme when I can. This is also a second chance romance because Luca and Chelsea met previously when she was a Mathlete going to an event. Something happened and they didn’t actually get into a relationship at that time. Now, she runs into him again when she starts doing statistics for her father’s new team. He’s a player who needs babysitting and Chelsea is saddled with the job.
Book Club Picks
For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for August, we will be reading The Tempest Blade by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the sixth book in The Bridge Kingdom series and I can’t believe the book club is completing an entire series! In this finale, Ahnna is on the run because everyone believes that she killed Good King Eddie. Since it is the final book, we have chapters with POVs from all six of the main characters from the series.
For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman, which is the sequel to last month’s Dungeon Crawler Carl selection. It picks up where Book 1 left off, with Carl and Donut entering the third floor.
Amazon First Reads and Book of the Month Selections
Generally, I make my Amazon First Reads and Book of the Month selections on the first of the month or close to it. Since I don’t really pay for the Amazon reads, I set them as “Bonus” books on a list I maintain of books I acquire each year. My goal every year is to read all of the books I buy (or at least a decent percentage of them), but I allow myself to skip ones that are free or gifts or books that I buy for Donald.
I totally forgot about making these selections, and by the time I went to BOTM, the window for making August selections had ended. So nothing new to see here for August.
Final List
My final initial TBR for August consists of 2 books:
In July, I was fully invested in conquering the 22 Silent Book Club locations for the Metro Detroit Summer Passport event. Donald quickly found that if he attended with me, we would generally end up eating at a new-to-us restaurant, so he had NomNom Motivation to attend, and we treated it like a bonus Date Night.
TBR Reads
My official July TBR consisted of 4 books. Of those, I have read all 4:
The Endless War was okay. It was mostly Zarrah being in prison with some really questionable people and then a whole political mess. I felt that it dragged in places and I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Zarrah and Keris (granted their relationship was in a rocky place for much of the book).
Rocket’s Red Glare was a fun read. You follow an ex-Special Forces guy who invites his team to his place on Nantucket for a little R&R after a tour. He has a difficult time getting to his house because a presidential candidate decided to set up his campaign office next door. When the candidate is captured, everyone is a suspect and no one on the island is safe. I had to exercise a fair amount of “suspension of disbelief” for this story, but it was entertaining.
The Twisted Throne is Book 5 in the Bridge Kingdom series and once again we switch protagonists to show Ahnna, King Aren’s twin sister, and James, the brother to Ahnna’s fiancé, William. She is sent to Harendell to fulfill her part of the 15 Year Treaty and hopefully, to get Harendell to provide favorable trade agreements to help the Ithicanian people. There are a lot of court politics and intrigue, and a lot more of Ahnna falling for the “wrong” brother. Surely, that’s not going to cause any problems, right? This was another case where I didn’t particularly want to pick up the book to read it, but once I did, I didn’t put it down for hours.
Dungeon Crawler Carl was a surprise. It was funny and witty and I really liked it! Aliens come to Earth and flatten all of the buildings, squishing most of the people who were not fortunate enough to be outside at the time. For those who are left, they can either become a dungeon crawler and try to be the last person standing who can then reclaim the planet, or die. It’s an absolute comedy of ridiculousness from beginning to end. I really hope that Clint’s book club will continue reading in this series.
I read 0 of the 2 bonus TBR books.
Final Result was that I read 4/4 (100%) of my planned books and 0% of my bonus books. I’m really happy that I could keep up with my brother’s book clubs this month!
Random Reads
My non-planned reads include:
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to read Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood. It has women in STEM, and this one involves thermodynamics! Of course, I’m going to love it! Elsie is a brilliant physicist, but is currently is struggling as an adjunct professor spread across three separate campuses. She wins an interview for a position she desperately wants – doing what she loves, a real salary, and health insurance. Unfortunately, one of the people on the hiring committee is the nemesis of the theoretical physics academic world and single-handedly responsible for a huge blow to her mentor’s career and credibility. It was really cute and well done.
Mate is Ali Hazelwood’s sequel to Bride. We are returned to a world where there are vampires and werewolves living in a tense peace. This time, we are following Misery’s best friend, Serena, who recently found out she’s one of the only human-werewolf hybrids. She has a bit of PTSD from the events in Bride and seeks refuge from the world in the Pacific Northwest among Koen’s pack. Her being Koen’s mate doesn’t endear her to his pack. In fact, they see her as a threat to their way of life. It took me a bit to pick up this book, despite having had it on my bookshelf for almost a year. It surprised me in a few ways and there was more to unpack in the story than I had anticipated. Bride seemed to be a bit more fast-paced, and Mate seemed to be more introspective and questioning of characters’ motives.
Lauren Blakely is an author who writes hefty romance novels, and I generally find them pretty entertaining. She tends to write on the spicier side, so buyer beware. It Seemed Like a Good Idea is a cute story about a bodyguard and the girl he is protecting. Although – plot twist! – she’s not the famous person, but her twin sister is. Her sister, Haven, brings her movie crew to the small town where she grew up and filming will be taking place on the lavender farm that Ripley now runs. Banks and his partner are relatively new to the security business, and he really needs this job to go well. Falling in love with his principle is not something that is recommended. This was a good read and I like how it took some common troupes and flipped them just a bit.
Okay…. for this next bit, I’m going to do a bit of consolidating. What happened was I found the Amazon series, Off-Campus, and decided that I wanted to read the book (Hahaha, little did I know there were so many in this universe) before watching it. So, I proceeded to absolutely decimate Elle Kennedy’s series: Off-Campus, Briar U, and Campus Diaries. That took the whole rest of the month, with a brief interlude where I finished The Twisted Throne and Dungeon Crawler Carl. At first look, they seem a bit fluffy, but as I read through them, there was a lot of character development and layers to the issues that came up in the plot that kept me engaged. Also, I love a good family dynasty moment, and the fact that these books came with a family tree and there was a lot of former main character cameos in subsequent books made it so much more enjoyable. I will leave links below to individual reviews for each of the books in case you want to read my thoughts about them, but just a quick warning that if you are reading this post close to the publication date, I may not have completed this part yet.
My Thoughts on This Month’s Reading
Wow. 21 books! That’s a LOT! I regret nothing!
Links to my reviews (on StoryGraph) of each of the books read this month are below, along with my star rating.
The Endless War (⭐⭐⭐1/4) by Danielle L. Jensen – Review
Rocket’s Red Glare (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann – Review
Love, Theoretically (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Ali Hazelwood – Review
There are two books that I want to carry over from last month’s TBR:
The Endless War was a selection for my brother’s book club. I did start reading it in June, but I didn’t manage to finish by the end of the month.
Rocket’s Red Glare just seems like the perfect thing to read on the Fourth of July, so that will be my choice for the day’s reading.
New Releases
Both of the New Releases on my radar for July are going on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since they will be releasing later in the month.
In Stormy Weather features Quincy and Sebastian, who have been fierce rivals for all of their academic and professional lives. Sebastian also happens to be Quincy’s best friend’s brother and a permanent fixture of her friend group. Sebastian has a high profile job for a news agency, and Quincy has a highly successful social media channel where she uses her PhD to inform the public about weather phenomena. Pursuing a challenge, Sebastian convinces his boss to allow him to spend hurricane season in Florida, throwing him in close proximity to Quincy. This book releases on July 14.
Resist Me by Kelsie Rae is Book 2 in the Harden Heights series. I read the first installment, Ruin Me, which gave me similar vibes to Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. Ford is one of the Harden brothers who run an underground gambling ring. He crosses paths with June during the events of Ruin Me, develops a crush on her and starts pursuing her. This book releases on July 21.
Book Club Picks
For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for July, we will be reading The Twisted Throne by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the fifth book in the Bridge Kingdom series. So far, it’s a bit of an odd experience, where I have resistance to wanting to pick up the book to continue reading, but once I am reading it, I enjoy myself, even though the series is a bit slow and a bit more political than I would prefer.
For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. I have seen how much hype this book has, but I’ve been a bit skeptical. It has been pitched to me as a cross between Blade Runner and a Dungeons & Dragons game.
Final List
My final initial TBR for March consists of 4 books, and 2 bonus books:
The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen
Rocket’s Red Glare by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann
June was actually pretty busy, with end-of-school-year activities for the girls, various events, and the start of the Metro Detroit Summer Passport program through the area’s Silent Book Clubs. If you haven’t heard of a Silent Book Club before, it’s where people gather together for a little bit of community and then spend an hour reading, silently. You can read whatever you would like. It’s just a space for you to have some uninterrupted time to focus, maybe find a new cozy cafe to check out, and maybe make a bookish friend or two. For the Summer Passport program, 22 Silent Book Clubs from the Metro Detroit area have come together. From June through August, you can collect stamps and sign in at each of the locations. As you gain more stamps, you get more entries for a bookish prize. I’m really excited to participate and see a lot more SBCs than I would have otherwise!
TBR Reads
My official June TBR consisted of 5 books. Of those, I have read 3:
Maple Mayhem in Indiana Dunes is a solid novella. A park ranger and a … tree researcher? Sounds like they were made for each other! Except, he is the very LAST person that she wants to see – after all, he was the reason she was bullied so hard in school. But now, she is assigned to do research at the National Park he works at and they can’t help but run into each other. Sometimes, even bullies deserve a second chance, and it’s never too late to see yourself from a new perspective. I wish we had more time with these characters, but it was quite enjoyable!
My Forever Girl follows Gracie and Cutler, who have been best friends forever, and haven’t quite ever tested whether they are compatible as romantic interests. The clues are there, however. Cutler would drop everything to be there if Gracie needed him, and Gracie calls him every day and looks to him for advice and support. It was a fun story and I liked them both as characters. Getting this book out of the blue, I wasn’t familiar with the author and didn’t know until the end that it was a second-generation romance. I do like series where you get to meet different people from the same world and seeing how different generations came together would be an interesting dynamic, so I’ll have to see about picking up the related books at some point.
I really loved The Courage to Commit. I would say that most people will buy this book because Shawn and Andrew are well-known elite athletes and social media personalities, and they will want to hear more about their lives. They will not be disappointed, as each chapter includes anecdotes that underscore their message. However, they are also very skillful about turning their experiences into wisdom that they can share with their readers, with both positive and negative examples. You absolutely could speed through this book, because it is written in an engaging and personal tone, but you should also read it slowly and savor the life lessons they are giving out. Or read it several times. With a highlighter.
Bonus Books
I read 0 of the 9 bonus TBR books.
Final Result was that I read 3/5 (60%) of my planned books and 0% of my bonus books. I didn’t manage to read either of Clint’s book club selections during the month of June, but I did start The Endless War and hope to finish it up in early July.
Random Reads
My non-planned reads include:
S’more of You is the first in a summer romance series by Amazon. Margot is a camp counselor at Dean’s family’s camp. They’ve been at the camp together every summer for years, and for years Margot has been harboring the biggest crush on Dean. However, she expresses this by being a thorough pain-in-the-butt and pranking him at every turn. There was something playful and fun with this short story that I enjoyed, even though I was a bit put off by the idea of a girl pranking this guy so hard for so long, but it ended up being a bit sweet how that was explained in the end.
In Save a Horse, Keep the Cowboy, Jodie is a country music star who returns to her hometown to officiate her brother’s wedding. Josie and Weston were once a thing, but Weston chose his family’s ranch over her. Now, she has to run into him again as her brother’s best man. I’m not sure what to rate this one. I liked it well enough in the moment, but here I am a couple weeks later and I don’t even remember reading the book. I know that I did, but I had to read through a bunch of other readers’ reviews to even recall the climax scene. And it was a bit…. cheesy. I guess it was good for the brief time I read it, but clearly nothing stuck.
I read Glow of the Everflame via audiobook, so it took longer as I only listened to the story while I was driving somewhere. Luckily (I guess, lucky for the book?), since I was participating in the Silent Book Club Summer Passport event, I was driving around more than usual. This is Book 2 of the Kindred’s Curse series, and Diem is now Queen. She needs to figure out how court life works and who – if anyone – she can trust. This book was a bit more political than Spark of the Everflame and that’s just not quite my cup of tea. I generally like more action and banter than world-building and complicated nuance. What can I say, I’m reading for entertainment and my attention span has gotten selective in this soundbyte/short form content world we live in. It was good to see how Diem and Luther’s relationship grew, and the struggles she faces between the human world she grew up in and the Descended world she must now engage with.
It’s been ten years since Lucy last saw her best friend, Sara, in One Hot Summer Wedding. Then, out of the blue, she gets an invitation to her wedding. Sara’s brother, Beckett, is there and they are forced to share a hotel room. I thought this short story was pretty cute.
I have been really enjoying Melanie Harlow’s writing. She’s a local author and I’ve had the privilege of meeting her in person a couple of times. Most of her books are located in a fictional city in the northwest of Michigan’s lower peninsula. I was really excited to read this book, and also can we mention how gorgeous the cover and sprayed edges are? Hart’s Landing is a solid romance with some personal emotional growth, characters with real childhood wounds they need to work through, a decade-old mystery, and a surprise paranormal element! I think this is my sixth Melanie Harlow book I’ve read, and they keep getting better!
Ah, Girls Just Wanna Have Sun is rated fairly low on Goodreads: 2.86. This is another short story in Amazon’s Summer Lovin’ collection and follows Morgan and Juliette. Morgan is pushed into some watersports when she just wants to lay on the beach. The only upside is that she runs into Juliette, someone she shared a few flirty encounters and a kiss eight years ago. Ummm….. I don’t know. I didn’t really feel the attraction between these two, even though the author clearly pushed them into a tragic case of insta-lust. The one girl was clearly uncomfortable in outdoors environments, but willing to put herself out there a little bit, even though it still wasn’t her jam. The other girl was a nature enthusiast and wanted to be alone and outside all of the time. I get that people can compromise, but these too just didn’t seem to have enough of a spark or enough in common to actually make a relationship last without one of the partners completely deleting their personality.
My Killer Vacation was just wild. Taylor’s brother is recovering from an emotional upset, so the elementary school teacher takes her meager savings and splurges on a fantastic vacation to Cape Cod for the two of them. Almost as soon as they arrive, she discovers a dead body in their rental house. For her whole life, Taylor has been told that she’s the type of girl to sit in the background and make the safe choice, but after taking the dead body incident in stride, she’s starting to think that she may be tougher than everyone thinks and maybe she can put her sleuthing skills (entirely gained from listening to true crime podcasts) to good use. Myles is a bounty hunter hired by the victim’s sister to get to the bottom of the murder. He definitely doesn’t want a partner, much less a perky schoolteacher who doesn’t know what she’s doing. I was actively grinning most of the time while reading this book. Taylor is a super sweet and maybe a little too cautious second grade teacher, and she is an absolute, adorable Pokémon of a character. I loved their banter and how stubbornly they clung to their annoyance, even when their mutual attraction hinted at a deeper relationship.
My Thoughts on This Month’s Reading
This was definitely a month of highs and lows! I really appreciated the Summer Passport program for getting me out of the house and giving me dedicated time to read books. I’ll have to follow up with a post about my experience at the end of the summer. I think one thing that the Amazon Original Stories cemented for me is that I’m just not a short story girl. I need time with the characters to be able to really get to know them so that I can root for them to get their happily ever after. I love wit and banter and books that feature that in a playful and not destructive way will win my heart every time.
Links to my reviews (on StoryGraph) of each of the books read this month are below, along with my star rating.
Maple Mayhem in Indiana Dunes (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2) by Olivia Hope McCarthy – Review
I actually read ALL of the books on my May TBR, so I don’t have anything for this section! Yay!
New Releases
I think for New Releases, I should put them on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since while I intend to buy them, I may not, or they may not release in enough time for me to pick them up and read them.
The Magic of Us by Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi follows Elliot, who has built a career around trashing love and relationships. However, after someone casts a spell on her, she wakes up to find herself in an alternate reality where she never broke up with her boyfriend.
I’ve been really enjoying the National Parks series by Olivia Hope McCarthy, so I’m excited to read Maple Mayhem in Indiana Dunes. Jayce has always been a part of the popular crowd. The same crowd who tormented Ana throughout her school years. When she’s assigned to his National Park to conduct research, she can’t seem to get away from him, and he can’t understand why she keeps him at a distance. I’m definitely going to read this book this month!
In My Forever Girl by Laura Pavlov, Gracie and Cutler have been best friends since childhood. She left to chase her dreams and follow her boyfriend to another country. Cutler’s the one who flew to her rescue once that relationship ended. He’s always been there for her, but can he convince her to give him a chance at turning their friendship into something more? I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher, so I’m excited to dive into it!
Rocket’s Red Glare by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann looks like the perfect book to read on the Fourth of July. Ex-special forces operators functioning as a covert privatized unit. This book will be saved until July, obvs.
My most anticipated new release for this month is The Courage to Commit by Shawn Johnson East and Dr. Andrew East. I was fortunate to be part of their launch team and go to preview a few chapters and provide feedback ahead of publication day. They show the benefits and varied meaning of commitment – in your activities, professional life, and relationships.
Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben is a thriller, which is normally not my preferred genre. But this one involves an Army combat surgeon who has lost her medical license finding her way back as a plastic surgeon for wealthy customers wanting absolute discretion. When a patient disappears under her care, everything goes sideways. I bet her Army combat training will come in handy.
It seems that I am always looking out for the next Tom Clancy. He was an amazing storyteller and the pinnacle of the military thriller genre. I’ve also found the Vince Flynn books to be enjoyable. Both universes, while still enjoyable because I’ve become attached to the characters, have lost that special spark since the original authors have passed away. The Most Dangerous Man by Jack Murphy is a book that I’m interested in trying to see if it will fill that niche. In this book, Jeremy Lopez is an ex-Army Ranger who is kidnapped and released into an environment as a target for an elite hunting party.
Ashley Poston books always have that dash of magical realism to them. In The Someday Garden, Sophie takes a summer job in Maine at an estate with a secret garden that has a trapped man inside. Outside of the garden is the owner’s nephew. The garden itself is proving to be a challenge, as the plants do not want to respond to her care. The rest of the plot…I will just have to see when I read it. I get that they don’t want to give too much away on the blurb, but to just say a secret garden and two guys…. Maybe just a little bit more?
Sports romance seems to be my jam lately. I’m not exactly sure what about it is so compelling, but I have been eating them up! Abby Offsides by Anna McCallie follows Abby, a woman who leaves her whole life after finding out her fiancé has cheated on her, and lands in the UK, where she finds a job with a football club. There’s an attractive player with a mysterious (and apparently absent) wife. Add a bit of forced proximity and see what happens.
Hoping the make the switch from wedding photographer to landscape photographer (and still pay the bills), Sloane spends her spring chasing tornadoes to capture the perfect shot in Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances. This shot will win her a cover contest for a well-known nature magazine and secure her career switch. However, someone else in in the hunt for the cover prize. Wes and Sloane have been longtime rivals, but as the tumultuous season keeps tossing them together, will something else emerge?
Night Witch by Jaymin Eve is the sequel to Spellcaster. From what I remember of Spellcaster, it has a bit of a Romeo and Juliet theme, in that Logan and Paisley’s fathers are bitter rivals. They are in a magic school and since Paisley recently discovered that she is a Spellcaster, she’s been connected with Logan, who is a strong spellcaster for development of her magic. Night Witch brings us Paisley’s second year at Weatherstone College.
The Winged Game by Sophie Kim bills itself as “fantasy meets sports romance,” which honestly seems like my cup of tea. Rugby on winged beasts. Yes, please. Taissa was a great player, until Kion destroyed her career. Now, he’s offering her redemption as a part of his team. Fake relationships and mysteriously sick winged creatures… Will this end up being a wild romp or a bitten off too much moment?
Book Club Picks
For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for May, we will be reading The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the fourth book in the Bridge Kingdom series and the second book focusing on Zarrah and Keris. Zarrah has been imprisoned on Devil’s Island by her aunt and Keris will do anything to save her, while balancing the responsibilities of a being a new king whose kingdom has been warring with Zarrah’s for endless years.
For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Cold Storage by David Koepp. This is Book 1 in a series and is pitched to people who love Andy Weir (which would be me). Roberto is a “bioterror operative” (is that really a job title?) who once found and contained a highly mutative organism. Now, that organism is loose and only Roberto knows how to stop it.
Final List
My final initial TBR for March consists of 5 books, and 21 bonus books:
Maple Mayhem in Indiana Dunes by Olivia Hope McCarthy
My Forever Girl by Laura Pavlov
The Courage to Commit by Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East
The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen
Cold Storage by David Koepp — Bonus —
The Magic of Us by Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi
Rocket’s Red Glare by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann
Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
This was objectively a bit of a tough reading month. So far this year, my average rating is 3.99 – just a hair below my “I really liked it” rating. However, this month only earned an average rating of 3.38 – between “I liked it” and “I really liked it.” So, for the most part, the reading was good, but maybe not particularly memorable or impactful long-term.
TBR Reads
My official May TBR consisted of 3 books. Of those, I have read all 3:
I read 3 of the 21 bonus TBR books.
Final Result after TBR pruning was that I read 3/3 (100%) of my planned books and 14% of my bonus books. I’m really excited about that 100%! And I beat my bonus book percentage from last month! I was happy to have also completed both of the books for Clint’s book clubs, although I’m not super excited to continue the After the Pulse series.
Random Reads
My non-planned reads include:
If All Else Sails is a super-cute enemies-to-lovers romance. Josie’s brother is the golden child of their family and maybe a bit self-absorbed. She’s used to going along with whatever he has planned for their vacations together – after all, it’s usually the only time she can tear him away from his busy life as a sports agent. But when she arrives at a derelict murder cottage and her brother’s nowhere in sight…. All Wyatt wants to do is hide away from the world in his recently deceased uncle’s cottage and reminisce about the fun times they used to have here while he recovers from a hockey injury. His peace is interrupted by what seems to be paparazzi, so he calls the police to the property. The cops toss Josie in the back of their sweltering cruiser and forget about her while they are trying to get autographs from Wyatt. When Wyatt realizes that Josie is his best friend and agent’s sister, and not a paparazzo, he has the cops remove her from the squad car…. a little too late, as she can barely glare in his direction before passing out from the heat. The beginning of this story was delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the story.
Katie is facing unemployment in The Love Haters. Her job as a video producer is on the line as the new owner is making radical cuts to the staff. A coworker pushes her to take a job profiling Tom, a Coast Guard SAR swimmer who went viral recently for saving a celebrity’s dog. She needs to save her job, so she agrees – even though she cannot swim. She is set up to stay at her coworker’s Aunt Rue’s house, without knowing that her coworker and Tom are estranged brothers. Her entire time in the Keys is one comedy of errors after another, and a truly fun story to read.
Navy Brat was originally written in 1991 and it really shows its age. The FMC works for a woman-empowerment non-profit and that hard feminism flag-waving clashed with the MMC’s heavy-handedness. There were so many red flags. She stated clearly and repeatedly from day one that she didn’t want a military lifestyle and didn’t want to date him and he chased her (literally) and harassed her until she relented. At one point, she said repeatedly that she didn’t want to kiss him and he was like, well, then I’ll just kiss you anyway. Her dad calling her a fool because she didn’t give in to this guy. Just horrible. I didn’t find it sweet at all. But I guess we are just a different society with different values 35 years later. Would not recommend.
In The Little Cafe at the End of the Pier, Jo’s grandparents ask her to leave her job to move back home and start taking over the family cafe. As she reacclimates to small town life, she gets invested in her customer’s love lives and starts serving up some matchmaking along with the coffee and scones. It was kind of cute, but with so many characters and only a little bit of time with each couple, I found it difficult to become invested and ended up skimming through most of the book. It hit solidly between “It’s OK” and “I liked it.”
My Thoughts on This Month’s Reading
May was a bit of an odd reading month. The first full week was dedicated to a work trip to Las Vegas, so I didn’t get a ton of reading done and didn’t finish any books. The middle of the month was where I read my “Official TBR” books. And then came my favorite part of the month: May 25-31, with the Books Ahoy! Readathon created by my friend, Monica! I absolutely adored the theme, Navy girl as I am, and was onboard faster than you could say “Anchors Aweigh!” So while some of the books capsized and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, others were glittering marvels of nautical prose.
Links to my reviews (on StoryGraph) of each of the books read this month are below, along with my star rating.
The Inadequate Heir (⭐⭐⭐1/4) by Danielle L. Jensen – Review
I actually read ALL of the books on my April TBR, so I don’t have anything for this section! Yay!
New Releases
I think for New Releases, I should put them on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since while I intend to buy them, I may not, or they may not release in enough time for me to pick them up and read them.
One of my favorite topics to watch on YouTube is aviation, but in particular accidents and incidents. My nerdy brain loves the puzzle of figuring out what when wrong with the complex machinery, human factors, atmospheric influences, and other contributing factors, and the challenge of taking each story and seeing how it can be used to make flight safer. I wish this kind of investigation and self-reflection were a part of the culture for every industry, to be honest. In addition to Mentour Pilot, 74 Gear, Disaster Breakdown, Green Dot Aviation, Mayday: Air Disasters, and Pilot Debrief, I have been following Captain Steeeve for a while. Captain Steeeve’s 13 Rules for Life is marketed as a “flight plan for life.” I like to support the people that I spend so much time watching (there’s some kind of emotional connection created when you pay attention to someone’s story closely), so I’ll likely pick this up and give it a go. I have this marked as releasing on April 30, but it actually looks like it was published back on February 26.
Fury Bound is the sequel to Dire Bound, which was recommended to me by my friend, Kelly. I haven’t managed to read Dire Bound yet, so I’m trying not to spoil myself by reading the blurb of sequels too closely, if I haven’t read the preceding book. I think I will put Dire Bound on my TBR as a Possible. It is expected to release on May 5.
Also releasing on May 5 is Our Perfect Storm. This is a friends-to-lovers trope where the friends part seems like it’s pretty volatile. So much so that Frankie isn’t sure that George is going to show up as Best Man at her wedding. He does, and the next day she’s left at the altar. Hmmm…. Then, George convinces her to still go on her planned honeymoon… with him. I have enjoyed Carley Fortune’s books. Several of her previous ones have been set in Canada at cabins on the lake (which feels very much like summertime Michigan, so nostalgic, in a way, for me), while this one takes us to a new location of Tofino. Yes, I had to Google that. It’s a small town in the Vancouver Islands. It’s kind of fun that they are going to be honeymooning in the area where I got engaged. It’s not necessary for me to relate quite this hard to characters in order to appreciate a story, but I have to say, I don’t think it hurts!
Another May 5 release is Sweet Vengeance, which is Book 3 in The Calder Academy series. I binge-read the Crave series a few years ago, and this series is a spin-off from that. It’s kind of that guilty pleasure YA romance/thriller type of series that is entirely fluffy and enjoyable. I know that I’ve read Sweet Nightmare, which is Book 1, but somehow I missed Sweet Chaos, Book 2… Hmmm… Goodreads says that it’s expected publication date is November 3, 2026; Amazon says it’s November 2, 2027. I’m confused…. Book 3 is being published before Book 2???
Broken Dove is the sequel to Silver Elite, another book that I haven’t read yet. Ugh! I have a copy of Silver Elite, right? Somewhere? Now I have to search the house…. Yes! There it is! I got it as a Book of the Month selection, so it’s on my BOTM bookcase. You can get your copy of Broken Dove this Tuesday, May 5.
First and Forever! This book officially releases on May 12, but I was lucky enough to read an ARC version in February and loved it, 4.5 stars! After being harassed by a team mascot at a game and accidentally hurting him, Duffy is hated by the other fans, who only saw her being mean to the beloved mascot. On the other side, the team’s management is worried about the harassment part of the encounter and try to patch things up with Duffy by setting her up with a private meeting/date with one of the players.
Also coming out on May 12 is Hart’s Landing by Melanie Harlow. Melanie is a local author that I’ve had the privilege of meeting in person. I’ve read her Cherry Tree Harbor series (5 books) and enjoyed them, so I am looking forward to this new book. This book will be offered on Kindle Unlimited, so I could read for free, but I will likely pick up a physical copy – the sprayed edges look so cute on it! The story follows Mila and Everett. Mila left town after a huge fire, leaving behind a lot of suspicion and her former crush. Everett, now the mayor of the small town, runs into the girl that got away, but there are still questions remaining about the reason she left in the first place. So, maybe a bit of mystery with our romance in this one.
The Ballad of Falling Dragons – what is it with the new releases this month?! Why are they all calling me out with sequels to books I have not read yet (but meant to)?! This book is the sequel to When the Moon Hatched, which I own and which has a lot of great reviews, but also which I have not yet managed to read.
Sigh. It’s looking more and more that my TBR will be filled with a lot of backlist titles – probably as ‘Possibles’ instead of actually fully committing to reading them. I’d rather be pleasantly pleased that I made progress on my list of Bonus books than disappointed in myself for not accomplishing a goal. Thankfully, this is just my personal TBR and I will not be graded on it and it’s not cheating if I architect it to my advantage!
Book Club Picks
For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for May, we will be reading The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen. Last month was the first time that his book club had selected a sequel as the monthly choice, and this month is the first time we have selected a third book in a series! I started reading it as soon as I finished The Traitor Queen, but have only made it to page 14 so far. In this sequel, we leave Lara and Aren behind and follow her brother, Keris, and Zarrah, who is the General of the country his people are at war with. I think this book is mainly a prequel to the first two books in the series, but it may go up to current events or beyond. It’s always questionable for me when a series changes focus from one set of protagonists to another set. I get invested in the original characters, and for me, if I’m not attached to the characters, I will not generally enjoy the book.
For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Resistance by Mark Tufo, which is the sequel to last month’s Reset from the After the Pulse series. I also started reading this one in April, and am 42 pages/11% in. It starts out 3 years from the events in Book 1 and is narrated like you know what’s been going on the whole time, so it’s a bit jarring and confusing at the beginning. But through the device of a journalist doing interviews with the characters, we start to learn what happened in the intervening years. Apparently, there are now aliens who have invaded. I swear I just finished Reset and I do not recall this from the end of the book. Did I miss it?
(Overdue) Library Books
Okay, I don’t have any overdue library books at the moment, but I did place a couple holds last month. I read Star Shipped last month. The other is for Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune. I didn’t realize it when I put in the hold, but the Carley Fortune’s book isn’t going to be released until May 5. I’ll add it as a ‘Possible’ for the TBR, because I don’t know if I’ll get ahold of a copy this month due to the sheer number of people who are in the hold queue ahead of me.
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune – I think this is a standalone book. It features Frankie and George, childhood friends who have always had a volatile on/off relationship. Frankie invites George to be her best man at her wedding, not knowing if he will actually make an appearance. He does, but then her fiancé calls it off the next morning. Confused and heartbroken, she agrees to George’s request to go on her planned honeymoon with him, as a last chance to repair their friendship.
Random Selections
Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center – Lily fell in love with her childhood friend, Walker, who ended up rejecting her. Seven years later, they are trapped together in a snowed in cabin in the Rockies.
Books Ahoy Readathon
My friend, Monica, is hosting the Books Ahoy Readathon in her Facebook group, Let’s Peanut Butter Taco ‘Bout Books. It will take place from Monday, May 25 – Sunday, May 31, 2026. The prompts are:
Bon Voyage (a great first line)
Sailor’s Delight (bestseller’s list)
All Aboard (includes a boat)
Make Waves (water on cover)
Anchor (main character returns to hometown)
Whatever Floats Your Boat (favorite genre)
Smooth Sailing (a book you can sail through)
As a Navy veteran, how could I not participate in this readathon?! (I mean, obvs, I would participate anyway….)
Monica also sells coordinating stickers for the readathon via her Etsy shop, PeanutButterTaco, so I will be certain to pop over there and place an order.
Here are some nautical considerations:
Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner – This is a book that can be read for free via Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription. It is a second-chance romance between Ember and Finn, who end up working together on the same yacht. To complicate things, Ember is starring in a reality TV show, so their interactions will be on the air for the masses.
Return to Me by Kelly Moran – A second-chance romance that starts out the way that so many of them do: two kids, one rich (the other presumably not), fall in love, some catastrophic event occurs that breaks them apart, fast-forward to present day. Now, Cole is back from the military and Mia returns to their small, coastal town as a private nurse in charge of Cole’s care.
Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans by Joanne DeMaio – Maris leaves her life in Chicago’s denim fashion industry for a coastal New England experience where she reconnects with old friends and savors a different pace of life while she settles her father’s estate.
Breathe by Abbi Glines – Forced to stand in for her pregnant mother as a domestic servant for the summer, Sadie is surprised to find her new boss is Jax, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world.
The Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott – Florrie lives an idyllic life by the sea as a bookseller, until tragedy strikes and she has to work with her bookstore owner’s grandson, Ed to try to save it. She finds some mysterious, yellowed letters in the back room, but these are not the only secrets she has to contend with.
Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan – Newly unemployed Gigi finds herself living with her mother on Mackinac Island. Summer resident James works as an author, but Gigi swears his main job is irritating her. This is as much a story about Gigi’s relationship with her mother, as it is a romance.
My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot – House-sitter Becky and Businessman Elias are thrown together when their plane to Greece has an emergency landing. They are more surprised when they run into each other again at the same villa.
Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean – STEM-loving Savannah is dumped by her boyfriend for being too boring, so she embarks on an Alaskan adventure to prove that she knows how to have fun… except, she kind of doesn’t. Insert Tanner, her long-time nemesis, who agrees to help her expand her horizons.
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant – What if mermaids are real? What if they hate humans? After some filmmakers go missing at sea while making a “mockumentary” about legendary sea creatures, one of the crew’s sister returns to find out exactly what happened.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty – Amina is a famous Indian Ocean pirate who is looking forward to retirement and the good life, when a colleague’s mother asks her to retrieve her granddaughter for a princely sum. However, the girl’s disappearance is more complicated than first anticipated.
The “Possibles” List
The Replacement by Liv Constantine – The Amazon First Reads program (where Amazon Prime members get a free Kindle book every month) has recently been offering a bonus short story as well. There’s no downside to also selecting the bonus, so I pick it up every month. A Hollywood A-lister, who has fallen out of the limelight, but is trying to make her way back falls in with an up-and-coming costar who becomes her protege. But, this is a thriller, so bad things are coming…
Two Lives with You by Lauren Ho – This follows Dana and Nigel, a couple each struggling with their work situations, who receive a magical reprieve from their lives to explore what might have been if they had not married. What will happen when they run into each other in this alternate reality? And what does it mean when their magical wish has a catch?
Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth – Elegy is a soldier fighting against the Talusar. One day, she is brought together with one of the Talusar’s generals to hear a prophecy: one of them will lead their people to victory over the other, but they don’t know which. Also, there is a man central to both of them whom Elegy is told that she will fall in love with.
Final List
My final initial TBR for March consists of 3 books, and 21 bonus books:
The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen
Resistance by Mark Tufo
Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center — Bonus —
Captain Steeeve’s 13 Rules for Life by Steve Scheibner
Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Sweet Chaos by Tracy Wolff
Sweet Vengeance by Tracy Wolff
Silver Elite by Dani Francis
Hart’s Landing by Melanie Harlow
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner
Return to Me by Kelly Moran
Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans by Joanne DeMaio
Breathe by Abbi Glines
The Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott
Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan
My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot
Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Overall, I feel that I read less this month, but I also have been very distracted with playing Pokemon Pokopia (LOVE this game!) and I officially returned to work after my medical leave, both of these meant that I had less time for reading. I’m not mad at it. I think that I’ve enjoyed the books that I did read fairly well.
TBR Reads
My official April TBR consisted of 6 books. Of those, I have read all 6:
I read 1 of the 14 bonus TBR books.
Final Result after TBR pruning was that I read 6/6 (100%) of my planned books and 7% of my bonus books. I’m really excited about that 100%! I even managed to read both of Clint’s book club selections this month!
Random Reads
My non-planned reads include:
Ruin Me is the first book in a series about a set of brothers who run…. an underground betting business? It’s more than just a fighting ring, although that is mostly how Jagger participates in the brothers’ endeavors. They do also run other contest-like events that people can enter to win prizes and others can attend for the spectacle and to place bets on contestant standings. Jagger and his siblings live in a wealthy neighborhood and are children of a difficult, remote, but successful father. Violet is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks whose father has a gambling addiction and a penchant for violence and thievery, especially when it comes to Violet herself. Living conditions at home being unbearable, and losing hope to escape her situation after her father steals her down payment for an apartment, Violet reluctantly enters one of the brothers’ events to try and win some prize money. Butting heads at every turn, will these two ever reconcile enough to build a relationship?
Books Read
While I still feel that I’m in a Romance Era, there were some new twists added to the mix. I think that Star Shipped is my first M-M romance and I really enjoyed the book club discussion that we had at Love & Other Books (even though most people there didn’t feel that the book was a highlight of their monthly reading). A dystopian and a fantasy were completed, and I enjoyed my time there, too. Next month, we will be reading the sequel to Reset and the third book in The Bridge Kingdom series (The Traitor Queen was Book 2).
Links to my reviews (on StoryGraph) of each of the books read this month are below, along with my star rating.
The Girlfriend Zone (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Lauren Blakely – Review
Sunk in Love is currently sitting just to the left of me on my office desk. It follows Roslyn and Liam, a married couple, who after 5 years have separated and are headed toward divorce. However, in her family where everyone but her is a doctor, Roslyn is the black sheep. She’s only redeemed by the fact that she’s married to Liam, who is a doctor and beloved by Ros’s family. So, when her family grows suspicious of Ros’s continued excuses for Liam’s absence at family functions and her grandparents request/demand that Liam preside over their vow renewal, she convinces Liam to fake a happily married relationship for the duration of the vow renewal cruise.
New Releases
I think for New Releases, I should put them on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since while I intend to buy them, I may not, or they may not release in enough time for me to pick them up and read them.
American Fantasy is a story about a recently divorced Annie who is bullied by her sister to take a cruise on a boat featuring her favorite boy band from her youth. Can she form a real and lasting romantic connection with one of her childhood crushes, in a sea of other middle-aged fans? Expected release on April 7.
I’m not sure how The Book Witch crossed my radar. Rainy March is a book witch who can enter book worlds to defend them from attacks from within (rogue heroes) and without (malicious alterations). She’s been forbidden to see the Duke of Chicago, at the risk of her magic, but when her grandfather disappears, she needs the Duke’s help. I’m not sure if magical realism is my jam, but it sounds like it might be a cute read. Release date is April 7.
The Escape Game by its nature as a YA murder mystery is not normally a book I would gravitate to; however, I have liked Marissa Meyer’s writing (and the Cinder series), and the cast of characters – with a cryptographer, math whiz, game master, and potential murderer – reminds me a little of Ready Player One, so I’m willing to give it a shot. Expected April 7.
While scouring bookseller websites and YouTube videos to try and find out what books are coming out in April, Ally Condie’s name jumped off the screen to me. I enjoyed the Matched series, so I’m interested to see if I will like her adult mystery/thriller, The Girls Trip. In this story, Hope (actress), Ash (internet personality), and Caro (doctor) who met in an online book club and are not meeting in person. Each of them has reasons to want to escape their daily life and they choose to meet up at a National Park. But what happens when one of them disappears? Releases April 7.
I first discovered Beth O’Leary in Swept Away, which was a cute closed-door romance where the protagonists literally get swept away to sea. In The Name Game, two people named Charlie Jones arrive at a remote island, expecting to me the new farm-shop manager. It sounds like lighthearted shenanigans will ensue. Release day on April 7.
The bright, candy colors of the cover are what initially drew my attention to The Paris Match. Their marriage ended amicably, but only about a year later might be too soon for Layla to face the former in-laws and attend her ex-sister-in-law’s wedding. When she inadvertently gives the bride cold feet, the groom’s best man forces her to help him fix it. Expected April 7.
My friend, Kelly, introduced me to Shield of Sparrows, and we are both eagerly anticipating Book 2! Finally, we will get Rites of the Starling on April 7. Now that I have read The Bridge Kingdom, this feels like it will be a bit similar with many kingdoms that have different resources and try to solve their political strife with marrying their children to build alliances.
I am committed to reading all of Olivia’s National Parks books, and I hope that she writes one for each of the 63 National Parks. We just got Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah and now we are getting Tenor Willits Gets the Yips on April 10. These are self-published, so the release date is a little different from the other books, and I was only able to pre-order the ebook version from Amazon Kindle. I have paperback copies of the other two books, so I’m hopeful that once the release day comes, I’ll be able to order a physical copy. I think this book is more of a novella than a full novel at 159 pages. We met the MMC, Tenor Willits, in Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah, where he has been working with Lynette to overcome his “yips,” and heads to the Petrified Forest for a brief break from his demanding sport.
Stay for a Spell just sounds like fun! Princess Tandy hates princess duty and being cursed to remain in a bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire seems like a reward instead of a curse. However, back at home her princess duties are piling up and her parents are frantic to get her back, so they start sending princes to woo her back. The magic happens on April 14.
The Thorn Queen is the sequel to The Rose Bargain and releases on April 14. I purchased, but have not yet read the first book yet, but I am interested in it and might pick up book 2 this month.
Book Club Picks
For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for April, we will be reading The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the first time that his book club has selected a sequel as the monthly choice. I started reading it as soon as I finished The Bridge Kingdom, but I’m only 18% of the way through it. In this sequel, Lara’s husband has been captured by her father and she has to rescue him, as well as check on the status of her warrior sisters, who were raised alongside her to be weapons for their father.
For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Reset by Mark Tufo. Life as we know it has come to a sudden halt after an EMP goes off. This book focuses on some unlikely heroes (an addict, two pre-teens, and a person with a terminal illness) trying to survive. This book was available for ‘free’ (thanks, subscription), via Kindle Unlimited.
A local independent bookstore, Love & Other Books, has between 4-5 book clubs across different topics/genres each month. This month, I managed to catch the events before all of the spots were sold out and Star Shipped sounded like the most fun read. It follows two actors on a long-running sci-fi show who can’t stand each other. Simon finally gets to leave the show at the end of his contract, but he doesn’t want it to look like he was fired for being difficult to work with (even if he kind of is hard to work with). Charlie is wild, outgoing, and beloved by everyone on set, and just the PR solution that Simon needs. Could a fake friendship save Simon’s reputation? What happens if the fake friendship turns into a real relationship?
(Overdue) Library Books
Okay, I don’t have any overdue library books at the moment, but I did just place a couple holds, so I’ll add these to the TBR as ‘Possibles,’ since it depends on when the holds will become available. One of the holds is for Star Shipped, listed above. The other is for Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune. I didn’t realize it when I put in the hold, but the Carley Fortune book isn’t going to be released until May 5.
Screenshot
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune – I think this is a standalone book. It features Frankie and George, childhood friends who have always had a volatile on/off relationship. Frankie invites George to be her best man at her wedding, not knowing if he will actually make an appearance. He does, but then her fiancé calls it off the next morning. Confused and heartbroken, she agrees to George’s request to go on her planned honeymoon with him, as a last chance to repair their friendship.
Random Selections
The Girlfriend Zone by Lauren Blakely – I started reading this book almost a year ago on April 20, 2025 and recently picked it back up again. I have been enjoying Lauren’s books, especially this series, even though they are on the edge of being too spicy for my preference. This is an age-gap romance, where Miles is given a second chance at his NHL career after a severe injury and is hoping to impress the coach and be given a co-captain position on his new team. He meets and has a steamy encounter with Leighton, before finding out that she’s off-limits as one of his new coach’s daughters. I’m pretty far into the book at this point and will likely finish it early in the month.
The “Possibles” List
Mayhem and the Mortal by Shanora Williams – I received an ARC of this book by Entangled/Red Tower Books. It arrived taped up in a plastic note with a note from the post office. The box it was in was completely destroyed and the book inside was terribly mangled as well. I feel so sorry for this poor book! The blurb on the back sounds very exciting: To save her sister from a soul-devouring curse, Zaira has to cross a nightmare landscape with the help of Thane Valkor, an assassin and walking red flag. It sounds like this book may have had to cross a nightmare landscape to make it to my house!
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith – This is the first book in the series, and the second book is in the New Releases section above. I already own this book, so it would make sense if I were to finally read it in time to buy the next book in the series. It’s billed as a Regency-era YA Fantasy, so it’s got a lot going on! London has been under the control of an immortal fae queen, who tries to save her evil reputation by allowing each person to bargain for their deepest desire. Ivy thinks that marrying Prince Bram will solve her family’s problems and joins the competition for his hand in marriage.
Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson – This was a bonus free short story from the Amazon First Reads program. Tam was promoted at work to acting Managing Director, but then her job was taken from her and given to Jack. When they are stuck together in an elevator, he recognizes her capability which inspires her to fight for her true self.
The Final System by Anthony Tardiff – This was a free selection from the Amazon First Reads program. A vigilante hacker and a young politician risk everything to destroy a chilling new advancement in artificial intelligence. Jason is seeking revenge for his sister, and Chloe is realizing that the world that her daughter is growing up in is slowly losing its humanity.
Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood – After being fired from her dream job, Annie applies for a tech job she is not qualified for, but she tries to make up for her lack of coding skill with the social skills her nerdy coworkers lack. She also has to attend her sister’s second engagement party, to a man that Annie knows is the absolute worst. What makes this more excruciating is that Annie ruined her sister’s first engagement party, and her sister has not forgiven her.
Final List
My final initial TBR for March consists of 6 books, and 14 bonus books:
Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen
Tenor Willits Gets the Yips by Olivia Hope McCarthy
My official March TBR consisted of 9 books. Of those, I have read 5:
I read 2 of the 6 bonus TBR books.
Of the books I planned to read, but did not, 2 of them I do not yet own, so in the last week of February I officially took them off the TBR list and noted them as bonus books (in case I managed to buy them and read them before the end of the month):
Final result after TBR pruning was that I read 5/7 (71%) of my planned books and 29% of my bonus books. Pretty good for a mood reader!
Random Reads
March has been focused on my surgery and post-op recovery time. I had expected that my reading would be through the roof … except … Donald bought me a Switch 2 and Pokémon Pokopia and I spent the month beating the game. #noragrets
My non-planned reads include:
The Midnight Meet-Up has been sitting on my Kindle Unlimited shelf for a very long time and I finally took the chance and started reading it. (Aside: I seem to be enjoying having a physical book I’m reading, one on Kindle, and one audiobook – then I just switch stories depending on what mode of reading I want to do.) This was a very quiet and understated romance that felt low stakes – it was fine, but I wanted more passion.
No Place Like You has been on my To Read list since I read the first book in the series, Give Me Butterflies. This follows the sister’s story. Fable was a golden girl in high school, honing herself against her best friend-turned-rival, Theo. However, after high school, she lost her edge and has been drifting from job to job trying to find herself and her way in life. After the death of her grandfather, she’s living in his house and trying to restore it to honor him. Theo left their small town, but is back and is interested in buying half of the veterinary practice when his boss retires. His boss is uncertain about him, since he left town once and he wants the practice to go to someone who will stay. Theo, who has always had feelings for Fable, wants to fake date her to establish roots in the community (since her family is considered a pillar of the community) and despite her best efforts, Fable really does need someone to help her with the house. There is something cozy about Jillian Meadows’s writing that I love. It sucks me into the story and feels like a warm hug, even when the main characters are facing conflict.
This must be the month for series and sequels. I finally finished Only in Your Dreams this month, and immediately dived into the rest of the series. In Only in Your Dreams, the FMC fake dates Brooks, to hide the fact that she’s secretly seeing Zac, her brother’s best friend, who has been declared to be off-limits to her by her twin brother, Parker. Only Between Us picks up with Brooks and Siena’s story. This is also a fake-dating troupe. Brooks had his NFL career sidelined after a severe concussion and went wild for a bit, which was covered by all kinds of unsavory media posts – just the kind of publicity that his NFL team doesn’t want. Siena became a viral internet darling after dating another NFL player, so having a stable relationship with her would prove himself to have the family-friendly values that his dream NFL team prefers. Fake-dating Brooks gives Siena more internet buzz and more sponsorships, which will help her continue to run her recently passed father’s business and support her mother. Their banter was really cute (At one point, she renames his contact in her phone from ‘Attwood’ to ‘Brattwood’), but there was a lot of maturity and tenderness to this story as well.
Spark of the Everflame has been one of these books that has been talked about for a while, but I just hadn’t read. I picked it up a while back during an Audible sale and finally started listening to it on February 26th, when I had to drive into Ann Arbor for work. It took exactly a month to complete and I thought it was fairly good. Since I listen usually only when I drive, or if I’m doing a lot of meal prep work in the kitchen, my experience with the story was a bit broken and this probably effected my enjoyment of the world. I think, also, that I retain more of the story (and am more focused on it) if I read visually. This may also contribute to my rating of it. But, I did like it enough to start the sequel, Glow of the Everflame, as soon as I completed this one. In this world, there are mortals, and the magical children of the gods (or gods + mortals?) called the Descended. Diem’s mother had secretly been working at the royal palace as a healer for the royal Descended family, but has gone missing for the past 6 months. Now, the Descended King is dying, and a rebel faction wants Diem to help them fight against the oppressive Descended. Complicating this is Diem’s brother, who is in (young, puppy) love with the Descended Princess and his position as a student in the coveted Descended school could be at stake if her rebel activities are found out. And then there is the Princess’s brother, Luther, the nephew of the ailing King and presumed heir to the throne….
If Only You Knew is the final book in the Oakwood Bay series. This book follows Parker (twin brother of the FMC in Book 1) and Summer (best friend of the FMC in Book 1). This is a friends-to-lovers troupe, where they have been friends for so long and they never allowed themselves to think of themselves in a romantic relationship, that they are having a really hard time realizing that they actually have feelings for each other. Most of the series is a bit spicy, and this one ventures a little into the BDSM space.
Overall, I think I am still in a quick, fluffy romance era. Give me some feel-good attraction, witty banter, and some fun scenes to make me laugh and I am hooked.
Paroxysm of Giggles / Critical Mass 