Tag: what I’ve been reading lately

What I Read in May (2024)

Books Read in May: 21
Books Read for the Year: 88 /215

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Iron Raven, by Julie Kagawa (re-read). Can’t believe I only have two more books to go in this series!
Thunder and Rain, by Charles Martin (TBR). This made me cry, of course.
Prey, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). Still glued to this re-read.
The Dead Romantics , by Ashley Poston (TBR). This was a great read!
The Irish Cottage, by Juliet Gauvin (TBR). Eh. I liked this at first, but I thought it ended up being kind of meh.
The Guinevere Deception, by Kierstin White (TBR). I enjoyed this! Nice twist on the traditional Arthurian legends.
Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). Still enjoying this series!

For Review:

The Sicilian Inheritance, by Jo Piazza. This was an intriguing read—but man, the characters were, for the most part, not likable people. Did not make me want to visit Sicily.

A Burden of Ice and Bone, by Kyra Whitton. I enjoyed this read, although it was a touch depressing—and the “twist” towards the end was pretty expected.

Bless Your Heart, by Lindy Ryan (audio). This was a fun listen. A bit like having a flashback to the late ’90’s…unsettling. It ended up being a lot gorier than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed the narrator and the cozy-mystery feel.

The Garden Girls, by Jessica R. Patch. I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read in this story so far. I love thrillers, and I absolutely love the way faith is integrated the darkness these books touch on. This read had several levels of creepiness, but it kept me fully engaged the entire time.

Extinction, by Douglas Preston. Of course I’ve read Relic, years ago,—terrifying—but I haven’t read too many Preston books. I enjoyed this one, although I really didn’t like any of the characters. Just the scenic descriptions and the idea of seeing these animals were fascinating. I had no idea what was actually going on.

The Backup Princess, by Kate O’Keeffe. This was a cute, fun romantic read.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, by Helen Simonson. Really enjoyed this historical fiction read! Great characters, conflict, and a lovely setting.

The Keeper of the Irish Secret, by Susanne O’Leary. I liked the narrator of this audio book quite a lot. I enjoyed the read and the family drama, too.

Summers at the Saint, by Mary Kay Andrews. This was much more of a thriller than a romance.

The Return of Ellie Black, by Emiko Jean. I really didn’t like any of these characters, but it was a solid read.

One Last Shot, by Betty Cayouette. Nothing unexpected here. I think the miscommunication trope was overused a bit, too.

The Best Life Book Club, by Sheila Roberts. I enjoyed this sweet read about a bunch of friends and their books and challenges.

Every Time We Say Goodbye, by Natalie Jenner. This was a little hard for me to get into at first, but I ended up enjoying it.

Just Because:

Divine Direction, by Craig Groeschel. I enjoyed this audio book. Groeschel’s style is so down-to-earth.

Left Unfinished:

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline, by Courtney Preiss. I tried, but this felt very superficial and way too bogged down with baseball obsession.

A Girl from Nowhere, by James Maxwell. Yeah, this wasn’t for me. It felt very slow and not fleshed out, and I got bored quickly.

Love You, Mean It, by Jilly Gagnon. I think I read about 15% of this before realizing I didn’t care about the characters or what happened to them. Definitely a me problem, and not the book.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood. The language was a real stumbling block for me and I couldn’t get into it. And Jerusalem was so hateful!

The Best Books I Read in April (2024)

In April, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 66. I’m behind, but I’m catching up! Of those, several were really excellent reads, but I narrowed it down to three favorites.

The Last Bloodcarver, by Vanessa Le. I really liked the unique magic system here that was combined with an early scientific culture. The characters were great, and I enjoyed even the secondary characters a lot. Can’t wait to read more in this world.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. A POV character is a curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus? Are you kidding me? That’s all I needed to know to buy this. In hardcover. And it was worth it! I had to ration this and only read a few pages a day, because I loved it so much1

The Bourbon Thief, by Tiffany Reisz. First of all, this cover is gorgeous. Secondly, a friend suggested this after we were talking about the voice of a story I’m writing and how I felt like it should be more of a Southern fiction feel. And she was 100% correct! Beautiful Southern fiction feel, although parts of this were truly horrifying. I was fully invested from the very beginning.

What I Read in April (2024)

Books Read in April: 22
Books Read for the Year:  68/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Iron Warrior, by Julie Kagawa. I honestly don’t remember reading this before, but I enjoyed it, as I have the other books in this series.
Pride, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). I forgot how much I enjoyed this series—and how I annoyed I get with the characters, too.
Reached, by Ally Condie (re-read). I actually like the first two books in the trilogy better, although this still reignited my love of poetry.
I See Me, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). I enjoyed reading this first book in another series set in the Adepts universe.
Bitter Falls, by Rachel Caine (TBR). People are terrible.
Austenland, by Shannon Hale (TBR). At first, Jane annoyed me, but she grew on me, and I enjoyed this read.
Where the River Ends, by Charles Martin (audio). This, of course, made me cry.
Dust Tracks on a Road, by Zora Neal Hurston (TBR). I didn’t care for this as much as Hurston’s other works.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (TBR). A curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus? Yes, please.
The Bourbon Thief, by Tiffany Reisz (TBR). Loved this. It was dark, it was sometimes horrifying, and it was such a well-done bit of Southern fiction! Phenomenal voice.

For Review:

Expiration Dates, by Rebecca Serle. This was…I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I liked the premise, but the way the MC used the notes as an excuse to just check out/be mediocre about things was not cool.

The Last Bloodcarver, by Vanessa Le. I really enjoyed this! I liked the magic system, and the culture was fascinating. Wonderful characters, even the secondary ones, and I can’t wait to read more.

Sincerely, The Duke, by Amelia Grey. This was a decent romance read, although I had trouble getting behind the big conflict: the MC is a red-haired, green-eyed triplet—which must be kept a secret.

The Trail of Lost Hearts, by Tracey Garvis Graves. I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. reading this, so I could find out what happened! Loved the characters and really enjoyed seeing them change and grow.

Love, Unscripted, by Denise Hunter. I thoroughly enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers read. So sweet!

The British Booksellers, by Kristy Cambron. I enjoyed this so much! A unique to me WWII setting (not the the usual London setting, nor the English countryside) and also a WWI plot, too. I enjoyed both of the timelines so much!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price, by Holly Jackson. This was a twisty YA thriller. The MC was very prickly, but I grew to like her a lot!

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, by Molly X. Chang. I wasn’t a very big fan of the writing. It felt very surface-level, more of a summary than actual narrative, and the whole Rome/Ancient China-esque with inter-dimensional travel setting didn’t really work for me.

Weekends with You, by Alexandra Paige (review forthcoming). I loved the idea of this, the whole group of flatmates dynamic, but Henry was a bit of a prat.

The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple, by Joanna Davidson Politano (review forthcoming). This had a leisurely pace, but I loved the characters a lot, and found myself wanting to stay up and read, even though I was so tired I kept falling asleep.

What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park (review forthcoming). Jackie was kind of a jerk, and I didn’t care for her.

The One that Got Away with Murder, by Trisha Lundy (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this read! Robby was a bit weird to me, but the author kept me guessing who the murderer actually was.

Left Unfinished:

The Bride of Death, by F.M. Aden. I only made it about 5% of this before quitting with no regrets. Not only was it a knockoff of The Bear and the Nightingale, by Kathleen Arden, but the writing needed much more editing and polishing to make it bearable.

Fog & Fireflies, by T. H. Lehnen. This just wasn’t a good fit for me. I loved the cover—it’s absolutely gorgeous—but the feel of the story just didn’t draw me in.

The Best Books I Read in March (2024).

In March, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 45, and DNFed 14 books. Of those, some were really excellent, while others were very good. My four–sorry, can’t narrow it down to three–favorites were:

The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa. I can’t remember it this was a re-read or not, but I still love this world and these characters. The author is so great at creating believable characters and worlds, and I’m always so immersed when I read her books.

Heir, Apparently, by Kara McDowell. Do you know how excited I was to get approved for this galley? This book (and the one before it) was just so much fun to read! Completely unrealistic, but entertaining on all levels, and I loved it.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman. I was just as transported on this, my second reading of this book, as I was the first time. I love the characters in this, and all the stories are so vivid to me! Can’t recommend this enough.

A Life Intercepted, by Charles Martin (audio). Yes, Charles Martin is my favorite author. And let me tell you why: I do not like football in the slightest, but he made football sound fascinating and compelling in this read, and his characters, like always, are both flawed and so interesting that it’s hard to put it down.

What I Read in March (2024)

Books Read in March: 20
Books Read for the Year: 47/215

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
A Life Intercepted, by Charles Martin (audio). This book. Like all of Martin’s works, it just blew me away. I don’t even like football, and he made it fascinating.
Brown Boy Nowhere, by Sheeryl Lim (TBR). This was a decent read.
Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). Another fun entry in this series.
Rogue, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). I’m enjoying re-reading this series…which I basically remember nothing about.
Crossed, by Allie Condie (re-read). Enjoyed this re-read.
The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa. I can’t remember if this is a re-read or not, but I loved it.
The Bad Weather Friend, by Dean Koontz (TBR). Koontz’s gift for words sometimes makes me just sit there and stare at the page for a few seconds in wonder.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s sorry, by Fredrik Backman (re-read). This book. On my second read, it still ranks in my top ten list of books. Just such gloriously well-done characters.

For Review:

Heartless Hunter, by Kristen Ciccarelli. I enjoyed this very much! Loved the world, the characters, and the story itself.

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation, by Alexandra Vasti. This was a fun audio read. Margo is a bit much at times, but I liked her—and Henry.

Kilt Trip, by Alexandra Kiley. This was a fun read! By halfway through, I was ready to pack and run away to Scotland!

Heir Apparently, by Kara McDowell (review forthcoming…in July). Okay, so here’s what happened: I tried—and failed—to read seven books in a row and ended up DNFing Every. Single. One. That’s definitely a record for me. So, I decided to console myself by reading this one (Read the first one a couple of months ago and was immediately distraught I had to wait months until this one came out). This was the perfect pick-me-up read! It was funny, it was cute, it was romantic…it was perfect!

The Summer She Went Missing, by Chelsea Ichaso. I love a good YA and a good mystery, and this was both! Add that to the in-love-with-her-best-friend’s-brother trope, and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

An Unlikely Proposition, by Rosalyn Eves. This was just a meh read. I felt like I was watching a mediocre telenovela.

A Feather So Black, by Lyra Selene. Oh, I really loved this! The world with it’s different cultures was fascinating, and Fia was a character I really related to: never belonging anywhere and always looking for the place she belongs—or the person she belongs with. Can’t wait to read more of this!

Bad Like Us, by Gabriella Lepore. This was a quick, pseudo-locked room murder mystery read. The victim wasn’t a likable person, so I honestly didn’t care much who killed her.

The Berlin Letters, by Katherine Reay. I’d never read anything set in this time/place, so I found it fascinating.

The Underground Library, by Jennifer Ryan (review forthcoming). I loved the strong female characters, the setting was fascinating, and of course I loved all the books.

Expiration Dates, by Rebecca Serle (review forthcoming). This was a fun read!
Just Because:

Welcome to the Basement, by Tim Ross (audio). I’ve been a fan of Tim Ross’s since he was a pastor at my church, and I love The Basement podcast, too. He makes everything so relatable, and I love that he narrated this.

Left Unfinished:
Promchanted, by Morgan Matson. Stella was so annoyingly self-centered I couldn’t get through very much of this.

The Trouble with You, by Ellen Feldman. This felt like it was dragging to me, and Fanny felt so passive at life. She might have changed later in the book, but my attention kept wandering and it just didn’t hold my interest.

Death in Hilo, by Eric Redman. I didn’t make it very far in this. I just wasn’t a fan of the narrative style.

Ill-fated Fortune, by Jennifer J. Chow. This really just seemed like all fluff and no substance. I needed a bit more to keep my attention.

I Only Read Murder, by Will and Ian Ferguson. I don’t like unlikable characters…and Miranda wasn’t interesting enough to carry off being a horrible person.

A Tempest of Tea, by Hafsah Faizal. Arthie was a bit of a dud, and I refuse to waste my time reading about a boring main character. The setting was also confusing, and that’s a death knell for a book.

Kindling, by Traci Chee. Second-person-POV books are hard to pull off, and this…failed, coming across as chaotic and confusing. Also not a fan of the unmentioned LGBTQA rep. Not everyone wants to read it, so why not tag it as such?

I am Rome, by Santiago Postguillo. This was probably an excellent book, but the pacing and style just didn’t work for me and made my attention wander. The irony is not lost on me that I stopped reading this on the Ides of March.

Good Half Gone, by Tarryn Fisher. I made it about 20% of the way through this, but…it was a struggle. The writing was solid, no problems there. But the characters just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like either sister in the past, and I didn’t care for Irish in the present, either. Ergo, this was a no-go for me. I didn’t like the characters, so it didn’t keep my attention.

Maya’s Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja. This just wasn’t for me. The MC wasn’t for me. I don’t know very much about this faith and culture, but the first 10% just didn’t feel like it lined up with what I do know.

The Happiness Blueprint, by Ally Zetterberg. DNFed at about 10% because, if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s anyone who sits around feeling sorry for themselves and making excuses. I don’t like people like that in real life, and I don’t like them in fiction—it’s just much easier to walk away with fictional characters than real people. These characters just weren’t a good fit for me.

Strong Like You, by T.L. Simpson. Solid writing here, but the voice just didn’t work for me.

Those Beyond the Wall, by Micaiah Johnson. Yeah, my first clue this wasn’t for me should have been the author’s note that basically said rage was a good thing. No. No, it’s not. But I kept reading, and found the style to be a bit more chaotic and confusing than I like.

The Princess of Las Vegas, by Chris Bohjalian. The MC just didn’t work for me. I don’t like superficial people, and I just couldn’t get past that.

The Best Books I Read in February (2024)

In February, I only read 12 books, which is…not very many for me. And there was an extra day! I need to catch up.

Of those twelve, two were fantastic and a few others were pretty good.

Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, by Rebecca Yarros. I saw mention of Fourth Wing being excellent on audio, so I gave it a shot…and got sucked in from the first three minutes. I could not stop listening. I was so caught up in these characters and this world that I bought the second one—also on audio—before I even finished the first. And now I’m languishing, wondering when the release date for the third book is. Those cliffhanger endings….

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck, by Kylie Scott. This book was just good, plain fun! I laughed from the very beginning, and I was completely invested in finding out if Lilah’s prophecy came through—I also love how the prince was handled. This would be a fun weekend read!

What I Read in February (2024)

Books Read in February: 12
Books Read for the Year: 27/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books: Yeah, so the first part of this month got away from me and I ended up not finishing any of my monthly reads and pushing them off until March. Except for Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros. I listened to this on audio, and it was phenomenal! I can’t wait to listen to the next one.

Iron Wing, by Rebecca Yarros (audio). Sigh…Why is the next book in this not out yet?

For Review:

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West, by Sara Ackerman. I enjoyed both timelines in this historical fiction and found all of it fascinating.

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck, by Kylie Scott. This made me laugh hysterically in several places! Such a fun read.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine, by Charlotte Stein. This made me laugh several times, but there was a lot of cussing that seemed jarring/unnecessary, and Alfie’s reactions seemed…nonsensical at times.

The Framed Women of Ardemore House, by Brandy Schillace. I really enjoyed this read, and read it straight through in one sitting.

One Night In A Thousand Years, by Craig Cunningham. I enjoyed this short audio book a lot! It’s a very uplifting and poignant coming-of-age story.

Why We Read, by Shannon Reed. Nonfiction can be hit or miss for me, but this was engrossing, funny, and absolutely fascinating. It’s all about books, so that’s definitely something it has going for it, but the author’s voice is highly readable, to.

The Lost Dresses of Italy, by M. A. Mclaughlin. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction read! I loved how Marianne’s work with the dresses was twined together with the tale of Christina Rossetti’s life in Verona. This was a very bittersweet read, but I enjoyed it.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, by Katherine Arden. This was an odd historical fiction read, but compelling. Laura’s POV was my favorite, as Freddie’s felt hazy.

A Flame in the North, by Lilith Saintcrow. The mythology in this was fascinating, but it felt very, very slow.

The Book of Doors, by Gareth Brown. I enjoyed this. It felt almost leisurely, but I enjoyed it so much that I was eager to continue reading. The Book of Doors would be really cool!

Left Unfinished:

A Step Past Darkness, by Vera Kurian. I did not realize this was meant to be like IT until after I DNFed it…I love IT, although it absolutely terrified me (I’m scared of spiders. And clowns. Enough said.). I read about 20% of this, and all I got was…bored. I didn’t care about any of the characters or what happened to them. They were walking into the party in the mine where everything supposedly gets creepy when I stopped reading (and I knew that was about to happen), and I still couldn’t work up enough interest to keep reading.

The Best Books I Read in January (2024)

In January, I read 14 books towards my goal of 225 books for the year. Most of them were decent reads, but several of them really stood out.

I enjoyed my re-read of Matched, by Ally Condie quite a bit, although the idea of such a tightly controlled society isn’t quite so far-fetched these days.

All Rhodes Lead Here, by Mariana Zapata. I enjoyed this so, so much! The voice is phenomenal and it was so much fun to read. Aurora’s mental stream-of-consciousness was hysterical to me, and I laughed out loud several times. Such a great contrast to the taciturn Rhodes.

South of the Buttonwood Tree, by Heather Webber (audio). This was a fantastic Southern fiction read! Both the main characters were engrossing and I was totally enmeshed in their stories—even the secondary characters in this book were fascinating, and so well done.

What I Read in January (2024)

Books Read in January: 14
Books Read for the Year:  14/215

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

The Omnivore’ s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan (re-read): Interesting re-read, but a bit dry.
Down to Earth, by Tom Hughes (TBR): Solid read.
South of the Buttonwood Tree, by Heather Webber (TBR, audio): I loved this so much! Such a great Southern fiction read with vibrant characters.
The Iron Prince, by Julie Kagawa (re-read): Still loving this series.
Stray, by Rachel Vincent (re-read): Thankfully, I enjoyed this re-read.
Matched, by Ally Condie (re-read): How did I manage to forget that this book gave me a love for Dylan Thomas’s poetry, especially Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, which is tattooed on my wrist?
Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (re-read): Still enj oying re-reading this series.

For Review:

Somewhere in the Deep, by Tanvi Berwah. I really enjoyed the first book set in this world, but this one felt very jumbled and chaotic. I loved the two main characters and their chemistry, but the rest of the chaos was a huge distraction.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherland, by Heather Fawcett. I enjoyed this just as much as the first one! I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the world in general. Even the background characters are quirky enough to feel like real people, and just the set-up itself is a lot of fun.

A Body at the Séance, by Marty Wingate. I actually enjoyed this more than the first book in this series. I had not idea who the killer was, but the secondary characters were all interesting possibilities.

The Missing Witness, by Allison Brennan. I’ve enjoyed this entire series, but this one was especially good because of Quinn’s character growth.

It Takes a Rake, by Anna Bennett. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other books in this series, because some of the MC’s decisions seemed a bit arbitrary and nonsensical.

All Rhodes Lead Here, by Mariana Zapata. I loved this so much! I laughed throughout the entire novel at Aurora’s escapades, and I loved how her relationship with Rhodes grew and changed.

The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett (review forthcoming). This was a very odd read. I enjoyed the characters a lot—especially their Holmes and Watson vibe—but the worldbuilding itself felt like a club upside my head.

Left Unfinished:
Holmes, Marple & Poe, by James Patterson and Brian Sitts. I stopped reading Patterson close to two decades ago for multiple reasons, but this one sounded intriguing enough that I thought I’d give it another shot. My mistake. It felt like a jumbled, jagged, chaotic mess.

City of Stardust, by Georgia Summers. I wanted so much to like this, and I did like it. The writing was so lyrical and lovely, and I enjoyed the bits about the city…but the story felt a bit superficial, like I was just getting a few high-level details, but nothing to fully flesh out the story or the characters. I stopped reading because I felt like the details of the story itself were hidden behind a cloud.

The Best Books I Read in December (2023)

In December, I read 19 books, bringing my total for the year to 207 books. Of those, three were really good reads.

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. It’s my favorite book and I’ve read it 20+ times, but it still makes me angry every time I read it, and the ending makes me cry. Scarlett is a terrible person, but she’s such a vibrant character. her self-destructiveness fascinates me…and makes me want to smack her.

The Iron Knight, by Julie Kagawa. Goodreads told me I’d read this before, but I have zero memory of it. I’m still loving this world and these characters.

The Prince & the Apocalypse, by Kara McCowell. This was just a cute, fun read that I could not put down. I enjoyed it so much, and I was so unhappy when I found out the next book doesn’t come out for months!