I started this month on a reading roll and went with it.
Not only is it a short month, I also have a girls weekend planned – my first one since becoming a mom! – so I wanted to take advantage of my reading momentum while I could.
I read seven books so far and have four new reviews to share in my Mid February Reading Recap.
I had another 5-star read for A Dose of Romance Book Club and I quickly binged the remainder of that series. On Kindle Unlimited I continued another series I’ve been loving and checked one more book off my winter TBR. I also enjoyed an impromptu buddy read of a thriller with an old bookstagram friend.
Recently I shared my in-depth nonfiction review for three of Sarah Ockwell-Smith’s gentle parenting books from last month. This month, I’m reading about the latest findings on glucose thanks to Jessie Inchauspé’s work. I have read one of her books, The Glucose Goddess Method, already in February and am taking my time with the other, Glucose Revolution.
Here are my thoughts on what I’ve read so far in February.
Mid February Reading Recap:
I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones
Rating: 5 stars
Steam Level: 2
I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones won the February poll for A Dose of Romance Book Club.
I recently mentioned this book in the January Edition of What’s in my Kindle Unlimited Library?
This was my first book from Christina C. Jones, a Black author who writes Black love, and has been on my list to try for so long!
I read the ebook on Kindle Unlimited and got the audio from Hoopla.
Book Blurb:
“Jaclyn Love is a magnet for trouble – it seems to follow her wherever she goes.
Unfortunately for Kadan Davenport, she also seems to be a magnet for him – even after a disastrous first impression that leaves him – literally – black and blue.
Jaclyn is busy trying to find some sort of balance, and Kadan is just trying not to get swept up in the chaos.
In a small city like Blakewood, it’s hard to avoid each other… especially when each additional encounter makes them wonder if they really want to.”
My Thoughts
This book was really funny! The beginning was a little over the top and I still think Kadan took one “revenge” scene a little too far. But it worked for them and the rest was hilarious!
I loved Miss Thing. Any scene that included Jaclyn’s parents made me laugh out loud!
This story was sexy and sweet too.
Initially I didn’t realize this was a novella and I’m not really a novella person but I may have to rethink that after reading this one.
While I would have gladly read more, this felt like a full story. It wasn’t too short and didn’t feel underdeveloped or rushed at all. We really got to know the characters well and Jaclyn and Kadan’s romance was well paced.
The opening antagonistic connection between Kadan and Jac really transformed into something deeply supportive with great conversations shown on page. By the end I was feeling all the feels!
I also loved meeting all of the side characters – many of whom have their own stories in other series taking place in Blakewood. The Love sisters are cousins of the Wright Brothers another series I plan to read now. If you’re someone who likes to read in order it might be best to start there.
I couldn’t wait to read about the other Love sisters and immediately continued the series.
Reading Life Insight
Christina C. Jones sold me on being a novella reader! I’m on the hunt for more.
Other Books in the Series that I Read this Month:
- I Think I Might Need You (5 stars and my favorite)
- I Think I Might Want You (4.5 stars)
General Thoughts on the Series
Each book in the series was novella length.
I listened to the audio while reading along with the ebook for the second one and then mostly listened to the third book on its own.
I loved meeting even more of the characters in Jones’s Blakewood Universe with each book.
The books got less funny and a whole lot steamier as the series goes on.
The second one felt particularly emotional – in a good way. Even though it involved a surprise pregnancy (not a spoiler since it happened in the first chapter) it was my favorite. Probably for the second chance romance element.
In the third book, I adored reading about Joia who loved to travel and didn’t really want to settle down in a traditional manner. I also loved that the book not only had a fitting hero but a fitting ending for our “unconventional” heroine.
Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Do you laugh easily at rom coms? Or do you often find that books labeled as romantic comedies really aren’t that funny? What is the last book that truly made you laugh out loud? Is that something you appreciate from your books?
Princess by Claire Kent
Rating: 4.5 stars
Steam Level: 4
I was just in the mood to continue Claire Kent’s Kindled series after loving both the first book, Haven (5 stars), and the standalone novel set in the same universe, Last Light (5 stars).
The entire series is currently available on KU.
Book Blurb:
“I guess I’m one of the lucky ones.
When the asteroid hits and the world falls apart, I’m seventeen, and my dad buys us a place in an underground bunker. We’re supposed to be safe down there, but we’re not. Gradually, I lose everything until all I have left is a bewildering relationship with a stoic, unknowable man.
As one of the guards in the bunker, Grant has lurked in the background of my life for years, teaching me to defend myself, making sure I’m safe, and infuriating me by treating me like a sheltered princess in a tower. I don’t even know if he likes me, even after we end up in bed together. All I know is that he’s always there beside me–during the bleak half-life of the bunker and the hostile, unfamiliar world we discover when we finally come out of lockdown.
Maybe one day he’ll open up. Let down his walls. And maybe eventually our days can be about more than surviving.. Maybe I am one of the lucky ones, but right now all I have left in the world is him.”
My Thoughts
This was just as addictive as the other books I’ve read in this series. The chemistry between Olivia and Grant in the beginning of this book was absolutely combustible!
I didn’t realize there would be so much crossover with other characters from previous books. I loved revisiting New Haven and it was amazing to catch up with Jackson, Faith, Travis, and later even Layne again!
We got to know Mack a little bit more in this one. I can’t wait for his book. There was also a fantastic scene with a cameo of Cal where Olivia got to show off some of her new self defense skills!
I adored seeing how this community is coming together to rebuild a safer world.
I also appreciated reading the battle scenes from Olivia’s perspective. While she did what she needed to do, she was scared and shaking the entire time. Which not only felt realistic but I loved the conversation she had with Grant later and the way it brought them closer together in supporting one another.
Claire Kent’s brand of spice continued to work for me with this one. Grant was hot and commanding in the bedroom the whole way through. Kent wove the steamy scenes with relationship development through the entire novel.
The only thing that didn’t work for me were the last two chapters.
I don’t know, maybe the lack of communication fit their personalities but the conflict seemed so drawn out and dumb by that point in the story. Especially the way Olivia chose to handle it.
Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Post-apocalyptic or dystopian settings have had moments of huge popularity across a variety of audiences – books like The Hunger Games and the Divergent series as well as classics like Fahrenheit 451. Is this a setting you enjoy? Why or why not?
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
Rating: 3.5 stars
Although I previously read but didn’t love For Your Own Good (3 stars), the premise of this book just sounded so interesting! It’s been on my radar for awhile so when it came up as a possibility for a buddy read, I jumped on the opportunity.
Book Blurb:
“A couple’s fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love, had kids, and moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.
We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.
We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.
Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.”
My Thoughts
I enjoyed this book more than I expected after worrying at the start that all the characters would be unlikeable. That seems to be Downing’s style.
In this case our narrator was compelling enough to keep me invested.
The story got a little slow in the middle for me but I always wanted to keep reading.
This is a hard one to discuss without spoilers but I do feel the pacing could have been better.
There’s a reveal that comes really late in the story and from there we’re rushing to see how things will end. It was impossible to put down from that point.
While I really liked how things played out, I wish we’d gotten some of that information sooner. The middle could have picked up more momentum and the ending wouldn’t have felt so rushed.
It was an interesting experience reading a story that held my attention, but mostly because I was rooting for the characters to get caught the entire time.
Reading Life Insight
I enjoyed My Lovely Wife so much more than For Your Own Good, the first book I read by Samantha Downing.
And I think that was mostly due to my buddy reading experience. It was so fun to have someone to commiserate with over these horrible characters. I also enjoyed having someone to bounce theories and guesses around with.
I think that’s what makes thrillers so fun to buddy read. There’s so much that can be discussed.
Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite genre to read with others!
Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Will you try an author again even if you didn’t enjoy your first reading experience? How many chances do you give an author?
Daughter of No Worlds
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam Level: 1
So far fantasy romance or romantasy hasn’t really been my thing, but after seeing so much love for both of her series, Carissa Broadbent became an author I’ve been curious to try.
Winter always seems like the perfect season for fantasy so I added this one to my winter TBR.
The ebook is available on Kindle Unlimited. I read along with the audiobook through Libby.
Book Blurb:
“A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.
Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.
Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.
The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.
But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games… and sacrificing her heart.
Even if it means wielding death itself.”
My Thoughts
I have mixed feelings on this book.
The book started out incredibly sad – like a lot of fantasies seem to – but it was also engaging. I immediately found Tisaanah’s story and character compelling.
From there I got a little lost though. It almost felt like there was a lack of world building.
I had a hard time grounding myself in or understanding this fantasy world. There are various countries, political systems, and a class hierarchy that were never explained. There are also different magical beings within those, although they refer to themselves as humans.
Instead of world building, it felt like we got a lot of day to day minutiae. And when it came to the romance side, this could be the definition of a slow burn.
From 60% on the fantasy plot really picked up. There was a bit more humor and Tisaanah had several badass moments.
There was a reveal at that point though that made it feel like an entirely different story. I would have appreciated it coming sooner instead of all the pages of daily training we endured.
I did get to finish reading this book while a very atmospheric thunderstorm took place. And of course the epilogue ended with a hook meant to pull you straight into the next one.
But I also have mixed feelings on whether I’ll continue the series.
I heard the second book described as quite slow so if I found a good chunk of this one to be slow, I’m not sure I’m up for another 20 hours or 600 pages to get to the final book.
On the other hand I don’t have any other audiobooks lined up at the moment, so stay tuned.
Reading Life Insight
When I picked this fantasy romance series to try, I thought each book dealt with a different couple’s romance within the overarching fantasy plot. I really liked that idea because I thought it would help keep my interest and be a nice entry point since I prefer romance series where each book follows a different couple.
Based on this book I think I was wrong. If the whole trilogy follows just one couple the slow burn makes sense but I chose badly for my current reading tastes and the series has a lot stacked against it.
Fantasy also tends to start in horrible worlds where the characters then have to battle against evil forces to reform the world and make things better. That is how we get engaging conflict and plots.
But I don’t think those themes are what I’m looking for in my reads right now. My husband is rewatching Game of Thrones right now and I literally can’t stomach watching it alongside him. The tragedies, vile characters, and violence especially against women is just too dark for me to handle in this season.
So although romantasy is having its heyday, maybe it’s time for me to let that trend go and be ok with it not being for my current reading life. There are too many other books I’d like to explore and series I’d like to continue to keep trying a subgenre that doesn’t seem to be working for me.
Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: What’s the last book you read outside your comfort zone? Was it a positive or negative experience? Either way what did you learn about your reading life and tastes?
What’s on your mid February reading recap?
