📖February Reading!📖

[adelbert]

The longest month of the year has passed (although I have to admit I love January because my birthday is right in the middle) and now February is here. What books did you read last month? What books are you looking forward to this month? Thinking of Valentine's Day if you read romance do you have a favorite romance author?

[adelbert]

In January I read 10 books. We still had winter holiday break the first week of January so I was able to get a lot of books read then. It was also a great start to the year as I loved quite a few of them like, "House of Open Wounds", "Zoey is too drunk for this dystopia" and "Hidden Potential".

I don't really read romance at the moment although I don't dislike it. I just find that a lot of contemporary romance doesn't really work that well for me. Which is why it's maybe no surprise that my favorite romance author is still Georgette Heyer. I love her writing and her characters in almost all of her books. I haven't read them in awhile but I have all of them and re-read them every few years.

I also actually love Diana Wynne Jones for fantasy with a bit of romance thrown in. Books like "Howl's Moving Castle" and the Chrestomanci series are some of my favorites even though romance isn't the focus. It's there.

In February, I have a few books I'm excited about reading...

[blurnette989]

I'm not adverse to romance, but it's not my #1. I guess o prefer the main themes or driving narrative to not be romance, but I'm fine with romance being a part of the books.

January I finished 7 books and enjoyed most.

Circe by Madeline Miller
Drowning hy TJ Newman
The Dark Queens: The bloody rivalry that forged the medieval world by Shelly puhak
In defense of witches: the legacy of witch hunts and why women are still on trial - this was good but very academic
Yellowface by RF Kung
Sink: A memoir by Joseph Earl Jones - this was quite good but a difficult read
The Terraformers by Anna Lee Newitz

Currently reading Sister Novelists and I'm going to dnf Where the crawdads sing.

[caer]

I read 11 books in January - all 3 or 4 star reads so it was a good month. The highlights were The Unmaking of June Farrow and We Were Once a Family.

I have a handful of books on my list for February:
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander
Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita
The Guest by B.A. Paris
Survivor by C.J. Tutor
Right on Cue by Falon Ballard

I love romance but I’m pickier about it than I am about thrillers so I don’t read a ton of it. But I really love it when I find an author I vibe with!

[adelbert]

Feb 1, 2024 3:39:27 GMT -6 blurnette989 said:

I'm not adverse to romance, but it's not my #1. I guess o prefer the main themes or driving narrative to not be romance, but I'm fine with romance being a part of the books.

January I finished 7 books and enjoyed most.

Circe by Madeline Miller
Drowning hy TJ Newman
The Dark Queens: The bloody rivalry that forged the medieval world by Shelly puhak
In defense of witches: the legacy of witch hunts and why women are still on trial - this was good but very academic
Yellowface by RF Kung
Sink: A memoir by Joseph Earl Jones - this was quite good but a difficult read
The Terraformers by Anna Lee Newitz

Currently reading Sister Novelists and I'm going to dnf Where the crawdads sing.

I loved Sink but I also needed a palate cleanser after, it was just so sad.

What did you think of The Terraformers? I think I tried it once but I think I only got a few pages in.

[abs]

January was a decent month!

First Lie Wins was my favorite. It was a rare thriller where I was really rooting for the main character and it was just lots of fun. Only If You’re Lucky was my least favorite. Otherwise I did a lot of re-reading with DD (the whole Divergent series) and also to get ready for Crescent City 3.

For February I’m really excited for The Women! I’ve heard great things. Between that and Crescent City 3 I may not get to much else but we will see.

Romance is tricky. I don’t like it as much as I used to but the right one is fantastic. Getting me to care about the characters is the hard part.

[angelashly]

January was pretty decent after a slower start. Most were easier reads.

The Coworker
The other Mothers
Fool me once
First lie wins
The inmate
Ward D
The Heiress

I feel like I’m missing one but I guess I didn’t read anything that first week until that weekend where I flew through the coworker

[angelashly]

My February look forwards

The women
The guest
The Teacher
Nowhere like here

Romance is hit or miss with me. I love Hallmark movies but those types of romance books are usually a miss for me. I love Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez romances so I guess I need a little more. Nora Roberts too

[nelzie]

I read 15 books in January. Favorites were The Drowning Woman, Twenty Years Later, and Little Secrets. Least favorite were Rabbit Hole, The Other Mothers, and Only if You're Lucky.

[nelzie]

There are a lot of February releases on my TBR!

Feb 6
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
The Teacher by Freida McFadden
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Fourteen Days: An Unauthorized Gathering by Margaret Atwood

Feb 13
The Book Of Doors by Gareth Brown
The Stranger In Her House by John Marrs
The Catch by Amy Lea
At First Spite by Olivia Dade
Not Your Crush's Cauldron by April Asher

Feb 20
Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen
The Still Point by Tammy Greenwood
The Guest by B.A. Paris

Feb 27
The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest

[notblanche]

My overall goal for the year is 75. And while I feel I did OK last year, I want to read more books by diverse authors. I joined the Diverse Baseline challenge on StoryGraph and I'm really enjoying that so far. There are three prompts a month throughout the year, which for January were (1) a collection of poetry, (2) written by a Latine author, and (3) with a fat main character.

I read six books in January.

Reel by Kennedy Ryan
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (prompt 3)
You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria (prompt 2)
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert
Counting Descent by Clint Smith (prompt 1)


Right now I'm reading Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is also on my list, and I'd like to get through the last of the novels in that fantasy series from Tahir: A Sky Beyond the Storm.

[CestLaVie]

In January I read:
-The Running Grave
- Trail of the Lost
- The Last word

I really only enjoyed the first one in that list but I have Ready Player Two, The Five Star Weekend and A Little Life almost finished as well.

I've got 2 Pre-orders coming this month:
-The Women - Kristen Hannah
- The Phoenix Crown - Kate Quinn

I'm excited about both. I have been soothing my anxiety with book purchases and my TBR is so out of control lol. I need to catch up on it.

[nelzie]

I normally read a lot of romance. I have a lot of romance authors I really enjoy.

Ilsa Madden-Mills
Adalyn Grace (Romantasy)
Ashley Poston (Romantasty)
Katherine Center
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Abby Jimenez (when they don't revolve around pregnancy)
Emily Henry (except Happy Place)
Chloe Liese
Kristina Forest
Kennedy Ryan
Catherine Walsh (her holiday books)
B.K. Borison
Sarah Hogle
Angie Hockman
Mazey Eddings
Mariana Zapata
Talia Hibbert
Olivia Dade

[cnf]

Feb 1, 2024 9:06:47 GMT -6 nelzie said:

I normally read a lot of romance. I have a lot of romance authors I really enjoy.

Ilsa Madden-Mills
Adalyn Grace (Romantasy)
Ashley Poston (Romantasty)
Katherine Center
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Abby Jimenez (when they don't revolve around pregnancy)
Emily Henry (except Happy Place)
Chloe Liese
Kristina Forest
Kennedy Ryan
Catherine Walsh (her holiday books)
B.K. Borison
Sarah Hogle
Angie Hockman
Mazey Eddings
Mariana Zapata
Talia Hibbert
Olivia Dade

Book marking list.

I also read a lot of romance. It's so quick and easy to read and I appreciate the ability to shut my brain down while I read it.

[cnf]

I read 13 books in January.

The Fiance Solution
The Elephant in the Room
The Romance Dilemma
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Divine Rivals
Ruthless Vows
Sadie and the Bad Boy Billionaire
Strictly For Now
City Under One Roof
Things I Should Have Said
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Things I Over Shared
No One Can Know

In February I'm looking forward to The Teacher, the new Ali Hazelwood book, and Village In The Dark.

[emma]

January ended up being a good reading month for me. It started kind of weak with a few meh books but got better. I finished 9 books:
Starter Villan - 3 stars
Something Wilder - 3 stars
Divine Rivals - 3 stars
Lessons in Chemistry - 4 stars
Assistant to the Villain - 4 stars
Kingdom of Ash (ToG #7) - 4 stars
One of Us is Dead - 4 stars
Crooked Kingdom (6 of Crows #2) - 4 stars
Check and Mate - 4 stars

I started Crescent City 3 yesterday and am already enjoying it, and I'm most of the the way through Counterfeit on audio and am hate finishing it at this point. 

Other than CC3, this month i'm most excited for The Chaos Agent (Grey Man #13) being released on 20th, Lone Wolf (Orphan X #9) released on 13th, and Two Twisted Crowns which my hold just came up on.  

[brux]

I read 6 books in January.

I semi-enjoyed all of them, but I think I skipped rating some of them on Goodreads because I thought they were a mix of both entertaining, annoying, enjoyable, and stupid at various times. Nothing was a great must read.

I think maybe my favorite of my Jan reads was Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. But again, it wasn't great.

[brux]

On vacation last week, I started "Men We Reaped" by Jesmyn Ward. It's a memoir about the author's relationships with five young black men who all died and her life amidst all the dying. She's from the rural South.

I'm really enjoying it, but it feels like a book I need to read with intention and it'll take me a bit longer than my usual audiobook listens.

[willow]

January was a slower month for me but not in a bad way. I read 5 books, DNF Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, which slowed down my progress for the end of the month. Mostly Irish murder mysteries. I liked all of them sort of equally to be honest. 

[thatgolfb]

I read 12 books in Jan, which I’m very happy with. I enjoyed most of them. My favorite by far was Lady Tan’s Circle of Women.



Last night I started the The Improbable Meet Cute short story series, a collection of Valentine’s Day focused stories by prominent rom com writers. The first one was by Christina Lauren and it was really cute! I just started the Abby Jimenez one. They are on Kindle Unlimited.

[Rusty Red]

12 books for January

Murder Beyond the Grave - James Patterson
Murder Thy Neighbor - JP
Texas Ranger - JP
Into This River I Drown - TJ Klune
NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority - Marshall Karp
New York to Dallas - JD Robb
Chaos in Death - JDR
One Silent Night - Sherrilyn Kenyon
Circle of Death - JP
No Mercy - SK
Infinity - SK
Smolder - Laurell K. Hamilton

[clairefraser]

I hope it's okay that I join in. I read 6 books in January.

The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne and The Crimson Crown - The Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima
The Testament - John Grisham
The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah

All but Four Winds were re-reads. This year I'm trying to get back into my reading habit so I thought some tried and trued re-reads would help get it going.

For February - I'm trying to work through a backlog of books on my TBR list and books in my personal collection I've never read. There are a lot of recent (past few years) releases that I want to read but nothing available at my public library so I have quite a few books on hold right now.

Planning to start Where'd You Go, Bernadette today.

[clairefraser]

thatgolfb and nelzie - how do you get those images for your month?

[emma]

I finished Counterfeit and didn’t enjoy it at all. It was both boring and annoying, I rounded up to 3 stars but meh I could have given it 2

[Foxy]

Feb 1, 2024 9:06:47 GMT -6 nelzie said:

I normally read a lot of romance. I have a lot of romance authors I really enjoy.

Ilsa Madden-Mills
Adalyn Grace (Romantasy)
Ashley Poston (Romantasty)
Katherine Center
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Abby Jimenez (when they don't revolve around pregnancy)
Emily Henry (except Happy Place)
Chloe Liese
Kristina Forest
Kennedy Ryan
Catherine Walsh (her holiday books)
B.K. Borison
Sarah Hogle
Angie Hockman
Mazey Eddings
Mariana Zapata
Talia Hibbert
Olivia Dade

I've been reading a lot of romance as well,  I'll add these authors to my list!

[loony]

I ended up with 20 for January - I spent a lot of time in pivot charts this month, so audio books FTW.

5 DNF - Most just didn't fit the mood I was going for - I'm not doing as many challenges this year, so I'm leaning into the mood.


Foxglove, Adalyn Grace (just wasn't in the mood - I'll pick it up another time)
When the Moon Hatched, Sarah A Parker (too high fantasy for my mood, if she releases an audio version)
The Covenant of Water (soooo long, I may need it digitally so I'm not daunted by the hours and hours the audio is)
Your Driver is Waiting, Pirya Guns (I had this on digital, but will listen to it later)
Gone for Good, Harlan Coben (I hated the narrator's voice - I'll read it later)


In my Dreams I hold a Knife, Ashley Winstead - 3.5* (easy thriller, unmemorable)
Hemlock Island, Kelley Armstrong - 4.5* (twisty thriller)
Weyward, Emilia Hart - 5* (Female Rage, Family ties, loved it)
A House with Good Bones, T. Kingfisher - 4.5 (my favorite of hers so far)
The Whispers, Ashley Audrain - 3.5* (another unmemorable thriller - entertaining enough)
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed - 4* (short stories aren't my jam, but these are creepy and I wish each was a novel)
The Sinner, Petra Hammesfahr - 4.5* (unreliable narrator, thriller filled my "page to screen" challenge category)
Much Ado About Nada, Uzma Jalaluddin - 4* (Desi Romance, one of my favorite authors in the genre)
The Housemaid & Housemaid's Secret - 4* each (I know most people don't enjoy the characters, but I enjoyed them)
Little Monsters, Kara Thomas 4.5* (YA thriller)
Silent Vows, Jill Ramsower - 4* (Mafia Romance)
Ink & Bone, Lisa Unger - 4.5* (paranormal thriller)
If I Disappear, Eliza Jane Brazier - 4* (YA podcast thriller)
The Duchess Effect, Tracey Livesay - 3* (Conteporary Romance, not as good as the first)
The Golden Couple, Greer Hendricks & Sara Pekkanen - 4* (Solid thriller)
Everyone's Thinking it, Aleema Omotoni - 3.5* (billed as a YA romance, but really it's a weak mystery - the themes are good though and I enjoyed it)

[byjove]

Re romance: sometimes you just need to know there will be a happy ending in this dark, cruel world.

nelzie's list is great. For historical romance I would add Lisa Keyplas, Georgette Heyer, and Lorraine Heath. There are others that will come to me.

[loony]

Feb 1, 2024 11:15:27 GMT -6 byjove said:

Re romance: sometimes you just need to know there will be a happy ending in this dark, cruel world.

nelzie 's list is great. For historical romance I would add Lisa Keyplas, Georgette Heyer, and Lorraine Heath. There are others that will come to me.

I've gone in a deep dive of Desi/Southeast Asian romances - the plots are always fraught with mother/daughter/family experiences and all end with a "love match" even if it's semi-arranged in the first place.

Semi-formulaic, but heartwarming and fun.

[thatgolfb]

Feb 1, 2024 10:19:51 GMT -6 clairefraser said:

thatgolfb and nelzie - how do you get those images for your month?

Bookmory app! I use Goodreads too, but I like the calendar on Bookmory, and also like that you can give half stars for ratings.

[melohdy]

On paper it looks like I read 6 books. In reality, 2 were DNF, but it was more that 50% through so I am keeping them on the list.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic - DNF
You - I liked it. It was engaging
Hidden Bodies (You sequel) - DNF and HATED
Gloom Town - middle grade book I read based on my 10yo recommendation. It was cute
Butcher and Blackbird - Loved
Iron Flame - Loved