On the Shelf: April 2025

I read so much romantic suspense in April—a bajillion books from Anne Stuart's backlist and some rereads from the Keeper Shelf. I have a newsletter in-progress about secondary pairings I love that sprang from all of that reading so keep an eye out for it and subscribe if you haven't already! I also finally got in my library hold on Premee Mohamed's The Butcher of the Forest. It's an exquisitely written, and at times chilling, folklore-ish fantasy novella that has put me off ever going into the woods. I only read two historical romances, which is kind of amazeballs given that they're my go-to. I'm sure I'll make up for that throughout May. Last but not least, I want to shout out No Way Rosé—a super-cute (but not without conflict!) second-chance romance by Kate Davies. It's the perfect pick-me-up for a bad day and would go great with a glass of the titular wine. (Sadly, I did not have any wine on hand when I read it.) 

Assuming anyone actually reads these posts of mine, you might be wondering what's up with the "redacted" items. I've recently begun reviewing titles for a trade publication on a freelance basis and under my legal name. Since the reviews haven't published yet, I don't print the titles. I'll come back eventually to fill them in. I am not reviewing romance, as that is the genre I write in. I'm very aware of potential conflicts of interest and have only been reviewing books by people I don't know.

And now it's on to the book lists!

The Reading Rundown
No Way Rosé by Kate Davies (contemporary romance)
Hunger in the Blood by Zoey Draven (sci-fi romance, paranormal romance)
An Autumn Guest Checks In by Noor Juman (contemporary romance)
[Redacted] by TK (out 6/24, spy thriller, spoof/satire, for professional review purposes)
Losers: Part I by Harley Laroux (dark BDSM romance, queer polyam romance)
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (fantasy, horror)
[Redacted] by TK (suspense, thriller, for professional review purposes)
It Takes a Thief by Anne Stuart (historical romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I had a whole "can't eat just one potato chip" thing with Anne Stuart and tore through The Soldier, the Nun & the Baby, Night of the Phantom, One More Valentine, Blue Sage, Return to Mariposa, Moonrise, and Against the Wind. After that snack frenzy, I was still craving more romantic suspense, so I reread Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught and Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts. But I ended the month with Scandalous by Karen Robards, which was quite the scandal when it came out in 2001 because the male lead is pretending to be the heroine's half-brother and there's a whole incest vibe. That plot set-up would be downright tame now! Hell, he'd probably actually be her half-brother. Although, having said that, Catherine Coulter's The Wyndham Legacy...? Dude's her *cousin. Blood-related. I don't know how that one skated under the radar in 1994! (*I flipped through the book to confirm. I could've sworn he was her uncle—not that it makes it any better.)

Currently reading: Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan and Irresistible by Karen Robards.

On the TBR/wish list
August Lane by Regina Black
Gabriela and His Grace by Liana de la Rosa
The Night Birds by Christopher Golden
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter