Fletcher's Callum is so gone for his brother's prickly ex-girlfriend that some readers may hate her for not snapping him up right away. Me? I related to how Juniper felt unlovable and abandoned and thus had a hard time opening up. (But speaking of total simps? Bright's MMC, Steven, literally crawls on broken glass to prove his devotion. He was apparently a total dick in the previous book.)
As for the count for the year so far? The 18 books finished in August brings me to 150. I'm not sure if that warrants a whole book of stickers or some extra therapy sessions.
The Reading Rundown
Call Me Yours by Elizabeth Bright (contemporary romance)
Gabriela and His Grace by Liana De la Rosa (historical romance)
[Redacted] by TK (suspense, for professional review purposes)
Scotch on the Rocks by Elliot Fletcher (contemporary romance)
Love is a War Song by Danica Nava (contemporary romance)
Backlist titles & rereads: Yeah, I read Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale again, just months after I read it the first time. I'm not sorry. Then I moved on to The Indiscretion by Judith Ivory—which I am a little sorry about. It was okay, but not on par with The Proposition. So I had to retreat to familiar and beloved territory. Like Personal Demon and No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong (yes, I reread them in reverse order, because I'm as chaotic as Hope). And of course, there's always some emotional support Lorraine Heath books to be had: Lord of Temptation, In Bed With the Devil, Surrender to the Devil, Once More, My Darling Rogue, and Between the Devil and Desire. Was I done marathoning one author? Nope. I went on to finish three out of four books in Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes series. A bunch of people dying as they combat an authoritarian regime and seemingly all-powerful beings? Yup, that hits a little too close to home. At least I didn't start this series reread right after revisiting the Hunger Games. For a palate cleanser I went back to Lorraine Heath for Lord of Wicked Intentions, after finishing book two, LoT, earlier in the month.
Currently reading: A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir and some books for review.
On the TBR/wish list
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh
A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James