On the Shelf: Suleikha's November Reads

Good news! I already have one of my favorite books of 2022! Farah Heron's hilarious and heartfelt Kamila Knows Best! No spoilers, but it's such a good friends-to-lovers romance and a fresh twist on Emma. It will also totally make you crave biriyani. Meanwhile, back in this year, I immersed myself in the world of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova. She's one of my auto-buys, and her first foray into hardcover adult fiction is ambitious and lyrical and kept me turning pages late into the night. 

I then traveled all the way back to some historical romance! Jess Michaels' sexy and sweet Princes Are Wild is the middle of a series, and it ensured that I will be waiting for the next two Regency Royals titles! I hopped to paranormal as Holley Trent wraps her Norseton Wolves series with Watcher and, of course, I inhaled Beverly Jenkins' romantic suspense novella. It's always a treat when this historical romance legend pops into the present  and gives us a present!     

The Reading Rundown
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova (mainstream fiction, magical realism)
A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria (contemporary romance)
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron (out 3/8/22, contemporary romance, Jane Austen retelling)
Rare Danger by Beverly Jenkins (romantic suspense)
Princes Are Wild by Jess Michaels (historical romance)
Watcher by Holley Trent (paranormal romance)
Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells (erotic thriller, dark romance)

Backlist adventures: I went down a genre rabbit hole, which led me to Jill Sorenson's Riding Dirty and Shooting Dirty from 2015. She was a little ahead of the current "dark romance" boom, IMHO, taking her motorcycle club books that one step further to where everybody is shady/a criminal. And they're a continuation of her Aftershock series. I devoured these like potato chips. They are definitely lizard brain books.

On the TBR/wish list
If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis
Truth, Lies, and Mr. Grey by Shelly Ellis
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
Fake it Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

On the Shelf: Suleikha's October 2021 Reads

I found two of my favorite romance reads of the year in October! Well Matched, the third of Jen DeLuca's Ren Faire romances, and For the Wolf, Hannah Whitten's first in her Wilderwood series. The former is a laugh-out-loud contemporary with a grumpy heroine and a sunshine hero. It's got all the tropes. Friends to lovers, fake dating, older woman/younger man. I loved it to pieces. Meanwhile, For the Wolf is a delicious, dark, and compellingly written pastiche of Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Rose Red, and several other familiar fairy tales. I'm already on tenterhooks waiting for the second book! 

I can't wait to see what November and December have in store for me! I hope I end this reading year on a high note. 

The Reading Rundown
Well Matched by Jen DeLuca (contemporary romance)
The Ghosts of Who You Were by Christopher Golden (horror, anthology, short stories)
Tahira in Bloom by Farah Heron (young adult fiction, young adult romance)
Heart of Fire by Bec McMaster (fantasy romance, paranormal romance)
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (contemporary romance)
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten (fantasy, fantasy romance, fairy tale retellings)

Backlist adventures: I tormented myself with Divine Evil by Nora Roberts. It does not hold up well. At all. Save yourselves! Speaking of saving yourselves, I enjoyed Riley Sager's Final Girls. This wasn't my favorite of his books, but it hit the thriller note I needed during Halloween season.

Currently reading: Watcher by Holley Trent.

On the wish list/TBR
The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

On the Shelf: September 2021

The last week of September was such a wash when it came to reading. I didn't pick up a single book! But even with that, I don't think I did too badly in general. Especially since there was some truly lovely stuff in my book pile. Olivia Waite's third and last Feminine Pursuits novel, The Hellion's Waltz, and Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth are the kind of stories that make me writhe with envy. Both authors have such a gorgeous command of prose. And Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, was so engrossing and so laugh-out-loud funny at times that I could barely put it down. Shane and Eva's second-chance love story is brimming with emotion and history and passion, and I can completely understand why Williams is earning raves across the board. What a great storyteller!   

The Reading Rundown
All the Best Nights by Hanna Earnest (contemporary romance)
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw (out 10/19, horror, speculative fiction)
Bombshell by Sarah MacLean (historical romance)
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (historical mystery)
Enemies With Benefits by Roxie Noir (contemporary romance)
The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha (dystopian/post-apocalyptic romance)
The Hellion's Waltz by Olivia Waite (historical f/f romance)
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (contemporary romance)

Currently reading: Heart of Fire by Bec McMaster and Heavy by Cate C. Wells.

On the wish list/TBR
The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Well Matched by Jen DeLuca
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas