On the Shelf: March 2024

I feel vaguely guilty for only reading two new releases in March but I'm still glad that I stopped pressuring myself to keep up with what's coming out now. Because going back to older books, to titles I've read before, is just as valuable and valid. When it comes to books, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. It breeds comfort. So I was comforted by a whole lot of Lorraine Heath, Grace Callaway, and Kit Rocha. 😂

The newer titles I picked up were both strong enough to woo me away from the glomming, so I think that speaks well of both! Hannah Murray's is a sexy and charming high-heat polyamorous romance, and I appreciated how the characters talked through the challenges involved. (Amidst the enthusiastic bedsport.) And Deanna Raybourn's ninth outing with Veronica Speedwell and Stoker has the duo in fine form, re-committed after some rockiness in prior books. I love that Deanna makes sure to tell us they bang a lot. Tastefully and off-page but frequently. Oh, and the crime-solving is great, too. lol. Our intrepid investigators are finally letting other people help them!

The Reading Rundown
Sharing Shane by Hannah Murray (contemporary romance, queer polyam romance)
A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn (historical mystery)

Backlist titles & rereads: I knocked out three more new-to-me Grace Callaway historicals, The Return of the Duke, Her Protector's Pleasure and The Gentleman Who Loved Me. Then I moved over to Lorraine Heath with When the Duke Was Wicked, Falling Into Bed With a Duke, The Viscount and the Vixen and When the Marquess Falls, as well as rereads of The Last Wicked Scoundrel and The Earl Takes All. Somewhere in there, I also finished a nostalgia tour of Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again and went back through Hate F*@k and Wicked Sin by Ainsley Booth and The View Was Exhausting by Onjuli Datta and Mikaella Clements. As the month came to a close, I returned to familiar and much-loved territory with all nine main titles from the Beyond Series by Kit Rocha. My brain melted after that. I don't necessarily recommend compulsively reading that many books in a row in less than a week. lol. 

Currently reading: The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel.

On the TBR/wish list
'Til Heist Do Us Part by Sara Desai
Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

On the Shelf: February 2024

Books are still operating as my cold weather haven. I tore through 22 in February, and it was the new-to-me authors who really stood out. Whether it was Anise Starre's snappy and sexy contemporaries, Alyson Chase's steamy historical kink, or a classic like The Prosposition by Judith Ivory. The latter is going on my list of Forever Faves because Mick and Winnie are #romancegoals and it's such a beautiful low-conflict read. 

I know, I know. Low conflict? Suleikha, who are you? Don't worry, almost everything else I read this month had plenty of conflict and drama—both internal and external. Like The Engagement Party, the latest taut thriller from Darby Kane (aka Romancelandia's own HelenKay Dimon!), and Liana De la Rosa's lush and sexy follow-up to last year's Ana Maria and the Fox. Isabel and her rogue, British spy Sirius, are actually in a bit of a love triangle—because of her fierce loyalty to Mexico. So how can they possibly have an HEA? Don't worry, De la Rosa gets them there. The journey is well worth it. In fact, you might want to save it for after Ann Liang's October release, A Song to Drown Rivers. It's a gorgeously drawn Chinese historical fantasy that will break your heart. A little healing via romance novel may be in order! They're always a balm for my soul. 

The Reading Rundown
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong (horror)
Isabel and the Rogue by Liana De la Rosa (out 6/4/24, historical romance)
The Engagement Party by Darby Kane (suspense, thriller)
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang (out 10/1/24, fantasy, historical fantasy)
One Last Job by Anise Starre (contemporary romance)
One More Shot by Anise Starre (contemporary romance)
Nicky the Driver by Cate C. Wells (dark romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I kicked off the month finishing a reread of Kelley Armstrong's Thirteen. After that, it was pretty much back to historicals (shocker!). I had rereads of Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt and Grace Callaway's Glory and the Master of Shadows, The Duke Redemption, and The Duke Who Knew Too Much—as well as A Lady's Code of Misconduct and The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran. As for new-to-me titles, there was the very kinky and tightly plotted Disciplined By the Duke and Bound By the Earl by Alyson Chase. I zipped through To Kiss a Thief by Susanna Craig. And I finally tried books by oft-recced and beloved author Judith Ivory. I adored The Proposition but didn't enjoy Black Silk quite as much. I snuck in contemporary dark romance with a reread of Cate C. Wells' Run Posy Run. Then I closed up February with unread books from Lorraine Heath's Scoundrels of St. James series: Between the Devil and Desire and Surrender to the Devil.

Currently reading: Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and a reread of Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again.

On the TBR/wish list
'Til Heist Do Us Part by Sara Desai
Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan
The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel
Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

On the Shelf: January 2024

I think I used books as my January hibernation cave—because I read 26 in 31 days, and it feels like I barely left the apartment in all that time. I suspect February's round-up will constitute fewer books only because my 3-month Kindle Unlimited trial is going to run out. 😂 Maybe that'll force me to actually work on my own stories. 

As usual, I consumed a ton (ha!) of historical romance, but this was a great month for contemporary and paranormal romance, too. Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid got a lot of love last year, and you can add my heart-eyes to the count. Jen Devon's sophomore outing, Right Where We Left Us, is a fantastic follow-up to Bend Towards the Sun and I need Mal and Frankie's story ASAP. (That was my 26th read. I finished it just before midnight on Jan. 31.) I've heard a lot about Heather Guerre, and after whipping through her BDSM office romance and two of her PNRs, I totally get why people rave. Between Guerre and my return to Kelley Armstrong's backlist, I kind of want to kick my own kinky and wolfy books under the bed to commune with the dust bunnies. I'm sure I'll get over my feelings of inadequacy with sufficient therapy.   

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate. She might just be my favorite author writing today, because I have yet to be disappointed. This latest gem made me want to constantly look up things about the Mexican film industry and Mexican horror films. I don't know about watching the films, because I'm a scaredy cat sometimes, but there's always the aforementioned therapy to help with that, right?

The Reading Rundown
You Can Follow Me by Jo Brenner (dark romance, m/m/m/f polyam romance)
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster by Grace Callaway (historical romance)
Right Where We Left Us by Jen Devon (out 6/18/24, contemporary romance)
Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre (BDSM romance, femdom, contemporary romance)
Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre (paranormal romance)
Once Bitten by Heather Guerre (paranormal romance)
Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid (contemporary romance)
Hurt For Me by Heather Levy (romantic suspense, suspense/thriller)
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (horror, speculative fiction)
Slaying the Shifter Prince by Clare Sager (paranormal romance, romantasy)
Please Don't Go Girl by Naima Simone (contemporary romance)
The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan (historical romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I kicked off with rereads of A Woman Scorned by Liz Carlyle, Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas, and Anne Calhoun's Uncommon Passion. I plugged a gap in last year's Blue Blood Conspiracy glom with Bec McMaster's The Mech Who Loved Me. Then we had a whole round of Grace Callaway love on Twitter, so I reread Olivia and the Masked Duke and Pippa and the Prince of Secrets before tackling the newest book in the series. Still on the Callaway Express, I went back to the unread Regarding the Duke, which ended up being my favorite of all the Callaways I've read lately. Did I stop there? No. I had to tear through two other books in that Game of Dukes series: The Duke Identity and a reread of Enter the Duke. I also devoured Wild Fire by Anne Stuart, which felt like a callback to her classic Black Ice—in that she engaged with issues of consent in this one, almost to directly speak to the hinkiness in Black Ice. I finished the month with rereads from Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld: Personal Demon, the prequel novella "Chaotic," Waking the Witch, and Spellbound. 

Currently reading: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong.

On the TBR/wish list
Isabel and the Rogue by Liana de la Rosa
'Til Heist Do Us Part by Sara Desai
Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel