On the Shelf: April and May 2021

Reading slump? What reading slump? (I'm in a writing slump, but that's a whole other problem.) There's something to be said for the specific solace that we find in books. Climbing into the pages is like climbing between the sheets of a freshly made bed, knowing you're about to have the most interesting dreams. Maybe that's why I made a serious dent in my TBR during April and May. 

From the funny and heartfelt new release How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams to a few heavily recced titles I was behind on—like Janine: His True Alpha by Chencia C. Higgins and The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham—I went from one riveting read to the next. I genre hopped, too. Paranormal romance. Adult and young adult fantasy. Historical. The contemporary heist romances by Sloane Steele that will appeal to any Leverage fan. My favorite book of the past two months, though, is probably The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. A taut South Asian queer fantasy that unites the magical and the spiritual with political maneuvering. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I need to know what happens to Priya, Malini, Bhumika, and Rao!

The Reading Rundown

Janine: His True Alpha by Chencia C. Higgins (paranormal romance)
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (contemporary romance, contemporary fiction)
Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane (domestic thriller, suspense)
Serving Sin by Angelina M. Lopez (contemporary romance)
Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews (historical romance)
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (young adult fantasy, YA fiction)
Ruined by M. O'Keefe (romantic suspense, dark romance)
The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham (historical romance)
Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai (erotic romance, Greek mythology retelling)
It Takes a Thief by Sloane Steele (contemporary romance, heist romance)
Between Two Thieves by Sloane Steele (out 6/29, contemporary romance, heist romance)
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (out 6/8, fantasy, f/f romance)
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams (contemporary romance)

Backlist adventures: Steadfast by Sarina Bowen, Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfield, Lions and Lace by Meagan McKinney, and Hidden Honor by Anne Stuart.

Currently reading: Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler, Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova, and Uncharted by Adriana Anders.

On the TBR/wish list:
Well Matched by Jen DeLuca
A War of Swallowed Stars by Sangu Mandanna
Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed