On the Shelf: May 2026

I read a whopping 29 stories in May—or 25, if you count a bunch of novellas in a multiauthor anthology as one title. Most of that debatable number is made up of rereads of old favorites. Whether it was the intimate contemporary communities built by Molly O'Keefe and Alisha Rai, or the lush, richly-drawn Tang Dynasty China of Jeannie Lin's historical romances, or the dark and compelling alternate evolution of Earth in Anne Bishop's Others series, I found immense comfort in the journeys. It's like going to visit friends without ever leaving the house!

That's not to say I didn't enjoy meeting some new people this past month. Because Elizabeth May's dark romantasy The Wolf and the Crown of Blood was a great time. I am always here for a stabby female protagonist whose stabbiness is encouraged by her love interest. Plus, it was entirely possible that Evander would stab Bryony right back at any given opportunity. That was part of the tension of the book that I really appreciated. It was genuinely enemies-to-lovers with a believable emotional payoff. "Morally grey" as a descriptor has become almost a cliché, but May's god-kings actually embody it and take it a step further—in terms of their moral makeup being built different than that of humans. And so there's conflict inherent in how to reconcile different value systems as they fall in love. (This is something Anne Bishop does exquisitely in The Others books.) I can't wait for Theo and Bastien's book. They have a very different dynamic than Evander and Bryony's, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

The Reading Rundown
The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (suspense)
[Redacted] by TK (suspense/crime, horror, for professional review purposes)
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May (romantasy, dark fantasy)
Enemy of My Enemy by Alex Segura (suspense, noir, Marvel Comics tie-in)
The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa (contemporary romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I tore through rereads of Molly O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid, The Truth About Him, Burn Down the Night, and Wait for It. Then it was on to Alisha Rai's Forbidden Hearts trilogy, Hate to Want You, Wrong to Need You, and Hurts to Love You. I kept going with the beloved backlists and immersed myself in The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress, by Jeannie Lin— two of my most favorite historical romances. Naturally, I had to read three more stories in the series after that. Somewhere in there, I also fit in return trips to The Obsession, by Lin writing as Liliana Lee, and Sarah Mayberry's Her Best Worst Mistake. During my Lotus Palace residency, I realized that The Liar's Dice was somehow the only story I'd read in the Gambled Away anthology—which also features novellas by Rose Lerner, Isabel Cooper, Molly O'Keefe, and Joanna Bourne. I promptly fixed that oversight. I ended the month with another series reread—the five books in Anne Bishop's Others series. I closed out the month with Cold as Ice by Anne Stuart and another go-round of My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long. Oh, how I love Keating and Kirke!

On the TBR/wish list
Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer
An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite

On the Shelf: April 2026

April was very rough in a lot of ways, so I'm glad the reading part of the month went extremely well! (And not just because I knocked out 23 books.) All the frontlist titles I picked up were great, across genres. Navessa Allen's Caught Up really worked for me in a way that Lights Out didn't quite hit. What can I say? I enjoy when a guy engages in quality groveling and is desperate to make amends. It balances out the stalking very nicely. Alisha Rai's Enemies to Lovers is a fun follow-up to Partners in Crime, and it came through for me when I desperately needed some high-jinks and shenanigans to lift my mood. I'm probably not the only person wondering if a third book with Isha and Avi is in the works. Fingers crossed!

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, like last year's The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow, is one of those books everyone's going to be talking about for months—if not years! Are we surprised that Ilona Andrews knocked it out of the park, through a portal, and into a different reality? No. Maggie the Undying's tumultuous journey through the world of her favorite book series had me riveted. I can't wait for more!

The Reading Rundown
Caught Up by Navessa Allen (dark romance, contemporary romance)
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (epic fantasy, portal fantasy)
Cinder House by Freya Marske (queer fantasy, Cinderella retelling)
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (historical noir)
Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo (horror, cyberpunk-ish)
Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai (contemporary romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I reread all nine main books in Kit Rocha's Beyond series plus the three novellas—Beyond Temptation, Beyond Solitude, and Beyond Possession—and two of the Gideon's Riders spin-off titles, Ashwin and Ivan. Since I was engaging in a lot of screen time, I broke it up with a return to my paperback copy of Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt and a revisiting of Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. I also took a break while reading the new Ilona Andrews and zipped through Ice Cold Saint by Cynthia Eden.

Currently reading: The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa and Enemy of My Enemy by Alex Segura.

On the TBR/wish list
An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite

On the Shelf: March 2026

March was a lackluster writing and book sales month for me, but an excellent reading month. A pitch-perfect rom-com that had me constantly laughing, The Re-Do List might be Denise Williams's best book yet. L.S. Stratton's first foray into young adult fiction, rooted in the history of sundown towns, reminds us that humans are always the real monsters. Simone St. James and Christopher Golden never disappoint and pretty much always creep me out (complimentary!). Kennedy Ryan's steamy novella has me primed for the May 19 release of Score. And a new Aydra Richards historical romance dropped this month too! (Grace Seymour steals a heart, but the cat definitely steals the show.)

The Reading Rundown
[redacted] by TK (out 7/7, suspense, thriller, for professional review purposes)
Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden (out 7/21, horror)
Grace Seymour Steals A Heart by Aydra Richards (historical romance)
The Close-Up by Kennedy Ryan (contemporary romance)
A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (horror, paranormal suspense)
Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton (young adult thriller, horror)
The Re-Do List by Denise Williams (contemporary romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: I started out by finishing up a reread of Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt and moved on to Lorraine Heath's The Duchess Hunt, When the Duke was Wicked, and Once More, My Darling Rogue. Does a month go by without me rereading at least one Lorraine Heath book? I don't think so. I broke from my comfort historicals for a dip into KU with Darkest at Dusk by Eve Silver and Little Deaths by Nenia Campbell. Then I dove into my Kindle library for an old ARC of Sins of a Virgin by Anna Randol. I stayed in backlist territory with Gentle Warrior, Julie Garwood's 1985 debut, and A Baby to Bind His Bride by Caitlin Crews. I've heard a lot over the years about the latter book and finally gave in to curiosity. How long can you possibly resist a European tycoon who is introduced as an amnesiac cult leader? That's a question for readers and the titular pregnant bride.

Currently reading: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Siliva Moreno-Garcia and a reread of The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary.

On the TBR/wish list
An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer
The Lines We Cross by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher
Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite