After January’s reading binge, I was curious to see if I was able to keep up the same pace. Turns out, I was. Almost. I had a few books that I didn’t finish and found myself in a slump where I just couldn’t seem to motivate myself to read or listen to pretty much anything. Hello, creative slump. Thankfully, I found a series at the end of the month that captured my attention and spent 3 days binge-reading every book in the series. PHEW.
My reading queue was more of the same, with romance novels taking up most of the space on my to-read list. I even managed to read another Max Monroe book (of the Billionaire Boss Next Door fame) without even realizing it. Thank goodness it was a fun one, with barely a mention of a billionaire, so that made it better.
I decided to share more about each book this month, and what I liked (or didn’t) about each one. So let me know if that’s something you’re interested in!
First, here are the books that were put into my DNF (did not finish) pile:
- Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo: I really wanted to like this book based on the title and the synopsis. I barely made it through one chapter and was seriously contemplating chucking my phone out the window with how bad it was. I hated the tone, I hated the narrator, and I hated the perspective it was written from.
- Small Town Girl by LaVyrle Spencer: This was another book that sounded good from the synopsis but just couldn’t get into it. I knew after 16 minutes of listening that this book wasn’t for me. The main character got under my skin and couldn’t find a single redeeming quality about her. No way I was going to spend another 11 hours listening.
Still trying to work my way through:
- When You Least Expect It by Haley Cass: I like this book and I don’t like this book. It’s got a typical Rom-Com theme of cynical divorce lawyer sticking it to a gross ex-colleague and then falling in love with their ex (who is also a client). Problem is, about 5 chapters could have been cut out of the middle and the plot would still be in tact. Which has been making it hard to get motivated to finish the book, even though I want to see how it ends. I am determined to stick it out and have been listening to it on my way to get my kiddo at school. Those 15-20 minute intervals have made it a lot more bearable.
The books I actually finished:
- You Only Die Twice by Brynn Kelly: This. Was. Fabulous. Truly my favorite book of the month. It’s a “killer romance” and had a very Janet Evanovich / Stephanie Plum feel to the book. Which I loved. I highly recommend this one and really loved the pace and the badassery of the main characters. (This one is an Audible Original and is free with your membership.)
- Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel: I feel like this one falls more into the YA category than romance but it’s a cute best friends to boyfriend/girlfriend story line. It follows two teens traveling to Dubai with their families to celebrate Diwali in style while also repairing a broken friendship. This was a really cute, light read and am glad it made it into my TBR pile.
- The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey: This was another fun story and could 100% see this being turned into a movie. The book is about a woman who runs away from her life following a terrible break-up and getting fired from her job to travel the world and “find herself.” She ends up getting married by accident and inheriting a hotel with her brand new “husband.” It was pleasantly sweet and I now officially want to travel to Greece and run my own hotel.
- The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton: I wanted to like this book so badly. So badly, in fact, that I talked it up to everyone I came in contact with after reading the first few chapters myself. When I finally got it in Audiobook format from the library, I got to listening immediately. And then promptly discovered that the book was just not … my cup of tea. I have a hard time saying why, exactly, and am honestly still sad about it. Oh well, you win some and you loose some.
- The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass: This was book #2 in the Cupcake Coven Romance series, with book #1 being A Letter To Three Witches (which I read in December). I always enjoy a good witchy romance, and this one did not disappoint. In this book, we are introduced to a new family member who finds out she has magical powers while in the process of getting married. Spoiler alert: the wedding is sabotaged but she does end up finding true love in the end. Just not with her fiancé.
- Best Friends Don’t Kiss by Max Monroe: If you don’t recognize the author, she is of the Billionaire Boss Next Door and My Brother’s Billionaire Best Friend fame. You know, the books I swore were too stupid to read based on the title and cover alone last month. 😂 Turns out, I completely forgot who the author was until I started reading the book. I only realized it because some of the characters overlapped. OOPS. Good thing I enjoyed this one a lot more and even managed to get some laughs out of it.
- Heidi’s Guide To Four Letter Words by Tara Sivec and Andy Arndt: This book had me laughing through most of it. The story follows a former sweet and innocent Kindergarten teacher who gets laid off from her job and ends up working temporarily as a receptionist/office manager at a company that records erotic audiobooks. She also happens to be in love with her neighbor, though has a hard time admitting it. So she does what any modern woman would do and drinks a box of wine and then shares her feelings on her brand new podcast. Happy endings abound in this one (pun intended).
- A Deal With The Devil by Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue: I’m not sure about you, but my IG feed is full of ads with romance novel synopses. And I. Am. Here. For. It. Seriously. I get sucked in every time but never manage to find the books in question. Until now. This book was everything I’d hope it would be and had some seriously steamy scenes. It follows a boy and his best friend’s sister who were in a serious car accident when they were kids. They reconnect after the boy comes back from military school and gets reintegrated back into the same high school. Good spice and good story. What more could you want?
- Rule Breaker, Front Runner, and Hard Hitter by Nicki Hall. I seriously binge-read 3 out of 4 books in this series in 3 days. Apparently I have a thing for sports romances and these books seriously ticked off all my boxes. Strong women heroines and men who were willing to give up everything to be with them and support them, all while sporting killer abs in the process. I was honestly a little sad when I finished the series and didn’t have any other books to dive straight into.
And there you have it. All of the books that came and went in my TBR pile in February. Curious to see if I can keep the 12-books-a-month streak alive for March. If the first few days of the month are any indication, the answer is a resounding YES.
What about you? What books have you been reading and loving lately? Any that you decided weren’t worth your time and ended up in your DNF pile?
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