Starting off the year right with a 5-star read!
Let's just start with Tal Bauer's The Rest of the Story . . . It was absolutely beautiful. Books that make me emotional automatically get 5-star contention, and we all know how stingy I am with my stars. Well, it just so happens, I was on a plane home when I finished this one, and I was balling my eyes out. As tempted as I am to jump right in and read his entire backlist, I need to pace myself. But I expect plenty more tears will be shed over this author's work this year.
Read it! You won't regret it!
Now, onto my monthly goal reads . . .
A recap, the goal is to read one indie/self-published, one traditionally published, and one non-romance each month. Clearly, more than one of my January reads fulfilled these criteria. However, I also begin each month by declaring which three books I intend to read. For January, the chosen three were :
Power by Cassandra Robbin - This one also fulfilled the goal of getting me out of my comfort zone, falling into the taboo category (MFC fell for her mother's fiance). This story could have been all sorts of wrong, but it was well-written and compelling. 3.5 Stars.
The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon. This author is on my must-read list, having enjoyed both The Layover and From the Jump. This one was slightly different from the others but no less funny. She's a master of creating side characters that enhance the story, rather than annoy. The small Georgia town reminded me very much of Gilmore Girl's Stars Hollow. The relationship between the main characters was slow burn, and the sex scene when it occurred was closed door making this an obvious recommendation to my librarian husband for his book club. 4 Stars
A Marvelous Light by Freya Marsk. This could easily be considered a 'romantasy' given the relationship that develops between Robin and Edwin, but I'm classifying it as more fantasy/mystery given the story as a whole. First in a series, it was quite enjoyable despite having to delve into world-building which can be quite tedious in a first novel in a fantastical, if historical, setting. Looking forward to reading the second and third books in this trilogy. 4 Stars.
Honorable mentions for the month :
Rounding out the trio of LGBTQ+-themed stories for the month is Role Playing by Cathy Yardley. I think 'mature adult' is my new favorite read (this might be due to a milestone birthday that is quickly approaching). As an introvert who grumbles over leaving the house for the weekly shopping, I identified with the main character, Maggie. Likewise, Aiden's self-discovery was something I could relate to, and appreciate. 4.5 Stars.
For Butter or Worse is the only other 4 Star read of the month. I begrudgingly picked it up, despite hating the title, because I'm interested in the other books in the series, and I'm a completionist (ie. I may not always complete a series, but if I'm interested in, say Book 3, I must read Books 1 & 2 first). Well, clearly, I enjoyed the story if I'm mentioning it here. Like I said earlier, reads that elicit emotion from me get higher ratings, and this one had me laughing out loud. Looking forward to Plot Twist.
One of 2023's goals was to be more consistent in rating my reads, something I've gotten into a good habit of doing. If you're curious where my other January reads ranked, feel free to friend me on StoryGraph. My username is c_j_roark
Now, off to choose February's reads (spoiler alert, I've finally dived into ACOTAR. No, it will not be considered my non-romance read for the month, but something tells me the series will feature heavily in future months reading blogs.)
Cheers,
C.J.
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