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Romance July

A little late in posting about this, but better late than never. Like in February, I exclusively read from the romance genre during the month of July and it was just as fun as the first time. Here is my official ranking of the 15 novels I read:

15. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

14. Set on You by Amy Lea

13. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

12. The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

11. Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter

10. Skip to the End by Molly James

9. Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

8. Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

7. Ten Years by Pernille Hughes

6. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

5. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

4. Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman

3. We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

2. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

1. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

It was really enjoyable to revisit several authors as well as take a chance on several new authors and immediately jump on several brand books upon their release. Because I am weak, I am going to squeeze in yet another month from mid-September to mid-October of all-romance reads before I read exclusively holiday books between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm already lining up my next selections!

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I finished Rosie Danan's The Roommate earlier this week and while it was merely fine, it was an enjoyable audiobook and I will definitely pick up The Intimacy Experiment because I liked Naomi so much as a secondary character. I discovered via Twitter a bonus chapter called Their Birthday Present that takes place between the two books and GOOD GOD it was so scorchingly hot that it BLEW MY MIND.

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Romance February

I read and listened to exclusively romance for the entire month of February (as well as a few days before and afterward). I'm not new to this genre by any means, but caught a craving to read more from it late last year and this was a fun way to dive headfirst into so much of it at once. I managed to fit 16 novels into the month, and here is my official ranking of them:

16. Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory

15. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

14. Just My Type by Falon Ballard

13. The One by Julia Argy

12. See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

11. Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

10. Scandalized by Ivy Owens

9. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

8. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

7. Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

6. In the Weeds by B.K. Borison

5. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

4. Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese

3. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

2. The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt

1. Beach Read by Emily Henry

Because I couldn't get enough of Liz and Wes, I also read Better Than the Prom and Wes & Liz's College Road Trip by Liz Painter. Plus I read any bonus chapters or epilogues that I could get my hands on from the books I enjoyed the most!

Bottom line: romance has quickly become one of my favorite genres, and I have found several authors that I would like to read more from throughout the rest of the year and future. I don't mind the predictability of the genre and find it's simply fun to discover how the story leads the couple together. It doesn't matter to me whether the books are sweet, spicy, aimed toward teens or geared toward adults; as long as there is a good story featured, it'll be fun for me to read.

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gonna tell my kids this was the falcon and winter soldier

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King.

Ben Schwartz as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein in Parks and Recreation (2009—2015)

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Just started a new book last night only to find yet another playlist at the beginning! And I listened to one of the other ones and it provides the perfect vibes for the book. Keep these coming, authors!

The last two books that I've read had playlists included that are also on Spotify. I don't know how long this trend has been active, but I really like it. It's a fun way to keep the characters and their worlds alive long after I've finished reading.

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This is making me want to watch Triangle of Sadness again.

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I'm such a sucker for the bonus chapters and extended epilogues that romance authors release to their loyal fans, which is super fun and generous. I just had to seek out Better Than the Prom and Wes & Liz's College Road Trip after finishing Better Than the Movies, signed up for Ali Hazelwood's newsletter to access a bonus chapter for The Love Hypothesis from Adam's point of view, and found one for Beach Read as well. I'm going to have to search for bonus material every time I finish a romance novel now!

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The last two books that I've read had playlists included that are also on Spotify. I don't know how long this trend has been active, but I really like it. It's a fun way to keep the characters and their worlds alive long after I've finished reading.

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More lovely artwork of Cress and Thorne. These fan creations of them warm my heart.

*lovingly describes a basic everyday life sight like it’s the most beautiful thing in existence*

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I'm apparently always going to feel sad leaving the characters that I've become attached to behind whenever I finish a really satisfying romance novel, which is ironic considering so many receive happy endings at book's end. Even more so when I devour it quickly, which I find impossible to resist doing upon reaching the halfway point and am wrapped up in the story.

I initially want to give these books 5 stars on Goodreads, coasting on the intense high of the ride, until I seek out differing opinions that help me realize they aren't perfect; I'm still fairly new to romance in general that I feel a little unqualified to rate them objectively, but sitting on my thoughts for at least a day helps me to settle them more easily. But then I will become incredibly protective of the books in the face of intense criticism, defending what others perceive as plot holes or details that don't work.

Emily Henry is a fantastic writer. Even though not every bit about Beach Read worked for me, her writing throughout was quite good and buoyed the lesser parts of the story. I ended up highlighting 33 passages and could have easily done more. I can't wait to catch up on the rest of her work.

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Winter Reading Challenge 2023

Last night I finished the last of my books for my local library's winter reading challenge. I finished 15 books in the last four weeks, which feels INSANE; of course, it helped immensely that many of my selections were fairly short. Here is a list of the categories for the challenge and my respective selections:

Listen to a book: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Set in space: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Instructional: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Religious or spiritual: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Female detective: Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

Cozy: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Author of color: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Kids' chapter book: The Christmas Rat by Avi

Under 200 pages: Saga, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Banned book: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Speculative fiction: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Nature/outdoors: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

Page turner: Nobody Puts Romcoms in the Corner by Kathryn Freeman

Wartime setting: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Pictorial: Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

To reward myself for blasting through this challenge so quickly, I am going to dive headfirst into romance exclusively for the next month, which feels appropriate for February.

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Ohhh, this is a huge bummer to have to wait even longer. I read Lovelight Farms in December and had a whole plan to read In the Weeds in March and Mixed Signals in June to be seasonally accurate and be ready for the fourth book in the fall, possibly rereading the entire series afterward. But I guess I can wait. Good thing there are so many other books to read in the meantime!

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Me lately, whenever I discover that a book I'm considering reading has steamy content.

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Love this, too. The artwork in this particular fandom is quite incredible.

Had the folks on Instagram vote on their preferred iteration of Cress’ Butterfly Dress. Majority flipped between 2 and 5, but I ultimately decided that between the two, 2 felt more extravagantly Lunar. Made some changes and here we are~ Ready for a coronation infiltration

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My favorite couple from The Lunar Chronicles in one of my very favorite scenes.

Cresswell in the atrium

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Will there always be this lingering feeling of melancholy after I finish reading a romance novel? I'm glad to have finished the book, having torn through the second half yesterday. But I really enjoyed my time with those characters and am sad that it's over.