The Something About Her by Rachel Higginson

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Since I already read the first three books of Rachel Higginson's Opposites Attract series, I decided to go ahead and finish the series. The fourth and final book is The Something About Her. I was able to use this for the Love Has Sprung prompt backlist romance.

Dillon has unexpectedly been named the new executive chef for her brother's restaurant Bianca. She was hoping to hit that career milestone in the future, but feels it's too early. As she struggles with her identity both in her career and overall, she keeps running into Vann. What starts off as a slightly antagonistic relationship quickly changes as they both learn that their first impressions of each other were wrong. When Dillon starts opening up about things to Vann that even her own brother doesn't know, they move from friends to lovers.

First off, this book was a little bit of a struggle for me, but really pulled it out in the end. I wasn't too sure about Vann as a hero and really connected with Dillon's identity issues in the beginning. When we as the reader learn about how she developed those issues, it just breaks your heart. From the previous books we were aware of the abusive situation with Ezra and Dillon's father, but we also learn that when Dillon was a reckless party girl, she was drugged and raped. Big triggers for that situation. It was really tough to read Dillon's struggles with opening up to anyone (outside of her therapist), but I did like that even though we don't see her in therapy currently she has been through it. It broke my heart that she hadn't even let Ezra know it had happened, but when she shared her experience with Vann it made it all the more powerful. Now, I feel like I should also mention that there really isn't any comeuppance for the perpetrator. Dillon isn't sure who he is and it's now been over 5 years since the incident. There is a beautiful author's note at the end about how powerful it is for other's to speak out about what happened to them, but it doesn't work that way for everyone. Even though I wanted this guy hogtied and tortured (my dark romance side comes out), I loved the beauty that it wasn't Dillon's way to be so vocal about it.

To move on to more happier things though, I really loved joining Dillon on her way to find identity and really come to join her in gaining her self-confidence. I also loved the way that Vann was constantly helping her, but it wasn't in a way that showed he was taking over. It just was so well done. Like I mentioned earlier I was on the fence with them, but seeing how they both progressed and grew together was so beautiful. I thinks that's really what it came down to for me; this book was so beautiful and a great way to end the series.

What's fun about this little binge I went on, is there's another author note in the back that there is going to be a spin-off set in the same city! We met the first hero Will a couple times in this series since he owns a craft bar in town and is friends with Killian. The first book of Decisions in Durham is actually already out and called Decisions We Make After Midnight. I can't wait to pick up this other series by Rachel. The second book comes out in May, so I have time to get caught up!

Have you read The Something About Her?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Something About Her, Rachel Higginson, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 347 pages, published in 2019, indie published

The Problem with Him by Rachel Higginson

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Continuing my binge of Rachel Higginson's Opposites Attract series, I picked up the next book. The third book is The Problem with Him. I was able to use this for the prompt pink on the cover for Love Has Sprung.

Kaya has been elevated to first sous chef at Lilou once Killian left to start a restaurant with Vera. Her fellow sous chef, and frequent kitchen rival, Wyatt is the new executive chef. When they start butting heads even more than usual, Kaya is feeling out of place. She's interested in taking over the suddenly open executive chef position and another one of Ezra's restaurants. While Kaya secret prepares and learns the other restaurant's personality and vibe, she struggles with her attraction to Wyatt. While they were always butting heads, it's really been hiding the attraction between them that never seemed to be at a time to move forward. When it finally boils over, Kaya and Wyatt struggle to keep their attraction to each other from distracting the rest of the kitchen.

Now, I am not the biggest enemies-to-lovers reader. While the first two books in this series had a little bit of that vibe, here I was expecting it to be a lot more prevalent. Once we got into the meat of what was going on between Wyatt and Kaya this wasn't enemies-to-lovers, but more not-so-secretly pining. I loved how much Wyatt was all in for Kaya. When she brings up going for the other executive chef position, he doesn't think twice and encourages her to go for the position. He's sad that we won't get to see her everyday at work anymore, but he just is so freaking supportive. Also, can we just say that Wyatt is freaking hot. He's a tattooed, pierced chef that seems like a complete hard-ass, but is really just a cinnamon roll on the inside, especially when it comes to Kaya.

One thing I really liked as well is that even though we got two chefs in The Opposite of You, here we get two chefs in the same kitchen. I also loved seeing that Wyatt is actually apart of the foster brother group that Ezra and Killian were in as well. It was so nice to see how he made a similar path but yet also did things differently. I just really liked the pining and then breaking of tension between them. 

I can't wait to dig into more of Rachel Higginson's backlist and see what other stories are in her brain. I'm so happy to have gone on this mini binge and am always happy to add a new author to my contemporary list. Over the past year it's been really growing and I'm starting to find some really great authors! If you enjoy foodie and chef romances, this one is a must! I think it could do well as a standalone, but I've enjoyed the series as a whole so certainly check them all out.

Have you read The Problem with Him?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Problem with Him, Rachel Higginson, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 328 pages, published in 2018, indie published

The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson

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After reading The Opposite of You, I immediately jumped into The Difference Between Us. This is the second book in Rachel Higginson's Opposites Attract series. I applied this to the Love Has Sprung prompt slow burn romance.

Molly has been struggling at her 9-5 job. She works for an advertising company as the social media guru, but most of her co-workers aren't up to the current needs of society. As she struggles to show the importance of social media advertising, she is also being harassed by her boss. He's also the CEO's son and she feels like she can't really go to anyone for help. When Ezra comes to her for help for his restaurants' advertising, he starts learning more about her skill set. Molly is also a painter, but struggles with acknowledging her talent and won't sell her paintings. As Ezra and Molly work closer together on various projects, he ends up finagling her to paint a mural at his lowest performing restaurant, Bianca. The more time that they spend together, the more Molly and Ezra can't seem to stay away from each other and eventually give in to their feelings.

This was so good and I really enjoyed it as well, but in a different way than The Opposite of You. So once again, we have a couple triggers, and as you can tell from my summary it's for harassment. Molly's boss starts off with grazes and staring, but constantly is doing double entendre and finding ways for them to end up in meetings together. Now nothing really physical happens outside of one firm boob grab, but I can see how it can be triggering. Even more so since she get's told she's overthinking by HR three separate times. She does have a female friend that walks with her to her car after work and a few other times they buddy up, but I just had to dock a 1/2 star for this situation. I didn't like that no other coworkers came forward or at least banded together to protect each other. Even from the males that saw what was happening but didn't step up. I understand that that was the point of the situation, but it would've been nice that even if nobody was able to stand up to this guy they could at least buddy up as much as possible. Because this was a big deal in the story, I did want my revenge at the end but it was just a few lines in the epilogue. I wanted this guy's head and was felt left feeling a little "that's it?" I liked that Ezra pushed the issue and supported Molly, but I do wish that we could've seen what went down as the reader so we could get that little bit of closure as well.

But let's get to the good stuff. Ezra and Molly, oh my gosh. I loved them both and how they interacted with each other. Molly is one of the only people to talk-back to Ezra and call him out when he's wrong. I just loved how much Ezra wanted her because he needed that and too many people in his life were willing to just roll over. I also love how much he supported her in all aspects of her life, including the fact that Molly can't cook anything. I mean, she frequently burns toast. There was a scene where she tries to cook them dinner and does spaghetti and it ends up a complete disaster. The way that Ezra handled it and an emotional Molly was just so sweet. Honestly, I loved most everything about this book except for Molly's corporate job situation.

Like I mentioned in my review for The Opposite of You, I went on a binge of this series so the reviews for the other two books are coming soon! I can't wait to look into Rachel Higginson's backlist and see what else she's written. I also love that the series is all based around Restaurant people and while the first book was about chefs, here we get Ezra the owner. I loved seeing a different side of the business!

Have you read The Difference Between Us?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Difference Between Us, Rachel Higginson, 4.5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 284 pages, published in 2017, indie published

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

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Continuing with my full on mood reading, I decided to pick up The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson. This is the first book in her Opposites Attract series. I first heard about this book thanks to the Smart Women Read Romance podcast! They did an episode on it pretty early on and it's been on my tbr since. Since I knew I needed a foodie romance for Love Has Sprung, so I decided to finally pick it up. I was also able to use this for my March Yahtzee roll which ended up being a large straight. The prompt for that was a book with over 5,000 reviews.

Vera is back to her hometown of Durham after getting out of an abusive relationship and travelling throughout Europe for a year. Now that she's back (thanks to a health scare with her father), she is looking to getting her chef career back on track. Not sure if she'd be able to get a job in a restaurant, she decides to start a food truck called Foodie. When she parks across the street from high end restaurant Lilou and renowned check Killian, sparks start to fly between the two. When Killian starts helping Vera with her recipes and giving his reviews, she gets annoyed but is also happy for the input. As they grow closer, the sparks start to flame.

Oh my gosh, first off it's weird that I ended up picking two books in a row with a hero named Killian. I guess that works though since it's March? Anyways, this was such a fun book and I really enjoyed Vera's story. I feel like I should mention, this is single POV and all from Vera. I do wish that we saw a little of Killian's POV, even as an epilogue or something. I understood that it helped keep the mystique of Killian, but I wanted inside his head. I do think that Rachel did a great job giving nuances so that as a reader we could tell what was going on with Killian before Vera realized.

The beginning was just so perfect and I loved him sending his sous chef over to get her food and then send him back with his notes on the dish. Sometimes I felt so bad for Vera, but I also liked that even though at times it was annoying or a little over the top, it helped her think of her dishes more critically. Oh, I should also mention that there is triggers for abuse and manipulation. We don't see too much of it present day, but Vera is still struggling with her guilt over "letting" it happen to her and how she allowed him to cut out her friends and family. I feel like it is enough for a warning because we spend the entire book in Vera's head and she is still coming to terms. She is near the end of her journey to moving on and past her experiences, but it is talked about quite a bit. 

I really enjoyed this book and am so happy I finally picked it up. You'll see over the next couple reviews, but reading this prompted me to binge the complete series! I just couldn't put them down and had to see what would happen with the next couple. I am definitely going to be looking into Rachel Higginson's backlist and see what else she has written. Another win from Juliette and Jessen!

Have you read The Opposite of You?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Opposite of You, Rachel Higginson, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 302 pages, published in 2017, indie published

The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells

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After bingeing through a lot of contemporary romance at the end of February, I needed a change of pace. Since I was able to fully mood read, I decided to pick up The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C Wells. This is the first book in her Five Packs series (and the second book comes out in April). I used this for the prompt "the" in the title for Love Has Sprung.

After werewolf Una was injured as a young child, she has been relegated to the edge of the pack. Her injuries were so severe that her wolf magic couldn't properly heal her all the way. Even though she's in her mid-twenties, she still has not been able to shift into her wolf despite sensing her. When she suddenly enters heat and ends up shifting for the first time, it's due to the fact that she has suddenly recognized Killian, the alpha, as her mate. When he rejects her in front of the whole pack, Una ends up asking the witch of the pack to remove the mate bond. When Killian starts to experience and feel the mating pull himself, he has to go about setting things right with Una and fixing the way things are done in the pack.

Oh my gosh, I went into this book pretty blind. I knew the basic trope thanks to the title and was so on board. While the basic ideas of werewolves and packs are similar to the genre, there was a lot of different twists and takes on the tropes and setting that kept it feeling new and fresh. I honestly wasn't sure where the story was going a couple of times because I was so entranced and transported. I absolutely loved Killian's mate and really enjoyed how the dynamic between him and his wolf and Una and her wolf were so different. I found it so interesting that there wasn't one cohesive way to interact with your wolf and that there were different teachings. I don't know, it just was so interesting.

I do have to say, Killian's grovel is so good. The way he just constantly is there for Una and trying to build the mating bond back between them. It was so much fun and really sweet. I also loved that we got to see beneath his cold persona and how he felt he needed to perpetuate that personality to keep the pack in line. There's conflict with the way the old-timers ran the pack and moving into a more modern society. I just really, really enjoyed this a lot. I also do want to mention that this did feel a lot more grittier than the paranormals I've been reading lately, but I wouldn't really say it's dark. Just more of the grittier vibes.

If you are looking for a paranormal and/or werewolf book that feels different, definitely check this out. When I first picked up this book, it wasn't marked as being part of a series on goodreads. When I got to the end though there was an author note that book 2 was coming soon in the Five Packs series. Since it's been a bit since this came out, The Heir Apparent's Rejected Mate comes out soon on April 22nd! I really enjoyed Cate's writing once again and will definitely be looking into more of her backlist moving forward.

Have you read The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate, Cate C. Wells, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 320 pages, published in 2021, indie published

Level Up by Cathy Yardley

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The final book I read in February was to finish out the second board of Winter's Kiss. I needed something shorter (so I could finish it in time) to cover the prompt cover model wearing a sweater or a hat on the cover. Going through my kindle I found Level Up by Cathy Yardley. This is the first book in her Fandom Hearts series.

Tessa is hoping to get a promotion up to video game engineer. Since she is extremely introverted she struggles connecting with her coworkers. She asks her roommate Adam and former video game engineer for tips to be at the top of the list. When he encourages her to step out of her comfort zone, she befriends temp office gal Stacy. Stacy includes her into her geeky friend group and they all immediately click. When a competition is released for a visit from a famous actor from a Supernatural type show, Tessa suggests making a mini-video game for their submission. She's hoping it's unique enough to win and use the visit to books sales for one of the group's bookstore. When Tessa comes to Adam and the other video game engineers for help, Adam starts to see her in a different light and more than just the respectful roommate that keeps to herself.

Oh my gosh! This was such a great ode to the geeky, nerdy, fandom girls that are out there and I need to find my own group like this. Or join theirs! I loved all the different references and how all of the girls lived such different lives but were able to connect over something as simple as a tv show. I also really enjoyed Adam and Tessa's relationship and the natural evolution. While she had been living with him for a while, they were really keeping to themselves for the most part and not opening up to each other. I loved how their first few kisses went and it was so freaking adorable! What didn't quite work for me was the two different "conflicts." They didn't feel like big conflicts, but I would've been happy to just have Tessa have the possible job offer in a different state. I didn't really need the not-really drama with Adam's ex-fiancé as well.

This was such a fun book and really hit my fangirl heart. I'm so excited that I was finally able to pick up Cathy Yardley and can't wait to dig more into both this series and her backlist as a whole. I glanced through the blurbs for the rest of the series and was pleasantly surprised to see that the other books don't just focus on the the girl friend group, but also the other video game engineers. I can't wait to read more and am more than happy to add another contemporary author to my list!

Have you read Level Up?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Level Up, Cathy Yardley, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 181 pages, published in 2015, indie published

A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas by Jackie Lau

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The last book in my mini Jackie Lau binge was A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas. This is the second book in her Holidays with the Wongs series. I used this for the Winter's Kiss board 2 prompt book with a wintery cover.

After the debacle that was Thanksgiving, Greg is nervous about heading home for Christmas. When his mother "asks" him to offer a ride to his high school sweetheart since she's having car problems, they reconnect. Greg and Tasha split due to going to college in different areas and the struggle to balance keeping a functioning and happy relationship with succeeding at their school work. Now, years later they are brought together for this road trip home. When they have to pull over and get an emergency hotel room due to road closures thanks to a snow storm, they get the chance to reconnect.

This was a fun and cute Christmas novella. While it didn't quite hit it out of the park for me like A Match Made for Thanksgiving did, it's mainly because I'm not the biggest fan of 2nd chance romance. Here it was done pretty well though with the help that it wasn't a big issue that caused the breakup and that neither Greg or Tasha were able to really find someone that they connected with as much or more. There were quite a few flashbacks, but because it relied so heavily on what happened in the past, I was left wanting more of present day connection. It was fun steamy times, but I waned to see more of a current connection. Most of Jackie Lau's books feature at least one Asian main character, but more often than not they both are Asian. Here Tasha is actually Black.

I love that every time I pick up Jackie Lau there's diversity and I love the natural feeling of all her inter-racial romances. It's just so lovely and feel-good. While this isn't my favorite trope, if you are looking for a cute and steamy Christmas novella, certainly give this one a try. I've said this in almost all of my reviews for her books, but she's one of my favorite Contemporary authors and I'll read anything she publishes!

Have you read A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas, Jackie Lau, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 95 pages, published in 2019, indie published

A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau

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Continuing my Jackie Lau novella binge, I next picked up A Match Made for Thanksgiving. This is the first book in her Holidays with the Wongs series. I did read this series out of order (I've already read books 3 and 4), but I've been saving the first two for a "rainy day." I used this to cover the prompt set in Canada for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss.

Lily is looking for a change of pace and trying something outside of the box, like a one-night stand. When she runs into businessman Nick at a bar, they are very taken with each other. There's a bigger spark there than expected, but separate after a long night of fun. When Nick goes home for Thanksgiving, he's surprised along with his three siblings that their parents and grandparents have set up blind dates for each of them. Low and behold, Nick and Lily meet again, but this time as his older brother's blind date.

This was just what one could want from a Jackie Lau holiday novella. A lot of great steam, even more than normal food porn (with the setting being Thanksgiving) and such great humor. I absolutely adored Lily and Nick. Yes it was a little bit instant, but I also like that Jackie doesn't end it on an engagement. They end promising to seriously date and then the epilogue is a few months later and they are talking about moving in together. It just felt so real and I would love another novella showing more of their relationship in the future.

If you haven't tried Jacki Lau yet, I think this series is a perfect way to try out her writing style. It has everything I love about her writing compacted down into a smaller portion. Jackie Lau is one of my favorite contemporary writers and I love her way of storytelling. I can't wait to read whatever she releases in the future.

Have you read A Match Made for Thanksgiving?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Match Made for Thanksgiving, Jackie Lau, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 101 pages, published in 2019, indie published

A Very Beery New Year by Jackie Lau

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With the end of February approaching, I went on a novella binge to finish the second board of Winter's Kiss. The first book I  picked up for the binge was the newest release of Jackie Lau's, A Very Beery New Year. This is a novella in her Cider Bar Sisters series and listed as being number 3.5. I applied this to the prompt book set in winter.

Kelsey is a bartender at Lychee, the Cider Bar where out friend group hangs out. She is also the cousin to Nicole, the heroine from The Professor Next Door. She has noticed a new patron that stops by every Thursday for a couple hours; he has a pint at the bar and reads. When she can't hold herself back from approaching him, Gerald is pleasantly surprised the bartender he's been crushing on seems interested. His family has pushed him to be more "sociable," hence his weekly bar reading. As they start to talk more and become friendly, they quickly realize that they both want more as the holidays approach.

This was such a great novella, I just wish it was a little bit longer. There were a couple time skips (smaller to me than a jump), but it made sense where placed. I also loved the natural progression of Kelsey and Gerald's relationship. It was also fun seeing more of PoPo, Kelsey (and Nicole's) tik-tok famous grandma. Even though this is just about 50 pages, we get everything that's prime Jackie Lau: good humor, food/beverage porn, good steam and a smile on your face. This was such a great holiday novella, but in case you are reading it out of season (like I did), it doesn't spend all of the time around New Year's. Like I mentioned, there are a couple time skips so we see more a larger time frame over the book. It end's on New Year's Even though, so it still hits the cozy holiday feels.

I was so surprised and happy to receive this in her newsletter late last year. It is available to buy online now, but I loved that she sent it out to her followers first. I was originally planning to read it earlier, but alas my reading slowed way down. It was a good little primer though since the fourth book comes out in the end of March. I can't wait and am always happy to read anything Jackie Lau publishes!

Have you read A Very Beery New Year?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Very Beery New Year, Jackie Lau, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 56 pages, published in 2021, indie published

Beard Science by Penny Reid

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Continuing my cramming of books to finish off the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss, I needed a grumpy-sunshine book. I've been wanting to reread Beard Science by Penny Reid lately so it was perfect to fill that prompt. This is the 3rd book in her Winston Brothers series.

Jennifer, the "Banana Cake Queen" is feeling trapped with her parents. Having been home schooled and forced to work for her mother's bakery, she is a little out of touch with the rest of Green Valley. Since she has always been left to the outskirts since has spent her time observing everyone. Jennifer has come to the conclusion that Cletus is most dangerous person in town. When she catches him stealing evidence from the sheriff's office, she hatches a plan. Jennifer is going to blackmail Cletus to help her find a husband and escape from her parent's clutches.

I cannot say how much I absolutely adore Cletus and Jennifer. This was a reread that was even better than the first time I read it. There's just something so endearing about Jennifer, and yet also so strong. She is treated horribly by her parents, more specifically her father. The fact that she comes out of his horrible way of raising her being such a good-hearted and nice person is completely mind-boggling. She is also so smart and a master baker. I love when she tells Cletus about the different kid groups that come through that she gives not only baking lessons, but chemistry lessons as well. A really poignant conversation between them is also when Cletus tries to get her to consider going to college or doing something else. Jennifer talks about how what it is she really wants in life is to be a mother and wife and that it's truly one of the most difficult jobs.

I also really love how Cletus is so set in his ways and Jennifer completely throws everything out of sync for him. The way that Cletus constantly gets surprised by Jennifer is so delightful and I just love seeing him drawn further and further into learning who Jennifer really is. Cletus really pushes her to really accept and become herself. The only thing really that I don't like is how her brother treated her, but at the same time I know there's going to be a storyline there. It's horrible the way that most people treat Jennifer, but I love how the Winston family just takes her in.

It's hard to not just keep this love fest going, but there is just so much greatness in this book. It's my favorite of the series and one of the best contemporary books I've ever read. I also need to get around to finally finishing this series and starting the Jenn and Cletus spin-off Solving for Pie. I think this could work pretty good as a stand-alone, so if you aren't interested in reading the full series, definitely check out Beard Science. It's just so spectacular.

Have you read Beard Science?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Beard Science, Penny Reid, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2016, indie published

Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge TBR

Happy March 15th!

Today I have another tbr/announcement for another quarterly (three-month) challenge. This  time it's for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge! I found this on the Romance Readers Reading Challenges goodreads group (the same one hosting the Yahtzee Reading Challenge). You can check their post for all the details, but I'll go over the basics here and list out the prompts! First off though, this is a three month challenge that runs from March 15th (today!!) through June 14th, 2022. 

Now where this is a little different, there isn't a bingo board or spinner wheel or anything. Depending on how many books you read, you can reach a certain level. In this case, they are sticking with the Taylor Swift theme. The levels are:

Level 1 - Read 5 books - I've heard a Taylor Swift song on the radio

Level 2 - Read 10 books - I have a Taylor album downloaded on my phone

Level 3 - Read 20 books - I have seen Taylor in concert or plan to in the future

Level 4 - Read 30 books - Taylor merch and vinyl albums are in my room

Level 5 - Read 40 books - I am a Swiftie!

You can set your level or goal beforehand or just read and see where you end up. I'll be going with the latter option and seeing how close I am to the next level once we reach the final couple weeks. There are 40 prompts provided, all based off of her songs. There are a few bonus options as well (which I'll post at the end of the prompts). If you complete all of the prompts and bonus options you'd end up with a total of 47 books read! Okay, let's get into the large list of prompts!

1. Tim McGraw- Read a book with a cowboy or a book set on a ranch or farm

2. Teardrops on My Guitar- Read a book that you think could make you cry or a book with an instrument on the cover or in the story

3. Fifteen- Read a YA story or a book with teens in the story or a book with a lot of angst

4. Love Story- Read any romance - guaranteed HEA!

5. White Horse- Read a story with a character who saves another or a book with white on the cover

6. You Belong with Me- Read a fated mates story or a book with a character who knows what they want

7. Mine- Read a book you own or a book that you really don't want to give back if you've borrowed it (hopefully you love it that much!)

8. Back to December- Read a book published in December of any year (any edition) or a Historical book

9. Dear John- Read a book that includes a text, letter or email or a book with a break-up in it.

10. Mean- Read a story with a mean character or a book with green on the cover (maybe they are jealous?)

11. The Story of Us- Read a book that is part of a series or a book with more than one person on the cover

12. I Knew You Were Trouble- Read a book with a bad-boy character or with someone who does a bad thing

13. All Too Well- Read a story with a fit character or an athlete or a book with a character who helps themselves in some way

14. 22- Read a New Adult book or a book with two of the same number together in the page count or publishing date (i.e. 133 or 441 pages, pub. 2022, 2011)

15. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together- Read a second-chances romance or a book featuring a self-confident character

16. Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran)- Read a friends to lovers story or a book featuring magic or spells

17. Welcome to New York- Read a book set in NY or a story featuring a friendly character

18. Blank Space- Read a book with a character who works in the sciences (i.e. astronaut, chemist, doctor) or a character who uses a gun (hopefully shooting blanks)

19. Out of the Woods- Read a book with a character with a medical condition or a book set in an urban city

20. Shake It Off- Read a book with a character who likes the arts (i.e. dancer, singer, painter) or a story with a character you want to shake some sense into

21. Bad Blood- Read an enemies to lovers story or a book with red on the cover

22. Wildest Dreams- Read a book outside your normal romance sub-genre or a book with a wild cover (your interpretation)

23. Look What You Made Me Do- Read a suspense story or a book with eye(s) on the cover

24. Getaway Car- Read a road trip romance or a book with a vehicle on the cover or in the story

25. Lover- Read a book with an embrace on the cover or in the story

26. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince- Read a book set in the U.S. or a book with a ‘heartbreaker’ in the story

27. Cornelia Street- Read a story with a road or building on the cover or a small-town romance

28. Death By A Thousand Cuts- Read a story with a motorcycle club character or a book with over 1000 ratings

29. You Need to Calm Down- Read a story with a lawyer or a book with the color blue on the cover

30. ME! Ft. Brendon Urie- Read a story with a one word title or a book written by a duo/writing team

31. Cardigan- Read a book with clothes on the cover or a story you want to read while getting cozy by the fire

32. The Last Great American Dynasty- Read a book with royalty in the story or a wealthy character

33. August- Read a 'hot' story or a book with a character you would like to spend some hot times with

34. Betty- Read a book with a character who has an interesting name or a medieval story (Betty Rubble comes to mind)

35. Willow- Read a book with tree(s) on the cover or a book with a witch or witchy character in it (homage to Willow from Buffy)

36. Champagne problems- Read a book with a bar, bartender, server or alcohol in the story or a book that makes you feel hung over when you finish it

37. ‘tis the damn season- Read a holiday romance or a book with a scroogey character in it

38. No body, no crime feat. HAIM- Read a mystery or a book without a person on the cover

39. Happiness- Read a story that you think will make you happy or a book that finally came in for you at the library (online or in the building)

40. Ivy- Read a book with a college setting or with a college student in the story or a book with brown on the cover

Bonus:

S-W-I-F-T-I-E

For the bonus round, you can read a book for each letter. The qualification is that a word from the title, series, author's name or setting must start with that letter. That opens up the bonus options quite a bit, and if you aren't going for the full monty can use a bonus book to replace a prompt (meaning you could read 5 bonus books and meet level one).

As you can see (if you read through every prompt) a lot of them are generic enough to met really easily. I do have a few ideas I want to mention for the more specific prompts, but honestly I'm really just hoping a lot of my reads for Love Has Sprung will count for prompts here as well. 

🎵 So Jenn from The Book Refuge recently announced that she'll be doing a Sarah J Maas readalong starting in April. We are starting with her Throne of Glass series which starts out as YA (young adult) and I've been told moves into NA (new adult). I should be able to at least use the first book for the YA prompt Fifteen.

🎵 Tim McGraw wants you to read something set on a farm or ranch or feature a cowboy main character. I have quite a few options on my list, but at this moment I'm leaning towards continuing Katie Lane's Deep in the Heart of Texas series or finally starting Kennedy Fox's Circle B Ranch series. I know at least the Kennedy Fox's have been highly rated by Shelby, so they should meet some of the Shelby based prompts for Love Has Sprung as well.

🎵 The Blank Space prompt wants a character that works in the sciences. Penny Reid is releasing a new standalone in April called Ten Trends to Seduce Your Best Friend that has both main characters working in science fields. She has a lot of STEM characters, so there could be other of her books that would work for this as well.

🎵 A couple of the prompts mention suspense or mystery elements. Outside of Penny Reid's Solving for Pie series, I was thinking of pick back up Pamela Clare. I need to get caught up on her Colorado High Country series, but she also has the suspense series I-Team that I've read a couple books from.

🎵 The Last Great American Dynasty needs a royal character. My first thought is finally picking up Twisted Games by Ana Huang or picking up Emma Chase's Royally series.

🎵 We also have a prompt for a holiday romance in 'Tis the Damn Season. There's aren't really any holidays during the reading challenge outside of St. Patrick's Day. I know there's a multi-author series called The Kelly Brothers that's St. Patrick's Day based. I think there's a couple others out there, but I'll probably pick up one of those for fun that weekend.

If I completely finish Love Has Sprung, that will give me 75 books, so that should cover most, if not all, of these prompts. Even just getting two boards complete would work since that'll be 50 books. What's nice is that this is slightly offset, so if I need to just focus on finishing a board for Love Has Sprung by May 31st I still have a couple weeks leeway to finish this one too. Also, I should mention that I'll be using the tag TSQC for my blog posts. Once I start getting reviews posted for books that I'm using you'll be able to find them all under the tag easily!

Will you be participating in the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Winter's Kiss Bingo Board 2 Wrap Up

Happy Thursday! I'm here to do a quick wrap up for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. The seasonal reading challenge was hosted by Shelby on instagram and ran from December 1st 2021 through February 28th, 2022. In case you missed my previous posts, I did an original tbr, wrap up for board one and tbr for the second board. The blank board is below.

This board was a little tougher for me and there were a few prompts I had to stretch a little to meet as well as think outside my normal reading habits. While that's one thing I do enjoy about doing these challenges, I did have to push myself to finish it on time. I crammed in quite a few novellas the last few days, but I at least picked up a couple I've been saving for a "rainy day." I'll go ahead and list them out below, starting with the top left corner and going row by row as always!

🌲 Disability or Chronic Illness Rep: Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

🌲 Person Wearing a Hat or Sweater on the Cover: Level Up by Cathy Yardley

🌲 Holiday Novella: Teased by Tinsel by Molly O'Hare

🌲 Book Set in Winter: A Very Beery New Year by Jackie Lau

🌲 Billionaire, CEO or Businessman Hero: Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson

🌲 Gray on the Cover: Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

🌲 Atypical Sports Romance: Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon

🌲 Book You Recently Acquired: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

🌲 Romance Shelby Rated 5-Stars: Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy by Max Monroe

🌲 Holiday Romance: Sunday's Child by Grace Draven

🌲 Book You Want to Read Before the New Year: Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

🌲 Forbidden Romance: Enthralling the Orc by Tracy Lauren

🌲 Read a Book Shelby Made a Post About: One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle

🌲 Starts with the Letter W: West End Earl by Bethany Bennett

🌲 Read a New Release: Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton

🌲 Set in Canada: A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau

🌲 Book by a New to You Author: Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

🌲 Book That Doesn't Get Much Hype: Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan

🌲 White on the Cover: Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

🌲 Book with Cursive and Print Lettering on the Cover: Teased by Fire by Molly O'Hare

🌲 Book with Wintery Cover: A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas by Jackie Lau

🌲 Get a Rec from a Booksta Friend: Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

🌲 Starts with the Letter K: Kraev by Sonia Nova

🌲 Grumpy & Sunshine Romance: Beard Science by Penny Reid

🌲 Romance Published in 2021: Warrior's Regret by November Dawn

I feel like I got a good mix of subgenres with this board and read a lot of really good books with it! I'm so excited to see what I end up reading for Love Has Sprung (which started March 1st)! If a review isn't linked, it will be added as I post them. I hope if you are looking at prompts for other readathons this will help give you ideas. If you're participating in any of the seasonal reading challenges and want to see what I'm reading in more real time, follow me in instagram. I try to stay current with my bingo boards and save everything in my stories!

Did you participate in Winter's Kiss?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Kraev by Sonia Nova

⭐⭐⭐⭐

With finishing my FaRoFeb board, I immediately jumped into trying to finish the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. One of the prompts I had left was starts with the letter K, so I went hunting through my kindle and bookshelves to see what I already had. I found Kraev by Sonia Nova on my kindle and saw it was the first book in her Warriors of Rae series.

Olivia is training to be a doctor. When she was younger the Suhlik attacked Earth. When the golden lizard-type aliens attacked they used a lot of gas based bombs that have caused long lasting lung degeneration. When Olivia's best friend passes, she vows to become a doctor and help save those that survived the invasion. When the Mahdfel came to save Earth, they only wanted one thing, women. They implemented a DNA testing system that forced unmarried and childless woman of a certain age to see if they were a mate for a warrior. When Olivia's time comes, she is mated and sent to Kraev. Kraev is currently working as warrior pilot on a mining planet and when he receives the notification his mate has been found couldn't be happier. Olivia is immediately teleported to Kraev's location, but arrives in the middle of a Suhlik attack on the planet.

This was such a fun twist on alien romances that I've read. I loved that we got a lot of the normal tropes but with a little bit of a twist. I wasn't really expecting Olivia to land on the planet basically in the middle of a warzone, but liked how it kind of forced her and Kraev to immediately rely on each other to survive the situation and escape. Kraev was such a sweetheart and was so happy to finally find his mate and start a family. He had some dry fruits from his home planet that he's been saving as a special gift for his mate. I just loved how he was all in from the start. Olivia was so focused on her becoming a doctor and her dreams, that she didn't buy into the "propaganda" about the Mahdfel warriors. Even though she wasn't keen on the idea and being immediately teleported away from her family, I loved how Kraev was so open and showed her how she really would be treated. He even mentions that they can call her family (after the fighting ends) and even visit so he can meet them.

Where this didn't quite hit 5-stars for me is due to the romance between them. I liked when they were on their own and trying to get back to the main base and living location and how they didn't push starting anything physical with each other. Once they did get physical though, it felt a little too quick after that point. I understood that the chemical-ness or whatever it is that helps push fated mates together, but the overall plot and story felt quick. I wanted to see a little more of them together with the new dynamic and well, let's be honest... I wanted a little more steamy times too. I mean it's an alien romance!

I will definitely continue to pick up more of this series when it's published and read more of Sonia's works. This is probably my favorite of her's so far and I look forward to what she puts out in the future. If you're looking for a fun warrior alien and fated mate human trope, this is a solid option for sure.

Have you read Kraev?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Kraev, Sonia Nova, 4-stars, 0 days, ebook, 302 pages, published in 2019, indie published

FaRoFeb Wrap Up

Hello! I am here to do my wrap up for FaRoFeb! I had a lot of fun again this year, even though I didn't read quite as much as before. In case you missed my tbr post, below is the blank bingo board I used.

Originally I was hoping to do both bingo boards they premade, but I only ended up getting the one finished. I read a lot of new authors which was fun and also was able to vary the kind of fantasy I read as well. I'll post my finished board below and list the books read starting with the top left corner and going row by row.

🔮 Low Fantasy: Warrior's Regret by November Dawn

🔮 FaRoFeb Author: Sunday's Child by Grace Draven

🔮 Has Your Favorite Trope: Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

🔮 Has Something You Love to Hate: Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

🔮 Post Your TBR: Done ✔

🔮 New Release: Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton

🔮 Love the Cover: Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan

🔮 Indie Author: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

🔮 Epic Fantasy: Enthralling the Orc by Tracy Lauren

I enjoyed almost every book that I read which was great! All links lead to my reviews, and somehow I managed to get them all posted before the wrap up this time! I can't wait for next year and hopefully I'll be able to get through a little more. We'll see what happens. I'll definitely continue to pick up fantasy romance throughout the year though like always!

Did you participate in FaRoFeb as well?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Sunday's Child by Grace Draven

⭐⭐⭐⭐

With one prompt left for FaRoFeb, I needed to find a FaRoFeb author. I also wanted to cover a prompt for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss, but it was harder to find one that would also cover a holiday or winter prompt. When I found Sunday's Child, a holiday novella by Grace Draven, I was so happy! You don't see fantasy romance holiday novellas too often if at all. I did end up using this for the holiday romance prompt for Winter's Kiss.

Andor is trouble for sleeping with his king and uncle's mistress. When he receives a thousand year exile he gets paired with Saint Nicholas on Midgard (a.k.a. Earth). One night when assisting with Christmas duties (as Santa Claus) they come across Claire, a young girl that is a Sunday Child. She has the excess magic to see through Andor's "Santa's Elf" glamour to his real elf self. For Sunday Children the magic slowly fades if not exercised, usually along with their belief in magic and Santa. When Andor runs into Claire years later as an adult, he's immediately drawn to her. As they start a tentative relationship, Claire is worried about starting something new. Her last relationship didn't end too well and is left as a single mother to an autistic son. As they get closer and Andor befriends her son, his exile has come to an end a decade too early.

I really enjoyed this, but it is Grace Draven. However, this one was a little more confusing. I'm still not a hundred percent sure what's going on, but I feel like Andor is a mix of Norse mythology and Fae. Then we threw in Christian mythos with the original Saint Nicholas and then how he became Santa. It just was a little much and I think it could've been less confusing since almost all of the story took place with Nicholas. I really liked how Andor and Claire connected and it felt like a quick coworkers to friends to lovers. I also loved the way that Andor was able to connect to Claire's son and how he was able to be both understanding.

I also could've used more of the fantastical elements outside of Andor just being non-human. I was a little disappointed that it became Andor giving up his specialness instead of sharing it with Claire and her son. I also could've used more focus on them together. We do get a romance between them that's really sweet with a little bit of steam, but I feel like the beginning and ending more focused on Andor specifically. It wasn't a typical HEA type ending and I did want Claire to join Andor and her son when he made fireflies for him for Christmas. I just wish that Claire was included.

I still loved it overall, but it just didn't feel as complete as some of the other novellas I've read from Grace. I will certainly continue to read her and I can mark another book off of my backlist list for her! If you are looking for the rare holiday fantasy romance novella, certainly pick this up.

Have you read Sunday's Child?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Sunday's Child, Grace Draven, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 127 pages, published in 2017, indie published

Warrior's Regret by November Dawn

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Getting back to my FaRoFeb prompts, I went looking for a low fantasy read. Since I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to pick up next, I checked out FaRoFeb's website to see what was on their TBR list for low fantasy. One of the options was Warrior's Regret by November Dawn. I had remembered this from their newsletter and had added it to my tbr. This is marked as the first book in her Demon Hybrid Warriors series. I also used this for the romance published in 2021 prompt for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss.

Aster has finally hit a point where she's over dating and wants to find her mate. For demon hybrids, there is a DNA test that will connect two mates, if they've both taken the test. When she arrives for her results, she has a match! While Aster waits to meet her match in an interview room, she hears a loud argument and is soon told that her mate has chosen to not meet her. Cole is one of the top warriors for demon hybrids and is currently and instructor. When his friends unknowingly test him for a mate and trick him into showing up, he reiterates his stance that he is not interested in having a mate or a relationship. A few weeks later he becomes curious and suggests Aster for a supplies manager position at his base. When she gets the job and decides to take it, he takes the chance to observe and learn more about her. When he can't seem to stay away, they both struggle with their budding relationship.

Guys, this was soooo good! Honestly, there was so much here that I was a little surprised it was less than 200 pages. I think that there was so much here, and while I wanted more, it didn't really feel lacking to me. From what I can see this is November Dawn's first book and what a great debut! I loved the small moments between Aster and Cole and just loved how they were so comfortable with each other when sitting in silence. I could really feel the fated mate connection. Since it is fated mates, it's definitely a little more on the quick side, but I give (a lot) of leeway for this trope. They still took it slow overall.

I loved Cole's POV and how he kept adjusting how much he wanted from Aster. At first he just wanted to get her a stable job and somewhere he could more easily protect her if needed. Then he just wanted to observe her and make sure she's doing okay. That quickly turned into just meeting her and giving her a tour of the base and then giving her self-defense lessons. The tension between them was built so well. I think the only reason I couldn't go all the way to 5-stars was I wanted a little more of the steamy scenes. It was also a little predictable, but at the same time it there were some mature responses from Cole or Aster.

I can't wait for more in this series and to see whatever November Dawn writes in the future. There weren't really too many hints on who the future books might be about, so I'm even more intrigued on what's to come. If you're looking for a new fantasy author, definitely check out Warrior's Regret. I really enjoyed it!

Have you read Warrior's Regret?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Warrior's Regret, November Dawn, 4.5-stars, 2 days, eBook, 147 pages, published in 2021, indie published

The Beast of Clan Kincaid by Lily Blackwood

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The February book chosen by patreon members for the exclusive Smart Women Read Romance review was The Beast of Clan Kincaid. This is the first book in Lily Blackwood's Highland Warrior series. This was actually the book I recommended and I was happy it won. This was a rare book that didn't count for any of my readathons or reading challenges.

After Niall "The Beast" returns to his father's castle after the murder of most of his clan, he's looking for revenge. Niall has been working as a mercenary and has finagled the chance to be the new merc for hire for the Laird of MacClaren. When he arrives, he is immediately drawn to Elspeth, the laird's eldest daughter. When Elspeth is required to start seriously choosing a husband, she fights against her desire for Niall.

The best way to explain my rating for this book would be that it feels like a debut. There were some intriguing parts and some interesting plot points, but overall it just didn't all culminate together. I did like the overall chemistry between Niall and Elspeth, but there were some odd choices made. The best way for me to describe it is that I wanted Elspeth (and her father) to just pick a lane. She kept bouncing back and forth and it happened just a few times too many. There were also some classic twists and tropes used and it just felt like too much.

I really enjoyed the overall plot though and the idea that it felt a little different than the usual highlander tropes while still fitting the genre. I don't know why, but it kept surprising me and showing a glimmer of uniqueness, but then something too stereotypical would happen. I feel like I could point more things out that bothered me, but despite all of those I did enjoy the book overall.

I'm certainly intrigued to read the other two books in the series about Niall's brothers. I'm a little sad to see that it seems these three books are all that Lily wrote. I was looking at her twitter and she didn't post anything from 2018 until 2021, and since she came back has just mainly retweeted some other author's posts. I hope she does plan to write more eventually because I'm intrigued and would love to see how her writing evolves. Juliette did mention that she was reading the next book during the live show and was enjoying more than this one so far. I'll definitely be adding the rest of this series to my highlander spinner wheel!

Have you read The Beast of Clan Kincaid?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Beast of Clan Kincaid, Lily Blackwood, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 318 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published

February 2022 Wrap Up

 Happy March! I can't believe we're already two months into 2022! It goes so quickly.

Let's be honest. I had a lot of plans for February and I didn't get nearly as much reading done as I was wanting and planning. We had the Olympics, a lot of hockey make-up games, Celebrity Big Brother and my boss got me into Married at First Sight. Yeah, that's a lot of tv time for me. Especially lately it's usually just a couple of shows and hockey, but not lately. We saw FaRoFeb throughout the month plus I wrapped up Winter's Kiss. My wrap ups for those should be posted next week. My stats aren't too bad though because I crammed in a lot of novellas to finish the month strong! Well, let's get into it!

February 2022

💗 19 books read for 4,928 pages

💗 I averaged 0.63 days per book
💗 The average page count was 259.37
💗 I read 2 books less than 100 pages, 6 books in the 100s, 1 book in the 200s, 8 books in the 300s and 2 books in the 400s

💗 I read 10 books for clubs and/or readathons
💗 8 of my books were diverse
💗 I picked up 8 new authors
💗 I reread 1 book

💗 I previously owned 1 of the books in paperback and added 16 to my wish-list
💗 I read 1 book in paperback and 18 in eBook
💗 4 books were published traditionally, 1 was from small publishers and 14 were indie published
💗 1 book was published in the 1990s, 2 in the 2000s, 11 in the 2010s, and 5 in the 2020s

💗 My average rating was 4.39
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 6 books
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 - 5 books
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 7 books
⭐⭐⭐ - 1 books

💗 I read 2 urban fantasies. For romance I read 8 contemporaries, 6 fantasies, 2 historicals and 1 sci-fi.
💗 For my contemporaries, 5 were straight contemporaries, 2 were rom-coms, and 1 was small-town.

1. One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2. Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

3. Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan ⭐⭐⭐⭐

4. Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton ⭐⭐⭐

6. Enthralling the Orc by Tracy Lauren ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

7. Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

8. Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

9. Teased by Fire by Molly O'Hare ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

10. Teased by Tinsel by Molly O'Hare ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

11. The Beast of Clan Kincaid by Lily Blackwood ⭐⭐⭐⭐

12. Warrior's Regret by November Dawn ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

13. Sunday's Child by Grace Draven ⭐⭐⭐⭐

14. Kraev by Sonia Nova ⭐⭐⭐⭐

15. Beard Science by Penny Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

16. A Very Beery New Year by Jackie Lau ⭐⭐⭐⭐

17. A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

18. A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas by Jackie Lau ⭐⭐⭐⭐

19. Level Up by Cathy Yardley ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

💗 I feel like I was a little all over the place this month with ratings, although most of it was 4 or 4.5-stars. It's hard to choose a favorite, but I really enjoyed the ending of Kate Daniels and happy I chose to reread Beard Science. It just really hit what I needed at the time. My least favorite is my only 3-star book, Broken Chains. It just didn't quite meet my expectations was a struggle for me to get into.

I can't wait to see what happens next month and hope that I get a little more time to pick up some reading. I'm kind of feeling the more contemporary route at this point, so I have a lot of ideas of books I want to read in that realm. I do want to try to pick up at least a couple of each subgenre though to keep things mixed up! We'll see what happens! I'm also excited to start the new seasonal reading challenge Love Has Sprung!

How was your reading during February?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Teased by Tinsel by Molly O'Hare

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

After reading Teased by Fire, I decided to pick up the holiday novella set afterwards. Teased by Tinsel, by Molly O'Hare, is listed as book 1.5 in her Teased by Love series. I was able to use this for the prompt holiday novella for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss.

We pick up a little over a year since the end of Teased of Fire. As we approach Christmas and Hank and Olive's first marriage anniversary (also Christmas Day), Hank has something special planned. He has rented a cabin a few hours away so he and Olive and their kitty can get away from people and everyone for a couple days. Not only do they plan on celebrating their anniversary, but also a little bit of Christmas just with the two of them.

There was actually quite a bit packed into this sweet holiday novella. We get caught up with Hank and Olive and get a little of time passage between the books. What I liked is seeing them as husband and wife and the greater sense of familiarity between them. We still got Olive's quirkiness and the fun antics of Dog the Maine Coon. We also got quite a bit of steam for how short this was. Even though I read this in late February, the holiday coziness was very apparent and it didn't really feel out of season. Or maybe I'm just crazy! There were some fun things that happened up at the cabin with a squirrel and just being in a new setting for Olive. What I also really liked was there was some dealings with the PTSD that Olive still has after her car accident. It felt really normal and I loved that everyone around her was supportive and also suffering through a small amount of PTSD as well.

There were more teasers leading up to Hank's best friend and his sister and this novella just made me anticipate their book even more! I can't wait to dig into more of Molly O'Hare's backlist. It was a great addition to Teased by Fire and I highly recommend reading it if you enjoyed the first book.

Have you read Teased by Tinsel?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

SATISTISCS: Teased by Tinsel, Molly O'Hare, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 158 pages, published in 2021, indie published