Look at me being proactive!! I'm using the time during our team writing sprints to write this, so I'm starting early. So far this month, the reading has been okay. Work has been busy but more importantly, I am gearing up for Hubby's second knee replacement surgery and there's a lot to get done before that. We shall see how the reading for fun lands because of that.
UPDATE:
Today is May 30th and the last day of the reading month. I don't think there's going to be one more book in me, but let's see if I do manage to squeeze one more in since I'm away at the moment on a small break and I've managed to read two books in the last two days. Amazing what a break and getting away from the office can do for a girl's book count.
FINAL UPDATE:
Today is June 30th and yeah, I'm cutting it close. VERY close. I'm at team writing sprints and taking the time to finalize this post so I can publish it. Thank you so much for your patience. I was off to such a good start, but life got lifing and Hubby's knee surgery had complications.
Here's what I read in the last month.
 Never and Always |
 |
 Possessive Enemy |
 The Burning Sky |
 Bought by the Pain Hunter |
 |
 Vicious Devil |
 Heart of Danger |
 Orchid |
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 His Missing Ingredient |
 Protected from Malice |
 Resisting the Roommate |
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 Cold Silence 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook |
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At the time of me starting this, we are halfway through May, so I think this post will be split between the first half and the end of May.
At the halfway mark...
Truth? There's nothing to write home about. So far, it's only been five books and some were duds. I think I'm going to allow myself to say duds because not all books are for everyone, and some just didn't land for me on the reading for fun front.
I'm continuing to enjoy the Monsters' Bride Market series and I've read five books in the series so far. I thought it'd be more, but clearly I'm slow and I don't binge read much since I can get bored very easily even with my favs. To avoid over-saturation, I bounce around. This month's bouncing was Bought by the Pain Hunter by Lia Frost. Let me tell you, the way the pain hunter hero looks on the cover is, well... very monster-y. Human heroine, of course! But so far, all of the books in the series have been written very well. And with some of them, I'm wondering, how do you kiss the dude? These are not hard core monster-y, more like a good romance written with an odder hero who looks different. At the end of it, it's a romance, and a well-written romance.
Other than that, one of my fav authors, Anna Hackett released a new book in her Langston Hotels series, Never and Always, and I have to say, the hero looks deliciously cheeky on the book cover. Aside from that, hey, did you know it's possible for flannel to be sexy? I loved that Everett was just an ordinary guy, but he was an incredible, ordinary guy who as it turned out, can get protective about the heroine he's falling for without all the wizz-bang-fancy-alpha-slinging stuff going on. I love heroes like that. Ordinary people who are extraordinary humans.
And finally at this point in the reading month, an honorable mention because it did not suck. I say it did not suck because the last many books by this author were major duds for me. To the point where I was considering abandoning all her books. Fortunately, this book hit all the right notes of why I loved her writing in the first place, and it felt and read much more like her earlier works. As someone who dissects writing for a living, I want to say that an author changing their writing style and experimenting is not necessarily a bad thing. However, sometimes that switch up or experiment doesn't hit if the writing is too different. So the last eight or so books by this author landed very flat. It lost what made her books good and many trusted READER friends all said the same thing. Something had changed about this author's writing and everyone felt very burnt. That said, this latest book sounded good, so I put out feelers in my go-to, private reader group about their opinion on this one and a couple of people said she had reverted back to her original writing style and it was good. And worth reading again. So I decided to try it. And yes, it was back to the old writing style. And yes, I did enjoy it. But this is book 8 in the series, and I had skipped books 6 and 7, and that makes my pedantic nature itchy. Argh! I know I'm not going to go back to read books 6 and 7, but it will always be this thing hanging over my head. If you ever read this series, read books 1 to 5, skip 6 and 7, then go back to 8. If you need to know what's going on, I dunno, skim some reviews with spoilers? Oh, after all that blathering, I didn't mention the book. Hah! It's Possessive Enemy by Michelle Heard and it's book 8 in her Kings of Mafia series. Books 1 to 5 is the first generation featuring the parents. Book 6 onwards features the next generation of the kids of the heroes and heroines from the first five books who have now taken over the Cosa Nostra. Yes, yes, I know, it's mafia romance. But it's not dark DARK mafia romance.
On the audiobook front, I'm working on Robert Galbraith's The Cuckoo's Calling, narrated by Robert Glenister. I know, I know, there's all sorts of kerfuffle about the author, but let's look past that for a moment and just focus on the brilliance of their writing, shall we? Because regardless of the noise on the internet, Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) is a brilliant writer. I'm actually listening to it for work as one of my authors writes in a similar genre and dang, there's a lot one can learn from really paying attention to the writing. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Robert Glenister is incredible at bringing the characters to life and his voice acting is top notch. I'm going to say that if you can look past the noise, this book is worth the read or listen. Or maybe just watch the TV series on HBO Max. There's some incredible deep, layered, and nuanced characterisation that we can all learn a thing or two from as writers. I don't know if I'll finish it this month cos it's super long and I'm slow when it comes to audiobooks. I may have mentioned this before, but I only get anywhere between twenty minutes to maybe an hour some days for audiobook listening depending on my schedule and when I stop for errands and chores.
BTW, I'm sure you've noticed, but I do have time to be a little chattier about the books I'm reading when I put time into prepping them the way I'm doing now. Yay or nay?
The rest of the month...
I'm happy to report that since all the rambling above, I did manage to fit in another eight books of reading, which is quite an achievement for me. I, however, did not manage to finish Robert Galbraith's The Cuckoo's Calling. My brain was getting pretty tired as it's been a heavy duty work month, and I needed to pivot to something lighter. I'm partway through Cold Silence by Toni Anderson which is the first book in her Cold Justice: Most Wanted series, and the 16th book in her overall Cold Justice series. I'm still madly in love with the series and even more madly in love with Eric G Dove's voice. When I need deliciousness and a comfort listen, these books are my go-to even if it's filled with suspense, murder, etc., but the books are so well-written and so intriguing, some of the more graphic and violent aspects of it are not too overwhelming and I'm able to get past it to the good bits.
I finally finished Jayne Castle's (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) final book in her St Helens series, Orchid. Wonderful, as always. The push-pull and banter, the initial distrust, that dance as Rafe and Orchid get to know each other, learn to trust each other, and fall for each other, even as they both think they are unmatchable and will never find love is enthralling.
I read the first book in Lisa Marie Rice's Ghost Ops series, Heart of Danger. It's an old series, written in 2014 or 2015, I think, and has since been re-released. It was enjoyable in a mid-2010's romance kind of way. If you've been reading romance since then, you'll understand what I mean. One thing I'd like to know though—enjoyable though it was—why do all of Ms Rice's heroes always blow the instant they get intimate with the heroine, and can then go all night? Like, dude, you lasted one second. They are all uber macho, uber alpha, uber everything guys, but nope, the first time? Zero stamina, and then they go all night, on and on and on and on. It's a wonder the heroine is able to walk the next day. Dude...
And if you've lasted this long, Michelle Heard released ANOTHER book in her Kings of Mafia series and since I'd heard good things from a few people I trust, I dove in again. And finally-finally-finally a book that harks back to early Michelle Heard writing days. Her latest book, Vicious Devil, was wonderful—heavy on the romance as the main plot with just enough of the mafia element of brutality and violence to satisfy me when it comes to a mafia romance without it being too dark, too violent, too graphic. I sincerely hope that she continues to write like this and I don't even mind if she takes more time between books when that means books of this quality. One small note, a reader "friend" from one of my reader groups where we talk about books (likes and dislikes, no holds barred) mentioned she didn't enjoy this book and it's because it has a damsel-in-distress trope. If that's not your thing, consider yourself warned.
The last day of the month...
Y'all, I can barely contain my excitement. We are away on a mini break before Hubby's next knee surgery in five days' time and I. Finished. Another. Book. All up, I've read three books in three days while away, all read for fun. It's quite an achievement for me given my reading streak recently. So excited.
I read and am OBSESSED (I do not use this word lightly because it's so overused these days and as a result, I hate it) with Jeanine Frost's new book and series, A Curse of Beasts and Magic. It's been such a long time since I've loved a book so much, and oh my, what a joy to read a book that's so well written and fires my imagination so much. It's smart, it's sensible, it's sexy, and it's magical. It's all the things I love in a good book and it majorly gives me Thea Harrison's Elder Races vibes, but sharper and edgier. Remy is as mysterious as he is delicious, and Raine is absolutely incredible. Her goodness shines. And if you love a book with some most excellent spicy times, yeah, you're in for a heck of a ride because Remy is going to put all of the aforementioned heroes from Lisa Marie Rice's books to shame. Hah! I have told all my personal reader friends about it. AND I want to go right back and read it again from the beginning because I read an almost 400-page book in one sitting and did not come up for air. I raced through it. But now that I've read it, I want to go back, read it again, and savor all the words. This brought me so much joy. Deanna the Reader is happy.
It's unlikely I'll manage to squeeze another book it, so that's it from me.
xoxo, D.
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