Hello, hello! Let’s jump right in this month, because my brain feels like it’s on a permanent spin cycle these days. I do want to wave and say hello to the new readers whom I met at the book fair and maker’s market in Tomball– welcome! There’s a long list of books this issue, but lest you think I’ve been spending all my time reading and ignoring everything else (only sometimes, I promise!), these are books I read in both January and February.
Love off Script by Laura Starkey. This was a cute enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water rom-com with likable characters and a lot of chemistry. The last quarter of the book kind of lost steam for me, but I still enjoyed it.
Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane. This had most of the things I love about a Mhairi McFarlane story: complex characters, a story with plenty of depth and substance, a strong sense of place, and a crackling love story. While Cover Story wasn’t my favorite of hers (largely because of an infidelity plot line), I still enjoyed it.
The Future Saints by Ashely Winstead. This was a fast-paced, thoughtful, hopeful book about grief and sisterhood, all wrapped up in a rock ‘n roll package. It’ll make you want to drive with the windows down on a beautiful sunny day listening to your favorite playlist.
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. I was blown away by this collection of sermons by Martin Luther King, Jr. Not only are they full of stunning writing, they were thick with wisdom, relevance, and practical truth. Each sermon gave me a lot to think about.
Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok. Part coming of age story, part child-of-immigrants story, Mambo in Chinatown was an emotional, sympathetic, sometimes tense, ultimately hopeful story. I didn’t love it (the pacing was a bit off for me) but I liked it, and particularly appreciated the window into the experience of a child of immigrants living in a close-knit, almost isolated community.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett is the sequel to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faerie, and I continue to be charmed by Emily, Wendell and their shenanigans.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. This novel was like a modern fairy tale set in Japan, unburdened by extensive world building, focusing more on the flow, atmosphere, and themes of the story. I didn’t connect with the main characters, so I didn’t like it quite as much as I would have liked, but I loved the vibe.
Before I Forget by Tori Henwood Hoen. I loved this book. It reminded me a little bit of Frederik Backman or Mat Haig, a story that runs the gamut of emotion and balances sadness and light. It’s about family, forgiveness, and the particular sadness of losing a family member to memory loss.
Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey. Still obsessed.
Dissolution by Nicholas Binge was a weird read, a science-fiction novel set in the present day or near future, about people using memory to travel through time. It’s about ambition, the ethics of technological progress, and human connection. The most remarkable thing about the story, however, was the ending. This was a solidly mid read for me until literally the last two or three pages. As in, I almost didn’t finish the book multiple times, and then bam! That ending.
The Pitt (HBO Max) As a die-hard ER fan (I even rewatched the whole series a couple of years ago!), it was inevitable that I would eventually get around to watching it’s spiritual successor The Pitt. A medical drama in which each episode is one hour of a twelve-hour shift in the emergency department of a Pittsburg hospital. Everyone who tells you this show is amazing is telling the truth. The characters, the casting, the action, the various stories. I love it all.
That’s it for now! Thank you for reading. If you want information on my own books, you can head over to my website.
Take care of yourself, love your neighbors, and make sure you stock up on allergy meds (Spring is beginning to bloom in our corner of Texas, and my allergy meds are my best friend). Unless, of course, you live in the Southern hemisphere, in which case I’m sending you lots of cozy-blanket-warm-beverage vibes!
Until next time!
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