I‘m usually all-in for an alpha but I have a soft spot for the loveable doofus (see Good Boy by Bowen and Kennedy) so Second First Impressions called to me. Add in that it gave me serious “if Eleanor Oliphant was actually a romance” vibes (but, like, less intense) and I was sold. It‘s a slow, low simmer with a great cast of characters.

I‘ve been in a bit of a reading slump. None of my normal go-to genres were sticking. Not normally one for adult thrillers, this one still kept catching my attention. I loved the idea of the island and the wedding party. I think the premise sort of reminded me of And Then There Were None with the full cast and their secrets. It don‘t know if my slump is thoroughly busted but I highly enjoyed this book! (I felt a special compassion toward Hannah.)

It wasn‘t that long ago that, if you had asked, I would tell you I could only read one book at a time. For me, if it didn‘t consume me immediately then I put it aside never (or almost never) to return. How the tides have turn! Now, I usually have at least two (but usually more like five!) books going at once and I pick them up as the mood strikes. Here are three I currently have in progress (plus an e-audio and a romance on my Kindle app).

I‘m a sucker for a teen mystery and Karen McManus delivers once again. As an adult, I really liked how readers were given insight into what shapes Milly‘s mom into the flawed adult she became. I‘d say my one complaint is that the romance seemed a bit forced (even though I basically expect a romantic plot in everything I read 😆). It doesn‘t quite live up to One of Us is Lying but still solid and engaging.

I‘ve been hesitant to read romance that involves the pandemic but I thought it was handled well in this “Quarantale,” a contemporary beauty and the beast re-telling. Billie and Chess “meet” right before shutdown, and stay-at-home orders factor into their relationship. There is also great mask representation! (I like how my review is more about how they handle the pandemic than their relationship 😅) Overall, short, a little dirty, and sweet.

I saw this Queer Graphic Novels Bingo over on Instagram and thought I‘d give it a go. Many of these have been on my TBR for way too long and I could use a challenge to dive back into more graphic novels.

I have read Pumpkin Heads (adorable) and recently finished The Times I Knew I was Gay which I thought was great!

I also came across this one at work yesterday and decided to give it a shot. Bea Koch is one of the owners of The Ripped Bodice romance bookstore. I‘m touch and go on short biographical essays and the reviews are pretty “meh” but I was happy for her that my library had a copy!

I saw this on display at my library when I was at work yesterday and I‘m thinking maybe we need to buy this for everyone is the US right now. 😭

I was going to wait for a library hold but no longer. Purchased from a local Indie.

I‘ve been listening to music rather than audiobooks lately but this title keeps popping up on my radar so I decided to start the new year by dipping back into audiobooks. They are one of the best ways I diversify my reading!

It started off a bit...poetic, maybe? But we‘re starting to get to the heart of the matter and my interest is piqued.

(#day5)

It was slow to get started, the pacing was a bit wonky, and I honestly could‘ve done with more 1:1 time between the protagonists but I still really just loved them. She has ADHD and has trouble in social situations which leads others to often believe she is aloof and stuck up. He‘s super pretty and surrounded by a gossipy sex scandal but he‘s smart and driven with a fear of abandonment. There is some slut-shaming 👎🏼. (Not the tagged book.)

Meh. I was fine that it was just as much (or more?) about writing than reading but it felt smug at times, and while he sort of challenged “canon” he also upheld the old white man ideal in a lot of ways. I connected to some, enjoyed others, and was disappointed often.

(#day3)

My top nine from 2020. “Holiday Mix Tape” by Beau North and Brooke West was an honorable mention/10th.

Beach Read was #1 but the rest are in no particular order. I‘m tagging the post under the one that was the biggest surprise.

My goal was 105. In March and April that goal seemed overly optimistic when pandemic anxiety halted my reading but I made up for once summer hit. (Thanks, Kindle Unlimited!) It was the first year in a long time that I didn‘t update my goal at all so I set the same goal for 2021.

Tagged under my favorite book of the year: Beach Read.

It‘s been a minute so: Hello, again! 👋🏼 And Happy New Year!

2020 was the year I caved and subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, and it was the best and worst thing. The best because I could try out a ton of different authors and just return them if I didn‘t like them. The worst because I rarely read anything that wasn‘t romance. 😂

I‘m in the middle of a romance right now but I‘m feeling the pull for something different so I picked up The Cousins!

I‘m not on Litsy nearly as much anymore but I popped on to share a pretty cover and had to stay to share some #BlackVoices. Still, I need to get better about reading more diversely. Tagged is a wonderful book I‘m halfway through. I started listening to it a few years ago (the audio is great!) and loved it but my hold expired and I haven‘t picked it back up yet. Soon, I hope!

I think I will always remember reading this book. I was wrapping Christmas presents at my in-law‘s house so my kids wouldn‘t find out and listening to this audiobook. I was ENTHRALLED. Not my typical read yet I was swept away by the writing, layered story, and fabulous narrator.

#blackvoices

Bold, graphic portraits accompany a quote and brief bio of influential Black figures chosen and illustrated by Ron Wimberley. Quick read but enlightening (for me, at least).

#blackvoices

I don‘t typically read romances with kids because I have kids and I read to pretend like I don‘t (in the most loving way possible) but this one was popping up everywhere and who could resist that cover! I loved it and immediately bought another of her books. She has a whole series of sexy Scots. I believe she also writes more erotic #romance under Dakota Gray.

#blackvoices #romantsy

Another road trip! YA contemporary with a side of romance. This one is about taking a risk to follow your dreams.

#blackvoices

I‘m a serious sucker for a road trip romance! This was a really great balance of road trip and reality. The first part got a bit zany but the post-road trip relationship building was wonderful. This was Mimi Grace‘s debut and I can‘t wait to read what else she writes!

#romantsy #romance #blackvoices

My pre-ordered for this book popped up on my kindle today. I lost track of when it was supposed to be released so it was a lovely surprise. I had to come here and show off the cover. So. Gorgeous. ❤️

If you‘re looking for a stellar romance rec for Valentine‘s Day have a peak at these titles that were awarded The Ripped Bodice(bookstore) Award for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.

I‘m familiar with most of these titles but have only read the tagged book, which was one of my favorites last year. You really can‘t go wrong with Lucy Parker.

#romantsy #romance

Today was my first of five days off in a row and here is my stack of staycation goals. Seeing how it is almost the end of day one and I‘ve read practically nothing, I‘m hoping to finish maybe two of these. Still, you gotta have goals!

(See Chester judging my stack. 😂)

Fascinating, terrifying, and infuriating. I truly believe we only know what we know about Israel Keyes because he wanted us to know. He got caught being a little sloppy and he was not a sloppy predator. We will never know the true extent of his crimes. The ego and corruption with the DA and prison officials was equally horrifying. If you have even a passing interest in true crime, I highly recommend this book. The audio was 💯.

I learned of MHC‘s passing last night as many authors retweeted Simon & Shuster‘s announcement with similar sentiments about MHC being their first adult reads. It was the same for me! I distinctly remember my first forays into the adult section of my library looking for her books. Tagged is the one whose cover is seared into my memory. MHC helped usher young readers into the next phase of their reading lives and into a lifelong love of reading.

My goal for the beginning of the year is to finish these (plus a few on Kindle) that I have started and put aside. (I think I‘m at 80% on the ones on Kindle. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️) Knowing me, I won‘t finish all of these but I really *want* to.

Also, yes, I still have my tree up. We got it up late and putting the ornaments away is so annoying.

I wanted to highlight two fabulous romances by two of my favorite contemporary authors, Lucy Parker and Julianna Keyes. I just realized I never reviewed Team Player and it really is wonderful, even if you know nothing about baseball (like me).

I also wanted to highlight two new-to-me romance authors, Mimi Grace and Melissa Blue. This is Mimi‘s debut and I‘m ready for more. Melissa, thankfully, has a backlist I‘ll be exploring more in 2020.

By chance and Amazon algorithms, I came across Claire Kingsley‘s “Faking Ms. Right” and it was just about perfect in the a-hole boss trope. That led me to “Cocky Roommate” which was just about perfect in the a-hole roommate trope. That led me to “Whiskey Chaser” which was hilarious and sweet (and sexy) and since it was written with Lucy Score that led me to her books, of which I already owned two! If you love contemporary romcoms, check these out.

My #bestof2019.

I had a weird reading year. I had bouts of reading malaise. I fell off the Litsy bandwagon and I don‘t why. I stopped puzzling (which means no audio-puzzling). I couldn‘t get into any audio by the end of the year. I basically spent about 70% of my year hopefully one-clicking romance. I did find some great new romance authors (a topic for a different post). And I missed my GR mini-stretch goal by 5 (100/105) and I‘m ok with that!

I LOVED Under the Never Sky and these characters, and yet somehow I could never get into the final book. Fast forward 5+ years and I‘m in a *mood* so I downloaded the audio. Even though I‘m not sold on the narrator I can‘t believe I let these characters go for so long! That said, I decided to see if I could jog my memory a bit so I borrowed the second (tagged) book and skimmed it. Ugh. THE FEELS. ❤️💔

Littens on Twitter, have you voted yet on this? The replies are awesome and it got Colin Firth trending (which alarmed many 😂).

I‘m team Macfayden by a nose but I‘d pick Richard Armitage in North and South over either Darcys in a hot second.

I have some conflicting feelings on this one. It was an interesting and layered ghost story, perfect for this time of year, with complex family and friend dynamics and an exploration of moral ambiguity. Still, I feel somewhat disconnected from the story overall. This will not be the powerhouse Eliza was (which, tbf, I didn‘t finish) but it is definitely worth the read.

3.5 ⭐️

Please enjoy the picture of me in my most natural habitat. 😂

“Ludwig began backpedaling. ‘Don‘t you at least owe me the benefit of the doubt? You know better than anyone that doing bad things doesn‘t make you a bad person...‘

He wasn‘t wrong, but here‘s the thing: no one owes you the benefit of the doubt when your actions have shown, repeatedly and without reparation, that you do not deserve it.” (pg. 339)

Character art! 😍

“‘How many people have you talked to who live in the trailer park?‘

She went oddly quiet.

‘Well, there‘s your answer,‘ I said. ‘It‘s not that they don‘t have stories. It‘s that you don‘t talk to the people who know them.‘” (pg. 105)

More than a ghost story, this book has some zinger quotes and beautiful packaging. I love this map!

Also, anyone else in the stage of fall where the outdoors is perpetually inside??

What happened when I asked, “Can I see what you‘re reading?” Can‘t stop, won‘t stop reading.

I love that my kids find as much comfort and enjoyment in hanging out at their local library as I did hanging in mine growing up. #litsyloveslibraries #librarylove

This is fascinating! It hits on exactly why I‘m intrigued by true crime and psychology: what is going on in their minds?!

The writing is immersive but I‘m also really digging the narrator.

“To meddlesome girls.”

❤️

I know I am one of many saying the same thing but what is this fuckery? 🤯😤 I keep looking at the time stamp like, how can there be more? Why are there still so many hours? WHAT ELSE CAN HAPPEN???

The most telling thing for me is that when young Elizabeth is asked what she wants to be when she grows up she says a Billionaire. Despite what I‘ve seen in interview clips, it was never about helping or saving people. It was about accumulating power.

Calling all Gross Anatomy fans! Have you heard? Chelsea Handler is working on developing the book into a TV show! 😍

I saw @MaggieCarr compare this MC to Eleanor Oliphant and I had to give it a chance! I really enjoyed it and couldn‘t wait to let all you Littens know about this quirky, quick read. Then I looked under the title and saw all the many, MANY reviews. I‘m late to the party! This is what happens when I‘m not on Litsy much for several months. Anyway, I don‘t have much to add to the reviews already out there. It was really good! 😏

I binged the first half and only stopped because I had to go to work then I stalled on the second half and it took me a month to finish. Part of it was me (I was rear-ended on my way to work after that morning) but part was the flimsy fake dating pretense and the reluctance of both MCs to talk about things that really mattered and then the final conflict and resolution. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I still enjoyed it. Tessa does great banter and hot sexy-times. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was good but not my favorite LL. I liked the setup of the friend trio. I liked both Naomi and Oliver. I liked how Oliver‘s father‘s Alzheimer‘s played a huge part in his life. The banter was still on point. But the relationship progress was slow and involved A LOT of waffling on both sides. It made the inevitable finale seem kind of rushed. Also, despite the title, while there was certainly chemistry it was surprisingly light on passion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

On how she tried to make her mom‘s life easier.

How do I get my kids to do this for me?!

My #top6reads for 2019 so far.

I tagged under Words in Deep Blue because I waited SO LONG for that book to come out then was afraid/not in the mood to read it for several years after publication but I finally read it and I loved it and I LOVE Cath Crowley.

I love Julianna and Lucy for contemporary romances, Gross Anatomy is hilarious, and Technically and Evvie hit me over the head this weekend and out of a months long mini-slump.

I stayed up until 2 am last night reading this and saved the end to savor this morning with coffee and cats. I just absolutely adored it. ❤️

Littens, I loved this one. Told all in text (I love alternate formats!) with a bit of mistaken identity and some family and friend drama, this had a sprinkle of all the things that make a great teen contemporary. And on top of that, it had some great representation and frank conversations of sexuality. Some of the nerd speak did go over my head but that didn‘t detract from my enjoyment since the language overall felt authentic. Highly recommend!

I found this to be an engaging and sometimes snarky history of feminism and the women‘s movement. It included biographies without feeling chunky and overviews of the main movements. Race and class are acknowledged but I do think it could have benefited from some more direct discussion of intersectionality. Overall, a definite pick.

Suffragettes were responsible for bombings, fires, property damage, and more in order “to get their message across.”

I struggle with the idea of peaceful vs non-peaceful protests so this was a good reminder for me that throughout history people were frustrated enough to agitate for the change they wanted to see.