I said I was gonna do these every month, didn’t I?
Whoops.
Well, okay, so, maybe I fell a little behind on cataloging my reading exploits here on my blog. If you’d been following me on Instagram (hint, hint) you’d be caught up. But thanks to The Storygraph for keeping copious notes for me, I’m going to give a bit of a speed-round overview of my past four months of reading.
Oh, and if you want to revisit my recap from January, it’s here. And my disclaimer about how if you’re the type of person who is going to yuck someone’s (my) yum and whine about how much I read/how much time I spend reading/etc., you’re invited to exit the blog now. Go on. Get out of here. Bye.
For those who are sticking around, here are the quick stats:
FEBRUARY: 13 books spanning 5,360 pages
MARCH: 8 books spanning 3,046 pages
APRIL: 10 books spanning 4,081 pages
MAY: 15 books spanning 4,523 pages
Grand Total: 46 books spanning 17,010 pages
Not too bad, eh?
Now, I’m not going to recap all the books I read in this one blog post. But I will highlight some of my favorites from the past four months, and I’ll include a Bookshop.org link for you if you’re interested in picking up a copy for yourself.
(Yes, the Bookshop.org link is an affiliate link, so if you buy from there, I do get a little bit back. Thanks for your support of me & of indie booksellers!)
First, please send love, light, and good healing vibes to Emily McIntire. She’s currently battling breast cancer and is going through chemotherapy, and she’s still checking in with her readers as much as possible. She’s an amazing writer and an incredible woman; send her some support.
In February, I read her latest in the “Never After” series – Twisted – which is a modern twist on Aladdin. If you haven’t read the Never After series yet, I highly recommend all of them, but this one was a particularly delightful slow burn (and I usually hate slow burns!). Be sure you check trigger/content warnings.
This book surprised the hell out of me. It somehow perfectly exists within its genre while also hilariously subverting expectations of the genre. It’s spicy, it’s funny, and it made me laugh out loud the entire time I was reading it. Trust me when I say you will not regret reading That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon.
You’ll often hear me (and many readers) talk about how things that are acceptable/intriguing/desirable in fiction are not the same things we’d find acceptable/intriguing/desirable in real life. Case in point: the Cane Brothers.
Look, billionaires are bad. They shouldn’t exist. Or if they do exist, they should be taxed to hell and back, not building vanity space rockets. But, you know, in books…I’ll let it slide. Especially for Breaker Cane.
If you like the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding but wish it ended a little differently, read A Long Time Coming.
Speaking of Meghan Quinn books, I caved and became a hockey romance girly. These are the first three in the Vancouver Agitators series: Kiss and Don’t Tell, Those Three Little Words, and Right Man, Right Time.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is one of the most strikingly beautiful novels I have ever read. At this point, it’s the best book I’ve read in 2023 thus far. Akwaeke Emezi has such exceptional prose. This book is technically a contemporary romance (and fits many of the tropes of taboo romance) and it serves as a reminder of just how much variety there is in the genre. It reads like literary fiction in a good way (which is not something I saw often, because most lit fic is a snooze fest and this is NOT).
Hockey. Why. Choose.
Yep.
That’s all I need to say.
Pucking Around by Emily Rath. (Also definitely read the prequel novella That One Night — it’s quick, spicy, and helps set up the emotional relationship stakes.)
The “Spoiler Alert” trilogy by Olivia Dade – Spoiler Alert, All the Feels, and Ship Wrecked – are MUST READS. Fat representation, neurodivergent representation, love interests over 35, celebrities, fan culture, travel, OH MY. I cannot say enough wonderful things about these three books. All the Feels is my favorite because, as I said in my Quick Review on Instagram, Alex Woodrose has BPWE (aka, Big Pacey Witter Energy). IYKYK.
Leave it to Katee Robert to make a liar out of me. Once upon a time, I swore I wouldn’t get into demon/monster/shifter romance. Now I am here telling you to read The Dragon’s Bride, The Kraken’s Sacrifice, The Gargoyle’s Captive, and The Demon’s Bargain.
Okay, narrowing it down to 15 out of 46 isn’t bad! You can see what else I read on my Storygraph and/or Instagram.
Also please remember that I do read a LOT of spicy romance, so proceed with caution if open-door scenes involving four-letter words for body parts that start with “c” is not something you want to read. (Some of them are a little more subtle/euphemistic…others are not.)
Now that June is here, I’ve made myself a TBR list to focus my attention on YA and Adult LGBTQ+ romances. Here are the ten books I’m hoping to read this month:
So, what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? What’d you think? Leave me a comment or message me on IG!
Colette Marie Murphy 
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