off the shelf – marginalia and such

off the shelf: what I read in 2023

I have (once again) been remiss in my updates… or, simply put, I couldn’t bother to post lol. I’m not sure if this will change in the future—part of me isn’t really interested in book blogging anymore and that’s ok. We all move on. Still, I like to keep a record for myself, and to inspire you all to pick up a title you might’ve missed.

My interests lie heavily in the romance genre and it’s the only thing keeping me sane lately.

In no particular order, here are the best books I read in 2023 (based on feels and vibes alone). These are my 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 reads.

My favorite reads of 2023

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams
The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today by Hitsuji Yamada
Get a life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling through Modern Witchcraft by Diana Helmuth

DNFs

The Christmas One Night Stand by Lucy Steele
Chase Wilde Comes Home by Jennifer Ryan
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
The Witch is Back by Sophie H. Morgan

Re-reads

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (has become a comfort read)
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (but also a DNF)

You can browse the full list of books I read in 2023 on my LibraryThing shelf.

off the shelf: what I’ve read so far – 2023 reads

Once again, I didn’t mean to take 5 months to post a reading update, but here we are. Some of these are briefer than others because I failed to write my notes as I read, but the ratings are as arbitrarily cakey as ever.

Currently reading

I Didn’t Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt by Madeleine Dore

Ironically, I set this one aside for a month or so because I couldn’t do the thing… I’m almost done and it’s been a great read so far and a solid reminder to let go of what isn’t serving.

Read

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, vol. 1 by 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

If you’re looking for a sweet, slice-of-life manga about a somewhat hopeless mess of a 20-something and her human-sized cat, this is the one for you. Randomly picked it based on the title and it became an insta-fave. It’s only 5 volumes long, so worth a read if you’re looking for a short manga series.

Sweat and Soap, vol. 1-6 by Kintetsu Yamada 🍰🍰🍰🍰

One of my coworkers recommended this series after I mentioned that I like the more adult romance manga. It’s the story of a girl who suffers from excess sweating and a perfume expert who is captivated by her scent. Shenanigans ensue. It’s 11 volumes long, so I’m working my way through it.

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai 🍰🍰🍰

I had mixed feelings about this one at first. Thought about DNF-ing at first, but I was stuck at the Dr.’s office and it was on my Kindle so I kept going and am happy I did. I prefer Alisha Rai’s earlier books (pre illustrated cover era), but this was a fun change and I enjoyed the heist element.

Rowankind by Jacey Bedford 🍰🍰🍰

I started reading this one in December 2021 and I kept setting it aside, distracted by new books and library holds, until I considered DNF-ing it. But I persisted and here we are. Book 2 is the strongest in the series IMHO, but if you’re into alternate British history with a fantasy element, and want to read something that isn’t set in Medieval England, give it a try.

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

Britta and Wes were just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. Jess Owens mentioned this book in one of her reading vlogs and I was curious so I ordered it from the library and set my other books aside. It was perfect. A sweet but spicy slow burn romance between a writer embarking on a body positivity-inspired wellness journey and the CEO/fitness coach who takes her on as his client. You can feel the tension rolling off the page as they fall for each other.

Audiobooks

Get a Life, Chloe Brown 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 and Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert 🍰🍰🍰🍰

Lumping these two together because I binged them one after the other. Why only books 1 and 3? Because I read book 2 when it came out and had these on my TBR for-ever! Talia Hibbert can do no wrong. She gets the humor just right and hits all the marks with the romance. I loved Chloe and could relate to her struggles with chronic pain and really enjoyed Eve’s journey of discovery.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

Is Ali Hazelwood my new fave? Yes. Yes, she is. Tropey and familiar, but just what I needed when I was going through a rough time and desperately wanted something light and fluffy. I also love the side characters that Ali Hazelwood creates. They’re just a fleshed out as the mains and it makes for a good side plot.

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn 🍰🍰🍰

YES! After DNF-ing the last installment, I’m happy to find that this one reignited my love for the mix of mystery and sexual tension that Deanna Raybourn does best. However, I kind of wish I read the book, rather than listened to the audio because the narrator’s rendition of male voices really messed with the one in my head. I’m not sure I would’ve gotten behind Stoker if the narrator’s rendition had been my first experience of the character.

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren 🍰🍰🍰

I did it. I finally found the Christina Lauren series that checks my box. I don’t know if it’s a reflection of the current trends in romance publishing or a sign of my penchant for high heat reads, but I’ve never been able to get into any of the other books I’ve tried by Christina Lauren. This being their first published series, I can finally see why they got so popular within the romance reader community. Boss billionaire romance isn’t my usual trope, but this one does it for me.

Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

This. This is the one that ticks all my boxes. If I had to recommend just one in this series, this would be it. Genuinely spicy with well-developed characters.

Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren 🍰🍰🍰

Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. I’m not into the “I knew her as a kid” trope, so this one didn’t quite land for me.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

I was ambivalent about this one for a while, but I finally gave in to the hype and have 0 regrets! This was just the fun sort of campy romance I think of when I think of true RomCom, with the perfect amount of angst to balance it out. So glad I gave it a try.

DNF

The Christmas One Night Stand by L. Steele

Got about a third of the way through this one but the plot dragged a bit and too much was tied to other couples in what I figure was an earlier part of the series or a related, sister series. 🤷‍♀️ I lost interest in the story.

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

I DNF-ed her second book and now her third. I think it’s safe to say Helen Hoang’s series isn’t for me.

On Hold

Chase Wilde Comes Home by Jennifer Ryan

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off the shelf: books I read in 2022 – a recap list

My last reading update was posted in March and then life kind of ran away from me… I’m making no promises, but I’d like to do better this year. For the sake of closure, here is a very brief, purely subject list of my favorite reads, re-reads, and disappointments of 2022.

You’ll notice that my reading trended towards fantasy romance and romance for the most part. This list does not include non-fiction that I reviewed or read for work, but those happened too.

🎧 indicates audiobook

some titles are linked to my original review

Books I Loved in 2022

These are my 5 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 reads. The reads that got me out of a funk. The books that made me want to stay up late. The ones I purchased in print and added to the permanent collection…

From Lukov with Love by Marianna Zapata
Lothaire by Kresley Cole 🎧
Dark Skye by Kresley Cole 🎧 (this one hit all my kinks. I listened to it twice(!) and bought it in print)
A Promise of Darkness and the rest of the Dark Court Rising Series by Bec McMaster
Sapphire Flames and the rest of the Catalina arc of the Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews (🎧 and book)
The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling (so happy I loved this as much as The Ex Hex)

Re-reads I read for comfort and fun

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 🎧 (the audio narrator was perfection)
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas 🎧 (I am a trash human lol)
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Disappointments and DNFs

❌ indicates DNF

The Impossible Impostor by Deanna Raybourn ❌
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne ❌
Theirs for the Night by Katee Robert
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover ❌
Take Me Home Tonight by Erika Kelly ❌

off the shelf: what I read – December 2020

Still Reading

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo – I’m so glad I ordered this book from my local indie. It’s a feminist powerhouse in the most subtle of ways.

Finished

A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai – I am stumped as to whether this is straight erotica or kinky romance but it is DIRTY. And I say that without judgement, I really enjoyed it, but if you’re coming to this after Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series, just know that her earlier books are 10000% spicier than the love scenes in her current series. Lots of personal angst, lots of mommy/daddy issues, lots of kink.

The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane (novella) – This is a prequel novella to the A Gathering of Dragons series. More along the lines of A Heart of Blood and Ashes in terms of consent play and violence, so TW if that doesn’t work for you (also, TW for mention of sexual violence). Leans into BDSM. Complex character-development and just as much world-building as the novel-length titles in this series.

A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane – I loved this sequel! I enjoyed the first book in this series, but generally disliked the hero, so that made it a little hard to finish. No such qualms here! Excellent Dark Fantasy Romance with heaps of world-building.

The Devil in her Bed by Kerrigan Byrne (via NetGalley) – I expected historical, what I never expected late Victorian, dark romantic suspense! This is a ride from the start–it’s not every romance that opens with murder. Conflict from the outset, and it’s easy enough to follow the occasional callback to earlier books in the series even if you haven’t read them. Secret societies! Ritualistic orgies! Women in pants and secret identities!
I thought I read Kerrigan Byrne before but after a quick search through my book lists, I realized this was my first. Won’t be my last.

Audiobooks

N/A

DNF

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – I need to stop trying to read CL’s books – I just can’t get on with them… I got about 20 pages in and knew this was going to be a slog I didn’t feel like slogging through. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t aged down to YA (the main character is 26 but reads like 16).

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off the shelf: what I read – October 2020

Still Reading

Temptation’s Darling by Johanna Lindsey – a new story by an old-school romance author to round out my genre education. (Johanna Lindsey’s last novel before she passed earlier this year)

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer – (just started) I was so charmed by Netflix’s Enola Holmes, I had to read the book.

Finished

Silverwolf (Rowankind) by Jacey Bedford – Magic and mills! I love how Jacey Bedford blends rich fantasy with a historical setting (Georgian era Britain in this case). I’m so glad I found this series!

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – Tune into The Bluestocking Circle podcast on November 1st for my full thoughts, but this did not meet my expectations.

Skincare by Caroline Hirons – You can watch her channel and get the gist of it… I guess the book is a nice collectors’ item if you’re a big fan shrug

The Healthy Writer by Joanna Penn and Euan Lawson – In writing about reading writing advice while dealing with anxiety and depression, Joanna Penn notes, “I was able, in moments of clarity, to see that the reason well-meaning advice left me feeling so dispirited was not that I wasn’t cut out to be a writer but that I wasn’t the audience people were writing for.”

This is everything I needed and more. As a writer with chronic illness and chronic pain, the advice to write every day and push through isn’t practical, at best, and damaging, at worst. I can’t push through a head-splitting, three-day migraine that leaves me feeling drunk. Nor can I write through the exhaustion when fatigue takes over. Conventional writing advice isn’t for me and that’s ok.

Audiobooks

None this month

DNF

Hex, Love, and Rock & Roll by Kat Turner – I DNFed around 30%. I liked the concept but the plot was too messy for me and didn’t hold my interest. (LibraryThing Early Reviewer copy)

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – I only got a few pages in. I usually like Lisa See, but the tone wasn’t what I needed at the moment.

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off the shelf: what I read – September 2020

Still Reading

Silverwolf (Rowankind 2) by Jacey Bedford – part two in a three part series… more adventuring in alternate-history, 18th century England.

Hex, Love, and Rock & Roll by Kat Turner – I won a copy of this title as part of a LibraryThing giveaway. Urban fantasy with witches? Sign me up!

Finished

Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest – What a perfect gem of a book. I needed something happy and uplifting after everything that has happened (take your pick) and this book delivered. Evie is a young actress with a family legacy who has a lot to learn about her worth as an individual. She gets caught up in Hollywood drama and is forced to confront plenty of truths about friendship, family, and herself. It’s a sweet story and I highly recommend for anyone who needs a hopeful read.

The Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan – This has been recommended on a couple of the podcasts I follow, but I had the same issue that I had with The Hook Up — I’m not convinced these are people in their early 20s. Not around 2017 when this was printed. They read like older 30-somethings from the 90s, down to the pop culture references. Part of me wonders if these books were written long before they were published and revised to sound current. So many questions… Anyhow, her Darkest London series remains my favorite. I skimmed most of the second half.

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare – This might be my favorite Tessa Dare book ever! It has some Beauty and the Beast elements, a little Jane/Rochester vibe, and a heroine who knows what she wants and will do what she has to do to get it (including staging a Regency-era LARP situation).

Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare – Part of the same series as Romancing the Duke, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. A sweet story about childhood crushes and redemption, but the characters didn’t hold me in the same way, plus there was weirdness about parental abuse and starvation that mostly came out of nowhere…

The Duke’s Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan – Apparently, I had a copy of the first book in this series on my Kindle (I really need to stop impulse buying all the books), so I read it out of order… Sophie Jordan is still new to me, so I don’t have much basis for comparison. Her books lie somewhere between Tessa Dare and Sarah Maclean in terms of romance and comedy IMO. Part of me wanted to Marian to get real with her sisters and tell them to find jobs without her having to scheme to become a courtesan (also, make the brother get a job FFS)… I wasn’t sold on the conflict.
TW for threat of rape as a plot device.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip – I picked this up during one of my last trips to Barnes and Noble during my brief winter break in the beforetimes. The cover is gorgeous and this is a classic, but the story fell a little flat for me. I think the reader I was in 2004, when I was new to fairy tale fantasy and gobbling up everything that smacked of British folk lore would’ve loved this, but I am not that reader anymore and the use of physical and mental rape as conflict was a deal-breaker.

Audiobooks

Misery by Stephen King – podcast “read” so join us on October 1st to hear my thoughts! Let’s just say I had to speed up the audio to 1.50 to get through it.

DNF

Checked out Midnight Sun, saw that it is 25(!) hours long and decided to wait for the book from my library. I’m curious, but not 25 hours curious.

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off the shelf: what I read – July 2020

Still Reading

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane – barbarian romantic fantasy is a flavor I haven’t tried…

Finished

Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins – Selected purely for the pirate lady cover. I was thrilled to find that the heroine is a Cuban pirate/rebel/thief, but wish it had played a larger role in the plot. My one pet peeve: the Spanish is not quite right (including the main endearment), but I doubt anyone involved in the editing was aware of it shrug.

Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai – A sweet romance with a thoughtful look at PTSD and trauma. It’s cute, but I prefer Alisha Rai’s earlier series. This series leans into Women’s Fiction territory more than contemporary romance IMO.

Daring and the Duke (Bareknuckle Bastards series) by Sarah MacLean – Brazen and the Beast is still the best in this series (IMHO), but this was a great follow-up. I love a redemption story (not a surprise, if you’ve been following my recent reviews), and this one hits the spot.

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (Rules of Scoundrels series) by Sarah MacLean – I didn’t love this. The “nerd girl who is clueless about sex” trope is popular, but not one that works for me. I skimmed to the end, so I could move on to the next book in the series.