Let’s Talk About Books, Baby (January Edition)

It’s the last Monday in January, so let’s talk about the good books I read this month.

Before I get into the specifics though, I have to give a shout out to my mom whose birthday it is today. I can still vividly remember her reading me and my sister Little House on the Prairie. Specifically the part where the dog disappears and you think he’s dead and we’re sitting on the couch in our living room in suburban Chicago and I am crying. I still can’t read books with dogs in them, even though, spoiler alert, the dog is NOT dead.

Anyway, she read us Charlotte’s Web and took us to the library and where would I be without all the books that got me through life? Nowhere.

So thanks, Mom. Happy Birthday. I’d be lost without you.

Ironically (maybe?), I actually did read a romance that included dogs this month, and it was a great book. (Also, the dogs did not die).

The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry. I think I could talk about this book forever and ever because it does so many things that make this little romance reader happy dance. I loved the play on some gender/romance stereotypes. My more comprehensive review here: Goodreads Review

I’m slowly working my way through Cara McKenna’s erotic Curio series. I read the second vignette this month, Craving, and in it finally found a novella I enjoyed and didn’t feel too short. Regardless of what McKenna is writing, her prose are gorgeous. I love her voice and the beauty of her writing.

I was also lucky enough to read an advanced copy of a book by a fellow Entangled/Samhain author Jackie Ashenden. Her debut, Falling for Finn, comes out next month and it’s a great read. The opening chapters are so emotionally charged, I actually had a physical reaction. The depth of emotion in the writing is top notch, and what I particularly enjoyed about this story is the characters weren’t always nice to each other. I know that’s a weird thing to like, but in real life we often hurt people when we’re hurt or scared, and so there was an extra sort of realism depicted that I particularly enjoy.

So, that’s my January roundup. Hopefully February brings some great reads too.