January Wrap-up

January 2021, which felt an awful lot like December 2020 part two, is finally over, and it’s time to look at what I was actually able to read throughout the month. I had a very ambitious 24 titles in my January TBR and I didn’t read 24 books in January; I watched more television than I usually do. So out of those 24 books I read 12 and then 5 books that were not on the list. That makes a total of 17 books read for the month. Not bad. So what exactly did I read?

I completed the Morelli Family series by Sam Mariano:
Resisting Mateo book 5
Coming Home book 6
Last Words book 7
Entrapment book 8
Old Flame book 9
I enjoyed the series as a whole; there were some books that were way better than others but as a whole it was extremely entertaining. I’ll be posting a full review of the series in the next couple of weeks.

I also caught up to Giana Darling’s The Fallen Series:
Good Gone Bad book 3
After the Fall book 4
Inked in Lies book 5
Dead Man Walking book 6
So far this series is keeping my interest; there were some character decisions that pissed me off but overall it was a solid series and entertaining read.

From my initial January TBR I also read Land of Big Numbers a collection of short stories about the Chinese experience written by Te-Ping Chen; Roommate the new Sarina Bowen M/M romance which as expected was luke-warm, I’m in the middle of trying to organize my thoughts for a full review of this title; and Bad Habits by Neve Wilder and Onley James another M/M romance which was my favorite read of the month more because of the premise of the book rather than the romance.

Aside from those books on my initial TBR I also read five additional titles:

Bully King by Andi Jaxon part of Kindle Unlimited (KU) a M/M bully romance which veered way too much into religion and guilt associated with being gay and religious for my tastes.
Behind Closed Doors (KU) by Anna Stone a lesbian romance novel which started off strong but then lost steam and kinda fell apart toward the end.
Wicked Saint (KU) by Veronica Eden which wasn’t anything special and could be confused for any number of the hundred of bully straight romances that seem to multiply overnight. This is the first book of the Sinners and Saints series and I was so unimpressed that I’m not gonna be reading the rest.
A Notorious Vow (KU) by Joanna Shupe a historical romance novel set in New York with a deaf hero. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Ms. Shupe.
Stripped Love (KU) by Baylin Crow an M/M romance between a stripper and a college student. I prefer Baylin Crow’s sports romances. This was just an okay book. This is book one of Guys Next Door series I haven’t decided whether or not all read more from this series; I’m gonna take it on an individual basis.

I did DNF two books in January which were Not my Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills, I didn’t like either main character I stopped reading about halfway through when neither character became likeable to me, and The Chase by Elle Kennedy. I’m not sure if I should even call this a DNF since I only read one chapter and wanted to stab my eyes at how annoying I found the main female lead’s voice in my head.

DNF Guilt

Last week sometime I DNF’d (did not finish) a book, the first of 2021. What book doesn’t really matter, but it got me to thinking of the whys of not finishing a book. I stopped finishing books I wasn’t into way back in college, but back then most of those books not finished were for classes and I did pretty well without finishing Joyce’s Ulysses and Herman’s Moby Dick. It’s only been in the last few months that I’ve decided that there’s way too many books out there that I want to read to waste my time on a book that just wasn’t for me. In 2020 I DNF’d only five books, I only know this because I went back to look at my reading journal, but I don’t think I missed out on anything not finishing them. However, that doesn’t stop me from having DNF guilt.

Whenever I stop reading a book, for any reason, I have this overwhelming sense of guilt that just presses down on me. I go into an almost period or mourning where I cannot pick up another book. Last week, I DNF’d a book and then didn’t read anything for two days. In my head my thoughts swirled around why does another book deserve to be read when I didn’t give this one a fair shot at it’s complete life. Yes, that’s completely insane but nonetheless those were the thoughts that swirled around my brain and every time I tried to read something else, I would put it down after a sentence or two. I couldn’t read. And then, like all mourning periods, it came to an end and I picked up a book again.

But during that short bout of guild induced mourning I got to thinking as to the why do I, at least not finish a book. It comes down to two main reasons: the quality of writing and the characters. Every other sin I can forgive. No plot, if the writing is good and the characters compelling, not a problem. I don’t have any triggers. So a book full of senseless violence and gratuitous sex, yes please. I will read the darkest of the dark and gleefully eat my beef jerky as I read about a serial killer skinning their victims alive to just their flesh as art, stretched across a canvas a la Cassandra from Doctor Who. But crappy writing, which usually is just lazy writing, and dull or sanctimonious main characters are sins that cannot be forgiven.

Why do you DNF a book? Does a book have to commit multiple sins in order to get the ax? Life is too short to read bad books

2021 Reading Goals and January TBR

Now that 2020, the year that sucked donkey balls, is finally, officially over we can all look forward to a better, healthier, and less orange turdy 2021. My reading goal for 2021 is to read at least one hundred books. I’m pretty sure that’s very possible; I had read almost sixty before I stopped giving a good fuck about anything last year in June. So, 100 in 2021 is more than doable. I also want to venture more out of my comfort genre of romance. This year I want to read more horror, thriller, fantasy and sci-fi, as well as a non-fiction book or two. I’ve read the preface of Obama’s Promised Land and now I can say that at least I’m trying. I’m going to try, TRY to actually complete a couple of challenges this year. The three I’m looking to complete are 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, The 52 Book Club Challenge, and Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.

This month I have twenty-four books in my TBR and I’m rather hopeful that I will get to all of them. I want to either finish or catch up to the series I had started last year and for one reason or another I have stopped. I am the absolute worst when it comes to actually sticking to a TBR since I tend to read whatever catches my fancy at that moment, but looking at the books on my list I’m pretty sure I can stick to it, mostly.

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen – “Gripping and compassionate, Land of Big Numbers traces the journeys of the diverse and legion Chinese people, their history, their government, and how all of that has tumbled—messily, violently, but still beautifully—into the present.” I was lucky enough to get an E-ARC from NetGalley for this one. It’s set to be released on February 2.

Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans is a book of poems dealing with race, feminism, and queer identity. Poetry is my first love and I am really looking forward to this volume. I was lucky enough to get an E-ARC from NetGalley. It is set to be released on March 9.

Roommate by Sarina Bowen is an M/M romance about second chances and a room to rent. This is set to be released on January 12; I already have it on pre-order.

I want to catch up on the Giana Darling Fallen MC Series; I had read the first two books early in 2020 and then never got around to book 3 since then there have been two more books released. Good thing that all of these books are part of Kindle Unlimited.

Good Gone Bad romance between the daughter of the MC president and a police officer. Harleigh Rose was one of my favorite background characters of the first two books so I’m looking forward to her finding happiness with her cop.

After the Fall this is a continuation of the couple from book 1, King and Cress, the student and the teacher. I really loved them as a couple so I can’t wait to read more of their story.

Inked in Lies and Dead Man Walking I have not even read the blurbs on these two books. All I know is that Inked in Lies is Nova’s story and Dead Man Walking is about Priest; both characters are introduced in prior books and are members of the Fallen MC.

Another series I stopped reading was the Green Creek Series by TJ Klune, I was waiting for the series to be completed before I continued with it. I read the first two books in the series back to back and loved them. I can’t wait to get back to Green Creek.

Heartsong and Brothersong the first is the story of Kelly and is mate Robbie while the Brothersong is about Carter and his mate Gavin

Not My Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills which is a sports romance and a straight one at that I’m not sure why this is on my TBR but it’s on my Kindle and I remember wanting to read it. It is available through Kindle Unlimited(KU).

Bad Habits (Wages of Sin Book 1) by Neve Wilder and Onley James is an M/M romance about a hacker and a contract killer. Available in KU.

The Chase (Briar U Book 1) by Elle Kennedy is a romance about opposites attract set in the fictional Briar University. I like Elle Kennedy’s writing and when this popped up as free in Kindle I had to pick it up. And it would totally fulfill one of the prompts for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. Set in a school.

I started reading Sam Mariano’s Morelli Family Series about 5 days ago and in that time I have read the first 4 books. I’m going to continue the series and hope to finish it before the end of the month. Be forewarned this series is a dark romance, bad things happen. The main characters do bad things; no character in these books can be called heroes. This series is rife with trigger warnings so be forewarned. They are all found in Kindle Unlimited. The books I still need to read are:

Resisting Mateo Book 5 – There’s no blurb for this one but it must be read after the first four in order for it to make sense.

Coming Home Book 6 – Again no blurb, and not a stand alone.

Last Words Book 7 – Technically the last book of the series. One could stop here and have read the complete series.

Entrapment Book 8 – A retelling of Book 1 but from the POV of the male lead. Also, includes deleted scenes from the other books.

Old Flame Book 9 – This is the book about Dante Morelli, the underboss of the Morelli criminal family.

After an almost five month hiatus from Cora Reilly’s Born in Blood Mafia chronicles, I’m ready to go back and finish the series. I had previously read the first three books. These are all found in Kindle Unlimited.

Bound by Temptation – Liliana and Romero’s story. I started reading this one when I finished book three but for some reason I only got a few pages in before I put it down and then forgot about it. I’m hoping this time around I’ll be able to finish.

Bound by Vengeance this is about a character named Growl, I have no clue. He wasn’t part of the first three books.

Bound by Love – goes back to the couple in book 1 Aria and Luca.

Bound by the Past – couple from book 2 Valentina and Dante.

Bound by Blood is an anthology revisiting all the previous couples.

If time permits I also plan to read:

Risk Taker (Mixed Messages Book 3) by Lily Morton is an M/M romance. Best friends to lovers trope which I love almost as much as enemies to lover.

And because I’m a sucker for mass media and got totally sucked into Netflix’s Bridgerton series I plan to re-read Julia Quinn’s books that the series is based on starting with The Duke and I.

What are your reading goals for 2021? Do you make a TBR and stick to it or make one and forget about it until the end of the month?

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke

Pairing: M/F
Orientation: straight
Identity: cisgender
Genre: historical romance

Loretta Chase was one of the first historical romance authors that I ever read. The first time I picked up one of her books I was in high school, and at the time I found it scandalous and so very sexy. Of course, my reading before this consisted mostly of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Dean Koontz, so even a hint of romance was enough to make my sixteen year old heart swoon. Soon, I was devouring all the historical romance I could find from Julie Garwood to Johanna Lindsey from Jude Deveraux to Brenda Joyce and Judith McNaught. But it was Chase that opened the door to reading about Dukes and their Duchesses, Highlanders and their fair maidens, and the Lords and Ladies of the Ton.

When the opportunity arose to read Loretta Chase’s latest historical, Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, I was excited. And then about half way through, I remembered why I stopped reading most historical romance authors. I probably couldn’t list ten things I hated about this book, but I’d be hard pressed to list ten things that I liked.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, is the story of Cassandra Pomfrey, an intellectual young woman who doesn’t wish to marry and have her life dictated by a man, and Lucious Duke of Ashmont, a rake who causes scandal and mischief wherever he goes. So pretty much the same characters that appear in 89% of all historical romance novels, and usually I don’t mind these stock characters except they weren’t interesting. There was nothing about either character that was different than any number of other characters in other romance novels. These people for as different and rakish as they purported to be were in fact boring. There was a lot of telling not showing. And if there was a plot outside of just the two of them getting together, I failed to see it.

This was also a slow burn that never really got above tepid. I read a lot of romance novels, and this one just wasn’t steamy or sexy. It was at best lukewarm. When we finally did get to the one and only sex scene all i could think of was that scene in Ten Things I Hate About You and how it read like the romance novel the principal was writing. Which might be what Chase was going for since it’s pretty obvious she took inspiration from the film and you know Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.

I probably won’t read another Loretta Chase book, but reading this book reminded me how much I actually enjoy historical romance novels. After twenty years of reading romance, I’ve ventured way outside of what Chase’s audience is, but she was a great gateway to one of the greatest pleasures in my life.

This book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene – Episode 1

Genre: Gothic Horror Romance

Pairing: M/F

The Haunting of Beatrix Green Episode 1 by Rachel Hawkings, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Schecter is a cooperative novel that is currently available through Serial Box where it is released in weekly installments. I received the full novel version from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story revolves around Beatrix Green, a fake spiritualist, who makes her living providing closure to people who have lost loved ones. As per the book’s description: “In Victorian England a savvy spiritual medium must outsmart the most important client of her career: a scientist determined to expose frauds like her,” and then something about wits and fatal consequences blah blah blah. That just covers the first 10% of the book, we learn pretty early on that the scientist, James Walker, is only exposing frauds because he is in need of a real spiritualist and is under the belief that Beatrix is it.

James Walker needs someone to help exorcise spirits from his family home so he can let go of the past before he makes a new future for himself in America. And this is where the bulk of the story takes place, Ashbury Manor. An ancient residence with a tragic past and evil within. James, Beatrix, Harry, Beatrix’s friend and sidekick, Amanda Reynolds, an American photographer, and Stanhope all gather in the manor to try and communicate with the dead in order to rid the house of what haunts it.

It is during the first night in the house and the seance that is performed we learn, and Beatrix too apparently, that Ms. Green is not actually a fraud. She seems to have a connection to the otherworld that made it possible for spirits to communicate through her. It is at this point that the book becomes more of a haunted house story with a smattering of romance thrown in, for no real good reason, than anything else. It was also at this point and later toward the climax of the story that all I could think about was the movie “Monster House.” Although I love the movie, I’m not saying that as a compliment. Some descriptions of the going ons in the house were laughable at best.

It might just be my imagination but the slight shifts in tone between one chapter to the next when there was a switch in writers was kinda obvious. This probably works really well as a serial when you have a week between episodes and don’t have two competing voices in your head. It was an enjoyable read, but not one I felt the need to finish, I started this back before Halloween, so yeah, or to see what was going to happen. It was predictable and at the end of the day couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a horror or romance, so it ended not being either.

August Wrap Up & September Plans

August has always been a weird month for me, even before the whole fucking pandemic. Every working adult in my household works for the school district, except for me. So, August was usually the end of summer break for them, and they would be all bemoaning about having to go back to work, while I, who have jumped from job to job since I quit teaching almost 15 years ago, haven’t had a summer off in 15 years. And without fail, I become so unmotivated during August. I don’t want to do anything. Hell, even my work suffers.

But, this is 2020 and I wasn’t going to let myself fall into that same August trap. But I did. I started a book on August 1 and DNF’d it on August 17 when I was about 65% through the book. It took me 17 days to read about 250 pages and that is all I read for those 17 days. I would open a book, read a sentence or two, once even a whole paragraph and then just close it. I just wasn’t feeling any of it this month. I was thinking of doing the SummerWeen readathon that was hosted over on YouTube by a couple of creators that I kinda follow, GabbyReads and Oliviareadsalatte. I created a TBR, downloaded a couple of books, and well it didn’t go so well. So, in the month of August I read one book, The Assistant by John Tristan.

I did watch 3.5 seasons of Lucifer on Netflix and 2 seasons of my Supernatural re-watch, I’m on season 7 as of the end of August. I also watched the Old Guard with Charlize Theron which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was mindless fun and I would not mind at all if Netflix went ahead and finished of the trilogy.

In the month of September, I’m going to ease my way back into daily reading. I have a couple of e-arcs that I want to read for review over at NetGalley, I’m going to read the books I downloaded for SummerWeen, and maybe a couple of books from my massive TBR.

E-Arcs for September

There Are Things I Can’t Tell You by Edako Mofumofu an M/M manga about two childhood friends that need to navigate facing the world and their feelings for each other as adults.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase a spin on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. As someone with an English degree and an unhealthy obsession with all things Shakespeare I’m looking forward to this one.

Adulting by Liz Talley a book about friendship and second chances. It doesn’t sound like a book that I would usually pick up, but I need something different to jolt me out of this funk.

SummerWeen in September

I’m going completely blind into these reads but the books I was going to read during SummerWeen and will now read in September are Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, and Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. I used to devour thrillers and horror books when I was younger; I’m hoping that picking up books that younger me would like will make me more likely to actually start and finish them.