I read a lot of romance in February, all new releases, but I also fit in some literary and contemporary fiction, some fantasy, and one nonfiction. Next month I’m hoping to read across a few more genres and pick up more backlist titles, but I felt mostly satisfied with my reading life this month. Even the titles that weren’t a runaway smash for me could be perfect for the right reader. I also set myself a mini reading challenge in my January reading recap, which helped me read from my shelves, and that I want to continue in March. The one item I didn’t manage to complete was reading two books I’d received from Book of the Month, since I set aside Starling House by Alix E. Harrow about 150 pages in. I really enjoyed Harrow’s first two novels and this one did have an amazing sentient house but I found myself not wanting to pick it up and more interested in the house than either of the main characters. I may come back to it in the fall when I’m in a different reading mood—if you’ve read it, let me know what you think!
In March I want to read:
One classic I’ve never read before
One book on a prize list that I purchased and then promptly never read
One historical romance set outside 19th-century England
One book in translation
Two 2023 releases I was excited about but never picked up
And, of course, one book by either Louise Erdrich or Maggie O’Farrell
But first, let’s get to what I read in February:
Rereads
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
I last read this sprawling social satire in high school and really enjoyed revisiting it. Thackeray takes on a wide swathe of society and history, from the petty machinations of a baronet’s family to the Napoleonic Wars to the glittering heights of London high society, and expertly skewers it. Unsurprisingly for such a long book, there’s parts where the narrative slows down but I mostly found it to be an absorbing and pleasingly dense read. I’m also a Becky Sharp apologist for life. I love a cunning, scheming heroine and seeing Becky try to maneuver her way through the layers of English society was so engrossing.
Favorite of the month
The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #3)
A gorgeous slow burn second-chance romance between confirmed spinster Lady Anne Deveril and the roguish gentleman who still harbors feelings for her. Matthews' skill with sentence-level writing and with characterization is just superb. Anne and Felix feel like wonderfully real, richly developed characters and their connection is equally layered and compelling, as they learn to communicate and trust each other again in a halting, achingly true way. Even the smallest movement of Anne's skirts is freighted with meaning. Matthews writes with so much care and feeling, every word and moment carefully chosen, and continues to cement herself as one of my very favorite romance authors. (Closed door.)
Really liked
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (Emily Wilde #2)
A delightful sequel that finds prickly academic Emily and her onetime rival Wendell on a new adventure in the Austrian Alps. I love Emily and Wendell's funny and tender opposites attract dynamic, as well as the new secondary characters Fawcett introduces in this installment. She has a knack for writing intriguing, winning supporting characters. I also really liked how this continued to develop the faerie lore of the world and how it elegantly captures both the enchantment and the danger of Faerie. Like all good sequels, it heightens the stakes, broadens the world, and delivers more of what made the first installment sparkle.
Any Duke in a Storm by Amalie Howard (Daring Dukes #4)
A dashing, swashbuckling romance set in the Caribbean between an English spy undercover as a notorious smuggler and a roguish French duke with connections to the same smuggling ring she’s trying to infiltrate. The adventure plot is genuinely thrilling and Howard brings the world of the 19th-century Caribbean to vibrant life. I so enjoyed wonderfully capable Lisbeth and deeply charming (and shockingly emotionally intelligent) hero Raphael both individually and together. They come to each other's rescue in various ways throughout the book and I found their give and take compelling, delightfully spiky, and ultimately moving. (Open door, high steam.)
Come & Get It by Kiley Reid
An almost painfully precise, incredibly smart social satire set at a dorm at the University of Arkansas in 2017. Reid has an absolutely amazing eye for detail, down to the contents of each dorm room and the fanny pack one of her main characters carries, and this book is told with a specificity that sucked me in. At the same time, it's a clear-eyed look at social dynamics that feels universal, especially as it analyzes each of its' characters' relationship with money. Reid captures social situations at their most awkward and revealing, to the point where I was cringing but also riveted. I think this would make a fabulous book club pick and very much want to discuss it with other readers.
The Season: A Social History of the Debutante by Kristen Richardson
A fascinating look at the history of the debutante, from Gilded Age heiresses marrying into impoverished English families to the frozen in amber Southern debutante balls to the unique role the institution plays in the Black community. This was engaging, well-researched, smart, and thoughtful and gave me plenty of new insights into something I’ve consumed a lot of fictional media about. As someone who's perpetually interested in the performance of teenage girlhood and the rituals that mark a feminine coming of age, I found this especially compelling.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
An enchanting genre mash-up with a dash of the Harlem Renaissance and the feel of a contemporary fairytale, as free spirit florist Ricki Wilde and mysterious musician Ezra find themselves irresistibly drawn together over the course of a leap year February. I adored the atmosphere of this book. Williams' style is a unique combination of lyrical and conversational that gives the book a magical feel and helped me fully believe in Ricki and Ezra’s instant connection. (Note that this is heavy on the instalove, if that’s not your preferred trope, but I think Williams pulls it off?) This also features a wonderful dive into Harlem history and a great cast of supporting characters. (Open door, moderate steam.)
I for Isobel by Amy Witting
This portrait of a lonely young woman learning to find herself as a writer was a spontaneous bookstore discovery and a perfect example of why I like searching out classics from other countries. (In this case, Australia.) This was perceptive, powerfully written, and with a richly developed main character at the heart of it. Isobel's inner narrative is so clear and distinctive that I felt like I truly knew her in a short span of pages. It's also a really wonderful exploration of the power of language and reading and a keen portrait of the brain of an avid reader and writer. The way that the prose shifts as Isobel grows up and her own relationship to language changes is captivating.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
A quietly charming story about the many ways we fall in love with reading, how it connects us to others, and the power of the simple ways we take care of each other, as an unmoored young woman finds herself again among the shelves of her uncle’s used bookshop. I really enjoyed the setting, a Tokyo neighborhood composed almost entirely of bookstores, and the sweet relationship between the narrator and her uncle. There's a sort of hopeful melancholy threaded throughout the book, as well as a lovely emphasis on the power of literature.
Quite liked, with the tiniest of quibbles
Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
A sweet, gentle fake dating romance with two well-developed main characters and classic romcom vibes. Meghna and Karthik are both really layered, sympathetic characters and I especially liked how Kumar portrays both their initial attraction and growing connection, as well as how this examines the impact of familial and cultural expectations. The third-act conflict felt a little shoehorned in and unnecessary but there's something quiet and grounded about this story that really works. And I would love to see this become a movie. (Open door, low steam.)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
A heartbreaking modern-day Gothic. O'Farrell writes with amazing economy, always picking the exact right detail to establish scene and character, and with an astonishing clarity that makes her very good at writing beautifully about terrible things. This story of an unconventional woman locked up against her will is deeply tragic and haunting. I don't think this is my favorite of O'Farrell's backlist, partially because of the abrupt ending and partially because the bar is so incredibly high, but I always enjoy her writing and also saw some fascinating connections between this and The Marriage Portrait in their portrayals of young women trapped by societal expectations.
I had some issues but I also had a great time
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey (Big Shots #1)
This feels like the most Tessa Bailey book Tessa Bailey has ever written: laugh-out-loud funny, super spicy, and the pairing of an alpha-male bad-boy golfer and the perpetually sunny superfan that helps him get his game back when she agrees to be his caddy. It's a little absurd but in a very entertaining way and while I normally gravitate towards more grounded contemporary romance and more beta heroes, I picked this up when I was yearning for pure fun. And pure fun it most certainly is. I did find myself occasionally rolling my eyes at the hero's grumpy possessiveness but the whole thing feels so heightened and over-the-top that I was mostly able to buy into it. (Open door, high steam.)
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City #3)
A dramatic epic fantasy told in Maas' singularly addictive style, with an ensemble cast that's both an asset and occasional liability. The secondary couple in this series is incredibly compelling and there’s a lot of supporting characters that I love, despite being a bit lukewarm on the central couple and heroine Bryce’s “never tell anyone else my plan” attitude. However, there are so many characters that some feel a little shortchanged. There's quite a few convenient coincidences and it does feel like Maas is rushing to wrap things up in the final 300 pages, but I had a great time reading it and felt satisfied with where these characters ended up.
I was with it until the last twenty pages
True Biz by Sara Novic
A compulsively readable novel set in a Deaf boarding school and a fascinating look into Deaf culture written by an author whose passion about the community and its future is palpable. It's discussable, thought-provoking, and mostly very well paced, as Novic balances key pieces of Deaf history and culture with the main plot in a way that enriches the reader's understanding but never takes them out of the story. My main quibble is with the ending, which comes out of nowhere and then sort of just fizzles out? I was left with several unanswered questions and not in a fun way.
There’s a right reader for this and I suspect I may not be it
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Two Victorian debutantes team up to get their parents together and end up falling for each other in the process. For the right reader, I think this would be a frothy, fun romp with a sweet love story at its heart that reads a little like being in the world of a Taylor Swift song. But for me, this felt a little too young, as there’s so much emphasis on the parents’ romance and both heroines’ relationships with their parents in a way that felt very YA. The dialogue also reads very modern and kept on pulling me out of the story, as did some of the ways that the characters behaved. I’m usually not overly concerned with historical accuracy in historical romance but I do want to feel immersed in the time period and this didn’t do that for me. (Open door, low steam.)
Currently reading: At First Spite by Olivia Dade. I just started but am already in love with the set-up and Dade’s skill with building character in just a few paragraphs.
What’s bringing me joy lately:
The Harlem Renaissance exhibit at the Met, which I would highly recommend if you’re in New York in the next few months! It’s very well-curated and features an amazing array of artists and art.
Junior ice dance. I do not have the wherewithal to stay up late to watch Junior Worlds but I caught up with some of the ice dance highlights and they’re delightful.
A very cute undated planner I ordered from this Etsy shop. I used to love having a planner and think getting back into it might help me feel more organized. (Also, the revelation that you can get an undated planner? Life-changing.)
Girrrlll, your March TBR goals are P E R F E C T I O N. I'm absolutely copying them!
I added Come & Get It to my TBR after listening to Traci Thomas’ conversation with Kiley Reid … so glad to see your review - I guess 2024 is going to lean heavily into satire for me!