Chapter One of 2023 is complete and boy did it fly by! School is back in session for the kids and Hubby, our oldest started basketball, Hubby started baseball season, and there has been either a party or a get together every weekend so far. I'm used to Spring semester being busy, but never this early!
La Befana visited, we went to the Perot museum, lit many fires in the fire pit, pulled out our Mardi Gras decorations, and went on our first hike of the year!
I plugged away at my many ARCs but also fit in a few buddy reads with some super fun people!
I started off the month (and year) with an ARC by K.A. Tucker called The Hustler Next Door. I'd read The Simple Wild by Tucker and loved it so I knew I had to sign up for this ARC when I saw it. While it didn't compare to The Simple Wild, it was still pretty good and you can catch my review here.
Next up was Bright Side by Kim Holden. This had been suggested to me for my 12 books in 12 months by 12 friends challenge and some Booksta friends were hosting a buddy read so I decided to join. This book was written in 2014 but has recently made a comeback and rightfully so. You can see my review here, but be warned, it has spoilers. You will laugh, you will empathize, you will get angry, you will ponder, and you will most definitely cry. Do yourself a favor and read this book!
After the emotional rollercoaster of Bright Side, I needed something fun and perfect timing was Meghan Quinn's ARC of A Long Time Coming. If you've been around here much, you know I LOVE Meghan's books and I was honored to be on the ARC team for this one. As usual, she did not disappoint and you can see my review here.
It was now time to hit the ARCs hard. I'm not sure why I signed up for so many back-to-back but maybe I should stop checking my email when I'm drinking wine, just saying! Next on the list was River of Ashes. A thriller set along the Bogue Falaya River, which I grew up near, this one fell sort of flat for me. You can see my review here.
At the same time, I was reading In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn with @samstacksbooksbookclub. I was not expecting this book but it was very thought-provoking and definitely one everyone needs to read. You can see my review here.
I snagged a last-minute ARC from an Indie author I follow on Booksta called Wood You Be Mine? Sexy lumberjack, yes, please! I devoured this book in two days. Easy 5 stars and I'm already looking forward to the rest of the series. I did not want this book to end. See my full review here on the 2nd.
On to more February ARCs, I began Ask Alice by Kell Frillman which is a dark romance retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Not usually my thing but I thought it might be fun to give it a go. But, well, I was wrong. So wrong! I DNF'd this one in chapter 8. It was too much smut for my taste and super cheesy. I told my husband I felt like I was reading an 80s p0rn0. Not. My. Thing.
Lastly, I read another ARC, Zomerschoon by Wendy Dass. I went into this one kind of skeptical because it's a STEM romance about mathematicians, which math and I do not get along, but I was pleasantly surprised once the story got going. There was a lot of math speak but it didn't ever take away from the story. I gave this one 3.5 stars and you can see my review here in a few days.
I also finished To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time ever as a part of @samstacksbooks #12classicsin12 challenge. I started it in paperback but finished in audiobook. It was a 4-star read for me and I absolutely loved Atticus.
I'm excited to see what February brings!
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