What I Read Last Week

I read 9 fabulous books this week! From paranormal to small town to bully to sports romance, it was a phenomenal reading week. Plus I squeezed in a couple short stories that I found on Prime Reading. I love browsing through Prime Reading to see if anything catches my eye.

How did I manage to read 9 books? Well it definitely helped that 3 of them were under 60 pages! Plus there was one novella that was only 94 pages. So having those added in helped me out a lot.

Did you see my anticipated reads post that went up last week? If so, then you'll notice that four of these books were listed there. If you're curious about the tropes for these books, they are mentioned in that post.

What did you read last week? Any favorites? Any misses? What's on tap for this week?

Happy Reading,
Laura

Promised to the Night by Meg Anne and K Loraine

Thoughts I had while reading Princess of Hawthorne Prep

I recently finished reading an advanced copy of Princess of Hawthorne Prep by Jennifer Sucevic. This is the second half of Austin and Delilah's duet, and I have been anticipating this release. The book officially releases on February 10, 2023.

Rather than doing a typical review, I thought I would write out the thoughts I had while reading the book. None of what I've shared is a spoiler, or at least not from my perspective. 

If you choose to read Princess of Hawthorne Prep (remember to start with Prince of Hawthorne Prep), then maybe you'll have similar thoughts. You may also know what scene I'm talking about with each random thought.

I hope you like this little change up when it comes to sharing reviews/thoughts on books. It's new to me, but it seemed like a good idea. Even more so since I was saying some of these things out loud.

Happy Reading,
Laura

I'm So Excited For These Books!

A new month means new releases! 

These are the TEN books that are releasing in February, and I cannot wait to read them. As I was compiling this list, I realized that 9 out of the 10 books are sports romance. I'm not complaining one bit, it's just a tad excessive. I'll have to be sure to read some non-sports romance books this month to balance it out. Maybe.

Let's jump into my list.

What I Read in January 2023 {Monthly Wrap Up}

“January is the month for dreaming”

- Jean Hersey

Chapter One of 2023 has come to a close. What a month it was!

When it comes to life, January was a relatively quite month. For which I am thankful. Of course it wasn't without illness. One of my kids shared a cold with me, and I've been dealing with that for about 2 weeks now. Colds always linger with me, so this isn't surprising by any means. I'll be thankful once it is gone though. As I say that though I have a kid home with a fever. So it looks like we're taking illnesses into February as well. Sigh. I'm excited for February though. February brings on my husband's birthday, Valentine's day, and a few days off of school for my kiddos. Of course there are also about 10 books releasing that I'm excited for as well. 

In January I listened to my top songs of 2022 playlist on Spotify, and loved every moment of it. That playlist is filled with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, One Direction, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and so many others. I could listen to it for hours. And I frequently do.

As for what I watched in January, it wasn't much. I did watch the Speaker of the House coverage to see who would be elected. That was an interesting time to say the least. Otherwise I've just been watching youtube videos (reading, homesteading, budgeting, various vlogs), and scrolling through TikTok. There haven't been any TV shows that I've felt the need to watch. Actually there hasn't been for a while now. That being said I will be watching this last season of The Flash. Especially when Oliver Queen makes his appearance.

This last month my reading was amazing. I read 22 books! One was nonfiction, one was a manga, and the other 20 were romance. There were two five star reads for me, and they were not from the romance genre! That's right, my five stars were the nonfiction and the manga. WHO AM I?

With my blog, I slacked off big time. Ever since being sick in December, I've been struggling. But I am starting fresh in February, and I am making plans. Look for reviews to return, maybe a book tag or two, and of course romance recommendations.

My stats for January look like this:

Books Read: 22
Pages Read: 6,054

Average Page Count: 275

5 Star Reads: 2

Physical Books: 3
E-Books: 19

Favorite Book of the month: Spare by Prince Harry

To say I had been eagerly anticipating this book would be an understatement. The day Spare was released, I immediately drove to Barnes and Noble, made the purchase, and then promptly dove into the book once I arrived home. I loved getting to hear what he had to say, and the way it was told was so easy to digest. Absolutely loved this book.

My favorite cover of January goes to The Coppersmith Farmhouse by Devney Perry. From the colors, to the design, it all just draws me in. 

Here are all the books I read in January, and in the order of which I read them. If you're interested in my reviews, they are on Goodreads and Amazon.

The Great Austen Adventure by Tomi Tabb
Tempting the Neighbor by Ashley Munoz
Salutis Meae by Jocelyne Soto
Throne of Diamonds by Emily Bowie
Filthy Jealous Heir pt 2 by Caitlyn Dare
How to Lose at Love by Sara Ney
Spare by Prince Harry
Spy x Family V1 by Tatsuya Endo
All It Takes by JH Croix
Never Give Up by Rue Lennox
Resilient Reign by Aleatha Romig
Steel by Anna Hackett
The Perfect Dilemma by January James
The Coppersmith Farmhouse by Devney Perry
Out of Play by Aven Ellis
Splintered Ice by Cali Melle
Wild Ever After by Rebecca Jenshak
The Lawyer by Marni Mann
Ignite by Melanie Harlow
Not Just A Crush by Helena Hunting
Promised to the Night by Meg Anne and K Loraine
Claimed by the Shifters by Meg Anne and K Loraine

Just a note, The Perfect Dilemma by January James is available as a free download on January's website. Also Not Just A Crush by Helena Hunting was a download that she offered in her Facebook group at the end of December. It was originally part of an anthology, so there is no purchase/download link available. Sorry!

Tell me what you read in January! Any favorites? Any recommendations? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, tell me your thoughts on the various stories.

Happy Reading,
Laura

  

Please note:
I participate in the Amazon Affiliates program.
Purchases made through links above allow me to earn a small commission.
Thank you!

A to Z Reading Challenge 2023

It's the end of January! The first month of 2023 is in the books, and I am in disbelief at how fast it went by. I can't be the only one. 

At the beginning of the year I made the decision to participate in the A to Z challenge again this year. As we all know I did not complete it in 2022, but I made fabulous progress.

When it came to the title challenge, I missed it by 3 letters (X, Y, Z). The author challenge I only missed by 2 (I, O)! 

So here we go with my first check in for 2023. Once again I will be doing the title and author editions of this challenge. Let's see what I was able to cross off in the first month.

Title Challenge:

A - All It Take by JH Croix
B - 
C - The Coppersmith Farmhouse by Devney Perry
D - 
E - 
F - Filthy Jealous Heir Pt 2 by Caitlyn Dare
G - The Great Austen Adventure by Tomi Tabb
H - How to Lose at Love by Sara Ney
I - Ignite by Melanie Harlow
J - 
K - 
L - The Lawyer by Marni Mann
M - 
N - Never Give Up by Rue Lennox
O - Out of Play by Aven Ellis
P - Promised to the Night by Meg Anne & K Loraine
Q - 
R - Resilient Reign by Aleatha Romig
S - Salutis Meae by Jocelyne Soto
T - Tempting the Neighbor by Ashley Munoz
U - 
V - 
W - Wild Ever After by Rebecca Jenshak
X - 
Y - 
Z - 

Author Challenge

A - Aleatha Romig
B - Emily Bowie
C - JH Croix
D - Caitlyn Dare
E - Aven Ellis
F - 
G - 
H - Anna Hackett
I - 
J - January James
K - K Loraine
L - 
M - Ashley Munoz
N - Sara Ney
O - 
P - Devney Perry
Q - 
R - Rue Lennox
S - Jocelyne Soto
T - Tomi Tabb
U - 
V - 
W - 
X - 
Y - 
Z - 

WOW! That is quite the start for the 2023 A to Z challenge! I can tell you now that not every month will have that much at once. It's easy to do at the beginning.

Just a reminder that with the Author Challenge, I will use first names or last names to complete the letter. When it comes to the title though, I go for the first letter (not including The, A, If). I may make exceptions for a few letters, but time will tell on that.

Are you doing the A to Z challenge this year? How is your list looking? Did you read any of the same books as me?

See you back here at the end of February with my next update!

Happy Reading,
Laura

Please note:

I participate in the Amazon Affiliates program.

Purchases made through links above allow me to earn a small commission.

Thank you!