romance releases I am excited about this month that I haven’t talked about already
The Brightest Light of Sunshine by Lisina Coney (Jan 27th) — I randomly stumbled across this author on IG and it is a debut so I have no clue what this book will be like, but I am strongly into the vibes (grumpy tattooed MMC taking care of younger sister who falls for her sunshine-y ballet teacher). Check the CWs though!
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert (Jan 3rd) — This is Hibbert’s YA debut and I just know it will be the cutest (I mean it’s in the title) book I will read all year.
In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint by Alexandra Vasti (Jan 23rd) — Jokes on you, I have talked about this before, but I had to list it because I AM SO F***ING EXCITED!!!! And if you haven’t already, read the first book in the series for free here. Vasti gives you everything you want from a historical, while also making it modern and fresh.
my historical romance 101 reads
As I mentioned in my 2023 Reading Resolutions post, I have decided to make January my Historical Romance 101 Month. Essentially, I am going back to read books that are highly regarded in the genre that I have yet to read. I chose five to start with, and maybe I will uncover more along the way (some of these books are like the sixth in a series, oops!), but until then here are the five (*note that they are “Duke” heavy, fun fact: evidently books with Duke in the title sell better than any other title, so if you are writing a historical make that Earl a Duke ASAP I guess?):
A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant
Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
Destiny’s Surrender by Beverly Jenkins
Waking Up With the Duke by Lorraine Heath
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Ann Long
At the end of the month, I will give mini-reviews of the books, so stay tuned!
other
I am officially entering my knitting while listening to audiobooks era. The last time I listened to an audiobook was on family drives to our summer house in Saskatchewan when my mom would put them on in the car in order to keep me and my brother from physically attacking each other in the backseat. I picked On The Hustle by Adriana Herrara to start with, mainly because I have wanted to read it for a while and it’s only available from my library in audio. I am really enjoying it! It definitely takes a bit of time to get used to, but I think the fact that it is written in first-person really helps. I also am really appreciating the way it forcibly curbs my impulsive desire to just rifle through the book —instead, I am beholden to the pace of the narrators and thus have time to actually savor the story.
Happy New Year! I hope January treats you well :) Also, feel free to ask for recommendations anytime — or to let me know what you are reading!
—x Georgia