This horrible month is finally over. At least it was good reading wise. Apparently this was my month of multiple romance series–reading none of them in order. And I also think I may have found my favorite YA of the year?
Total Number of Books: 16
Total Number of Pages: 4,693
Physical: 6
eBooks: 5
Audiobooks: 5
Favorite (New) Reads of the Month: The Rival AND Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
Romanace Series:
Rebel Blue: 3, 2, 4, 1
When in Rome: 2, 3, 1 (incomplete)
Rose Hill: 1, 2 (incomplete)
Physical:
When in Rome bay Sarah Adams – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dating & Dragons by Kristy Boyce – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A great rivals-to-lovers was the third book in the When in Rome series by Sarah Adams, Beg, Borrow, or Steal. Feuding second grade teachers, and new neighbors, spend their summer break arguing and pranking each other as they slowly fell in love. Dating & Dragons was a nice YA story filled with sweet nerdy vibes. I also read the first book in the When in Rome series and the Rebel Blue series—they honestly were the weakest in the bunch. It kind of makes me glad that I read them out of order.
eBooks:
Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
After Life by Gayle Forman – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Rival by Emma Lord – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Biology Lessons by Melissa Kantor – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
When it comes to YA, Emma Lord does not miss! Every January I can expect a little treat from Miss Lord, but this year she delivered a whole cake (oh dear, that was corny!) The Rival was a rivals-to-lovers as Sadie and Seb take their adversarial relationship to college. This was truly a coming of age story as our characters begin the work to figure out who they really are outside of their loud families. Their relationship was incredible as they realized when they weren’t trying to best each other in everything, they were actually each other’s best friend. I think Out of the Woods is the first second chance romance I’ve read that focused on a married couple. Sarah’s struggle in finding her purpose felt incredibly genuine and relatable. I especially loved the flashbacks to the start of their relationship when they were teens. Wild and Wrangled ended up being my favorite in the Rebel Blue series—I’m just a sucker for the second chance romance.
Audiobooks:
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Welcome to Pawnee by Jim O’Heir – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From Scarsdale by Dan O’Brien – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Is there anything Ali Hazelwood can’t do? I wish her audio only Two Can Play was a full length novel that I could tangibly hold in my hands so I could spend more time with Viola and Jesse. I thought Welcome to Pawnee was a lot of fun, but it didn’t reveal anything new. It was marketed as a Parks and Recreation book, when really it was focused on Jim O’Heir’s life—which is totally fine, but you should market it that way.
Lindsay Glenne 