February Reading Round-Up

Here we are, the end of February, and it is raining (!) today. A week ago, we got a foot of snow and I had the nicest neighbours who plowed my long driveway and even longer sidewalk.

Reading continues to be my stress-reliever.  It’s time to share what I have been reading this past month.

The total read for January was 32 books, with the following breakdown:

Fantasy /Paranormal – 3
Romance – 14

Women’s Fiction – 2

Historical romance – 2

Thriller – 1

Literary fiction – 1

Memoir -1

YA – 2
Non-fiction – 1
Pix books – 5

I continue to record in more detail where the books originated – from the library, on my TBR shelves (bought/gifted or won) or an e-book. Here’s the breakdown

Library reads – 26

TBR/owned books –0

E-books – 6

I’ve decided to change the order of what I post today – placing favourite books first:

Favourite Reads

My overall favourite read of the month was

Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The rest of my top 10 reads:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Running After a Heartbreaker by Jami Albright

Art of Love by Talia James

Reunion at the Shore by Lee Tobin McClain

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Taylor

 

I am participating in quite a few challenges (check here for my list) but I have a few that are my favourites and have done these for a few years. Here are the books read for these challenges:

 

POPSUGAR Ultimate Reading Challenge (Through Goodreads)

This month I was able to read 10 books for the challenge.

#2 – Afrofuturist book – Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

#3 – Heart on cover – Running After a Heartbreaker by Jami Albright

#7 – MC works at your dream job (artist/writer) – Art of Love by Talia James

#19 – Discusses body positivity – Reunion at the Shore by Lee Tobin McClain

#22 – Set mostly outdoors – Ice by Linda Howard

#23 – Something broken on cover – Mel: Forty and Fabulous by Talia James

#36- Has fewer than 1000 reviews on Amazon – Chance of a Lifetime by Jude Deveraux

#38 – about art or an artist – Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

#39 – Everyone seems to have read it but you – Beach Read by Emily Henry

#40 – fav. Prompt from Past Popsugar Challenge – from 2019 – Love in the title – Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

 

52 Books in 52 Weeks

I was able to read 10 books for this challenge:

#5 – Published by Penguin – Beach Read by Emily Henry

#17 – Character “on the run” – Ice by Linda Howard

@23 – ending that surprised you – Chance of a Lifetime by Jude Deveraux

#26 – by an author of colour – Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

#31- Shares a similar title to another book – Art of Love by Talia James

#34 – A book you rated 5 stars – Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick

#38 – Recommended on BookBub – Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

#41 – endorsed by famous author on cover – Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

#47 – character with disability – Reunion at the Shore by Lee Tobin McClain

#52 – Redo one of previous categories – 5* read – Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Beyond the Bookends
The theme this month was “addiction”.

Ice by Linda Howard

 Monthly Key Word Challenge

I used “Red” for the key word this month:

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Taylor

Monthly Motif

The theme this month was “Laughter and love” – I chose romance, I read so many romances for this moth that celebrates love. These were my top 3:

Beach Read by Emily Henry

 Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Reunion at the Shore by Lee Tobin McClain

Diversity Reading Challenge

The theme this month was “POC author”. As this was Black History month, I tried to read books by POC.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Measure of Our Lives by Toni Morrison

Diversify Your Reading

The theme this month was “memoir”

It’s Never Too Late by Kathie Lee Gifford

My Kitchen Year

I’m continuing my read and cooking through Ruth Reichl’s cookbook My Kitchen Year. I’m enjoying reading her stories that are mixed in with her recipes. This month I only made 1 winter recipe, adjusting it to suit our tastes; Roast Leg of Lamb with Mint Sauce.  I now have several favourites which I have made several times.

 

Looking Ahead to March

I am taking part in a picture book study in March, so will be reading a number of pbs (Check here for more info). I also need to read more from my own books as well – I read none from my TBR shelves this month.

I am linking with the following:

Monthly Wrap-Up (At Feed Your Fiction Addiction)

Best of the Bunch (at A Cocoon of Books)

Inspire Me Monday (at Create with Joy)