The hundred-year-long month that was January is over, but I'm still hiding at home from the absolutely brutal cold. Which should just mean more time for reading and writing, right? Here are some books I read and enjoyed in January:
The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso (F/F fantasy romance): I adored the first book in the Echo Archives series, and I loved this second book just as much. It's a fantastic fantasy world combined in this book with an intriguing murder mystery and wonderful characters. Plus the relationship between Kembral and Rika continues to develop and deepen and is absolutely lovely. I highly recommend both books (best to start with the first too), and I'm really hoping for more in this series.
The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (M/F paranormal romance): The Seven Rings is the final book in the Lost Bride trilogy, which really needs to be read in order. This book started a bit slow, but it was a solid end to the trilogy, wrapping up the evil ghost plot and the romances plus giving us lots of cozy-ish time with the found family of characters including the ghosts who might be my favorite. (I will still take a gorgeous Victorian house filled with friendly ghosts any day.)
A Heart of Winter by Sam Burns (M/M fantasy romance): Johannes is a witch who has lost control of his magic because the man he thought he would spend the rest of his life with left him. Now he's causing snowstorms wherever he goes, so he runs off to Minnesota where snow won't be remarked on. It's a light, sweet fantasy romance and a quick read that's very appropriate for winter.
A Happy Armitage New Year by Eliot Grayson (M/M paranormal romance): Another series book that won't make much sense without reading earlier books in the series, but I'm absolutely going to recommend the Mismatched Mates series. It's a great shifter/vampire series with a good balance of romance, angst, and humor. The author says this is probably the last book in the series, which makes me sad, but it was an enjoyable conclusion.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (Fantasy): With her chosen family, Arthie runs a teahouse by day that changes into a blood house by night to serve the city's vampire population. When the teahouse is threatened, Arthie gets her gang today to plan a heist in the hopes of both saving it and taking down the oppressive head of the government. I loved the teahouse setting, the found family, the hints of romance, the cast of characters. The world building is great and the plot is full of twists and turns. It's also a story about colonialism, racism, and colorism, and Arthie's rage at what this government has done to her people. It ends in a cliffhanger, so I'll need to read the second book soon!
What have you read and loved lately?
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