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Welcome to our Reading Life Review!  Below you’ll find the full list of titles we read (or at least were reading) since last month’s RLR.  As we do, we have some thoughts and feelings about these titles, and don’t necessarily recommend them.  If you’re looking for our star ratings, please find us on Goodreads (this page will help), and remember three or up is recommended and our DMs are always open to readers looking to pick the right book for them (or chat ACOTAR).

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik
• 30-Day Stay: A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Mastering the Medium-Term Rental by Zeona McIntyre and Sarah Weaver

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ashley FIN

• Fighting for Us (Bailey Brothers #2) by Claire Kingsley
• Forever Theirs (Twisted Hearts #1) by Katee Robert
• Protecting You (Bailey Brothers #1) by Claire Kingsley
• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
• Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
• Irresistible Trouble (Copper Valley Fireballs #4) by Pippa Grant
• Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle #2) by Tracy Deonn
• Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Nikki FIN

• Marquess of Mayhem (Sins and Scoundrels #3) by Scarlett Scott
• Now What?: How to Move Forward When We’re Divided by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers (audio)
• Fighting for Us (Bailey Brothers #2) by Claire Kingsley
• Protecting You (Bailey Brothers #1) by Claire Kingsley
• Crossing the Line (Cowboys of Moss Creek #5) by Janice M. Whiteaker
• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
• Irresistible Trouble (Copper Valley Fireballs #4) by Pippa Grant
• Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
• Smolder (Underground Encounters #1) by Lisa Carlisle
• Prince of Persuasion (Sins and Scoundrels #2) by Scarlett Scott
• Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle #2) by Tracy Deonn
• Duke of Depravity (Sins and Scoundrels #1) by Scarlett Scott
• Cowboy Seeking Someone to Love (Cowboys of Moss Creek #4) by Janice M. Whiteaker

There are five full days of February left and I know without a doubt that the only thing I want to do for the rest of the month is read books. Too ding dang bad says my schedule and work and household responsibilities. I don’t have to like it, but it is the truth. Black History Month on the blog was an excellent mixture of romance, fantasy, and personal development. The titles we chose, Seven Days in June, Bloodmarked, and Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, each brought forward the struggles that Black people deal with on an everyday basis here in the USofA. I’m glad that we focus on Black History every February and attempt to include diverse authors (and characters) every month. I have been thinking a lot about how important diversity is to me as a core value in my life and I think I might take a more active role in that space next year with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee in the Junior League of Nashville. I might add a book this weekend, I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt as I have the opportunity to hear him speak next week with JLN. I don’t know if I can fit in the book or the speaking engagement, but I want to try. I am forever grateful for a book buddy that shares this value and challenges me to expand my understanding with her.

I have been struggling with finishing the two non-fiction books that I’ve been reading since…December. I’m going to try to finish those up before March begins but I can’t make any promises. They are just not what I want to read and I don’t have a deadline with them because I own them so they’re just sitting there…waiting. I need to get back in the habit of only reading non-fiction before noon – which means with coffee before work, but that’s a way to suck the joy out of my life. And since JOY is my word for 2023, I’m only doing the things that bring me joy. Limiting the types of books I read and when…not necessarily the joy bringer. As long as I keep away from those feelings, my reading life brings me great joy – even though I’d like some more titles on the Fini list. 😉

~Ashley

Darling readers, can we take a beat to appreciate that I have channeled my beloved Kendra Adachi to the point that Ashley is unknowingly quoting her?  Isn’t that just ding dang perfection?!  I think so!  Like Ashley, I just want to hide with my kindle, mostly with my Kindle Unlimited subscription.  Even as I’m typing this, I’m listening to the conclusion of Now What?: How to Move Forward When We’re Divided by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers and can solidly say Beth and Sarah would be welcome in my ears or on the pages while I hide (or wish I was hiding).  This is the second book of theirs I’ve read, and I have to say, I do prefer them in my ears.  I picked up Pantsuit Politics as one of my many podcasts last year at some point, so listening to them read their book just feels natural now, and Now What? is a joy of a book that has already changed the way I’m looking at several things, I hope for the better.  This title is focused on moving forward together, in connected community, even with the people we don’t always agree with, and it just might be one example of healing that we so need after the last several years.  

Other than titles we’ve discussed here, I’ve read a lot of romance novels.  Yes, I completely realize this might be a bit of a coping tool for me that I might be over utilizing.  Also, it’s a hobby, so I might refuse to look at it too closely.  I read a lot, and that, in addition to spending time with my family and keeping my home, is most of what I do outside of work.  Other people run, play video games, or watch television (in case you’re wondering, I’m definitely watching this season of Masterpiece, just not much else), and I read.  I’ve really enjoying all the series I’m reading.  I continued the cowboy series I started reading last month, picked up a new-to-me series by a regency romance writer I adore, and Ashley and I picked up a backlist series by our beloved Claire Kingsley (check out this review for our first love by Claire).  These are, so far, a great balance for each other, and if only I could have more time to devote to it, I’d be living my most amazing reading life.

How are you feeling about your reading life right now?

~Nikki 

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