It’s My Favourite Reads time. Whoop! A tad late again this month because of my Serenity’s Song deadline, which is only eleven sleeps away. Eleven, she says shakily. Eeek!

I’m not going to choose a favourite this month because I can’t choose between the first four books listed. They were SO GOOD and deserve to be lauded equally.

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The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith

Oh, I LOVED this book! The Vine Witch is what I guess you’d call a historical fantasy? Whatever genre it is, it totally floated my boat.

Where to start with all the goodness? Well, it’s set in France – tick! It’s set in a vineyard – tick! It has romance – tick! It has dastardly deeds and betrayal – tick! It has good witches who do marvellous things with wine and beer – tick! It’s beautifully written and page-turnery – tick! It has friendship and love and magic – tick! It’s… oh I could go on and on.

Superb. Go read.

And book 2, The Glamourist is releasing in June. YAY!!

The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews

I really enjoyed Matthews’ Christmas themed story A Holiday By Gaslight (which I talk about here) and was eyeing off her other historical romances when The Work of Art appeared on sale. Perfect timing. And a wonderful read too.

The Work of Art had a gorgeous, heart-warming romance, lots of mystery and intrigue, dashing heroic deeds, and dogs.

In other words, everything. Highly recommended.

The Greek’s Forbidden Innocent by Annie West

Best. Annie West. Ever.

This book had me from the opening page and did not let go. The premise is fantastic – to save her friend from an arranged marriage, Princess Mina steps into her place and ends up captive on the hero’s private island. So brave! So swoony!

I also really liked that I got to catch up with Mina’s sister and brother-in-law who I met in The Desert King’s Captive Bride (another fab read that I talk about here). But most of all I loved the hero and heroine and their stories. They were brilliant.

If you love a sexy Mediterranean hero, a strong, relatable heroine and an enemies-to-lovers trope… Actually, no. Scrap that. If you love romance, read The Greek’s Forbidden Innocent. It’s fantastic.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Speaking of fantastic, Love Lettering rates that accolade too. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. This was so un-put-downable I read it while doing chores, eating, whatever. Any chance I had this book would be in my hands.

It was so unusual too. The hero was like nothing I’ve ever come across before. Reid was sad and quiet but also beautiful, super smart and very, very heroic. I loved him. Really, really loved him. I also adored how Meg and Reid helped each other in small but significant ways. It was so heart-warming and kind. And in a delightful bonus, I learned bucketloads about hand lettering and calligraphy.

Total winner.

I’m going to read more Kate Clayborns. Oh yes, I am!

Dark Clouds Over Nuala, Offstage in Nuala and Fatal Finds in Nuala by Harriet Steel

Those who caught up with January’s My Favourite Reads post will know how much I enjoyed the first book in The Inspector de Silva Mysteries series, Trouble in Nuala, so it’s probably no surprise to hear I bought the boxed set and gutsed down the next three in this series this month. They’re simply nice cosy mysteries, set in an interesting country at an interesting time.

Lovely books.

For the writerly or creative…

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

More a motivational book than a craft one, The War of Art looks at what stops you from being creative. I know a lot of authors rate this book highly. I quite enjoyed the single page chapters with their short paragraphs and sentences. It made for a fast read and one that I could put down and pick up at any time without losing the thread.

Unfortunately, The War of Art just didn’t resonate with me. That happens with how-to books. Sometimes they hit home, sometimes they don’t.

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What did you enjoy reading last month?

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