Welcome to My Favourite Reads, where I share the books I enjoyed the most over the past month and love hearing about yours.
February was sloooow. Not a lot of ebooks read and my paperback reading dominated by a single, big fat title. They were good though. And one was so good, I’m prepared to label it my overall favourite for the month. Something I haven’t done for a while.
That book is…
(Again, apologies for this post’s crappy formatting. Nothing seems to fix it and it’s driving me nuts!)
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Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry
Oh, this book was FUN!
Kit McBride Gets a Wife is book one in The McBrides of Montana series and what a cracking start it was too. It opens with Junebug, the family’s only female member, expressing yet again her disinclination to play lackey to her brothers. Fed up, she places an ad for a bride for blacksmith brother Kit, and so the romantic mayhem begins.
Honestly, this book made me so cheery. Everything about it was gorgeous—the brothers (Kit is veeeery fine), Junebug (hilarious), the old timers who hang around, mail-order bride Maddy, and even Maddy’s outrageous ex-employer. And we mustn’t forget the dog. Then there was the romance between adorable Kit and courageous Maddy. It was just joyous.
Book two, Marrying off Morgan McBride is already on my e-reader. Can’t wait!
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The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
I read Harrow’s gothic Starling House last month (my thoughts on that here) and enjoyed it enormously. I said then that I’d be lifting The Ten Thousand Doors of January to the top of my to-read pile, and indeed I did.
It didn’t let me down.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January was a fabulous read. I loved how it celebrated the power of words. January was a wonderful character—first as a bright and mischievous child, then as a young woman living a privileged yet prison like existence, and as a woman finding her potential and finding love.
In fact, all the characters in The Ten Thousand Doors of January were amazing. Mr Locke was fabulously ambiguous—sometimes kind, sometimes mean, and definitely odd, Mr Havemeyer perfectly creepy, and Jane was so brave and strong she made me cheer. So did Bad. A good dog who knows when to bite.
The writing was gorgeous, the world-building first class, and the storytelling expertly crafted. I loved it and am very much looking forward to seeing where Harrow’s imagination takes her next.
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The Secret Reader by Susan Mackie
Imagine my delight when fellow Aussie author Susan Mackie emailed to say that The Grazier’s Son had scored a mention in her next release, The Secret Reader. That’s such a cool thing to have happen! Especially when it’s a book in her hugely popular Barrington series.
So I was thrilled to accept a copy of The Secret Reader and its predecessor, The Barrington Book Club. It’s this book club that chooses The Grazier’s Son as its first read for the year, and very nice things they say about it too. Thank you, Susan!
As mentioned, this series is very popular and highly rated. The Secret Reader brings the series tally up to nine, so plenty of backlist to keep you satisfied. And for those whole love small town stories full of character and warmth, with a strong emphasis on community and people helping one another, and a gorgeous romance or two, then you will definitely be satisfied.
Lovely.
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Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates
Regular readers will know that I’m a bit of a fan of Australian horror writer Darcy Coates. Her books feature regularly in My Favourite Reads because they deserve to be here.
I didn’t realise that Voices in the Snow was part of a series when I started reading, but it turns out that this is the first in the Black Winter series, in which the world has been hit by some sort of apocalypse, and ravenous monsters begin to prowl the land.
Clare wakes to find herself in a stranger’s home, unable to recall what sent her driving madly toward her sister. The stranger says she’s had an accident, and that he’s her rescuer. Certain something creepy is going on, Clare does her best to escape but a vicious storm foils her chance. Then she starts hearing and seeing things, things the kindly stranger refuses to believe. He swears they are alone in the house. Clare knows they’re not.
Quite a different story from Coates but enjoyable. The suspense was great—could Dorran be trusted, what was with the savage weather, why did she leave for her sister’s so urgently, and what is creeping around the house? The book leaves much to be resolved so I guess that means I’ll be reading book two, Secrets in the Dark.
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Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Like half the world it seems, I also spent February with my nose buried in Onyx Storm, desperate to discover what’s happened to Violet, Xaden and the gang. And the dragons, of course.
While I don’t think this quite had the power of the first two books of the Empyrean series, Onyx Storm was still a brilliant read. Plenty of action, LOTS of emotion, and times when I held my breath I was so in fear for the characters.
As for the ending…
Sigh. It’s going to be a long wait for book four.
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What have you read lately that’s tickled your fancy?
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8 Responses
I have been meaning to read Kit McBride – I think you just talked me into it.
Ooh, YAY! Let me know what you think.
Oh, I so have to read Kit McBride Gets a Wife, Cathryn. For *reasons* I’ve been pushing other books up my tbr list, but this one is hovering there like a delicious promise!
That said, I too have been reading some fun and fabulous stories. Onxy Storm–snap! It didn’t have the same power for me as the first two books in the series, but I canNOT wait for Book 4. The first two books in Amanda Ashby’s new Widows’ Detective Club series were a reading highlight (Book 2 was my fave), and I’ve also read the first 2 in Elle Couper’s Hot Grid short Kindle reads and they were a blast! And now I’m reading another big tome–Amor Towles The Lincoln Highway–and am in total awe of the man. It’s an extraordinary book and I’m very much hoping it won’t break my heart. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Michelle, I’m really looking forward to reading Amanda’s books! They sound great.
You definitely need to put Kit McB up the list. It is so much fun! And I think we all need that at the moment.
Yes, it’s definitely going to be a tortuous wait for the next Empyrean book. Gah!
I look forward to hearing what you think of The Lincoln Highway. I’ve heard mixed things but I adored A Gentleman in Moscow and really want this to be as good.
Thanks for sharing about the Elle Coupers. I’m going to try me those!!!!
Cathryn, great list as ever. And would you believe I haven’t read ANY of them? I’ve got Amy’s book and have been hearing such good things about it. I’m yet to venture into the Fourth Wing Universe, partly because I look at the books and think I could read 20 other books in the time it took me to get through them. I know, I know, people love them. I’ll get to them one day.
I had a terrifically busy February (not writing, unfortunately!) and so my list is rather pathetic. Add in a LONG biography of Shirley Hazzard with teeny-tiny print and I didn’t get through a lot of books at all. My two favourite fiction books were The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (which had the loveliest hero although I had mixed feelings about the story as a whole) and the gorgeous Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries which I may have picked up thanks to you. That one’s a real charmer and evoked no mixed feelings at all. The SH bio was interesting but I ended it thinking that SH and I wouldn’t have been bosom buddies. I also read a really fun book about travel in the middle ages called (unsurprisingly!) A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes by Anthony Bale. It was set up like a Lonely Planet guide with all the charming and frightening and frankly bonkers ideas people at the time had about the world.
Hoping to have a few more books to report on in March!
I totally get that about the Fourth Wing books. They are enormous. It took me almost all of Feb to read Onyx Storm. I love the series though…
Sorry, Encyclopedia of Faeries wasn’t from me, but clearly I’ll need to take a look at it.
LOVE the sound of the Anthony Bale. What fun!
Thanks so much for sharing. I love hearing about your reading adventures. Your book choices are so wide.
Reading The Bad Bridesmaids by Rachael Johns. Loving it.