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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