This was one of those reading months where I finished several books I didn’t really like. I used to be the type of person who had to finish a book I started, whether I liked it or not. In recent years, I’ve come around much more to the idea that life’s too short to read books you aren’t really enjoying. But for some damn reason, this month I just insisted on finishing books I didn’t like, because I felt like I really should be enjoying them.
You know how it is. Everyone and their mother has recommended X book to you, and you finally give in and read it. You don’t like it. You don’t understand why everyone else likes it, so you keep powering through, convinced their must be something wrong with you because you Just Don’t Get It, and you’re certain that at some point, a chorus of angels will jump out of the book singing Hallelujah and you’ll finally understand the appeal.
Guys, I give you permission not to finish that book. Don’t be me. Don’t read the book you hate and then wonder why you wasted that valuable time in your life. It’s okay. Taste is subjective (which is why I never point fingers and name titles of the books I don’t enjoy) and we’re all allowed to like what we like. Doesn’t mean you have to like what everyone else is liking.
Okay, off my high horse to report on the three books I read this month that I can actually recommend in good conscience.
Spark by Devon Monk
The West Hell Magic series is perfect if you’re looking for fun, well-written urban fantasy with little to no romance. Also perfect if you love hockey. I know absolutely nothing about hockey and this book made me want to go watch a hockey match. If I’m not mistaken, the author is a raging hockey fan.
This is one of those rare series where I actually liked the second book (this one) better than the first. Which is not to say Book 1, Hazard, isn’t good, because it totally is. They’re connected standalones about hockey players in the West Hell magic league, so the first book is about wizard Random Hazard (come on, how can you not love a book with a character named Random Hazard?) and Spark is about his best friend, werewolf Duncan.
I just really, really loved Duncan as the main character in this book. He is such a happy, goofy character, and his werewolf instincts make him super protective of his family, which is why he puts himself in a really bad position in order to protect Random.
At its core, this is a story about learning and accepting who you are, and understanding that it’s okay to ask for help. I highly recommend. While you can technically read this one without reading the first book, I always recommend starting at the beginning of a series.
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The Jaguar Knight by Ann Aguirre
The long-awaited conclusion to Aguirre’s shifter romance series, Ars Numina, finally came out in April! I’ve been waiting to find out what happened to Slay FOREVER.
So this will be more of a series review than a single book review, as I don’t want to give any spoilers to anyone who hasn’t read the first five. These are all connected standalones with an overarching theme that comes to fruition at the end of this book.
Set in a world with cat, bear, and wolf shifters, eldritch fae, and “monstrous” Golgoth shifters, the series starts at a tense time when the territories need to resign their peace treaty, and the Golgoth are threatening war on all the other territories.
Each book features a different pair of lovers finding each other, all from cross-cultural backgrounds except for the romance in the first book, which is two cat shifters from the same territory. As I’ve come to expect from Aguirre, the world-building is top-notch, the characters are well thought out, and the romance is sizzling.
I give the series all the stars. Especially since I’ve been waiting for Slay to get redeemed since he disappeared as a secondary character in Book 1. If you’ve been reading along, this conclusion is SO WORTH IT. If you haven’t been reading along and want to, start with The Leopard King.
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A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas is one of those authors it took me forever to actually pick up. Any time there’s a lot of hype around a series or author, and I didn’t read them before the hype happened, it’s hard for me to read them, because I’m always afraid I’ll be disappointed (ie, what happened with all the books I read this month I can’t rec).
But guys, I LOVE Maas’s Court series. I like her Throne of Glass series too, but they were a little harder for me to get into, and if you’re looking to start her books, I highly recommend starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses. These books are Fantasy, Fantasy/Romance about the fae.
This is technically the fourth book in the series. The first three focus on Feyre, and this book focuses on Feyre’s sister, Nesta. This is a mammoth of a book, and at its core, it’s a story about recovery and mental health. As you’ll know if you’ve read the first three, Nesta is a prickly character, and I wasn’t entirely convinced I could be made to like her, but there is so much to connect to in her character. She is very raw, and real, and I feel like everyone can learn so much from her.
Disclaimer: Smexy heat level goes WAY way up compared to previous books. Like, ratchets up x 1000.
Fun Fact: I met Sarah J. Maas once! No, she has no idea who I am. She was on tour for Queen of Shadows when I still worked at an indie bookstore, and had a signing there. The events coordinator neglected to tell her to come into the store through the back entrance, so I turned around at the registers and there was Sarah J. Maas. It was a good thing I hadn’t read her books then, or I probably would have fan-girled super hard. As it was, I just furtively herded her to the back of the store because I was terrified the throngs of her adoring fans would see and mob her, and then I would have to explain to someone how I allowed Sarah J. Maas to be mobbed by her fans. Based on the total two minutes I spent in her presence, she seems like a super chill, down-to-earth individual.
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