February 2020 Round-up
/Books Edition
I read a ton of amazing books in February and there just isn’t enough time to make sure every one of them gets the review they deserve. After listening to an episode of the Fated Mates podcast, I requested a book by Kristen Callihan and Reader Friends, we need to bring Paranormal Romance back! I forgot how much I loved it until I started reading Firelight. I want more magic, more witches, more archaic secret societies and rituals gone wrong.
Books I loved:
A slow burn romance between a woman, Miranda, who can create fire with her mind and an incredibly wealthy man, Archer, disfigured by an ancient ritual gone wrong. He meets her in a dark alley on his way to kill her father but falls instantly in love with her feisty and fierce nature. He never reveals himself to her until three years later when he asks her father for her hand in marriage. He won’t marry her against her will but her father makes it known that if she doesn’t marry, she’s out of the house. On her wedding day and for weeks after, she never knows his true face and he keeps it covered with a mask and never forces her to consummate their marriage. When a string of wealthy men are murdered, Archer knows he’s the intended target and sets off to stop the killer. Miranda isn’t going to stand by and watch her husband be murdered and begins her own investigation. It’s some of the best writing I’ve encountered in the paranormal romance genre and I can’ t wait to order the rest of the series. Highly, highly recommend.
Pigs by Johanna Stoberock is a fascinating and imaginative look at the effects of capitalism have on our world and our lives. Four children live on an unnamed island in complete poverty. They spend their days feeding the world’s garbage to six pigs kept in pens. The pigs consumer everything. Trash, uneaten food, unwanted family members, discarded electronics, all of it fed to the pigs day after day. Also on the island are a group of adults who live lavishly and are incredibly cruel to the children. When a young boy washes up in a barrel, the children are unsure if he is to be taken in and cared for, or fed to the pigs. On the other side of the island, a man washes ashore and tries to survive on the unforgiving island. When the children encounter the man in the wild, the balance of the entire is disrupted and the fate of the world is put in jeopardy. I found it a powerfully written novel and read it in one sitting. Highly recommend this one.
The Seep by Chana Porter is incredible. Just incredible. It’s a slim novel set in a time after we make first contact with aliens. But the aliens are microscopic and exist in our water so when we consume them, we join with them in our bodies. The Seep begin to change the world: capitalism is no more, sickness disappears, and our connection with our world is finally truly established. Trina, a middle aged trans woman is living her life blissfully with her wife Deeba until the day Deeba wants to start her life over. The Seep have given people the ability to be reborn-literally begin life again as a baby. Trina doesn’t want to raise Deeba, she wants to be married to her. When Deeba leaves to be reborn into a new family, Trina finds herself completely devastated and heartbroken. After an encounter with a young man who escaped from a colony where the Seep are not allowed, she sets out to protect him. This was so original and fascinating and completely unlike anything I’ve ever read. I loved the characters, the imaginative world, and the beautiful writing. Definitely read this one.
Beautifully written, Murder on the Red River is a stark look at the effects of family separation, poverty, and privilege. After Cash has spent a childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home, she is finally able to emancipate herself and finds an unlikely ally in the white sheriff of her hometown. Now 19, Cash finds herself helping to solve the murder of an American Indian field worker. The closer Cash comes to find the killer, the more her own life is put in danger. Highly recommend this one.
What have you been reading and loving lately? Drop your titles in the comments below!