Happy International Women’s Day!! Today I am happy to link up with two of my favourite book-loving women Steph and Jana to share the books I’ve read lately – which, coincidentally, are all written by women! lol. Happy Show us Your Books day!!!

Books I’d Highly Recommend

Bluebird by Genevieve Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is hard to put my feelings about Genevieve’s writing into words. While I love historical fiction as much as many, books by this author in particular draw me in immediately in a way many in this genre do not. I love learning about small tidbits of Canadian history through her writing. I also love that the characters are easy to like (except the bad guys lol) and it feels like you are reading about a friend.

All of that aside, the plot of this book was also extremely interesting, with a sweet and tender war romance and a discovery many many years into the future. It is a dual timeline book, but as a reader I felt myself drawn to the historical time period, so it was a relief that much of the book focused on those characters. Adele and her friends and family and Jerry and his brother wormed his way right into my heart and will stay there for years to come. It was wonderful to read about a woman in that time period who felt compelled to maintain a job as a nurse even after the war.

I knew next to nothing about prohibition after the first world war besides the very bare minimum so it was fascinating to read a bit about what that might have actually looked like day in and day out for the people in that business.

I also appreciate that while there is some sadness in this book (as you’d expect from any historical fiction), and I did tear up once or twice, I wasn’t a complete emotional wreck while reading it and that is just kind of refreshing when reading this genre too. 🙂

Long story short, I highly recommend checking this book out when it comes out April 5 🙂 Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so easy to get into and at times LOL hilarious. I loved the main characters, especially Olivia, whose outlook on life is positive despite some hardships and comparison to her successful siblings. I found myself picturing exactly how everything looked in the shared condo in this story, and it was easy to picture what the characters looked like and maybe want to be friends with them, which is my favourite thing in a book.

The romance storyline was so fun too – I love reading banter in texts (hello, My Favourite Half Night Stand) and I know I’m not alone in delighting in the mysterious “no idea who I’m texting” storyline, which wasn’t as predictable as you might expect.

Mostly I think I just want a comfy purple bed like Colin’s and some cozy nights in what seems like a fun city. I will definitely be pursuing everything this author writes in the future because these types of books just really work for me and don’t we all need a book that puts a smile on our faces these days??

Thank you to Berkley and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book had been on my TBR for years, basically since it came out, but I need to be in the right mood for an intense 27 hour heavy world-building fantasy book and it turns out I was in the mood right before the second in this series finally came out!! I will happily admit that some of these stories by SJM go a tiny bit over my head because I miss this and that connection (my brain just isn’t built to adequately ANALYZE fantasy fiction) but in some ways that doesn’t matter because the details make the ride so worth it.
These books certainly are not for everyone – you definitely have to want to immerse yourself in an urban fantasy, but I’d say there is a possibility that this series could outshine ACOTAR for me and I love those books so much.
This one takes a bit of the book to really get SUPER INTO the action but the last little bit was mind-boggingly good, in my humble opinion, and I jumped right into the second one immediately!!!

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book, this world, these characters, all of the action-packed scenes and many layers in this book.
I’d also say simultaneously that I definitely do not understand all the intricacies of this story and will require a more devoted fan to explain it all to me. LOL

The Chai Factor by Farah Heron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked the pace of this book and the fact that it took place over a short number of weeks with all of the characters in close proximity to each other. SO FUN! There was more than one bed but just one basement apartment, if you know what I mean (wink, wink). Farah Heron had already impressed me with Accidentally Engaged and I knew I’d have to go back and read this book that precedes it, and it was well worth the read! Amira and Duncan and all of the boys in the barbershop quartet were fun to read about, but there is some very real depth here and issues of racism, sexism, and discrimination against sexual orientation are all addressed. I loved learning more about Amira’s culture and how it could look so different for Amira vs her best friend who is featured in Accidentally Engaged. Excited to follow this Canadian author for years to come!

The Suite Spot by Trish Doller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After falling in love with Float Plan last year, I couldn’t wait to read a book about Anna’s sister and niece and this one was so lovely! It was an easy read to sink into and the setting was FABULOUS and so fun – the only thing that would make this book better would be if it came with a sample of the craft beer we read so much about LOL.
Overall, I really respected Rachel as a character and loved watching her grow as she began to stand up for herself and what she deserves in life and I loved watching her crack Mason’s shell and get to know the residents of Kelly’s Island and find a new home for herself and her daughter. My only mini complaint was that I wanted it to be a tiny bit longer because I did NOT want to say goodbye to these characters quite yet!!!

Thank you to St Martins Press and MacMillan Audio for the ARC/ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Not a Waste of Time but Not Over the Top Amazing

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book fell a bit flat for me – I enjoyed the publisher setting and definitely enjoyed the mysterious editor component, but the end of it just didn’t quite tie things together as well as I’d hoped while reading. Overall though, it was a quick and enjoyable way to pass the time in a book! THank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC (this book came out in Feb).

I also read: City of Jasmine by Deanna Raybourn (I do not recommend at all), the newest Veronica Speedwell by the same author (excellent as always), Amari and the Night Brothers to my children (we loved it immensely – so good), and A Wish in the Dark with the kids too (A Les Mis retelling, absolutely excellent). This month I’m plowing my way through a bunch of excellent middle grade reads for Middle Grade March and also a bunch of ARCs for MarchOfTheARCs. Zero complaints!!!