Christine Kelly Reads and Writes

It was a good reading month for me despite many distractions. Want me to share? No? Too bad, it’s my blog.

First, my family is moving. My life will be chaos for the foreseeable future.

I also spent time in Florida at my parent’s house. It was 10 days solo parenting ( a trip to Disney in the middle), with some help from my parents. Let’s be honest, when they say it takes a village, it does…to a point. But that village needs to be willing and not busy with their own lives. So let’s just say I was exhausted at the end of every night and busy trying to keep up with beta reading, writing/editing, and….

I got an internship! Very exciting. I really am hopeful that I can find a career with this path and I’ve now taken the first step towards that. It feels overwhelming given everything that is going on, but also provides a lot of optimism for my future.

So on to the good stuff. The books I read.

I read From The Jump by Lacie Waldon based on a recommendation from a Twitter Friend. I was looking for a good comp for my latest WIP and this was amazing. Honestly just what I was looking for which was: friends to lovers in a single POV. Strictly platonic until it’s not. ANGST. I really enjoyed and recommend if any of those things are your jam. (Will note that many of you prefer dual POV and this will not satiate that want.)

Next up was The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve added another BookTok phenom to my list and sometimes I think the hype ruins the book. Did I enjoy it? YES. Did I expect it to change my life? YES and it didn’t. That said, I will for sure read the remaining books, but I am not jumping to buy them and happy to wait my line at the library.

Exes and O’s by Amy Lea is my next read and let me tell you now…it was the book of the month for me. I honestly fought the urge to re-read it. I LOVED IT. I had been anticipating the release because it could be a good comp for DANIELLE’S NINE DATES FROM HELL. And let me tell you- it works. This book had the hot love interest who was a player. The insecure yet totally relatable main character. This book uses the word *crazy* a bit, but in a sense I feel like it’s for us women with tendencies to be perceived as “crazy” to take back ownership of the word. But I digress. What I really mean to say is: READ THIS BOOK.

Next up I read Would You Rather by Allison Ashley. This was another read as a potential comp for my current WIP. This is dual POV and friends to lovers with a fake marriage thrown in for a golden trifecta. Recommend if you love knowing one friend pined for the other.

Next, I read the second book in the Bromance Book Club series, Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. This is Mack’s book. There are some major hot button issues tackled in this book, which I appreciate. It’s books like this that create the base for my flag I plant at the top of a mountain shouting “TAKE THE ROMANCE GENRE SERIOUSLY!” All that to say: it was a fun read.

Then I read Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne. This Pride and Prejudice retelling hit the sweet spots of the original. Two scene stick out to me. The first ball/dance and meeting and THE dance scene. The writing was clever and Wickham/WIC really turned into the most vile character. I recommend if you are in to P&P retellings and really witty writing. There were so many times where I was *mind blown emoji* with how Nikki wrote a scene, or even just an expression. If anything, read it if you need more fuel to hate WIC/Wickham. (Here’s my admission that I love Rupert Friend and thus, I still can’t totally hate Wickham.)

With me reading luck this short month. I have THREE critiques to give in full, two birthdays (kiddo and husband’s), plus prep for a move. Happy reading!