November 2022 Reading Recap

December 1, 2022November 30, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

November feels like it was gone in a blink of an eye. Spending two weeks in Europe definitely helped this month fly by for me. It also meant I was too busy to be doing much reading! Who wants to read when you can the Scottish Highlands and visit Vienna’s Christmas markets? Not me, that’s for sure!

Thanks to my trip to Europe, I only ended up reading 3 books this month – and I’m okay with that! I’m a bit behind on my goal of reading 100 books in 2022, but hoping I can make up for that in December!

Anyways, here are the books I read this month:

Review: In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti

November 28, 2022November 27, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation
Alexandra Vasti
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: Septmeber 19, 2022
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Links: Goodreads – StoryGraph – Alexandra Vasti’s website
Rating:

MY REVIEW

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation was such a cute and spicy little novella that managed to cram a great romance in a short amount of pages! I’m not usually a big reader of novellas, but I saw everyone raving about this on Instagram, so I had to pick it up!

Review: Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

November 7, 2022November 6, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Lord of Scoundrels
Loretta Chase
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 1995
Series or Standalone: Scoundrels #3
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Bullying; racism; abandonment; gun violence; body shaming

“A monster he may be, but he was her monster.”

I have heard so many people rave about Lord of Scoundrels that I was hesitant to start it. There is no way this book could live up to the hype, I thought. But I was wrong. So so wrong. This book deserves all the hype, love and praise. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact this book published in 1995. It feels so modern in its tone, character and stories – it’s like something you’d find in a Sarah MacLean or Tessa Dare novel publishing today. Loretta Chase was so far ahead of her time.

Review: Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath

November 3, 2022November 3, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Texas Splendor
Lorraine Heath
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 1, 1999
Series or Standalone: Texas Trilogy #3
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Murder; gun violence; pregnancy; animal death

I absolutely adore the Texas Trilogy series, and Texas Splendor wraps up the main novels with sweet baby Austin’s story, though I don’t think I can call him that anymore as he’s now a man with some emotional baggage. I’ve been looking forward to Austin’s story since Texas Destiny, yet this book is my least favorite in the series. Don’t get me wrong – I still enjoyed this one, but it didn’t pack the same punch as the other books.

October 2022 Reading Recap

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but October was a tough reading month! I just didn’t have the motivation to read at all for days at a time which is usual for me. Because of that, I only finished 5 books this month – not bad, but not as much as I usually read.

Here’s what I read this month:

Review: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

October 31, 2022November 2, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes
Cat Sebastian
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Series or Standalone: London Highwaymen #2
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Blood; murder; gun violence; Alzheimer’s/dementia

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes was a delightful surprise of a book. I went into this book with no exceptions, but I came out completely enamored. Something about the romance between Rob and Marian touched a special part of my soul, and this book was so sweet, loving and tender that I feel like I have a dopey smile on my face every time I think about it.

Review: Texas Glory by Lorraine Heath

October 26, 2022October 27, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Texas Glory
Lorraine Heath
Publisher: Avon Books (Topaz originally)
Publication Date: April 1, 1998
Series or Standalone:Texas Trilogy #2
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Domestic violence (physical abuse); rape; gun violence; torture; miscarriage; infertility; pregnancy; child abuse; forced child prostitution; pedophilia; murder

I mustache you to read this book. Sorry – it had to be done as I cannot believe I fell in love with a character with a MUSTACHE.

Words fail to express how much I adore Dallas Leigh – he made this book for me. And boy, Lorraine Heath takes you on a journey with this book. This book is filled with so much love, yet so much heartache and pain – very typically Lorraine. But it’s so beautifully done that I cannot fault her for the sad bits.

Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley Book
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Gun violence; misogyny; cheating

Going into this book, I knew we would likely not be friends. I truly hated The Love Hypothesis, and Love on the Brain follows nearly the exact same formula. So why did I read it, you may ask?

Well, I’m apparently a sucker for punishment, and I wanted to understand the hype. Plus, I felt like I had to give Ali Hazelwood another chance as she’s still a relatively new author. But I won’t fall for that again as this book 100% confirmed that Hazelwood’s writing and stories just aren’t for me.

Before diving into everything I didn’t like, I will say that up until around the 90% mark, I liked this marginally more than The Love Hypothesis. I thought it was going to be a 2.5-star read for me. And then the ending happened, and I completely lost all patience for this book (we will get into that below).

So without further ado, here’s why this book didn’t work for me:

Review: MacRieve by Kresley Cole

October 11, 2022October 11, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

MacRieve
Krelsey Cole
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: May 9, 2013
Series or Standalone: Immortals After Dark #13
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Rape; child molestation; grooming; trafficking; toxic relationship; kidnapping; emotional abuse; murder; references to suicide, cancer, alcohol abuse, gang rape, depression

After taking a little break from the Immortals After Dark series, MacRieve was the perfect book to welcome me back. Despite the major content warnings (this book tackles some very HEAVY topics which won’t be for everyone), this book was a lot of fun! I had a smile on my face while reading it, yet also found myself constantly going WTF at some of the crazy – so, you know, pretty typical of an IAD book.

Review: Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath

October 5, 2022October 25, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Texas Destiny
Lorraine Heath
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: June 1, 1997 (republished May 29, 2018)
Series or Standalone: Texas Trilogy #1
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: War; panic attacks; gun violence; kidnapping; references to suicide, rape, murder, slavery, physical abuse

I am finally starting my deep dive into Lorraine Heath’s back catalog as she’s quickly become one of my favorite authors, and let me tell you – Texas Destiny did not disappoint. This book was the first book in her first-ever series, Texas Trilogy, and has all the hallmarks of what I’ve come to love about Lorraine Heath’s books. Fantastic characters, a romance filled with lots of pining and angst, so many feelings, unconventional situations, and so much more! Despite publishing over 25 years ago, this book is still worth picking up today.