January 2024 Reading Recap

Another year of reading! I set my reading goal to 111 books. I think it will be fairly easy for me to meet.

I continued my journey through the Westmoreland spin-off series by Brenda Jackson, The Westmoreland Legacy Series and The Outlaws Series. Naturally, I loved them all. From the two series, I read:
The Rancher Returns
What He Wants for Christmas
His Secret Son
An Honorable Seduction
What Happens on Vacation
The Outlaw’s Claim
Duty or Desire

I also decided to get back into the Catalina Cove series by Brenda Jackson. I read A Catalina Cove Christmas. Really enjoyed it and can’t wait to catch up with the other books.

I read Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. I really enjoyed this entire series of books. It took me awhile to get to the third book but it brought me as much joy as the first two.

Remember the Time by Aubree Pynn made me irrationally angry. I knew it was short but I expected at the very least a happy for now ending. Instead I got a cross between a cliffhanger and an unhappy ending. I wanted to flip my desk. I saw that there is a follow up to this book. When I’m not mad anymore, I’ll read it.

I read and enjoyed a few shorts and novellas. These include:
Boo’ed Up by Danielle Allen
Coffee in the Noon by Harleigh Rae
Dessert for Three by Nicole Falls

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah was a really good read. It was my one attempt at branching away from romance for the month. His stories kept me engaged. He was a very good narrator as well.

I read The Friendship Chronicles Series by Darby Baham. I got the fourth book from Net Galley and naturally had to read the first three before I could properly get into that one. The books in the series are:
The Shoe Diaries
Bloom Where You’re Planted
London Calling
Her New York Minute
The first two books were more women’s fiction than romance. The last two were much more typical romance novels. I enjoyed the entire series. Here is my review of the fourth book.

I stepped out of my comfort zone and read The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole. I don’t read hardly any sci-fi. This book was really good. Great narration. I really want more from this world.

I have a love of Desi romance. This month I read Dating Dr. Dil and Tastes Like Shakkar from the If Shakespeare Were An Auntie Series by Nisha Sharma. This is such a good series. These books were wonderful. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I read two of my own books this month. I read Timber Mills Love Stories so that I could refresh my memory and write the next book in the series. Then I read my January new release, Getting Lucky in Love.

Now for the winners of my Sexual Chocolate Award. This award goes to books that brought me an exceptional amount of joy when reading them. I actually finish the book, stomp my foot, and yell “Sexual Chocolate” out loud. That happened three times in January.

First winner was Free Game by Kema B. This book was so good. Isis and Freedom had such a great love story. They were awesome characters. The vibe was great. The narrators were dope. It was the total package.

Second winner was I Wanna Be Down by AshleyNicole. She is one of my favorite authors. Her books always give me life. I listened to this audiobook. The narrators were fantastic. Sesali and Dash were everything in life. The love story was amazing. From strangers to friends to lovers to happily ever after. There were some heavy moments in this book but it was well balanced with the comic relief and romance.

Third winner is also by AshleyNicole. This time from her Mason Family Series. I absolutely adore this family. The Sweetest Thing I’ve Known was such a wonderful book. Choyce and Simeon had a fantastic love story. He rescued her from an uncomfortable situation. Then the Mason family practically adopted her. Of course they fall for each other in the most perfect way possible. Choyce has a lot of hang ups but none of it was too much for Simeon to tackle. This book gave me all the warm and fuzzies.

Okay, so that was 26 books for the month of January. Let’s see what I can get through in February.