Guess what? I’m breaking the rules! Lauren’s Library is supposed to be just 3 books I loved each month, but I can’t restrict myself this time. Not when March was such a fantastic reading month for me. So, I’m upping the rec’s to 4 and even that doesn’t cover all the beautiful stories I got to immerse myself in since the last LL blog post.
At least this is a wonderful problem to have!
Destiny’s Embrace by Beverly Jenkins
I was in the mood for an American historical, and this book was gathering dust on my TBR bookcase. (You read that right, I have an entire bookcase full of to-be-reads). Goodness gracious, am I glad I cracked it open! I loved watching Mariah become a confident, take-no-shit woman. Each time she put Logan in his place, I cheered out loud! Reading their romance blossom was such a joy.
The Rogue Not Taken by Sara MacLean
Another random grab from my TBR shelf (when I go into a bookstore, I can’t ever leave with just one, which is why I’m constantly discovering hidden gems in my own collection). This book had me laughing the entire way, even when the characters sometimes broke my heart. I’m a huge fan of the woman-dressing-up-like-a-boy tactic, and the heroine in this novel, Sophie, pulls off the ruse grandly! Every MacLean book I’ve read, I’ve loved, and this one was no different.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Read. This. Now. Well, actually, read the A Court of Thorns and Roses first (it’s book 1 in the series). But THEN read this magical, lovely, slow burn, heart rending-then-healing romance. I devoted an entire weekend to this book and still needed more. I woke up in the morning thinking about it and stayed up hours past my bedtime turning pages to get just a little bit more. The love Maas builds between these two characters made my chest tighten and my eyes blink fast to push back the tears. This is in my top favorite books of all time.
The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
Normally, I’m not a big mystery reader, but I’ve been trying to expand into different genres when it comes to audio books. This experiment was a success. Cormoran Strike isn’t some perfect investigator with the body of an olympic athlete and the financial backing of Bruce Wayne. He’s real, and relatable, and even though he was kind of grumpy and out of sorts, I found myself really liking him. Plus, his assistant Robin is clearly a budding detective in her own right. I’m excited to stick with this series to watch the two of them weave their way through intricate mysteries.
There you have it! I’m a rule breaker and I don’t even care. I hope you check out at least one of these amazing stories.
Best,
Lauren