What I’m Reading (2.28.22)

Hi, friends. I hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourself right now. It’s been a hard weekend and the news out of Ukraine is horrifying and really scary. I am continuing to pray for peace, as neither the people of Ukraine nor the people of Russia have asked for any of this. <3 (My news sources right now are Jessica Yellin and emilyinyourphone on Instagram, as well as the Pod Save the World podcast, if you’re looking for good options to keep up-to-date on what’s going on without going crazy.)

It’s hard to make the transition to a silly post about books, but alas, I know it’s good to have distractions right now. I finished three books this week, all 4- or 5-star reads, so it was an excellent reading week for me! Let’s dive into the reviews:

The Bastard’s Betrayal by Katee Robert (★★★★☆)

Dark romances aren’t normally my jam, but I tend to make an exception for Katee Robert. Her mafia romances are some of my favorites! I used to exclusively read romantic suspense books before I moved on to more contemporary/historical romances, but I always love diving back into a world that’s just a bit more dangerous than you’d find in a typical romance. In this book, the first in a new series, we’re drawn into the world of Rose Romanov, who will one day be the head of the Romanov family. She’s been dating a “normal” guy named Jackson for a few months when she finds out he’s actually part of one of their rival mob families and has been sent to spy on her family. Chaos ensues from there. I really liked this book and I’m excited about this new series. I do have to say, though, that it is very, very open door and some of the sex scenes were a little too much for me, even. But all in all, a solid read where I really had no idea how things would resolve for the two main characters. (e-book, Amazon)

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle (★★★★★)

What a sweet, heartwarming book! In All the Lonely People, Hubert Bird is an 82-year-old Black man who lives alone in London and doesn’t have much in the way of friends. His wife died 13 years ago and he keeps himself sane with his weekly phone calls from his daughter who lives in Australia. To appease his daughter (who is very worried he’ll become a lonely old man), he has made up a fanciful life where he spends all his time with three friends that he met at a group event. When his daughter announces that she’s coming to visit him after a handful of years away, he realizes he needs to make some new friends—and fast. This is a book about loneliness, about how to make friends no matter what age or stage of life you’re in, and about the magic that can happen when we open ourselves up to others. I was completely captivated by Hubert and his life (the book switches back and forth in time, taking us through Hubert’s life from the time he was a young man to how he fell in love with his wife to where he is now), and this is a book I could confidently press into the hands of any reader. (#ownvoices, print, library)

“Although things were noticeably better than they had been when Hubert first arrived in England, that didn’t mean racism had suddenly disappeared. It was still there every day in newspaper headlines, in the stereotypes appearing on TV, in the assumptions strangers made about people who looked like him. The only difference with this kind of racism was that it was marginally more likely to result in graffiti scrawl across a family’s front door than a physical attack or a beating. Instead it remained an ever-present background noise that, from time to time, if the situation allowed, could be tuned out for a moment’s respite.”

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (★★★★☆)

This novel begins at the end of the 1950s—John F. Kennedy has just become president, Fidel Castro is prime minister of Cuba, and Beatriz Perez and her family are trying to build a life for each other in Miami after fleeing Cuba. But Beatriz quickly becomes drawn into the dangerous world of espionage, as she is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Castro’s inner circle. While the beginning of this novel was slow, it really seemed to gain speed once everything was established and I had a hard time putting it down. On the surface, this book may seem like a spy novel but it’s really about so much more than that. It’s about family and sisterhood, about being a refugee and how everyone in a family is impacted differently (some by embracing the new country and culture, others by fighting to get back to their home country). It’s about resistance movements, courage, and love for country. It’s a gorgeous love letter to Cuba and Cubans who fought for the resistance. I really, really liked this novel! (#ownvoices, audiobook, Libby)

What I’m Reading This Week

• The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran (e-book) – I just started this queer romance and I am already sucked into this crazy, lovely world. The setting is a Bachelor-type reality TV show, and I am here for that.
• The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard (print) – Everyone has been raving about Catherine Ryan Howard, so I suggested one of her books for book club. I’ve been told it’s actually pretty dark and gory, which I don’t normally go for, so we’ll see if I can stomach it. (At any rate, I will only be reading it in the daytime!)
• The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (audiobook) – I was positive that I had more books left to read in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series before I got to the latest release, but nope! Once I read this book, I will be officially caught up. I can’t believe it! I’ll start this on Tuesday.

What are you reading?