After ending February on a discordant note — the disappointment of the exoticizing elements in Hello Stranger — I kicked off March with a wonderful book that wholeheartedly embraces the realistic diversity of the past. Beverly Jenkins has been doing the work for years, celebrating how black men and women lived and loved in the Civil War era, the Old West, etc. And Tempest is glorious, featuring an independent heroine who accidentally shoots the doctor hero, a thread of mystery, family strife, and even issues involving Chinese railroad workers. There’s just SO much to this beautiful novel, and I came away from it ‘shipping at least three sets of characters and wanting their stories, too!

After my trip back in time, I hurtled forward — returning to the Sectors, as my fave Kit Rocha released their latest Gideon’s Riders book, Ivan, and discovering new-to-me author Vivien Jackson’s futuristic cyberpunk-ish Wanted & Wired series. Give me allll the queer-friendly multiracial future scenarios, please!

The reading rundown:

Against the Dark by Carolyn Crane (romantic suspense)
The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran (historical romance)
Bad for the Boss by Talia Hibbert (erotic romance, contemporary romance)
Wanted and Wired by Vivien Jackson (dystopian/sci-fi romantic suspense)
Perfect Gravity by Vivien Jackson (dystopian/sci-fi romantic suspense)
Tempest by Beverly Jenkins (historical romance)
On the Brink of Passion by Tamsen Parker (erotic romance, contemporary romance)
Ivan by Kit Rocha (dystopian romantic suspense)
Lady Rogue by Theresa Romain (out 4/24, historical romance)
Sinner by Sierra Simone (erotic romance)

I also reread Meredith Duran’s stunning debut Duke of Shadows (which interlaces perfectly with The Sins of Lord Lockwood) and finished Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes. Am I embarking on my own year of yessing? Only time will tell!