I packed a lot into a short month—and I didn’t even finish a book on that extra leap day! Ann Aguirre was generous enough to give me a sneak peek at her latest Ars Numina book, The War Priest, and I was immersed immediately in grumpy bear (literally!) Callum and sunny songbird Joss’s romance! I cannot wait to see how this series comes to a close. Meanwhile, Samira Ahmed’s Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is an absolutely gorgeous and lyrical follow-up to last year’s timely gut-punch, Internment. The dual timeline story, rooted in the Parisian literary scene of the 19th century, reiterates the message that women need to be, and deserve to be, heard. To that end, I think Samira is one of the most evocative voices in young adult fiction today.

I also devoured the utterly delightful gothic-y romance The Widow of Rose House. I loved the big, brilliant, adorkable scientist hero Sam and the determined heroine, Alva, who refuses to let what society thinks of her get in her way. The trade paperback release and the historical fiction-y cover might give you pause, but trust me: It’s definitely a romance novel! And, last but never least, Nalini Singh’s A Madness of Sunshine proved to be exactly the dark and atmospheric mystery I needed during a particularly rough weekend. I never thought of New Zealand as scary. It is now! LOL!

The Reading Rundown:
The War Priest by Ann Aguirre (out 4/22, paranormal romance, urban fantasy)
The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh (young adult historical romance, young adult fantasy)
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed (out 4/7, young adult fiction, young adult romance)
Rituals by Kelley Armstrong (urban fantasy)
The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller (historical romance, gothic romance)
Ruthless Pride by Naima Simone (out 5/1, contemporary romance)
A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh (suspense/thriller)

Backlist adventures: I needed some comfort rereads, so I returned to Kit Rocha’s Beyond Innocence and Beyond Surrender as well as Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten.

Currently reading: Wedding at Riverview Inn by Molly O’Keefe.

On the TBR/wishlist:
The Damned by Renée Ahdieh
Recipe for Persuasian by Sonali Dev
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe