Top February Reads!

Happy March Everyone! I hope not all of your are stuck in some type of 'second winter' like the Upper-Midwest is right now. That being said, if you are stuck inside because the air is still too cold, do we have some book recommendations for you! I, personally, have had a rough last few days, so I'm going with cozy romance recs that will help you escape but also feel all the warm cozy feelings at the beginning of March! I hope that the start of spring brings less cold and less hard times for everyone! -Maggie And piggy-backing off of Maggie, I also have had a rough go of things recently, so I sought out happy ending romances and rereads of my favorite kids chapter books. The Southwest is getting windier and windier, so I hope these recs blow you away! -Allison

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison -Maggie

4.5 / 5 Stars

As a big fan of First Time Caller, the first book in this series by B.K. Borison, I was super stoked to receive the ARC of this book! I was also very excited to see that both of the main characters are meteorologists. (I mean...come on).

Jackson Clark doesn't want the attention that TV would give him. He wants to look at the weather patterns, barely make it through the radio broadcasts and go back to trying to keep his younger sisters safe. Delilah Stewart has always dreamt of being a TV meteorologist, but her producer is making it harder and harder to wonder if this is what she wants. When they are placed on a story together, one that leads them to staying together in the mountains, during a big snow storm, they are forced to get to know each other better...in more ways than one.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the nerdiness of the two characters plus the overall love story between them. The weather was also talked about in a really great way (which we know I had to look into as well.) A full review is linked to the photo of the book cover!

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie -Allison

5/5 Stars

My husband has started to get more into reading recently, and he was looking for a good adventure book that I liked when I was a kid. My first thought when he asked was this little-known book from a well-known author, and it may have been even better the second time around.

A young boy named Haroun is going through family turmoil. His mother has left the family, his father can no longer tell stories (which is how he makes a living), and he can only focus for 11 minutes at a time. While traveling with his father, Haroun encounters a mysterious world that contains the sea of stories, only to discover it has been poisoned and is under threat of being drained. Haroun and his new friends must fight to save the sea so as not to leave his realm bereft of all imagination and storytelling abilities. With a colorful cast of characters and magical storytelling akin to Alice in Wonderland, this book deserves to be on kids classics shelves everywhere. And in my adult reread, I appreciated all of the Beatles song references even more than before.

Still Into You by Erin Connor -Maggie

4 / 5 Stars

Guys, I really love this book. A second chance rockstar romance with a book title that matches a Paramore song? Say less.

Sloane has dreamed of people a rock journalist ever since she posted her first music review blog. Now she has the chance, but that would mean interviewing and sharing the dark past of one of her favorite bands...and the band her ex-boyfriend is the frontman of. Dax Nakamura was on the youngest leading men in the scene, and that had an effect on him, one that caused the band to briefly take a break. But he also knows about Sloane's dream and even 3 years after their breakup he is willing to do anything to show her he cares.

Now they must spend more time together in studio and during interviews, and maybe those old feelings aren't too far away from them at all. This book was a great second chance romance, had influence of some of my favorite musicians, and was overall really well written. I highly recommend.

The Prospects by K. T. Hoffman - Allison

4/5 Stars

I'm a sucker for a good sports romance, and I'm a sucker for a happy ending to an LGBTQIA+ story. This book delivers on both fronts while also not feeling too simplistic in its dealings with complex identity topics and relationship challenges.

Gene Ionescu is an eternal optimist. He loves baseball, he loves his friends, and he loves being himself in all his transness. When a blast from the past in the form of shortstop Luis Estrada shows back up in his life, Gene struggles to reconcile the man's "former teammate" status with his "current rival" status. The quiet and chronically stressed Luis is Gene's opposite in every way, but we all know that sometimes, opposites attract. Can minor league baseball bring these two majorly crushing men together, or will the locker room culture, the expectations of society, and plenty of other modern day drama get in their way?

This book was a solid story with interesting characters and the classic narrative of hope winning against all odds in sports/romance/life. It was exactly the kind of positive story I needed in my life right now.

What books got you through this chilly February? Any that we should add to our lists?