Welcome to my Monday Musings and Happy New Year! May 2024 be a wonderful reading year for you.

My family and I celebrated Christmas in Mexico. Sipping cocktails by the pool, sliding into the buffet for breakfast just before closing time, the warm weather, the beautiful beach, glorious sunsets, I really needed that break and the uninterrupted family time. We came home just in time for a New Year Eve celebration with some friends, followed by a very lazy first day of 2024. I missed last week’s Monday Musings because of our holiday, so the update today includes the past two weeks.

2023 was a very successful reading year for me. According to my Goodreads stats I read 298 books, that’s 100,927 pages. The shortest book was 42 pages and the longest 650. And I had a lot of fun with my blog.

For 2024 I have decided to participate in COYER Unwind, all four chapters. This reading challenge is hosted by Berls, Michelle, Lillian, and Stephanie. If you’re interested, you can sign up here. Chapter 1 runs from January to March and the rules are as follows:

1. Every book you read MUST be in an electronic format – meaning eBook or Audiobook. It’s okay to start a book before January 1st, you must be less than half way for it to count then review it during COYER.
2. The books must be FREE or NEARLY FREE! This includes review books, tour books, NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc. What’s nearly free? No more than $5 for eBooks and no more than $7.50 for Audiobooks (or the equivalent in your currency). Library books, borrowed books, or Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Prime books, and Audible Plus Catalog books do not qualify.
3. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Mastodon, Hive, Instagram, TikTok, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER Winter, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
4. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky.
5. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (the same linky all year). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
6. Follow & share reviews on Social Media. Use #COYER on your posts and look for others posting with the hashtag.
7. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun

And now on to the reading part of the post. (To find out more about the books: For mobile users – tap on the image of the book cover. For PC users – just hover the mouse over the cover.)

DONE AND DUSTED

I added three new reviews in the past two weeks, and there were no new quickie reviews.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This steamy second chance, fake dating Regency romance will keep you glued to the page and sweating with excitement, keep a fan handy!

Read My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐ An engaging romp of a romance, where a sensible governess must learn how to defy the rules…

Read My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tess, the virgin Dowager Duchess, doesn't want to give up her new-found independence. But it is at risk when the newly-minted Duke, Justin, kisses her at a party and proposes a marriage of convenience.

Read My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sara is forced to face her own trauma when the rape and death of a young woman brings her into contact with people from her past that she would rather forget.

Goodreads

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

Goodreads

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jadren and Seliah's love is put to the test and in an epic battle they are forced to let go of their insecurities and finally trust each other completely.

Goodreads

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Vera's crush on Mateo goes unrequited for years and when she finally decides to move on, he starts to notice her.

Goodreads

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner with Mallory as his assistant, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows, the latest of which is Gray’s oldest sister.

Goodreads

FOR THIS COMING WEEK

Some more will inevitably be added as the week goes on.

Working together, Millie and Scott soon have more on their hands than they bargained for as the danger escalates, along with the sizzling heat between them. And when a disappearance is thrown into the mix, all bets are off…

Goodreads

When old-world demons, modern-day mages, and irresistible attraction collide, desire becomes the most powerful and dangerous weapon of all.

Goodreads

Portia agrees to help Benedict, while searching for Miranda. There’s the small matter of the castle, complete with a ghost intent on driving her out. But once Portia sets her mind on something, she’s not going anywhere.

Goodreads

QUOTES THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

From The Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer: A smart person would cease speaking at that clearly taken-aback expression, but Evie was not smart. Or rather, Evie was smart, but her brain and her mouth seemed to have a swift detachment from each other.

From Jilted in January by Cara Maxwell: But protecting his younger brother was like breathing. He hardly thought about it; he’d been doing it for more than twenty years. There wasn’t a punch leveled at Alfred that hadn’t been answered with Edward’s fists.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

You can find more recommendations here. Is there anything you’d like to recommend? I’m always open to new authors and new books.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments below.

And that’s it. Thanks for joining me on this Monday Musings adventure.

^{*Post image by Freepik.}