Earl Grey Books

Hello, everyone! You might’ve noticed that I took a bit of a break these past few days just so I could focus on my mental health for a little, but I’m back now and ready to share my five most recent reads with you. So without further ado, let’s jump in.

Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) by Julia Quin

I bought this book at the very beginning of my romance reading journey back in 2019, quite a few months before I even read Bridgertons but in the lead up to season 2, I finally decided I was ready for this prequel series. Right from the start, it felt so good to be back in this world even though this is the generation before. I think when it comes to prequels/continuations/whatever, they can feel extremely different from the original books but this felt like I was right at home. My favourite thing about Quinn’s books is the banter between all the characters—not just between the couple but between the family as well, and you can find it in spades here. I’m very excited to be moving on to the next book in this series very soon.

Only A Monster (Monsters #1) by Vanessa Len

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and oh god, it was worth the wait. This is honestly such a fun read—it’s fast-paced and there are a couple of dark moments but there’s some good banter in there too. It reminds me a little bit of Our Violent Delights—it just has that feel about it, that vibe, if you will. This turned out quite different to what I was expecting from the blurb, but I ended up loving it. I will say though, the blurb does put a lot of emphasis on the romance aspect but this felt like it was more focused on the adventure side of the story—that was absolutely fine with me because I was really more interested in the world-building in this one, but I hope we’ll see more development on the romance side of things in the next book. All in all, this was honestly fantastic and I’m so glad I read it this week.

The Girl With The Make-Believe Husband (Rokesbys #2) by Julia Quinn

I couldn’t resist going into book two of the Rokesbys as soon as I possibly could, especially once I knew this was Edward’s book. We don’t get to meet him in book one at all, but I was just super excited to see what his story would entail. What I love about this one is that it’s so different to the other books I’ve read from Quinn so far—this takes place during the American Revolution, specifically in New York. I haven’t read any romances set in that period before and really my entire knowledge of the revolution comes from Hamilton, so this was really interesting to me. There were a few parts in here that were a bit weird or I just didn’t like, but on the whole, I really enjoyed Edward’s story but I kind of have the feeling that Andrew might end up being my favourite Rokesby brother…I guess I’m about to find out.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I feel like I’m one of the last people in the book community to read Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I’ve always been a little intimidated by her popularity. But in February I decided to finally bite the bullet and buy this one. From the very start, I was completely enthralled with Evelyn Hugo. I love the way the story is told and it was honestly just fascinating. More than a few times I caught myself wishing that Evelyn Hugo had been real because some of the movies in here sounded absolutely fantastic but alas, I guess we’ll just have to wait for this newly announced Netflix adaptation. Anyway, beyond that, I have to admit that I cried a lot at the end of this story—it’s such a bittersweet end, and I honestly haven’t cried like that at a book for at least a few months, if not longer. I’m truly impressed by this and I can’t wait to give some of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s other books.

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

I’ve been hearing fantastic things about Lynette Noni for years now but I’d never read anything by her before. Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this one about 180 pages in. I think I gave it a good go but it just wasn’t for me. There were quite a few different storylines taking place in here and it was just a little too much especially when I was only really interested in the one. It also just felt a bit like every other YA fantasy, but specifically Throne of Glass and Poison Study. I loved both of those books when I read them, but that was over eight years ago and I’m just not interested in that type of story anymore. I’m a little sad about this one because I was really liking where it seemed the romance would go but not enough to keep reading. Since it’s a DNF, I won’t be giving this a star rating.

And that’s it for today’s post. Have you read any of these?