{"id":18782,"date":"2024-03-02T17:57:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T22:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/?p=18782"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:55:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T15:55:39","slug":"the-books-of-february-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/archives\/18782","title":{"rendered":"The Books of February (2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mortal<\/a><\/p>\n

February was apparently a month for mysteries, something about puzzles perhaps distracting me from the doldrums.<\/p>\n

Lots of rereads (unexpectedly) but there were some new stories in there, including the delightful Mortal Follies<\/em><\/a>, which I’d held off reading. It is an Alexis Hall<\/a> romp with banter and mystery and (in this case) magic, with an unreliable narrator.<\/p>\n

I am that knavish sprite that frights the maidens of the villagery. I am Oberon\u2019s jester\u2014was Oberon\u2019s jester, that\u2019s rather the issue. I am called hobgoblin by some and, contrary to what certain people might have told you, it is not a name I like and you shall not have good luck if you repeat it in my hearing.<\/p>\n

I am also your narrator.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another book I’d had on my TBR for ages and finally got around to reading was Shady Hollow<\/em><\/a> by Juneau Black<\/a>. Although it is<\/em> a fantasy, it is really a cozy mystery whose characters just happen to be animals. Suspend your disbelief and dive into this delightful story.<\/p>\n

\"Shady<\/a><\/p>\n

Traditionally, woodland creatures are not big readers, but things changed when Lenore opened the bookshop. \u201cNevermore,\u201d she said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, \u201cwill the town have to do without quality entertainment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This month’s audio books were the Shadow Police series, which 1) blows me away every time I read it, 2) has all the trigger warnings for all kinds of terrible things, and 3) really deserved more books.<\/p>\n

There are two new romances, one by Cathy Yardley<\/a> and one by Chloe Liese<\/a>. I’m discovering that I tend to love everything Chloe Liese writes, and although I want<\/em> to love everything I read by Cathy Yardley, the stories are not quite as awesome as I want them to be. Likely because Cathy Yardley’s books have a fair amount of sex, which means I do a bit of skimming, which does throw me out of the flow of the story. (As always, this is a me thing, so take that into consideration.) Essentially, I think it’s that\u00a0 I can skim the boinking bits in Chloe Liese’s stories without losing the flow of what I’m reading, but the same doesn’t hold true for other authors.<\/p>\n

Fantasy<\/h3>\n