February was not a good month… thank goodness for books, right?
It caused me to fall behind again, badly, and now that I’m finally writing this, in April, I feel that I don’t want to relive some things yet by writing them here.
All is not lost, however, since I managed to document most of it during my reading vlogs; I do encourage you to please pop around my channel and have a look, but be warned: the first half of the month contains some sensitive content…
You can find my channel, Mr Pink Ink, here. Please subscribe!
All Roads Lead To This by Kay Claire
I had the privilege of meeting this author at ComicCon Cape Town 2023 where I bought their book! If all goes according to plan, I hope to see them again this year.
All Roads Lead To This is about two guys, who have been friends since childhood, going on a road trip across South Africa to collect a rare plant only to discover their feelings for each other. Not being a romance fan, as such, here is what I loved about this book:
– The Characters: I am a complete sucker for great characters and Kay has written some really great ones; Reuben is an outgoing, friendly, out and proud guy who lives with his 70-year-old Grandmother whose family means the world to him, and; Cedric, who suffers from anxiety attacks and worries about everything.
– The Representation: ARLTT has it all; a gay MC, a trans-masc MC, and a non-binary side character – nothing unexpected from this #OwnVoice author.
– The Information: The main reason, I think, I’m not a romance fan is that I am rather quite uncomfortable with spice in books (I honestly don’t know why) and I find myself skimming through them mostly; however, I found the intimacy to be something of an education.
– The Setting: Our country is more beautiful than people realise and a queer road trip brought back memories of the places I’ve been to before and reminded me of some of the ones I would love to visit someday.
I really enjoyed this and if you love romance, road trips, plants & horticulture and all the queer, then you need to add this to your shelves!
Also, if you want to hear more about my thoughts on this book, please check out this video on my YouTube channel.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Witch Boyfriend Wanted by Colette Rivera
As someone who isn’t a fan of the Romance genre but has found myself reading quite a bit recently, I have found that I enjoy stories with elements of found family, fake dating, and cosy mystery; Witch Boyfriend Wanted has all of it
Find my full review here.
Pick Of The Month
Starling House by Alix E Harrow
“I have no home, no porch light. But I have what I need, and it’s enough, It’s just that sometimes, God help me, I want more.”
Starling House was my intro to this author and, oh, my goodness, what an introduction it was! I loved almost everything about this novel, including the romance.
I love a good story but I also love great characters and Starling House has some fascinating characters, to say the least; a young orphan lady, Opal, street smart with an attitude to match her upbringing, whose number one priority in life is to get her little brother out of Eden, Kentucky, starts dreaming of a weird house and strange monsters; a hideous young man, Arthur, the current owner of a bizarre house and warden to its many secrets; and Starling House, a house so steeped in history and magic that it, somehow, became sentient. That’s not to mention a few great side characters, including a grumpy x sunshine sapphic couple you will just adore.
This gothic story about a house on a hill has classic Beauty and the Beast elements, replete with a cosy library where even the books themselves are most helpful.
I found the writing to be very nearly mesmerising but there was just something off about it; this may have something to do with the way the author would just drop an a or the from a sentence, and sometimes even a to. It distracted me a little from the flow of the narration.
Overall, this is so good! If you enjoy fantasy, fantasy romance, romance, magical realism, excellent characters, dark settings and / or gothic vibes then I certainly recommend you add this to your shelves.
Blood Rose by Margie Orford
After reading Margie Orford’s first book in this series, Like Clockwork, I was hooked and it looks like this is fast becoming a favourite author for thrillers.
Blood Rose takes us on a dark and gritty adventure into the seedy underbelly that infests every major city; even in the desert. Dr Clare Hart finds herself out in the Namib desert as a visiting consultant to Walvis Bay where the bodies of young boys have been found. Of course, Riedewaan Faizel is never too far behind.
The relationship between Clare and Riedewaan undergoes a little strain but we are still left with unclarity as to their past…
It is possible to read this as a standalone; there is only the history between the two MCs, as well as their backstories, that may affect the overall read – but I don’t think so.
If you’d like to hear me talk more about this book, then be sure to check this video on my channel.
Rating: 4 stars
Naturally, I really wasn’t in the best head space to consume physical books, because I found it hard to focus, so audioooks got all the playtime and I have been gulping down the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I flew through the next nine books; from Thief Of Time to Thud!. Pyramids, book 7, wasn’t available when I was at that point but I finally got to listen to it as well.
Do let me know what you’ve been reading, what you thought of any of the above, or if you have a suggestion/recommendation for me, in the comments below or on any of my other socials. Until next time…
Happy reading!
Mr Pink Ink 
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