February Book Round Up

Ahhh, I’ve been quiet. For one, I’ve been pretty busy. For another, I’ve been (still, alas) pretty depressed when it comes to kink. However, I am still here and I am, at least, still reading! February wasn’t the busiest book month, though March is shaping up to be a comfort re-read month. I did a lot of travel between Feb and early March, also – which I’ll write up about because most of it was for kinky purposes! For now, my February reads. I am up to 27 books for 2026 so far!

1. The Emma Project is the 4th book in the Rajes series by Sonali Dev, a cheeky take on Jane Austen’s Emma, with Raje brother Vansh’s own Emma Project. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this storyline because Vansh was so absent from the other books, while the rest of the siblings were very present. I did like the new romantic connection for oldest brother, Yash and the storyline that went along with it.
2. I put this audiobook on for my kiddo, as we are prying her young mind from the throes of YouTube and iPad usage, and ended up really enjoying it! David Tennant did a fantastic job narrating How to Train Your Dragon and although I know this is a film now, the book was SO good and the storyline quite fun. I look forward to diving into more of Cressida Cowell’s fantastic storytelling.
3. More along the lines of the literary fiction I tend toward, Isabel Allende’s Island Beneath The Sea was a (for me) unusual look into colonialist literature set in an area I don’t know a lot about. 18th Century Saint-Domingue and New Orleans proved to teach me a lot, though, and I enjoyed the historical deep dives I took that were inspired by the story of Toulouse Valmorain and Zarité.
4. I’d been recommended Colm Tóbín several times before and my only wish is that I hadn’t let Brooklyn sit in my Audible library for so long before listening to it. I really enjoyed Eilis’s immigration story. Although I’ve read plenty by Frank McCourt, I haven’t read many novels about Irish immigrant experiences otherwise.
5. I really enjoyed Long Island, which expanded on the story of Eilis Lacey and the life she built in NY and her return to Ireland. I hope Tóbín plans to expand the story further, because I am eager to read about the outcome of the conflict raised here. I won’t spoil it!
6. Even more along the lines of my typical reading, The Light in Hidden Places takes place during WWII and is based on the true story of 16 year old Stefania Podgórska and her 6 year old sister Helena. Stefania hid thirteen Jews in her home after escape from the Przemysl Ghetto in Poland. I love reading novelizations of true stories and also then enjoy using them as a starting point on reading about the real people behind the story.
7. Dollbaby was the second story I read in February that was set in New Orleans – although Allende’s was only partially so. Laura Lane McNeal wove a beautiful story of motherhood, generational trauma, and the stories families tell and hold, over time. An excellent read.
8. I am a huge fan of Kate Quinn and had her newest book, The Astral Library, pre-ordered as soon as I was able. I inhaled it voraciously once it arrived in my library and loved it. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live inside a book? The Astral Library brings the answer to that question to life. It’s rather a deviation for Quinn, but she did an excellent job and it felt more whimsical than sci-fi or fantastical.
9. I decided to dive into more Tóbín after enjoying Brooklyn and Long Island so much, and wanting more of that storytelling. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy A Long Winter nearly as much. It was just as well written, but the story took a bit of getting into, and it was short so by the time I was engrossed and invested, it was over. In reality, a spectacularly outlined short story of grief and survival. Maybe I need a second look at it.
10. My final read of February was non-fiction! Come as You Are came recommended by someone in the Sips & Smacks Discord server and I devoured it. Emily Nagoski did an excellent job of laying out the scientific (and psychological, actually) evidence surrounding women’s sexuality (for the purposes of this book, cis-women and cis-men, and she begins with a slight discussion about the limitations of research currently and how much work there is to do in this area). Although the books content was primarily about genital sex focused at the core of sexuality, the language used can easily be applied to broad sexuality – included fetishes like ours, I think. It was incredibly eye opening and I learned a lot and finally felt like I had some context and vocabulary for certain things.

As for March reads? A lot, but less books. Just longer. I undertook a re-reading of both the Beauty series by Anne Rice AND several of the Outlander Novels (books 3-7). What are you reading? What is on your TBR?

-M