Here are my top 5 reads of the month!
#5 – Vinland Saga Volumes 1-7 (Manga Series) by Makoto Yukimura
This is a Japanese manga series that follows Thorfinn who at the beginning of the story is a young boy who is trying to seek revenge for the death of his father. As the story goes on Thorfinn grows up and learns that revenge maybe isn’t the answer he is looking for, but rather, peace lies in the far-off kingdom of Vinland, a place he desires to travel to one day.
This manga is a modern classic and the story lives up to that hype. The illustrations are beautiful yet still manage to depict the brutality of war. The political conflict is also top-notch and adds to the intrigue of the story. During the month of January, I re-watched the first season of the anime in anticipation of the second season.
#4 – Beowulf by Unknown
Beowulf is a heroic poem from around the 6th century AD and was originally written in Old English. It follows the titular hero Beowulf, the hero of the Geats. The story begins with him travelling to help Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, who is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. The story continues to follow Beowulf as he grows up to become king and has to fight Grendel’s Mother and Dragons.
Beowulf is a classic for a reason. Despite being nearly 1,000 years old the poem is still engaging and worth every line. I listened to this as an audiobook and the translation (and reading) was super easy to understand and follow. Sometimes old texts that get translated are overly difficult to read and don’t flow as they should. This wasn’t the case for this particular version. The pace was fun and the story was as interesting as ever!
#3 – Mile High by Liz Tomeorde
Mile High is all over TikTok and is definitely worth the hype. It is also the first of three romance books on this list!
The book follows Zanders, a hockey player with a bad reputation that follows him around. Despite this, he has a heart of gold and is willing to do anything for those close to him. Our heroine is Stevie a flight attendant who is lost in life and doesn’t know what she wants to do. This book follows their relationship as it evolves from a single hook-up into something more.
This story and the relationship in it are incredibly well-developed and heartwarming. The banter between the characters is amazing and this is overall a solid book!
#2 – Revel by Shey Stahl
Revel is likely one of my favourite romance books. The book follows Revel Shade, famous rock star extraordinaire, and his messy relationship with rival musician Taylan Ash. It’s enemies-to-lovers, melodramatic, and very angsty.
This is a book that I have re-read about 4 times and is a book that I keep coming back to. I wouldn’t say it’s the best book ever written but it does something for me and I’ll likely keep coming back. It’s 100% a comfort book and something I read when I’m in a funk and need a bit of a pick-me-up. Ironically this isn’t a particularly happy story but the drama and relationships are something top-tier.
#1 – Final Offer by Lauren Asher
Final offer is the final book in the Dreamland Billionaire series. The books can be read independently of each other and are also the only book in the series I’ve read. The book follows our hero Callahan and the hoops he has to jump through to get his inheritance from his late grandfather. He has to sell his grandfather’s house by the end of summer but there’s a catch. His ex-girlfriend and childhood best friend Alana lives there and is on the deed. The two must reconcile their differences to sell the house together.
This book is another TikTok romance darling and like Mile High is actually good and worth the time and effort to read. Lauren Asher is somewhat of a hit-or-miss with me, but this book worked and was the best thing I read in February! Every Lauren Asher book I’ve read suffers from feeling a little too drawn out. This book was no exception, but I don’t think it took away from my enjoyment of the book and at no point did I feel exhausted or like I didn’t want to continue. The length didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book but rather something I noticed. Asher knows how to write characters and the ones in this book were no exception! Their banter was fun and I found their relationship to be quite satisfying.
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