Sophie Reads YA: February 2024

February Summary

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Off the Beaten Path
Series: The Mountains are Calling #1
Author: Madison Wright
Published January 26th 2024 by Independently published (eARC)
Read: February 1-2 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

Next of Kin
Series: Next #1
Author: Hannah Bonam-Young
Published February 6th 2024 by Dell (eARC)
Read: February 2-3 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Fall Back Plan
Series: Sweater Weather #2
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Published September 7th 2023 by Four Petal Press (eARC)
Read: February 3-5 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Next Best Fling
Series: Librarians in Love #1
Author: Gabriella Gamez
Published July 9th 2024 by Forever (eARC)
Read: February 7 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard
Series: None
Author: Megan Clawson
Published May 2nd 2023 by Avon (eARC)
Read: February 8 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair
Series: None
Author: Laura Piper Lee
Published February 13th 2024 by Union Square & Co. (eARC)
Read: February 10-11 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

A Lesson Learned
Series: The Willowbrook Series #4
Author: Laura Landon
Published October 19th 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: February 11 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars

Oar Than Friends
Series: Oxbridge #1
Author: Lulu Moore
Published March 14th 2024 by Penguin (eARC)
Read: February 12-13 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

Match Me If You Can
Series: Ever After Agency #1
Author: Sandy Barker
Published September 28th 2023 by Boldwood Books (eARC)
Read: February 14 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Boxing Baroness
Series: The Wicked Women of Whitechapel #1
Author: Minerva Spencer
Published October 25th 2022 by Kensington (eARC)
Read: February 15-16 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars

Fake It 'til You Make It
Series: None
Author: Laura Carter
Published April 8th 2024 by Boldwood Books (eARC)
Read: February 16-17 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Best Things in Life are Dukes
Series: Dukes in Danger #10
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published March 1st 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: February 17 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars

Say You Swear
Series: Boys of Avix #1
Author: Meagan Brandy
Published March 26th 2024 by Bloom Books (eARC)
Read: February 18 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars

Icebreaker
Series: Maple Hills #1
Author: Hannah Grace
Published November 22nd 2022 by Atria Books
Read: February 19-21 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars

Wildfire
Series: Maple Hills #2
Author: Hannah Grace
Published October 3rd 2023 by Atria Books
Read: February 22-24 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars

Set on You
Series: The Influencer #1
Author: Amy Lea
Published May 12th 2022 by Penguin Viking
Read: February 24-25 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars

Exes and O's
Series: The Influencer #2
Author: Amy Lea
Published January 19th 2023 by Penguin
Read: February 25-26 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:
I'm quite happy with this month, and I've read some amazing books!

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

Christi Caldwell

Waiting On Wednesday: The Diamond and the Duke (All the Duke's Sins #3) by Christi Caldwell

10:00

2023 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Maiden to Remember (Love’s Addiction #3) by Marie Higgins

12:00

A Maiden to Remember
Series: Love’s Addiction #3
Author: Marie Higgins
Published June 27th 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Convincing a rogue to wed comes with a high price.

Ellie Middleton has exactly one month to find a husband. If she doesn’t, her father will betroth her to a vile man. Although her heart still belongs to the soldier who died in the war, she is willing to enter a loveless marriage. Out of options, Ellie does the unthinkable when she runs into her brother’s friend, Vincent Wallace, the Earl of Trenton, and boldly makes him a proposal of marriage in name only. Will the rogue accept the bargain she is offered?

Vincent Wallace has no desire to marry and tie himself to one woman. However, he doesn’t like the idea of Ellie settling for just anyone, either. He can’t get her off his mind, and he desires her more than any women he’s ever known.

But when he is threatened to stay away from Ellie or die, Vincent doesn’t know whether to release her and allow her to be happy or fight for the woman he has fallen in love with.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lady Eleanor Middleton lost her heart when her fiancee was killed in battle three years ago, and has refused to entertain the idea of marrying ever since. Though she may be the daughter of a duke, she can't get away with spinsterhood forever, and has been told she must find a husband within the month, or she'll be forced to marry her stepmother's cruel nephew, Lord Stone. Ellie needs to find a way out, and quick, and does something she could never imagine - proposition her brother's best friend, Vincent, Lord Trenton, for a marriage in name only. He needs a rich wife, and she needs a husband quickly - a match made in heaven, right? Well, when feelings start to bloom between the two, and they struggle to stop kissing each other all the time, it may not be as plain sailing as they imagined.

I honestly felt like the Trenton we meet in this book is the complete opposite to that in book 1. He's had a complete personality transplant, and though it is for the better, it's hard to really see how the books in this series actually are linked together. Vincent and Ellie were an okay couple, but nothing really stood out for me to make them special. They definitely had chemistry, but some parts of the book felt forced. It was also a little farcical the number of different impediments between the pair that appeared. It was as if the author needed to pad out the story a bit more, and get the word count up, which I didn't like. I found myself turning off from the book at times, and ended up putting it down on more than one occasion, when normally I would be able to finish a book like this in one sitting. I'm glad it was the last in the series.

Dates Read:
August 28-31, 2023

Rating
3 Stars

2023 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Governess to Protect (Love’s Addiction #2) by Marie Higgins

11:00

A Governess to Protect
Series: Love’s Addiction #2
Author: Marie Higgins
Published March 31st 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
When looking for a thief, should she trust her instincts or her heart?

Maxey Langley has been tasked with finding the man who is responsible for killing her employer and stealing the earl’s family ring. Against her will, she and another servant search for Lord Wentworth’s younger brother Ignatius Burke who has been estranged from the family. As the Wentworth’s governess, what kind of skills does she have to find a murder suspect? None at all.

Nash Burke has lived as an opera singer for the past several years, keeping as far away from his family as possible. But when a beautiful governess comes looking for him and intends to inform the magistrate, charming the governess into thinking he is someone else is the only way to make her leave.

Instead, the tables turn on him and she is the one stealing his heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Maxey Langley has been the governess for the Earl and Countess of Wentworth, when the earl is found dead in his bed. Only one person is suspected, his estranged younger brother Ignatius. Asked by the countess to search for the brother, whose innocence can be proven if he doesn't have the earl's ring in his hands, Maxey sets out on a journey across the country. Finding Nash, now a prominent opera singer, she expects he will return with her to the Wentworth home, but soon finds herself embroiled in danger, and she needs all her wits about her to survive.

I'm really conflicted on this book. On the one hand, it was an enjoyable book, which took me into another time and world, but on the other, it was too farcical for my liking. I don't really understand why the countess would send her trusted governess to seek out her brother-in-law, especially when she believed he might be the killer, when Maxey's charges had just lost their father. Really, wouldn't it have been better for her to stay with the children, and guide them through their grief? And then there were the journeys that Maxey and Nash went on. I can understand the villain being the person it was, but how come Nash is fluent in Spanish? The side story of Maxey and her mother was a bit out of the blue too, and I don't really think the villains had justice done properly. Nothing seemed to flow that well, and I feel like the book was left too open ended for my liking. Still, it was enjoyable, and I did somewhat believe in Nash and Maxey's love. I will read book 3, mainly just to clear it from my NG shelf, but I'm hoping for much better things than this book!

Dates Read:
August 16-17, 2023

Rating
3 Stars

2023 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: A Wallflower to Love (Love’s Addiction #1) by Marie Higgins

10:00

A Wallflower to Love
Series: Love’s Addiction #1
Author: Marie Higgins
Published December 15th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
When a woman is desperate, she’ll do almost anything to escape her prison.

Alexandria Templeton’s sheltered world has been terribly shaken. Her brother-in-law insists she find a husband as soon as possible. Being a wallflower, the mere idea of talking to available men makes her sick. But then when she is kidnapped and mistaken for her older sister, the Duchess of Linden, Alexandria is forced to act as one of the characters in the books she loves to read. Life is easier to manage if she can put herself in a fictional character’s perspective. Soon, she realizes her kidnapper—who has become her hero—needs her help, and her murderous cousin—who is the villain in this scenario—needs to be stopped.

Julian Stratford has a plan. He will steal the duchess and make her confess that her husband tried to kill him for a title. Once that is accomplished, Julian can take back his rightful place as the duke. Everything goes smoothly until he steals the wrong sister. Now it’s time for a new strategy.

Disaster endangers his well-thought-out plan but also threatens to destroy his heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Learning that his cousin Martin has claimed his title of Duke of Linden, Julian Stratford believes that the deaths of his father and brother, and his attempted murder, lies solely at Martin's feet. Returning to the family home, hidden in the woods, Julian plans on kidnapping the new 'duchess', and interrogating her to learn Martin's faults. But when he captures the wrong Templeton sister, and starts to fall for her, it seems that there are greater villains around, and both her and Alexandra may not come out of this alive.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Alexandra Templeton was a wallflower, who struggled to talk with eligible gentleman, but gave it her all when she had to go up against her brother in law who was planning on marrying her off as soon as possible. While her sister, the new duchess of Linden, was ill, Lexie was free to explore the grounds of the estate, which unfortunately led to her being abducted by Julian - or Grey as he introduced himself - who believed she was the duchess.

Lexie and Julian had a strange relationship - though he abducted her, he was caring, and saw her strength. He did lie to her about his true identity, which caused issues when it was revealed, but their love for each other was honest. I was a bit surprised by how many villains there were in the book, and just how many times the hero and heroine were at risk of dying. It started to get a little farcical, so I think maybe if it had been pared back it would've been better. Still, it was an enjoyable book, and I'm looking forward to what happens to Lexie's cousin, Maxey, in book 2.

Dates Read:
August 15, 2023

Rating
3 Stars