Warning: Could not render Reusable Block Three Stars: blocks cannot be rendered inside themselves. in /var/www/html/wp-includes/blocks/block.php on line 35

Well my friends, it’s official, I’m in a reading slump. I’ve suspected this is the case for a few weeks but now I’m certain. I only finished three books this week and DNF-ed two novels.

I’m having a hard time enjoying literary fiction right now. I blame a year of pandemic life plus a few months of personal “stuff” related to my health.

Life is hard and my brain is tired. I know I’m not alone in this feeling. When I posted about it on Instagram this weekend, I got a bunch of empathetic responses. So for now I’m going to stick with what I enjoy and try not to judge myself too harshly!

Here’s a look at what I read this week.

Serena Singh Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli

Contemporary Women’s Fiction

This isn’t a bad book, it just didn’t do much for me. I was expecting to enjoy it based on the premise, because I have chosen to be childless and don’t see that represented much in the romance genre. While I appreciated Serena’s resolve, I didn’t like her much as a protagonist. I didn’t connect with her emotionally and felt she was being too stubborn throughout most of the book. My meh feelings about the book are mostly generated by the writing style and how Serena’s story is revealed. There are some big things that don’t come until the last third of the book that I definitely wanted to have known sooner. They would have helped me empathize with Serena and root for her. When everything is eventually explained, it makes sense but it took too long to get there. I can’t say I’d recommend this one. 

Birds of American by Lorrie Moore

Short Stories/Fiction

[block rendering halted]

This was my book club‘s March selection and I was the only one who really liked it! The stories feature quirky characters who make questionable choices which creates a nice twist for the reader. They’re heavy stories, yet Moore sprinkles dark humor throughout that I appreciated. Her writing is sharp and concise, there aren’t a lot of unnecessary words. I highly recommend this one for readers of literary fiction.

Barbarian’s Mate by Ruby Dixon

Science Fiction Romance

[block rendering halted]

Available on Kindle Unlimited. This is book six in the Ice Planet Barbarians series. It’s been a couple months since I read a book in this series so it was fun to return to the ice planet. What I love about these novels is because while they can seen silly or cheesy at times, they tackle heavy subjects and are ultimately sex positive and feminist. Here we get Josie’s story. She is the last of the twelve human women to resonate (aka mate) with an alien male. We get her backstory that includes trauma and rape. Her eventual mate takes this seriously when she finally shares and respects her boundaries. It wasn’t my favorite of the series but not my least fave either. It was an enjoyable read and I definitely recommend this series for romance readers looking for something different.

Did Not Finish

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

Contemporary Fiction/Coming of Age

The moment I quit this book is when I realized I’m in a funk. This one came highly recommended from three women I’m in a book club with so I had high expectations and it fell flat. I started it at 2am on a night I couldn’t sleep so that was probably the first mark against it. Second was the fact that the book starts with the main character marrying a stranger in Last Vegas, which is a pet peeve of mine in books. My first wedding was in Last Vegas. You have to get a marriage certificate and go through all the regular steps to have a legitimate wedding. You can have one for fun without that stuff but then it’s not legally bidding. Anyway, I was so grumpy about that fact that I couldn’t enjoy the story. I only made it 45 pages in so I’m going to set it aside and come back to it another time.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

Literary Fiction

I started this audiobook and couldn’t get into it. I was interested in the story yet found myself zoning out. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this one, But it’s not the right time for me. I have a physical copy on my shelf so I’ll try it again when I’m in a different frame of mind.

Currently Reading

---

Have you ever been in a reading slump? Or are you experiencing similar feelings as me these days?

---