Lia's List

Hello! My name is Lia and I live in Montana with my husband and son. I'm an English teacher and avid reader in my 30s. Last year I kept track of my reading for the first time ever and I read 175 books! I read mostly thrillers and romance with some YA lit and nonfiction mixed in.

When I'm not reading or teaching I like traveling, cooking, riding bicycles, cross country skiing, knitting, and watching hockey.

January:
- Falling - Christina Lauren - I liked this a lot. Would definitely read more of her work.
- Space Vampire - Ruby Dixon - despite the crazy premise, this was a fun read
- Love and Other Killers - Brynne Weaver - I always like her stuff. Good bridge between Ruinous Love and Seasons of Carnage
- One Killer Night - Trilina Pucci - I have really mixed feelings on this one. I listened to it and I loved the narrator (Samantha Brentmoor) and I liked parts of it. But the tone was all over the place and it was a bit long.
- Red City - Marie Lu - this was objectively well written; I just struggled with the academia part of it
- Snowed In - Navessa Allen - I normally love Allen but I struggled with this one. It wasn't at all what I expected and honestly was a bit boring.
- Phantom - HD Carlton - I haven't read either of the Cat and Mouse books but I might. This was a fun read!
- Game On - Seressia Glass - kind of predictable but sweet and unique overall
- Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman - not my usual read but I absolutely loved it!
- The Highland Fling - Meghan Quinn - cute, cozy read

Hi Lia, good luck with your reading this year.

Good luck with your 2026 reading! P.S. History teacher/prof here!

>3 bryanoz: thank you. You too!

>4 Tess_W: thank you. Good luck with yours and the rest of your school year!

Best wishes on your reading! Looks like a good start. :)

>7 R_Rose: thank you!

My favorite book in January was Dungeon Crawler Carl.

My goal for February is to keep varying my genres.

February:
- A Game of Retribution - Scarlett St Clair - I gave up on this one midway through. I liked this series when I started it but now it feels too repetitive.
- Confessions on the 7:45 - Lisa Unger - This was fun. A little predictable but good characters.
- The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch - I LOVED this one. Took me a while because of the length but it was so worth it.
- Roll for Romance - Lenora Woods - this was so sweet. I really enjoyed it.
- Two Can Play - Ali Hazelwood - this was a delight. Just love her.

February was a slow month for me reading-wise but my favorite was definitely The Lies of Locke Lamora.

My goal for March is to get back to double digits.

>11 bustellogirl: A slow month for me, too! But it was 2-3 days shorter than most months.

>12 Tess_W: that's got to count for something!

March:
- Carl's Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman - I flew threw this one. Will definitely read #3
- It's Not Her - Mary Kubica - this will be my last one of hers for a while. I like her suspense but I feel like her books are just so sad.
- Anatomy of an Alibi - Ashley Elston - fun, fast read
- Great Big Beautiful Life - Erin Henry - wow this was so, so good. It felt like an epic story like The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- Best Offer Wins - Marisa Kashino - this was CRAZY. Fun but kind of insane at the end
- The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook - Matt Dinniman - so good! I like how each book has a different setting
- Call Me Anytime - Max Monroe - this was fine; characterization was a bit heavy-handed
- The Gate of the Feral Gods - Matt Dinniman - I flew through this one. Really digging this series!
- The Butcher's Masquerade - Matt Dinniman - this one was good but something about the ending made it feel almost like the series was over. It'll be interesting to see the tone the next one sets
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton - I couldn't get into this one -- maybe because it was different than I expected
- Funny Story - Emily Henry - not as deep as Great Big Beautiful Life but very sweet
- Accidentally Yours - Christina Lauren - this was okay. I wanted it to be a little longer.
- Time Will Tell - Hannah Bonam-Young - this was cute
- Second Act Romance - Julie Soto - very sweet
- A Play for Love - Trilina Pucci - also sweet
- Death to Valentine's Day - Catherine Cowles - this was kind of a weird plot

Great job getting back on double digits for March! Those Matt Dinniman books sound fun.

My favorite books this month were Great Big Beautiful Life and The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook.

I think next month I'll get back to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

April:
- Highland Hideaway - Lily Gold - I forgot how much I like her books
- Better Than the Movies - Lynn Painter - this was so sweet. I may read more of her books in the future
- Game On - Navessa Allen - I was so excited for this book to come out but I didn't like it as much as the first two
- Evil is Forever - Trilina Pucci - so good!
- Problematic Summer Romance - Ali Hazelwood - I love her books. She did a good job writing a very different narrator this time
- Valentine's Slay - Navessa Allen - this was so crazy I expected a twist and then there wasn't one. Entertaining but unrealistic.
- Devour the Snake - Nikki St Crowe - this was fine. Not tons of conflict throughout

Ok I have been bad about logging my reading but here is what else I've read this month:

The Game series:
- Holiday Games - Cat Wynn
- Hotel Games - Cat Wynn
- Airplane Games - Cat Wynn
- Jingle Bell Games - Cat Wynn

- The One Night - Meghan Quinn
- The Reunion - Meghan Quinn

- The Fall Risk - Abby Jimenez

The rest of the Vancouver Storm series:
- The Wingman - Stephanie Archer
- Gloves Off - Stephanie Archer
- Wild Card - Stephanie Archer

-The Right Move - Liz Tomforde

DNFs:
The Fates - Alex Michaelides
A Witch's Guide to Magical Inn Keeping - Sangu Mandanna
Nothing wrong with them; my library loans were just up and I was in the middle of other series.

My favorite book this month was Wild Card.

My goal next month is to keep finishing up series I've started.

May:
- King of Gluttony - Ana Huang - so good!
- Black Ties and White Lies - Kat Singleton - I didn't finish this one. The third act break up gave me the ick.
- Fall With Me - Becka Mack - love this series

Well I clearly had a slump in May. Partially with the chaos of the end of the school year and partially because I got really into the video game Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.

Both King of Gluttony and Fall with Me were good. Next month I hope to get back into the reading routine.

June:
- Bridesmaid for Hire - Meghan Quinn - so fun! Loved this one.
- Crucible - BB Reid - I couldn't finish this one. The dubious consent was too dubious for me.
- Heartbreak for Hire - Sonia Hartley - so cute!
- Before We Were Strangers - Renee Carlino - loved the writing style but the third act twist made me sad
- The Missed Connection - Tia Williams - loved this one!
- Weavingshaw - Heba Al-Wasity - I wish I would've known that this was planned to be a trilogy before I started it because it felt unfinished.
- Strike and Burn - Taylor Hutton - roller coaster read with some heavy-handed characterization. Some good scenes but I should've read the TWs first.
- The Way I Hate Him - Meghan Quinn - cute palate cleanser, but a little boring
- The Reason I Married Him - Meghan Quinn - solid rom com
-How to Write a Love Story - Catherine Walsh - sweet but could use more spice