Hi Reader,

While my January reading focused on romance, my February books were all over the genre map. (Just the way I like it!) And since I spent a little vacation time with my husband, I read more. Also the way I like it!

I started with a fantasy romance by Nalini Singh, Resonance Surge (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #7; Psy-Changeling, #22). While I do not consider this a romantasy, you might. This series is about shapeshifters, humans, and the Psy. The Psy tried to suppress all their emotions, with predictable results. (People went nutso!) This book is about one bear, Pavel, and his romance with Theodora, a Psy. Pavel can sometimes foresee the future. Theodora has hidden talents.

If you already like this series, I suspect you would enjoy this book, too. Singh explores several family themes I particularly liked: the dynamics of twins and the challenge of managing the family legacy of evil. And yes, it's a romance! (If you have not read any of the other books, start with the first book in the series, not this one.)

Then I read an old-time thriller, The Night Manager, by John le Carré. British citizen and veteran, Jonathan Pine, takes on a deep undercover role to bring an arms dealer to justice. There are the obligatory attractive women stuck in bad situations. And the potential double crosses to cover the tushes of the people in political situations.

While the genre says "thriller," the pacing did not feel like a contemporary thriller to me—it felt much slower. Still, it was a great story.

I then read a contemporary romance, The Au Pair Affair, by Tessa Bailey. This is an explicit romance, so do not read if that's not your jam. Burgess, a mature hockey player, has joint custody of Lissa, his twelve-year-old daughter. He needs someone as a live-in nanny. That would be Tallulah. The romance is lovely. And Bailey perfectly captures the twelve-year-old angst.

It was clearly time for something much less sweet, so I read Michael Crichton's first novel, Odds On, a heist. A high-tech male team, led by Steve Jencks, plans to steal all the money and jewels from a luxury hotel off the coast of Spain. However, a team of women distracts the men, with unforeseen results.

I loved this story. I thought I had read other Crichton books, but that was a long time ago and in paper. I no longer remember what I thought about those books. (I think I loved them.)

Then, I read a new urban fantasy novella, Beast Business, from Ilona Andrews. This story is set in her Hidden Legacy world, where marriage is often a business partnership. This is the opening of Augustine's and Diana's romance, where their eventual marriage (I hope!) will not be just a business partnership. The novella solves the immediate problem (a kidnapping of a special magical animal), but does not resolve the romance. I did not care. If you also love Ilona Andrews, you won't care, either.

I finished the month with another J. D. Robb, Passions in Death. Who would kill one of the two brides at a wedding party? That's the premise of this book. Another terrific futuristic police procedural with all the team members. If you like reading murder mysteries, I strongly recommend this entire series. While I buy the books because I also study them, you can get them from the library, too.

Where to Find Me

Please do follow me on BookBub. If you want to see what I'm reading, follow me on Goodreads. (That's almost real-time, unless I'm in a hotel and have insufficient wifi. In this day and age? Yes. Sigh.)

These links are all universal book links and include my affiliate codes.

If you know of a book I should read, let me know. Have a great March and read on,

Johanna