All I did was read, read, read.

38 books this month.

As you might have heard before, I read a lot. Like a whole lot. In 2024, I read 362 books, and so far in 2025, I’ve read 125 books. Without a doubt, it’s my most time-consuming hobby. Some people are on their phones or watching TV for 8 hours a day - I’ve got my nose in a book, instead. Kindle Unlimited is losing money on me which gives me some sort of glee, I have to admit. But reading truly had brought me a lot of peace and comfort in the last couple of years, so no regrets at all.

So what sort of books am I reading these days, you ask? Of the 38 books I read this month, most of them were MM romance. That might alienate some of you, sorry, but that’s my wheelhouse right now. I’m not sure how exactly I fell down this rabbit hole, but did I ever. This theme is absolutely captivating me. Some books are written by male authors, some by female authors, and yes, I understand that the love scenes in them aren’t completely genuine - I get that. I’ve seen lots of TikToks about this and I do understand. I’m not reading it as a “how to” guide, afterall. But what I’m LOVING about these books is the pure vulnerability of these often very damaged male characters. It’s absolutely stunning. I’ve been a romance reader for a couple of years now, and I’ve read all of the typical tropes. Lately, it seems like in the MF romance books that I had been finding, the FMC was nearly always being somewhat degraded by these so-called strong MMCs and it didn’t resonate with me. I was getting “the ick” as the kids say these days. So I veered off into the MM world and I’m absolutely loving the redemption stories that I’m seeing here. It’s hitting all the pure romance AND spice notes for me and I just love it. So here are my favorites for April (and all are available on KU):

Oleander, by Scarlett Drake gets ALL the stars. I knew by the end of part I that this was beyond a 5 star read for me and that I’d be buying this book to keep in my personal library AND buying the audio as well. In fact I was hooked on Jude by the end of the prologue. This author’s book Limerance that I read last month was also spectacular so I recommend that as well. But Oleander was just over the top. The heartbreak, the yearning, the emotions, it was just swoony and achingly gorgeous. I cried for both Jude and Caspien for completely different reasons, and Drake’s writing was wonderful. I loved this tortuous book so so much. I have an intense book hangover from this one - I literally can’t think of starting another book right now, and for me, that’s saying a lot.

In the Middle of Somewhere, Out of Nowhere, and Where we Left Off, all by Roan Parrish. This is a series of 3 books, but each is a standalone. I loved the way these were written. Each book captures the story of both MMCs but from a single POV. Sometimes when a story is told in dual POV, it bounces around so much that it’s easy to lose track of who’s saying what in each chapter. So it was nice to settle into one character’s voice the entire time. And I thought, particularly in the 3rd book, seeing a character develop through the eyes of the narrator was a wonderful way of watching the relationship grow. The author is from Philadelphia (as am I) so I particularly enjoyed having the city play a part in the first 2 of these books, as well. These books get mixed reviews on Goodreads, but I found the writing to be really vulnerable and real, and I loved these characters.

Dip Out, by Eve Holmes was beautiful. The scenery in this book was almost a character in itself, and was just as beautiful as the story. I adored Trevor from the start, and I loved Arthur, who is autistic, but in a different way. I have to admit it took me about half the book to see their relationship as something real - Trevor almost seemed predatory to me, at times, completely based on my own preconceived notions of how innocent Arthur was. I had to put the book down once or twice and reboot my brain and stop picturing my adult friends’ autistic kids and see Arthur for who he was. And once I could see him as the remarkable young man the author painted him to be, the story blossomed into a really beautiful awakening for both of these characters. It was a journey for me that way too, and I absolutely loved it. This book helped remind me that even though my own reality definitely guides my opinions, that’s not the only way to see the world. 5 stars for sure.

So those are my top reads for April. Maybe these aren’t your types of books - of course, they’re not for everyone. I’m sure lots of people would be surprised to find a 50-something straight, white, woman devouring MM romance like it’s going out of style. But here I am! It’s feeding my soul and I think I’ll stick with more of this genre for a while. But after Oleander I may need a palette cleanser of some sort. I’m wrecked! Any suggestions, please let me know, and feel free to follow me on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12921106-karen

Love, Karen