Skip to main content

A Purely Subjective & Entirely Moody List of Valentine's Reads

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412783122068554937/

I am an emphatically moody reader these days, guys. I know it can drive my close associates out of their minds (and rightly so), because handing me a book to read can often sometimes be the death knell on me ever actually reading it. It's an inexplicable and a tiresome truth, but unfortunately it's a real one. And so lately I've been thinking about what influences my moods. Some of it is seasonal, to be sure. Much of it is literally how a single day went before I was finally able to drag my tired body into bed and settle in to read myself into a better mood. With Valentine's Day approaching, I've been casting about for the right thing. Who knows what I'll be feeling like tonight, tomorrow, or Sunday? And so I've come up with a number of possibilities to fit this moment in time's particular moody bill. The truth is, I could likely sit down with any one of these this weekend. They are all lovely and romantic and residents of my Beloved Bookshelf. But which one will it be? And what will you be in the mood for? Anything strike your fancy?

 If I'm feeling spiteful . . . Cruel Beauty, because he is never safe with her.

 If I'm feeling nostalgic . . . Life Without Friends, because it has always meant so much.

If I'm feeling fragmented . . . Unsticky, because Grace & Vaughn are blisteringly flawed and beautiful.

If I'm feeling rakish . . . The Devil in Winter, because she grabs hold of her life and he falls in love with his wife.

If I'm feeling solitary . . . Emotional Geology, because Scotland. Also healing and Rose and Calum.

If I'm feeling cunning . . . The King of Attolia, because he became king because he wanted to marry her and she loves every single one of his ridiculous lies.

If I'm feeling haunted . . . A Certain Slant of Light, because it is arrestingly beautiful.

If I'm feeling lost . . . The Chocolate Touch, because Paris is a good place to fight your demons.

If I'm feeling fierce. . . Graceling, because Katsa is so incredibly strong. And because Po.

If I'm feeling tragic . . . The Song of Achilles, because it is exquisite agony and it left my cup full to the brim.

If I'm feeling whimsical . . . I've Got Your Number, because it is ineffably charming.

If I'm feeling star-crossed . . . Perfect Chemistry, because it's wrong side of the tracks, rising music, teenage angst.

If I'm feeling epic . . . The Well of Shades, because it is spies and constant peril, redemption and true love.

 If I'm feeling ardent . . . The Raven Boys, because my happiness is inextricably tied to them. That's all there is.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like

Angie's 2026 Must Be Mine

As ever, begin as you mean to go on. And so here are my most anticipated titles of 2026: And no covers on these yet, but I'm just as excited for each one: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 9 by Beth Brower Finest Kind of Fate by J.J. Mulder My Kind of Guy by Sarina Bowen Ravenous by Kresley Cole Mastermind by Sarah MacLean Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison Villain Edit by Rosie Danan What titles are on your list?
2 comments
Read more

Angie's Best Books of 2025

This year really came through reading-wise. Initially, I didn't know what to expect. And I think I was a little surprised to find myself feeling a strong pull right from the beginning of the year to published books. I tried quite a few new-to-me authors with more abandon than I have in recent years—something I'm proud of and hope to continue. Not all of them worked in just an Angie-like way, but regret never entered the room. I passed them on. To the Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood, to the used bookstore down the street that I love, to my own public library in donations. Someone will love them. It didn't have to be me. And I loved giving them that little push along their way to the homes of the people who would soak up their words and hold them tight.  What a gift books are. How much I need them and how grateful I am at the end of this year for the ones that came and continued on their way—but most especially for the ones that came to stay.  And so, as has long bee...
2 comments
Read more

Angie's Best Books of 2024

Looking back at it now, it was a really solid reading year. I mean, it did its usual (for me) thing and meandered its merry way, here and there, up and down, and in fits and starts across the span of all twelve months. But it really did shape up nicely. Which is a good thing, because it was—shockingly, I know—another year in which we so desperately needed the authors and books and words of the world to come through for us. And they did, didn't they?  I am, as ever, so grateful for them and their willingness to push through every barrier and battle that I know must try to keep them from putting their visions on paper. And so, as has long been my custom, I record here my list of published books that saw me through the year. Gifts, every one.   (listed in the order in which I read them) The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake Bride by Ali Hazelwood You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary Lips Like Sugar by Jes...
4 comments
Read more