In February, I wrote my Romance Reading Month post where I mentioned which romance books I had on my list to read in February. I had five books on my list and ended up reading three of them, with a fourth being read at a slower pace. Let’s take a look at the romance books I read last month.

Eleanor & Park – Not Finished.

I have been going through my bookshelf and picking books I want to re-read. Eleanor & Park is a romance story starring Eleanor & Park who meet at school and develop a romance. Eleanor & Park has come under some controversy with how Rainbow Rowell wrote Park. My prediction is similar to how I felt about Fangirl that this book won’t hold up to what I felt when I first read the book years ago. I’m slowly reading a chapter here and there. I plan on finishing Eleanor & Park before the end of 2022.

The Ex Hex – Didn’t Read

I saved The Ex Hex for Fall as I think it’s a perfect book to get into the Halloween spirit.

Well Met – Finished

Well Met is a romance starring Emily and Simon. Emily temporarily moves to a small town in Maryland to take care of her older sister who was involved in a car accident. Emily gets roped in by her niece to volunteer at a Renaissance Festival where she meets Simon, a pirate who helps organize the Renaissance Festival. Simon has a hardened persona, but eventually Emily breaks through this leading to the beginning of their romance.

I adored this book. Emily and Simon had great chemistry together. I liked the Renaissance Festival as the background of their relationship. I kept imagining the lush forest surrounding the festival and all the performers sashaying throughout the grounds. Besides the festival, I liked the setting of the town. There’s a small town bookstore Emily works at that’s owned by one of the founders of the festival. This book was everything I wanted and I rated Well Met five stars on Goodreads.

One to Watch – Finished

Bea Schumacher is a successful plus-size fashion blogger who also is a fan of the reality show, Main Squeeze. As the next season is being determined, Bea is approached by Lauren, the producer of Main Squeeze to headline the series. Bea decides to accept. While Bea is confident in her blog and fashion sense, she has concerns over whether men will want to date a plus-size woman. Will she find love? or leave alone?

I went into this book wanting a confident and sassy plus-size woman to have fun on this reality TV show. Unfortunately, it seemed Bea’s entire character arc was her saying that no man would date her for her size. I understand Bea having some insecurities over her body, but it seemed to be the background of the entire book. I struggled to understand why Bea would agree to a reality TV show with where her head space was at.

I do want to be up front that I have no idea what it’s like to be overweight or have my body constantly a topic of conversation. This might be where my bias comes in as this might be something that’s more realistic for someone with a similar body type to Bea.

This was a big let down for me. I rated One to Watch two stars on Goodreads.

Get a Life Chloe Brown – Finished

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill geek who comes up with a bucket list of things she wants to accomplish. Chloe meets Red who decides to help her with her list. A romance develops with Chloe realizing her feelings for Red going beyond the list she originally created.

I liked the idea of Chloe being this geeky woman living her life through her chronic pain. Red seemed like such an opposite to Chloe, so I thought they would connect well. Although I did like this book, I struggled to fully immerse myself in the book. I found myself stuck on the first half of the book for a long time. I think this book is so important because of the representation of a character with chronic pain. I rated Get a Life Chloe Brown three stars on Goodreads.

The books I read in February were a mixed bag. In March, I’m taking a break from romance and tackling more of my mystery and thrillers on my TBR.