Let’s Chat: Books I Reread All the Time (Part 1)

I feel like I’ve spoken about this before, but I’ve never been good at blogging when something negative is going on in my life. I don’t typically write posts in advance (which I’m really regretting now) so I always end up on an unplanned hiatus. I’m still typically active on twitter, but that hasn’t been the case since around this time around. All the sick days and the anxiety have also taken a toll on my reading – I don’t think I’ve read a new release from start to finish in months, which has surprised me. What has been a game-changer though, and the one thing making me feel like ‘Hey! Things aren’t so bad after all!’, is rereading.

Instead of forcing myself to keep on reading new releases, I decided to shift and reread my favorites instead. BEST. DECISION. EVER. I discovered how much I love rereading – there’s zero pressure to write a review; I already know what’s going to happen; and most importantly, I found that rereading grounded me. I couldn’t get enough of it.

I thought it would be fun to make a list of the books that I enjoy rereading multiple times and wow, I thought of A LOT! I thought of so many titles that ‘My Favorite Rereads’ will now become a blog series! So without further delay… Here are the first five books that I can’t get enough of, mini reviews included!

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Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

The Psy-Changeling series is one my first adult paranormal series, and even now that it’s twenty books strong, I still enjoy every single book. In the Psy-Changeling world, the Psy, changelings, and humans try to co-exist, but none of them get along. The changelings are physically stronger; the Psy have advanced mental capabilities at the expense of having zero emotion; and the humans just try to survive. The world building is classic Nalini – so detailed and original, and I’m amazed at how good she is at foreshadowing events that won’t happen until later in the series.

Slave to Sensation, the first book of the series, is about the romance between Lucas, the alpha of a leopard pack, and Sascha, a powerful Psy. Their relationship is very much opposites attract – Lucas is very attuned to his emotions, while Sascha feels nothing… or so we think. Dun dun dun. There’s something so comforting about Lucas and Sascha’s relationship, because it shows just how powerful love is, and how it can transcend all the differences in the world. I adored seeing how their romance developed, and with it the strongest friendship, trust, and respect. Lucas and Sascha to date remain my favorite Psy-Changeling couple, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. They bring me so much joy and comfort!

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Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh

I know, I know… Another Nalini book! Angel’s Blood is the first of Nalini’s Guild Hunter series which stars vampire hunter Elena. This is another incredible Nalini world (I have no idea how she does it, seriously) – here, archangels reign supreme. Angels and vampires work for archangels, and it’s the archangels and angels who make vampires. In return, the newly made vampires serve their angel makers for a certain amount of time, though there are vampires who eventually want to break contract. Here enter the guild hunters – they hunt rogue vampires before they can cause trouble for everyone.

In Angel’s Blood, Archangel Raphael hires Elena to hunt down a rogue. One thing I enjoy about Nalini’s books is how tough and powerful her heroines are, and Elena is no different. I also loved how Nalini explored Raphael’s otherness – he’s not human, so of course he would act and react differently to things compared to Elena. It was a lot to take in at first, but through working and falling in love with Elena, Raphael learns to become a little human…. and in the process, becoming one of my favorite romance heroes EVER.

If I were to describe Elena and Raphael’s romance in one word, it would be “epic”. They face so much adversity because of their love, but they don’t care! Nalini, give me more Elena and Raphael-centric books please!

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The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders

The set up of the story is like a lot of classic Harlequins – Sandro and Theresa marry, but Sandro treats Theresa like shit throughout their marriage. He’s punishing her for the actions of her father, but she has no idea what she’s done to make him hate her so much. When Theresa finally has had enough, Sandro realizes that maybe he had everything wrong…But by then, it’s too late.

Is there a romance book more iconic than The Unwanted Wife? I don’t think so! I’m a tough critic when it comes to groveling heroes (does the grovel match the crime?), and this book holds the distinction of being one of the only two books to exceed my expectations. The grovel is so so satisfying! Why, you may ask? Because Sandro spends THE ENTIRE BOOK groveling! (As he should!) And he doesn’t just have a big groveling speech – he also works his ass off to make it up to Theresa! Theresa, not to be outdone, also has a backbone made of steel – she doesn’t make things easy for Sandro (rightfully so!).

The number of times I’ve read this book is seriously unhealthy, but it’s just so delicious! I love marriage in jeopardy romance books, but too often than not, the scummy and awful heroes get off scot-free despite breaking the heroines’ hearts, but not in The Unwanted Wife! Trust me when I say that you will never get bored of rereading this book!

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Lev by Belle Aurora

I would say that Lev is the perfect introduction to dark romance author Belle Aurora’s books – it has dark elements, sure, but not too much to scare new readers away.

Lev opens with Mina, homeless and desperate for food. She goes into a club and steals a wallet from a random rich guy. Instead of taking the entire wallet, Mina hems and haws, and ends up deciding to take only $100. She then gets caught by Lev, who is the brother of the guy who stole from. Lev promises his brother that he’ll ‘take care’ of Mina, and… he literally does. He gives her a place to stay, a job, and helps her get back to her feet.

Lev and Mina’s romance is a slow burn – Lev didn’t want to take advantage of Mina; and Mina wanted Lev to see her more than the girl he helped. Other than the fun and heartwarming romance, I also enjoyed the themes of acceptance across this book – Lev and Mina loving each other despite their pasts; Lev’s siblings accepting that Mina is a good match for Lev; and Mina accepting that there are people who love her now. This book makes me smile so much, and it reminds me that there are always better days ahead.

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Amour Amour (The Failed Audition) by KB Ritchie

I know that the title of this book has technically changed to The Failed Audition, but… Amour Amour was already such a great and unique title that captured the entire essence to the story! I promise to refer to this book as The Failed Audition after this blog post – I just need to celebrate the old cover and title, and then I’ll get on with my life.

Amour Amour is a story about aerialists. Thora is a gymnast who has always dreamed of joining the circus, and this summer, she gets the chance to audition as the female lead of the show Amour Amour. Thora doesn’t get the part, but the male lead, Nik, agrees to train her for another audition happening in a few months.

What makes Amour Amour special, other than the amazing romance, is that Thora gets taken in by the Kotova siblings while she’s in Vegas. I’ve always loved found families, and seeing the bond she has with everyone just warms my heart. As I mentioned earlier, I also loved the romance between Nik and Thora. All the flirting, the bantering… I can’t get enough! Most importantly though, Nik is Thora’s biggest supporter. He knows how much Thora wants to be an aerialist, and he’ll do whatever he can to help her achieve that dream. I live for supportive heroes in romance!

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There you have it! I’ve read all of the books above ten times each (I wasn’t lying when I told you that they’re my favorite rereads!), and I can’t recommend them enough. It’s also kind of funny – this post is the first blog post I’ve written in months, and I was worried that I wouldn’t have anything to write…. but this post ended up longer than I thought it would. I’m excited to get back to blogging, and writing reviews. See you in my next post!

Have you read any of these titles? How about you, what are your favorite rereads?