I haven’t even finished posting all my January reviews – work and luge have been so busy! But here are my hopefuls for February.

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

This is a popular romance that I have seen all over Bookstagram. It looks like it might be fun and who doesn’t love a fake dating romance!

What it’s about?

A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Read and The Unhoneymooners.

Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she’s finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist’s scheme… faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.

Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he’s slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it’s the last thing he wants to do.

Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn’t take long before Grey and Ethan’s sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?

Death of a Valentine by M. C. Beaton

I have loved Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, so thought I would give this a read. Perfect for February as it is set around Valentine’s Day and ticks off the holiday other than Christmas prompt for the Popsugar Reading Challenge.

What it’s about?

Amazing news has spread across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, will be married at last. Everyone in the village of Lochdubh adores Josie McSween, Macbeth’s newest constable and blushing bride-to-be.

While locals think Josie is quite a catch, Hamish has a case of prenuptial jitters. After all, if it weren’t for the recent murder of a beautiful woman in a neighbouring village, there wouldn’t be a wedding at all. For it was a mysterious Valentine’s Day package–delivered to the victim before her death–that initially drew Hamish and Josie together on the investigation. As they work side by side, Hamish and Josie soon discover that the woman’s list of admirers was endless, confirming Hamish’s suspicion that love can be blind, deaf . . . and deadly.

Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie

Partners in Crime is the February pick for the Read Christie 2023 Challenge. I haven’t read any of the Tommy and Tuppence stories, so I’m looking forward to this one.

What’s it about?

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are restless for adventure, so when they are asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leap at the chance.

Their first case is a success—the triumphant recovery of a pink pearl. Other cases soon follow—a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates. But can they live up to their slogan of “Any case solved in 24 hours”?

February is short and super busy minth for me as I leading a two week school literary festival, so hopefully I will still be able to get some reading done.

Happy Reading!

E x