I am having what one might call a renaissance in reading. But, it’s not quite the literary ideal that you may be thinking…it’s more of a sudden voracious appetite for romance novels. But, honestly, my reading habits have never been better.
What kicked off my renaissance?
In 2021, I read 44 books. 2022 saw 75. This year I’m on that same track at 45 with 6 months to go. So where did this start?
In 2021, I read a lot but there wasn’t any spree of 9 to 10 books in a month like I’ve seen in recent months. Even in the beginning of 2022 I wasn’t this hungry for new content. Then, sometime in April, I decided to stop caring what anybody else might think of my reading and just read what seemed like fun to me.
It started with a manga that seemed to have a very…weird premise. Well, this manga series ended up being the cutest and sweetest thing I’d read in years. I devoured 11 volumes of “Sweat and Soap.” It had more to do with building relationships, trust, and facing past traumas than it had to do with the weirdness the summary claimed.
Then I read Book Lovers by Emily Henry. I think this was a turning point for me where I said “I want more books like this.” Then I read “My Killer Vacation” by Tessa Bailey to a mixed reaction and “A Little Too Familiar” by Lish McBride to a better one. Neither one set off a reading marathon in me. But, I had found some aspects of the genre that I enjoyed and more importantly some that I didn’t.
More books of various genres, more manga, and then I came to the one that really set this whole thing off.
“Under the Oak Tree” by Suji Kim
Maximilian (Maxi), the eldest daughter of the Croyso family, grows up being abused by her father. As a consequence of the physical and mental trauma, she develops a crippling inferiority complex about both her stutter and her physical appearance as well as a general lack of self-respect.
When Maxi’s father, Duke Croyso, receives a royal order from the King to fight the Red Dragon Sektor, he decides to marry his daughter off to Riftan Calypse, a peasant knight. Duke Croyso’s plan is to push off his martial responsibilities to his son-in-law. Maxi thus finds herself forced into a marriage with a man she barely knows. The newlyweds spend their first night together, but they become separated immediately as Riftan leaves for war early next morning.
Fast forward three years later, and the couple reunites when Riftan comes back to the city to celebrate his victory in war. Although the two spent only one night together and Riftan is a stranger to Maxi, she is afraid that he might want to divorce her, for the divorce would mean a death sentence for the young woman. What are Riftan’s intentions? Will Maxi find the strength to overcome her trauma and lack of self-confidence? Will the couple survive and find love against all odds?
Under the Oak Tree – Storygraph Summary
Between September 9th and September 13th I read all 5 of the available books…almost 1400 pages…in 5 days…woah. I adored the strong character development for every single character. Add in a fantasy world where monsters are everywhere and very real danger at every turn and I couldn’t put the series down.
September did not end there! I read 7 more books that month. All of them had some kind of “romance” in them, and a few of them had fantasy elements. I think we can easily say that this whole whatever it is started in September.
The rest of the year included the usual suspects you hear about when people say they “got back into reading.”
- A Court of Thorns and Roses 1 and 2 by Sarah J. Maas. (I have stalled out at 3 because it is over 700 pages and the plot is a bit slow)
- Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain by Ali Hazlewood (banter for days!)
- The Twisted Series by Ana Huang (spicy stuff and some of it not to my taste at all!)
- A few of Mariana Zapata’s books (slow burn for the win; loved each one I read)
- Stay a Spell Series by Juliette Cross (obsessed! but also very spicy)
The reading marathon continued into 2023! But it wasn’t all great books. There were a lot of DNFs for one reason or another. A lot of times things just got too spicy too fast or just gave me the ick. Sometimes there was no plot and I need a solid plot behind things, even romance novels. I ended up rereading a lot of books because I just wanted to be in the plot and emotions that they had all over again.
Rereads:
- When Gracie Met the Grump by Mariana Zapata (grumpyxsunshine, the slowest of slow burns, superheroes…and a bonkers plot that I love!)
- Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score (another unhinged plot that goes off the rails and I love it)
- Wolf Gone Wild and Don’t Hex and Drive by Juliette Cross (Sweet supernatural stories with strong plots to break up the spice.)
- Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (The BANTER!…also a crazy plot)
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (Love a trauma healing plot line; honestly the best book of the series)
There’s a theme here if you’re catching it. I love a romance novel with a plot that goes absolutely crazy. I’m talking kidnapping, car chases, girl getting a backbone when it matters, and of course a love subplot that is heart wrenching to read. Throw in mortal danger for supposedly unbreakable creatures and I’m there.
The biggest thing I’ve learned in my “reading renaissance” is that I really just need to read what makes me happy. When I was in college, there was a lot of reading I HAD to do, so I think that really burned me out for a long time. Don’t get me wrong I still love a complex, fantastically written literary fiction, but right now “fun” books are where my head is at. I’m trying very hard to read like nobody is looking at my reading history. I share this kind of stuff with my blog mostly because I want people not to be ashamed of their reading. If you love reading romance novels and just can’t get into anything else, that’s totally fine! If you love non-fiction and can’t stay interested in fiction or fantasy, also totally fine!
Yes, I have an English degree. No, I don’t particularly like the classics. My English degree really taught me more about what stories mean and why we tell them the way we do. It’s not about what story is “worth” more. Are some better written than others? oh sure. But, it doesn’t mean they’re worth more.
So, I’ll stick to my unhinged plots and my slow burn romances.
Happy Reading!
Rachel
Subtle Stories 