February 2024

Read More! Reading Challenge for February

The Read More! Reading Challenge suggestions for the month of February are here! Read A Book That Features Friendship or A Book that Includes a Recipe!

Have you already read these selections or are looking for a specific book tailored to you? Search for your next great read on Novelist!

A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua

A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua

Fiction (A Book Featuring Friendship)

Betrayed by the boss who is also the father of her unborn child, an undocumented Chinese factory worker is forced to flee and reinvent herself in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the desperate hopes of securing American citizenship for her baby.

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

Fiction (A Book Featuring Friendship)

Moving to Los Angeles to escape memories of an awful accident, Laura Costello finds herself homeless in a fire, taken in by a rogue bookseller running a lovely but illegal boardinghouse, and tasked with rescuing a losing trivia team.

It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan

It’s Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan

Fiction (A Book Featuring Friendship)

Confident that her best days are still ahead, a successful businesswoman relies on close friends and her resourcefulness when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down.

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Fiction/Historical (A Book Featuring Friendship)

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph.

Arsenic and Adobo

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Crime (A Book That Includes a Recipe)

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case. With the cops treating her like she’s the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

Fiction (A Book That Includes a Recipe)

For fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a debut novel that explores the shields we build around our hearts to retain our own magic.

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

Romance (A Book That Includes a Recipe)

Korean-American author Jayci Lee delights with this delicious and light-hearted romantic comedy that readers will devour and ask for more. Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see the gorgeous Korean hunk again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out. When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart-and her hormones-are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible…by sharing a villa. When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice-to stick it out orrisk her heart

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

Romance (A Book That Includes a Recipe)

When his roommate enters him in the nation’s favorite baking show, Paris Daillencourt finds love with a fellow contestant until his fear of failure spoils his happiness, forcing him to face his past, his future, and his constant self-doubt to embrace the sweet things in life. And don’t miss book one of the Winner Bakes All series: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake