I filled the shortest month of the year with short stories in an attempt to pull myself out of a reading slump. February 2025 was a month full of stress and migraines, and that impacted my reading too. But, I did revisit some of my favorite authors with new installments from Abby Jimenez and Fiona Davis, and a backlist read from S.A. Cosby.

My February Reading Recap

Here’s what I read in February. What standout book did you love for the month?

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

My favorite contemporary romance writer, Abby Jimenez, can really do no wrong in my eyes. I love how she infuses her romances with serious themes and real-life characters. The fact that she can do that in a short story as cleanly as in a long-form novel? Absolute talent. In The Fall Risk, Charlotte and Seth are strangers across the hall but then become each other’s only companions for Valentine’s weekend when their apartment complex stairs are destroyed. Seth helps Charlotte deal with her self-imposed seclusion because of a stalker while Charlotte helps Seth address the finalities of his divorce. I’d love a novel-length read about these two and their friends. Five stars.

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose

The Nosy Neighbor, a short story by Nita Prose, is part of Amazon’s The Busiebodies collection. This is a darker tale than Prose’s Molly the Maid books, but I really enjoyed the premise of two frenemy neighbors and what could happen if one of them gets too suspicious of the other. The Nosy Neighbor addresses the challenges of aging and how that impacts a way of life. Five stars.

My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby

Southern noir author S.A. Cosby can do no wrong for me, and I’m making my way through his backlist before King of Ashes drops on June 10 this summer. My Darkest Prayer was Cosby’s first long-form novel, and it is so dark. Nathan Waymaker “handles the bodies,” whether as part of his job at his cousin’s funeral home or as part of other dealings in life. A former Marine still mourning the murder of his parents, Nate is caught up in the mystery of a well-loved reverend’s murder, which quickly proves to be more complex than what the Sheriff’s department wants to claim. This is a book full of violence, corruption, and vengeance, but Cosby makes it propulsive with a hero in Nate and memorable side characters. Five stars.

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis, one of my favorite historical fiction authors, delivered a captivating novel in The Stolen Queen that seamlessly blends her signature style of dual timelines and perspectives. The story follows Charlotte Cross, an ambitious archaeologist whose career takes an unexpected turn after a tragedy forces her to return from Egypt to New York City in the 1930s where she starts work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Decades later, she crosses paths with Annie Jenkins, a young assistant hired to help organize the Met Gala. When a priceless Egyptian artifact is stolen on the night of the event, Charlotte and Annie team up to solve the mystery, confronting long-buried secrets along the way. Davis vividly brings Egypt’s archaeological wonders to life, explores ethical dilemmas surrounding antiquities, and crafts a compelling narrative filled with art, history, and intrigue. The Stolen Queen is a thoroughly enjoyable read that met my high expectations set by Davis’s previous works, leaving me both satisfied and inspired to explore the world of archaeology. Four stars.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

A group of six best friends spend one last week at their beloved happy place, a gorgeous house in Maine that owned by one friend’s father. Before Sabrina’s dad sells the house, she insists that this last week meets all of the group’s expectations, including everything that they’ve treasured during past vacations. But, the group is now in their thirties, and one pairing—Harriet and Wyn—are hiding their broken engagement with the fear that the end to their love story will mean the end to the group’s friendships as well. This is the second Henry book for me in 2025, and I liked it but didn’t love to. Forced proximity and miscommunication are two of my least favorite romantic novel tropes, so I had to work harder to get past those to focus on the quality characters and charm of Henry’s writing. Overall, Happy Place could have been about 75 pages shorter and accomplished the job, but it redeemed itself with a group of well-developed, delightful characters and a beautifully designed setting that has me adding Maine to my travel bucket list. Four stars.

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto

When Josephine Ying is determined to throw the best Chinese New Year dinner ever, she means the best. And she’s not going to let a murder get in the way. This fast-paced short story is a romp of a mystery, full of fun characters and family dynamics. Josephine’s inner narrative added to the dark humor and made it even more enjoyable. I haven’t read any of Jesse Q. Sutanto’s long-form novels, but this short story, which is part of The Busybodies collection on Amazon, makes me want to pick up more writing soon. Four stars.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

The much-anticipated third book in Rebecca Yarros’s The Empyrean series, Onyx Storm, brought back all the trappings that hooked me with Fourth Wing and Iron Flame: A feisty but flawed female main character (Violet), her dark and brooding lover (Xaden), and dragons, dragons, dragons, plus the challenge of protecting their kingdom against the Big Bad. However, Onyx Storm didn’t quite work for me. The motivations and emotions were clear, and I adored the rider-dragon bonds, but by the time I reached the midpoint in the book, it felt like tedious reading. Maybe Book 3 is a set-up for a massive Books 4 and 5, but we won’t know anytime soon as Yarros has said she’ll be taking her time to write them, as she deserves. Three stars.

I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You by Miranda Hart

I went into this memoir by Miranda Hart with only vague knowledge of her as an actress and comedian. I was attracted to the promise of a vulnerable look at a person who’s supposed to have it all but, in reality, struggles with being a human just like the rest of us. That rang true through Hart’s story, and as I chose the audiobook for this read, her narration was excellent. However, the book fell a bit flat for me overall. I liked her explanation of how an unexplained chronic illness impacted her life and how she endeavored to improve her quality of life, but I felt a lack of connection between Hart and her audience. Three stars.

A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson

A Classic Case was another read in The Busybodies short stories collection. When elderly Mr. Hoffman fails to appear at his routine visit to the video store to renew his favorite film, Audrey senses something is wrong despite store owner Grant’s ambivalent attitude. She’s used to seeing her fellow customer on Wednesday afternoon while she browses old movies and indulges her crush on Grant. So she takes matters into her own hands to find out what happened to Mr. Hoffman, and things get complicated. This was an entertaining, lighthearted mystery read. Three stars.

Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum

Crime of Fashion is another installment of The Busybodies short stories. Unfortunately, I found the plot of “put-upon young assistant is blamed for something she didn’t do and must prove the truth” trope to be formulaic and the characters to be stereotypical, surface-level contributors to the storyline. Two stars.

One Lucky Subscriber by Katye Garrett

With her and her younger brother’s financial future in mind, Kennedy joins a YouTuber’s wild overnight hide-and-seek game in a mall, but when Kidd, the YouTube sensation celebrating 10 million subscribers, is in danger, Kennedy sets out to solve the case. I *think* the inspiration for One Lucky Subscriber by Katye Garrett is Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it fell flat for me. This short story was an audiobook for me with too little character development. Two stars.