Catching up: February 2026 Reads

The Shots You Take (Rachel Reid)

Riley used to play pro hockey with his former best friend, and sometimes more, Adam. Riley’s family has passed away and Ryan is surprised to see Adam at the funeral, there to offer his support. Riley’s tryin to figure out how to move on running the sports shop his father put his heart into while Adam’s dealing with retirement from pro hockey and divorcing his wife after coming out. They try to figure out if they can go back to being friends or, maybe, risk being more.

This stand-alone novel is full of big questions about how to respond to big changes in your life you may or have not have sen coming. It’s got tender moments and some steamy scenes and lots of the banter Reid is famous for. (4 Stars)

The Awakening (Kate Chopin)

I first read this book in my AP English class in high school and wanted to see if I enjoyed it the second time as much as I had the first after coming a copy on a trip to New Orleans. I certainly did.

On a family trip to the beach south of New Orleans, Edna engages in an affair with Robert, known for spending each summer with a married woman. By the end of the summer, Edna realizes how suffocating her life is and decides her only choice is to walk away from her husband and children. The ending, though I knew what was coming, gutted me but, first, it took me away to 1880s Louisiana. I could almost smell the sea. (4 Stars)

Glitterland - Spires Book 1 (Alexis Hall)

Ash is a writer of books he’s not proud of but that sell well enough for him to enjoy a good life. Too bad he has clinical depression that can leave him confined to his bed for weeks at a time. Then he meets Darian who may well be a glitter pirate. He’s brand and honest and completely tilts Ash off his axis.

As someone with clinical depression, myself, I found the depiction of his illness to be treated with care but also the right amount of humor in how absurd it can be. Darian made me laugh with his barely thinking quips and strong opinions. (4.25 Stars)

SCU Hockey - Shots on Net, Save the Game (JJ Mulder)

I found these books via a Kobo Plus “you may also enjoy” search. Both are 4.25 Star books for me.

Shots on Net follows random roommates Carter and Zeke as they become unlikely friends. Carter is the goalie for the school’s team, hoping to get a spot in the NHL Zeke is a nerd who can barely afford school and doesn’t know the first thing about hockey. The book has great representation of demisexuality and the struggles of having a language processing disorder.

Save the Game introduces us to Max, a team mate of Carter we meet in book 1, and Luke, a baseball player. Max is doing anything he can to forget (TW!) his sexual assault at a party while Luke is trying to balance baseball, school, and a job at the local diner.

Like Real People Do / Like You Have Nothing Left to Prove (E.L. Massey)

These two are about one couple: pro hockey player, Alexander, and college student, food vlogger, and figure skater, Elijah. The two meet on Elijah’s first day on campus at the college where Alex’s team just happens to have their practice rink. Elijah is out and figuring out how to keep skating and going to school despite a recent epilepsy diagnosis. Alex is firmly in the closet because pro hockey players have to be, right?

The two become friends then more to friends in book 1 with book 2 focusing on Alex’s plans to come out at the end of the next season.

These books are a very good mix of very real issues about coming out and disabilities with some definitely unlikely but very sweet moments.

Woodoworking (Emily St. James)

In small town South Dakota, teacher Erica has just gotten divorxed and is slowly living her life as a woman. She befriends the only trans person she knows, one of her high school English students. Told from the perspective of them both plus another person int his small, conservative town, readers see the process of Erica’s transition start, stop, and move forward.

This book doesn’t hold any punches about the difficulties faced by trans people in places not at all ready for them being their true selves. It’s poignant and humorous and really celebrates the power of being who you really are, even if means you’ll have to say goodbye to things and even people you love. (4.5 Stars)

Replaceable You (Mary Roach)

The book shares often hilarious, sometimes poignant chapters about the science of making body parts or entire system replacements from the history failures to current successes.

Mary Roach is one of my favorite authors for a reason. She isn’t afraid to ask the most eminant researchers and scientists the dumb questions, the ones you’d probably want to ask should you get time with these people.

Note: Do not read this if you’re squeamish as it involves discussion of bodily fluids, disease, medical procedures, and related topics.

Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)

Pranesi lives in a world full of rooms - some are filled wiht water, others have statues, and others are empty. He uses his notebooks to record everything that happens in The House, including the occasional visits from The Other. Then, one day, another person shows up in The House and Piranesi must try to figure out exactly’s what’s going on.

I will admit it took me several ties listening to this to get pas the first couple of chapters, as the book is written in an almost disassociated style and it’s not clear what’s going on. It was worth sticking with it, in the end. (4.75 Stars)