It’s time for our monthly thread of reader recommendation, where we discuss what all we’re reading, and then we buy a bunch more books and read those, too.
I love this plan!
I’ll start – I’m reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) – which I just learned was optioned by Ellen Degeneres, which is pretty cool.
So far, I’m liking it a lot, especially how easy it is for me to not only picture the setting, but the relative distance of other places mentioned by the heroine narrator. Often when there’s verbal mapping that describes a fantasy place, I get lost really easily, and when reading digitally it’s hard to flip to the map and then find your place in the book unless you’re good at bookmarking ahead (which I’m not). I also like the narrator, Agnieszka, who is over her head, but also very capable and practical.
Elyse:
I’m reading A Discovery of Witches. I’m normally not a huge paranormal fan, but this got so much praise and it has an academic heroine, so I couldn’t resist.
I got briefly sidetracked by Beautiful Secret ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
I’m also reading through a bunch of knitting patterns, namely Hitchhiker- A Trilogy of Four Patterns by Martina Behm, who is my new girl crush.
Amanda:
I’m reading my first Kristen Ashley – Ride Steady. It’s campy and melodramatic, but it’s just the right amount and I’m devouring it.
Then probably A Pound of Flesh by Sophie Jackson ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) because holy hell does this sound like a crazy taboo romance. Though I just found out A Pound of Flesh was Twilight fanfic and now I am worried.
RedHeadedGirl:
I’m reading Poldark by Winston Graham, in preparation for the show on PBS Masterpiece.
I also just ordered the Denmead Inheritance after a HABO last week because it sounded properly bananas.
Carrie:
Updraft by Fran Wilde – gliders! Dragon-like creepy sky monsters! Shadow politics!
So, what about you? What books are you enjoying this weekend? Anything rock your world this month that you’d like to share? Whatcha reading?
Shopping note:
After a Whatcha Reading? discussion, Lisa M emailed me to ask if I could link the books mentioned in the comments to the various retailers to make shopping a little easier. I wish I could! But I can drop some retailer links for you right here, so that if you feel like shopping, you can select your preferred retailer.
Some of these links are affiliate-enabled, and SBTB receives a percentage commission from purchases made. If you use them, many thanks. If you don’t want to us them, no worries, mate! (And if your preferred retailer isn’t here, let me know and I’ll add it for you if I can!)
This month I finished as much of THE DRESS THEIF as I could and the results should be up on this website shortly, actually.
I’ve also started reading THE TETON ROMANCE TRILOGY which is an unknown, free ebook gem that I found while browsing Amazon for an interesting, free read. The First book is called TETON SUNRISE which is a Regency series set in the early days of the Moutain frontier with mountain men and everything that goes with it and I devoured the book in about 3-4 days.
I enjoyed the book so much that I immediately bought the second book, TETON SPLENDOR for 3.99. The story is just as good as the first and the heroine is half Native American. Both are highly recommended, especially in you’re an adventure romance or Little House on the Prairie and the like.
Just started Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt, then I may go back and re-read the rest in the series-so far, I’m enjoying it.
I just started (and almost finished) Johanna Lindseys’s new Book Wildfire in Your Arms.
She used to be one of my favourite authors but I wasn’t so happy with the last books from her. But now she’s back!! The new one is AWESOME!!!
It’s connected to One Heart to Win but can be read as a stand alone.
Thanks K.N.O’Rear for your recommendation. It’s not free anymore (at least not on the German Amazon) but there is a bundle with all 3 books plus a short story…and guess who just bought it 😀
I am in the mood for sports romance and have just started reading Lori Wilde’s Back in the Game (a stardust, Texas novel). So far so good, a light hearted and fun-to-read book. 🙂
I have a small obsession with Grace Burrowes. Yes i have read all of her many books (20?). I like her Lonely Lords series although as with any prolific writer – they are a couple of misses. Darius remains my favorite. She released some contemporary romances that are just lovely – They are the Sweetest Kiss Series (Kiss and Tell, A Kiss for luck, etc) I am a Julie James fan and kind of like the legal/lawyer backdrop for plots. who knew. Anyway as a side series to Sweetest Kiss, Burrowes released a series of contemporary novellas set in Scotland – awesome reads . AND of course – Suddenly One Summer – another awesome Julie James – contemporary romance – great sparks -characters who go from hate to love. Also reading the back catalog of Carolyn Jewel “My Immortal” series – I only recently have become a hard core paranormal fan after years of historical and contemporary fiction. WOW. Super hot sexy demon witch stuff.
@Kat
You’re welcome
I just read Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR for the second time this year. It’s a fantasy, with a very very minor romantic element. Everyone in the universe with taste should read this book, because the protagonist, Maia, is so endearing. He’s the unwanted, exiled fourth son of an emperor who inherits the throne when his father and brothers die in an airship crash. (More or less steampunk tech-wise, not really a steampunk vibe.) Read it read it read it.
I reread Elizabeth Peters’ DIE FOR LOVE, the third Jacqueline Kirby book. (I’d probably read Peters’ Amelia Peabodys in order, but I don’t think the Kirbys need it.) This is a mystery set at a romance writers’ convention in the 80s or thereabouts. You get a view of the genre through Kirby’s self-assured verging on arrogant eyes, and it’s not always pretty, but frequently an interesting look back. (Peters also wrote romantic suspense as Barbara Michaels.)
I’m reading House That BJ built by Anuja Chauhan! It’s sequel to TPTG! It’s an absolutely romp- filled with eccentric feisty characters and the females are more interesting than the males. It’s a wonderful read for those who have lived in Delhi and for those who haven’t but it’s full of terms that are unique to Indian English speakers so some of the nuances maybe lost to non desi readers! A hilarious read so far!
Scribd has opened up choices for me – I’ve just finished The Spanish Consultant by Sarah Morgan which I might not otherwise have read. I love doctor romances, This also has second chance and it is as melodramatic as any of the original romances I started reading decades ago. I also read The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James and enjoyed it. I finished The Color of Heaven by Julianne MacLean this week, not really a romance but lots of romantic elements, and also enjoyed. Now just finishing a reread of These Old Shades by Heyer.
I had a really slow reading/listening month. I just had a hard time getting into anything and even at work I didn’t feel like listening to any of my audiobooks. I did manage to get 13 books in (that’s very slow for me).
I read a couple of M. K. Schiller books before they expired from Scribd, A Girl by Any Other Name and The Other ‘F’ Word. I really liked both. The Other ‘F’ Word was a little slow in parts but I loved the way the hero and heroine used music to communicate and woo each other. Frankly, the book had me when it referenced a Rodriguez song about 10% of the way in.
I listened to my first two Jayne Ann Krentz books back to back, which was probably a mistake. I listed to Absolutely, Positively which was fine but I didn’t really feel like was anything special. I then started Trust Me which I liked less, partly because it was so similar to the other book. So far I much prefer her writing as Amanda Quick.
Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey didn’t quite work for me. I loved the premise, the supporting characters, and the town but the romance never quite worked for me. It just wasn’t developed enough.
Garrett by Sawyer Bennett was enjoyable. I didn’t like it as much as the first book in the series but it was very sweet. I was worried about the aspect of the heroine having cancer but I felt like it was dealt with very well and the HEA was believable.
Then I read several paranormals:
Prudence by Gail Carriger, probably my least favorite of her books so far but still decent and I think the series has promise.
Going Under by Lauren Dane- I loved this book. I had to buy the next book in the series immediately.
Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh- another good entry to this series
Dead Heat and Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs- I loved Dead Heat. It’s definitely my favorite Briggs book so far. Shifting Shadows was okay, I was looking forward to Sam and Arianna’s story but that one didn’t work for me. Most of the rest of the stories worked well.
I think up next I’ll read The Closer You Come by Gena Showalter because my loan from the e-library on it will end soon.
Count me in as another Scribd fan, especially of the audiobooks. Thanks to Scribd, I have been listening/re-reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, which is read by James Marsters (aka Spike from Buffy). He is really great as a narrator and I am enjoying this series all over again. He really delivers the sarcasm well. I listen when I am doing household chores, so it is a slow, but helps pass the time doing routine tasks like laundry, dusting, bedmaking, cleaning up the kitchen. Since I have read the books before, I can stop easily when the task is done.
Last week, I read Never Too Late by Robyn Carr and enjoyed it. It is a standalone and not part of her Virgin River or Thunder Point series. I just started Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan and so far, I like it.
Just finished Shannon McKenna’s in For The Kill didn’t love it as much as previous books, but that’s not saying I didn’t enjoy the hell out of it. Next up either <Opening Up by Lauren Dane or tackling the backlog of Thea Harrison’s Elder races that have piled up.
Reading Kim Harrison’s Hollows series – up to book 4 or 5 now. Fun.
I read Uprooted earlier this month and looooovvveeed it. Is it a planned series? I just adore her books.
Three books for my beach trip next week – The Martian, The Girl on the Train, and Nora Roberts’ new book The Liar.
I have a bookstore coupon in my hot little hand, which I will use whenever it stops POURING down rain, so I’m on SBTB looking for suggestions. None of my regular authors being considerate enough to have a book out for another 6 weeks, this will have to be a browse-and-buy instead of a grab-buy-and-devour. I have read and obsessively re-read all of the Vorkosigan sagas (and I’ve checked–while there SHOULD be a book between “Brothers in arms” and “Mirror dance,” there isn’t). Then I read all the Linnea Sinclair, which seem to all be either dropped series or series that never were and should have been. OK, it can stop raining in eight…seven…six…Rats!
I’ve been bingeing Mary Balogh for the last few weeks. So far I’ve worked my way through the Simply, Slightly and Stapleton/Downes series. Next up will be finishing the Survivors and then on to the Mistresses and the HuxtablesI
I’m currently reading the anthology For Love and Liberty – romances set during the American Revolution. I’m in the middle of the story by Alyssa Cole and it’s quite good. Thanks to CarrieS for putting it on my radar.
I read Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara (sfr mm) and I thought it was great, although I would not have read it without a rec from a trusted reviewer because of the set up – one of h/h kidnaps and sells the other into slavery (and later rescues him). There’s some violence, but no sexual violence, and the story doesn’t rush the romance – by the end I was rooting for both of them.
I read Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh , which I enjoyed, but I’m ready for this series (or this “season” of it) to be over. I think I have series fatigue.
I read For Real by Alexis Hall and I really liked it – this was my 3rd book by this author and the first one I liked without a lot of reservations and the first one where I really invested in the romance. It had more of what I liked about Glitterland (snarky, self-deprecating Britsh characters, long standing friendship groups) and less of what I didn’t like (no manic pixie dream boyfriends, less fetishizing of one of the heroes because we get both povs, and less self indulgent writing).
And I read Strain by Amelia Gormley – mm “fuck or die” post zombie-apocalypse erotic romance. This book. It’s not for everyone – there’s non-con and dub-con, plus some graphic zombie fighting violence. But it was exactly what I was in the mood for and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Another Scribd lover here. I’m listening to Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist (I prefer listening to non fiction). I’m reading a print copy of Elizabeth Wein’s Rose Under Fire, the sequel to Code Name Verity, and really appreciating it. The other day I finished Kate Noble’s If I Fall, a lovely, smart historical. If I can keep up this pace, my TBR pile will disappear in approximately seventeen yea… Nah, it’ll never disappear.
@ Lace
I have *begged* both my local libraries to buy “The Goblin Emperor”. I am still waiting. It’s on my Amazon wishlist but I really need it to go on sale first. Even a little bit. I have read Tress by Larissa Brown (Loved Beautiful Wreck) but found this one very disjointed. I also read “Day Four” by Sarah Lotz. She was new to me and found this story to be too much like a TV episode of Lost. I am starting Charlotte Stein’s Sweet Agony (love her) next. I’m killing time until Armada comes out (The “Ready Player One” author) and the next Kate Daniels.
Currently in the middle of rereading Silk and Shadows, by Mary Jo Putney (currently on sale for $2.99 at Amazon). I first read this back in the 90s, and I still love it. It has a tortured hero, bent on revenge, and a heroine who frequently does not put up with his shit. (CN:rape, rape of children, torture, prostitution, child prostitution (all off page iirc) Apologies if I missed something.)
I’m also in the middle of reading Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed. I’m enjoying quite a bit. (I got sidetracked by S&S.)
I’m probably moving on to The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold next.
Just finished After the Scandal by Elizabeth Essex and loved it! Looking forward to the next one – scientist heroine! – though I’m not a fan of the change in cover styles.
My hold for The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston finally came through and I’m really liking it. I do feel like I should start a character list, as she introduces all of them with first and last name, but then uses those names interchangeably and the POV can change with no warning. I think there have been at least 5 POV characters so far? Really fun take on Vikings and Norse mythology though.
We’re reading dino books for VagFan club this month, since Jurassic World just came out. I haven’t started the main book, Eternal Craving by Nina Bangs yet, though I did manage to track down a copy at a UBS in MI and have my mom mail it to me – book is out of print, no ebook and not available at the library!
I did read the alt pick, Taken By The T-Rex … and that was a thing I read? Points for good vocabulary and a somewhat accurate dino at least (I’m talking about the feathers people!).
And I finally read the two SBTB-authored books hanging out on my Kindle! Jurassic Jane Eyre was delightful and silly in the best way. Lighting the Flames was sweet and touching, and it was so nice to read about cold snow in the 90F of my un-airconditioned apartment. Sarah, you should write more fiction!
This has been a busy week for me. I read Alan Cumming’s memoir Not My Father’s Son which is an amazing book, honest discussion of child abuse but his writing voice is wonderful.
Now I’m nearing the end of For Your Arms Only by Caroline Linden and I’m loving it but also almost don’t want to finish it. I know things are about to go well and I’m afraid what bad event is coming up as I care so much about the characters. I just picked up as a hold from the library; The Baron Next Door by Erin Knightley as I loved and constantly reread Ruined by a Rake.
I’m also someone who tends to reread, which means I’ve been rereading some Agatha Christie’s and I’m rereading one of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye books. Next I hope to get back to rereading some YA, I have Under a Painted Sky though I might go with something else. I really want to read Uprooted and have a hold on it.
I am currently reading “The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne” which is a .99 Kindle deal, and so far it’s compulsive reading. The hero is out to revenge himself against the heroine’s family, using her in the process, and I can tell it’s going to be great when he gets his comeuppance.
I read a wonderful old Regency, “Lord Rathbone’s Flirt” by Gayle Buck, which unfortunately is about to expire on Scribd. That hero also got a much needed comeuppance.
I gobbled up “Dearest Rogue”, and really enjoyed it, likewise “Garden of Lies” by Amanda Quick. Formulaic, but I like the formula, so I haven’t gotten tired of her books yet. Clever writing and there are at least 3 subplots besides the main murder mystery. Also, I can’t stop looking at JAK’s most recent author photo on the back cover of the hardbacks. She looks AMAZING, I LOVE her hair.
I don’t remember if it was someone here who recommended “A Town Like Alice” but I enjoyed it, and the WWII setting in the Far East was fascinating and educational. That’s despite some outdated racial attitudes.
I just received 2 old, out-of-print Mary Balogh books via Paperbackswap, “A Chance Encounter” and “The First Snowdrop”, I’m really looking forward to them.
And I DNF’d 2 in a row, which is unusual for me. “Grave Phantoms” because the heroine just seemed too immature and uninteresting. I liked Aida in “Bitter Spirits” much better. I had to put down “Secrets of Wedding Night” a)after the hero forcibly kisses her while they are arguing, and she instantly melts in his arms and b) the plot was based on Big Misunderstandings. I dislike both of those tropes.
Last night I finished A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers which I enjoyed. Fortunately, my library has two more books by this author that I’ve requested. Currently re-reading Mary Balogh’s Slightly Dangerous (a favorite of mine).
Books recently read include:
Naomi Novik’s Uprooted which I also enjoyed very much.
Julie Anne Long’s historical romance It Started with a Scandal which was fun.
Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel for my book group – a poignant read.
Patricia Briggs’ Moon Called – a re-read.
The best thing I’ve read so far this month was Imperfect Chemistry by Mary Frame, which is a cute new adult romantic comedy and currently free on amazon. If you like nerdy heroines with limited people skills, I recommend it!
@Kate K.F., thanks for the Alan Cumming rec, I saw him on Broadway in the “Threepenny Opera” revival, just amazing!
@Lostshadows, Saladin Ahmed’s short stories are interesting reads and some are available free online. Plus, everyone should follow him on Twitter!
@ClaireC – This month’s VagFan is going to be hilarious… looking forward to seeing the ladies revisit the epic Nina Bangs! I couldn’t find the book, but I figure that won’t impair my enjoyment of the discussion for this one. 🙂
I caught up completely on the Kate Daniels series this month and completely agree with “Magic Breaks” winning the DABWAHA this year. It really was excellent, and I am DYING for the next one. August, get here sooner. I also started on Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, thanks to all the sales in the last couple of months. It’s a lot of fun and has my favorite trope all over the place: hero in pursuit. I also really enjoyed “The Best Kind of Trouble” from Lauren Dane, who usually is a little too faux-angsty for me (I find this is a common problem I have with a certain strain of contemporaries… seems to happen a lot in the “no strings attached sex” plot lines), but this book really worked for me.
I’m also pleased at how much I’ve been using my Scribd account, as this is my first paid month. I figured that if I read 5 books from it a month, it would be worth it. So far, I’ve already read 9 books, so I’m feeling like this is a keeper.
@Karin I saw him the Cabaret revival this year before it closed and loved it. His book made a huge impression on me, I read it in two days because so much of who he is comes through in the writing.
Well crap! I’ve reached the holds limit at my library:-(
***
So I had started the Tracers series by Laura Griffin. I am way far into that, six or eight in, and waiting on the last one from the library now.
I enjoy her stories, I think they are at times a little bit rushed, and I noticed with her that I’m really irritated when an author explains acronyms to me. I’m pretty sure if you read books about the police or FBI on the regular that you’re familiar with SAC, ME, GSW, and LEO. And if you read about the military you’re probably familiar with MREs, HALO jumps, AWOL, SNAFUs, and FUBAR. And even if you don’t recognize them here, you probably would recognize them in context.
It takes me right out of a story when somebody explains to me, like I’m a child, something that I already know. When they do it in each successive book, eight or ten books, it makes me grind my teeth.
I thoroughly enjoyed her books anyway, but as I say I noticed this while reading her. I’m not convinced she does it more than other author.
***
And then it was time for Asking For It.
I had a lot of things to contemplate before reading this, during reading this, and after reading this. I had said in a comment, or three, on a thread about this book, perhaps the one with the author interview, that I’m not comfortable with a man, or really anybody, having a fantasy about raping. On the other hand, I have no problem with somebody, anybody, having a fantasy about being raped.
So yeah, lots to think about here.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I don’t think that I have read a rape scene that was written so well. When addressing the actual rape in this book, it was handled with honesty, and I believe, great care to not present it as titillating. And I think she succeeded in that.
I have pre-ordered the next one, Begging For It. I can’t wait! I have a feeling that it will be more of a challenge for me, as I expect it will go more into Jonah’s story, and perhaps confront me much more with his fantasies. I’m not sure I would have wanted to read that, but I feel that I can trust this author.
One of the things that I thought of while reading Asking For It is that our experiences, good, bad, or ugly, have an effect on who we are, who we become. Our experiences have an effect on our likes and dislikes.
I keep seeing people be really upset by the fact that people who have particular kinks are presented as having been abused and that that is what sets their preference. I get that there are people who have extreme kinks that have not been abused, but considering the prevalence of abuse in our society I don’t think it is unrealistic to assume a correlation. I think it’s every bit as likely that abuse causes people to be extremely opposed to kink, I just don’t think that it’s without a correlation. I find it interesting that people are so confronted by this.
For my part, I have not experienced any sort of abuse, and while I don’t enjoy this sort of kink in the real world, I certainly do enjoy reading about it.
***
After that, looking for something lighter to read I started on Alison Kent’s SG-5 series. I have to say that I’m sure they’re good, and at any other time I would probably enjoy them quite a lot, but I’ve been very distracted.
I’ve been working on the first one, The Bane Affair, for more than a week. I’ve had days where I’m actually reading a single chapter. I had one day, yesterday, where I read part of a chapter. This is not how I read books.
I actually read a short story during my reading of the Allison Kent book. My therapist had asked me to read The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, and I did that.
In The Middle of Another Book!
The Lottery was cool but I’ll just say, I totally saw that coming.
On a happier note, at least my distraction has been caused by a good thing. I have been crocheting like a mad fiend. Apparently my creativity has reasserted itself. Yay Creativity!
***
Also, I am quitting Scribd. Not because it’s not a great service, it is, but because I have got a ridiculous amount of books already on my Kindle that I haven’t read. I’m sure Scribd will be there if I ever need them.
Wow! Sorry, that was really long.
I’m currently reading Frederica on Scribd (my first ever Heyer, and, yes, I can already feel the seeds of addiction taking root.) I’m also re-reading Larissa Ione’s Demonica series and Kimi Ni Todoke, a shojo manga that gives me crazy deep feels despite me being 25 years older than its target audience.
For next week’s trip to the coast, I have Way of the Warrior, an 8-story military hero anthology benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project, tucked in my beach bag.
I enjoyed Uprooted, but I wish the story hadn’t been in first person. I thought Agnieszka was a lovely heroine, but I fell hard for Kaisa, she was an amazing character! About a third of the way through the plot become a bit convoluted, but it ended well and I look forward to more stories in Agnieszka’s world.
I read The Duke’s Holiday…..it was mostly stupid and full of stuff from other romances. Another historical I didn’t care for was The Woman in Green by Barbara Metzger……ridiculous antics.
I’ve been listening to quite a few audios narrated by Kate Reading. Miss Wonderful was good and The Last Hellion was transformed into an amazing book, but Only to Deceive couldn’t be saved even by a terrific narrator like Kate. I still can’t stand Lady Emily.
Now I’m reading Whole30…..I really need to change my eating habits.
Recently finished The Laird by Grace Burrowes and boy howdy what a powerful book. Trigger warning out the yin yang but OMG so well done. Definitely going to look for more of her books when all this is over.
Right now having trouble concentrating on anything while caring for my husband but bouncing back and forth between three of my old comfort reads, the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones, Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley and Territory by Emma Bull. Hard to read romance right now when my own romance is ending.
I have been in a reading slump lately romance-wise, with nothing I’d rate better than a B. Currently reading Diary of an Accidental Wallflower which I’d been really looking forward to. While it has its strong points — especially the detailed medical aspects, since the author’s in that field herself — it relies too much on sexual attraction to drive the relationship forward, and the hero is a bit of a jerk about pushing past the heroine’s rejections of him. Even though her reasons for ignoring her attraction to the doctor are ones that don’t make much sense to a modern American, namely that he’s barely a gentleman in class, no matter the reason he should still respect a refusal. And then after he kisses her against her will, she expects an apology, and he first thinks “How to apologize for a kiss he couldn’t regret?” and then says “It was not my intention to cause you any distress, and I regret having done so.” That’s barely an apology and doesn’t demonstrate much respect — he thinks it’s too bad she was upset, but he doesn’t say he was wrong to kiss her in the first place.
Anyhow, another fairly unsatisfactory experience was Virginia Kantra’s contemporary Dare Island series — the first and third books (Carolina Home and Carolina Man) were so-so romancewise but very appealing and involving in the portrait of a multigenerational family; the second book, Carolina Girl, drove me bananas. It was one of the most blatant examples of “small Southern town good, big Northern city EVIL” I’ve seen, and relentlessly, endlessly punished its heroine for attempting to leave home and the south.
Finally, Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon: f/f NA story, rather a small trifle but featuring a very appealing socially awkward young woman as one of its protagonists.
On the non-romance front, Random by Alma Alexander has a remarkably original variation on werewolves (a very hard thing to accomplish, I think you’ll agree) but is oh-so-overwritten; when every paragraph tries to be breathlessly dramatic, it gets tiresome and ridiculous. Luckily, two YA fantasy novels by T. Kingfisher were absolutely lovely: Bryony and Roses, a version of “Beauty and the Beast”; and The Seventh Bride, a truly scary, dark take on “Mr. Fox”.
I have also, in the wake of the Hugo Awards debacle, been reading up short stories various people suggested nominating and having a great time. Just let me mention the love story “When It Ends, He Catches Her” by Eugie Foster, and say that you should go read Amy Griswold’s “Little Fox” right now!
Heart’s Magic by Gail Dayton.
YESTGE THIRD BOOK IN HER BLOOD MAGIC STEAMPUNK PARANORMAL SERIES FINALLY CAME OUT THIS MONTH, YOU GUYS I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK FOR ***FIVE*** YEARS I CANNOT SQUEE LPUD ENOUGH TO EXPRESS MY HAPPY FEELS ABOUT FINALLY GETTING TO READ THIS STORY!!!!!!!!
So naturally i am reading it like…a chapter at a time. Pretending to blame the child, in truth savorig the long-awaited treat like a 20-year scotch. Mmmmm
I did apparently squee loud enough to forget how to spell check though, good grief!
I just started Naomi Novik’s Uprooted. I’m five pages into it and I have to say while I am enjoying the story so far I am singularly unimpressed by the last part of the description of Kasia. From what I’ve read so far this seems like a preindustrial society so girls would have started learning to spin when they were very young. It shouldn’t be so special that when Kasia “spun the wool from her father’s sheep, the thread came off the wheel smooth and even without a single knot or snarl.” I can do that and could do it with less than a year of spinning, although I use a drop spindle not a wheel, and didn’t start learning until I was in my late twenties.
Unfortunately this has thrown me right out of the story. Hopefully spinning doesn’t come up again, and I can get back into it.
I read A Lover’s Vow by Brenda Jackson, because I saw it at my local KMart and it looked interesting, but I hadn’t read the previous two books in the series so I was completely lost. There were a lot of side characters and a lot of tying up plot threads from previous books, and the heroines from previous books kept being referred to as “the wives” which drove me nuts.
I also finished the second Stage Dive book, which was fine but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series. Just don’t quite connect with it the way other people do.
I found Mr Cavendish, I Presume at my local second-hand store and picked it up because I was curious about Julia Quinn. I suspect I’m just not the audience for regencies because I kept feeling scandalised about all the sexy stuff before marriage. I just don’t want regencies to be racy, apparently. It was cute, though.
I read Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson over a weekend. That was charming. The characters were very young but there wasn’t too much drama until the very end so I didn’t find their levels of emotional maturity annoying.
Also Pressure Head by JL Merrow was great, even if I could have done with less mentions of the main character’s cats. It’s so English! Everyone is constantly drinking tea and having meals at the pub. I really enjoyed that.
I think I’ll be on to Jenn Bennett’s Bitter Spirits next, and I still have to finish Brockman’s The Defiant Hero.
Finally got my hands on All The Light We Cannot See. This thing stays constantly checked out from our library. At last my timing was just right.
Thanks to a daily deal rec, I bought Stella Riley’s “The Player” and loved it so much I downloaded and binge read everything else she’s written. Great, complex historicals with interesting heroes and heroines who have tons of agency. Cannot recommend these enough. Def not wallpaper historicals; “The Marigold Chain” has me fascinated with the Great London Fire.
I just finished reading A Race to Splendo by Ciji Ware. She’s not an author I’ve ever read before and I came across this book while searching for early 20th Century Historical Romances. It takes place in the months prior to and following the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Apparently, it took the author 10 years to write this book and I can totally understand it because the amount of research had to be astounding. What I really liked was that she used real historical figures, such as Julia Morgan, who was America’s first female architect, and Donalinda Cameron, who worked to help the Chinese women brought here as sex slaves. I’d never heard of these women–maybe because I’m from the East Coast–and it was really interesting to learn a bit about them.