Whatcha Reading? April 2016 Edition

A little girl with glasses and a red skirt reading a big book in the libraryIt’s time for our monthly discussion of expensiveness, where we talk about what we’re reading, what we liked, and then buy more books because everyone has great recommendations.

Also – this is one of my favorite threads every month, so thank you for being part of it!

Sarah: I’m buffet-reading books and it’s not good. That’s usually a sign that I’m stressed and, well, yeah, that’s accurate.

I started listening to Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) after about 46% of the Bitchery told me to get on it already. So I listened on a road trip and I’m probably 2/3 of the way done. The part where the book switches from an adventure/road trip/escape heist-type story to “Now we’re in the skyscraper introducing all the sequel bait” dropped the urgency for me, and I’m trying to find the time and energy to get back to it. Also I’m 99% sure I know what Pia is but it hasn’t been revealed yet. BUT STILL: DRAGON! YAY!

I’m also re-reading Come As You Are ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and am reveling in it like it’s made of flannel and sexxytimes. Sexy flannel times? Yeah. (I’m cold right now.)

The Unleashing
A | BN | K | AB
And I’m about to dive headlong into Shelly Laurenston’s new series after many people whose opinions I respect a lot squeed about book 2 on Twitter. So Book 1 and book 2 are on my list for the long flight to RT.

What are you reading right now, possibly on the plane?

Redheadedgirl: I’m sleeping on the plane.

I just finished The Earl Takes All ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) – the dead brother twin-switch one from Hide Your Wallet.

Virgins
A | BN | K | AB
I will also be reading Virgins, the Outlander novella and Finding Fraser ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which… dude. We’ll see.

Amanda: I’m bringing three physical books for traveling purposes. Dirty by Kylie Scott ( A ), which I mentioned in the recent Hide Your Wallet and I’m very excited about.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire that one of our readers mentioned in the comments on Hide Your Wallet. I have a friend who works at Tor so he very nicely hooked me up. I’m surprised at how thin the book is so it should be a quick read.

How Not to Fall
A | BN | K | AB
And lastly, HOW NOT TO FAAAAALLLLLLL! I keep wanting to savor this one and I’m so excited. If you’re curious about the book, definitely check out the podcast we just did with Emily Nagoski because she reveals some pretty awesome and very sexy stuff about the book.

I have a three hour layover so I’m seeing some quality reading time – if I don’t get distracted by people watching, of course.

Redheadedgirl: I have an hour and 45 in Salt Lake, but I’m also getting up at 4am for a 6:15am flight.

Elyse: I’m reading Hold Your Breath ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which so far is a good blend of suspense and action. The heroine is on the cold water rescue team.

I have a direct flight hooray!

Redheadedgirl: I am SO JEALOUS.

Mad Madge
A | BN
 Carrie: I think I will be reading The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish on the road to RT. It’s one of the first science fiction books ever written (1666). Right now I reading Mad Madge, which is Cavendish’s biography.

Oh, I also just bought Wishes by Jude Devereaux. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )

Sarah: I love that book. It’s ridiculous and old skool American historical but I love it

Redheadedgirl: It’s why one reads Jude Deveraux.

I am also reading Under the Sugar Sun by Jennifer Hallock ( A ), who I met at the last Boston meetup. She writes historical a set in the Philippines.

What about you? What are you reading? Are you traveling to RT and reading on the way? What books do you want to talk about?

By request, since we can’t link to every book you mention in the comments, here are bookstore links that help support the site with your purchases. If you use them, that’s wonderfully awesome of you, and if you’d prefer not to, no worries at all. Thank you so much for hanging out with us, and hopefully you found something good to read!

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Comments are Closed

  1. Read Every Heart A Doorway during the week and loved it. It is really more novella length so now all I need is for Seanan to write about five books in that world. Because of reading that I realised I’d missed the second book in her Indexing series which is also great and just finished that. Now am bouncing around between a few things trying to settle down to one while eagerly awaiting the arrival of Dirty on my kindle next week.

  2. MirandaB says:

    @Melanie, from what I understand, Seanan is doing at least 2 more books in the series. I’m holding ‘Every Heart’ as part of my reading for an upcoming vacation, so I’m excited about it!

    Right now, I’m reading Archivist Wasp, which is pretty good. I’ve had kind of a reading slump. I tried Wolf Hall, but was turned off by the writing. Page long conversations all using pronouns. I couldn’t tell who was talking.

    Then, I tried The Women of the House, but got bogged down in the descriptions of New Amsterdam, so moved on from that too.

  3. N. Prestin says:

    I seem to be bouncing through a lot of genres this month.

    In science fiction, I just finished Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, because I couldn’t resist a story about a former starship AI trapped in one lone human body and out for revenge. The book is also written with female pronouns as the default which made for a really interesting reading experience.

    Then I decided I wanted to read a historical romance so I bought Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels since I’ve heard so much about how awesome it is. I’m almost done and now I finally get all the hype. It’s pretty much like crack in book form. I’m not sure if it’s good for me, but it’s too much crazysauce fun to put down.

    I’ve also been on an Alyssa Cole kick because of this site. I read Let It Shine, and enjoyed it so much that I went to look up her other stuff, discovered that she also writes dystopian romance, did a little happy squeal, and devoured the first book in the series Radio Silence. I liked that so much that I’ve picked up and started the second in that series Signal Boost, even though it’s a m/m romance and I don’t usually read those and I’m enjoying it quite a bit.

    When I’m done with those I’ll probably move into fantasy by either getting around to finally reading Scott Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamora or Charles de Lint’s Trader, which I’ve been getting the urge to re-read.

  4. Kate says:

    @MirandaB – I had exactly the same experience at Christmas when I tried to read Wolf Hall – 26 hours on the train with nothing to do but read, and I still couldn’t get in to it.

    My semester finish d on Monday (last class, and last essay submitted) so now I have time for fun reading. Since then, I have finished:

    A Week in Winter (Maeve Binchey) – gentle with delightful characters; perfect for my over-taxxed brain post-semester.

    Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen (Susan Gregg Gilmore) – I was looking for another book on Overdrive and came across this one instead. It looked interesting and it didn’t disappoint. A coming of age story with complex characters – not a romance, but dealing with issues of independence, grief, and forgiveness instead.

    His Road Home (Anna Richland) – a book I heard about here. I loved the characters and seeing how the relationship grew over time.

  5. Susan says:

    I’ve been in a horrible reading slump. I re-read Agnes and the Hitman, one of my favorite Jennifer Crusie novels, but that’s the only thing I’ve truly enjoyed this month.

    I just finished Kiss of Steel, the first Bec McMaster book. I spent half of the book trying to adjust to the fact that I was expecting steampunk but it’s actually a paranormal romance. I didn’t love it, but I liked it enough to get the sequel from the library.

  6. SandyCo says:

    K.J. Charles is a good author. She’s been writing for a while, but I just recently discovered her. The third and final book in her “A Society of Gentleman” series (m/m historical) titled “A Gentleman’s Position” was just released. K.J. Charles likes to pair up men with completely different socioeconomic backgrounds, so that they have major obstacles to overcome before they can be happy. The second book, “A Seditious Affair” blew my mind in that respect. All three books can be read separately, but I definitely recommend all of them. 🙂

    Another m/m series… I also finally read “Sunset Park” by Santino Hassell, the sequel to “Sutphin Boulevard”. I really liked “Sutphin Boulevard”, but “Sunset Park” was a little disappointing. It was well written, but I liked everything except the romance! It left me feeling rather frustrated and annoyed. There’s a third book in the “Five Boroughs” series coming out soon titled “First and First”, and I’m on the fence about that one.

  7. Francesca says:

    I am slowly climbing out of a year-long reading slump. I read A Duchess in Name not too long ago, which I quite enjoyed. It was nice to read a historical that didn’t rely on all of the so-called witty banter that seems to pervade the genre these days. The hero was a bit of an asshat, but the heroine was accepting of her fate (being raised for a loveless marriage to a title) without being a doormat.

    I am currently rereading Snobs by Julian Ffellows. I had read it a number of years ago. It’s clever and snarky.

  8. Lostshadows says:

    I was waiting for this thread to gush about Every Heart a Doorway. Glad to see I’m not the only one. 🙂 I laughed, I cried. It was wonderful.

    I haven’t really read anything else this month*. I’ve some DNF audiobooks. (The Secret History and Night Film) Both were a case of, I really don’t like these characters, so YMMV.

    I’m currently listening to Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer. It’s okay. I isn’t really what I thought it was going to be. (Probably my fault)

    I got some new books yesterday. (Birthday & Amazon delivery) I’m most looking forward to Choas Choreography, by Seanan McGuire and Against a Dark Background, by Iain Banks. (*grumbles* Very Good my ass. (Sorry, still pissed.))

    *Part slump, part CampNaNoWriMo.

  9. I’m reading A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE by Brittany Cavallaro, which is a YA mystery and a take on Sherlock Holmes. If you’re a big Holmes fan, you might want to check this one out.

    After that, I’ll probably read some comics, like GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVELS: AVX by Skottie Young, which features popular heroes like Captain America, Wolverine, etc. drawn as kids.

  10. K.N.O'Rear says:

    This month I started reading Apprentices which is the sequel to Apothacary I mention on last month’s What ya reading . Both are Middle Grade historical fantasy novels set during the Cold War. Both are lovely reads with a very sweet romantic subplot. I also appreciate the setting since not many fiction books( that I’ve read ) are set during that time. Like most Middlegrade series they need to be read in order.

    I ” paused” The Apprentices to read Temping the Knight for the RITA Reviews. It’s an okay contemporary very loosely based on Rapunzel. It’s hard for me to recommend it since contemporaries aren’t really my cup of tea, but I kinda signed up a little late.

  11. Tina M says:

    I picked up Taken by Her Unforgiving Billionaire Boss by Nadia Lee (free from Amazon)simply because the title held so much promise for being hilaribad. I was very surprised to find it did not suck. The heroine is an Asian woman who is smart, has a top notch education, a good job that she likes and is good at, likes sex and is not ashamed or shamed for it. The hero is a little flat and could use a little more development but he isn’t bad. Apparently this book has been previously published as Vengeful Secrets and/or Carnal Secrets, both of which are way better than Taken by Her Unforgiving Billionaire Boss.

    What bugged me most was the neat and tidy bow at the end. A quick “sorry for treating you like a unwanted pest your whole life” from her mother and sister and all is forgiven. Likewise a couple dozen flowers and a “I’m sorry that I didn’t use my words and I let my best friend be butt to you” and smoochsmoochsmooch “I love you” all better now.

    Off to the library today to pick up Come as You Are.

  12. Frida says:

    I’m reading Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope. It’s a fantasy romance with a WOC heroine. The title and cover (which is beautiful btw) look a bit YA but it’s definitely NA! Bree Bridges recommended it on twitter. It’s a fascinating world – sort of high fantasy with a 1920s feel? – and I adore the main characters. But I’ve been reading it slowly – with a couple of breaks – because there’s a war and a refugee crisis and, well, too close to home at the moment.

    I’m listening to Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and it’s amazing. It’s satire and dark and hilarious but it’s got me teary-eyed in places because awesome teenage girls saving themselves and working together and just awww! Audiobooks aren’t really my format though (this was a free deal I think). It’s narrated by the author and really good, I’m just enjoying it so much I’d like to SEE THE WORDS. I’m probably going to end up buying the paperback.

  13. jimthered says:

    I just finished THE MUNCHKIN BOOK (an enjoyable look at the game from Steve Jackson Games) and am now reading HOLLYWOOD MONSTER, the autobiography of Robert Englund.

  14. SusanK says:

    I just finished reading The Obsession by Nora Roberts and liked it, but I have to admit I skimmed some of the house stuff.

    I binge read the first 6 books of Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series and loved them. Eagerly waiting for the final book.

    I’m also reading Alyssa Cole’s Signal Boost right now and enjoying Cole’s writing.

    Finally, I am not sure if this was posted on SBTB, but you can get 30% at Carina Press until April 30 using code RT3016.

  15. Vicki says:

    Re-reading Nora Roberts’ Three Sisters Island trilogy, halfway through the third book which is Face the Fire. Found them in a used book store and enjoying the feel of turning pages for a change.

    Also read Sleeping with Her Enemy by Jenny Holiday. Fun and the progression of the relationship did make sense. I also liked that it was set outside the US (Toronto) and that the hero was mixed race and close to his family.

    Currently also reading The Near Death Experience by John Ellsworth. It’s number 10 in a series but the first one I have read – it was on sale. It is doing fine as a stand-alone. It’s set in New Mexico, the hero’s wife, who is Native American, is dying of breast cancer. He is called to defend a doctor who wrote a book about a near death experience that triggered a fatal attempt to replicate said experience. Interesting on a number of levels.

  16. Mara says:

    I’m still a little slumpy on the reading front, but hopefully a fresh infusion of books I’ve been waiting for at the library will save me. I read and enjoyed “Radiance” by Grace Draven, which shouldn’t have worked in a lot of ways (ou est le conflict?) but somehow came together pretty well for me. I also enjoyed “Let Me Be the One” by Jo Goodman, which is an old school-ish angsty historical… which is not usually my bag. But I kind of loved the heroine and that made up for kind of a d-bag hero and the borderline consent moments. Also, spies!

    Oh, and I read the first chapter of “All the Single Ladies” by Rebecca Traister in the library copy, realized I needed to own it so I could underline ALL THE THINGS, and am now waiting for it to arrive.

  17. SandyCo says:

    I forgot to mention that I went to “The Ripped Bodice” last Sunday, and picked up both “Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels” and “Beyond Heaving Bosoms”. I really enjoyed the first book (thank you, Sarah!), but BHB had me laughing so hard I was crying. One of my cats even jumped on me to see if I was okay. 🙂 I love that book store, but it’s going to be Hell on my pocketbook!

  18. Heather S says:

    I have “All The Single Ladies” by Rebecca Traister and “The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone” by Olivia Laing on loan from the library. I still have all the same books on the currently reading stack as last month because school has been taking up all of my brain. Two weeks-ish until semester ends and I can read for fun. I am determined to hunt down a copy of Amanda Stevens’ new Graveyard Queen book, “The Visitor”, and I want to reread the Jensen Murphy books by Chris Marie Green because they are really, really good. I hope she’s writing another one. Oh, and still reading Pride and Prejudice for my book club at the end of the month.

  19. jcp says:

    I wanted to tell everyone Avon is offering a free ebook this weekend! (or until they are gone). There’s a choice of several books.

    http://avonromance.com/bling-it-on-limited-time-ebook-giveaway/

    This month, I’ve enjoyed Happily Bedded Bliss by Tracy Anne warren, All Summer Long by Susan Mallery.

  20. DonnaMarie says:

    Just finished The Obsession. Literally. Put it down, turned on the computer, made a pot of coffee and popped in here. Unlike @SusanK, I skimmed none of it, because house porn, competency porn, a hero who is a mechanic, a musician AND a reader (oh, how I want to create a wall of books of my own!). Plus a most excellent book dog. La Nora knows how to write a good dog. Tag is officially at the top of my list right now. I’ll need to stop in at one of my brothers’ houses for some doggy love to keep me out of a rescue shelter.

    Sarah, I’m envying you a first read both Harrison and Laurenston. You’re probably right about Pia. As a long time collector (yeah, I’ll cop to it), I was shocked that I didn’t. I think I may have actually squealed when she finally shifted. I know the sequel bait thing might be less compelling than the adventure, but oh, what sequel bait it is. Plus, there’s Peanut.

    Speaking of favorite book dogs; Brodie the Valkyrie pit bull in The Unleashing is right up there.

    I spent the week before on a Molly O’Keefe binge after being reminded that her latest M. O’Keefe was releasing on the Hide Your Wallet post, then I found book 2 of the Cross Creek series and then the GBPL came through with that latest book. Fate sealed. So that was Can’t Hurry Love, Crazy Thing Called Love, The Truth About Him and Dishing It Out. The Good Book Noise fairly shook the foundation.

    Now I’m on to The Summer Before The War, Helen Simonson’s latest. She wrote one of my favorite books: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, so I have very high expectations.

  21. Lace says:

    Apologies if this double-posts or lands two copies in review, trying again.

    Some good stuff this month:

    Seth Dickinson’s The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a fantasy with an accountant protagonist (no, really, it’s cool!). Very bleak, not for when you need a hug.

    I save my unread Andrea Höst books and dole them out slowly since she hasn’t missed for me yet. Hunting has its protagonist working to uncover her guardian’s murderer in a fantasy court under siege. I’ll quote Höst: “‘Hunting’ was written in response to my extreme frustration with Georgette Heyer’s Regency Buck. Much as I love Heyer’s books, on occasion she takes a promising young lady, and just…foils her at every turn.” (Höst’s Stray is free at many usual suspects and a good place to start with her work.)

    Laline Paull’s The Bees was fabulous and fascinating. The novel anthropomorphizes a honeybee hive and follows a worker bee protagonist. Evident but not grating research.

    Daryl Gregory’s novella We Are All Completely Fine is about a therapy group for survivors of supernatural-tinged horrifying experiences. I enjoyed it a lot even though it’s really not my genre. I haven’t yet read Every Heart a Doorway, but I’ve read a lot of McGuire’s other work, and it just struck me that this might be a good read for some of her fans.

  22. Crystal says:

    I’m a big fan of Shelly Laurenston’s new series, & the second book is definitely squee worthy!

  23. Liz says:

    I read N.K. Jemisin’s newest, The Fifth Season. Liked it a lot, and recommend it if you like that sort of fantasy. I am eagerly, so so eagerly awaiting Anne Bishop’s newest book in the Others series, which I have on hold at the library, so I’ve bided my time by rereading the other books in the series.

    On audio, I listened to Kate Alcott’s Daring Ladies of Lowell and loved it. So then I checked out the audiobook of The Dressmaker which seemed very timely considering it was the anniversary of the Titanic’s voyage. I am about a third through it but find the narrator very annoying so I may not finish it.

  24. Judy W. says:

    So I finished The Widow by Fiona Barton and it was a little less than I was expecting based on the gushing reviews I first ran across. I LOVED “The Wall of Winnipeg and Me” by Mariana Zapata. I thought it was great fun. I also just finished Karen Robards thriller “Darkness” which just felt like I had read it before. The plot felt a little recycled but the writing was fine. I also finished all the Ice Planet Barbarian books. They were quite fun and easy to read and pick up and put down without any trouble. I thought the 2nd and last (#6) were the best of the lot.
    I’m really looking forward to Kylie Scott’s newest book Dirty. I also have the KJ Charles book A Gentleman’s Position in que and Santino Hassel had a sale on Sutphin Boulevard so I nabbed that as well. Right now I’m re-reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card as a palate cleanser. If I change up genre I don’t tire of them as quickly

  25. Karenmc says:

    I can’t find much time to read these days, but right now I’m enjoying the heck out of Theresa Romain’s Season for Scandal. It has all the inner emotional quandary stuff I love, and the villain is a slick manipulator who causes the hero literal stomach aches.

  26. Joanna says:

    Recently finished Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Blades, (sequel to City of Stairs which I read last month). Great world building, great characters, Highly Recommend both and can’t wait for the third book which won’t be out until next year. Lots of good book noise.

    Am now trying to get into The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, maybe it’s because it’s YA it hasn’t grabbed me yet but am not very far in. I hope I like it as much as some of the reviewers have.

  27. DonnaMarie says:

    @jcp, thanks for the heads up! Freebie scored.

  28. Julia aka mizzelle says:

    I finished Every Heart from the library and *loved* it and can’t wait for the companion novellas.

    I must be on a shorter fiction kick because I also have Mary Robinette Kowal’s Forest of Memory, also from Tor’s novella line. I will warn people that have issues with intentional typos to avoid.

    Lace: I agree about Traitor Baru, especially that last chunk of the book when the action really gets rolling. I was *amazed* how Dickinson pulled that off. POC Accountant heroine. Book has lots of twists and turns that will stab you in the back when you’re not looking.

    Also really enjoying Serial Box – they release different series with complete 40+ page episodes, usually 13 episodes an arc. The first batch will be collected by Saga Press later. Each episode is written by a different author. Bookburners deals with a group from the Vatican black archives hunting down books of magic/etc. Tremontaine is a prequel to Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint universe. Witch Who Came in from the Cold mixes 1970s Prague Cold War espionage with magic. They’re starting a historical soon as well. They run it by subscription or you can buy singly.

  29. bev says:

    I just finished Once Upon a Rose by Laura Florand. Great meet cute. Another bright spot was Isla and the Happily Ever After.

  30. Kareni says:

    jcp, another thank you as I also chose a free book.

    Books read this week include:

    — Anne Bishop’s Marked In Flesh: A Novel of the Others. This is the fourth book in the series; a little research determined that a fifth book is anticipated.
    — Rock N Soul by Lauren Sattersby. It has a bit of everything — life, death, growth, seeking forgiveness, and humor. It was a rare read in that it had me wondering how the situation would resolve itself for the main characters; it’s quite likely a book that I’ll re-read at some point. The two leads are bi-sexual men.
    — a re-read Ilona Andrew’s Steel’s Edge which is the fourth and final book in The Edge series.
    — The Strongest Steel which is a contemporary romance by Scarlett Cole. It was an enjoyable read but not a book I’m likely to revisit.
    — a re-read of a book that I recently won ~ Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson.
    — the short romance Signing Bonus (Chicago Series Book 3) by Elizabeth Marx. This was a pleasant read, but it didn’t have the same oomph (how’s that for a quantifiable characteristic?) as some of the author’s other books. I’m unlikely to re-read this.
    — re-read of the novella His Road Home by Anna Richland.
    — just finished Anne Bishop’s Heir to the Shadows — i find this series is quite different from her Novels of the Others.
    — also midway through Tamara Allen’s The Road to Silver Plume which is a male/male historical romance set in the latter 1800s in the US.
    — and partway through a re-read of Patricia Briggs’ Dead Heat

  31. cin says:

    Only going to list the good ones. Based on a rec in an earlier Whatcha Reading thread, I went through Mariana Zapata’s entire list. Her books are terrific — not perfect, but overall so enjoyable. She does the slow burn thing really really well. I especially liked Kulti and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me.

    Also read the two books in Laura Florand’s Paris Nights series. Chase Me in particular was just great. I read it once and then again, right away.

    Last but not least, I read and loved the latest Mercy Thompson, Fire Touched. Gotta love Patricia Briggs.

    This was a good month for reading — totally broke out of the reading slump that I appear to have been sharing with so many others.

  32. mel burns says:

    I’m not reading much fiction these days. I did re-read the Bargain by Mary Jo Putney which was good. I tried to read Theresa Romain’s latest Fortune Favors the Wicked, but I couldn’t get past the first chapter. Robyn Carr’s What We Find was an odd book, enjoyable but too long, needed editing IMHO.
    Two books I thoroughly enjoyed were When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris and Six Degrees of Scandal by Caroline Linden.

    I’ve got La Nora’s latest and The Library at Mount Char on deck and am waiting patiently for the new Lisa Kleypas.

  33. Crystal says:

    It’s been…a month.

    Let’s see. I polished off Uniquely Human for the book study group I was leading, and promptly started recommending to parents of children newly diagnosed with autism. I finished Nora Roberts’s The Obsession in one day, mostly thanks to a stomach bug that kept me in bed for the better part of Wednesday, and I enjoyed it, despite the evil bug. I also read Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, which made me laugh. Prior to that, I read Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica, and can I just say that reading a psychotic break is disconcerting. I also read A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab, and found it to be excellent, though slower moving than the first in the series, There was also Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. I liked the concept and the characters, but problems with pacing tend to drive me battywings, and this had the pacing problems that one often finds with a first-time author. I’m currently reading The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski. I usually compare the main character, Kestrel, to Cersei Lannister, if Cersei were actually as smart as she thinks she is, and had something resembling a kind bone in her body. She’s smart, and ambitious, and while not someone who is particularly gifted physically (she gets her ass handed to her in a duel in the first book), she’s a military strategy genius and sneaky as all hell. Basically a big fat Slytherin, but she’s also loyal and generally a good person. She’s probably one of the better young heroines I’ve read in awhile.

  34. Cristie says:

    So far this month I re-read Mary Stewart’s My Brother Michael (my favorite book EVER) to get myself out of a pretty bad reading slump. It seemed to work because i tore through Susanna Kearsley’s A Desperate Fortune which is afreakingmazing–I loved that book so much. I’m now reading The Cliffs of Night by Beatrice Brandon which I’m also totally loving.

  35. @MirandaB Oooh, yay! I will have to find out when!

  36. Susan says:

    Ah, RHG, I didn’t know about the Outlander novella so I clicked on that (as well as the other book). At some point, I really need to do an entire series reread. I’ve reread individual books over the years (esp the first three), but never all together.

    I was so excited to read Amanda Stevens’s The Visitor. It was a joy to be able to revisit that world and I’m relieved that Ms. Stevens started writing again. Now that I’ve read the book, the audio book is in my queue.

    I also read the latest Jane Yellowrock book, with that audio book in the queue, too. I was a little impatient because there’s been a long-ish buildup to the upcoming visit by the European vamps that I was hoping for some more forward momentum with that, but there were other important plot and character developments that took place so I’m happy.

    I was also happy with Marked in Flesh, but found it a bit more repetitive and filler-ish than I’d hoped. Audio book also awaits. 🙂

    Fire Touched sent me on a very enjoyable reread of Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series. This is definitely a series that stands up to multiple retreads for me.

    I also read three Betty Neels books that came out in digital. They’re so old-fashioned, but she’s become a comfort read for me.

    Speaking of rereads, I’ve been rereading some of Connie Suttle’s books. Oy vey. I have a love/hate relationship with her books. So many feels it would take pages to unburden myself. Seriously, there are many books in multiple series, and they’re all inter-related, even if that’s not readily apparent going in. And, to understand it all, you have to start with the very first book of the very first series–no picking up a later book and having a hope in hell of catching up. I’ve been along for the ride from the beginning, and I’m getting so lost that I’m thinking about throwing in the towel (for the umpteenth time). Whew. Thanks for letting me get some of that off my chest.

    Finally, I’ve been listening to LMB’s Sharing Knife series on my commute and really like the story and narration. A good narration is a work of art in itself. I recently listened to a book in a beloved series and there was so little variation in some of the main characters’ voices that it was hard to figure out who was talking much of the time. It really lessened the enjoyment.

    Sorry for the long post. I’ve been struggling with a prolonged slump for so many months. Every time I thought I was over it, I’d slink back down. It’s been a relief to have so many good reading experiences–with more on the horizon–that I’m feeling quite optimistic that the drought may be over.

    I’ve enjoyed reading through everyone else’s comments. Happy reading, folks!

  37. Susan says:

    Oh, and I wanted to add that the picture of the happy little reader at the top of this post is the cutest thing ever.

  38. Lora says:

    I’m reading Holes by Louis Sacher (decidedly NOT romance but an unputdownable middle grade novel I read to my class) and we love it. After that it’s Esperanza Rising which is spectacular, of course, by Munoz-Ryan…Lois? Luisa? Can’t recall her first name. Pam. Pam Munoz-Ryan. There. Read that, if you dig strong heroines and awesomeness for any age.

  39. Sara Rider says:

    I’ve just discovered Kate Meader’s books, and her voice is phenomenal. Her humour really works for me. I’m reading Taking the Score right now, which is the second book in her Tall, Dark and Texan series. It’s falls on the right side of zany – a fun plot with delicious twists but not so over-the-top to pull me out of the story. I’m going to start her Firefighters series next. I also finally got around to reading Alisha Rai’s Serving Pleasure, despite having it on my TBR pile forever. I really appreciated how fresh and interesting the characters were, but I think A Gentleman in the Street is still my most beloved Rai book.

    I’m also waiting eagerly for Rachel Goodman’s Sour Grapes to download onto my e-reader at the end of May. I devoured her first book From Scratch in one sitting, and can’t wait to see what she does next.

  40. Kate says:

    I’ve read A LOT this month so I’m only going to mention my favorites. (It’s most of them honestly. I’ve been in a good reading swing!)

    – “Pocket Apocalypse” by Seanan McGuire – I thought I’d read this already, but nope! Loved the family dynamics and the actually threatening werewolves.

    – “A Darker Shade of Magic” by V. C. Schwab – So good! Lively and quick and dark and delightful! Can’t wait to read the sequel.

    – “Libriomancer” by Jim C. Hines – picked this up because of Sarah and Elyse’s interview with Hines! LOVED IT.

    – “Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century” by Peter Graham – If you’ve seen Heavenly Creatures, this is a much less romanticized look at the crime and the two girls who committed it. (The title is for the benefit of American readers, as Anne Perry is particularly popular here.)

    – “Empire of Ivory” / “Victory of Eagles” by Naomi Novik (audiobook) – I’m inhaling these. Simon Vance is SO GOOD.

    Currently Reading

    – “Codex Born” by Jim C. Hines – Just started and already I am delighted.

    – “Tongues of Serpents” by Naomi Novik (audiobook) – listening as much as I can!

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