This Rec League request from Reader Patricia. She’s do for surgery next month and is looking to load up on some good books to keep her occupied during recovery time. Here’s her request:
Okay, I’m seeking a lot of book recommendations. I’m headed in for my third major abdominal surgery next month (damn you, endometriosis), and I’m looking to stock up on book recs from the Bitchery for what appears to be a 4-6 week recovery.
Here’s the deal – I read almost exclusively historicals; definitely can’t get into small towns, and rare is the contemporary that keeps my interest (and sports bore me in general, can’t imagine an entire book with that as the backdrop).
So, I’d like to dip my toes into the realm of the paranormal. I’ve tried the Sookie Stackhouse and Merry Gentry series and didn’t care for them, largely because I can’t get into stories where EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. falls in love with the main female (or can’t combat the fire of their loins, or whatnot). I did read Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster, and enjoyed that, but not sure if that counts?
So – paranormals, maybe historical ones? Alpha heroes welcome, no TSTL heroines, magic, urban fantasy, steampunk, shifters, wolves, vamps, ghosts, packs of selkies, all those could work.
Redheadedgirl: Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. The first book is Soulless ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Elyse: Anything by Bec McMaster! A Taste of Blood and Wine ( A | BN | K | AB )!
It’s not historical but A Discovery of Witches ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au )is really good and no TSTL heroine or everyone falling in love with the heroine
Sarah: Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series. Book one, is Firelight ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). And the Blades of the Rose series by Zoe Archer, starting with Warrior ( A | BN | K | G | AB )!
Amanda: Strapping on my recommendation hat!
The Native Star by MK Hobson ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is an American Historical with steampunk and magical elements that I really enjoyed, though it’s been forever since I’ve read it. The Drakon series by Shana Abe starting with The Smoke Thief. (DRAGONS IN LONDON!). The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) is steampunk, but it’s a bit dark and is set in England. And I haven’t read Kathryne Kennedy’s Relics of Merlin series, but we’ve featured a few of the books in the past and those are fantasy historical romance. The first book is Enchanting the Lady ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
What are you favorite historical romances with paranormal and fantasy elements? Any series you’d recommend? Tell us in the comments!
I am going to recommend LA Gilman’s Silver on the road which is really good historical fantasy.
I am also going to recommend Jaime Lee Moyer’s Delia books. The first one is Delia’s Shadow. They are historical mysteries w ghosts and a sweet romance.
I seconded anything Bec McMaster. To be honest, she’s the only I can think of when it comes to historical paranormal/fantasy. I read paranormal/urban fantasy but very rarely in historical setting. I couldn’t get through Gail Carriger or Kristen Callihan at all.
Oooh well I had a hysterectomy for Xmas so I understand, I was off for 7 weeks and READ ALL THE BOOKS and watched all the movies and TV I had stored up. Was wonderful 🙂
Tasha Alexander series about Lady Emily – a young aristocrat woman who was married very young and then her husband dies shortly afterwards from a hunting accident. Or does he….. leads to a whole series of victorian sleuthing novels which have a lovely feel of the period and Lady Emily is not to be trifled with – no insta romance with her! Recommended.
Inspector Rutledge series by Charles Todd – wonderful atmospheric series about Rutledge who is suffering terrible PTSD from WWI but goes back to work at Scotland Yard cos its all he knows how to do. Quite involved mysteries that its not obvious what the ending will be some times. Greatly enjoyable – there is another series with Bess Crawford but I havent read those.
Lady of Devices series – great steampunk series about a lady inventor (again no instalove) where she makes a habit of saving people, and the day, and occasionally the country too. Each book brings in or features a new character who blends into the greater story arc – good stuff.
Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews – one of the best paranormals around – people are afraid of Kate and for justifiably good reason – she can slice anyone into ribbons, except in general, she choses to use her powers for good. Ends up being an excellent romance but both parties work hard for it and takes til about book 4-5 to really kick in.
They also have a slightly SF Paranormal series about an Innkeeper – Clean Sweep is the first
Anything by Andrea K Host but start with “And All The Stars” or Stained Glass Monsters.
I UTTERLY ADORE the St Marys Time Travel series by Jodi Taylor – hilarious, ridiculous, heartbreaking and heartwarming, funny, quirky and out there.
She also writes The Nothing Girl which was delightful, and as Isabella Barclay – A Batchelor Establishment – Edwardian I think – where the rake comes home to plunder the estate of funds before heading off the debauch the continent again, except he ends up in a ditch avoiding the local widow, who is shot at by mysterious disappearing brigands….or is he the target…?
The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg – similar to the Night Magician – our heroine has spent her time at magic school and is now ready to apprentice under a chief magician and learn her craft. But she is dismayed to be assigned to a Paper magician – what good is paper?
Anything by T Kingfisher – she redoes old fairy tales in her own fashion – her Beauty and the Beast redo called Bryony and Roses is wonderful and heavily influenced by Robin McKinley but with more gardening. Nine Goblins is delightful and dark too.
OMG AM Dellamonica – CHild of a Hidden Sea and Daughter of No Nation – where a modern day woman finds herself transported to another world where there is an odd blend of tech and magic, and people are out to kill her because they think she is someone else – sounds trite and is MUCH better than my description gives it
Lindsay Buroker -self pub author – does a great series of Emperors Edge that ran to 8 books and spun off a couple of sister series but you really need to read the first 8 for it all to make sense – rollicking good adventure – minimal romance and amusing and unlikely. Heroine talks everyone into doing what she wants – albiet reluctantly LOL
Jim Butcher – Aeronauts Windlass – steampunk world where we all live in towers above the clouds and its very classist and rigid. Told from the POV of some student law keepers – different.
Stella Gibbons – Cold COmfort Farm – I adore the movie with Kate Beckinsale in it but the book is also excellent
Dru Pagliassotti – Clockwork series – steampunk themed about a winged courier who ends up getting into more than she can handle and events ensue – very good
Rachel Bach – Heavens Paradox series – good SciFi with a very similar feel to Firefly but our heroine is kick ass good and holds her own. Small romance but not a major plot element.
Hope that helps and hope you recover well from the surgery, good luck!
Grace Draven’s ‘Radiance’. More fantasy romance than PNR but it is courtly. Brigg’s Mercy Thompson is contemporary PNR with a slowish burn, but is what Sookie should have been, and if you get into it, gives you a series to sink into. Ilona Andrews ‘Edge’ series. Each book has a new couple with a plot arc over the series.Good luck.
Worth checking out –
MelJean Brooks – series The Iron Duke Series is Steampunk and she has a Demon series
Nalini Singh – Psy-changeling and her Archangel/Guardian
Zoe Archer – The Blades of the Rose – historical and magic
Shelly Laurenston/GA Aiken – very funny shifters(urban fantasy), dragons (historical setting) – great reading – even better audiobook
If you like reading m/m, I definitely rec Jordan Hawk’s Hexworld series. Shifters, an entire Witch Police department, very very cool magic systems, set in Victorian New York! It has tons of rich, magical detail.
Similar to the Bec McMaster books are thr Order of the MUSE books by Mia Marlowe. I’ve only read one of them but did enjoy. There’s also a series by Hannah Howell. I enjoyed the first few but after a while seemed a bit samey (maybe the Wherlock series?)
I love Ilona Andrews Kate series, I read my Mom a few of them after her surgery and she loved it, but maybe you would like their edge series better. There are 4 books about a small dimensional boundary between our world the broken and a steampunk inspired place run by magic called the weird. They are sorta madcap in places but nobody is TSTL, very recourseful people all around.
Not really romances or paranormal, but more in the YA fantasy realm, try Sarah Maas’Throne of Glass series which is quite good; if you haven’t read Kiera Cass’s The Selection series, that might be fun; For Darkness Shows the Stars, D. Peterfreund; Kristin Cashore’s Graceling series; His Fair Assassin series, Robin Lefevers. I’m also a big historical fan and not crazy about contemporaries and these were some that I really enjoyed.
In addition to Kate Daniels, my autobuys are Patricia Briggs, Seanan McGuire, and Faith Hunter. One of my friends loves the Druid series by Kevin Hearne.
Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series: Alt history steampunk romance!
Ilona Andrews’ Innkeeper Chronicles. It starts with Clean Sweep, and they’re currently posting the third book in the series on their blog before publishing a polished version.
Elizabeth Hunter’s Elemental Mysteries Series. It starts with A Hidden Fire, and then eventually opens up into the larger Elemental World Series.
Mel Sterling’s Trueheart. This is the first book in her Portland After Dark series. It’s PNR, and the fae here have teeth and claws and their own agenda, and I enjoyed it very much. (I recently saw on her FB page that she’s currently working on the second book in that series.)
I haven’t read much historical PNR, but Liz Carlyle does have the Fraternitas Aureae Crucis series, which starts with One Touch of Scandal.
Fantasy YA is one of my favorite genres, and it might have more of that historical feel that you are looking for. I would recommend Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen; Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo; Poison Study by Maria Snyder; and Beauty by Robin McKinley.
Good luck with your surgery.
If you’ve never read anything by Lois McMaster Bujold, check out the Sharing Knife series (the first one is “Beguilement”) and her other fantasy series (start with “The Curse of Chalion”). It’s more fantasy than urban paranormal but SO FANTASTIC.
Simone St. James’ historical mysteries have some paranormal elements – pretty gripping.
I liked the Pax Arcana series by Elliott James. Fun male perspective, like Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden series) or Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series.
Anne Bishop’s series “The Others” is fabulous. The first one is “Written in Red”. Also “Sunshine” by Robin McKinley.
Some more mainstream historical paranormal romances include Kathryn Smith’s Brotherhood of Blood series, Teresa Medeiros has a couple, and so does Heather Graham. Disclaimer I haven’t read those in a long time so I don’t remember if any have a TSTL heroine.
Also more contemporary but darker paranormals (that resemble less of a small town feel) are Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn, Kyndred, and Lords of the Darkyn series (all related). Viehl also has a new series it’s a steampunk series Disenchanted & Co. it can actually be difficult to find in print and I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I really want to. It’s based on if the U.S. lost the American Revolution, and includes magic elements.
Then there’s J.R. Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood, is much darker and more erotic, and there’s totally an entire M/M book which is awesome.
Unfortunately I don’t branch out as much as I used to, so most of mine are pretty mainstream romance authors. If you want more fantasy than romance I definitely recommend Mercedes Lackey Valdemar series, it’s my go to, and it’s not overly complicated where you have to learn everything about the fantasy universe before you can start understanding the book.
For contemporary paranormals I second (or third) Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series and its companion series, Alpha & Omega. And also Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series. Both have female characters who can change shape, and are the only one of their kind they know of, but the characters are *very* different. Mercy is a VW mechanic while Jane is a vampire hunter. Both have romance as their secondary (or tertiary) plots that take multiple books to develop.
For YA historical fantasy, Patricia C. Wrede’s “A Matter of Magic” (which is an omnibus of Marelion the Magician and the Magician’s Ward) is lovely. Different, but even better IMO is her “Thirteenth Child” series, which is set in a mid-West US where magic has kept settlers from expanding much beyond the Mississippi. It’s a *fantastic* series, and one I’ve given to most teens I know.
Also good is her series with Caroline Stevermer, “Sorcery and Cecilia” (The Enchanted Chocolate Pot). That’s written as letter back and forth between two young women.
If you want something you have to settle down and enjoy, Guy Gavriel Kay is utterly marvelous. I recently re-read “The Lions of al Rassan”, and it was just as fantastic as I’d remembered. There is no magic in his books, he simply creates a world whole-cloth, based upon extensive research he’s done on a time period that interests him. “Under Heaven” is another favorite. The first is set in a middle-eastern setting (with the attendant religious sectarianism of that time) the latter is set in a feudal Asian setting.
Now I want to re-read “Under Heaven”. 🙂
Sean Russell hasn’t written a new book in years, but his “The Initiate Brother” and “Gatherer of Clouds” are favorites.
Also along those lines is Ellen Kushner’s “Swordspoint” which is one of my comfort reads. The “Privilege of the Sword” is a YA set a generation after, with appearances by characters in the first book.
Steven Brust is another favorite along those lines. There are two series set in the same world. The Vlad Taltos series is a hard-boiled detective set in a fantasy world. “The Phoenix Guards” is a fantasy retelling of The Three Musketeers, with all the florid and over-the-top language. They are very different, and very good.
Good luck with your surgery and recovery!
Madame Millie by Max Evans
It is a biography of a madam in Silver City, NM. It has a Spew Warning of 10. Absolutely no sipping and reading.
Anything by Judith Merle Riley. Not necessarily romances, but all books do have a romance storyline. Historical setting with a supernatural element that matches the time period. Some parts can get dark (rape, abortion, death etc) but are never gratuitous but mostly in there because they are issues women dealing with. Very female centric books but great, supportive heroes. I especially love the Oracle Glass (somewhat atheist 17th century woman finds out she’s a medium and makes a philosophical experiment out of it in a setting of poison scandal Paris).
I second the Faith Hunter series. It has over 10 books and should keep you occupied for a few days. Her heroine, Jane Yellowrock is strong, conflicted, trying to grapple the political and moral complexity of her job. I love characters who are growing into their role and are maturing over the course of the books.
Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series is fabulous. I love the world she created, the characters and mostly Elana, who made the best of a bad situation. Sadly, the series has ended, but there are over 20 books to the series.
As with the course of someone asking for recommendations, what usually happens is that I find more books that I haven’t read or heard of.
Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer did Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot (here at Amazon), which is interesting not only as a rather thoughtful alternate-historical with-magic romance, but as an epistolary novel. I adored it, but I think that the epistolary style (letters from the characters to one another rather than a narrator) may be not to everyone’s taste? If you do like it, there are more in the series (I didn’t find them as strong, but I enjoyed them because I got to spend more time with Cecelia and company). Looks like Patricia Wrede has another magic in the Regency series (A Matter of Magic) but I haven’t read that one (well … yet … *sigh* for my tbr pile).
Definitely Patricia Briggs, Anne Bishop and Ilona Andrews.
And habe you tried the novels by Jeanine Frost?
If you want to read something less contemporary, I can recommend Anne Bishop’s older series – black jewels and the one that starts with ‘Sebastian’. I think you can describe Thema as fantasy novels.
It’s not a romance, but you might like Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. It’s essentially Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey-Maturin books with dragons. For that matter, if you haven’t read O’Brien’s books and like historical fiction, I recommend them in print or audio. They have a wonderful depiction of male friendship over years plus a totally different look at the regency period than most romances.
I also wanted to second the recommendations for Mia Marlowe and Meljean Brook.
Sorry if I missed this rec in the comments above, but I LOVED A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan. I have not had a chance to read the sequels yet, but this is a great historical fantasy book with romantic elements.
I second all the Wrede recs above and have added the Frontier Magic series to my TBR list!
Seanan McGuire has two, possibly three, urban fantasy series. There’s some romance, but not everyone falls in love with the heroine and it’s not the main focus of the stories.
The October Days series has ten books, and starts with Rosemary and Rue. The main character is a half fey private investigator.
The Incryptid series has five books, starting with Discount Armageddon. The main character in the the first two books is a ballroom dancer/waitress who’s family works to protect “monsters” from the general public, and vice versa. (The next two focus on her brother, who works in a zoo, then book five goes back to the her.) It’s lighter in tone than the October Daye books.
She also has the Indexing series, which is two books. I haven’t got around to reading these yet, but I believe they’re urban fantasy involving fairy tale characters. Book one is Indexing, book two is Indexing: Reflections.
Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson is amazing! It is contemporary and in the first few books more than one guy is in love with Mercy; however, once she settles down with a guy she picked it is a strong partnership that carries through the rest of the novels. What I love about this series is that it gets better with every book! That is very rare in a series. Also, the author handles a large cast very well. She balances checking in with all the friends against practicality- not actually having a cast of thousands tromp around every room. Her companion series, Alpha and Omega, is about a couple that forms quickly and doesn’t feature the “harem”. Both of these series are TW for sexual assault, though handled pretty well IMO.
If you like YA, in addition to Sorcery and Cecilia (excellent) series, try Precious Stone trilogy by Kerstin Gier. It’s translated from German. ( Not sure why a German woman wrote a book about London.) May not be true paranormal. It starts off in a contemporary setting, but involves some time travel. The characters are a little immature, as befits a YA, but has good ideas. I especially enjoyed the focus on the kind of preparation that needs to happen before traveling in time like learning manners, dressing correctly, etc.
Also YA, Sharon Shinn’s Summers at Castle Auburn is a truly excellent book and has some magic. Her Sumeria books are great, too, but not really paranormal, either.
I liked Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels, but it does feature a different form of everyone in love with heroine. It’s mostly a familial love, so it may not bother you.
I thought Discovery of Witches did have an element of everyone thinking the heroine special. Not quite the same as being wildly in love with her, but I still noticed it. I agree that this is something that gets really obnoxious in books.
Hope this helps!
Our reading tastes are similar. I don’t care for most PNR, but I am mad for Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels. The first book Magic Bites is a mess, but worth it and there’s eight more. I also enjoyed Radiance by Grace Draven and though I didn’t care for the Temeraire series (to much rewriting of history) I liked Uprooted, which is more fairy tale than historical.
Have you read the early Amanda Quicks? I love them, they have a touch of the supernatural and the heroines are super smart-asses.
How about Robin McKinley? I always feel good when I read her books, especially Beauty and The Hero and the Crown.
A few weeks ago Sarah posted a gif in a review (fiery cartoon) GDFH that’s how I feel about Endometriosis….take it easy and enjoy some books. 🙂
HAPPY HEALING
Lindsay Buroker, specifically her Emperors Edge series. As a bonus, the first book in the series is free, and the first two books on audio are also free , if you want to hear a story don’t feel well enough to actually read.
I actually guest reviewed it before: http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/the-emperors-edge-by-lindsay-buroker-a-guest-review-by-anonymiss/
Get better soon!
Nthing The Thirteenth Child trilogy by Patricia Wrede; she did such a great job capturing the pioneer culture/mindset.
Also saying YES! to Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. There’s a varied cast of heroines, all of which are smart and strong in various ways. I also recommend her YA paranormal series, it’s two trilogies that merge in the 6th book so I think it’s best to start with The Summoning.
I know when I had a surgery that required a lot of bed rest, I had a really hard time with reading because I was so fuzzy from the pain meds and YA books were much easier to read, so hopefully that doesn’t happen to you. Good luck, I hope the recovery is as easy as possible!
Definitely keep going with Bec McMaster, I’ve enjoyed the heck out of every single one of her books and am about to grovel to my library system to please get a copy of Mission: Improper already.
I second anything by Meljean Brooks, either her steampunk series (The Iron Duke, Heart of Steel, Riveted, The Kraken King) or her Guardians series, which starts with Demon Angel.
Delilah Dawson’s Blud trilogy involves a steampunkish alternate world where just about everyone and everything is vampiric (wait’ll you meet the bludbunnies!). The first book is Wicked as They Come.
Lisa Kleypas wrote a contemporary romance trilogy set in a small West Coast town. The first two books, Rainshadow Road and Dream Lake, have elements of magical realism in them–magical talents, ghosts, etc–and the third book, Crystal Cove, goes full paranormal. I *love* the first two, was very meh about CC.
The Lynburn Legacy trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan is YA gothic set in a small British town. The heroine is half-Japanese, the hero keeps needing to be rescued, the dialogue is snappy and funny, and you will cry at least six times. The three books are Unspoken, Untold, and Unmade.
If the thought of a queer steampunk Western catches your fancy, I enthusiastically suggest either Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear, or Vermilion by Mollie Tanzer. There is a lesbian romance in KM, and the heroine of Vermilion is agender and bisexual (at least, that’s how I read her).
And while I personally could not get into Gini Koch’s SF romances featuring Katherine “Kitty” Katt and her hot alien husband, I know a lot of people really like them, and the series is on its 8th or 9th book.
Recovery from surgery sucks, and so does f****** endometriosis. Relax on the couch and keep getting better!
My favorite topic!
Reader Patricia,
You’ve got a lot of amazing recs here, I would also recommend The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe– Dragon Shifters!
And …. my paranormal historical vampire romance is publishing tomorrow. If you’re interested email me at ainsley.evans1@gmail.com and I’ll gift you an ebook on Amazon. Good luck with surgery!
I have to 3rd or 4th the Anne Bishop Others series. Amazing world building, no insta-love, and compelling characters. I 3rd or 4th Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. I’m also going to suggest Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra as a straight up fantasy series. If you want to dip your toe in a 180 from historicals, you might give JD Robb’s In Death series a try. Set in the “near” future but with an alternative history base, this is my “chicken soup” series.
May your surgery be a success and may you heal fast and completely!
So how do you feel about futuristic/historical? The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor is set somewhere in the future, and they don’t do ‘time-travel’ – they ‘investigate major historical events in contemporary time’. It’s got humor, tragedy, romance, sci-fi, historical, quite the mix.
I have no idea where I found these.
Good wishes coming your way for a quick recovery!
Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series is contemporary paranormal set in London. Although you may burst stitches laughing.
For historical m/m with magic, K J Charles.
Tanya Huff. For regency steampunk and werewolves and magic, try The Silvered. For contemporary paranormal try The Enchantment Emporium or Summon The Keeper. For vampires try the Blood series, from which the spinoff Smoke trilogy is lovely.
Not a big reader of fantasy or paranormal here, but I also read mainly historicals. Christi Caldwell’s Heart of a Duke series has a necklace that helps romances move along. That’s about as paranormal as I get! Wishing you all the best with your surgery and a comfortable recovery.
Adding my enthusiastic rec for Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series (though they are pretty dark and violent)– these are my ultimate favorites of all time. Her Others series is also fantastic.
Also adding Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters romantic fantasy series (which starts with Daughter of the Forest), and her current Blackthorn & Grim fantasy series, and her YA fantasy historical (ancient Scotland) series which begins with Shadowfell (not sure if the series has a name).
Isabella Cooper is great although I wasn’t into the dragon books. I’m pretty sure everyone else I can think of has already been suggested, but will continue to ponder.
@Bethy1017: JULIET MARILLIER, YESSSSS! Definitely seconding that recommendation!
I totally second the Carriger Parasol Protectorate series–although, be warned, if you’ve had abdominal surgery, you may NOT want to laugh as much as these books may make you laugh….
I also second anything by Bujold. ANYTHING. She is amazing. Start with Curse of Chalion, if you like fantasy at all, JUST so you can get to Paladin of Souls. Paladin of Souls is stunning. I had All The Feels.
If your romances don’t have to have happy endings, CJ Cherryh’s Rusalka will do that for you, as will her Tree of Swords and Jewels. And for love that isn’t romance, Connie Willis’ Domesday Book.
You haven’t mentioned whether you’ve read the Grande Dame Georgette Heyer. If you haven’t, DO.
No one going to bring that 1920s flappers and Prohibition action. Here I am, to save the day!
First you have the Roaring 20s series by Jenn Bennett. Flappers, bootleggers, ghosts, San Francisco, and psychics. And it’s HOT. Bo Yeung in Grave Phantoms can get it for days.
Then we have The Diviners and Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. Again, we’ve got psychics, but also dreamwalkers and magic users, both reluctant and eager. It’s a bit of what would happen if you dropped The X-Men and the Elder Gods in 1920s New York. Both books are just completely devourable, even though they’re huuuuuge. I knocked out all 613 pages of Lair of Dreams over Labor Day weekend 2015. It was a GREAT weekend.
Good luck with that surgery. Take care of yourself, take the painkillers, read all the things.
Pimping my own Gaslight Adventure, “On Her Majesty’s Psychic Stevice: The Hanged Man.”
It’s more action than romance, which is subtle, but in keeping with an alt-history England where Victoria saw to it women got the vote. The forensic Reader heroine is one of her many goddaughters.
The first book opens with an impossible to track criminal, toxic upper class family conflicts (think Downton Abbey on crack), and an unflappable tea-sipping heroine who is relentless at getting to the truth of matters, whatever the cost. The awesome Gail Carrigar gave it a kind review, so I’ll leave it at that and depart into the swirling London fog.