Whatcha Reading? October 2016 Edition

old book on the bench in autumn parkIt’s October and time for one of the best and worst posts of the month. Best because it’s always fun to see what everyone else is reading. Worst because it often does some hefty damage to our book budget and sometimes skyrockets our TBR piles.

And colder weather (at least for me) means more time spent under some blankets with a book!

Sarah: I am reading Camp Rewind by Meghan O’Brien ( A | BN ), which is a lesbian contemporary. One heroine is hiding her identity because of Gamer-Gate-esque harassment after she reviewed a popular game and highlighted the sexism in it. The other has intense social anxiety and shyness and is trying to overcome that by spending a weekend at a camp retreat for adults.

The Infamous Miss Rodriguez
A | BN | K | AB
I’m also reading The Infamous Miss Rodriguez by Lydia San Andres, which was recommended to me by Mina V. Esguerra during a podcast interview recording (that episode is coming up soon). It’s a historical romance set in a fictional Caribbean island, Ciudad Real, with a heroine who is determined to ruin herself and avoid an arranged marriage her aunt is determined to make happen. She’s hired a dude to foil each of here attempts to ruin her reputation.

And I’m waiting on a much older middle-grade title I bought used for .01 (it’s so old it’s not available digitally) called A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner ( A ). Originally published in 1991, it’s about a dragon named Nonesuch who has witnessed a lot of history, and I think it’s a book that my sons and I will all enjoy – hence my going to find a used copy.

Redheadedgirl: I’m reading When a Marquess Loves a Woman (these titles) by Vivienne Lorret ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which is a sort of second chance romance involving a bet and amiable enemies (where everyone is like “would you two just bag already oh my god”).

Also The Early Vasas: A history of Sweden 1523-1611 ( A | BN ).

The Witches
A | BN | K | AB
Elyse: I’m working my way through The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff

My brain is tired so I’ve been reading a lot of magazine articles too.

Carrie: I just finished Gilead ( A | BN | K | G | AB )for my book club and today am finishing The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

The Leopard King
A | BN | K | AB
Amanda: I’m kind of in between books right now. So this is more of a Whatcha Buying entry for me, or rather what I recently purchased that I’m excited to start.

I snagged The Leopard King when it was on sale earlier because I am obsessed with that cover. I’d take a print of that in a heartbeat. And after a glowing recommendation from Kat at BookThingo, I immediately picked up Iris After the Incident ( A | BN | K | AB ).

How was your reading this month? Did you hit a slump or tackle your TBR? Tell us what you loved and hated reading!


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 so great of you, and if you’d prefer not to, that’s cool too. 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. CelineB says:

    I have once again failed miserably to decrease the number of books on my tbr list. I decided to only buy books on my top Amazon wishlist if they went on sale for $1.99 or less and then, within in two weeks, five books went on sale for either $1.99 or .99. Then I failed to stick to that resolution when a bunch of Harlequin books went on sale yesterday. I also failed to read Hidden Figures and the new Sonali Dev books before I needed to return to them to the library so they’re back on hold.

    Books I actually did read this month:
    Wild Embrace by Nalini Singh- This was a really great collection of novellas set in the Pay/Changeling world. I actually enjoyed it more than the last regular installment in the series.

    A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen- I loved this one as much as the first in the series, although the hero was a little underdeveloped. The heroine is amazing though. She moved to England after her family’s farm in Canada was destroyed in the War of 1812. She’s an actress, private eye, scandal fixer, and all-around badass. She’s hired to find the hero, Noah, an heir to some title (Earl?) who was presumed dead after his family hid him away for his severe speech impediment. Noah’s a bit of a beta-hero which I enjoyed.

    If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell- This one just didn’t work for me. I didn’t connect to the characters or the story until the very end when a big reveal happens. It wasn’t bad just boring.

    The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie- I read this for banned book week and completely loved it. I think if I made a ‘Read this, not that’ list I would tell people to read this instead of Catcher in the Rye, but I’m probably in the minority on that opinion.

    Roman Holiday by Nina Bocci & Alice Clayton and Nuts by Clayton- I had a mixed reaction to Roman Holiday. I loved the setting and the description of food. I enjoyed the heroine finding her way back to herself after losing herself in her marriage. Both the heroine and hero did some things I didn’t love, but nothing so egregious that it ruined the book for me. The biggest failings of the book for me was the hero was completely underdeveloped (he came off as a stereotypical too-good-too-be-true Italian dreamboat most of the book) and the fact that the reason the heroine left the hero the first time they were together wasn’t addressed until way too late in the book. Nuts was a cute, fluffy romance that was fun, but had little substance.

    The Rogue Not Taken and A Scot in the Dark by Sarah McLean- I got Scot from my library’s ebook site which motivated me to finally read Rogue that had been sitting on my kindle since it came out. I loved Rogue. It had a great enemies-to-lovers storyline which some really snappy dialogue. The hero may come off as too much of a jerk for some, but I felt McLean handled him in such a way that you could tell he was all bark and no bite. Scot was a disappointment. I liked the heroine in theory. I admired her feminist viewpoint, but still never really connected with her. I thought the hero came off as a by the numbers Scottish, rough around the edges hero. I never felt any chemistry between the two.

    Sarah Morgan- I got Sleepless in Manhattan from the library so I started working my way through my backlog of kindle books by her as well. I really enjoyed Sleepless since I’m a sucker for the best friend of the heroine’s older brother trope. I loved the fact that the heroine was starting her own business and her job was a big part of the story. The dialogue was great; I especially loved an exchange about ‘geek sex’ where the heroine asked if that was a usb drive she felt More geek sex in romance please! The book also included the novella Midnight at Tiffany’s which I also enjoyed. A Night of Scandal was a fun, fast read with an actor hero and costume designer heroine. First Time in Forever actually had some similar themes as Scandal, both heroines had narcissistic celebrity sisters they weren’t close with, the heroine in this one and the hero in Scandal had issues with bodies of water. In this book the heroine becomes guardian to her niece and moves to an island to get away from the paparazzi who want to know what happened to a scandalous dead actress’s daughter. The hero is a local who left the island for a time and came back after an injury. It was sweet, but nothing really special. Sold to The Enemy was decent category romance where the heroine (Selene, spelled incorrectly, but she is Greek and that is the Greek spelling so I will forgive it 🙂 ) goes to the hero, a business rival of her father, to help her set up a business so she and her mother can escape her abusive father. I enjoyed it, but everything was resolved too fast and easily.

    The Beauty and the Brit series by Terri L. Austin- This is another one where I got the second book of the series from the library so I decided to finally read the first one that was sitting on my kindle. The first book, His Every Need, was decent, but nothing special. The heroine, Allie, makes a deal with the hero to become his mistress in exchange for him allowing her family to stay in their house instead of foreclosing. I’m not really a fan of that type of set-up, but I did like the characters and the heroine’s family dynamic. To Be His is a novella that tells parts of the first book from the perspective of the hero. It was pretty repetitive and unnecessary, but it was free. His Kind of Trouble, the second in the series, the heroine is Allie’s sister, Monica, who is a complete brat in the first book. The hero, Cal, is the cousin of the hero in the first book. Cal and Monica meet and make-out at a wedding at the beginning of the book then the book flashes forward five years. Monica has given up her bad girl ways and is constantly trying to prove her worth to her sister. Cal meets Monica again and helps her find a happy medium between the out-of-control person she used to be and the bland person she’s pretending to be. I liked this one quite a bit. The sex scenes in both books were pretty hot. I have the third book in the series on hold at my library so I should get it soon.

    Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews- A really great addition to the series.

    Right now I’m reading All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris and up next is The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman, both are library books. Then I have several other library books to read , six more Sarah Morgan books, and I just won Rookie Move from Sarina Bowman so I really need to get to reading all her books that I have sitting on my kindle.

  2. Francesca says:

    I’ve been working tons of overtime lately so I’ve not had much time. I did finish Susan Howatch’s The Rich are Different and I’m resisting the temptation to gobble down her other books, some of which I read many years ago. I love huge sprawling family sagas chock-full of revenge and secrets and villains and forbidden love, etc.

    I did finish A Taste of Heaven by Penny Watson. I love food porn and this had plenty and I enjoyed the older main characters, but in spite of her age and status as a grieving widow at the start, the heroine struck me as a bit of a manic pixie dream girl. It was one of those stories that you enjoy while reading and then sit back and think “Real life doesn’t work like that.” Escapist fun.

    Just now, I’m reading The Girl with the Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson. I’m not even sure what prompted me to buy this since it’s miles outside of what I normally read, but I am really enjoying it.

  3. KateB says:

    I have read ten books by five authors this month, including audio, which is surprising. I usually burn through them faster than that. At least they were all great!

    – “Heartless” (audio) / “Timeless” (audio) / “Prudence” by Gail Carriger – rereading the Parasol Protectorate on audio was really fun. Emily Gray brought the wit and sparkle of the dialog to life. “Prudence” was fun, more of a map cap adventure story, and it felt a little “the new class”, but I love the world Carriger has built and the fact that she keeps adding to it in unique ways delights me.

    – “Ross Poldark” / “Demelza” by Winston Graham – Speaking of worlds I love sinking into! The writing took a little getting used to. The directness of the dialog maybe? Or the way scenes shift quickly? I’m not sure. But once I got my footing I loved it. Demezla is perfect in every way.

    – “The Minotaur” / “The House of Stairs” / “A Judgement in Stone” by Ruth Rendell – I burned through these one after another, being in mood for gothic mysteries. “Minotaur” and “Stairs” were written under her Barbara Vine pen name and they definitely fit that gothic mold. “Stone” is the stronger book – just ratchets up that tension and dread!

    – “Shadows of Self” by Brandon Sanderson (audio) – Not my favorite Sanderson, maybe it leans too much into western? Or it leaned to much on the initial Mistborn trilogy? Still, with all the action, it made for a fun audiobook!

    – “Chaplewood” by Cherie Priest – I love Priest’s style. It’s Lovecraften Southern Gothic, with humor and horror. But definitely start with “Maplecroft.”

    Currently Reading

    – “The Trespasser” by Tana French – Y’ALL. I was on my library’s hold list, 30 of, like, 80, and then, I go to the library and there’s a non-holdable copy sitting there on the NEW shelf. I snatched that sucker like there was no tomorrow! I’m almost done. I got to the big reveal last night and the level of excitement… It was like a Jerry Springer audience in my head!

    – “Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places” by Colin Dickey (audio) – REALLY GOOD, thoughtfully written. It’s more serious than I expected though, so it’s taking me awhile to get through it. When it comes to audiobooks, I usually like quick plots or fun/heartwarming memoirs, and this is a deeper dive into America’s relationship with its own ghost stories.

  4. GHN says:

    Just finished the _1636: Ottoman Onslaught_ eARC

  5. Lora says:

    I’m ready to start the new Bridget Jones book. I loved Mad About the Boy (poignant, sharp and funny) and since I was very pleasantly surprised by the BJ Baby movie being lovely, smart and deeply felt, I’m super excited to read the book. I thought the second movie was, frankly, stupid, so I was thrilled with the new one and I’m happy to have the book on my TBR.

  6. NPrestin says:

    I just burned through both Magnate and Tycoon by Joanna Shupe and enjoyed them so much that I ended up preordering the next in the series, which is something I almost never do. It’s really refreshing reading historical romances that aren’t set in the regency period. The characters are interesting, one is even a bit of a bastard, but the author does a great job of keeping them true to themselves while also not sugarcoating some of the things they’ve done. They’re not always 100% likeable, but they are definitely compelling to read about, and I cant wait for the next book in the series.

    Regency Fatigue is one of the reasons I’m stuck halfway through Diary of An Accidental Wallflower by Jennifer McQuiston, which I picked up at a used book store. I’m liking the characters (it cracks me up how desperately the heroine tries to be vapid and shallow but just can’t quite manage it), and I’m a sucker for romances between characters with class differences, I think I just need a break from all of the regencies I’ve been reading lately. It’s good enough that I’ll pick it back up and finish it at some point.

    And to switch things up completely, I’ve started Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler. She’s pretty much the only writer I can think of that writes truly alien aliens. They’re not hot people with weird foreheads, they are actually legitimately different and weird enough to make you squirm uncomfortably even when they have good intentions. I’ve finished the title story and am moving on to the other shorts in the book.

  7. K.N.O'Rear says:

    I read Labyrinth Lost,whitch is a YA , Alice In Wonderland-like novel with witches and a cast made entirely of POC and Latino culture.It had some huge weaknesses, mostly in the chracters(they were all a little too flat for my liking, especially one of the heroine’s love interests)but it was still a fun, Halloween read.

    Currently, I’m reading Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire. So far it is a solid romantic suspense, but nothing too amazing.

  8. No time to read for fun right now, but my TBR pile has exploded with new releases over the past few weeks: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo; Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake; The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst; The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis; and Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan.

    Now, I just need to find time to read all of these. Even though it’s still October, I’m in the mood for some holiday reads right now.

  9. jimthered says:

    I just finished GIRLS ON GAMES: A LOOK AT THE FAIRER SIDE OF THE TABLETOP INDUSTRY by Elisa Teague and others (review up at http://thearmchaircritic.blogspot.com/2016/10/girls-on-games-by-elisa-teague.html ) and next I’ll be reading ASTRO CITY: LOVERS QUARREL.

  10. Crystal says:

    It’s been a slow month, which seems to be my new school normal. I’ve gone from between 5-7 books a month, down to 3-4. I feel like I read more than this the last time I was in college, but eh.

    Let’s see, I’m about 150 pages from the end of Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas and it is reliably excellent. Before that I read How to Start A Scandal by Tessa Dare, which ya know, it’s Tessa Dare. Again, reliably excellent. Then there was Rose Gold by Walter Mosley, which was my first Easy Rawlins mystery and I quite enjoyed it. Oh, and my daughter and I read Razzle Dazzle Unicorn by Dana Simpson together, which was sweet and sharp and clever, and the you guys, the unicorn has a crush on the lake monster and it’s so cute. I’m still listening to Dead Wake by Erik Larson, since my kids don’t groove on listening to a nonfiction book about the sinking of the Lusitania, and of course, still with the text book.

  11. Crystal says:

    Gah, I checked my Goodreads account, and how did I forget The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware? I plead being medicated (I had a wisdom tooth pulled yesterday and have been mightily stoned for the last 24 hours). It was really good too (the book, although the being stoned wasn’t bad either).

  12. L. says:

    I’m back on mandatory overtime which is seriously cutting into my reading pleasure (boo). I’m currently reading The Girl With Ghost Eyes, recommended to me by you Bitches. I dare anyone to read this book and NOT picture Mike Wazowski.

  13. Lostshadows says:

    Well, I did finish 7 books this month, but they were all rereads, so this was more of a so-so month for me.

    For new stuff, I did read “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which has some elements of a romance, but definitely isn’t one. (And my tablet keeps trying to make it Frapacinos Daughter.)

    I’m also in the middle of listening to Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlien for NaNo reasons. Content wise, exactly what I was expecting, tone wise, I think he’s a bit more cynical than I thought he would be.

    The election put me in need of a good comfort read and I ended up rereading most of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series. (The Shadow Queen, Shalador’s Lady, Queen of the Darkness, Dreams Made Flesh, Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Tangled Webs. Not exactly the recommended reading order, but I’ve reread them a lot.)

  14. cleo says:

    I’m also reading, or attempting to read, The Witches by Stacy Schiff for a book group. I do not think I’m going to get through it. I’m not sure exactly why the writing style isn’t working for me, but it’s not.

    I’m also reading The New Jim Crow for another book group (online this time). I wanted to read it with a group since I knew I wouldn’t read it on my own, but it’s hard to read also, because of the subject matter, not the writing.

    I reread Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie for my queer genre fiction book group and it was just as good the second time and it was SO much fun to discuss.

    I read Kinky Sprinkles – the new LA Witt and enjoyed it a lot.

    I read Pansies, the new Alexis Hall, and I have really mixed feelings about it. I liked it much, much more than Glitterland but much, much less than For Real. There’s a strong dose of insta-love, which I don’t care for, and I never really bought the romance between the two characters. Parts made me laugh out loud in glee, and parts made me roll my eyes so hard I may have strained something.

    I started Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh (got it on sale or for free) and gave up after a couple chapters. It has all of the things that annoy me in the Psy/Changling books (bossy men and insta-love) and none of the things that I love, that have kept me reading all 14 Psy/Changling books (interesting world building etc). Some authors work for me no matter what they write and some only work for me in certain genres, and I think Nalini Singh is a PNR only author for me.

  15. bev says:

    Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta. Just what I wanted for this stormy weekend.

    Girl on the Train needs to be read soon as it is over due.

    The Bronze Horseman I’m starting on Sunday as part of a buddy read.

    Where She Went by Gail Forman is only the second book I read by this author but I do like her writing style.

    Sticks by T. Gephart. This was an unexpected hero. Very sweet but not that smart.

    WarPrize by Elizabeth Vaughan has been in my tbr for forever. Glad I finally read it, it was fun.

    When we Collide by Emery Lord. Not what I was expecting but want to try another of hers at some point. Very bittersweet.

    Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova. I think my expectations were a little bit too high.

    The Goal by Elle Kennedy is not my favorite of the series but fun to visit.

  16. Abby Vegas says:

    Thanks to the SB blog, I’m reading “Act Like It” by Lucy Parker and loving it. And to whichever commenter mentioned the Richard Armitage-as-the-headcanon-hero for this book: BLESS YOU!

  17. starlightarcher says:

    I’ve been on the biggest YA-FANTASY bender this October. I read the latest book by Leigh Bardugo, “Crooked Kingdom.” Which is the sequel to her “Six of Crows” piece. I also read Sabaa Tahir’s new book “A Torch Against the Night.” This was immediately followed by The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. And just last night I finished “Grave Mercy”, the first book in the His Fair A Assassin trilogy (Which is about assassin nuns in 15th Century France.

    I just got from the library “The Wrath and The Dawn”, “The Red Queen”, and “The Complete Genealogy of Britain’s Royalty Families”. So I need to work on those. Though one of my friends is very keen that I read Kushiel’s Dart, so there’s another for the stack. Along with the Throne of Glass books too. God’s I love the digital library!

    I started out the year thinking if I read 20 books, I’d be pleased. I’ve had to extend that ceiling twice over now, and am seriously considering upping it to 60 at this point.

  18. TaraR says:

    I just finished reading The Lymond Chronicles for the first time. My thoughts are still very much all over the place, but it is one of the best things I have ever read (and will continue to read, I am told).

  19. Ele says:

    “A Rational Arrangement” and its sequel, “Further Arrangements,” by L. Rowyn, are the best romances I’ve read this month. They are rather hard to categorize, but just imagine if Jane Austen were alive today, writing fantasy set on alternative words and including gay sex scenes. Let me list some of the elements in these books: (1) Alternate world with a somewhat Victorian feel to the culture; (2) Heroine who may be on the autism spectrum; (3) MMF romance where the males are actually into each other and not just the heroine; (4) Adventure: 2 of our protagonists accomplish a daring rescue of the 3rd–who has long blond hair and is tied up being tortured when rescued and, you guessed it, the one being rescued is one of the guys, not the girl; (5) A spiritual/religious aspect to the story that actually isn’t annoying; (6) Giant sentient peaceful cats. With those diverse elements, this could easily have been a disaster, but the writer is good enough to pull it off.

    Other than those, I’ve mostly been exploring Kindle Unlimited this month–which kind of resembles dumpster-diving.

  20. Lace says:

    On the great side, I read Heather Rose Jones’ Daughter of Mystery and The Mystic Marriage. These are lesbian historical fantasies set in a Ruritania-type country called Alpennia. I enjoy how lived-in her world is – it’s recognizably European but with elements that make it its own society. I also liked the presence of religion in the story – these aren’t Christian books, but books that recognize religion having a big place in the world and time and handle it accordingly, which I prefer to a blank religious slate when done well. The plot proceeds at a measured pace and the magic is of the quiet rather than flashy sort. Seems pertinent to the thread to mention not much nor explicit sex.

    On the disappointing side, I’d be interested to know what others thought of Bec McMaster’s Mission: Improper. I still think her London Steampunk is one of the more full-fledged worlds out there in paranormal, but I thought her move to (I gather) self-publishing could use better editing. Line-edit-wise the book is fine, but I thought the content could’ve been tighter and some big bits of the plot were more told than shown. As a “thinking about writing” exercise, it was an interesting read, and I’ll keep going in the series for now.

    Likewise but more so, I read Patricia Briggs’ Fire Touched and pretty much found it a big reset on some of the corners she’s plotted herself into over the last few books. I’d read Briggs’ short story collection and enjoyed many of them, but I’ve thought for a while now that she’s not a strong author for the multibook arc, and it’s gotten to “why am I still here?” levels.

    On that note, Apprentice in Death awaits me on hold at the library – wish me luck, since I haven’t been hearing raves about it.

  21. Mac Betty says:

    I read Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews and loved it. For a while I was worried this series would start getting tired but that has not happened and I can’t wait to see where the story ends up.

    Based on a recommendation (probably from here) I downloaded “In the Middle of Somewhere” by Roan Parrish. This ended up being one of those books that drags you in and keeps you up all hours when you should be sleeping. I loved it so much I immediately went and bought the 2nd and 3rd in the series and devoured those over the next 3 days. A great series.

    “Do You Want to Start a Scandal” by Tessa Dare was enjoyable. As was “The Trouble with Mistletoe” by Jill Shalvis, although I prefer her Animal Magnetism series to this new one.

    I started reading Eloisa James’ Essex Sisters series. I read the first two books and quite enjoyed them. I gave “Magnate” by Joanna Shupe a try but didn’t really get beyond the first third of the book.

    I’m currently reading Susanna Kearsley’s “The Firebird” and really enjoying it. She is a new author to me so this bodes well for my TBR pile.

    NPrestin, I agree that Octavia Butler does a fantastic job building realistic aliens. Have you ever read any C.J. Cherryh? Her “Foreigner” series is brilliant.

  22. Teev says:

    I started The Bollywood Bride last night. I’m 38% in and it does not seem a romance so much as a story of one woman’s breakdown. Don’t get me wrong it is good but not fun like A Bollywood Affair. Also in looking for reviews to see if it gets less sad I saw the plot blurb for the book that came out last month and now I am heartbroken. I might have to sandwich a different book into my read of this one.

    I read Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series and it was pretty good, although it does seem like she just keeps expanding the world instead of dealing with all the threads already hanging. I dunno, I’m always just looking for another Shelly Laurenston.

    Speaking of which, twice I got a “if you like Shelly L. you’ll like…” rec for R.L. Mathewson’s Neighbors From Hell series but when I read some samples the guys just seemed like awful entitled jerks. Has anyone read these? Am I missing something?

    And if you want to read about Salem but better written try The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. It’s old but good.

  23. Julia aka mizzelle says:

    I continue to be on a weird short fiction kick this year — I don’t know if my attention span/free time is short but I’m doing a lot of short stories and novellas. I finished Jeannie Lin’s Silk, Swords and Surrender collection of her novellas. Quite enjoyed the visits through Tang Dynasty. I still have her novels to enjoy.

    I’m also preparing for another around of Nanowrimo so I read Gwen Hayes’ Romancing the Beat on the different parts of a romance storyline from the “meet cute” to the “black moment”.

    I don’t know whether I mentioned dipping my toes into KU-land (it is a strange strange place) and reading a bonkers Marion Chesney trad regency in September. Her Grace’s Passion had it all — murder, poisoning, blackmail, fake pregnancies, terrible spouses, magpie villain. Secondary hero/heroine were a lot more interesting to follow than the main duo. So used to current romance books where hero looms over the heroine — it was sorta refreshing where the heroine was so much taller.

  24. I listened to The Body Reader by Anne Frasier in audio and really enjoyed it. Not enough romance for me, but I hope she’ll do a sequel. 😉

    Now I am listening to the first in the Cafferty and Quinn novels by Heather Graham. It’s good so far.

  25. Mara says:

    I got my pre-ordered “Magic Binds” in the mail and sat down to quickly read the end (after “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” I always read the end before the beginning of a late-in-the-series installment, because I cannot handle tragedy sneak attacking me). Four hours later, I had read every blessed word and got every bit of my life. I think this is an excellent penultimate addition to a stellar series… even more encouraging, because Ilona Andrews is clearly queuing us up for the final book in a way that (fingers crossed!) looks like it’s going to be really good. Is this going to be a magical unicorn: a series that sticks the landing?! Stay tuned!
    Also read “One Nigh with Her Ex-Stepbrother” by Noelle Adams. Despite the title, it was a really cute novella, as always.
    @cleo, I didn’t like the first one in the Rock series from Nalini Singh either, but thought the second book was a lot better and didn’t have the same kind of insta-love setup, if you want to give her contemporaries another try. But I tend to agree with you on her alpha heroes– they tend to work best in PNR

  26. Joanna says:

    Just finished listening to the audio of Daniel Jose Older’s Shadowshaper and highly recommend it – its read by the actress Anika Noni Rose and she does a fabulous job with all the different voices and accents, she even gets to sing a little (she was in Dreamgirls) so yeah she was awesome!

    Really enjoyed Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, set mostly in Singapore among old money families. College professor hero decides to bring his also college professor girlfriend home for the summer to meet his family – but like a guy, he fails to prepare her for the craziness of all his relatives and friends, many of whom are incredibly wealthy and as snobby as the English aristocracy in a Jane Austen novel. By the end he has to do some serious groveling and it was great. It is at times hilarious, including the authors footnotes, and the descriptions of the food are mouthwatering. Can’t wait to read the sequel.

    And then I found a Lisa Marie Rice that I hadn’t read at my local UBS and couldn’t resist, she’s my crack! Midnight Promises has a former Navy Seal medic hero and a computer geek genius Russian-American heroine, so much fun.

  27. Sara Rider says:

    I’ve just started Jamie Wesley’s The Deal with Love. I’ve enjoyed the other books in this series because she writes refreshingly smart, adult characters. Through Wesley, I discovered there is a series of romances about adult summer camp by a bunch of different authors. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this! I don’t know if they have to be read in order, but I bought a bunch of them kind of randomly.

    I recently stumbled across Coleen Kwan’s Short Soup when I was looking for a friends to lovers book. It was really lovely, and though there is a clear HEA, there is a pretty important thread left unsolved which is my only complaint.

    Kele Moon’s The Enforcer was another win for me, though I suggest reading the series in order. It was a gut-wrenching read and the HEA is not contained in this book, which was disappointing. However, given the heaviness of the storyline, it made a lot of sense to break it into two. She writes incredibly gritty, rip-your-heart-out dark romances.

    For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne was another big win.

    Apart from the above, I had a lot of DNFs this month, so I ended up re-reading Tessa Bailey’s Line of Duty series to keep my reading mojo going.

  28. Amy S. says:

    I just finished Beard Science by Penny Reid. I love her books and I need to slow down on reading her backlist before I run out of her books to read.

    I’m about halfway through Travis by Nicole Edwards and so far it’s ok.

    I’ve read two of Kristen Callihan’s Game On series which I really liked. I just pre-ordered Managed, the second in her VIP series. I need to get back to her Darkest London series

    I also read Molly Harper’s Where the Wild Things Bite and I was really disappointed in that it seemed really short and her usually laugh out loud humor was missing.

    I finally read A Bollywood Affair and loved it.

    I also read Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn and bawled my eyes out (I liked it)

    Looking forward to The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot

    And off topic, if you haven’t checked out the show Pitch on Fox. You should.

  29. Christine says:

    I was lucky enough to be an advanced reader for Bec McMaster’s newest (and officially not yet published) book Hexbound and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s one of, if not the best, book I’ve read so far this year. Everything worked for me, the action, the characters and the romance. It’s much faster paced than the first book in the series Shadowbound.

    Verity the heroine is absolutely charming and a great foil to the dark and tortured hero Adrian. It’s set in an alternative late Victorian world where magic exists and its practitioners are ruled by The Order. Verity is from the slums of London where magic is unregulated and untrained and The Hex gangs of unregistered mages square off against each other in the streets of Seven Dials London. Her amazing ability to teleport won her a ticket out of the workhouse as a child and into the One Eyed Crows gang where she makes a living pulling off dangerous thefts. Adrian is the illegitimate child of the head of The Order who belongs to the darkest cadre of the Order, The Sicarrii assassins.

    Bec McMaster isn’t afraid to make her heroines as powerful (and sometimes more so) than their male counterparts and her worldbuilding is fantastic. If you like adventure and magic mixed in with your romance and spoiler:

    A virgin hero then you should definitely check this book out when it’s published. It’s a very fun, absorbing and timely read particularly for October.

  30. Karin says:

    I’m reading a couple of historical mysteries. “Murder at Hatfield House” is Tudor era, and has a heroine with some TSTL behavior, like thoughtlessly running into danger. To be fair, I was thrown off the book before page 1, because the dedication page has a fake Shakespeare quote. The one that starts “A friend is one who knows you as you are…”? Nope, doesn’t sound like Will to me, I lost some confidence in the author right there. Still, it’s not bad enough to DNF so I’m finishing it. I also started a Victorian mystery “Lady in the Smoke” which so far is very promising.
    Then I’m going back to a half-finished Madeline Hunter, “The Wicked Duke” which is excellent! Oh, and Theresa Romain, “Fortune Favors the Wicked” was very good too.
    @Crystal, if you liked “rose Gold” you should try the Easy Rawlins series starting from the beginning. I think “A Red Death” is my favorite. Walter Mosley has a good blog too. And I love the movies that were made from his books, Denzel Washington is HOT in “Devil in a Blue Dress”, and Laurence Fishburne’s performance in “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned” is simply amazing. They’re both available on YouTube.

  31. Kerry says:

    Sarah, I read A Book Dragon with my son a few years ago and he absolutely loved it. I’m sure your boys will too.

  32. Jennifer says:

    Work has kept me from reading much this month, but I do have a few books to share.

    Miss Goodhue Lives For a Night by Kate Noble (historical romance) — Cute novella with a second chance at love plot with a schoolteacher and the man who she believes broke her heart years ago.

    The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries (historical romance) — Ms. Jeffries is an auto-read author and I just adore her characters. This conclusion to the Sinful Suitors trilogy focuses on a marquess with a secret and a heroine who is disguising herself as a man to avenge her brother’s death.

    The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston (paranormal romance) — I fell in love with Laurenston when reading the Call of Crows books over the summer. While there were some insta-love/fated mates issues, I found this introduction to the Pride series to be hilarious and romantic. I read it for Wendy the Super Librarian’s TBR Challenge for the month of October.

    Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews (urban fantasy) — I just finished this last night and thought it was as wonderful as the rest of the series. I will be sad to see it end, but think it will be worth the wait.

    I’m currently reading What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston and K.C. Bateman’s A Raven’s Heart (female code breaker during the Napoleonic Wars!).

  33. Kareni says:

    Some books read over the past month ~

    — A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler for my sister’s book group. I am not unhappy to have read this; however, I would not have finished it were it not for a book group. It’s the kind of book that left me with more questions than answers.
    — Defying the Odds by Kele Moon which is a contemporary romance. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations given the praise I’d heard.
    — Cunning Linguist by Rachel Shane is a new adult romance; it was okay but not a book I’m likely to re-read.
    — Sleeping with the Wolf by Maddy Barone deals with a plane that crashes fifty years into the future in a world that has been devastated and in which women are few. The heroine is fought for and won by a wolf shifter. Once again, it was pleasant but not a book I’m likely to re-read.
    — re-read Mariana Zapata’s The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

    — I finished Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean in two lengthy sittings; I enjoyed it very much. It’s a contemporary mystery set in London and features a detective sergeant who happens to be gay. I did not figure out whodunit and was kept guessing until the end. This is a book I’m going to want to re-read (high praise), and I look forward to reading the author’s next book.
    — re-read Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs.
    — re-read Sarina Bowen’s The Year We Fell Down and her novella, Blonde Date.
    — Much of my reading time was spent on The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman for my book group. I found it a dense read. It was dense in the sense of meaty; it was complex, detailed, fascinating, and depressing. It seemed well-researched (the setting is primarily in Masada from about AD70 to 75) and the author’s note described what was factual and what had been imagined.

    — Cake: A Love Story by J. Bengtsson which I enjoyed; this features a rock star hero with a traumatic background and a very down to earth heroine.
    — the contemporary new adult romance Steadfast (True North Book 2) by Sarina Bowen; this was a good read with an ex-convict hero struggling to overcome a drug addiction.
    — the contemporary new adult romance Damaged and the Beast by Bijou Hunter. I’d heard rave reviews of this book, but it didn’t speak to me.
    — a re-read of Sarina Bowen’s The Fifteenth Minute (The Ivy Years Book 5)
    — a re-read of Thea Harrison’s Oracle’s Moon (Elder Races Book 4)

  34. Kareni says:

    Incidentally, Defying the Odds by Kele Moon which I mentioned above is currently free to Kindle readers.

  35. Camilla says:

    Reading now The Girl on the Train 🙂 really exciting

  36. Emily Anderson says:

    Devouring Bec McMaster’s Shadowbound. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her London Steampunk series and am so far a fan of this one. Not good at reviewing but SBTB gave her book Kiss of Steel an A+ which got me started. If anyone knows of authors along the lines of McMaster i would love more recommendations!!!

  37. SusanH says:

    A few things I read this month:

    ~First Star I See Tonight by SEP. No one writes dialogue like she does.

    ~A Change of Heart by Sonali Dev. I really liked it, but I thought the romance was the weakest part of the story. It was a much darker novel than her first book, and leaned more towards women’s fiction to me than romance.

    ~A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare. Entertaining at the time, but to be honest, it’s not really staying with me.

    ~The Bride and the Beast and Charming the Prince by Teresa Madeiros. Funny and entertaining, but maybe a little dated now. They definitely had that “20th century characters dress up in medieval clothes” feeling to them.

    ~Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. I’m not sure that the series is for me, but I want to give it more than one book. I often take a while to warm up to paranormal series. It took me multiple books to really grow to love the Charley Davidson and Mercy Thompson series, for example.

    I’m about to start Crooked Kingdom, which I have high hopes for. I loved Six of Crows, and I’m happy she’s not dragging out the story for many volumes.

  38. Christine says:

    @EmilyAnderson- if you love Shadowbound you will adore Hexbound which releases this month and is book two in the Dark Arts series. I’m also a huge Bec McMaster fan. If you haven’t been to her website she is giving away free copies of her newish book Nobody’s Hero when you join her mailing list. It’s a dystopian romance- I bought it when it first came out this summer and really enjoyed it.

  39. cleo says:

    @ele – that sounds amazing. Thanks!

  40. Crystal says:

    Guess who’s back…back again….nanana.

    I finished Empire of Storms. It ended on a cliffhanger. Argh.

    So I started Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, and like Six of Crows, it is dark. Dark, dark, dark, and yet, I am here for it. That said, I handed it to my husband so that he could read one particularly disturbing passage, and he went, “What the HELL are you reading?” If he’d had pearls, they would have been firmly clutched.

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