Time to get all nosy up in your reading list – what are you reading this weekend?
I'm reading several books at once, which is NOT good for my brain, especially when I mix genres, but I started too many things that I like. I have one book on the phone, one on the coffee table, one on my Kindle – it's getting messy. But Pig was right – Liz Fielding's Tempted by Trouble [Goodreads | Amazon | BN | HQN] is really adorable. Plus, Tessa Dare's A Week to be Wicked [Goodreads | Amazon | BN] has been pushing all the happy-joy-joy buttons in my brain, too, and I'm trying to savor that book as well. That's not working as well as I'd planned.
So what books are pushing the happy-joy buttons in your brain this week? What books are you looking forward to reading this weekend? Share, share!
I reread a couple of old Mary Balogh books this week, including, “More Than A Mistress”, and I had forgotten how great it was. I also read “Night Hawk” at SBTB’s recommendation, thank you very much. It was excellent reading, now going to check Beverly Jenkins’ backlist. Now reading “Almost A Scandal” by Elizabeth Essex which is a seafaring adventure, and has the most believable cross-dressing heroine I think I’ve ever read about.
I’m hoping to read Just In Time by Addison Fox or maybe Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo this weekend.
Right now I’m dithering on what to read next.
I’ve narrowed it down to either Fire in the Blood by P.N. Elrod, book 5 in a wonderful series about a vampire PI in 1930s Chicago, or Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb.
Just finishing THE LAST DUCHESS by Stephanie Feagan. Love it!! If I go one I know I will leak spoilers, so that’s it. When I’m done with this book, I’ll start Kieran Kramer’s new one SAY YES TO THE DUKE. I love her books, they’re always a great read…funny,and endearing!
I’m reading a Making the First Move by Reese Ryan, her debut novel and it’s very good! She doesn’t mess around and the pacing is great.
I’ve been transported to Virgin River, California, with a couple of stops to Grace Valley, CA and Thunder River, Or. Robyn Carr’s series. I finished the two trilogies but have about six books to go in the 20-book Virgin River series. Hard-bodied, ex-military men and the women they love. I am so caught that it’s hard for me to have a breather.
I do wish that Carr would learn the correct personal pronoun to use in a prepositional phrase, but that is a red flag grammar issue for me.
I’m reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. I’ve only just started it and it’s fascinating though I know there’s heartbreak to come.
On the lighter side my e-library offered me some Lisa Kleypas titles so I’m reading Somewhere I’ll Find You while I wait for the next chapter of Seanan McGuire’s e-serial Indexing to be released. I’m not loving Amazon’s release a new chapter every two weeks system here, I think in the future any of these that I want I’ll wait for the whole thing to be released before I buy. I don’t need a new cliffhanger every two weeks!
I just finished several of the Drake’s Rakes series by Eileen Dreyer (Barely a Lady, Never a Gentleman, Always a Temptress). I had a few problems with the pacing of the first book, and name dropping (we weren’t supposed to know who these people were, she was throwing us really bad clues). But the series as a whole is quite good. The Drake’s Rakes is a group of nobles working as spys to stop a plot against the crown, and the first book’s hero has amnesia from Waterloo (where he was dressed as a French soldier!) and still thinks he is married to his wife, who he cast aside 5 years ago. They have to figure out why he was fighting for the French before it is discovered by someone else and he is hanged for treason.
I am also listening to Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. I kind of want to punch Laurel Merlington (the narrator) because she is dropping the ‘g’s from the end of words in the descriptions, not just to give the character’s accent a drawl. The bad side of audiobooks, this is it. The story is fun, however.
I’m reading my way through the Pink Carnation, currently on The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. It’s definitely the best so far. Before that I enjoyed True Love, by Jude Deveraux. Eagerly awaiting the newest JD Robb.
I read and liked the first Drake’s Rakes book, but then they became unbearable because I realized in every book there is the extreme assholishness of the heroes, who abuse and misunderstand the heroine up until the end when they realize they were wrong, duh! It really became repetitive.
I’ve decided that one of the best things about reading is when I am surprised. When my expectations or hopes don’t have a pulse and, wham, the author knocks me over and all I can mutter is a stunned and happy squee.
The most recent surprise was Kate Locke’s GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. It is a mashup (and not always a smooth or successful one) about an alternate England where Victoria’s reign is in her 125th year and she and the other “aristos” are vampires. There are also werewolves and goblins and in the middle of it is Alexandra, a half-blood and member of the Royal Guard that protects the vampires.
There was something very together about Xandra without making her perfect or impossibly handy; in a way, she reminded me of Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye, trying to do her best and not always succeeding. Xandra’s unwilling but inexorable realization that nothing is what she had been raised to believe (including her own prejudices) is probably my favorite character arc. Definitely looking forward to more.
I just finished The Sixpence House by Paul Collins. It was awesome! The story is set in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. A town of 1,400 people with about 40 bookstores. You’ll love it. Also just finished An Exchange of Hostages by Susan R. Matthews, the first of three in a series. Dark, very dark, but soooo well written. Her protagonist is beautifully done and totally believable. And kinda creepy but you like him anyway.
Holly, I remember getting stuck in Virgin River a year or so ago, reading the books back to back:) Good memories and I hope you’re enjoying.
I’m reading Night Film- quite scary- and dropping it when it gets too intense to read Kristen Ashley’s Sweet Dreams. I can sort of see why Ashley is popular, but I wonder if I’d still be reading it if I didn’t need a breather from horror.
I’m reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. I like it, it’s good despite the slow pace.
I’m also reading The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. Oh Gods. This book pisses me off so much. Just…so many mythology mistakes. So much disrespect to the Gods in an attempt to be “funny.” Why did my friend talk me into this?
perhaps78: I think I’ll have more than 78 status updates for this one, many of them rage-filled.
I am bouncing between Cold Steel (Kate Elliott), an anthology of mysteries, and Roz Kaveney’s Rituals: Rhapsody of Blood.
Oh, man, some great suggestions here. My Kindle is getting a workout!
I just read 2 books I adored. If Goordreads had a 6 star rating, I’d give these two 6 stars:
Faerie by Delle Jacobs, which was the best fantasy-romance in a historical Earth setting I’ve ever read. It had everything I look for in a fantasy romance and was phenomenally well-written.
Hot Head by Damon Suede is a m/m romance set in NY 10 years after 9/11. Firefighters Griff and Dante grew up together and work at the same fire house. They’re like brothers. But after Griff saves Dante’s life, he develops feeling that would earn him a beating from his fellow firefighters, and likely a lost friendship with Dante if he voiced them. Dante needs cash fast, and he invited Griff to fool around with him on camera for a porn sight. Griff can’t say no, not only because his friend needs his help but because this might be his only chance to ever express what he feels for Dante.
This one is super compelling. It’s written from Griff’s pov, and the narration is appropriately gritty. It feels authentically working class New York. It’s a long, leisurely, sometimes intense read that I’ll be going back to because I have a feeling it’s one of those books where you discover deeper threads the more you get to know the story. It had a crazy happy ending that I swear I could not envision when I started the book.
I just finished Dragonwriter, a book of tribute essays to Anne McCaffrey. It was a delightful read, but dangerous to my spare time, because I was sucked into rereading the earlier Pern books.
I’d better call a halt to that, though, because I keep adding to the TBR Kindle “pile”, including a new one from Lauren Willig—The Passion of the Purple Plumeria.
I’m reading Winds of Salem: A Witches of East End Novel
I’m in the middle of Beverly Jenkins’ Night Hawk (thanks for the head’s up) and enjoying the H/H a lot (also the horse they ride in on).
I’m reading The Gin Lovers by Jamie Brennan. It was originally done as six online installments, but I picked the entire book up at a local book signing and it’s really good. It’s set in the 1920s New York and it revolves around a society good girl, Charlotte, who is tempted by jazz and liquor when her sister-in-law comes to live with them.
Started “Mystery Man” last night, and have been enjoying the crack a lot. I’m laughing quite a bit and can’t wait to read the other three! Of course, if “Heart of Venom” (Jennifer Estep) gets here today, I’ll focus on that.
well52: I have well over 52 books in my TBR pile.
In the past, I’ve knocked out lists of books I’ve read due to discussion here on SBTB. I left off Natural Born Charmer by mistake. I read that a year or two ago and enjoyed it. At the library earlier this week, I saw another Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, thought “why not”, and threw it on the pile. That was a mistake of a different kind—because it was This Heart of Mine. The “heroine” does something stupid/criminal and the hero rightly tells her that if the situation was reversed he’d be in lockup. Yet there’s gonna be a happy ending with these two? F that S. I stopped reading, so I don’t know if it was revealed that she’s the descendant of Daphne Bridgerton or something.
Then I picked up the first TPB (collection of first six issues) of the comic book Saga. It seems that a romance novel is part of the developing plot….
Romance-wise, working on Let It Be Me by Kate Noble. Because I’m a finicky romance reader, but I DO love me some Kate Noble, and bonus if the storyline involves music. 😀
No clue what I’ll read after that, but I have a LOT of things competing for my attention!
(My captcha word is normal55. For me, it is indeed normal to be torn between reading 55 different things at once!)
Los Angeles Public Library is part of a pilot program, so their e-book/audio catalog is out of this world.
Read Pamela Morsi: Bikini Car Wash. Letting Go. Red’s Honky Tonk. Overdue Love. Lovesick Cure.
Jo Beverley: Tempting Fortune. An Arranged Marriage. An Unwilling Bride.
I tried to read Celeste Bradley’s latest. Truly awful. Anne Stuart’s latest equally awful. Both DNF.
I am continuing my campaign to tell all how I love Elizabeth The First Wife by Lian Dolan. It’s so good and I bet it’s at your library.
Next up Glitterland and The Fault of Our Stars. John Green’s book was the high school’s summer read. My boys read it and said I would like it.
My rave of the summer is the latest installment in the Pink Carnation series—the Purple Plumeria. It’s three interwoven stories in one. There’s an “older” hero and heroine; there’s spies (duh), there’s humor, there’s betrayal, and there’s action besides the romances. (I will warn again that the first book in the series is not a fair introduction; it’s more dissertation than romance.)
Drake’s Rakes were entertaining but not something that sticks with me.
I also took up an earlier suggestion on this blog to read Courtney Milan this summer; it was a fine recommendation.
Thanks for the Kate Elliot tip. It’s been years since I’ve read her.
I stayed up until 5 am reading “Stormwalker” by Allyson James. That book was a lot of fun. Lots of paranormal creepy-crawlies, and not too much sexytimes. Makes me wonder why it took me two years to get around to reading it. It rather seemed like the characters were in previous books (not part of this series), though, so that kind of bugged me.
I’m going to try and tackle both the “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness” movie novelizations prior to the release of the film in a scant week-and-change, and then Susanne Kearsley’s “The Rose Garden” after that. I have a ton of books that are TBR status, and since today is “Unread Books Day”, I figured it would be good to work on some that have been lingering.
In the middle of Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig. Missed a couple before it but Willig is easy to pick up and kind of figure out what went on in your absence.
OK I just picked up book 1 and 2 of Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series based on you guys recommendations. They look like a lot of fun 😀 – Jamie
@Aziza – yes. This Heart of Mine has serious consent issues. I actually love the last half of the book – but I skip the first half when I re-read it and just pretend it didn’t happen.
@laj – I just read Glitterland (by Alexis Hall). I ended up enjoying it, even it was really hard to be in the narrator’s head at times. Parts were very funny. I thought the portrayal of mental illness was excellent and I liked how Ash grew through the story. I was less convinced of the romance – I didn’t buy the happy ending (even though it’s hfn and not hea) – I wanted more groveling and to see the couple together in the world.
I read Capture and Surrender by Aleksandr Voinov and LA Witt – the latest Market Garden book. I never thought I’d say this about an erotic romance set in a gay brothel, but I thought there was way too much telling and not enough showing.
Read Social Skills by Sara Alva, a sweet mm NA about a painfully shy musician and closeted jock.
Also reading the first Pink Carnation book, but I’m having trouble getting into it.
Green for Danger by Christianna Brand, published 1945, set in a rural military hospital during WWII. “Some hospital and some mystery … love lives tangled into a Gordian Knot of jealousy, misunderstanding and passionate frustration.” (per Monica Dickens on the back cover)
I enjoy the wordiness of these old novels, the character backgrounds slowly unfolded, the reserved characters, subtle humor and a peek into ordinary life of a time just past.
I’m reading Wicked As She Wants by Delilah Dawson. I loved the first book, and so far this one is just as good.
<3,
-J
Picked out a collection this time. Steampunk Prime edited by Mike Ashley. It is a collection of early writers who helped invent and define the steampunk sub-genre. Most are from the late 19th/early 20th century. Some incredible talent, such a shame that they are virtually unknown today.
When She Said I Do by Celeste Bradley—it’s really good! I’ve mostly been reading contemporary romances lately, but this old-timey one is super-fun and very erotic and interesting. Not your usual. I’m about 1/3 through and really enjoying it.
Meljean Brook’s “Guardian Demon”. Seriously, I’m the only one who spent the last two weeks reading and rereading this? How is that possible? The lovely people at Amazon delivered it the day before my birthday – how wonderful is that? Knowing what it was, I waited until the next morning to open the box, because birthday present. Of course, then the whole, you MUST go to work; you MUST allow your BFF & family to take you out to celebrate; you MAY NOT hole up in you house like a mole inner dialogue began. I satisfied myself with rubbing it all over in a mildly molesty way until I could be alone with it. Self control, I has it.
BTW, it is a gobsmackingly great conclusion to the best paranormal series ever. Get on it people!
@LML – Get the film, get the film …. It’s a fab 40’s adaptation, it’s shown fairly regularly as an afternoon film in the UK & stars Alastair Sim & Trevor Howard – it’s all cut glass accents & RP and it’s great !
I am reading The Notorious Gentleman by Gaelen Foley. About a minister’s daughter and an ex-spy. I will be getting the rest of the series. I read the first 3 of the Sullivan series by Bella Andre—I liked them a lot. I highly recommend The Ballad of Emma O’Toole if you like westerns about a gambler who marries to avoid prison.
I loved Hot Heads as well and I also enjoyed the Virgin River series until the author’s obsession with pregnancy drove me nuts.
I’m reading Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. I’ve had it since it came out but I just loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone so much that I held off on reading it because I knew it would make me dissatisfied with anything else for about a week.
Right now I’m reading Rhys Bowen…more mystery than romance but with definite romantic elements. She writes the Royal Spyness series (highly, highly recommend it) and the Constable Evans series (which, to be fair, has a far less engrossing romance than the Spyness series).
BTW, I read the Royal Bridesmaids anthology that was posted as on sale here, what was it, last week? The Laurens and Chase stories were pretty good but, man, the Foley story almost had me wanting to write a book rant.
I have just finished Jamie Michele’s two superb romantic suspenses. Affair of Vengeance and Affair of Deceit. I am flipping between Jo Baker’s Longbourn (P&P thru the servants’ eyes, a brilliant book and I’m just mad that I didn’t think of the idea myself) and a nostalgia read Here I Stay by the late Barbara Michaels.