Time to talk about what we’re reading, and to begin buying more books than we could ever hope to read, right? Right!
Currently I’m reading a book that was a recent Kindle Daily Deal. I think I bought it at about 6 in the morning, before I had my glasses on and before I’d ingested caffeine. My impulse control is weak first thing in the morning.
It’s called The Paper Magician, and it’s the first of what so far is a two book series. It’s got a mix of gothic, magic/fantasy, and mystery that I like.
The heroine, Ceony, went to a school of magical training and wanted to apprentice to a Smelter, a magician of metal. Once a student is apprenticed, they’re bonded permanently to that form of magic. Due to low numbers, Ceony is forced into Folding, or paper magic, and is apprenticed to the requisite mysterious, slightly broody, slightly secretive dude, and begins learning about what Folding is all about.
Then bad shit happens and she flies on a paper plane to go kick ass – and I haven’t finished it yet, but so far, my brain is really happy.
Elyse: Right now I’m reading Lecia Cornwall’s How to Deceive a Duke. The heroine and her family are nobility but penniless. The heroine’s sister is engaged to a notorious rake/ duke that she’s never even met, but she panics on the wedding day so the heroine takes her place.
I’m also reading Fossil Hunter by Shelly Emling because Mary Anning was a bad ass.
If anyone is interested, my husband just finished The Rook by Daniel O’Malley ( A | K | G | AB | Au | WorldCat ) on audio and loved it. I caught snippets. It’s a contemporary paranormal about a group called the chequey that fights supernatural creatures. The heroine wakes up in a body she doesn’t recognize with amnesia, only to find out she has supernatural abilities and is a member of the chequey.
Amanda: Definitely seconding The Rook. A few of my friends can’t recommend it highly enough!
Right now, I’m switching between First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) and The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture ( A | K | G | AB ).
A bit of an odd pairing, I know. But I sure as hell need a book for a buffer because the Report is ROUGH, though I do enjoy the looks I get on the train when I read it.
RedHeadedGirl:I’m reading Duke of Thorns ( A | K | G | AB ) (American privateer heroine, duke with a bad luck curse hero), and I’m about to start Code Name Verity, FINALLY .
Amanda: BIG UPS TO CODE NAME VERITY!
Carrie: Oh god. Code Name Verity just gutted me but in a good way.
I am reading Emma ( A | K | G | AB | Au ) side by side with the Emma section of Bitch in a Bonnet II ( A | Au )I’m also reading Speakeasy Dead by Vicki Loebel.
RedHeadedGirl: I just love how charming Emma is. She tries so hard to be a good person and a good friend! She’s just not always successful.
So what about you? What are you reading right now? Anything you recommend? Anything you’re looking for? It’s the most expensive comment thread of the month, so join in!
I was shopping in the kindle store recently and came across The Narrow Gate and with reviews like:
“I really enjoyed the narrow gate it was fast paced and had a very strong ending it really had me thinking can’t wait for the next one to come…”
I was really quite excited.
However, contrary to what this review might lead one to believe, The Narrow Gate is, sadly, not a fresh take on the agonies and tortures nor the ecstasies and rewards of anal penetration.
So disappointed.
So Instead I picked up one by Shayla Black that I thought was going to be all about the joys to be had in one’s rear garden but is apparently some sort of PSA on how to save a life?
I just can’t win.
JK
I’m finally reading Dead Heat (Lucy Kincaid #8).
I’ve been reading a bunch of Stephanie Tyler, I’d not read her before. I was out of the suspense/ thrillers I crave Like crack and my library has ten or twelve from her so I got some of those. I like her, she’s somewhat less gritty than I want. Or something…
Allison Brennan always hits it just right for me. Oh and Sandra Brown too.
Next I’ve got some Kristen Ashley on hold. She’s new for me too. I hear her style is different but mostly good so I’m hopeful.
After that I’ll hunt up some Suzann Ledbetter, she’s always fun.
Then Sandra’s Mean Streak I think.
Any suggestions for next week?
I just had a minor epiphany: Sometimes I need a break from the WTFery but other times I need a respite from the O. M. G!
I just finished In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, which is an account of the whale ship Essex. There’s an American Experience documentary based on this book called Into the Deep, which I love, love, love and a movie coming out this year starring Chris Hemsworth.
Currently, I am reading The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin; it is the story of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the rise of muckraking journalism.
Almost everything else I’ve read lately has disappointed me so much that I’ve been avoiding fiction. I attempted two highly praised books over the past couple of weeks and couldn’t get into either of them. I had to retreat to False Angel, my favourite Edith Layton, to get my fiction fix.
I just finished Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. It was great, but intense and very, very long, so I’m reading Hell with the Lid Blown Off by Donis Casey as a break.
Right now I’m almost finished with Die Again by Tess Gerritsen, which I’m liking a lot more than the previous Rizzoli and Isles book.
I recently finished Written in Red and Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop, which are really good, and while not romance, there’s a slowly building relationship between the main characters. I’m cautiously looking forward to the third book, but she’s screwed up the end of series before.
Just finished Say Yes to the Marquess. And despite the title (what is it with her titles?) I say yes to Tessa Dare’s books at every opportunity. I’m about to start a Beverly Jenkins contemporary. I’ve only read her historicals previously, but I like them enough to give what appears to be a thriller a go, though it’s not my preferred subcategory. Tried to read The Raja and the Dancer, but it was too much of a slog.
@Lostshadows:
Jane talked about the same exact feeling with the Bishop series in a recent podcast. The Written in Red series began so well and is great, but she’s so worried that she’ll experience the same disappointment as before. So you’re not a lone.
@kkw:
Oooh, which Jenkins contemporary?
I’ve been reading some epic fantasy YA, including Defy by Sara Larson and Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. Hoping to check out Embassy Row by Ally Carter soon.
I’m re-reading my way through my collection of John Connolly books. I haven’t read the early ones in years, so I forgot how they started out with ‘Every Dead Thing’ as a kind of cookie-cutter serial killer crime novel, and then gradually, as Connolly found his feet as a novelist, the series morphed into something strange and different. I think it was ‘Dark Hollow’ which really caught my attention when I first read them, and it’s still as gorgeously creepy second time around.
I very recently finished Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones, published by Bella Books.
It is set in the Alternate Universe European country of Alpennia just after the Napoleonic wars. Margaret unexpectedly inherits her wealthy godfather’s estate, including his very efficient duelist, Barbara.
It’s a bit coming of age, a bit politics, a very bit of magic, romance, intrigue, discovering love.
And it’s smart. Misunderstandings are discussed and resolved instead of driving stupid unnecessary plot tensions. The conflict in the plot and amongst the characters is earned by this author. I really enjoyed it.
I also recently finished My Real Children by Jo Walton. A woman makes a choice and thereafter alternate chapters deal with how her life would have gone with each choice. Walton is an incredible author and I’ve enjoyed every single one of her books. This one has romance gone good, gone bad, sticking with your life choices, dealing with death, love of many kinds, and hope. Lovely.
I’m currently reading Invisible a collection of essays edited by Jim C. Hines that discuss representation from “Invisible” people in Science Fiction and Fantasy. So far, so good.
Next up, probably Fluency (Confluence Book One) by Jennifer Foehner Wells.
Why yes, I am reading for the Hugo Award nomination period, why do you ask? 😉
Currently reading Amethyst by Lauren Royal. It’s a medieval romance set in 1666 about a female jeweler and the duke she’s falling for. It’s also part of the Chase family series. I think it’s okay. I like the class conflict element, but the novel is really slow-paced.
I’m also reading 2 nonfiction books: To Marry an English Lord and a book about fashion from the 18th century to the 20th. Both books are really interesting
Lastly, I saw the review for The Duchess War by Courtney Milan. As the review on this site says it is an excellent book and as soon as I can I will buy the rest of the series.
Just finished Radiance by Grace Draven and before that The Winter King CL Wilson. I loved them both, especially Radiance, but I think they gave me a book hangover. I really want to read more fantasy romance right now but nothing else is appealing to me.
I have been trying to go through my TBR list on the Kindle because I have a lot of unread books. It’s like when I was a kid–three overdue books that I’m going to read and get back the library.
I just finished the re-release of Carla Kelly’s With This Ring, a got-to-get-married story combined with a road trip gone wrong.
I have to gush over Sarah Morgan’s Maybe this Christmas (again?). The ending is simply to die for. The lead up is nice with a well written plot moppet and a wounded hero finding his way toward love.
Based on this blog, I got around to Gunpowder Alchemy which is steam-punk set in an alternate China. The heroine isn’t the usual steam-punk kick ass heroine, she’s become a healer who has fallen on hard times and then is kidnapped. Her medical background is put to good use on figuring out opium addiction. The cliffhanger didn’t bother me too much except I do want to know what’s next as I write this.
I’m a fan of Lynn Kurland’s light, G-rated fantasy romance. I thought Dreamer’s Daughter neatly wrapped up the series and the current trilogy. For those who want to see all the cast at the end, this does not end with one of Lynn’s family, children, and unicorns epilogues. But yes, there are some recurring old characters. This said, it’s light fantasy with mages but not huge duels of spells or other features of mainline fantasy.
I second the Yes to the Marquess. It is a wonderful send up on modern decorating and the ultimate wedding. I laughed until I cried. You cannot look at cake the same. Cake sounds.
Finished “Screwdrivered” by Alice Clayton. Yes, you’ll want to slap Viv for drooling over the shirtless jackass cowboy for way too long when there’s tweed jacket wearing (it has elbow patches – ELBOW PATCHES!!) librarian/historian Clark (yes, with horn-rimmed glasses) right there giving every Mr. Right signal but a neon arrow pointing at him. And he’s a LIBRARIAN!! Lots of humor, an appearance by Caroline, Simon and other Wallbanger characters, and hotness when Viv finally pulls her fantasies out of her ass. Also, for a story told entirely from Viv’s POV, you get a remarkable sense of what’s going on in Clark’s head.
Now half way through Nalini Singh’s “Rock Courtship” novella. You may have seen it advertised in the column to the right. We’re through the seduction phase so part two is going to be the inevitable monkey wrench to the relationship with resolution. Yes, I see it coming, but I don’t care. It’s Nalini Singh. It’s a rock star drummer. I’ll spare you the TMI story of my misspent youth working in club and rock band members, but mmmmmmm drummers.
Still working my way through “I Know I’ve Seen That Face Before”. Working being the operative word. If you’re going to write a biography about someone after they’ve passed, you should really chose someone who kept copious diaries, or corresponded with lots of bosom friends who saved everything, because I am getting little sense of Mary Witty, the woman, just an embellished recitation of her resume and where she lived. I know, I know, DNF it already.
Waiting in the wings: JAK’s latest, “Trust No One” fresh from the GBPL and looking like no one has cracked it open yet. I love being first.
I’ve been reading Roxanne St. Claire’s BAREFOOT BAY series, and just got the newest one BAREFOOT IN PEARLS, and so far can’t put it down. I’m such a sucker for romances in beach towns, and this series is one of my favorites ever. Also in my TBR is Viv Daniels’ ISLAND ESCAPE – haven’t started it yet, but it’s a prequel to a series that sounds really interesting. I’m also in the middle of Jenny Holiday’s SAVING THE CEO, which is very good (except that it doesn’t have any beaches . . .)
Aaaaa! Code Name Verity. It’s one of my absolute favorites.
And I’m putting The Rook on my TBR. I remember an enthusiastic recommendation of it – by a guest on the podcast? Could be from somewhere else, I’m not sure, anyway I’ve kept it at the back of my mind.
Still recovering after the AMAZING Trade Me by Courtney Milan. Before that I read and adored Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. It’s a strange and creepy YA and it’s full of awesome. Here’s a summary: “seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited – throughout various time periods – by Vikings, vampires, ghosts and a curiously powerful plant”. It’s about love and sacrifice.
I just started reading Some Luck by Jane Smiley. I liked her Private Life a lot. (Which I bought because of the sparkly cover. Because I’m easy like that.)
DonnaMarie – A drummer you say? I might have to get that one…
Just finished TRADE ME and now I’m on a Courtney Milan re-read binge, because everything else I pick up makes me irritated in a Kindle-flinging kind of way 🙂
I’m reading THE MEDIEVAL CHASTITY BELT: A MYTH-MAKING PROCESS by Albrecht Classen. It’s a scholarly book (meaning *lots* of footnotes) on how false legends get started and impact our understanding of the past. (And kudos for its introduction that discusses a Woody Allen film!)
I’m a little over halfway through Owl and the Japanese Circus. It’s okay so far but not inspiring the love I thought I’d feel towards this book based on the plot. I’m also a little over halfway throughout the audio version of The Golem and the Jinni and so far I’m enjoying it. I think I will finish it on kindle (using the whispersync option) because I think listening to it at work didn’t allow for the amount of attention this book calls for.
After I finish those two, I’m going to start my arc of the next Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. I love that series so much!
So I’m past halfway in the Paper Magician, and there’s the bad aftermath of children in peril and horrible harm to animals and I am seriously bummed and upset. It also turned goofy in the middle, the heroine exploring an intimacy that I don’t think she earned, and the scenes with the harm to animals seemed unnecessary. At least I read it during the day.
Wow, I’m pissed off.
Just finished Cold River Rising by Enes Smith, an action adventure that I have enjoyed. The heroes and villains are mostly brown – not a lot of white people, which is a nice change from what I usually find.
I also read, thanks to the Bitchery, Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas and loved it with a burning love. Part of that is due to the setting. I have been in love with India as it was during the days of the Empire since I first read Kipling as a ten year old and wanted to be Kim. But I also loved watching them attempt to rebuild a relationship, getting to actually know each other, atoning for past mis-steps/mistakes/betrayals.
Prior to that, I was on a Sarina Bowen kick, again my checking account thanks the Bitchery. I was going to say which book was my favorite, Maybe The Year We Hid Away? Maybe The Year We Fell Down? But it’s hard to choose – I think I loved them all.
I completely understand feeling like a kid with so many unread library books. I am clearly what Sarah calls a “buffet reader”. Right now I have Tessa Dare’s earlier “Romancing the Duke” out from the library and I’m enjoying the prickly relationship between the leads.
I blame the podcast for introducing me to Rose Lerner’s Sweet Disorder and I ordered the second as well. And I’m trying out a Miranda Neville novella on Oyster.
I have Trade Me waiting. I’m the opposite of the ones Courtney Milan described on that last podcast – – I only seem to like historicals for some reason. So crossing my fingers on this one.
@Frida, yes drummers, cause it’s all about the bass.
@SBSarah, so sorry about your book! It’s on my tbr list, but I keep pushing it back because I keep hearing it’s not all it’s cracked up to be from reader friends. I hope it turns around.
Reading the RITA books I was sent for judging – 2 down, 5 to go, and I can’t say what they are, unfortunately b/c I’d love to make some recommendations! Then I can read DUKE OF DARK DESIRES by Miranda Neville, which is taunting me from a shelf b/c I bought it in paper version.
Also queuing up a reread of Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf to get in the mood to write a new book. I love the Illustrated Edition w/John D. Niles (black cover w/dagger on it) and recommend it highly. Also, thanks to a DA thread, I have “Replay” by Ken Grimwood coming from my library. Can’t wait!
OMG! It’s Mary Wickes, not Mary Witty! Not nearly enough coffee.
So my highlight of the month was Rose Lerner’s two Lively St. Lemeston novels — very happy sigh for both! And they’re dense, lots going on in them.
I’ve been reading a lot. In no particular order: There was Champion of the Scarlet Wolf by Ginn Hale; a bit of a letdown after the awesomeness that was The Rifter last year, a retreat from ambitious to pleasantly safe. From recommendations here, C. S. Harris’s What Angels Fear and Crossing the Line by Megan Hart. Likewise from here, She Wore Red Trainers by Na’ima B. Robert, not a particularly good book but interesting for the very different culture, and the romantic dilemma of how do you make the leap to deciding someone is “the one” when you’ll hardly even be able to talk to them before marrying them? Courtney Milan’s first two novels, interesting for showing fine good writer just learning her trade.
Currently I’m going through the best of 2014 post on “Romance Novels for Feminists” and catching up on some of the ones I missed. Now reading Emma Barry’s Private Politics and liking it a whole lot in spite of a slow start. Very nontraditional hero, not only in terms of appearance (a body that’s never been near a gym) but in personality: nerdy, warm, optimistic — and the fumbling nature of his and the heroine’s relationship initially frustrated me but now is making my heart ache, they’re like two people trying to learn to dance together and stepping all over each other but it’ll be great when they get it. And the both of them having confidence issues about their professional competence — they damn well are competent and it’s fun watching that too.
I cosign “The Rook” so hard! Best thing I read in December… there’s a sequel coming out in June, I believe, so yay!
I’m doing my final project for my masters on romances, so I’ve been reading a lot of the secondary source material. My favorites so far are “A Natural History of the Romance Novel” by Pamela Regis (which has the best awareness of the different subgenres) and “Romancing God” by Lynn S Neal (which is an ethnographic study of inspie readers).
I read books 2 & 3 of Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series, which were unsurprisingly delightful. I also got a new Kindle at Christmas, so I’ve been taking advantage of the free month of Kindle Unlimited. I think I’ll ultimately land in Scribd, but I enjoyed reading a lot of paranormal novellas that I wouldn’t want to pay for but were some delightful WTFery to break things up.
Love this thread. Also love the Written in Red series and fingers really crossed for a nice ending.
This week most of my kids were sick with a stomach bug so for pure comfort and fun, I have been rereading old Connie Brockway books – So Enchanting, Bridal Favors, The Bridal Season. Always good for cheering me up.
Right before that I read My Beautiful Enemy, by Sherry Thomas (and the prequel to it). Enjoyed it but I did have trouble buying some of it – feelings, coincidences.
Code Name Verity is in my TBR pile so I think that is next!
Forgot to add, not too long ago I read A Bollywood Affair (I think that is the name) because it was mentioned here. It was awesome. I really appreciate recommendations like that – something I might not have picked up otherwise. So thank you!
I also recently read and enjoyed Written in Red and am now waiting for the library’s copy of book two. I’ve also been on an Amy Harmon kick — I’ve read with pleasure Making Faces, Infinity plus One, Running Barefoot, and A Different Blue.
Code Name Verity is categorized as YA. It sounded like an adult novel in the reviews I’ve read. Will someone share their opinion?
@CelineB – I recently finished reading The Golem and the Jinni. I really enjoyed it, although I’m ambivalent about the ending.
I reread Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog. I must be crankier than I realized, because I didn’t find it as charming this time around. I still highly recommend it to non-cranky readers.
I read and enjoyed The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz. It’s part of a Riptide continuity series, but it works fine as a stand alone.
It’s an mm, trans* romance – this review captures my feelings about it pretty well – http://readreactreview.com/2015/01/22/tbr-challenge-read-the-burnt-toast-bb-by-heidi-belleau-and-rachel-haimowitz/
I also find myself re-reading my favorite parts of Sarina Bowen’s The Ivy Years during my commute.
@SB Sarah:
I take some comfort in the fact she managed 8 books in the Black Jewels series before irredeemably screwing it up. I’m just kinda igoring that Twilight’s Dawn ever happened.
Has anyone read “A Single Kiss” by Grace Burroughs? I have just finished it and while I enjoyed it very much, I can’t help feeling that there were some uneven patches. I’m looking forward to the next two books in the series.
I read some really awesome books in the last week or so. THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES by Miranda Neville was so very good and I really enjoyed HOW TO LOSE A DUKE IN 10 DAYS by Laura Lee Guhrke.
I really loved THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE DRESS by Jessica Topper which managed to be poignant and lighthearted and really so awesome. That’s two for two for this author for me (I also loved her first book LOUDER THAN LOVE which I had to reread as soon as I finished her 2nd book!)
I’m currently reading Rebecca Zanetti’s FORGOTTEN SINS and so far it’s pretty good.
@pamelia
I enjoyed Rebecca Zanetti’s Sin Brothers series and will read the fourth when it’s available. I like her characters and read the series as semi-scifi so I could cope with the premise that these men were altered genetically.
Her word choice sometimes boggles my mind. I think maybe her thesaurus is broken.
Bad word choice is hard for me to pass over, it takes me right out of the story. In the second book she uses a particular word in two different places where the same word just can’t be used and still make sense (it didn’t make any sense in either place but even less when compared). I almost think she used it as a placeholder and then forgot to change it.
I am loving the new Bishop series, Written in Red, etc. and I read an advanced copy of Vision in Silver. It was also great, and the series is scheduled to last two more books, IIRC. Fingers crossed for books 4 and 5.
Hmm, maybe a lesson for Bishop to take from all these complaints is to poll readers on how they think the series ought to end. I’m sure some writer must have done that already sometime.
Three Weeks with Lady X, by Eloisa James. This is my first James book. She is on one of the panels at the Romance conference at the Library of Congress so I wanted to go in having read one of her books.
So I also finished Radiance by Grace Draven and loved it. Much more than her “Master of Crows”. Also finished the weirdly M/M sci-fi fantasy “Assimilation, Love and Other Human Oddities” ( the sequel to “Claimings, Tails and Other Alien Artifacts”). Despite the long titles the books are short and actually quite good with a well developed world and culture. Also finished Theresa Romain’s Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress which was just meh for me. I know, I was shocked too. I picked up (from the library) “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel and have been hearing a lot of good buzz about it. After that I’ll clean out my fantasy palate with the new Courtney Milan contemporary while waiting for the next Reaper motorcycle novel (Wilde) or Ilona Andrews book. I also heard that R.Lee Smith is close to finishing a book for this year called “Land of the Beautiful Dead” which I will purchase without knowing anything about except that she wrote it!