It’s time again for the Most Expensive Comment Thread of the month!
Step one: cut a hole in a box.
No, wait, that’s a different comment thread. Sorry. Trying again.
Step one: We tell you what books we’re reading.
Step two: have her open the box (sorry) You tell us what you’re reading! If you’re hiding in a box, that’s fine. Amanda once hid in a box for over a half hour to scare the bejeezus out of her roommate, so if you want to hide in a box fort and read, we fully support this idea.
Step three: we all buy more books because, well, I know, speaking for myself personally, that I have the impulse control of a fruit fly when it comes to book shopping.
So, shall we get started?
Sarah: I’m having a very stressful and somewhat miserable week. We had to put our cat, Spawn, to sleep on Tuesday, and we’re moving next week, so my world is stress, chaos, grief, stress, to-do lists, and wondering why I have so many candles and weird tchotchkes, and how fast can I get rid of them. So I am all about comfort reading.
Massive comfort reading. I need, like, DEFCON-3 level comfort reading. I need books ready to deploy in less than 15 minutes, accompanied by chocolate and possibly also blankets. So it’s Jill Mansell time.
I’m not sure exactly why Mansell’s books are my comfort catnip, but I think it’s a combination of the intimate yet far away (from me) setting and the cast of characters. Most of her books are funny and are inhabited by lovely people who are intelligent and trying to be decent humans. Her writing lets me turn off my brain and go hang out in an alternate world where just about everything and everyone has the style and wit of a good romantic comedy. Fortunately for Present Sarah, Past Sarah bought a bunch during a .99 sale, so I have a Medicinal Mansell file awaiting me.
So I’m reading Take a Chance on Me, and if I need more Medicinal Mansell, I’ll read Staying at Daisy’s ( A | K | G | AB )– which is part of a $3 boxed set if you’re thinking a medicinal book collection might be a good idea.
RedHeadedGirl: I just finished The Amorous Intrigues and Adventures of Aaron Burr” an 1861 Real Person Fic, anonymously published.
I’m also reading Jennifer McQuiston’s The Spinster’s Guide to Scandalous Behavior ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).
Amanda: The three books that I’m most excited to tackle while on vacation are Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter, Off the Clock by Roni Loren, and Crazed by Edie Harris.
Bohemian Gospel I featured on November’s New Releases and it’s a mix of historical fiction and magical realism. I’m so curious about this book.
Off the Clock ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) seems to blend sex and science and I AM HERE FOR THIS.
Crazed ( A | BN | K | G | AB ): I’ve read and reviewed the other two books in the Blood Money series and I can’t recommend Edie Harris enough. This particular one in the series features a badass hero who reunites with his wife, a woman he thought was dead.
I can already feel the brooding drama just emanating from my Kindle.
Carrie: I’m reading The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar (it comes out in March).
And I’m also reading Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner ( A | K | AB ).
Elyse: I’m still working through Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts.
Also, I’m reading The Curse of Lord Stanstead by Mia Marlowe ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). My brain is tired from work so my reading has massively slacked off.
What about you? What books are you enjoying right now? Anything you recommend? Got any books saved up for the end-of-year holiday vacation?
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 most excellent, and if you’d prefer not to, no worries at all. We are always glad you’re here hanging out with us.
Sarah, throw those candles in a flat-rate box and I’ll take them. 🙂
In the last couple of days, I just finished Lauren’s Dane “At Blade’s Edge” (damn cliffhanger!), the anthology “Down the Rabbit Hole” (purely for the J.D. Robb short), “The Maiden” by Jude Deveraux (because why not?) and Katie McAllister’s “Dragon Fall” (eh, not so great, I’m over the dragons).
Can’t wait to see what else people are reading, my TBR pile is getting shorter and there are holidays coming up!
I’ve read so many good book this month. I literally just finished (like 5 minutes ago) His Dream Role by Shannyn Schroeder. I liked it well enough, but it wasn’t as good as the other 2 books in her Hot and Nerdy series. They’re Young Adult, which I don’t usually like, but these aren’t crazy melodramatic. This book featured a hero, who liked to dress up in costumes and his favorite is his 10th Doctor Costume, which I found totally awesome. Doesn’t everyone love the 10th Doctor?
Yesterday, i finished the most recent book in Kimberly Kincaid’s Pine Mountain series. She’s a new author for me and she’s filling the hole the end of the Lucky Harbor series left in its wake. They’re not as quirky (no Lucille type character–thank the lord), but they’re very much that type of small town romance. I only discovered this series through The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, which I grabbed on Amazon for $2.99. As of the other day, it was down to $0.99. I’d swoop in on that deal if I wanted a quick Christmas anthology. All 3 novellas take place in Pine Mountain, but only the last is written by Kimberly Kincaid. The others are by Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell. Their novellas were pretty good too.
Controlled Burn by Shannon Stacey was awesome and although I wasn’t crazy about the ending, I have nothing but love for it. Now, I have to find her backlist.
Tomorrow night (after I do my #ChristmasMovieSaturday–yes, I am creating my own hash tag), I am going to start the new Jill Shalvis that is coming out on Tuesday.
I’m reading and enjoying Seanan McGuire’s Rose Red Chain.
I was on vacation earlier and read a lot, so this month, I’ve read Tricky Twenty-Two (cute), Magic Shifts (AWESOME), Ronin Games (Marion G Harmon) (fun!) and Crimson Shore (Preston/Child) (gory).
I’m sorry about your kitty, Sarah. That’s always a sad time.
Just recently stumbled upon this author that I’m in love with! Her name is Alyssa Rose Ivy. I read two of her series so far the Crescent Chronicles and Empire Chronicles! Both are amazing and if you do read them make sure to read Crescent first or else things will be spoiled when reading Empire. Obviously I didn’t get that memo so I spoiled practically everything but that’s alright because it was still so good!
Okay back to the real question! The book I am currently reading is Residue by Laury Falter. On goodreads it got amazing reviews but it’s eh alright wouldn’t necessarily recommend it but I’m gonna stick with it and finish it!
Sarah, I’m so sorry about your cat and moving is horrible – even if it’s to your dream house.
I’m currently reading Matriarch by Anne Edwards. It’s a biography of George V’s queen, Mary of Teck. I have a huge stack of unread books on my tablet right now and no interest in opening any of them. Right now, my attention span doesn’t seem to last much longer than a short story, so I’m reading Stephen King’s Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Sarah — I’m so sorry about your cat. It’s always so tough to lose a pet.
I’m looking forward to the long holiday weekend and finally having some reading time. I’m hoping to read Hidden Huntress by Danielle Jensen; Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo; and The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths.
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. There’s never a good time to lose a pet, but that sounds especially bad.
I’m busy trying to finish another two books to hit my year end goal while feeling a bit book slumpy.
I’m currently mostly finished with The Cuckoo’s Calling, which is about where I was in October when I stopped for NaNo prep.
I did finish Ancillary Mercy, which also fell victim to NaNo. I really liked it. Overall, an excellent series. (Sword felt a bit weak in comparison.)
I’m also listening to Something Wicked This Way Comes, because I felt like rereading it, but didn’t feel like reading it. (If that makes sense.)
I also have my library’s copy of Nora Roberts’ Key trilogy on my kindle, but I never seem to get round to reading it. (Due back soon, so I should get on that.)
I’m finally caught up on Nalini Singh’s Archangel series, and the last 2 installments are far and away the best ones, IMO. I also read “His Road Home” by Anna Richland over Thanksgiving, and while I enjoyed it at the time, it has really stuck with me the last few weeks. I’m going to re-read over the holidays, methinks.
Next up is “Cold Hearted Rake” from Lisa Kleypas, “Magic Stars” from Ilona Andrews (YAY), and “Missoula” by Jon Krakauer.
Sorry about your kitty, Sarah! That’s always hard, especially around the holidays.
Sorry about your cat, losing fur babies is always hard 🙁
My reading list was quite small this month, but what I did read was excellent. I read the final book in the Lunar Chronicles series and it was not just a great book , but the perfect send off to the series. I recommend picking it up is you enjoy the series as much as I do.
The only other book I’ve been reading this month is a 99 cent historical called The Last Honest Seamstress. It is set in Seattle 1889 ( the great Seattle fire is a plot point) and has a great sense of place and amazing chracters. It is a gender-swapped marriage of convenience plot ( meaning the hero is the one who wants to marry for love while the heroine wants a business deal and is a bit of an older heroine too)
I highly recommend it and like I mentioned early it’s only 99 cents on Amazon!
I must be in a reading slump, because nothing’s making me happy. “Pent Up” by Damon Suede, “Wings of Sorrow and Bone” by Beth Cato, “Radiance” by Catherynne M. Valente… sigh. Probably because holiday stress is just crazy, and on top of that I destroyed my laptop a few days ago. I have two books up next to try: the anthology “Daughters of Frankenstein: Lesbian Mad Scientists”; and “The Breaker Queen” by C.S.E. Cooney.
I started Jennifer Ashley’s Penelope and Prince Charming last night, so car its weird but cute. I got it at half price books on a sale day so I’m getting my money’s worth even if insta love is a major plot device
I just finished a re-read of Heather Rose Jones’s two Alpennia books, “Daughter of Mystery” and “The Mystic Marriage.” A Ruritania-type setting in post Napoleonic Europe, with strong women, duelists, alchemy, friendship, and court politics. I highly recommend both of these.
Next up for me is an extra treat, because I received an ARC for Mask is and Shadows, by Stephanie Burgis. This one is set in late 18th century in Austria. Opera! Forbidden Love! Plots and Intrigue! I read an early draft of this, and I’m excited to see the final versoin.
I am blazing through “Ancillary Mercy”. I binge read the first two but got derailed by finals week and a stacked work schedule of five days straight in my job (I work at a big chain bookstore), where it has been wonderfully busy but has left me too tired after to read. I just vegged on the couch while watching episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie and Star Trek TNG. Yesterday I finished “Will Travel For Vegan Food”, which was pretty “meh” except for the food descriptions.
Still trudging through “Udolpho,” though the plot is finally moving (SO MUCH EXPOSITION) so not so much trudging at this point. I’m also about to start Debbie Macomber’s “Dashing Through the Snow.” What I’m super pumped for is to read The Hathaways series for the first time, but I’m waiting til my 4 day vacation in January in the mountains for that one. The suspense is killing me.
Currently reading Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh (aka Zoe Archer). While a Regency romance and enjoyable on that level, there is more within. The plight of women without family or position, the problems with returning military (from lack of jobs to PTSD), the lack of outlets for men in the nobility to use their brains and talents. Extraordinary romance.
@bookworm1990: Oh, happy vacation. I hope you really like it! It’s a great series!
And thank you for the condolences, y’all. It means a lot that so many people know how we’re feeling. Thank you.
I finished the latest book by Grace Burrowes. Axel is the third and final book in her Jaded Gentlemen series. There’s something about her writing that I love. Familiar yet entertaining.
I’m going to finally start Act Like It later today!
I’m reading Wicked Becomes You by Merideth Duran, and I’m loving it.
Top of this month installment must be N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. Th worldbuilding is just glorious without being intrusive, and the characters live up to it.
I’ll add to the names who bought Lucy Parker’s Act Like It based on the review here – it’s a great debut with characters who act like grown-ups. Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On didn’t do much for me, but I skimmed the fanfic in Fangirl so I probably wasn’t the target anyway.
I’ve found a bunch of historical mystery series that I’m trading off:
-Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber
-Daisy Dalrymple by Carola Dunn
-Lady Emily by Tasha Alexander
I want a good Christmas story right now, but beyond my yearly reading of The Mischief of the Mistletoe nothing is striking a chord.
So sorry about your kitty Sarah!
Recently finished the first Miss Fisher mystery, Cocaine Blues, and loved it! Now I can’t wait to watch the tv series. Am currently reading – nothing – had surgery this week and Damn those drugs are nasty! Way worse after affects than I was expecting. When my head clears will finish Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer, a murder mystery set at a Christmas house party. It had a slow start but as soon as the actual murder takes place I expect it to pick up. Unfortunately not enjoying it as much as her romances. After that will see what my addled brain can handle.
Condolences for your kitty, Sarah. That whole responsible pet owner thing really sucks at these times.
I finished Career of Evil this morning. It’s the third mystery by J.K. Rowling’s alter ego Robert Galbraith, and it was great. I should have been out finishing the Christmas shopping, but you know how it is with addictions…. and it was due back to the GBPL two days ago.
Picked Christmas story Twelve Days to read on my Kindle during lunch “breaks”, I don’t know if this is realy, really emotionally wrenching or I’m not building up tolerance since I’m reading it in 15 minute chunks. Still, abandoned kids, a marriage about to disintegrate, Christmas. I do like how the main characters’ history is coming out in pieces rather than the big info dump.
Next up is Dragon Storm, cause I’m not done with dragons, even if Dragon Fall didn’t sing like most of her previous books. I’ve got Sweet Ruin on tap for the long holiday weekend. And, of course the newly traditional reread of “A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong which is just about the most perfect Christmas read ever.
I’m so sorry about Spawn.
I got myself a Kobo e-reader for the holidays. I just cleared out 50 garbage bags of books for an apartment renovation this week. Please cross your fingers and toes that I’m back home before New Years.
I’ve been busy downloading lots of books (free or on sale) but my cc is still going to cry. I get free e-books from e-mail lists on Bookbubs and ManyBooks daily email lists. I read Louise Allen’s The Housekeeper’s Christmas Wish and His Christmas Countess. I loved both.
Can anyone tell why the Kobo promo codes I find on various coupon websites don’t work? I’m in the US. At least Kobo does price match so I’ve gotten store credit. All in all, I like the e-reader. Works with harlequin’s web site where I seem to buy most of my books. Two of Rose lerner’s books are on sale .99)Pretense ($1.99 and Sweet Disorders. As I said Kobo price matches so I’m set.
Much sympathy on your cat. A friend had to put down her dog this week, so it’s a little hard for her to fully embrace the joy of the season this year. When we had to put down our dog (he was 18 and ill) the best thing the vet said was that it was no longer a kindness to keep him alive. That provided a measure of comfort in a difficult time.
Best of luck with the stress and the move. Here’s hoping you love your new house and city.
So sorry about your cat. It’s such a painful thing, I know.
I’m re-reading an old favorite – Paula Gosling and not for the first time. I love her mix of mystery, humor, and romance and her prose is exquisite. “Loser’s Blues” and “The Zero Trap” are two favorites.
Huge stress month here, too, between rapidly increasing responsibilties at the new job and a spouse with a GI bleed, an MI, and an absolute aversion to receiving medical care. So many comfort reads – Sarina Bowen and, weirdly, Cold River Rising by Ennis Smith. I also finally read Grave Mercy and had to immediately read the next one, Dark Triumph. Seriously, assassin nuns. On to the next in the series shortly. I also liked Running Wide Open by Lisa Nowak. This is about a very rebellious teen who gets sent to live with his uncle who races cars. A fun ride, so to speak. Oh, and I was also cramming for my peds recertification so Pediatrics Pretest Self Assessment by Yetsin was my daily companion and is highly recommended should any of you need something in that line.
Sarah, I’m so sorry for your loss.
K.N.O’Rear – the Last Honest Seamstress is not available on Kobo. Who is the author so I can keep an eye out? It is RIGHT up my alley.
Joanna – my one problem with Cocaine Blues is that the author seems to have conflated the effects of cocaine with those of heroin. It really threw me out of the story.
Work has been very challenging and had left me no time to read, and when I did have a few moments to spare I just couldn’t get my head out of work to concentrate on words. And then this week I picked up The Traitor Baru Cormorant. WOW. It grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go. It’s fantasy (there’s no magic, but it’s got a quasi-historical not-Earth setting), but there is a similarity in tone and certain themes to Ancillary Justice, so if you liked that you’ll probably like this.
jcp – Kobo coupon codes normally work for only a narrow range of books. I’ve been using a Kobo for two years and the coupons have gotten very limited in the past 18 months. I still own more books than I can read, though!
@jcp Kobo coupons cannot be used on any publisher that uses what’s called agency pricing. The terms of the publisher/retailer agreement prohibit the use of discount codes on the publisher’s books. The major publishers operate on agency, so if your best bets on using discount codes will be smaller presses/independent houses, self-published books and, for those who have children, Scholastic-published books.
I am so sorry about your cat, Sarah. Losing a pet is horrible.
I had a pretty good reading month. I started off the month by not finishing Pucked Up by Helena Hunting. It wasn’t bad but I just wasn’t getting into it and I’ve vowed to give up on more books that I’m just not feeling. My TBR list is just too long to stick with something I’m not enjoying.
After that I read Variables of Love by M. K. Schiller. It tore my heart out and then put it back in. If it hadn’t been expiring from Scribd, I may have put off reading it for a long time since I always need to mentally prepare for angsty romances. It’s about an Indian heroine who wants to have an arranged marriage after college but she falls for a classmate. They decide to make the best of the rest of their senior year then part ways. I really adored the characters.
Other great reads this month:
Winter by Marissa Meyer- such a great retelling of the Snow White story and a great ending to the series.
Some Sort of Crazy by Melanie Harlow- very sweet and sexy friends to lovers story
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari- an insightful and funny look at romance in the modern world.
Falling in Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath- I really enjoyed this one. Heroine decides she will never marry but wants to lose her virginity so she goes to a house that allows women and men of the ton to meet and basically hook-up. Of course she meets the hero there, who she already knows from ton society. I really enjoyed how the romance played out.
His Work of Art by Shannyn Schroeder- sweet novella, I loved the comic book geek aspect to the romance
Home for Christmas (Willow Park series) by Noelle Adams- The hero was kidnapped in Syria 6 months after he and the heroine married and was released two years later. It’s about the struggles he has readjusting to his regular life and the issues both he and the heroine have reconnecting. Despite the plot, it’s more sweet than angsty.
A Christmas Gone Horribly Wrong by Cecelia Grant- funny, sweet novella that lived up to the high expectations I had based on reviews
Falling Stars by Loretta Chase- very enjoyable second chance love novella set at Christmas
Heart-Shaped Hack by Tracey Garvis Graves- I really loved this one. The characters were great, a lot of snappy dialogue. There is another book coming with the same hero/heroine but this is definitely a fully formed novel with no cliffhanger. The only complaint I have is that the final conflict was maybe solved a little too easily and the conclusion went on for too long.
Right now, I’m about to start another one of the Willow Park series by Noelle Adams, A Baby for Easter before my Oyster subscription ends. Then I have a slew of books I want to read before they expire from Scribd at the end of the month including some from Jill Shalvis’s and Karina Bliss’s backlists. After the first when those expire, I plan on reading a bunch of Christmas stories. It will be late, but I have so many sitting on my Kindle and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get my TBR list way down.
So sorry to hear about your kitty.
I recently read Michelle Diener’s book, Dark Horse. Now, I can’t get into reading anything else. I want to stay in the world of Dark Horse and continue my visit with its wonderful characters – Oh,the burden of reading a really good book.
Thanks for all the advice on Kobo deals or lack thereof. I do have to say that price match helps. Frankly, there is less discount online period but thank goodness harlequin has a lot of sales on its site. I love the BOGO sales (there is usually the 50% off sitewide sale December 25 )
The author of The Last Honest Seamestress is Gina Robinson.
Today only there is a free e-book on the site with coupon code DAY1915
at http://www.harlequin.com
It’s been a good month for reading. I read Stars of Fortune, which was light and fluffy and I enjoyed (though I thought it took a while to get moving), then I read Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman (YA Western, which I didn’t even know was a thing, and now I want more of them), which would make a great Quentin Tarantino film if he liked the idea of having a young woman as a central character (wait, he would totally do that, he has done that). Then it was The Nightingale, which was the book club pick for December and it destroyed me. It’s so well-done, and so sad. Well, then I turned around and read The Rose Society by Marie Lu, which I just finished last night. It’s the second in The Young Elites series, which is currently one of my favorite things. The best way I can think to explain it is that if George Lucas had actually made Anakin’s backstory and rise to becoming Darth Vader have nuance, vulnerability, and depth, well, you’d have had Adelina’s story. Sorry, I have prequel issues, I just do. Anyway, I’m now reading Illuminae, by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff, which I’m only on page 12 of, so I don’t have too much of an opinion just yet, but everything I’ve heard about it makes me hopeful.
Sarah, Was that podcast crasher the cat? Oh no. We’ve had to do this twice and it’s a horrible experience. I’m very sorry.
So I re-read the Hathaway series because the recent sale reminded me of how really great this story arc is. Another like was Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith and big shout out for Magic Stars, the Ilona Andrews novella. Also liked Courtney Milan Once Upon a Marquee. Up next is Kristen Ashley, either Walk through Fire or Hold On since both were on sale recently. Also Touched by AJ Aalto or Crimson by Rosamund Hodge.
@Taffygrrrl- the author of The Last Honest Seamstress is Gina Robinson
I really enjoyed Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews and Once Upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan.
I also liked Heat Exchange by Shannon Stacey, but the next book Controlled Burn just didn’t work for me. I will definitely read the next one though.
I think I’m finally done with Kristen Ashley. I started reading Walk Through Fire, but when I got to the reason why Millie and High broke up originally, I wanted to throw my Kindle against the wall. I expected this big thing and all I could think is was that it? Really??? All the KA quirks are no longer entertaing and I was fed up with Millie (the Martyr). I guess I’ll just re-read her older books if I need a KA fix.
I can’t wait for the new Jill Shalvis, Sarah MacLean and Loretta Chase!!!
I also read Winter by Marissa Meyer – in fact I binge read the whole Lunar Chronicles series – sf/f ya dystopian retelling of fairy tales, in space! It was such a fun series – light on the romance, but all the couples got happy endings by the end of the series, and it’s really engaging.
I read A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles – the 2nd in her regency m/m trilogy, and OMFG, it was so good! (sorry, can’t contain the squee).
Also read Real World by Amy Jo Cousins – mm na sequel to the first book in her Bend or Break series. I actually liked this one better than the first book featuring this h/h, which is unusual for me.
And I’ve been bingeing on the mm romance group’s annual Don’t Read in the Closet series of free stories.
Love this topic. I am reading Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh. About 100 pages in and feeling ambivalent. It’s well written but I am having a hard time with how unrealistic everything is for the time period. There is a lot of (for want of a better word) feminist philosophy which I 100% agree with in principle but find jarring in a historical.
I am also rereading The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer on another device. Maybe this is part of why I’m having so much difficulty with the Eva Leigh book. Always love Georgette Heyer.
This morning I finished Good Time Bad Boy by Sonya Clark, and now I have a lovely “good romance” glow. It features a washed up 40 YO country western star and a 26 YO (but very mature) waitress he meets in his home town where he goes to regroup. It’s one of those romances that just focuses on two likable characters who actually act like adults and who are just trying to overcome their pasts and find their way forward together.
I also read the Innocence trilogy by Alessandra Torre after picking up and loving Hollywood Dirt last month. It was fantastic and I’m happy to report there was absolutely no gratuitous BDSM scene thrown in anywhere (I am SO SICK of those). Brad DeLuca is the bomb. I’m now in the middle of a serial that the author wrote for Cosmo magazine over the course of a year with mini-episodes posted three days a week. She has the links to each episode on her website. It’s free and it’s really fun to read.
Another romance I read this month that I liked was Crimson and Clover by Juli Page Morgan. It’s set in the 1960’s in London and has a great sense of that time and that place.
Finally, I have to laugh about The Last Honest Seamstress – I read the comment about it, thought “hmm, that sounds really interesting”, checked my archive, and sure enough, I’d picked it up a few years ago for free. My TBR mountain is so out of control. Anyway, I’m going to bump it up and actually try to read it now.