Whatcha Reading is both the best and worst post of the month. It’s amazing because the reading recommendations in the comments are amazeballs, but my TBR pile and book budget always weeps afterward.
Are you ready to find out what we’ve been reading?
Sarah: I’m reading Roman Crazy and I’m Judging You.
So far, I’m Judging You ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a quick and funny read with a distinctive writing style addressing familiar topics. I’ve read about types of friends or types of bad dinner guests before, but Luvvie’s style make it unique. It’s easy to pick up and put down, too, which I appreciate.
Roman Crazy ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) I’m not sure about. I love the premise, and I love the setting, but I’m struggling with the character’s emotional progression.
I’m only a few chapters in so I hope the book and I arrive on friendlier terms.
Carrie: I’m in a bit of a slump. I’m re-reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) for the book club I lead in Sacramento and I also just started the fantasy romance The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy. I’m about one chapter in.
Elyse: I just finished Deadly Silence by Rebecca Zanetti ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which didn’t work great for me. There was a lot of competing suspense elements that I don’t think ever really gelled. I also just downloaded Mission: Improper by Bec McMaster ( A | BN | K | AB ).
Redheadedgirl: I have a British copy of The Confectioners Tale ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) that I’ll be reading on the plane tonight.
Amanda: I’m also in a slump because I’m getting ready for a trip to Austin and I’m just all over the place. But the book I’m most excited about is Hell on Wheels by Rhyll Biest. A demon roller derby, a princess who has escaped form Hell, and an arranged marriage. It sounds all sorts of fun.
Elyse: Whoa yea!
Sarah: I think paranormal is going to make a comeback, but with female paranormal creatures. We’re going to negotiate female rage for awhile.
What have you read this month? Did you DNF anything? Re-read an old favorite? Tell us in the comments!
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!
I had a pretty good reading month considering I had one week where I read absolutely nothing. Here’s the list:
Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen- This was easily my favorite of the month and my favorite historical in many months. I technically won this book along with the next one in the series, but after I entered the contest and before I won, this was a daily deal so I went ahead and bought it on kindle. The heroine helps cover up scandals for the ton, the hero is a duke who is also a ship’s captain. They meet when the hero returns from India to find that the heroine was hired by his aunt to cover up the fact that a dead earl is tied to his eighteen-year-old sister’s bed and she’s missing. It’s a well-written book with great characters and I highly recommend it. The hangover I got from this book was partially responsible for my week of no reading.
Party Lines by Emma Barry- This was the only book by Emma Barry I hadn’t read yet and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Hero works for the democratic presidential nominee and heroine works for the republican nominee. Despite their rival politics, they fall for one another and develop a casual relationship along the campaign trail. It was definitely an interesting read considering all that is happening in the actual election this year.
Emma Chase- I read Tied, Tamed, Holy Frigging Matrimony, and It’s a Wonderful Tangled Christmas by Chase meaning I am now caught up on her books. They were all fun, fast reads, but none lived up to any of her books in her Legal Briefs series.
Sherry Thomas- Thomas is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited when I read an excerpt of My Beautiful Enemy before it came out. I bought it and its prequel, The Hidden Blade, the day it came out but then somehow never felt like starting it so they sat on my kindle for just over two years. I liked both, the premise and the setting in China was a welcome change from the typical Regency. I do wish that there had been more romance between Catherine and Leighton in the present day, not just in the flashbacks. I also bought her contemporary, The One in My Heart, when it came out and still had it sitting on my kindle. I ended up liking this one, but I wonder how I’d feel if it wasn’t written by Thomas. I had a hard time in the beginning since it didn’t feel like Thomas’s voice to me. The premise was a little convoluted and the first-person narrative limited the development of the hero, but it had some great dialogue and incredibly sweet moments. I also read a couple of novellas I hadn’t read yet, Capturing the Duchess and The Bride of Larkspur, which were both fine, but short and mainly just made me want to reread the Fitzhugh novels. I also am becoming increasingly impatient for Thomas’s upcoming historical mystery, A Study in Scarlet Women. Only a few more weeks!
Close to You and Listen to Me by Kristen Proby- Close to You was the better of the two for me. I like the hero and heroine and there was some good dialogue. Listen to Me was okay, but had virtually no conflict making it a little bland.
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips- I got this one from the library since I’m not willing to pay $12.99 for any kindle book let alone for one by an author that’s let me down recently. This was definitely my favorite SEP book in a while, probably since the last Chicago Stars book. Not everything worked, but I enjoyed the chemistry between Piper and Cooper and the humor.
Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis- I won a copy of the audio version of this book. This was a sweet book that reminded me of her Lucky Harbor series. I really liked the set-up and reason for conflict in the book; it felt original and fresh. I enjoyed both of the characters and their chemistry. This is far from my favorite Shalvis book, but it’s solid and likable.
I’ve just started Wild Embrace by Nalini Singh. I need to finish it and Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly before they’re due back at the library next week. After that I have probably fifteen books I want to read ‘next’ so hopefully I’ll be able to make a decision instead of being paralyzed by indecision and choosing to watch movies instead of reading like I have this week.
I glommed on Kelly Bowen. So good! So wonderful to read books were the nobles isn’t paragons of virtue.
My copy of Dragon Virus by Laura Anne Gilman just arrived. I am so excited to read it again! (I have it in e-book, but I splurged on the signed hardcover in August) I highly recommend it.
I was at our local comic con a couple of weeks ago and picked up a lot of stuff by local writers and artists. One of the reasons I attend these things is so I can support artists in my community and independent and local vendors. I also had the fun of stumping one of the vendors, who had never heard of the graphic novel I was looking for.
I’ve been reading David Halberstam’s The Fifties which is quite interesting.
Thanks to Amazon’s sales, I rediscovered Susan Howatch and I’m reading The Rich are Different. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed her books – it’s been more than thirty years since I read one. I’ve always had a weakness for huge, sprawling family sagas with hundreds of characters, forbidden love, revenge, etc.
I’m reading Touched By An Alien because a friend gifted it to me and it is cracktastic!
I’m most excited for Dora Ohrenstein’s latest book: top down fitted crochet. Top down knitting techniques are my favorite, and I’m trying to improve my crochet skills, so this looks extra promising, but I haven’t actually tried anything because I have like seven ongoing projects right now.
Romance novel wise, I’m still not willing to risk new books, so thank god for Heyer.
When I’m in the kind of slump where reading as a process is still comforting but everything I read is irksome, I try and get some nonfiction out of the way, so I’ve been slogging through the Alexiad, which… I guess I recommend? If you want some Byzantine history and/or find it more than theoretically interesting that it was written by a princess historian a thousand years ago. It’s dry, but that’s such a standard bar to entry for histories; I don’t think the translation/style is worse than average.
I just finished The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.
I’m looking forward to some books coming out later this month, including Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst, and The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis.
I usually don’t even think about the holidays until November, but after the incessant heat this summer, I am ready for fall, winter, snow, and some holiday reads. LOL.
I read all nine books in Darynda Jones’ grim reaper series and enjoyed them all. I love that Charley isn’t a static character, and the plot has evolved and moved forward. I get tired of the Stephanie Plum style series, where each book is basically the same but with a different mystery to solve.
I also tried Nalini Singh (the archangel books), and while I can see why she is so popular, she just isn’t the right author for me. I liked the first book in the series, but quickly lost interest.
Right now, I’m reading Hidden Figures, the book by Margot Shetterly that just came out about the black female mathematicians who helped NASA with the math they needed to get to the moon. It’s like my THESIS. It’s fantastic and the subject matter is so fascinating. I cannot wait for the movie to come out.
I also read The Bath Massacre by Arnie Bernstein for my disaster podcast. It’s an intriguing story, although it’s a fairly gruesome read if that sort of thing turns you off.
Oh, and I read the most recent releases by Charlie Richards. I am totally hooked on her Stone Ridge romances. Every time I get the romance for the character I want to see in a relationship, I discover two more characters I want to see books about. I’m just lucky they’re cheap quick reads.
My phone line went out Thursday and the earliest Verizon can come fix it is Sunday, so I’m at the library to catch this post. 🙂
Not a great month for me, but not a bad one.
Apprentice in Death, by J.D. Robb, not the best book in the series, but not bad. I figured out the twist very early.
Once Broken Faith, by Seanan McGuire, I really like this series and this book didn’t let me down.
War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, more gruesome than I was expecting
Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor, I liked this novella and I can see why it won a bunch of awards. I also started Who Fears Death but I’m not sure if I’m going to finish that. Rape and female circumcision seem to be enough to put me off a book.
I’ll tell you what I’m not reading and that’s How To Lose A Demon In 10 Days. Lose this book instead.
I had a mostly meh reading month with some big disappointments. I’ll be watching the thread hopefully for great books.
The only great romance I read was a re-read of KJ Charles’ Think of England. Archie Curtis’ head is just as enjoyable to inhabit for a third time.
The only new reads that reached above middling were far-flung from romance, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Spiderlight. You’ve heard of Coates’ book, but it’s a short read and one that emphasized the need to give my reading horizons the more-than-occasional push.
Tchaikovsky’s Spiderlight is another short read. It starts out nearly cookie-cutter RPG fantasy quest, with the “nearly” being one viewpoint character, a giant spider. Tchaikovsky has a background in biology which makes his “bugs” really interesting. The best part of the book, though, is how it expands the walls of its D&D-and-Tolkien tropes in fun ways. I ended up loving a couple of characters I didn’t expect to.
It’s been a stressful month so I’ve been turning to one of my favorite comfort read authors — Lynsay Sands. Her Scottish historicals always have the same equation (dumb but nice hero marries dumb but nice heroine at the beginning + very light angst as they both realize their growing feelings + growing closer as they resolve an external conflict), and it just makes my brain turn off in a wonderful way. I’m running out of new ones, and that is bumming me out. I particularly liked “The Hellion & the Highlander” and “The Key.” Also one of her medievals called “Always.”
I also finally read “Frozen” by Meljean Brook and, no surprise, it was really great. I mostly know her from her Iron Duke series, so I really enjoyed seeing her approach to contemporary paranormal. Frost giants & dissecting the politics of consent? Yes, please!
Finally giving in and giving Jim Butcher’s DRESDEN FILES a chance. I heard that James Marsters does a fantastic job, so much so that when they had to use another strong narrator for one book in the series, the outcry was so loud they ended up having Marsters do it over.
Since I love well-narrated audiobooks I finally said, fine. You win. I’ll give it a shot. And I’m liking Storm Front a lot.
And about to read Masks by EM Prazeman because it’s free, first in a series, has a gorgeous cover, and is m/m magical Regency.
AUDIOBOOKS
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
Different than I expected, but funny, touching and heart breaking. As the book consits of, basically short stories, it felt some times a bit incoherent. For example, sometimes I got a certain kind of impression of her family members, but later chapters changed how I saw them through Amy’s stories and then changed again after another chapter. Still a fun, refreshingly blunt and honest book.
Feed by Mira Grant
I liked it! Another spin on the ole zombie genre mixed with Snowden level revelations of conspiracies and political intrigue. The narration was good, but the male narrator had me cracking up when he was doing… a British accent? Still, I didn’t feel the need to get the next book on the series.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
It took me a looooong while to get through this one. Nothing wrong with the book or the narration by Wil Wheaton, but I started it about 6 months ago, stopped and didn’t feel any kind of pull to finish it. But this month I started again and really enjoyed the story and the fun 80’s references. At times I think I enjoyed them more than the story itself and wished that I too could get to have a virtual relativity Goonies adventure.
BOOKS
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
Got this based on someone’s recommendation here at the site and liked it. Didn’t love it, but it still enticed me to get the next book, The Court of Mist and Fury from Audible. At the same time, it’s not as good (the story is lagging at times) and it’s better (more interesting dynamics between the characters) than the last book. The next book doesn’t come out until next year :(.
Beautiful Wrek by Larissa Brown
Time travelling is one of my ultimate catnips and wounded heroes is another, so DOUBLE YEY! Oh the pining, long simmering feelings. The “oh gosh, they are finally gonna do it! – Oh, SO CLOSE! But no”. I really enjoyed the growing anticipation and the tension. Phew, I was SWEATING with anticipation throught the pages.
NOT SURE IF I’LL EVER FINISH THESE
Possessed by a Warrior by Sharon Ashwoodd
I like the heroine. She fills all my requirements for a GREAT heroine: she’s smart, not dumb, obtuse or a navel gazer and the writing seems ok, but the insta lust/ love is a real turn off for me. Plus, I’m so over with the vampires and werewolves.
Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton
Urgh, I mean URGH! I’m all for it for us women to get what we want, be it sex with a walking, talking testosterone filled dairy farmer as it is the case in this book, but where is the growing ‘will they, won’t they’ tension? The characters both make it quite clear early on, that they want to hump and grind against each other until the house catches on fire. Before that happens, that is all our girl thinks or talks about with other characters in this book. Hey, I love me some hotty hunks myself, but they are NOT the only thing I do, think or talk about. Jeesh!
Re-reading Kay Hooper’s Bishop series and listening to Apprentice in Death by J. D. Robb.
@CelineB I have to read the Hidden Figures before the movie comes out next year! https://youtu.be/8EiZe6WONWY
I am almost finished with Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. The format (a series of interviews) and storyline are both working for me. Next up is The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin.
On audio I’ve been listening to Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series. On book 3 now and so far I like both the hero and heroine in this one. The heroes in the first two could be irritatingly over-alpha IMO and the heroines tended towards the doormat end of the spectrum.
Kkw, I’m intrigued. Why can’t you risk any new romance titles?
Me, I’ve read wyatts last stand by kaylea cross. Why did you lie by Yrsa Sigadurdottir. And unbreak my heart by k lee Klein
Short reading this month as I am on Holiday
I read (well, actually listened to) The Hidden Heart by Laura Kinsale and narrated by Nicholas Boulton. I have to admit, I think I would listen to Boulton read the Declaration of Independence and swoon. His ‘husky’ voice is panty-melting. But this was a fantastic, swashbuckling historical romance whcih spanned from the tropics to France and England.
On the contemporary front, I also finished Liar, Liar by J.A. Coffey. It was a fun, light romance about a fraud investigator who joined an online dating service. Then was instructed to investigate it. Of course, she meets the sexy and charming owner in disguise…
I’ve started The Rising Tide: A Novel of WWII but may not finish it. It’s great research for my own WWII novel but the narration by Paul Michael is fantastic. It covers the point of view from commanders of the Brits, Americans and Germans. Fascinating if you enjoy WWII history.
Yup.
Where in July and August I read a huge amount, September has been a not so much. I’m taking a college class for the first time in mumblesindistinctlyohfinefourteen years. I work for a major university and it’s a perk and I decided to stop wondering why I was not taking advantage of the perk in question. I’m in the School of Information Science (because libraries) and am taking Foundations of the Information Profession. It’s great so far…so I guess technically I’m reading my textbook. I need to get chapters 13-16 read by Monday night, and yeah, this is me procrastinating.
It wasn’t all the textbook though. I did read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, and loved it. That book is a commitment though. It took me two weeks. I then DNFed on both This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab and The Nest by Cynthia d’Aprix Sweeney in rapid succession. Just did not want. The reality was I just wanted to read A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir more than I wanted to read the other ones. It didn’t let me down, and was ah-mazing. The next one isn’t out until 2018 though (internally screaming). I’m currently reading The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley. It’s like all Kearsley, it’s slow, it’s dense, but damn, it’s really pretty too.
I re-read Jayne Castle’s Harmony series which is a whole lotta fun! The dust bunnies are a hilarious invention.
Apprentice in Death and Sunset in Central Park were so very disappointing, especially the Sarah Morgan book, I really disliked the heroine.
I read Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Dr. Hymans’ 10 Day Detox which is great if you are rich and have a cook or lots of free time to prepare the shakes and meals.
There has been quite a few new regencies that were DNF, but I am hopeful about Charis Michaels The Earl Next Door, we’ll see.
I forgot that I’m listening to Dead Wake by Erik Larson in the car. I love me some Larson.
I finished Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein, after I heard about it on the podcast. Plus, as a reader who likes having their feels a bit manhandled during their entertainment, I get the feeling that Ms. O’keefe is gonna wind up with a fair bit of my moolah in the coming months.
I’m also re-reading Alison Weir’s <Elizabeth of York, which is a historical non-fiction. Because history that’s why. Plus I need something to tide me over till the library releases my copy of <The Family Plot by Cherie Priest later this month.
Since many of the series I follow ended this year, I finally made time for the oft recommended Patricia Briggs and devoured Moon Called. I feel a binge coming on.
Also finally pulled The Iron Wyrm Affair from the depths of the tbr pile where it’s been languishing for a few years. Found the language a little… dense. Still liking the world building and the Holmes homage enough to pick up another in the series.
Now I’m in the middle of Nalini Singh’s new anthology Wild Embrace with The Lace Reader on deck.
Most of this month was dedicated to rereading the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, which was a fantasy middle grade series I loved in high school.It held up to a degree, but not sure I’ll reread it again, while the world is awesome, the characters aren’t developed that much with the exception of a few and even then there really aren’t any fully realized characters to be found.
Currently, I reading a YA spy novel set during WWII called The Darkest Hour which is okay. The setting is interesting and most ladies here would enjoy it because it focuses on a group of almost completely female spies kicking butt and their friendships with each other, all without a romantic subplot is sight. However, if you read a lot of spy fiction you might look at it as more of the same as I do.
I just finished The Scoundrel and I. Honestly it was a bit meh for me.
The Promise of Amazing, a YA romance, was another just ok read.
I finally read Eidolon, but while I enjoyed revisiting the characters I liked the first book a lot more.
A Torch Against the Night was great, I’d been anticipating this book for a while and was not disappointed.
I read Sawbones and had a few quibbles but fully intend to read the next in the series. Big trigger warnings for this one.
Next up will be The Land of the Beautiful Dead, Bitter Spirits, and Labyrinth Lost.
I’m currently reading INARTICULATE by Eden Summers. Slightly slow start, but it picks up quickly. The hero is mute and it’s 1st person from the heroine (for most of it), so you feel for her in trying to figure it all out. Then, you get to some emails from Keenan to Savannah. The emails are killing me. All the feelings!! This is a Bad Decision Book Club book. I was up way too late reading it, even though I promised to go Pokemon with my boy this morning.
This month in fiction I’ve read mostly contemporaries, including several billionaire romances. I’ve been disappointed in the billionaire romances, mostly for having characters, settings and plots that don’t seem to reflect anything of that context. If you’re giving me billionaires, give me something that’s over-the-top!
Two fiction pieces that I’ve really enjoyed has been Max Gladstone’s dystopic fantasy “Three Parts Dead” and Courtney Milan’s novella, “The Year of the Crocodile” which inspired me to re-read “Trade Me”. However, I think it might be time to switch back to more historicals so I’m plowing through the post and checking the library catalogue to see what’s available.
@Lace: I’ve been binge listening to The Adventure Zone podcast and I think I’m going to have to check out Spiderlight. Thanks for the rec
The library finally came though with Lovecraft Country (Matt Ruff) and it was fantastic. Best thing I’ve read in awhile and I recommend unreservedly, along with All the Stars in the Sky (Charlie Jane Anders).
How to Hang a Witch (Adriana Mather) was good. I also enjoyed A.M. Dellamonica’s Daughter of No Nation books and want the third one NOW. Yay scientist heroines!
Working my way through the Survivors Club series by Mary Balough. Just finished Only Enchanting. and could relate to Flavian’s frustrations with his speech and memory issues having helped someone work through the same problems. And loved that when Agnes was ready to quit, she still said “Hell no!” and turned around and faced everything head-on. Also read Tremaine’s True Love by Mary Balough. That woman can really bring the feels, and handles difficult subjects with grace; although her attempt to represent a bi secondary character kinda fell flat. Having to pause now to restock for an upcoming show and simultaneously work on a freelance project that has turned out to be unexpectedly difficult for something that is usually my specialty.
3000 mile road trip, 2600 of them listening to Jim Butcher’s “Aronaut’s Windlass” of his Cinder Spires series (of which there is only this one so far, drat). Read it first. Loved it. Made my husband listen to it as an audiobook on our biannual road trip from coast to coast. He loved it. My step son just bought the audio for a trip to UK next week.
Re-read a couple of Patricia Briggs non Merci-ful books. One of my absolute faves (and one of my first fantasy-romances that moved me into SBTB territory) was “The Hob’s Bargain.” It still holds up!
I’ve had a good reading month, several books I’ve been anticipating were released which is always fun.
Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory. I almost always enjoy her books, and one of the queens was Margaret, Henry VIII’s sister. I didn’t know much about her, so it was interesting to read.
Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarity-I really like her writing, but this one felt a bit flat to me.
The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood. I loved this one, about a book club whose picks are the books that are most meaningful to them.
All In by Simona Ahrnstedt-I am late returning it to the library because I’ve read really good reviews-so wanted to get it finished. Should have brought it back and saved myself the overdue fines! I did like the Swedish setting though.
The Bette Davis Club by Jane Lotter was a quick, enjoyable read. I liked that the heroine was older, and the references to classic movies.
Katharine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir. It sounds like this is the beginning of a series where she will write a book about each of Henry VIII wives. I liked this, and Weir is someone who really knows her stuff. I am so interested to read the book about Jane Seymour-one of the wives who of course is always mentioned in other books about the Tudor period, but rarely has a whole book dedicated to her.
I read Discovery of Desire by Susanne Lord, finished it 4 days ago and still cannot stop thinking about it. I loved the hero…he has self doubts and maybe has ADD, but musters up his courage over and over and does heroic things. The heroine was worthy of him (and he of her) and was exactly what he needed. I really want someone else to read this so we can squee together. Also, loved that people in this book had to work hard for their hea, and literally had to work hard to make a living…it makes me respect/admire the characters more. I found this author on Courtney Milan’s website, and she will be an auto buy from here on out.
Meaning Susanne Lord and Courtney Milan…both auto buys 🙂
@Mara: MELJEAN IS BACK TO PNR? ‘Scuse me, my credit card needs some exercise.
I forgot to mention that I read “Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged” a couple of months ago. I liked it quite a bit, especially the whole family dynamic, and I loved the hero. But I could have sworn reading that there was going to be a sequel, with Sofia getting married, and now when I look on Amazon I can’t find any sign of it. I hope the author does put out another book.
I’ve been having a hard time finding time to read the longer historicals, so I’ve been going through old Signet Regencies and Harlequin Historicals instead. I am impressed by how consistently decent they all are. “The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone” by Louise Allen was pretty good, and “The Desperate Viscount” by Gayle Buck was an excellent MOC story, the kind I eat up with a spoon. I’ve also been enjoying Lorraine Heath’s “Scoundrels of St. James Series”, it’s about a group of close friends who came out of the slums of London, where they were part of a children’s gang of thieves. I just got “‘Til Death Do Us Part” by Amanda Quick from the library. I’m looking forward to a cross-country plane flight next week when I can get in a lot of quality reading time.
Did a Georgette Heyer binge of comfort reads initially, The Masqueraders and Regency Buck and Devil’s Cub. I also read The Raven Boys which had been in my TBR for a while and did like it a lot. I also read some of the LA Stories by Alexandra Caluen. Short stories in the style of a screen play, fun and easy. I round them vie Smart Bitches – thanks. I expect I will read more.
ETA: The Meljean isn’t “new,” but I bailed after the first two Iron Seas books, so it’s been a while and it’s new to me.
Theoretically, I should like steampunk, but it has never, ever worked for me. *sigh*
I just finished N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. There’s always a dissatisfying hand-wave moment in books with gods, but up until that point, it had my full attention, which I can’t say for many books recently.
@KASI, thanks for the Susanne Lord rec
@EC Spurlock, Grace Burrowes wrote Tremaine’s True Love, but I understand the confusion: Balogh, Burrowes.
Oh man, I read so many good books this month!
Faves
– “Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft & Mary Shelley” by Charlotte Gordon – SO GOOD. It’s long but it’s readable and ridiculously juicy.
– “Ghost Talkers” by Mary Robinette Kowal – I’d never read Kowal before, but she was coming to my local bookstore, so I picked this up. WWI, ghosts, mediums, romance, mystery. You could not pick a book more up my alley.
– “A Red-Rose Chain” / “Once Broken Faith” by Seanan McGuire – I love that McGuire will still change the stakes of her series this far in.
– “A King’s Ransom” by Sharon Kay Penman – this was on my kindle for ever and I don’t know why I waited so long to read it. It’s great!
– “Dare Me” by Megan Abbott – this is definitely a book you need to be in the mood for but I LOVED it. Blame my love of 90’s girl gang movies.
– “Changeless” / “Blameless” by Gail Carriger (reread, audio) – I really want to read Carriger’s newest series by I wanted to read in order, and since I finished Finishing School last year and reread “Soulless”, I figured I’d give the audiobooks a shot. They’re delightful, of course.
– “A Head Full of Ghosts” by Paul Tremblay – Great, especially for its horror meta-ness.
– “Romancing the Duke” by Tessa Dare – read for Vaginal Fantasy, but I’d been meaning to read it forever. So cute! So sweet! At the start, I thought it might be too cute, but it really won me over in the end. That declaration, you guys!
– “Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Joan Lindsay – have seen the Weir movie, recently heard they’re making a new movie, so I grabbed the book from the library. WHERE DID THEY GO? THE HEADMISTRESS, WHAT?
– “Heroine Complex” by Sarah Kuhn – really fun, very Buffy, from the point of view of the Scooby Gang.
Currently Reading
NOTHING! And I don’t know what to read next! Maybe “Maplecroft” by Cherie Priest? “Ross Poldark”???