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:Â 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:Â 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:Â 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!
@Ren Benton: Sorry to get your hopes up for a new one! It’s about 2 years old, methinks? But if you haven’t read it yet, it’s definitely worth your time IMO.
I had a REALLY good book streak in late August/early September…it was so good that I even made a Facebook post about it, whereas I usually try to express my “romance reader” identity elsewhere, in more anonymity. But anyway:
BEGINNER’S GUIDE: LOVE AND OTHER CHEMICAL REACTIONS by Six de los Reyes — There is adorableness and science. Great Twitter rec from Courtney Milan and others. Loathed THE ROSIE PROJECT, and this had a similar concept, but the gender flip assuaged a lot of my issues with ROSIE PROJECT
AGAINST THE DARK by Carolyn Crane — DIAMOND HEIST THAT’S A ROMANCE YASSSS, I can’t believe I waited so long to read this (picked it up when free last year)
DOCUMENTING LIGHT by EE Ottoman — The story felt so familiar, despite featuring characters with identities sadly rare to find in the romance genre thus far. Lovely and touching. Oh, and it’s “own voices.”
A PROMISE OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet — Excellent recommendation by this site, loved it!
IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL and DISCOVERY OF DESIRE by Susanne Lord — Commentor KASI above mentioned the latter, but honestly I liked IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL a little bit more (though to be fair I was reading DISCOVERY OF DESIRE well past my bedtime because IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL was just that good, so I probably wasn’t in a position to appreciate as much). The conflicts were just so compelling…between the hero and heroine interpersonally but also the conflicts arising from societal positions (reminded me of some Courtney Milan set-ups, which is high praise, haha). Also, it was hilarious. My favorite bit is the running gag about how cluelessly terrible the heroine is at the visual arts. For example, the maids lie to her and tell her that the frames keep cracking and that’s why they have to take the cross stitch down for display, but you can tell they’re just trying not to scare away any visitors. (Ugh, sorry, explaining the joke isn’t actually funny…)
And now I’m reading Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series…honestly I just want to know what happens, not read 15 full-length books, but the Internet was not helpful so I’m just going to keep trying. Also Tessa Dare’s new book comes out soon and she gave away the first 5 chapters on InstaFreebie! I’m actually trying to distract myself from their presence so I can just gobble up the entire DO YOU WANT TO START A SCANDAL when it comes.
Books I’ve read in September ~
— For a challenge at the Joyfully Jay site, I read The Devil Lancer: A Novel of the Crimean War by Astrid Amara. The events in this book took place in the 1850s primarily on the Crimean peninsula which is located in the Black Sea. The peninsula is attached to the Ukraine and is near Russia, Romania, and Turkey. It’s a part of the world that I know little about. I’d describe the story as a blend of historical and paranormal fiction. One of the main characters is a British captain in the Lancers division; the other is a half-Russian, half-English officer who is possessed by a demon. On the plus side, the book is incredibly well researched and it was an easy read. I learned about the Crimean war – the waiting, the boredom, the deaths from disease, cold, and fighting, the poor command. However, it took time for me to understand the story line, and I didn’t feel connected to either character. I’m happy to have read this book, but I don’t think it’s one I’ll be re-reading.
— the contemporary romance Fully Ignited (Boston Fire Book 3) by Shannon Stacey; it was an enjoyable read. Even though it is the third book in a series, it stands alone well.
— For my book group, The Foreign Student: A Novel by Susan Choi. It was a gripping read, and I recommend it. The story is set primarily in 1950s Korea and Tennessee.
— a re-read of the science fiction romance Venomous by Penelope Fletcher
— Radiator Days by Lucy Knisley which I enjoyed. It was different from the other books of hers that I’ve read in that this was a collection rather than one continuous story.
— the historical romance Luck Is No Lady (Fallen Ladies) by Amy Sandas; it was a pleasant read but not a book I’ll soon re-read.
— Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox. This was a book about which I’d heard good things, and I enjoyed it very much. It’s a story of two enemies coming to love one another during the Dark Ages. The main characters are a monk and a Viking. Religion and mysticism are part of the story and there is even the odd bit of Latin. This is definitely a book I will re-read.
— I re-read the contemporary romance Act Like It by Lucy Parker; it had me laughing aloud several times.
— One recent book provided a good physical workout as I picked it up, put it down, picked it up, put it down, …. It was oddly repellent yet intriguing. It was a fantasy which felt like a young adult book (I actually checked the spine label at one point) but definitely wasn’t. I’m not sure I’d recommend it, but I’ll probably look for the next volume in the series. Can you say conflicted? The Queen of All that Dies (The Fallen World Book 1) by Laura Thalassa
— I read a short romance novella which was a quick pleasant read; it also happens to be currently free to Kindle readers. Second Chance by Audra North
— the quite enjoyable contemporary Suddenly in Love (A Lake Haven Novel) by Julia London.
— Love On My Mind by Tracey Livesay. The hero of this contemporary romance has Asperger Syndrome, so I was reminded of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie whose hero is similarly afflicted.
— Before the Fall: Noah Hawley (a thriller); I can see this one becoming a movie. I feared it might be scary but it wasn’t. It’s probably not a book to read on an airplane though!
— also enjoyed Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune which is a contemporary male/male romance.
I read The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean, which I liked a whole lot. She is so clever and funny! I also read Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty which has gotten very mixed reviews but I really loved it. It may be her best book yet! Caitlin Moran’s How to Build a Girl is definitely not for everyone (super salty language!) but she is so funny and feminist that I’ll read anything she writes, and I loved the main character in this story. I reread Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume, which I think I like even more as an adult than I did when I was a kid, and listened to the audio of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I’m really enjoying reliving the Harry Potter series. Now I’m reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, which is absolutely gorgeous and wonderful.
ARTISTIC LICENSE by Elle Pierson (who is also Lucy Parker/ACT LIKE IT)
My favorite book this month – and I’m back on the treadmill now that the kids are back at school, so I look forward to reading more. I loved the two main characters – I think the conflicts with third parties (his with his family, and hers with some other people in her life, trying to avoid spoilers) weren’t quite as smoothly integrated into the characters and story line as the conflicts were in ACT LIKE IT – but that’s a minor quibble. I really liked the hero and heroine and recommend it highly.
DNF some nonfiction used for research.
Re-read PRIME MINISTER by Ainsley Booth and Sadie Haller (how do two people write so well together?) – new comfort read for election season. I keep recommending it to people who are aghast at current US election – whatever their source of aghast-ness is. I’m like, “here, Justin Trudeau fan fic that will help you escape and dream of a different world.”
I started wondering if Americans reading Canadian political fan fic is somehow psychologically similar to women who enjoy male/male romance because it removes many of the background level male/female gender role issues. Obviously, it’s just a very good book – and set in Ottawa, a city I really like that one rarely sees in books – but it definitely inspires some wishful thinking.
Thanks to Bitchery for recommending both of these books here in the past.
Oh funny – I DNF’d Before the Fall by Noah Hawley! For me personally, a thriller type story written in a literary fiction style just didn’t work. Agree that I can see it as a movie, but not as a character-driven one – more one of those episodic things where they all come together (what was the LA car accident movie?). And the ending kind of ticked me off (I can’t say why b/c of spoilers, unfortunately, but it didn’t seem to be trying hard to be original and felt quite like – all that build up and this? This?)
I read ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz earlier in the summer and THAT blew me away. Lent it around, everyone else liked it – tight, techy Lee Child style – and then my mother took it because her copy was only a library book. It was extremely character-centric and yet there was a really tight plot and wow, just great.
@Cat C Thanks, now I have about 17 books I want to read next! I have BEGINNER’S GUIDE: LOVE AND OTHER CHEMICAL REACTIONS by Six de los Reyes and IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL by Susanne Lord sitting on my kindle and now I’m even more excited about reading them. I too bought them because of Courtney Milan’s recommendations.
@Gill Kerry I’ve just been in a terrible reading slump! Nothing suits me, even books I know I would ordinarily like, authors I generally love. I’m usually happy reading shampoo bottles, so even a book I hate will inevitably have some character or line or concept that makes it worth my time, particularly as I’m a fast reader. For months now everything lets me down except for a handful of tried and true favorites.
I blame my actual life for impinging on my reading life, and resent it greatly.
The Lexi Carmichael series, by Julie Moffett. There are 9 of these so far, and they are addictive. I suppose they can be classified as mystery/comedy. They remind me a bit of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels, with a bit of James Bond and alot of slapstick comedy thrown in, and a heroine who is a hardcore computer hacker.
Courtney Milan’s “The Year of the Crocodile.” This is a short story that is a follow up to her book “Trade Me” from earlier this year. Trade Me is a romance with college-aged hero and heroine (which is so not my thing) that I really liked because the characters, in particular the parents, were so well done. If anyone else loved the heroine’s mother and/or the hero’s father as much as I did, then check out Crocodile. in which Mrs. Chen decorates a cake for Mr. Reynolds–a most memorable scene!
I am currently reading Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech who is compared to Sarah Addison Allen. There is practical magic, just a lot more darkness in this book. It’s been on my TBR list for a while. I picked it up because the story is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and we’ve moved to our farm on a bluff near the Blue Ridge. Internet access is wifi and we drive a ways for groceries but the view from the parking lot at Target is amazing and I can see a bazillion stars at night from the pasture when I tell our horse good night. Apologies for my digress.
In historical world, Megan Frampton hit my funnybone again with Why Do Dukes Fall in Love? I so enjoyed the story, especially when Hadlow realized he was falling in love. Also, another vote for A Duke to Remember. Kelly Bowen moved to auto-buy status with this one! Not sure what’s up next. I was unpacking books today and may do a re-read on paper for old time’s sake.
@ Karin: There will be a sequel to “Sofia Khan”. It is called “The Other Half of Happiness” and will be out next spring.
I am reading “Pilgrimage to Mecca” by Lady Evelyn Cobbold. She was an English peer, Muslim, and world traveller in the late 19th and early 20th century. She was the first British woman to go on hajj (among many other firsts attributed to her), a contemporary of Muhammad Pickthall (who is renowned for his translation of the Qur’an), and wrote articles and several books about her travels. By all accounts she was headstrong, a bit snobby about rank, and equally in love with the deserts of the Middle East and the wilds of Scotland. She died in 1963 and was buried in Scotland. She is often overlooked in books about women travellers and early Western Muslims.
I am also looking forward to the new Graveyard Queen book by Amanda Stevens coming out in a few days. The heroine is a cemetery restorer and sees ghosts, and the series is creepy, kooky, and more than a bit spooky. I don’t read this series at night. Lol
I’ve been painting my bathroom but got a few books in. The Good
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. The back and forth quips and sass were great.
Barbarian’s Taming by Ruby Dixon. This series was becoming a touch repetitive but this one helped pull it out. Major changes for everyone overall.
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda was a twisty thriller told backwards in a “Memento” style. It surprised me at the end which doesn’t usually happen so I was very happy with it.
I also finished up the newer books in the fallen Empire series by Lindsey Buroker. This is a super action packed series similar to Kate Daniels but the romance and story arc seem to move a bit slower. The heroine had to be rescued too much in the first few books but that’s gotten better. The books are shorter than the Kate Daniels as well so they read quicker. There’s a cyborg romance.
I also read the M/M Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews. How could I resist a zombie/shifter combo as well as M/M?
I also liked but didn’t Love, Not You It’s Me by Julie Johnson. A billionaire meet cute story.
Wicked Fall by Sawyer Bennett had a menage and a playboy who reforms in a pretty unbelievable way but the story was still entertaining and a solid B.
Could not finish Must Love Chainmail and I had high hopes based on reviews so I may have to revisit it later.
Up Next the new SEP First Star I See Tonight from the library. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and the new Ilona Andrews Kate Daniel Book that comes out Next Week!!
For enjoyable banter: “If I only had a Duke” by Lenora Bell and “For Better or Worse” by Lauren Layne.
Also enjoyed Kelly Bowen
Surprisingly could not get into “A Scott in the Dark” by Sarah Maclean.
Reading “My year of Living Danishly”, liking so far.
I read the latest Mary Balogh, ONLY BELOVED, ending her Survivors Club series–which I’ve enjoyed, but not nearly as much as her “Slightly” series (revolving around the big family of the Duke of Bewcastle). ONLY BELOVED involves a late-in-life marriage, a mysterious first marriage, and a relative bent on revenge. Shades of REBECCA now I come to think of it.
I also read several books by my new favorite comfort-reading author, Elizabeth Cadell, a mid-century British writer of romantic suspense or even gothic novels. I like her brisk, sensible heroines (some of whom are a little older than you’d find in a Victoria Holt novel of similar vintage); and one of the books I read, THE GOLDEN COLLAR, featured a hero torn between a rich fiancĂ©e and a far less wealthy woman. No prize for guessing which one he ends up with, but getting there was a lot of fun.
And finally, if psychological suspense is your thing, I strongly recommend Renee Knight’s DISCLAIMER, about a woman who receives a book anonymously in the mail and, as she reads it, realizes it’s a fictionalized version of an incident from 20 years ago in her own life. This genre can be hit-or-miss for me–so many writers undermine a great premise with sloppy execution or inconsistent characters, but this one was really well written–told from a number of points of view in several different time frames. What I admired most about the book was that the status quo was not re-established at the end of the book: characters have been through emotional upheavals, are changed as a result, and must live with the consequences of their own actions and those of others.
Read and very much enjoyed THE ROGUE NOT TAKEN and A SCOT IN THE DARK by Sarah MacLean.
I read about 15 books this month, but only one really stood out. Unraveling Josh by Edie Danford was a fantastic M/M that dealt with the aftermath of bullying. It was sexy and sweetly romantic and the main characters were well developed and engaging. I will be rereading this one, and for KU subscribers it is currently free.
Sigh. The DNF is strong this month. Now I’m trying Rose Gold by Walter Mosley. I’m hopeful that my brain accepts it.
I’m rereading Cecilia Grant’s Blackshear family series. Is she underrated? I find it quite amazing that she writes interesting stories about her characters’ moral lives along with HEAs and, IMO, quite erotic sex scenes. I also like that her characters have professions, sex with other people (which they enjoy), and other things that are a bit more real.
Thanks to SBTB I discovered and tore through Joanna Bourne’s series about spies during the Napoleonic wars. Her plots are full of angst and drama and sound completely crazy-sauce if you write them down but are completely engaging on the page. Her heroines are also preternaturally, satisfyingly capable. I think her books must appeal to people (like me) who like Laura Kinsale?
I read Love on My Mind by Tracey Livesay, which I bought because of her podcast with Sarah. It was really enjoyable and I will definitely read more by this author. I also read a new to me (but from the 1990’s) book by Jennifer Crusie — Trust Me on This. I bought it because it was on sale and laughed throughout. I lived in Columbus during the 1990s (the book is set in Cincinnati during the 1990s) and it brought back some great memories.
Over Labor Day weekend, I read The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati, which was a Christmas gift that I had been saving for a big block of reading time. It is the first in a new series, but related to her prior series. It was really immersive and I really enjoyed reading about the struggles of immigrants in NYC during the 1880s.
This week I started reading Erin Satie’s series, No Better Angels, because the 4th book will be released later this month. These were highly recommended and I am glad I waited until the 4th book is almost due, because I’m midway through book 2 and just dying to know how all these pieces fit together. In between fiction, I’ve been reading Signing Their Rights Away, which is about the men who signed the U.S. Constitution (since Constitution Day was September 17th). Fascinating history and a good reminder about the role of compromise in governance – especially today.
@Karin, thanks for the correction. I MEANT to say Grace Burroughs for Tremaines’ True Love but my fingers had other ideas. I’m fairly new to Burroughs as well so that (and the fact that I kept getting interrupted during that post) probably had something to do with it as well.
@KateB:
And again I comment on books you read. I have not yet read A King’s Ransom, but I have read other books written by that author and she is a very good writer. So much so that I kind of got bogged down in the third book of the series which includes Ransom because the family dysfunction was a bit too real if that makes sense. That could have been also because I had been reading or had just read other very long books, some of which were set in the Medieval period, and needed a break. I’m glad you liked it though and I look forward to getting back to those books.
I forgot to add Longbourn by Jo Baker, which was recommended both by my library and SBTB! The first time I tried, I found it a little slow and DNF. When I picked it up again, I got lost in the beauty of the writing, the details of life among the servants, and the relationships between the various characters (not least the romance). It’s one of my favorite books this year.
@Anne:
I have wanted to read The Gilded Hour, since I really enjoyed her previous series. I’m glad to know you enjoyed it so much. Part of me has wanted to go ahead and bite the bullet and read it, but the other part knows that I’ll be waiting for yet another series to finish if I do. Lol. Decisions decisions. It’s so much easier when the series is already completed, which is the state in which I found the Wilderness Series.
@KateB I got into Poldark and ended up reading 9 long novels. His writing can be, at times, really lovely.
Thanks to this site’s review, I just finished reading Skies of Gold by Zoe Archer, and I found it to be incredibly well-written and fun. I loved both the characters — a heroine who is a sort of Steampunk Katherine Hepburn type engineer and a lonely war Veteran. I literally could not look at the cover, because the guy is so so so wrong. He’s not in the same universe as my image of Fletcher. What a good book.
I’m in a good book zone, the opposite of my occasional slumps. So, happy book times. Yay.
I’ve been reading a lot of SFF/UF recently, and the trend continues. I’ve been listening to Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books and it’s been a happy reunion with an old friend. (I know there are problematic elements in the books, but I’m overlooking them.) To my recollection, I never read any of the books written by her kids. I heard they weren’t up to snuff, so I’m not sure if I’ll continue when I get to those.
I was so excited to start the latest October Daye book by Seanan McGuire, but it left me slightly underwhelmed and I can’t quite articulate why. Maybe my expectations for this series are so sky high? Maybe I don’t really like Arden? Maybe because I didn’t feel there was enough forward momentum for the series from the book? I dunno. But I always listen to the books after I read them, so I’ll reserve final judgment til that’s done.
Conversely, the new Wen Spencer book, Project Elfhome, hit it out of the park. I wasn’t expecting a lot since I’m not the biggest fan of short stories, but this collection was fabulous. It was chock full of stories varying in length from a few pages to novella. I really loved the new characters, different perspectives, detailed background, etc. I can’t wait to listen to it, as well. I think I’ll be making happy book noises until the next novel comes out in 2017.
I’m also excited for the new Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels book coming out this Tuesday (whee) and Amanda Stevens’s The Sinner later in the month.
I have so many other good books in the queue, and may be adding a few as a result of this post. My only negative is that this is a really busy time at work (it’s our yearend) and that really cuts into my spare time for reading. It’s so exasperating when my paid job cuts into my real life. The nerve! 🙂
Kay – That’s why I love Cecilia Grant’s books, too. Complex, believable heroes and heroines. She draws her characters so well and makes them so solidly human, the heroines in other historicals always feel like fluff-headed dolls in comparison, and the heroes like melodramatic alpha-holes. Grant makes other historicals seem predictable and repetitive. Far as I’m concerned, she’s the most talented historical romance author writing today. I hope she publishes something new soon.
This has been a busy book month!
Read so far:
* A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas. I liked these books a lot, but saw somewhere they were a trilogy, and was fine with starting a trilogy with one book yet to come out, then after I finished I saw on Maas’s website that they changed from a trilogy to a six book series and I’m a little frustrated because A) I don’t want to wait another 4 years to find out how everything wraps up for the characters and B) I prefer trilogies over epic fantasy series, especially with cliffhanger-ish endings.
* The Throne Of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. There’s five books in this series so far, one left to come out. I love that Sarah J Maas wrote the female main character involved in different relationships, ones that ended for ultimately valid reasons and did impact and change the characters. I’m really looking forward to the last book and hoping that the ending is satisfying.
* A Scot in the Dark by Sarah Maclean. I liked this book a lot, but there wasn’t a ton in it that I deeply connected with. I laughed out loud, teared up a bit in places, but it didn’t pack a solid emotional punch to the gut for me.
* Apprentice in Death by JD Robb. I will never not Love something by Nora Roberts I think. I’m no longer craving new In Death books, but they’re warm and comforting to me, like catching up with an old friend who I don’t miss in my day to day life, but do enjoy seeing when we have time.
* Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran. This packed a solid emotional punch to the gut for me. Just as good as everyone claims, and I loved the history of the piece, getting to see a side of India and Britain’s history that was really never mentioned in my American schooling but has been mentioned by various Indian friends.
* You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott. I liked the book, but felt it was trying to be slightly “Gone Girl” esque with the ending. It didn’t blow me away, but I still thought it was a very good book.
* The Ice Twins by SK Tremayne and Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton. I’m listing these together because I loved them both in similar ways. These exemplify my favorite types of mysteries. Broody and melancholic, the setting is very much a character, and like the rest of the characters in the book is fascinating and multi dimensional. Both books had the death of a child, and both authors made the grief palpable and practically a character in its own right. A+++ books.
* The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. This trilogy was amazing and perfect. The last book was probably my least favorite, but it was ultimately a very satisfying ending.
Currently Reading:
* The Maeve Kerrigan novels by Jane Casey. More British mysteries, and I’m loving them. I’ve only finished The Burning so far, I liked that I had a good idea about how it would end, but was never certain. There were enough clues to solve the mystery, but it wasn’t so heavy handed as to make things certain and predictable/boring. I have a feeling this will be a new autobuy author for me.
Going to read soon:
* The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin
* Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton
* Do You Want to Start A Scandal? by Tessa Dare
* The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
This month was fantasy and mystery heavy for me. I started a couple books by new authors, but was on historical romance burnout and nothing was very satisfying. I’m predicting after I get through my To Read list though, I’ll be on the hunt for more historical authors.
Audiobooks:
Dead Wake, Eric Larson. Great if you love Larson’s style of interweaving historical information with personal stories. If you are grossed out by descriptions of horrible smells skip the part about the conditions on a German submarine!
Blood of Tyrants, Namomi Novik. Penultimate novel in the Temeraire series. At this point in the series we’ve gotten the whole world tour of how different cultures interact with dragons–it’s a great part of the world building! Can’t wait for my library hold to come in!
Books:
Good Dragons Finish Last, Rachel Aaron. Couldn’t resist the Kindle price on Amazon but now I must have the other two books! Julian is a lovely beta hero and I’m looking forward to the development of the romance between him and Marci.
Highland Guard books 1-4, Monica McCarty. What’s not to love about a secret group of warriors (*cough* navy seals) fighting for Bruce against the English and falling madly in love in the process? The historical notes at the end are also a nice touch. Though after 4 books all of the tall and muscular men are starting to bkend together, so I think I need a break.
Emily’s Bejeweled Magical Codpiece, B. Snow. I really only read this because 1) it has my name in the title, 2) THE TITLE is amazing! and 3) it’s really short (56 pages). Not great but also not terrible. It made me think about Fantasy as escapism and the potential downsides of time travel (let’s just say personal hygiene standards were different in the past).
DNF:
The Unleashing, Shelly Laurenston (audiobook). I know that everyone is in love with the depictions of female friendship in this book, but I just couldn’t get past the level of bitchyness in the beginning. Though since so many people are raving about this book maybe I’ll give the print version a go. Hopefully they will be less annoying and mean in my head?
Dragon Bound, Thea Harrison. I could not suspend my disbelief far enough to get into the story. I could not envision a dragon/being that has been around literally since the beginning of time (as in he remembers the big bang) as a love interest for the 20-something heroine. But maybe it’s because I’m just not into ancient billionaires.
@Stefanie Magura:
There is some great historical stuff in the Gilded Hour about the Comstock laws and female physicians, plus Italian immigrants and the very diverse characters that Donati has in her other books. However, there is not a publication date yet for the next book — so you may want to hold off on reading this one until the next is released.
I am also a fan of Sharyn K. Penman’s books, which you and @Kate B mentioned. Although I liked the mystery series very much, I think that my favorite is the stand-alone, The Sunne in Splendour (which is about Richard III) and very good if you are a Ricardian. I have not read any Penman for awhile. It may be time for a re-read if I get into another reading slump.
I’m probably a little late to the party with this one but I just finished TJ Klune’s Wolfsong and I have serious, serious book hangover. The book filled me up and emptied me at the same time, beautiful writing and emotional.
The Hating Game was just fabulous. Also, I finally got around to reading Lucy Parker’s Act Like It, which I loved too. I’m currently reading Anne Calhoun’s Under the Surface and am really enjoying it as well.
@Anne:
I haven’t read the mystery series yet, but I did also enjoy the Sunne in Splendour. Funnily enough, I didn’t know the term Ricardian until after I had read the book. I guess it shows how little I know/knew about the Wars of the Roses. On an odd yet possibly interesting side note, I grew up in a county called York which is next to a county called Lancaster which are both located in SC. I’m guessing they are one of several named after those two in England.
Noted on the Gilded Hour. I look forward to reading it and am glad to know she is writing more on that family. The epilogue of the last book gave me a feeling there might be more stories there.
Been reading JM Madden’s Lost and Found/ Embattled series of wounded vets who form a detective agency ( one is a paraplegic, another an amputee, another has scarring and traumatic brain injury, there’s even one with a female vet copter pilot and a Denver cop.) some have action in them, some don’t. They’re relatively short romance novels and novellas.
And I will rec someone’s mention of Ready Player One which is a mix-max of dystopian young adult and funny 80s nostalgia rolled into a quest (and Will Wheton does make a really good narrator).
@Stefanie Magura & @Anne:
I haven’t read the mystery series either, though I did notice when the main character popped up in Ransom. I think my favorite of her books are the initial Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy, but I’ve read both that and the Welsh Trilogy twice, so it’s just picking from riches at this point. I find Richard’s story less interesting, but that’s because I delight in the Plantagenet family drama. Why people fawn over Tudor drama when there’s Plantagenet drama right there, I’ll never know!
I’ve read a lot over the last month, but most of it was disappointing.
1. Last Kiss of Summer by Marina Adair: DNF. I usually really like Adair’s books, but this one left me feeling vaguely dirty. The heroine was a bit of a doormat and the hero had issues with consent (i.e. he thought her being there meant she wanted him and he didn’t have to ask her if she wanted him.)
2. Connection Error by Annabeth Albert: C. Again, I usually really like her books, but I didn’t see the connection (pun intended) between the two heroes.
3. Just One Week by Alice Caine: C This book was very slow to start and had me wondering if the author has ever watched a football game. If I know more about how that sport works than the author of a book featuring a football hero (with a football on the cover), then there is a problem. I actually lol’ed when the heroine started rhapsodizing on how his uniform brought out his abs. What?
4. Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan: B. I loved the first book in this series and was kind of bummed that this one wasn’t a total homerun for me. I felt that the DV sub-plot (involving a side character) was just thrown in so Frankie could prove that she didn’t need Matt (or any man) to keep her safe. I also hated the idea that Frankie thought that glasses made her unattractive. That’s ridiculous.
5. Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb: A. This was the only book I read last month that I thought was absolutely great. It kept me up late trying to finish it and that is something I try really hard not to do.
6. Change of Heart by Sonali Dec: Still reading. I like her writing style, but everything is so traumatic. The one thing I can’t stand is that the hero is part of the couple that got married in The Bollywood Bride and that Dev just killed off his wife, so he could have his own story. On Facebook, I described this as: Hearing 10 say ‘I don’t want to go,’ watching McDreamy die because no one listened to Penny, all while reading Sylvia Plath and listening to Jagged Little Pill. If you read it, have your tissues ready.
The Sunne in Splendour. Sigh. I seriously love that book and it can practically reduce me to tears just thinking about it. I had read Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time years prior to TSIS, so I was already a committed Ricardian going in. And I guess my love of the Plantagenet period came from Thomas B. Costain, his daughter, Molly Costain Haycroft, Anya Seton, and soooo many others from my youth. The Plantagenets are definitely due for an historical fiction revival.
On another note, I forgot to mention earlier that Alan Bradley’s new book drops tomorrow (for the Flavia De Luce fans). We’re at a pivotal point and I hope Bradley can keep things fresh.
Between a long plane trip and getting the stomach flu, I had a lot of reading time this month.
Off the Grid trilogy by Alyssa Cole – m/f and m/m PNR dystopian series. I inhaled this series – it was perfect traveling / sick reading – compelling but not too complicated.
All the Wrong Places by Anne Gallagher (aka L A Witt) – sweet asexual m/m romance. This is the first ace romance I’ve read that I’ve really connected with and that felt like a complete romance. I liked the character development a lot. I did not completely buy the dark moment or their reconciliation at the end. And typical of LA Witt, I thought the premise was terrific but the execution didn’t go quite as deep as I’d like.
A Second Harvest by Eli Easton – m/m contemporary between a closeted Mennonite farmer and out and proud New York graphic designer. I really enjoyed this romance – except the last couple chapters annoyed me. There was an act of violence at the end that I felt was unnecessary and then was glossed over in the epilogue.
Unbowed – a memoir by Wangari Maathi, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner. I was lucky enough to travel to Nairobi, Kenya for work and I read this in like two days, while I was there. It’s a beautiful, compelling story and it’s beautifully written.
I discovered Alex Gabriel and glommed three of his m/m stories. They’re very different from each other but all compelling. Cold Blooded or the part-time evil minion’s guide to dating a super hero. This is exactly what it sounds like – a light and fun romp. Some of the world building is weak but I mostly didn’t care. First Contact is a bdsm novella about two cops who go undercover to infiltrate a mafia owned gay bdsm club. The premise requires a huge suspension of disbelief but I found the story really compelling. And finally I read his free novella Still Waters about a nix (deadly merman type creature) which was also completely different and good.
Also read several mm NA – Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry (fun but I would have liked it better if the age difference was less than 18 and 25), Custom Fit by Josephine Myles (good but not as good as the first one) and Connection Error by Annabeth Albert (good but not my fave by her and I thought the hea was rushed).
Abnormal lives by Rae definitely is one of this year’s best.crossing color barriers,like nothing I’ve ever read…its the shit…and the gay dude is the best bitch
@KateB:
I agree about the Plantagenet drama. Lol. I’m surprised Penman’s books haven’t been made into a series or a couple of them.
@Susan:
Maybe there will be more of a Plantagenet revival. I’ve seen where a couple of authors who are known for their Tudor series, Philippa Gregory, and Alison Weir, have written Plantagenet books. And other classic historical fiction authors, such as Anya Seton, are coming back into print. I really liked her book Katherine.