It’s October and time for one of the best and worst posts of the month. Best because it’s always fun to see what everyone else is reading. Worst because it often does some hefty damage to our book budget and sometimes skyrockets our TBR piles.
And colder weather (at least for me) means more time spent under some blankets with a book!
Sarah: I am reading Camp Rewind by Meghan O’Brien ( A | BN ), which is a lesbian contemporary. One heroine is hiding her identity because of Gamer-Gate-esque harassment after she reviewed a popular game and highlighted the sexism in it. The other has intense social anxiety and shyness and is trying to overcome that by spending a weekend at a camp retreat for adults.
I’m also reading The Infamous Miss Rodriguez by Lydia San Andres, which was recommended to me by Mina V. Esguerra during a podcast interview recording (that episode is coming up soon). It’s a historical romance set in a fictional Caribbean island, Ciudad Real, with a heroine who is determined to ruin herself and avoid an arranged marriage her aunt is determined to make happen. She’s hired a dude to foil each of here attempts to ruin her reputation.
And I’m waiting on a much older middle-grade title I bought used for .01 (it’s so old it’s not available digitally) called A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner ( A ). Originally published in 1991, it’s about a dragon named Nonesuch who has witnessed a lot of history, and I think it’s a book that my sons and I will all enjoy – hence my going to find a used copy.
Redheadedgirl: I’m reading When a Marquess Loves a Woman (these titles) by Vivienne Lorret ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which is a sort of second chance romance involving a bet and amiable enemies (where everyone is like “would you two just bag already oh my god”).
Also The Early Vasas: A history of Sweden 1523-1611 ( A | BN ).
Elyse: I’m working my way through The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff
My brain is tired so I’ve been reading a lot of magazine articles too.
Carrie: I just finished Gilead ( A | BN | K | G | AB )for my book club and today am finishing The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Amanda: I’m kind of in between books right now. So this is more of a Whatcha Buying entry for me, or rather what I recently purchased that I’m excited to start.
I snagged The Leopard King when it was on sale earlier because I am obsessed with that cover. I’d take a print of that in a heartbeat. And after a glowing recommendation from Kat at BookThingo, I immediately picked up Iris After the Incident ( A | BN | K | AB ).
How was your reading this month? Did you hit a slump or tackle your TBR? Tell us what you loved and hated reading!
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 have been reading Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys. I loved book one. I am now in book 2 and have been wandering around in it for a while, feeling dreamlike and hallucinatory. Which is entertaining. I think I am going to put it aside for a couple weeks and then start over and read straight from start to finish, rather than jumping around which I usually do.
Also read Nahlini Singh’s Rock Kiss series in one big gulp – loved it though it’s a little steamy to be reading between seeing pediatric patients.
Started on LA Stories by Alexandra Caluen. Started on Volume 3, interconnected novellas set in LA. Enjoyed it a lot, laid back modern romance, very realistic. Will probably read the rest of the series.
@SusanH The Kate Daniels series gets better as you read it. I think the first book is the weakest.
I’m not in a slump, but I haven’t been reading much the past few weeks. Truthfully, the whole year has been waaay slower than usual. We’ve been understaffed and overworked at my job, plus the drama has been insane. We’re coming off one of our busy periods and I’m just dragging myself in every day in a cranky stupor.
I can barely keep my eyes open to read, but did enjoy the latest Ilona Andrews and am looking forward to the audio. After a flurry of new releases (Seanan McGuire, Wen Spencer, Amanda Stevens, etc), I’ve settled in with some rereads (Sherry Thomas and others) at a very slow pace. I’m really looking forward to taking a break from work before the next big push so I can recharge.
My bright spot has been audio books. I often listen to books I’ve already read (and often after I’ve just finished the book) so there are many repeats on my list, but some are audio only. Some of the recent highlights are:
*And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander. I have to confess that I’ve fallen behind with this series in book form, but decided to listen to the first one, at least. I still found myself saying, “Just move it along and get to the point already!”, but Kate Reading’s narration was superlative and I’ll probably continue with the audio series.
*Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs. I enjoyed this collection of Mercy-verse shorts much more than expected since I usually prefer longer works.
*Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. In my attempt to get into this series, I’ve read this book multiple times over many years, but I’ve never made it beyond book 10 or so without giving up. But I. Am. Determined. LOL. So, I switched to audio and quite liked it. I’ll keep going but will take breaks between books to avoid burn out. Maybe this is the key.
For the latter part of the month, I want some spooky books to read/listen to in the run up to Halloween. Maybe some Heather Graham or true crime stuff. I dunno–I’m up for recommendations if y’all have any. 🙂
Bec McMasters’ London Steampunk series is a beloved comfort-reread for me, so it pains me to say that ALL of her recent publications have greatly disappointed in comparison. NOBODY’S HERO was a quickie DNF; doubt I’ll ever revisit this series. SHADOWBOUND has been a start-and-stop DNF; first made it to 30% when it pubbed, and stopped cold for various reasons (plotting, pacing, overstuffed characters, not feeling the love connection between the main romantic pair…I could go on, but the whole thing is a turgid mess which needed a good editor). Tried this month to start over and finish, demme it!, to be ready for HEXBOUND; have made it to 84%, and just … can’t … get … to … the … end. I just can’t. This makes me sad like Kristen Bell’s character looking at clown art in The Good Place (airing now on NBC!).
Which leads me to the “third one’s a charm, right?” MISSION: IMPROPER. Aaaaand, it wasn’t. Suffering from many of the same problems as SHADOWBOUND, I tried and tried to give it slack, wanting so desperately to be back in the London Steampunk world, but it just wasn’t the same place. I never believed the H/h belonged together, nor felt any connection between them. Time jumps are lazy and suck, people! Having only one (? it was only one, right?) sex scene made me think McMasters didn’t believe in their romance, either. The other leading characters were too many, and too absent to make an impression. The baddies were cartoonish, and the villainous plot lacked the mysterious, murky slow burn build up of the first series. The dropped plot threads drove me nuts. And a random team bonding scene with the various heroes/heroines of the series who don’t know each other set at a whorehouse? Tinged the next book’s couple with a skeeviness, esp the next “hero,” that bummed me out. The only good part was Charlie, whose too few scenes practically jumped off the page in comparison to the rest of the book. Sooo. Yeah. Seriously thinking maybe I don’t need to give McMasters any more of my money, and thus save myself further book rage with a formerly respected author who is publishing too many poorly written and/or edited books too quickly.
In comparison, Kelly Bowen’s DUKE OF MY HEART and A DUKE TO REMEMBER made me make all the good book noises.
So did Katharine Ashe’s THE SCOUNDREL AND I novella and the various Falcon Club and Rogues of the Sea titles I hadn’t read until now to fill out the series and catch up for the penultimate THE EARL, coming soon. Peregrine! Lady Justice! Can’t wait for the sparks to fly!
For total guilty reading, Annika Martin’s SAVAGE MAFIA PRINCE had the most Tarzan-inspired crazy sauce – boy literally raised by wolves! – that I’ve ever read. Wish she’d write another Associates book under her Carolyn Crane name…I love that series. In the meantime, I giggled through this silliness.
FYI, free on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/krisbock
What We Found:
When Audra goes back to her small hometown after college, she just wants to fit in, work hard, and protect her 12-year-old brother from their overbearing mother. Finding a dead body in the woods changes everything. Her former crush, Jay, insists they don’t report the body. But the dead woman was murdered, and someone starts targeting Audra. She has to stand up for herself in order to stand up for the murder victim. It’s a risk, and so is reaching out to the mysterious young man who works with deadly birds of prey. But with danger all around, some risks are worth taking. This title stands alone and is not part of a series.
@Amanda. I also snagged The Leopard King by Anne Aguirre while it was on sale and was really looking forward to it antd it was just – Meh. So disappointed. The world building was great and I really liked the H/H but weirdly there was too much sex and not enough time spent on other aspects of the story. (I know, maybe it was just me). Will look forward to other opinions to see if I continue the series.
I was hankering for a small-town romance a week or so ago what with half the guys buying coffee and gas at the Sheetz or driving trucks on my road looking like they could be a hero in a small-town romance. Must be something in the water out here … just enough scruff. I received an ARC of Merried by Jamie Farrell and it delivered what I was craving … from meeting the hero dressed as an elf to the happily ever after with lots of laughs along the way. The story is set at the holidays in Bliss, the marriedest town in America and there is just enough Christmas and just enough catching up with the other couples in the series. After that, I went back to something more seasonal with Melt My Heart, Cowboy by CJ Carmichael which is set in a chocolate shop near Halloween. A secondary character is autistic and I felt the author dealt with the autism and people’s reactions realistically. The hero started out being unappealing to me but he grew through the story and redeemed himself in the end. With the help of the heroine, of course.
I’m went back to historical land and last week read Good Earls Don’t Lie by Michelle Willingham which is set in 1840s England with the hero from potato-famined Ireland. The heroine is recovering from a serious illness and there a big secret and a misunderstood mama in there. And speaking of misunderstood mamas, I am now reading If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell and Lady Dorothea’s meddling mama is back with a vengeance. Like CelineB, I find the story slow going, bordering on boring, but am looking forward to see how it ends. Maybe they’ll send Lady Desperate Mama away!
Connie Willis’s CROSSTALK. It’s a sci-fi romantic comedy that raises the question of whether it’s possible, in this age of instant (and constant) communication, to be *too* connected.
I finally had a chance to read a couple of the books that have gotten lots of squees lately. I loved Act Like It by Lucy Parker, but wasn’t quite as impressed by The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I liked it, but didn’t love it. I think the reason I preferred Act Like It was that the heroine was smart, stood up for herself and didn’t take any nonsense from anyone, whereas in The Hating Game, I felt like the heroine was rather immature and a bit of a doormat.
I also read a fun FemDomme story called How to Reprimand Your Rockstar by Mina Vaughn. I’m completely sick of the trope where the submissive little female’s eyes are opened to BDSM by the strong, all-controlling Dom, so this book was a lovely change of pace. Unrealistic, sure, but still very fun to read. The basic story is that the heroine, a college freshman basketball star, meets the hero, a rock star, when he comes to her college to play a concert. He immediately falls for her and wants her to dominate him. She’s not sure exactly what that’s all about, but she has a dominant personality and gets very turned on at the thought of tying him up. As she starts exploring how to be a Domme, she also gains confidence in the other aspects of her life. The BDSM elements are very mild – just rope play and general dominance.
Finally, I stumbled across a free book called Jarek by Celia Kyle that is billed as a SciFi alien were-dragon romance. Since I freely admit that dragon shifters are catnip to me, I one-clicked immediately, then jumped it right to the top of my towering TBR mountain. It was pretty good and happily, there are four more books, all available through Kindle Unlimited.
I was so excited for a couple of new books this month, and they weren’t as good as I had hoped.
“Pansies” by Alexis Hall features one of my least favorite tropes. Because this book is so new I won’t give spoilers, but the dark moment had me rolling my eyes. I loved “For Real” so much that “Pansies” was a striking disappointment in comparison. I’m hoping I can reread this at some point and get past it.
“Enjoy the Dance” by Heidi Cullinan was good, but not amazing. I love the “Love Lessons” series, but “Enjoy the Dance” seems more interested in social commentary than the actual romance. It read more like a battle cry to action to help fight LGBTQ kids’ homelessness, illegal immigrant deportation, etc. I share many of her views, but it still felt a bit preachy. This is not a book you read to escape from reality, unfortunately.
“Documenting Light” by EE Ottoman was an interesting look at two trans characters getting together as they investigate an old photograph. However, I had trouble when one of the characters chose to use they/them, because in my tired brain, those pronouns are plural. When “they” shook “their” head, I couldn’t help imagining two people shaking a collective head. Weird, I know! It was very good and well written except for that.
I forgot to mention that I’ve also been reading A Midnight Kiss, a serialized novella in the Fly Me to the Moon series by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner. If you sign up for their Fly Me to the Moon newsletter on either of their websites they send you the installments on Wednesdays. There’s been three installments so far here are the links for the first two (the link to the third should come in the next email along with the fourth installment):
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=204ce03ea9bf219acb1d3b892&id=28a4833657&e=%5BUNIQID%5D#awesomeshare
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=204ce03ea9bf219acb1d3b892&id=0caf7436fd&e=%5BUNIQID%5D
The latter half of September and early October have been just awful, reading-wise. I haven’t read a single book that I enjoyed and only managed to finish one.
1. Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare. This is the only book I finished and if it wasn’t for the fact that this was a Dare book, I would have given up on it. It was just so boring! Aside from searching for the Hamilton quote and a couple other instances that made me laugh, this book left me cold. Also, other than Charlotte being the sister of two Spindle Cove heroines, there was no connection to the town. It bugged me that this was more of a traditional regency, especially since I was expecting the quikiness of a Spindle Cove book.
2. The Perks of Loving a Scoundrel by Jennifer McQuiston. I’ve read and enjoyed the other two books in this series, but this one made me feel dirty. Part of this is that I started reading it a few days after Pussy-gate. West, the “hero,” reminded me of our very own toxic cheeto and there is one scene early in the book in which he forces a kiss on the heroine. (They were hiding behind a curtain in the library, as to avoid being seen.) During this scene, the heroine made it clear that she was not interested in him, but he still forced himself upon her — to be clear, this was not a rape scene, but it was definitely the type of sexual assault that Trump bragged about to Billy Bush.
3. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Snow. I wanted to like this book, but the hero was a bit too misogynistic for my liking. For instance, he was attracted to the heroine, but angry about it because he believed she was making up lies about his bestie/her ex-husband so she could get more money in the divorce settlement. The ex is a real POS, who wants nothing to do with his 9 year old daughter and has cancelled all of the heroine’s credit cards, so she cannot support their daughter. He also contested the divorce over the amount of money she was asking for despite it being less than what her lawyer considers standard in their situation.
4. We Need a Little Christmas by Sierra Donovan. I’m currently reading this and while it isn’t bad, it seems to be missing something. I just haven’t put my finger on it yet.
@Amanda,Joanna
I just finished The Leopard King, and I really enjoyed it. There were some weak spots in the development of the non-romance parts, but then again, my standards for this type of plot line was formed on 800-1000 page epic fantasies, and I didn’t feel it fair to hold a under 300 page novel to quite that level, so I didn’t let that bother me too much. I really loved Pru and Dom, I thought it was great watching them do All The Real Things relationship wise, instead of having pointless overwrought drama. Also, I thought AA did a great job showing Pru as a genuine introvert, complete with the people around her misunderstanding her and labeling her “timid”, but then you see she actually has a lot of both people skills and courage, she just is better one-on-one or in small groups, and she really gets to shine. She doesn’t get “fixed” into an extrovert. That’s so very refreshing. 🙂