It’s Whatcha Reading time! And that means it’s time to guard your book budget and gird your TBR pile, or else your cup shall runneth over with book recommendations! We hope you’ve been reading some really good books, but if not, this is definitely a safe space to do a little venting.
Elyse: I’ve been in a pretty big reading slump, but I just finished All You Need is Love by Marie Force. It’s a city-girl stuck in rural Vermont story. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that the heroine has ADD.
Sarah: I’ve been in Seder and Passover preparation mode, so I’ve been reading All The Cookbooks.
Redheadedgirl: I just finished reading Angel Falls ( A | BN | K | AB ), which is a small town contemporary, in which there are apparently no therapists in the WHOLE DAMN TOWN.
And the town needs at least two and they would make BANK.
Sarah: I finished The Thing About Love by Julie James ( A | BN | K | AB ) and I’ve had to re-order ammo for the squee cannon as I write my review. I am also out of words to describe how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was a hefty dose of my catnip, with a lot of subtlety in how the character narratives relate.
Redheadedgirl: I also have the new Theresa Romain, Scandalous Ever After ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which is the next Romance of the Turk book (HORSIES) that I have been waiting patiently for for MONTHS.
And I also just got the new Elizabeth Boyle, Six Impossible Things, which I haven’t started yet, but it has an excellent title and a GORGEOUS cover.
Amanda: So my hold came in of Alex, Approximately ( A | BN | K | AB ) at my local library. Sarah’s squeeing on Hide Your Wallet made me add it to my TBR pile.
I also started Haven by Rebekah Weatherspoon, which is really tapping into my bearded, mountain man catnip.
I’m not much for historical romances anymore, but I’m going to dive into Ravished by Amanda Quick ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and we’ll see how it goes. Every so often I like to try and dip my toe back into the historical romance water.
Sarah: I’m doing an event with Julie James on April 19th, so I’m going to ask her all sorts of nosy questions.
I just started The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon by Jenny Nordbak. It’s a first-person memoir of how Nordbak began working as a professional dominant, and the types of clients she met when she started. What’s interesting so far is that while she’s interested in being a Domme, she begins as a sub because she has no experience in domination or fetish play when she’s hired.
Amanda: That sounds fascinating.
Also…I’m adoring that Scarlett Letters cover. It’s so subtle and beautiful.
Tell us what you’re reading! What have you loved this month? What was just meh?
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Another great reading month, with a number of bisexual heroines!
Faves
– “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood – whyyyy didn’t I read this earlier? It is excellent. And it’s now available on Prime Reading! (along with 1984)
– “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” by Anne Bronte – That Masterpiece biopic pissed me off so much I finally sat down and read this and it is also excellent.
– “The Bear and The Nightingale” by Katherine Arden – THIS is the fairytale retelling I’ve been waiting for. So good.
– “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley – surprisingly readable and exciting. They chase each other into Antarctica!
– “An Extraordinary Union” by Alyssa Cole – yessss! I loved Elle so much. I wanted more of their relationship so I hope we see more of them in Book 2.
– “War of the Whales” by Joshua Horowitz – on a day in March 2000, many whales beached on the beaches of the Bahamas b/c of the use of sonar by Navy vessels. This is a look at the ensuing court case.
Good
– “Dragon Haven” / “City of Dragons” / “Blood of Dragons” by Robin Hobb – loved the dragons and all the characters but this didn’t quite stand up to her other series.
– “A Perilous Undertaking” by Deanna Raybourn – The banter! The banter!
– “Not Your Sidekick” by C.B. Lee – bisexual heroine! And it’s so sweet! It’s like The Incredibles but sweeter!
– “Thunderbird” by Chuck Wendig – bisexual heroine! I’m so excited he’s continuing this series!
– “Looking Inside” by Beth Kery – hotter than I expected. I’ll be reading more of her.
– “Miranda and Caliban” by Jacqueline Carey – beautifully written but you definitely need to be intimately familiar with The Tempest to get all of it, and I am super not.
– “The Invisible Library” by Genevieve Cogman – bisexual heroine! If you like Thursday Next or the Magic Ex Libris series or Sherlock, give this a shot.
– “A Fatal Inversion” by Barbara Vine – not my favorite of her’s, but it is gothic-y! And murder-y!
– “The Falconer” by Elizabeth May – this wasn’t bad but it did read like a YA novel published right after the success of Hunger Games.
Currently Reading
– “Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures: 10th Doctor Audio Originals” by Various – a collection of 6 or 8 stories narrated by David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and others
– “Fool’s Assassin” by Robin Hobb – just started and I am SO EXCITED.
And omg. “The Scarlett Letters” looks amazing.
I’ve been in a bit of reading slump. I have two books on the go, but can’t seem to get through them. It’s not the books, it’s me!
I am currently (trying) to read:
You don’t have to say you love me by Sarra Manning
Dangerous books for girls: The bad reputation of romance novels explained by Maya Rodale
My absolute favorite read this month was “Hold Me” by Courtney Milan. I read it in one night and it had me cackling with delight and sighing with how sweet it was. I love a good “You’ve Got Mail” type story.
My B reads were
“My Fair Concubine” by Jeannie Lin. I loved the Tang dynasty setting and I will read more by her.
“It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas.
“Lucky Charm by Beth Bolden (recommended on an older podcast!). I’m always on the hunt for sports romance and this was a cute slow burn baseball one, but the resolution was a little slow.
“Keeping the Distance” by Clarisse David. YA romance in the Philippines. Very sweet.
“The Last of August” by Brittany Cavallaro. I only read these for the young Holmes Watson dynamic and this one was fairly satisfying. I do hope it’s only a trilogy because I’m losing patience with Watson’s insecurity.
In audio there was
“An Impartial Witness” by Charles Todd. Love the reader (Rosalyn Landor) and the atmosphere (WWI) but mystery was just so so. Good palate cleanser.
“Wedding of the Season” by Laura Lee Guhrke. Cute book, not a great narrator.
Currently listening to “The Wrath and the Dawn” by Renee Adhieh. I have a bit of suspension of disbelief you can turn the story of Scherazade into a real love story, but I’m going with it so far.
Currently reading
“Buffalo Bill’s Dead Now” by Margaret Coel. This long running mystery series can be hit or miss for me, but the author wrapped up the series recently and I really want to finish them. This one is good so far.
“For the Win” by Sara Rider. Soccer romance! Cute so far.
There were so many DNFs this month, but I also have ton on my TBR pile and checked out from the library, so I’m hopeful!
I just finished “Borrowing Death” by Cathy Pegau which I really liked. The mystery wasn’t too hard to figure out but the characters and the setting are great.
Also enjoyed “A Crown of Bitter Oranges” by Laura Florand, although it wasn’t quite as engaging as the first 2 in the series.
Next up are Kylie Scott’s “Twist” which I ham looking forward to to.
So many right now, and I’m finally on vacation this week, so it’s read, read, read.
“Waking Gods”, Sylvain Neuvel – book two. SF where scientists find pieces of a giant robot buried all over Earth and put them together. What could go wrong there?
“The Gentlemen”, Forrest Leo. Just read a review, very funny book.
I have “Twist”, as well.
I re-read Mary Stewart’s NINE COACHES WAITING after 40 years and, oh, such old-fashioned atmosphere. I had memorized so many lines and scenes of this Gothic romance as a teenager and it was wonderful to experience them again.
THREE by Jay Posey was a real surprise in a dystopian future where a gunman helps a woman and her son cross hostile territory. I didn’t expect to care so much, but the partnership worked well and no one was what they seemed.
Mick Herron’s SLOW HORSES is about a group of disgraced MI6 operatives who spend their days pushing paper and resenting every minute of their banishment. Something is wrong in a current investigation and that’s when this excellent spy thriller takes off.
Just finished THE CHOSEN by J.R. Ward. It is the darkest book yet in her BDB series, taking characters to some really disturbing places and confrontations. The ending wrapped up a little too neatly overall, but with one giant cliffhanger. Still haven’t gotten my head around it all yet.
I am re-reading Michelle Sagara’s Elantra novels. I began with the last two books, and then jumped back to the beginning of the series. They are so good. (Though they also give me imposter syndrome, since I just finished proof-reading my May release.)
I’m doing the April CampNaNo, so I’m not reading, much.
I finished The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi (I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next book), Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo (I now own this and Six of Crows in hardcover and am bummed it’s only a two book series), and Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop (I liked it, but the main plot felt like very low stakes after the first four) at the end of March.
And Thrawn, by Timothy Zahn came in the mail yesterday, so I’m reading that. (So far, I’m enjoying it.) (It’s my birthday, so I was planning to take today off from writing anyway, and I’m sticking to that story.)
@Darlynne : I’ve had an hankering for some Mary Stewart too! I picked up “My Brother Michael” while visiting my mom last month and “Nine Coaches Waiting” is now, err, waiting, for me on my ereader
I go between that and Drebra Dunbar’s Imp series – I’m on book 6, and I’m going to take a break. It started ok, got quite good and then the books 5 and 6 weren’t really satisfying… It’s still a good series, especially if you enjoy morally ambiguous characters. I’m expecting to pick this series up in a while and enjoy it again (It happened before, I’d read too much of a series too fast until I got sick of it; I’ve learned to pace myself and not glut, to keep my enjoyment of a series.)
I also just finished Jeffe Kennedy’s “Pages of the Mind” and liked it so much I went and got the first of the series, “The Mark of the Tala” and OMG did the heroine Andi and her sisters got.on.my.nerves. It bums me too feel so little sympathy for these characters because the world building is good and I love love love Jeffe Kennedy’s prose and how she sets the scenes, but… I couldn’t care for Andi, and since it’s à 1st person narrative and we got everything through Andi, didn’t get to care for anyone else either.
But the book that gave me the most pleasure this month is “Knight” by Kristen Ashley…. and it’s kind of a guilty pleasure The heroine is a Mary Sue but a bearable one because she fits with the hero, an over controlling mafia-like Alpha. My enjoyment of the way he makes her the heart of his world makes up for her Mary-sueness (her kick ass best friend helps too).
I haven’t had any time to read lately, but I’m looking forward to The Thing About Love by Julie James and New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan. For some reason, the warmer weather puts me in the mood to read contemporary romance.
Right now I’m in the middle of reading An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole AND LOSING MY DAMN MIND OVER IT ON TWITTER AS I DO LE LIVE TWEETING BECAUSE HOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT IT GOOD!
Amanda, since bearded, mountain men are your thing, if you haven’t already THEN OMG CHECK OUT PENNY REID! I reviewed her book Grin & Beard It on my channel, so that’s the one I’m gonna rec because it’s the only one I’ve read. But the fangirl universe says all of her books are crackalicious!
For interested parties, Grin & Beard It is about a kickass POC actress in Tennessee to film a movie that falls for a the most betatastic, respectful sweetheart YOU EVER DID READ!
This week’s highlights:
I really really enjoyed How Not to Fall by Emily Foster, despite my general dislike of NA and first person narrators, and the lack of a HEA. I promptly devoured How Not to Let Go, but somehow the magic was gone, which is weird, because really they should be one book, and everything I loved about the first book was still there, so I don’t know what the problem was, but I was really impatient with it, even tho the hero (finally!) goes to therapy. Just me?
I’ve been working through Rose Lerner’s backlist (why does that sound so dirty). Highly recommend. It’s so nice to get a different perspective in a historical, to see servants whose characters go beyond devoted.
I’m also tearing through Kristen Callihan’s Dark London books. I have some problems with them, but nothing that stops me from wanting the next one.
My hold finally came in on Ruthie Knox’s Madly, and I enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected – I never felt like I understood the heroine, I wasn’t thrilled with the age gap, the hero (from London) kept getting lost on the grid in Manhattan which is not endearing so much as incomprehensible, but most importantly I didn’t like the art as described. It’s petty and ridiculous but it kept pulling me out of the story, because…it’s like when a character is described as a genius but only ever does stupid things, the big important art projects just…weren’t. I think my expectations are just too high for her now, if the book were by anyone else I would be so excited about it.
Next up, Naomi Novik’s dragon series is everything I want right now. Everything.
I finally decided to try audible on commute. I don’t think I.will keep it past this month but I have been having fun with it. I am on my third book with it.
I started with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe which was a wonderful book with a wonderful narrator in Lin Manuel Miranda.
Then onto Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham. I adore Graham and her work on Gilmore Girls. It was nice and she is an engaging writer and narrator, I just wish she’d gone a bit more in depth.
I am now on As You Wish by Cary Elwes and it is making smile so much. I love his voice.
I also have read
Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare. I liked the fun and humor but everything happened a bit too fast.
I finally tired Santino Hassell and read Sunset Park and its follow up Interborough. While I didn’t love them as much as a fellow book friend I am definitely planning on reading more of his work.
Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs was a hit. I just love this world and these characters.
Off of the high from that book I jumped into a re read of Alpha & Omega and Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs. It is where I left off with this series and I know want to catch up.
I finally read the Martian and it is as fun as everyone says.
I finally tried to read Thoughtless and I really should not have. It was a DNF at around 40%.
The Impossible knife of Memory By Laurie Halse Anderson was a very good read. I’m not sure why exactly but it had a bit of a Jellicoe Road feel to it. I really want to look into this author’s other books.
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett was a fun read but I still prefer her The Anatomical Shape of a Heart.
@SBSarah, stop teasing!! I can’t have The Thing About Love for THREE MORE DAYS. You are KILLING ME. Also, when you do your event with Julie James could you ask if she remembers me? I’m the one who came in late to Nalini Singh’s book signing and then squeed all over her book to the woman between us in the line. And then had to try to maintain her dignity when said woman ran off to the stacks to grab one and had her sign it. Because I wanted to be that woman. I’m only bold on paper. I base all my opinions of Julie James as a person on that and the woman came up to her to ask for advice about the book she was writing. Grace, patience, generosity and a really great smile. I am so jealous of you, sbSarah.
In the meantime, I’ve been rereading my Call of Crows books in preparation for book three. I want to make sure I’ve got the overarching story fresh before I dive in.
Also, based on a SB rec, read Dirty by Kylie Scott. I had read a couple books in her Stage Dive band series and thought, meh. This one, however, I really enjoyed. Thanks bitches.
Currently I’m reading A Twist in Time, the second Julie McElwain time travel murder mystery. It picks up right after her FBI protagonist’s failure to return to the 21st century. I mean immediately after, as in the next morning. Surprise, surprise there’s another murder. It’s been pretty easy reading so far, and no one has tried to explain her eccentricities by relating that she’s from America.
@Jacqueline: Unfortunately, I can’t get into Penny Reid. I’ve tried on several occasions and her writing style just isn’t for me. 🙁
I started a new job this month which kicked my butt and made reading near impossible. Luckily it should slow down so maybe I can get back to reading. I only read nine books this month which is very low for me and I’m now 15 books behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge. Here’s what I read:
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick- I received an arc of this from Penguin First to Read. I enjoyed it. It features a magician hero and journalist heroine, both of whom I enjoyed. There were two mysteries and I felt like one fell by the wayside a bit, but they were still engaging. I really loved the setting of the 1930s Hollywood area. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a start of a new series, but it feels like it could be. I’d enjoy seeing more of these characters.
The Cad and the Co-Ed by Penny Reid and L. H. Cosway- This was my Prime book for the month and I’m glad I didn’t buy it. It was just okay for me. I didn’t love the secret baby plot and I never quite felt the connection between the hero and heroine.
As Death Draws Near by Anna Lee Huber- Another solid entry into this historical mystery series.
Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs- Not my favorite of the series, but enjoyable.
Luck Be a Lady and Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran- I loved these two books so much! Luck Be a Lady may a fallen a tiny bit short of my expectations, which were sky high, but I really enjoyed Catherine and Nick. I think I could have actually used a little less plot and a little more development of the relationship of the hero and heroine, but it was still great. I absolutely adored Lady’s Code to Misconduct. If anything, I had maybe the opposite problem with this book, which was one of the plot elements, a sort of mystery, fell by the wayside in favor of character/relationship development. I find that fault easier to forgive, because I loved Crispin and Jane so much. I actually really enjoyed the amnesia plot and how it played out with Crispin struggling to figure out how he’d become a man who was so power hungry he compromised his values. I loved the political aspects of it and how Crispin included Jane in his dealings. This is definitely going to make my list of 2017 favorite reads.
Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen- I have made my love for Bowen’s books know on these posts in the past and this book did not let me down. I loved Angelique. Her competence and her independence were refreshing. I enjoyed Alex, but felt like maybe his character development took a backseat to Angelique’s. Angelique is a genius when it comes to numbers, so she uses that skill to gamble in Alex’s club to earn money her family desperately needs. She comes to Alex’s attention and he offers to hire her to deal cards. I enjoyed both this aspect of the book and the mystery that involves Angelique’s brother, the duke. Seriously, if you enjoy historicals and you haven’t checked out Bowen, do so now! This book made me want to break my book buying moratorium to buy the two books and one novella of Bowen’s that I have yet to read. So far I’ve resisted, but who knows for how long.
After the Bowen book, I planned to move on to another library book, Etched in Bone, but my brain wasn’t up to it. I decided to just read some of the Sarah Mayberry category titles I had on my kindle since they were sure to be light, fast reads. So far I’ve read She’s Got It Bad, which I wasn’t a big fan of. It was short and I really needed more character development since what little there was made me not a big fan of either the hero or heroine. The other one I’ve read so far is Her Secret Fling which was okay, but once again too short to really develop the relationship enough. I’ve just started All Over You which is starting out promising.
After this one, really need to get back to my library book reading. Besides Etched, I have the new C. S. Harris, Blush For Me by Kristen Proby, Crooked Kingdom, Heartless, Archangel’s Heart, and Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet (I own the first book in the series which I still haven’t read). I also checked out An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, but then I ended up buying it when it went on sale. I really want to get to that one soon.
@Amanda I totally understand. It surprised my ass I was able to get into her writing, but probably for a different reason. 1st person makes my teeth bleed, but she used split 1st person and I surpriseingly dug it!
But yo, different strokes for different humanoids and all that jazz!
Haven’t been reading much except fanfiction (Kirk/Spock, you are all my feels forever) because I was up to my eyeballs in grad school work. I got behind. A VERY BAD IDEA IN GRAD SCHOOL, Y’ALL. *ahem*
I have a stack of X-Men graphic novels from the library, hoping the paperback “The Other Half of Happiness” (the sequel to “Sofia Khan”) arrives soon.
Picked up “Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism” by Fumio Sasaki at the library. Also picked up the new Megan Frampton there – the idea of a Duchess in her own right appeals to me, though I have largely fall off from reading historical hetero romances. Give me all the queer love stories, please.
I re-read the first two books in the Crows series, so that I could fully enjoy the 3rd book. I really enjoyed the 3rd book and hope that there will be more stories in the Crows saga.
I have also been listening to Penny Marshall’s memoir, My Mother Was Nuts. She is the narrator, although her sister narrates a couple parts. The chapters are various anecdotes about her life. I am old enough to have watched Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley when they were first broadcast, so the stories about her career and those tv shows were really enjoyable for me. There are some great stories about her brother, Garry Marshall, her second husband, Rob Reiner and her friendship with Carrie Fisher. I really loved the stories about the making of Jumping Jack Flash, A League of Their Own and Awakenings. I highly recommend listening to this book.
Not sure what is next. I have a huge TBR folder on my kindle and several shelves of TBR books to choose from.
I love this day each month, and last month I didn’t bother to post because all my reading was so meh. I didn’t even have any epic fails to whine about, just blandness. This month is a turn for the better.
I happened across mention of Isabel Cooper’s Hickey of the Beast, a YA boarding school story with a supernatural entity preying on the community. Latina protagonist, good female friendships, only a hint of romance, definitely early writing by Cooper, but I like her work and enjoyed this.
To continue with the Cooper-reading, this month I re-read Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series. I’ve been doing one targeted re-read a month from days of yore. This one was the first where the writing style pulled adult-me in enough to re-read the whole series. Children’s fantasy drawing on British Isles folklore.
I came across Alexis Hall’s Looking for Group while hunting up something else, and re-read it – it’s a rule every time I encounter it. If you like online gaming and sweet romance it’s so much fun. The learning curve is probably steep if you don’t game much, but I love this book.
The best and most valuable book I read this month has nothing to do with romance, but it’s highly recommended: Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World. The author is a former international correspondent who’s worked in various conflict zones.
The book is about how geography and sometimes-arbitrary national borders combine to lay the ground for international conflicts. I found this a great framework for making sense out of stuff that’s going on in the world right now. The author doesn’t claim geography explains everything, but “so-and-so is weird, creepy, and has major geopolitical considerations” makes more sense to me than “so-and-so is weird and creepy.”
I read Haven last week and while I liked it, I wasn’t wowed by it. Pacing seemed off (didn’t really care much until the sex started, tbh, and while I thought that was done well, and I would definitely NOT kick Shep out of bed, even that wasn’t enough to save the book). I didn’t feel like the start to the book did anything, wasn’t fully explained or wrapped up, and, I don’t know, I was just left disappointed. Didn’t hate it, by any means, but I was expecting something more after the hype from others who read. :/
Finished up Say Yes to the Marquess (audio) and Back Piece (out 4/25) yesterday; loved SYTTM, really enjoyed BP. Back Piece has a hero with an eating disorder, and that’s rare. It was also hella hot. 🙂
Started The Magpie Lord, and so far I’m really enjoying it. First time reading Charles, but I have a few others from her on my Kindle, so I’m sure a binge will be in order before long. Also started listening to Heart of Obsidian (slowly catching up on the series, which I love, but fell behind on because Damn You TBR Mountain of Doom).
Um, to clarify, the BOOK was hella hot, not the fact that one hero had an eating disorder. *head desk* Note to self, reread a comment before posting.
I felt the need for some comfort reading last week, so I dug out an old favourite, Elizabeth Moon’s Sheepfarmer’s Daughter. The first half where Paks learns how to be a soldier, with the tedious, hard slog of drill and weapons practice, digging latrines and peeling potatoes was just what I needed. Even after Moon introduced the magic, I still liked it enough to go on to Divided Allegiance, and I finished Oath of Gold last night.
Maybe tonight I’ll get some sleep. 🙂
Waiting for my turn with An Extraordinary Union in our Romance Readers Book Club, so picked up a copy of Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein at our library’s used book sale. I read it in high school and wanted to see if it could still hold my attention. So far, so good.
I made a solo drive from Seattle to Portland for a writers conference two weeks ago, and that meant I could listen to grown up audiobooks! I highly recommend MISADVENTURES OF AWKWARD BLACK GIRL by Issa Rae in audio format – so good! – she narrates it herself, and she’s a theatre geek from high school, director, brothers in music, etc – it’s perfect to hear her voice telling her own story. There were several parts, like the section where she talks about the pain of her mother forcing her to take piano lessons or the way she got the nickname “Roach-elle,” that I replayed for my kids later. (And then there’s the bits about friends with benefits that I did not). I liked the audiobook better than the youtube videos – I’d recommend starting here if you’re curious about Awkard Black Girl. I think it gives the video series more context. And just a really good memoir/fun listen.
I really liked LAST HOUR OF GANN last month, so I got KUSHIELS DART out of the library to keep on the SFF with alternative religious underpinnings them. But I think my attention span has been shot. I liked KD, but it was much slower and since I mostly read on the treadmill, I didn’t get it finished before the ebook automatically reverted to my library. So, good but DNF ex machina?
It’s that time already? Wowzers, this month is going by fast…all right. Let’s slap open the Goodreads and see what I got up to. :::looks at Goodreads::: Not much, but I’ve been busy.
I had just started A Study In Charlotte, which was a YA retelling of Sherlock Holmes, by Brittany Cavallaro. It was very clever and a very nice little twist on the Holmes legend. I would caution those for whom rape is a trigger, though. Charlotte Holmes is a rape survivor in this one, and both this and The Last of August, its sequel, dealt admirably with how Holmes lives with what was done to her (not always well, but with a healthy awareness of her boundaries and an iron demand that they be respected). I followed it with The Last of August, its sequel, and again, very clever, but a lot going on, to the point where it was almost hard to follow at times. Still, a very good way to come at the Holmes stories in a new way.
After that, I needed something a little less dark, so I went with Lady Claire Is All That by Maya Rodale. It was definitely familiar to anyone that had ever seen She’s All That back in the 90s, and was a sweet, fluffy read.
I then read Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee, which was a YA novel about a Chinese Girl that talked her way into an all-white boarding school in 1906. While she is there, the city is hit by the earthquake that pretty much leveled huge swathes of San Francisco. Again, maybe because I don’t live in California or because our education system sucks at history (seriously, we are so bad at this, between this and Dreamland Burning, there’s been a lot of my side-eying my history education, I liked learning about the Tudors too, but I just feel like should have known more about some of the weird shit that went down in my own country), but I didn’t know much beyond the basics. Really good read. Heart breaking in parts, and Mercy was my kind of take-no-prisoners heroine. She had goals, and she put in the work, but also put in the sneaky, and did not accept denial. The best kind of Slytherin.
I read Forever Mine by Erin Nicholas, because I read the review on this site, and decided I needed it in my life. It was fun, although I had a few points where I thought the hero needed a light slap upside the head. I did appreciate that they resolved the difficulties like grown-ups though, and the reader got to see the couple learn how to better communicate.
I knew it would be quick (and it was, took me about a day and half) to read The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. Witty, funny, and insightful. I miss that lady.
I started (really, just a few minutes ago) The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. I was unsure. The reviews are excellent, but I’ve never read Yoon’s work before, and I tend to be hit or miss on YA romance. I read the first three pages, and yup, I need to read the whole thing right the hell now.
Most of what I’ve been reading has been Star Wars’ connected along with rereading old favorites in Ngaio Marsh mysteries. I moved not too long ago and its so wonderful to have my old friends around.
I’m currently reading Ahsoka which is a YA retelling of her life after the end of the Clone Wars by an author I adore E.K. Johnston. Its such a good book as she captures the feel of how the galaxy is large enough that the Empire can go from being abstract to real and Ahsoka having to hide who she is and being constantly aware of being caught. If you like books with dragons in them, Johnston’s Owen the Dragonslayer is well worth a read, there’s a companion book and it feels complete.
Last month I read the Rogue One novelization by Alexander Freed and recommend it so highly as it truly improved the movie for me.
This month I finally finished a book that I started in February called Atomic Family Vacation which has a really misleading title. Its about two journalists who visit sites connected with nuclear history and the present. The research and access they have is interesting but there’s nothing to deserve the family in the title other than the fact that they’re married. They talk about getting visas and parts of the travel but nothing about their personal feelings. If it had been presented as a series of essays about nuclear history, that would been more accurate and I wouldn’t have been annoyed at how dry it was.
I’ve been reading a number of novellas that I liked a lot, Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan Mcguire, which is a beautiful and eerie story about family, suicide, ghosts and the families we choose. I read Heating it Up by Elizabeth Harmon, which was a good story but not a strong novella. The pacing felt off as everything moved so quickly that it really felt more like the front half of a book instead of a book in its own right. I would have happily read a novel about Amity station and everyone who lived there and what happened before the novella starts.
Next up, I have the book I’m reading for RITA reviews, Lone Star Ranch and I’m still working my way through an anthology of fantasy western stories called Dead Man’s Hand. I picked up the anthology originally because of a Seanan McGuire story which was great, so far the rest of it is a real mix. Far too many stories about let’s add steampunk or horror and so many lone gunslingers. A few authors like Elizabeth Bear play with things but those stories are the exception not the rule.
In the middle of Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen, and am loving it!
I’ve been tearing through everything the library has by KJ Charles over the past few weeks after seeing Courtney Milan recommend A Seditious Affair. I loved, loved, loved can’t even tell y’all how much I loved that book. (Which may have something to do with the fact that my day job has certain things in common with the radical hero of this book).
When I was done with that one I started in on the Charm of Magpies trilogy, which was every bit as good. I actually really liked following the same couple through three books, that’s not usual in the romance series I read, and it made me feel even more connected to the characters than I usually do. I didn’t want the story to be over and when it was done I was legit sad to return to the real world.
I started Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt for the second time, but I still couldn’t get into it.The SBTB review was very clear that it wouldn’t be a book for everyone, but there are so few romance tropes that are deal breakers for me I thought I would be OK. The combination of dark subject matter and amoral hero just wasn’t doing it for me.
Now I’m starting back on the Merrily Watkins paranormal horror-esque series by Phil Rickman that was recommended to me by a friend several years ago.
I am currently reading Hot in Hellcat Canyon and so far it’s to early to tell but so far I liked it.
I just finished Mister O by Lauren Blakely and really liked it.
Before that was The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr. Had been wanting it for awhile and when it went on sale I grabbed it. Started out a little weird for me but I finally got into it and glad I didn’t DNF
I also read Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid so I can be caught up in her Knitting in the City series when Dating-ish comes out
I also finally read Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas and Scoundrel by Loretta Chase so I could understand what everyone makes Good Book Noise about. It’s been a busy April
I haven’t had time for much reading in the past month, but I did finish my Master’s degree!!!! Convocation will be on May 6. And my thesis has been picked up for assigned reading in a course this summer (not at my school!). Anyways, on to books I have read since finishing:
The Game Plan (Kristen Callihan) – I enjoyed this one and flew through it, though sports romances aren’t usually my thing. Hot hero, hot sexy times, genuine conflict with a reasonable resolution. I haven’t rushed out to read the others in the series though – not sure why.
A Lady Awakened (Cecilia Grant) – I enjoyed this one, though I didn’t really take to the characters. It was nice to read a historical novel set in England but outside of the London society. It also has me craving a re-read of Tess of the D’Urbervilles for some reason (because nothing says summer reading like dark fiction where everyone ends up dead).
Now that It’s You (Tawna Fenske) – this was for a RITA Reader Review – full opinion coming up some time in May.
And I think that’s it for this month… I’ve been bogged down in the non-romance novel that I’m reading – it is beautifully written and I care about all of the characters, but it is very tragic and heavy going – and I don’t want anything to happen to the characters because I like them.
I’ve been in a reading slump because I’ve been busy with my Buffy re-watch. Now that the show is no longer on Netflix, I’m probably going to cave and buy the dvds the next time they go on sale. Thank goodness my library has all 7 seasons. Angel is next but I never got into that series as much. So the only books I’ve been reading are the Buffy The Vampire Slayer graphic novels for seasons 8 and 9. They are fun and make me wish they’d consider making a Buffy animated series. And I’d be down with a re-boot if they did it like the new Star Wars films and incorporated the original characters with a new batch of Scoobies.
But next up on my TBR list is Meljean Brooks’s Iron Seas series. I’ve never read it and have always wanted to. Her books hardly ever go on sale and my budget is tight. So, I asked my library to consider buying it and they did! They even bought a couple of the novellas, all in ebook format. I love libraries and librarians!
I also asked them to purchase the audiobook for Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I love Nick Offerman and David Sedaris and they are both narrators, along with a huge cast of 160+ other narrators. I’ve never listened to an audiobook with more than one narrator so I’m excited for this one.
@Marci OH I LOVE MELJEAN’S BOOKS! I posted a review of The Iron Duke on my YouTube channel AGES ago & have my script written & edited for Heart of Steel, I just gotta film the thing.
I act out a LOT of quotes from romance novels in my reviews but I gotta say, Meljean’s are the most enjoyable to shoot. The characterization she puts into her dialogue is just AHHHH IT’S CRACK! I’m glad your library was able to get it for you! You’re gonna have alllll the fun!
I will say though, sometimes her world building is so massive I jump stupid & get confused. But it’s never bad enough where I feel like I’m missing out if I can’t muddle through. I’m there 100% for the characters anyway.
Enjoyed a YA called “You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner. I really liked that the protagonist was different: hearing impaired and a street artist. The book did a great job of showing the challenges that a hearing-impaired person faces in her daily life and also gave some insight into the idea of deaf culture. And I learned about graffiti, too.
I caught up with a Julie James I had not met, thanks to an unexpected Amazon gift card, so I’d be already for her new book. (I did the thing I NEVER do preordered it.)
I’ve been reading my RITA review book, but it’s just not my bag so it’s slow going.
I have dabbled in Sarina Bowen’s sporty contemporaries, with Rookie Move and even better, The Year We Hid Away. I devoured Pretty Face and enjoyed it as much as Act Like It. I actually read a couple of books on painting. My personal life is a shitshow and I’m trying to do some creative things that will feed my withering soul.
I am currently reading “Forever Mine,” due to the geek/cosplay stuff. Like it so far.
@Another Kate: Congratulations on both your degree and thesis! What awesome accomplishments!
Mister Moneybags, Wild Wicked Scot, Sinful Scottish Laird, The Fixer,
Cowboy Karma, On the Surface, Goodbye Paradise. All awesome.
I’ve read more mysteries and non-fiction lately (Adrian McKinty’s Rain Dogs – set in Northern Ireland during the 1980s – awesome; Charles Todd’s Wings of Fire – post WWI England – mediocre). Romance-wise Julia Quinn’s Because of Miss Bridgerton – picked up at the library out of curiosity – was just more of her same old schtick that justified my decision to stop reading her years ago. Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments was funny and quite touching. On audio, Georgette Heyer’s Sprig Muslin is proving to be a real hoot.
I spent the last month comfort rereading The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley and most of Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series. I reread when I have crap going on and I like it.
I do plan ot read the new Sophie Kinsella next week, but I have very few other ambitious plans in that vein. i have tbr’s on my Kindle but I just can’t right now.
This is been a pretty solid reading month, mostly due to the recommendations from this thread last month.
Faves:
Peter Darling by Austin Chant…thank you to whoever suggested this Peter Pan M/M retelling w/ a trans Peter. I LOVED it so much that I bought it after checking it out from the library.
Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan. I don’t even usually like memoirs but I forced many friends to listen to me read them my favorite lines. Errr, sorry friends!
Lawrence Brown Affair by Cat Sebastian. M/M romance. Much better than the first book in the series
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Good, but flawed:
Coincidence of Coconut Cake – I love a romance about food, but I would trade the cake recipe for more sexual tension
Go with Your Heart by Savannah J Frierson – sweet second chance POC love story just a bit short and unfinished feeling
Everfair by Nisi Shawl. Super ambitious Steampunk historical fantasy epic that reimagines the Congo’s colonial history with a much more positive outcome. Really insightful ideas about African and European culture but multiple character POVs made it a slog. Also, the romantic pairings were hard to root for.
And then there was the Investor’s Baby by Jamila Jasper. This was DNF for me. I was hoping for crazysauce but I got lumpy crazy gravy instead.
Next up, An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole.
I can’t read anymore. It’s not the books it’s me. I read exactly one book this month: The Hating Game which I LOVED. But it took me two weeks to read it. I’m so sad. Maybe it’s menopause? I hear the brain can get rewired, but. Ugh. This is killing me.
I’m currently in the middle of An Extraordinary Union and hoping I can finish it by the end of the month when it’s featured in 2 virtual book clubs. Wish me luck.