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?
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, thank you so much, and if you’d prefer not to, no worries. Thanks for being a part of SBTB and hopefully, you’ve found some great books to read!
I had a good, not spectacular reading month:
Excellent:
None
Very Good:
Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas – this trope is totally my catnip servant hero falls for aristocratic heroine who also loves him, but to save him from her wrathful father tells him he isn’t good enough which is a deep fear of his. I LOVED the hero of this one, but the heroine’s actions and beliefs at times were both unbelievable and not understandable.
Good:
-The Emotional Life of Your Brain – part self-help, part neuroscience and pyschology and part memoir – the memoir was the best part, the other stuff not so much.
-A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – While having read and seen spin-offs, I haven’t read the original Sherlock Holmes before. The backstory behind the mystery was good, but I would rather try to figure out the whodunit along with the detective rather than having everything told to me at the end.
-The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen – not sure how to characterize this one as I loved the first half of the book. The novel is about a boy genius who makes detailed hand-drawn maps, diagrams and illustrations (which are included in the margins!). The Smithsonian wants to give him an award not knowing he is a child and he decides to stow away on trains to get there and accept it. Great start, but the book goes completely off the rails in the second half so much so that I was wondering if the whole story was in the character’s head and he confused it with reality because of trauma in his life or if we were supposed to consider him a very unreliable narrator. I don’t know how to say more without being spoolery, but I will say although I hated the second half, it did make me think a lot.
-Field of Pleasure by Farrah Rochon – loved that the author clearly knew about football, I liked the build up of the romance, but the conflict and resolution were meh. I would read another book in the same series by the author.
The Meh:
-The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street – I had been looking forward to reading this classic of children’s lit, but it was just ok for me unfortunately.
The Bad:
-Pushing the Limits by Katherine Garbera – This book basically started with both insta-lust and insta-love. I don’t have a problem with insta-lust as a starting point for a relationship in a romance novel (and in fact sometimes really like that trope), but I can’t stand insta-love! The hero and heroine just decided that they couldn’t live without each other even though they didn’t really know each other and had just met. Totally unbelievable to me – I disliked it intensely.
I haven’t seen “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and neither do I plan to, but I’d like to know why SBTB shut down comments to the movie review. It seems to me that if we can’t talk about subjects that don’t reflect reality, then the “Christian white” narrative will remain the narrative: that by default white Christians are superior. Fwiw, I was raised Catholic in a country torn apart by religious differences, but long ago rejected any notion that any race or religion is superior.
I just finished “Royally Screwed” by Emma Chase. Super-compelling characters even if some aspects of the world-building drove me crazy (occupational problem of being a European historian). I also devoured the first two books in Shelly Laurentson’s “Call of Crows” series: such a fabulous paranormal story with a fascinating cast.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lorraine Heath’s historical, “The Duke and the Lady in Red” that has a real Grace Kelly “To Catch a Thief” vibe.
Now I’m hoping to read Julie James “It Happened One Wedding” – her books are always amazing, even if I have to wait a long time for the latest.
I am half-way through To Tame a Wild Lady by Ashlynn Macnamara and am happy to report she gets her horse details right! No horses have changed sex or color, so far, and there are rather detailed discussions of horse breeding that make the hero and heroine blush and are probably inappropriate between a blueblood and a bastard. In this series, daughters of a Duke fall in love with men of a lower class. Our hero this time around is the estate manager who doesn’t know who fathered him. Finished Scandal Takes the Stage by Eva Leigh and found the grand gesture at the end seemed out of character for the hero, but I liked how the three stories in the series fit together. The heroine and hero also really enjoyed the country life. Ahem. Before that was Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton which was a fun read but the farm girl in me kept wishing Natalie would stop by Tractor Supply and buy some damn muck boots to wear around the cows! Next up is Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen and it sounds like I’m in for some good reading this week.
I am also enjoying An Extraordinary Union a lot! I’d never read Alyssa Cole before her novella Let it Shine, which was just… no words. I sobbed for about an hour after finishing.
Going back and forth between that and So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson about our pile-on Internet shaming culture. Interesting so far.
Love Mary Stewart! I have a lot of her books in paperback with the cool 60s covers.
@Kate ISN’T AN EXTRAORDINARY UNION THE BOMB?!?!?!
I just spent 3 hours writing the review script for my YouTube video, then another 30 minutes on my Down And Dirty Quickie Review AND HOLY LORD IT’S JUST EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IT TO BE!
I live tweeted my reading experience of it on my Twitter, and Alyssa was SOOOO sweet to me about it! Which is quite a feat because I kept tagging her with word vomit & fangirl feels & ALLLLLL the quotes!
I’ve never read her before but now I’m going to be consuming all of her full length stories!
I am currently reading The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. I’ve never been much of a “celebrity gossip” type, but I’m enjoying this fictionalized portrayal of a William-and-Kate-if-Kate-were-American romance. However, some of the pacing seems off to me, and a couple of plot points make me want to facepalm. It’s overall good but not great. I think the humor is the best part – it’s really funny.
I also read When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. The Beast character is based on Dr. House, it’s set in Wales, and there’s lots of swimming . . . so naturally I loved it. I could nitpick one part, but I won’t spoil. It was very fun. (I enjoyed it more than the recent movie, lol.)
Now to start on my RITA book . . . although my TBR is rapidly growing from this comment thread . . . sigh. Romance reader problems. 🙂
Some recent reads here ~
— The Edge of the Blade (The Uncharted Realms) by Jeffe Kennedy. This was an enjoyable fantasy novel; it’s not the first in the series, and I’d recommend starting at the beginning.
— Favorite author Sarina Bowen recently released a book Goodbye Paradise which was a re-issue of In Front of God & Everyone which she had previously published under the name Nealy Wagner. I was looking forward to reading the book only to realize I already owned it having picked it up as a free book a year or so ago; it was my lucky day. I enjoyed it.
— re-read a couple of science fiction romances. The books are fun reads though they could both use a good editor. Grim (Tornians Book 1) by M.K. Eidem and Ice Planet Barbarians: A SciFi Alien Romance by Ruby Dixon
— ‘Tis the season? I guess it is for me. A Regency Christmas II by Mary Balogh, Carla Kelly, Mary Jo Putney, Anita Mills, Sheila Walsh, and Mary Jo Putney
— A Storm of Stories by K.B. Jensen: This was a curious novel in that consisted of stories being told by a man and a woman who were trapped in a car during a storm. I was sufficiently engrossed in that I read the whole book, but it’s not a book I’m inclined to reread. It was NOT a romance.
— The Douglas Fir by Anyta Sunday: this was a pleasant male/male romance novella.
— Rachel Grant’s newest romantic suspense. Tinderbox (Flashpoint Book 1), which I enjoyed.
— Close Enough to Touch: A Nove by Colleen Oakley which I enjoyed. I’ll be on the lookout for other books by this author.
— re-read with pleasure Linda Howard’s Now You See Her.
— re-read three linked stories from Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series and enjoyed them all once again: Dragos Goes to Washington, Pia Does Hollywood, and Liam Takes Manhattan.
— the male/male romance Shift (Wolves of Hunter’s Rock Book 1) by Shelley Grayson. I found it a pleasant read but I don’t think it’s a book I’ll be re-reading anytime soon.
— Wolves of Black Pine (The Wolfkin Saga Book 1) by SJ Himes which I enjoyed until I got to the end and learned of a sequel coming out in early 2016. Said sequel does not seem to have yet been published. Drats!
— re-read Michelle Diener’s Dark Horse, my favorite of the Class 5 trilogy; Dark Deeds; and Dark Minds.
— Tiffany Snow’s Follow Me (Corrupted Hearts) which is the first in a romantic suspense series. I enjoyed the book, but one does need to suspend disbelief fairly often. The main character is a young highly intelligent woman who is both nerdy and quirky.
— Winter’s Fallen (The Conquest of Kelemir Book 1) by A. F. Dery. This was pleasant, but I don’t think I’ll be re-reading it any time soon.
— re-read Patricia Briggs’ Fire Touched (A Mercy Thompson Novel) which I enjoyed once more.
— a rather uninspiring regency romance A Taste For Love by Donna Bell. This is not a book I’ll be re-reading.
— a re-read Patricia Briggs’ anthology Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson
— a re-read of Patricia Briggs’ Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
— Ready to Fall (Wingmen Book 1) by Daisy Prescott which was by an author who is new to me. I have another of her books waiting in Mount TBR which I’m looking forward to.
— an enjoyable fantasy novel which had been sitting on my Kindle for one year minus two days. Those who enjoy books with a time travel aspect might enjoy it; it also contains Nephilim. I’d happily read more in this series. One Way Fare (Null City Book 1) by Barb Taub and Hannah Taub
— a re-read of Lucy Parker’s Act Like It
— Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. I think this book would be most enjoyed by those who are already familiar with Hamilton by virtue of having heard the soundtrack (me!) or having seen the production (I’d like to). This traced the making of the show, shared tidbits about various performers, and addressed points where the story took liberties with history. I enjoyed reading it.
— the contemporary romance Pretty Face (London Celebrities) by Lucy Parker which I also enjoyed. This is second in a series, but it definitely can stand alone.
— I also read the story that is the basis for the movie, Arrival, which I enjoyed.
Dang it! I was waiting for this post to go up so I could talk about what I’m reading with people who might understand my excitement, and then it posted while I was off the grid doing spring break vacation things, and now I’m late to comment. Oh well I’m going to squee momentarily anyway: I just discovered Kresley Cole and the Immortals After Dark series!!! Woo! Those had been on my list for a while but I bought A Hunger Like No Other this month when it was on sale and now I’m hooked. From what I understand, they get even better and there are like 17 books in the series so I have a LOT of reading ahead of me, which makes me very happy.
I’m also reading a non-fiction book called Strangers In Their Own Land, which I think somewhat attempts to explain the discontent among poor white voters, particularly in the South. And now I’m also reading An Extraordinary Union, which I started last night and have been thinking about all day long. So yay for a great reading month!
@KB OMG OMG OMG YES!! I just recently got on the Kresley Cole bandwagon, too! I’m not big on reading series in order so I started with A Dark Desire After Dusk and holy. Epic. SHIIIIIT!!!
It’s so, so, SO good! My video review for it goes live next month & ALL the fangirling happened! In my Goodreads Down & Dirty Review my One Sentence Summary described it as “Mr. Demon Hero goes on a magic adventure road trip with Miss Human Mathematician Heroine so he can betray her.”
But really it should be described as “OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG-SMEXY HOTTNESS-OMGOMGOMGOMG-ASS KICKING HEROINE-OMGOMGOMGOMGOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMG FEELS!”
@KB: Yay! Welcome to the Kresley Cole club! She’s my favorite PNR writer and I’m so excited for the next book to come out on the 25th.
@Jacqueline and @Amanda thank you for sharing in my excitement!! 🙂 I just love it when I discover a new series and have that moment where I realize that I’m going to get to know this whole new group of characters. @Jacqueline OMG magic adventure road trip and mathematician heroine, can’t wait for that one! I am the opposite in that I am psychologically compelled to read a series in the exact order but I will get there eventually!
@KB I TOTALLY KNOW THOSE FEELS! Discovering a new author is like finding a random 100 bucks under the couch; a blessing that was always there, YOU JUST NEVER KNEW AND NOW ALL THE FUN IS TO BE HAD!
LOL! You are definitely not alone in your reading order compulsion! I used to be that way but realized that no matter how much I like an author or a world, if there isn’t an OTP hook that interests me, then I get ants in my pants while reading.
The short answer to that is I AM A PICKY BITCH, SOMEONE GROUND MY ASS! hahaha
@KB I will say, though, that realizing I love Kresley’s writing was a HUUUUUUUGE relief! My weekly reviews on my channel mean I HAVE to cycle through at least the 3 big subgenres. Historical is my fav so that’s easy, and contemporary is popping so it’s not hard to find recs, but paranormal. PARANORMAL IS A PAIN!
I used to prefer PRs to any other genre and now it’s like every damn 1 I pick up, I drop. THE FANGIRL STRESS IS REAL, DAMMIT!
@jacqueline – I hear you. Same. And I write paranormal. I think the problem is in Paranormal Romance is that the conflict can simply be external – right? How can they ever get together because she or he is a Vampire or whatever? But there has to be a rich and complete character story or it is boring which is why we put the book down. It can’t just be – gee how tough it is to fall in love with a vampire because he is a vampire. Snooze. I have had problems with bad boy romance because – snooze – I get it, he’s a bad boy. Right, no interesting character growth or conflict. Frankly, right now, the writers that take my breath away are in historical romance.
@KateBig YES YES YES THAT IS EXACTLY IT!!!!
I recently realized that I almost NEVER care about external conflict. Last week I’d have said always never, but in reading An Extraordinary Promise by Alyssa Cole, I figured out that’s not true. I only care about external crap if it has a direct impact on the character’s internal identity, struggle, or emotion.
But with paranormal, it’s all external conflict!
Sure, I wanna see heroines kick zombie/vampire/monster ass. Sure, I wanna see immortal demon dudes be angsty with their sharp, pointy weapons. But I will care about exactly NONE of that shiznit if I can’t get conflict that touches a dude or dudette’s soul and psyche. Otherwise it’s just a bang-bang, punch-punch bore fest