It’s time for September’s Whatcha Reading! If you’re new here, Whatcha Reading is the post where we gush or gripe about all the books we’ve been reading this month. And sometimes, it’s awfully terrible on our wallets. We wish we could say we were genuinely sorry about that.
Sarah: I am very much looking forward to this month’s discussion of what you’re reading. I’ve DNFd several books in a row for a variety of reasons, so I’m now carefully researching newer-to-me sub-genres. Based on Amanda’s recommendation, I’m going to try Highland Dragon Warrior by Isabel Cooper ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). But I’m watching this thread like damn, hell, and whoa to see what you’re enjoying – so thank you in advance for sharing your recommendations!
Amanda: All right, Sarah. Strap in. Because you’re probably going to want to glom up both of these books.
I have two books on my Kindle that come out in October and I don’t know what to read first.
There’s Grigori by Lauren Smith ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). The heroine is working on her PhD in mythology and she totes believes there’s evidence that dragons are real. And of course, the hero is a dragon shifter.
Then there’s Take the Lead by Alexis Daria. It’s a contemporary romance that takes place on a dancing reality show. The heroine is a dancer and in the latest season, she’s paired with a dude who stars in an Alaskan Wilderness nature show. HELLLLOOOOO.
Sarah: OK I AM LISTENING TO ALL OF THIS.
Redheadedgirl: Ohhhhhhh
I’m reading The Duke’s Bridle Path ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which is two related novellas by Grace Burrowes and Theresa Romain that involve horses. I like it!
I also, after finishing a disappointing book (and because of a conversation on the Book of Faces), just reread Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which I still like, in spite of McCaffrey’s myriad of Capital-I-Issues.
Elyse: I just started Deep Dark by Laura Griffin which features a white hat hacker heroine!
Redheadedgirl: Once I finish the Bridle Path, then I will move on to Alisha Rai’s Wrong To Need You ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Carrie: I’m reading Unwanted Girl by M.K. Schiller ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). It’s a romance between a wealthy writer who is a recovering addict and a woman from India who is studying to be a teacher. I like it so far because both characters tend to defy stereotype.
What have you been reading? Anything good or disappointingly bad? We want to know all the details!
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!
@Mara– since you are such a Julie James fan, maybe you can tell me which one to start with. I considered the one that was on sale recently, but two reviews described the hero as very obnoxiously alpha, and another called him “such a guy.” I do not enjoy spending any time whatsoever with characters like that, no matter what the heroine is like, and even if their interactions are very humorous. So which Julie James book has the least-obnoxious, least-alpha hero?
Just finished “Mad For the Plaid” by Karen Hawkins and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, even though I knew who the villain was almost from page one. I especially liked the bit after the first sexytimes when Nik is all freaked out to realize that Ailsa was a virgin and Ailsa’s all “So?” “I wouldn’t have touched you if I knew!” “Well, I’m glad I didn’t tell you, then.” Heh.
Just started “King’s Knight” by Regan Walker. I tend to shy away from Medievals having been a Medieval Studies minor, but I haven’t found too much historically wrong so far. Although the editor in me keeps stopping to edit out the redundancies in the text.
@Vasha, “About Last Night” would probably be your best bet with places to start. The hero is a billionaire heir, but really is basically a computer geek. He’s probably the least alpha of the heroes in that series & has a lovely relationship with his twin sister. That’s #3 in the series, but it’s more episodic than serialized, so you won’t be lost.
If you end up liking that, you might try dipping your toes into the other books in that series. True, most of the heroes are pretty alpha (they are pretty much all FBI agents or US attorneys), but they like their ladies strong, smart, & sassy, so they can take it as much as they dish it. I personally HATE an alphahole, and none of her heroes have crossed that line for me. But of course, YMMV, so if you don’t like “About Last Night,” you might want to give the rest of the series a miss
***Ack, sorry, that should be “About That Night,” not “About Last Night,” by Julie James. Lord help me, it has been a WEEK. 🙂
I started the month with major book hangover so it’s been pretty slow.
Penny Reid Grin and Beard It- which I enjoyed (Latina heroine woot!) But she came off preachy at times. Loved the hero.
Penny Reid Beard Science- loved the heroine (I kept picturing Lemon from Hart of Dixie) and can’t get enough of Cletus even if that name is such a turn off. I’m picky about hero names. The author was musing on Insta that she was entertaining the thought of more Cletus/ Jenn books. Maybe with them solving crimes. I would be so there for that.
Beth Kery Behind the Curtain- enjoyed but really felt this could have benefited greatly from an epilogue. All the conflict between the families just gets dropped. After all the angst with the heroine and her family I just can’t believe she’d walk away forever and be okay with that.
Simona Arnstedt Falling- Like the first book All In this one was just full of crazysauce. But unlike the first book this one just had a little too much going on and suffered from identity crisis. It started as a tropey beautiful rich playboy and woman who is not a supermodel/ party girl (she’s a doctor) who disdains him and his lifestyle choices. Playboy can’t stand the fact that she isn’t dropping her panties at hello so he starts to pursue her. Then it turned into bdsm erotica halfway through and ended as a shoot them up romantic suspense. The romance was enjoyable and the sex scenes were okay one in particular surprised me and that is hard to do nowadays.
Next up: I just started Sarah Ney’ s How to Date a Douchebag. I loathe the title and would have never read it if it had not been recommended right and left. I almost gave up in the first chapter- the misogyny and objectification almost did me in! but then I realized like it or not this is how a lot of college guys actually talk amongst each other. Fortunately the heroine gives as good as she gets and the hero is actually showing major character growth. The hilarious dialogue and sexual tension has me hooked.
I also have Reid’s Beard in Mind and Alisha Rai’ s Hate to Want You ready to go.
CK, thanks for the follow up on TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG; I enjoyed reading your thoughts. I think I’ll put off an attempted read for some later date/year!
— Wildfire: A Hidden Legacy Novel by Ilona Andrews; I enjoyed it. It does leave a significant question unanswered which I’m curious to see if the author will address in future books. You should definitely read this series in order.
— The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger. This is the same author who wrote the Parasol Protectorate (which I’ve never read), but here she is writing a series featuring male/male romance. The book struck me as fairly silly initially, so I put it aside for a week. I ended up enjoying it, but it did leave me with some questions.
— Winter Wind by J.R. Rain. The main character was blind, deaf, and also unable to speak; I honestly cannot begin to imagine how challenging life is under those circumstances. I’d classify the book as a mystery with a smattering of romance and an element of the supernatural/extra-sensory.
— Crossing Realms – Part One (The Crossing Realms Series Book 1) by Shannon Ahn; this was a short, pleasant read.
— Mary Jo Putney’s historical romance Once a Rebel; it was a pleasant read. It was enjoyable to read a historical romance from the regency era that was predominantly set in America and to hear about the war of 1812 from (primarily) a very sympathetic British perspective. Occasionally though it felt somewhat belabored, i.e., mentioning the heroine’s lawyer Francis Scott Key four times and including the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” which became, with time, The Star-Spangled Banner.
— Midnight Curse (Disrupted Magic Book 1) by Melissa F. Olson. I’m not quite sure I understand the use of the number 1 above since I’ve previously read and enjoyed several books about the main character in this book. I enjoyed this one, too; it’s an urban fantasy.
— I quite enjoyed Bone to Pick by TA Moore which I’d describe as a mystery with some elements of romance. The leads are an FBI agent and a K-9 dog handler.
— St. Nacho’s by Z.A. Maxfield. This is a male/male love story that I also very much enjoyed; it happens to be currently FREE to Kindle readers.
— The First Snowdrop by Mary Balogh. This is an early book by Mary Balogh published in 1986. I found the hero decidedly unheroic — he came across as a spoiled young man that said, I’m still glad to have read the book.
— The Cat’s Meow by Lucius Parhelion. This free novella was reviewed on the Dear Author site and is rated as a recommended read; it’s a 1930s era male/male romance. It’s quite tame. The review has a link to the site where you can obtain a FREE copy.
— The Invasion of Tork (Tork and Adam Book 1) by Claire Davis and Al Stewart. This is a contemporary story featuring two young men. I’d describe Tork as mentally troubled; he is also intelligent and homeless. Adam is volunteering at a homeless shelter and is a decidedly unsympathetic character when the story begins. Both change during the course of the story. This is currently FREE for Kindle readers.
— See Jane Score (Chinooks Hockey Team Book 2) by Rachel Gibson. This was a re-read; it’s an enjoyable contemporary (2003) romance featuring a hockey player and a journalist/writer.
— I finished another early Mary Balogh historical romance, Red Rose, published in 1986. I found the hero somewhat unheroic though perhaps he was simply a man very much of his time. In spite of that, I’m happy to have read a new to me Mary Balogh book.
— I’ve finished a couple of male/male romances that I read for a challenge on another site involving choosing a book based on its cover. The first was Bone to Pick by TA Moore. I enjoyed this mystery and its cover. I hope that the author will write more books featuring Javi (an FBI agent), Cloister (a K-9 dog handler), and Bourneville (the dog). The story ended with a happy for now so there is lots of room for the men’s relationship to grow. There were also questions left unanswered about the characters’ pasts which I’d like to see answered. The second was Back to You by Chris Scully. This was a contemporary romance with a strong mystery element. I found the cover art of this book to be quite clever. The title is reflective of the book’s content, but it can also be a play on words and the cover art takes advantage of that fact by showing us a person’s back. I enjoyed the story of a man returning to him hometown after some twenty years away and the relationship he develops with the man who was his childhood best friend. I’d happily read more by this author.
— A Scrying Shame (Blood Visions Paranormal Mysteries Book 1) by Donna White Glaser. This was a quick read but not a story I recommend if you have an issue about crime scenes or blood.
— More Than Luck (Legendary Pairs Book 2) by Casey Cameron; This is a May/December romance featuring two men; I enjoyed it.
— They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera; a young adult novel which has an intriguing premise. Anyone who is to die receives a phone call between midnight and three of that day with the news; they are not told when or how they will die. The story centers around two young men (17 and 18) who connect through an app called Last Friend and details their Last Day.
— I re-read Making Faces by Amy Harmon. Once again, it had me crying. It’s really a lovely story.
— I’ve also started and put aside at least half a dozen books. In general, the books were okay, but they didn’t grab me now.
Wow, I’m certainly replying late this month. Anyways, reading for me has been mostly meh, but not too bad.
1. I finished Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh, unsurprisingly it was excellent. I loved the two leads and the author handled the heroine’s PTSD really well. I intend to pick up the rest of THE SURVIVOR’s Club series ( eventually, my backlog is massive at the moment )
2. After that I read an okay ” Princess and the Pea” adaptation(simply called The Princess and The Pea). I probably should of read this book before OAK because it was hugely simplistic in comparison and read like a YA book. Like I said it was okay, but safe(especially for a book written in 1996).
3.At the moment I’m reading The Rope Dancer by Roberta Gellis. As usual it is really good and way ahead of its time, although I don’t think this is her best work, but still incredibly unique. The hero and heroine of the story are both lower class characters associated with performing arts and both are damaged in their own ways ( especially the heroine who has a history of sexual abuse, so trigger warning for that). There’s also a little person character treated in a sympathetic and respectful light . Gellis even described him as handsome.
As usual, I can’t recommend Roberta Gellis enough ( if you haven’t read her stuff already ). Unfortunately, The Rope Dancer is a little difficult to find since most of Roberta Gellis’s books are out of print, but if you can find it, give it a read .
Oh, I forgot to mention, I also read Saga Vol.1. It’s a weird soap opera with some of the most unique art I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed it well enough and will read at least a couple more volumes , but I’m not sure I’ll read the whole thing due to how strange the world-buildIng can get, it also uses a lot of low humor and isn’t afraid to cross lines…more than a few times.
However, the characters are great and who knows, maybe they’ll keep me coming back to the series.
@Vasha, I just meant the Master and Commander novels aren’t like, real official type romance novels, not that there’s never any love interests going on. Although for me, Aubrey and Maturin are the pairing that makes my heart go pitter pat, Diana is great too.
After thinking about what I wrote on Jubilee at Comment no. 28, I realized that I didn’t mention my other reads. I guess it shows what I thought of this book. Lol. I finished the Wild Rose which I was reading last month, and while I got annoyed with the main couple, I still enjoyed the family saga and historical aspect of the books. The main characters in this installment weren’t as strong emotionally as the main characters in the first two books in this trilogy, but I did care about them nonetheless. A thing I liked in all books is the since of family, found or otherwise, and when one couple’s story was done, the reader still got to keep up with them going forward. The stories took place from the 1880’s to the 1910’s so it was good to get a handle on British history from Jack the Ripper to World War I. My favorite is still the Winter Rose, which I’ve mentioned on here before in other posts.
I’m now restarting Linda Barlow’s Fires of Destiny, a book which I started and enjoyed, but got distracted from because of things going on in my life. If you’re a fan of Tudor era romances this one should fit the bill, and it is pretty action packed as well.
Next, I may started on Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge Trilogy, which a friend has bugged me to read, and the third book of which I gifted him, or Stella Riley’s English Civil War Series. Starting a blog has definitely given me the impetus to read more books.
And apparently, I cannot count. My comment about Jubilee is no. 27. Lol.
@KN O’Rear:
I have wanted to read Roberta Gellis’ books, but it seems several have gone out of print on Kindle, a thing which I didn’t know was possible until recently. I wish this weren’t the case, because this seems to be the only way I can read them, since I’m not able to read books which are on the printed page.
My favorite thread! I’m always reading four books:
On my Kindle: I just finished the short story collection “An Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri which was absolutely beautiful. From the SBTB podcast, I now know there is a difference between ‘romance’ and ‘love story’ – well, the majority of these were love stories (hint: sad) but it was still a terrific collection. I loved every single story (and that rarely happens!) Now I’m reading “The 19th Wife” by David Ebershoff which I doubt has any romance since it’s a murder mystery. But at least you can also watch the TV movie adaptation starring Matt Czuchry from Gilmore Girls and The Good Wife…
By my Bedside: “The Law of Similars” by Chris Bohjalian. Yes, still. Bit of a bummer since I usually gobble up his stuff. This novel’s about a lawyer who falls in love with his homeopathic doctor and then she is accused of murder. (Not his murder, he is alive.)
YA Bookclub: UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn. The teenage heroine is a klutz who manages to save the life of the hottest guy in school. I’m hoping for some kissing, you guys.
Current Series: Princess Diaries Book #5 – Princess in Pink. Princess Mia and her longtime crush Michael are now boyfriend and girlfriend! Complete with makeout sessions. But now the prom is coming up. Mia wants to go and Michael doesn’t want to. I can’t believe this book is a full 275 pages. Seriously, I’m enjoying this series but it moves at a turtle’s pace.
@ K.N. O’Rear – The Rope Dancer is my favorite Roberta Gellis book. My copy fell apart long ago and I see it is available for Kindle and it is now on my Wish List.
I enjoyed Elin Hildenbrand’s The Identicals over the Labor Day weekend with its pair of mismatched twins. There were a couple of unremarkable contemporaries in between (what’s up with the mean friends and problems that could be solved with one real conversation?) then The Duke’s Bridle Path appeared on my Kindle Tuesday morning. Happiness reigned on the farm and I renewed my membership in the Bad Decisions Book Club in the wee hours of Thursday. I may or may not have read a few pages when I should have been watching a webinar. Next up is a re-read of Sweetest Scoundrelby Elizabeth Hoyt. I plan to be caught up with the Maiden Lane series by the time Duke of Desire comes out next month.
@Msb: I read The Power a few weeks ago, after having it on my list for a year or so. I loved the premise, and that’s not just wishful thinking. How different the world would be if men and women were more evenly matched with respect to physical threat. I though that was brilliant. And much of the plot was convincing. Well, what do we do when we go from having no power to having lethal power? (Oh, that would be so tempting. I can imagine myself making a list like Arya Stark!)
But the writing wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked. I know the book was enthusiastically recommended by many including Margaret Atwood, e.g. but I didn’t grab me as hers used to. In fact, the bulk of the story has already faded from my memory. I don’t even recall how it ends. Now that may have more to do with me than the book. 🙂
But I’ll certainly re-read it.
@ Hazel
Many thanks for your response on The Power.
I recently read and enjoyed The Guns Above, mostly for the competence porn. Watching Josette putting her knowledge and experience into action was great. Liked the book well enough to look forward to the sequel.
I binge-read a bunch of Charlaine Harris, the Midnight trilogy and the Aurora Teagarden books. Aiken’s Bring the Heat, which was short on romance and long on battles. Susan Mallery’s You Say It First, first in a new series spun off from Fools Gold and quite similar.
@Vasha: I’m not sure if anyone recommended Julie James’s SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER as one of her books with a “less alpha” hero–but I enjoyed it very much. The heroine is a divorce lawyer and the hero is a journalist. They work together to identify the father of the hero’s sister’s baby. I enjoyed it very much…but I don’t mind an alpha hero, so ymmv.
Penny Reid. Penny Reid. Penny Reid.
I would like a Winston brother of my own. (Getting my husband to grow his beard)
Help me, Bitchery. You’re my only hope.
Since the last one of these posts, I have worked my way through all of Laura Florand’s romances, and now she’s taking a year off writing, as someone mentioned earlier… so where do I go from here? I loved the slow burns in her books, and of course the chocolate. Haha.
I also discovered a new-to-me author, Danielle Hawkins. Her books Dinner at Rose’s and Chocolate Cake for Breakfast were both really sweet. Dinner deals very seriously with cancer, and the romance took a back seat, but there’s still an HEA. It was a touching story of a woman moving back to her small town in New Zealand after the breakup of her previous relationship. The hero is her longtime friend and crush. Then in Chocolate Cake, a small town New Zealand vet meets a star rugby player and doesn’t recognize him. They hit it off, and their relationship is going great when something unexpected happens… I liked this one the best, but expect some rather gory and realistic depictions of being a vet (the author’s other job). I’m intrigued by the rugby player sports romance now, and I know there’s plenty to find there.
Also, CK and Karen, I also tried To Say Nothing of the Dog again after last month, and I just couldn’t do it! Normally I don’t mind shenanigans, but these were so full of unnecessary confusion and miscommunication that I started to get frustrated and couldn’t find any humor in it anymore. I may try again soon, and I imagine I will chip away until I finish the book maybe five years down the line on a desperate plane trip… but maybe not. Life is too short for disappointing books.
I’ve been into urban fantasy lately, with a side of mystery:
-Tea with the Black Dragon, by R.A. MacAvoy. This was a re-read of a fantasy favorite from the 1980s that I spotted on sale for my Kindle. This was urban fantasy before it really was a thing. A lovely and wise middle-aged heroine, and a very gentlemanly ancient black dragon. Classic. A+ reading!
-The Deepest Grave, by Harry Bingham. This is the lastest in his Fiona Griffiths mystery series. Fiona is a Welsh detective who has amazing and complicated adventures with lots of improbable plot twists and supervillians. While that sounds a bit trite, there is also some very unusual stuff in this series, and the settings are awesome.
-The Mercy Thompson series, by Patricia Briggs. This is an 11-book series that I started because I had just finished the Jane Yellowrock series, which features a native american shapeshifter. Mercy Thompson also is a native american shapeshifter, although very, very different from Jane. Mercy is a coyote, raised by werewolves, and a car mechanic in eastern Washington. I like this series (it has the usual assortment of elves, vampires and werewolves)because it has alot of action/adventure, and a fair number of interesting characters. My one gripe, though, is that almost all of the females in it other than the heroine are pretty awful. I don’t mind the evil ones who are main antagonists in some of the books, but most of the other females are either shallow and jealous asshats who give our heroine a hard time for no good reason, or one-dimensional damsels who need rescuing.
WooHoo! So excited to read TAKE THE LEAD by Alexis Daria (full disclosure, she is my Golden Heart ’17 sister and I was planning to read this already – but yes! So happy to see her get a shout-out from the Bitchery!)
I’m doing more audiobooks lately – finally catching up on all the Karen Marie Moning books I’d missed because I needed a break from that series. At least now I can read three in a row (take that, cliff-hangers!) Just finished BURNED and started FEVERBORN. The shift in narrators was jarring but I understand why it happened. I still can’t bring myself to love these books (I love her lighter Highlander time travels) but I am committed to finishing them.
I’m seeing a theme of witches and powerful women here. Sign o’ the times? I am in full-on witch-crave mode myself.
@Teev, I need to check out Slouch Witch!
@Hazel, The Doomsday Book is one of my all-time favorite giant reads. Just a warning: the sequel, To Say Nothing of the Dog, is polar opposite in tone.
I finished up my Goodreads challenge with two disappointments: Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt started out promising (creepy witch ghost haunts tiny town!) but ended up as a grim, disgusting slog to the finish. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen came highly recommended (magical family of women!), but I found it predictable and just meh. I did enjoy The Dry by Jane Harper. Looks like it might be a series.
Very much craving something comfortable and undemanding, I picked up the YA witch series Sweep by Cate Tiernan on the advice of a friend and have been wallowing in it for the past couple weeks. 15 books in 5 collected editions = So. Many. Pages. I’m in the final stretch in book 15 and it’s perfect. I don’t read a lot of YA, but I think since these one was published in the early 00’s they’re less obnoxious than many contemporary YAs.
I’m also about halfway through Strong Signal by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell and it’s SO good! Certainly has me watching livestreams in a whole new way 😉
Leanne H., thanks for sharing your thoughts on To Say Nothing of the Dog; I think like you it will be a while (or never) before I give this one yet another try! I may have to attempt The Doomsday Book though due to Kate’s description of it as being opposite in tone to TSNotD.
I re-read Naked in Death which is one of my comfort reads. I also started Knit Tight by Annabeth Albert, but haven’t been able to get into it much and so far it looks like a DNF. But the highlight of my month has been discovering Roan Parrish. I read In the Middle of Somewhere based on someone recommending it here on the site recently and OMG you guys I loved it so so so so much. It’s only the second m/m book I’ve ever read (the other is Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins which I also loved–thank you Elyse for recommending that last Christmas). I loved In the Middle of Somewhere so much that as soon as I finished it I started over and read it again..and then again. Don’t know why but it made me really happy and I found it both hilarious and incredibly romantic. It has led me to think about reading more m/m romances, but I’m not sure where to start so I was wondering if maybe the bitchery could do a rec league for m/m books if one hasn’t been done already. I listened to the podcast that was posted a few weeks ago with Santino Hassell and that was helpful in finding some good recommendations, but more are always welcome.
@Kareni In The Doomsday Book, one of the Oxford time researchers goes back to England during the Black Plague, so it’s pretty grim and intense (but well written and fascinating, I thought). Reading TSNotD after that almost caused whiplash!
Thanks for the added detail, Kate; I think I can deal with grim and intense. Now it’s just a matter of having the book move up to the top of the enormous Mount St. Book pile.
The book that I have, hands down, most enjoyed lately is Sarah Rees Brennan’s In Other Lands. It’s about a boy who goes into a magical world and is in school there, which tells you absolutely nothing about what to expect. It’s different than I expected, but it’s funny and touching and I stayed up until 2 a.m. trying to finish it! It started out as a blog story that kept going, and there’s something less planned about it that worked really well for me. LGBTQ themes, and if you ever read her Harry/Draco fanfic back in the day this is probably a good book for you.
A Conspiracy in Belgravia was really great. I went back and read Study in Scarlet Women again because I didn’t remember it, and I enjoyed it more the second time.
I went on a Laura Kinsale kick and reread Flowers from the Storm and read Midsummer Moon for the first time, both of which I’d recommend. I found some old posts here and picked up a Patricia Gaffney book, To Have and to Hold, but I DNFed it after the hero rapes the heroine halfway through.
Autoboyography by Christina Lauren was pretty great, if a little infodump-y on Mormons (though I suspect readers with fewer Mormon friends than I’ve had over the years might appreciate it).
Biggest disappointment: Temporary by Sarina Bowen and Sarah Mayberry. I’ve really liked a few of Sarina Bowen’s books, but I’ve also put down a few of them and had no idea who the characters were as people and haven’t remembered anything about them. This had extremely bland, stereotypical characters (she’s poor and scrappy and raising her sibling, he’s a playboy with an inner core).
As for Penny Reid, I find her books very hit or miss as well. I enjoyed the one with Cletus (though I agree with the above poster that the name was offputting, but couldn’t finish several others from the same series.
Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean I had put off reading because the summary sounded sad, but I actually ended up really enjoying it (though the easy resolution of one problem at the end made me roll my eyes).
I’m excited for the new Kristen Cashore book to come out this Tuesday!
I had two favorite reads this month, both thanks to SBTB. Roller Girl by Vanessa North was the best f/f romance I’ve read in ages. It had everything: roller derby, trans heroine, body positivity, women’s friendships, and a smoking hot plumber love interest. I didn’t know I needed the latter, but apparently I did.
Also finally read A Long Way to Small Angry Planet and it was the perfectly happy feminist sci fi I’d hoped for.
Not a romance, but The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda was a really absorbing thriller that centered women in every storyline.
Good, but not great: In Shining Armor by E.L. Phillips. So many historical anachronisms and pacing issues but the m/m Welsh/Indian-American pairing was fun to read.
Otherwise, I had a lot of DNF, including Her Best Friends Sister thanks to a “flesh-colored dildo.” Ugh. And Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton.
I finally saw Wonder Woman so I’ve been glomming Wonder Woman comics on hoopla. The Bombshells series is probably my favorite so far. It has me imagining a tv series featuring all these amazing female characters. And I’ve also started requesting my local library add female superhero tv shows to their collection. They seem to carry all the male superhero shows but none of the female ones. Supergirl and Agent Carter would be great additions to their collection and so good for younger girls to see. I hope they will consider buying them.
I’ve also been re-reading and re-listening to Stephanie Lauren’s original Cynsters novels. I listened to these the first time around and loved the narrator, Simon Prebble. But after the first six, Lauren’s writing started to drag for me. I hope to get further into the series this time around because I saw a new book from her at the library featuring the children of the first book’s couple. And the newer books seem shorter which I think I will prefer.
I also picked up See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt at the library. It’s a novel about Lizzie Borden who I have always been fascinating to me.
And I grabbed the illustrated editions of the first two Harry Potter books. This is another series that I listened to and loved. But the only book of the series I ever actually read was the final one. And I’ve never done a re-read of the series. The illustrated editions are gorgeous so I decided to start my re-read with them. The third illustrated book comes out in October. All three are going on my holiday wish list. They would be an excellent addition to my library.
I would say it has been a so-so reading month for me – I am well off the pace of my goal to read 100 books this year, but I can only try to read more going forward!
Excellent:
None
Very Good:
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronvitch – this was reviewed by SB Sarah. There were parts I found extremely funny, other parts I found extremely gory, but it really didn’t pick up and become an engrossing read until about the last third.
The Game’s Not Over: In Defense of Football by Gregg Easterbrook: I have loved watching professional football for 20 years (and considering that I am in my 30’s that is a significant chunk of my life). With the news in the last few years of the cost of repeated head trauma I have been questioning my decision to keep watching. I do realize that this is probably confirmation basis, but I found this book to be a great argument about why it is perfectly good to keep watching pro football. It was a super quick and witty read.
Good:
The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green: Green is the mother of the modern detective novel and this was her first book – published 9 years before Sherlock Holmes. As it was written in 1878, the style is over the top and Victorian, but is amazing how many tropes and character types from mysteries today are found in this book. I read this two years ago and read it again this month for a mystery book club I am in. If you are into mystery fiction, I would highly recommend reading this founding text even if there are some plot holes and one-dimensional characters.
If I Only Had a Duke by Lenora Bell: I would call this more of a rom-com historical centered around a road trip. The entire plot is unbelievable, the issues and problems are resolved both too quickly and too easily, and there are entirely too many coincidences to be swallowed. However, it was a light and easy read.
Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas: I think I got this recommendation from a Rec League or Whatcha Reading here on SBTB. It worked as historical fiction, but as a romance not so much for me (in fact I was convinced for the first quarter of the book that another character was going to turn out to be the actual hero – I was very wrong).
Meh:
Sapphire Attraction by Zuri Day: wasn’t bad, wasn’t good – the only real positive is the successful businessman in this book actually worked A LOT in this book unlike other books where no work ever seems to get done.
All Chained Up by Sophie Jordan: this one had so much promise – prison nurse meets convict (and I should say the author made the bold choice that the hero was not actually innocent and wrongfully imprisoned – he did what he was convicted of). But it quickly devolved into almost entirely sex with absolutely no character growth or development that I could see. Also annoying – a chapter completely unrelated to the story was added in solely to set up the next book almost like the editor said let’s take a cut a chapter out of the next book, add it into this one, and not even try to make an effort to incorporate it – ugh! I know that it sounds like I should list this in the bad category, but it was ok enough to make meh. Trigger warnings for rape (backstory), attempted rape (described on page) and suicide (backstory).
Bad:
None
Since Connie Willis has been mentioned here in several posts, I’ll chime in and say she’s a favorite of mine, although I like her time-traveling historians (Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and the 2-parter Blackout and All Clear) better than her not-too-distant-future works like Bellwether, Remake, and her most recent release, Crosstalk.
And now I have to brag: I got to meet Connie Willis once, and I have a photo to prove it! We met for coffee, spent about an hour talking about writing–which she does longhand with an ink pen in a spiral notebook. Why? Because “I write science fiction; I spend all my time thinking about modern technology and all the ways it can go wrong.”
I really enjoyed “To Say Nothing of the Dog”. It was a bit of a chaotic slog at the beginning, but the last half was great and the ending was really sweet. Also, it’s pretty refreshing and soothing to read a sci-fi novel that had pretty low stakes. The primary conflict involved a cat 😛
I deliberately stayed away from the Doomsday Book because it sounded incredibly dark, which I can only take in limited doses.
Also Isabel Cooper!!! I read her first trilogy last year (they feature the children of one of the medieval dragons, set in late Victorian era) and loved them so much! Ouch, I see September and November might be a tad expensive…
@Kate et al: Was up half the night with The Doomsday Book. I finished it this morning, with a tear in my eye.
God, I’m getting old, aren’t I?
@Hazel Welcome to the Bad Decisions Book Club!
@Sherri Cobb South How cool! I admit that I don’t always get her books (Lincoln’s Dreams, for example), but the ideas are always fascinating.
I am totally late on this post but am happy to report that I just discovered a new author thanks to the weekly SBTB sale posts–I got Madly by Ruthie Knox for I think 99 cents over the weekend and am LOVING. IT. Her prose is just lovely in this book. I’m about halfway through and have no idea how the characters are going to work things out at this point but however they do it, I’m here for it. Will definitely be reading more from her. I also just finished the first book in the Julie James FBI/US Attorney series, Something About You, and it was awesome too. Sometimes I feel like her heroes are not as well-developed as her female characters, which isn’t really a flaw because damn can she write a good female character, but this particular hero really did it for me, and I liked the mystery aspect to this book. While I was away on vacation last month I also read Dating You, Hating You by Christina Lauren and Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai, both very good. And I read the third book in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, which I am rationing for myself so I don’t read them all in one giant swoop. Overall a pretty good reading month for me. Next month I’m going to London for work which means a.) I will have some blissful kid-free hours alone on the plane to read and b.) I like to read books set where I’m going to visit, so will be looking for books that are set in London (contemporary London, probably). Should be easy enough to find those!
This month the books I’ve read have been ok but there are a few that stand out
–Amanda Steven’s The Kingdom. This is the 2nd book in The Graveyard Queen series. The main character restores cemetaries and she can see ghosts. These ghosts are not nice and sometimes these books get scary or I’m just a wuss. I had my mother read the 1st one and she won’t read any more
–I finally read Alisha Rai’s Hate to Want You that I picked up at the live podcast because Avon had the book for free. I really liked it and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.
–I read Sustained by Emma Chase. It’s been awhile since I read her books and I realize how much I missed them.
–Hearts on Air by L.H. Cosway. I love her books and this one was up there with all the rest. Very hard to pick only one as my favorite.
–I read Stuck Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It was funny and angsty, something I did not expect
–Shadowbound by Bec McMaster I almost quit reading this but about halfway through it got better and now I really want Sebastien’s book
Obligatory J.D. Robb Secrets in Death (Yay Rourke!) and Intensity by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Honorable Mentions to All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey, Witchlock by Dianna Love, Beyond Ruin by Kit Rocha, The Hitwoman takes a Road trip by JB Lynn and Because of You by Tara Sivec and Off the Clock by Roni Loren
My current read is 44 Chapters about 4 men by BB Easton. I am about halfway through and really enjoying it.
@Christie – this is late, but I do have mm recs.
It really depends on what type of stories you like, so ymmv. Based on what you’ve read, here are a few recs.
Amy Jo Cousins has an NA queer romance series (mostly mm with one mf and one ff) – Bend or Break. Like so many series, the first book isn’t the strongest, imo, but the whole series is good. She’s recently re-released it and it looks like it’s just on Amazon now?
If you like good, tropey contemporaries, try Annabeth Albert – she has several series – with musicians and reality tv, with various Portland hipsters / service workers (Knit Tight is my fave), Gaymers – set at a fictional online video game startup (Beta Test is my fave) and one with SEALs.
Santino Hassell writes gritty, sexy contemporaries. His collaboration with Megan Erickson is good – my fave is Fast Connection (I reviewed it for the RITA challenge here).
If you like British authors, Jay Northcote writes sexy, low conflict contemporaries and Josephine Myles writes contemporaries with some bdsm.
If you like a more literary writing style, try Alexis Hall (British contemporaries and weird steampunk)
KJ Charles is fantastic if you like historicals, fantasy, mystery or a combination of the above in your romance.
If you like Avon historicals ala Julia Quinn, Cat Sebastian’s regency series is fun.
Queers of La Vista by Kris Ripper is a contemporary queer romance series with an over arching mystery – it has mm, ff and mf pairings, set in a fictional version of Oakland. This is more intermediate level queer romance imo – in that it’s more obviously aimed at a queer audience with less explanations but I really love it (I am also queer, so) It’s also first person, single character narration, which does make them a little less romantic since you only get one pov.
One blog I like is Just Love – Queer Romance. They review more than just mm and several of the reviewers are different flavors of queer so you get a range of perspectives. And there are no beefcake photos with rainbow flags plastered on their blog (which used to be fairly common on mm review blogs – not sure if it still is).
I binged on JA Rock’s Sub’s Club series. It’s really good and really emotional – queer bdsm series (mostly mm with one mmf) about a group of 20-something friends mourning the death of one of their friends who died doing a scene with an inexperienced dom. It has a lot of sex and heavy kink, but it’s also about grief and growing up and friendship and boundaries. (CW for suicidal ideation in 24/7). And all the characters are refreshingly ordinary – especially for a beam series. No billionaires or mind-reading super doms.
Just finished Small Change by Roan Parrish and ITS SO GOOD. It’s the start of a spin-off series. It overlaps with the timeline of Middle of Somewhere and stars Ginger, cranky tattoo artist bff of one of the heroes of MoS. It’s mf, with a bi heroine and I thought that part was really well done (speaking as a bi woman in a rel with a straight man).
Enjoyed Heels over Head by Elyse Springer. MM NA about two divers training for the Olympics under the same elite coach – they compete individually and as a synchronized pair. It definitely has a Cutting Edge vibe (one of my fave Olympic themed movies) – Jeremy has been competing and training for the Olympics forever and Brandon only started diving 2 years ago and doesn’t really get the big deal but applies himself to prove Jeremy wrong. Cue long hours of practicing together and a slow burn romance. It requires some suspension of disbelief (and I don’t know anything about competitive diving) but it’s sweet and fun.
Started Ava March’s Gambling on Love series – mm historical. Ava March writes hot, emotionally satisfying but not particularly historically accurate Regency romances and these were typical. I enjoyed them.