It’s Whatcha Reading time! This is where you tell us all about what you’ve been reading. The good, the bad, and the in between. Because let’s be honest, we’re all here to wreck our TBR pile.
Yesterday was also Black Friday! Did you score any book deals? We want to know!
Elyse: I’m reading The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). I just started it so I haven’t really formed an opinion yet
Amanda: I’ve started How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days by Kerrelyn Sparks ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). The world building is interesting, but so far, it’s a bit slow. I’m 50+ pages in, the hero and heroine haven’t met yet, and I’m getting antsy.
RHG: I am reading Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Ann Long ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and it is DELIGHTFUL and I’ve been giggling a lot. In public! Where people can see!
I’ll be starting Lucy Maude Montgomery’s The Blue Castle ( A | BN | K | AB ), about a woman who gets a terminal diagnosis and decides to rebuild her life to something she actually enjoys living. You know, Last Holiday (that RomCom with Queen Latifa?), but old timey and Canadian.
Sarah: I’m listening to Evans Above by Rhys Bowen ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), and I’m just about to start Love a la Mode Stephanie Kate Strohm ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Carrie: I’m on vacation reading Tessa Dare’s The Governess Game ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Couldn’t be better vacation choice!
What did you read this month? Update us in the comments!
By request, since we can’t link to every book you mention in the comments, here are bookstore links that help support the site with your purchases. If you use them, we greatly appreciate it, 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!
@anonymous fantasy romances aren’t up to the standard of historical romances but there are some great (reread list) ones – Steel’s Edge by Ilona Andrews and Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold and some good ones — Iron Seas series (steampunk)by Meljean Brook and On the Edge by Ilona Andrews.
With Thanksgiving behind us, I started my holiday reading with The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan. Felt it was a good choice after surviving a Thanksgiving reunion with distant family members, but haven’t read enough to say I will love the book or not. A dog appears in the first few chapters, so my guess is The Christmas Sisters will be a winner. Next up will likely be a Christmas anthology called Yuletide Happily Ever Afters: A Merry Little Set of Regency Romances . I recently discovered Jenna Jaxon’s novels and she is one of the six authors.
I finished For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell while traveling and liked the story. Modern mores and attitudes ahoy, however, I can’t resist a second-chance romance and the author’s way of injecting humor in the story. Before that was The Illegitimate Duke by Sophie Barnes which I also enjoyed. I don’t know how many Dukes were doctors back in the day. A little suspension of disbelief was required by me this month on all fronts.
@Karin – if you make it through all eight volumes of the Doyle & Acton series before the ninth is released *knock wood* and need more Acton and Doyle, I recommend the audiobooks for volumes 1-3. (The narrator changes for the 4th audiobook, and I don’t like the sound of the sample, unfortunately.) Rereading Murder in Retribution this way was particularly enlightening. All of Doyle’s innocuous actions are suddenly full of foreboding, and those phone calls Acton was making suddenly make sense after Murder in Hindsight.
Interesting take on Acton’s obsession erasing the power difference.
@Kareni, yes it’s definitely love them or hate them.
@Deborah, thanks for the suggestion. I’ve *already* reread the first book, and noticed stuff I missed the first time through.
I just finished reading The Blue Unicorn trilogy by Don Allmon. The whole series is pretty incredible, the books are futuristic dystopian fantasy with elves and orcs. The Glamour Thieves is the first book in the series, and is my favorite of the three, and the Burning Magus was out a couple days ago. You definitely need to start with the Glamour Thieves in order for the subsequent books to make sense.
@Karin it was my first Rebecca Solnit but I have Hope in the Dark andThe Mother of All Questions on my TBR. I hope your nieces enjoy the book!
Roan Parrish- Riven, (m/m rock star romance) was great if a bit heavy on the angst at times
Sam J. Miller- Blackfish City (scifi including people who are nanobonded to orca whales and polar bears) was…okay. I’ve read both of Miller’s novels and they’re good, but I think I enjoy his short fiction more.
Darcey Bell- A Simple Favor. Read after the movie and wow, the movie was SO MUCH BETTER. It took the ridiculousness of the plot (mommy blogger Gone Girl) and amped it up to eleven and had fun with it, while the book was just kind of boring people being boring while thinking they’re super clever. Plus the movie had Henry Golding. So. Definitely picking the movie over the book, here.
Jen Wang- The Prince and the Dressmaker. So. Stinking. Sweet. I don’t read graphic novels very often but this one’s fantastic.
Alyssa Cole- A Duke By Default. Completely loved it until what I considered a super out-of-character conflict thrown in out of nowhere in like the second to last chapter which kind of dragged me out of the narrative (on a tangent here: I feel like I see this convention *a lot* in romances, a sudden, random conflict that doesn’t quite make sense thrown in to keep the book going another 30 pages or whatever). I’m still not sure how I feel about the book as a whole, maybe in the B range.
Currently-
Renee Ahdieh- The Rose and the Dagger. So so YA fantasy. There are elements that I like, but it’s very capital D Dramatic, and the star crossed lovers are constantly in “agony” and it’s a little…much, for my patience right now.
Kameron Hurley- Empire Ascendent. Grimdark fantasy. There is a whole heap of stuff going on here and I’m entirely sure that I don’t really understand much of it, but it’s keeping me occupied during the awkward bits of Thanksgiving so that works.
I read “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean. Very good. 🙂
Haven’t read much this month. I did, however, snag some paperbacks from Interlude Press’s $5 Black Friday sale; they had 10 books on sale for $5 each. Dreamspinner Press has been getting my money, too, as per usual. Tere Michaels’ new book, “Forever & Ever”, will be out on Christmas and I heckin’ can’t wait to read more Matt and Evan!
I have been binging on K/S fanfic. I also discovered the Daredevil series from Netflix. Freaking love it!
Overall a good reading month…
Dirty Sweet Wild – Julie Kriss
Second in the ‘Bad Billionaire’ series – I enjoyed this a lot though not quite as much as Bad Billionaire. The heroine is a strip-o-gram girl and the sister of the heroine of Bad Billionaire, the hero is the best friend of the ‘bad billionaire’ in book 1, a veteran with prosthetic leg & suffering from PTSD. The sex was hot but the ILYs seemed rushed so weren’t as convincing. I really liked both characters
Undercover Associates series – Carolyn Crane (Annika Martin)
Against the Dark, Off the Edge, Into the Shadows, Behind the Mask
Very dark romantic suspense series about spies working for a non-government ‘association’. I loved them – very angsty, highly emotional, characters’ backstory was explored deeply and was super important to the story. Lots of trigger warnings though. Does anyone know if she is still writing this series? It felt like there is at least one more novel left to be written, perhaps two.
Wrong to Need You – Alisha Rai
Love this cover! Jackson, the hero, is an absolute dreamboat. Sadia felt real, especially her struggles with anxiety, family relationships and the time pressures of being a single mother. However I thought Hate to Want You was the stronger book, probably because it had a lot more angst and the conflict was so strong. This one suffered from ‘sophomore slump’ comparatively.
Kiss of a Stranger – Lily Danes
This was an okay, free romantic suspense novel about an ex-con trying to clear his name. The plot reminded me a bit of a Kristen Ashley book, Lady Luck, but this book paled in comparison to KA. Too much mental lusting for me, with boners and wetness used in place of actual sexual tension, plus sudden outraged overreactions on the part of both h & h which didn’t seem organic to the characters, instead seemed to be placed solely to further the plot. Neither the setting nor the sequel bait secondary characters engaged me enough to continue with the series.
Needed some palate cleansers so I re-read a couple of Noelle Adams novellas, Holiday Heat (NA novella about two grieving people who find each other) and One Night With the Boss (cute fluffy office romance)
Addicted – Charlotte Stein
Not sure why I picked this one up. Socially awkward librarian/erotica writer goes to a ‘sexual healing’ group therapy session to help make her sex scenes more realistic, meets possible sex addict hero, sexual shenanigans ensue. This is one to sample before buying because Stein has a unique voice and sense of humor. I found it funny, even laugh-out-loud in some places, but the voice was a little more problematic for me, with long internal monologues and no hero POV. Not enough backstory and ironically I found some of the sex scenes to be awkward or unerotic, and I needed an epilogue to buy the HEA, but the relationship was sweet and I liked the way the hero demonstrated how he felt about the heroine. Characters were supposed to be in their late 20s / early 30s but it read more like an NA, they both seemed much younger.
Harlequin Dare October box set – I picked this up because I was intrigues by the 2 titles DiscoDollyDeb mentioned in October’s WYR post, Unleashed by Caitlin Crews and King’s Price by Jackie Ashenden (neither of whom I’d read before). Those were the two standouts of the set.
Play Thing by Nicola Marsh was meh for me – uptight accountant has uncharacteristic sex-with-a-stranger only to discover oops he’s her new boss – there wasn’t a lot new or fresh about it and I found the sex scenes boring. Look at Me by Cara Lockwood was fine but not super memorable, although it did have a mixed race (part Korean I think) heroine and some voyeurism.
Unleashed had a lot to unpack and would’ve been served by a higher word count and less focus on the mechanics of sex. The heroine is a strait-laced professor writing her PhD on sex and feminism, and trying to work out how being sexually liberated and a feminist can go together with kink and fantasies of submission.
King’s Price was really interesting – bad boy trying to go straight (although he’s pretty morally flexible and uses blackmail to do it!) and heroine was once badly hurt by an ex who released a sex tape. She’s the ‘ugly duckling’ of the family and has stayed out of the limelight and become a scientist in the 10 years since the sex tape scandal. I really liked how the hero encourages her to use his notoriety to help overcome the shame and embarrassment over both the sex and the emotions that were stripped bare in the sex tape. Really satisfying romance. I’ll read the next in the series.
I did think that none of the Dare novels really had enough room to ‘breathe’ – they all could’ve done with a longer word count to develop the characters more. King’s Price was the most tightly written of the four.
Just Him box set – Talia Hibbert
Bad for the Boss – a pretty standard office romance with an RS/woman-in-peril twist, with a Black heroine and Anglo-Asian hero. This must be one of her earlier works because it didn’t have the deft touch with characterisation I associate with her.
Undone by the Ex-Con – tangentially related to Bad for the Boss. Heroine is being blackmailed by her employer to find dirt on the hero. I kept wondering why she thinks she needs to go it alone – why she can’t tell the hero, any of her friends, or her brother about the blackmail and enlist their help. The sexual tension was well written and the characters were interesting, I just couldn’t get over that particular hole in the plot (or in the heroine’s characterization)
Sweet on the Greek – Fake relationship between a promiscuous bisexual Greek ex-soccer player hero and Black British tattoo artist heroine, sequel of sorts to Bad for the Boss. This was the best of the three, with a clueless but sweet hero (he was like an anti-Harlequin Presents Greek alpha-hole hero).
The last few of Suzanne Brockmann’s SEAL Team 10 (Tall, Dark & Dangerous) series finally trickled in from the library.
Taylor’s Temptation – I really liked Colleen but thought Bobby the hero was pretty clueless. His being part Navajo made next to no difference to the story. I was troubled by Wes (Bobby’s best friend and Colleen’s brother)’s reaction to the two of them getting together – it seemed so over-the-top. It reminded me of Izzy and Eden in Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series, but Eden’s brother Dan’s reaction made more sense because he and Izzy hated each other and Eden was only 18. This one, I couldn’t get over why Wes would say really offensive things about his sister and why he would resent his best friend and sister being happy together. Took the shine off the HEA a bit.
Night Watch was Wes’s book and I really enjoyed this one – Wes redeemed himself. Brockmann did a great job writing two people who are perfect for each other, exactly what the other needed, plus forcing the hero to be so vulnerable (a particular talent of hers)
SEAL Camp – this is a self-pubbed work released last year maybe, and Brockmann has telescoped the timeline so that the novel takes place both in the present day and just 18 months after Night Watch (which was pubbed in 2002 or 2003). Lawyer Ashley DeWitt wants to build confidence so decides to participate in the titular SEAL Camp. She’s the only woman in the group and is subjected to some extraordinarily offensive and misogynistic behavior from some of the other participants. Lt Jim Slade is on medical leave and is one of the SEALs assisting at the camp, facing up to the fact that he’s probably soon to be forced into retirement due to his bad knees. He keeps trying to push Ashley into getting angry because he sees her passive responses as problematic. I found this one more of a slog than any of Brockmann’s previous books and I think the reason was twofold. Firstly, there was an aspect of something Elyse mentioned in her recent review of a Maya Rodale book – being TIRED of women having to do the emotional heavy lifting and education of the hero, helping him understand what it’s like being a woman in this world. (The epilogue mentions that Jim does educate himself on feminism and women’s issues after Ashley dumps his ass.) The second is that, although I’m onboard with Brockmann’s politics and I completely believe she has the right to espouse them in her books both overtly and subtextually, I was pulled out of the story a couple of times by political commentary – because what was said and the way it was stated didn’t fit with how the character had been portrayed up till then – so it didn’t work for me from a story-telling angle.
Everyday Average Jones – ooh I loved this one. From the intense connection Melody and Cowboy formed in the beginning of the book through to the epilogue it was just perfection.
Now I’m just waiting for Harvard’s Education and I’ll be done!
Her Perfect Affair – Priscilla Oliveras
Cute friends-to-lovers romance, hardly any angst, between a Puerto Rican ‘good girl’ librarian and an Anglo IT guy from a rich family. She falls pregnant early in the book and spends a LOT of time throwing up as she’s suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum. He’s determined to take care of her. I enjoyed the liberal sprinkling of Puerto Rican culture and of Spanish (always translated).
The Immortals – Jordanna Max Brodsky
This was on sale a while ago but the warnings about violence made me unsure so I got it from the library instead. It did have a lot of violence, some of it quite confronting and some quite bloody, but the story was compelling enough to overlook that and keep me reading. I did figure out the villains of the piece quite early on but liked the character of Selene enough to want to find out what she would do with the knowledge. Will read the sequel but glad I got it from the library.
Ride Hard – Laura Kaye
The first in her Raven Riders MC series, a spin-off of the Hard Ink series. I don’t normally like motorcycle club books but this MC helps women and children get out of abusive situations so it’s not as awfully criminal as some other MCs. Plot was slow in places with backstory / setup but the romance was lovely & Kaye had me convinced the h/h were perfect for each other and would have a HEA despite their differences. The heroine’s character arc was strong and her character developed a lot over the novel.
Idol – Kristen Callihan
Cute, low-angst rock star romance. Liked how she used musical metaphors and references to establish the characters’ voices. Loved the cover.
The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang
Really liked this for the autistic heroine Stella and the diversity of the characters including Michael’s mixed heritage background. It did feel like a debut novel though, especially in the expression of Michael’s father and the expedient solution to his financial problems. I look forward to reading her next book because I’m sure she’ll improve as a writer.
And then, after the ‘catching up on listener email’ podcast, I fell down the rabbit hole of Harry Potter ‘Dramione’ fanfic. I’m addicted! I find this pairing so compelling with themes of redemption, forgiveness, the trope of the bad boy & good girl, forbidden love, class differences. (I’ll also admit one of the reasons I love it so much is that my husband has definite Slytherin traits, and although I’m firmly a Ravenclaw, I identify a lot with Hermione!) This is my first experience with fanfic and I’m finding it really interesting how writers play with the characters and the world. The quality of the writing is intriguing as well – some of it is pretty amateur, some accomplished but without a unique voice, some absolutely exquisite. I do think that, looking at how Draco was portrayed in the novels, he is actually a hugely problematic romantic hero (in real life if I met a woman dating her childhood bully I’d be worried), and JK Rowling is right when she says a lot of his appeal comes from Tom Felton who played Draco in the films.
I recently got access to my hometown library’s Overdrive and I think it’s going to change my life (and my book buying habits). I came across a Janice Kay Johnson Superromance, Where It May Lead, which reminded me of how much I like her Superromances. This one is set at a small liberal arts college in eastern Washington state and is between the director of alumni relations and a cop investigating a cold case murder at the school. In their relationship there’s no playing games or pussyfooting around, they get together and have strong feelings for each other right away – the conflict comes from the fact that her father is a possible suspect in the murder. Massive character growth from both of them. JKJ always writes complex, interesting books with realistic characters, and this is no exception.
Managed – Kristen Callihan
Next in the rock star series, about the strait-laced band manager and the band’s new social media manager who is an ex-paparazzi. I liked it but it was much less angsty than I was anticipating and didn’t delve very deeply into the characters’ backstory and issues.
Once a Scoundrel – Mary Jo Putney
Third in the ‘Rogues Redeemed’ series; I liked the first two very much. This one didn’t explore the MCs backstory so I didn’t quite understand why the heroine was so anti-marriage and determined to be independent, or what caused the hero’s estrangement from his family. Good secondary romance and it was wrapped up neatly (perhaps too neatly?) with an HEA for all. But it wasn’t as deep as some of MJP’s previous books – it felt a bit slick or superficial, like maybe she wasn’t invested very deeply in this book as an author? Saying that she’s still a cut above many other HR authors and I will definitely continue the series.
My 8yo daughter had a grand reading month with a bunch of new releases in series she follows, including the next in the Truly Tan series (about Tan, who is a ‘great detective’), Baffled, and the final book in the Stella Montgomery trilogy by Judith Rossell. The Stella Montgomery books are very gothic in feel comparable to Joan Aiken’s Wolves of Willoughby Chase, except that Stella discovers she is part Fae, so there are some paranormal / fairy elements. Miss 8 LOVES these books. In the first novel, Withering-by-Sea, Stella is an orphan being looked after by her aunts Deliverance, Temperance and Condolence. In the second she is sent to relatives at Wormwood Mire, and in the third to the grim boarding school Wakestone Hall. She also read the 104-Story Treehouse, which is aimed more at reluctant readers, but she finds the humor and illustrations hilarious. SB Sarah, there is a bad joke at the bottom of every page!
Next up, whatever fun things I find in Overdrive, plus the hockey holiday anthology, if I can pull myself away from Dramione!
@Kristen: Welcome to the Dramione club! <3
I have been feeling a super high need for comfort rereads for the last couple of months, so I decided to just embrace it, Goodreads goal be darned (for some reason I never feel right about adding rereads to my total). I did read one new-to-me author, with Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marrilier. ALL of the trigger warnings for a very graphic rape scene, but the way the author dealt with the aftermath felt very real and it was truly integral to the plot, or at least I could see how it was necessary to show the true consequences of certain events for the heroine. Still though. Yikes. But overall I really enjoyed the book and stayed up well past my bedtime a few nights in a row to find out what happened. Would definitely read more from that author. I started Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan but not quickly enough because Overdrive took it away again when I was about 25% done. I was having trouble getting into it, but I felt like it was just about to pick up speed. Now I’m reading Dark Needs at Night’s Edge, which is the book where I left off in the Immortals After Dark series. Hoping to keep up with the Fated Mates podcast as they go through them.
AT YOUR SERVICE (In Service bk 1) Sandra Antonelli – I kept wondering is a cross between Anne Stuart’s Black Ice and Elizabeth Peter’s Vicky Bliss series even possible? If so this is what it would look like. about a mysterious James Bondish secret agent and the middle-aged and fabulous woman who is both his butler and landlady. Not without flaws, the denouement wasn’t as clear as it could have been and it was rather too violent, but I loved Mae and Major Kitt’s interactions and am looking forward to the next book.
THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY – Courtney Milan – I liked this but I had expected to love it. I’m heroine centric and have a much higher tolerance for their suppposed flaws but Violet frustrated me. For instance I had trouble believing that Violet would have been unaware of the methods to prevent conception, while this allows the wonderful Sebastien to appear even more considerate, rather unnecessarily as he is portrayed as a paragon throughout, it bothered me and felt like an authorial decision to add tension to a somewhat low-angsty friends to lovers story.
SINCE THE SURRENDER – Julie Anne Long – The third book I’ve read in this series and The Perils of Pleasure is still my favorite. Neither of the MC’s are particularly distinctive and the hero is too much a military man’s man type but he does have a war injury to complicate his life which I’m noticing is a trope I like and now that I’ve realized this I’m somewhat appalled as though I’m rooting for injuries. Anyways there is something about Julie Anne Long’s style which I like, probably it’s the sex in awkward or unusual locations!
TO CATCH A ROGUE – London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy, book 4 – Bec McMaster – I am not finding the addition of the russian subplots and scenes as interesting as I thought they would be. There is alot to like about the series but I’m reaching the point where I’m becoming too aware of and knitpicky about it’s flaws, for instance that the characters are interesting but the dialogue is often very trite. I’m just waiting for the Duke of Malloryn’s book.
DIAMOND FIRE (hidden Legacy novella) Ilona Andrews Short but cute story basically just shifts the series away from Nevada and towards her sister, Catalina
THE DARK DAYS DECEIT (lady Helen series bk3) Alison Goodman – Supposedly the final book in this historical paranormal series. Well researched regency era details with some unusual PRN world building but this final book was somewhat of a disappointment. The evil that is being fought is quite bizarre and particularly in the first 2 books, the “good guy’s” seem so awful that it is hard to pick a side. Also, while I don’t require romance here it is such a slow burn that it’s maddening. Much of the communication between the protagonists is merely reading each other’s thoughts through a crucial but confusing blood bond they share.
audiobooks while Christmas gift knitting:
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER – Victoria Dahl – this is my first experience with this author and I was pleasantly surprised. The characters were believable and mature which sounds like faint praise but my god sometimes it seems incredibly rare. The narration was odd, the narrator had a pleasant voice in general but chose an absolutely awful voice for the heroine Isabelle. This is part of Audible’s romance package.
LOOKING FOR TROUBLE – Victoria Dahl – Part of the same series as Flirting With Disaster. This one dealt with issues about one’s responsibility toward family versus responsibility to oneself. I generally come down on the side of the importance of self-care in the face of toxic family situations but this book was quite nuanced in it’s portrayal of the male lead’s leaving all responsibility for his disturbed mother to his brother. He is allowed to be both sympathetic and selfish in a way that feels very true to life. Same narrator as Flirting With Disaster but overall the voices were better.
LYING LOW -(Jane Avery Mysteries Book 2) Cynthia St Aubin – humorous mystery with smart and sarcastic protagonist but the narrator’s male voices were very annoying
THE ZIG ZAG GIRL (Stephens and Mephisto Mystery Series, Book 1) – Elly Griffiths
SMOKE AND MIRRORS (Stephens and Mephisto Mystery Series, Book 2) – Elly Griffiths
THE BLOOD CARD (Stephens and Mephisto Mystery Series, Book 3) – Elly Griffiths
This series is set in Brighton, England in the early 1950’s and has the unusual pairing of an earnest detective inspector and a cynical travelling magician solving crimes. All the mysteries have some connection to show business, often of the seedy variety. These were my favorite discovery of the month, not romances, although there are some romantic relationships developing within the series. Good narration
THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY – Mackenzi Lee If this didn’t immediately strike me as being as wonderful as The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, it is probably because my expectations were higher. It was incredibly refreshing that there was absolutely no shoehorning any of the young women into a romantic relationship. It was great to meet up with Monty and Percy again too. Excellent narration by Moira Quirk
ON THE EDGE (Edge Series, Book 1) – Ilona Andrews, not my favorite Ilona Andrews series and I’m not as enthusiastic about narrator Renee Raudman as many are. I found the setting unbearably depressing.
BAYOU MOON (Edge Series, book 2) – Ilona Andrews, I hated this, the only Ilona Andrews I have ever DNF’d. I couldn’t stand the portrayal of a society held together by tribalism and brutal revenge. just yuck
SYLVESTER – Georgette Heyer – this and Faro’s Daughter are both part of audible’s romance package and are great comfort listens.
FARO’S DAUGHTER – Georgette Heyer
BEAST – Judith Ivory – I love love this book and don’t know why it’s taken me so long to listen to it. Probably because I associate the narrator, Barbara Rosenblat with Elizabeth Peter’s books and wasn’t sure she could pull off a romance, but she totally did. The Beast’s, Charles’ mix of personality traits: arrogance, vanity, wisdom, insecurity, compassion seem so believable even within a somewhat improbable scenario. Judith Ivory’s male characters are so distinctive and gosh I wish she was still writing. Part of Audible romance package
MR. IMPOSSIBLE – Loretta Chase – a re-listen one of my favorite Loretta Chase’s read by one of my top three narrators, Kate Reading
@Iris, it sounds like our tastes are similar(Mr. Impossible, Judith Ivory) so I would just say keep going with the Pennyroyal Green series, even though I KISSED AN EARL was meh for me. PERILS OF PLEASURE was my favorite also(the heroine rescuing the hero trope which I love), until I got to A NOTORIOUS COUNTESS CONFESSES and IT HAPPENED ONE MIDNIGHT. They are the best!
I spent most of November reading the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin which is excellent but SO DARK. So at the same time I was listening to the audio of The Kiss Quotient which I like quite a lot. Then I read Hurts To Love You by Alisha Rai – this was such a great series and Alisha Rai is super talented. Now I’m reading The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee which I’m really enjoying.
I’ve also been reading a Russian cookbook called Please to the Table. I got it from the library because I’ve been trying to find a good recipe for beef stroganoff, but this book is just chock full of essays, historical notes, and various other writings that I’ve started reading it straight through.
I’m also trying to decide which audiobook to start next – either The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory or A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. Such hard decisions!
This is mostly just a squee post – I raced through the Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries this month by Lynn Messina. They’re sloooow-burn historical romances/cosy mysteries and they’re such relaxing and funny books, though if you’re done with that classic ‘spinster meets Duke’ storyline you’ll struggle. They’re pretty much clean reads bar some *involved* kissing towards the end of the trilogy, and fully fall into the ‘please just realise you love each other’ genre of romance which I unreservedly adore. (Also, for my fellow Brits and/or historical sticklers, there are Americanisms and anachronistic speech patterns. It didn’t bother me but I know it’s a dealbreaker for some!)
I’m late to the party, but want to recommend Dopesick by Beth Macy- not a romance, but a smart read about the opiod crisis. Well written, compassionate, informative. I enjoy my romace escapes even more after a good non fiction read. Next is Sally Field’s In Pieces.
I somehow missed the last Whatcha Reading so quick hightlights of what should have been mentioned.
–Fall by Kristen Callihan 3rd book in series about a rock star who attempted suicide and is struggling to deal with the after affects for himself and his loved ones. This book was amazing and I highly recommend it.
–Wish You Were Here by Renee Carlino. Tearjerker. One night stand that could have been more. Deals with Love of Your life theme when they are only around for a short time.
For this month:
–Still by Kennedy Ryan. I cannot recommend this series enough. It the 3rd book of the Grip and Bristol series and what happens after the HEA
–Trailer Park Heart by Rachel Higginson. Love Higginson’s books and the one is no different. Heroine has big plans to get out of her small town after high school but doesn’t happen because of a surprise pregnancy. She ends up raising her son alone because she thinks of herself as trailer trash.
–You Own Me by Shiloh Walker. Novella-sized story about an ex-convict in love with his best friend who was also the reason he went to jail.
–Wrong number Right Guy by Elle Casey. Wrong number text leads to the Heroine caught up in a shoot out in a bar and a new job with private investigators. Cute book and funny at times
–The Brave Line by Kate Stewart. Friends with Benefits book between a dispatcher and a cop. Fair warning also deals with domestic abuse. Love Kate Stewart’s books.
–Shame on Me by Tara Sivc. 2nd book in series about a fashionista private investigator that nobody takes seriously. End up investigating the husband of their client.
–The Last Good Knight by Tiffany Reisz. 5 part serial. Follows Mistress Nora and a new submissive
–All Fired Up by Elle Kennedy and Vivian Arend. Ex-military guys set up a service for Men to woo their girlfriends/wives.
–Ache For You by J.T. Geissinger.Slow burn romance Fashion designer having a bad week after she’s dumped at the altar, her business burns to the ground and her father dies. Liked this one but my favorite is still Melt for You.
–Doppel Banger by Heather Orgeron. This was a DNF at chapter 8. I could not get into this book at all.
–The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise. Slow Burn New Adult romance. Cute book about a couple that runs into each other on campus on occassion that become roommates.
–Fireworks by Sarina Bowen. 6th book in the True North series. Weather girl goes home to help out her step-sister on her forced vacation after drawing a penis on the weather map. Ends up helping out her ex-friend cop
–Bulldozer by P. Dangelico. Heroine goes to the Hamptons to her brother’s house to set up a new Yoga studio in town and runs into a naked, grumpy NFL football player healing from an injury.
–Dirty Billionaire by Meghan March. 1st in Trilogy. Up and Coming country singer is in a fake relationship with a gay singer to help out both of their careers. She decides to have a one night stand. Turns out to be a billionaire that takes out an ad to find her and marry her.
I am currently reading Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet and it’s taking me awhile because I don’t normally read fantasy. I am impatiently waiting for Mariana Zapata’s newest and if it does get released soon I can’t read it right away because I have houseguests.
@ anonymous, as for fantasy romance, Laini Taylor’s STRANGE THE DREAMER and THE MUSE OF NIGHTMARES are excellent with really intriguing world building. One of aspects I most welcome about these books is that there are no Snappy Snarky inner monologues, no sense that the characters are trying to impress and perform for the reader rather than interacting with each other. One thing that may discourage you (but don’t let it) is that these are classified as YA and while there is sex, it’s subtle.
@ Karin, That’s good to know about the Pennyroyal Green series, it’s reviews are very mixed.
Actually I am one who struggled with MURDER IN THRALL and I dnf’d it. The thing that annoyed me the most is that Doyle was a virgin. I am extremely, probably, over sensitive to any hint that female sexual purity is a plus on a woman’s side of the power ledger. Although the idea that Acton’s obsession with Doyle is such a point of vulnerability that it evens out the imbalance of power in this couple is interesting. I got the feeling that Acton would not have wanted her to be sexually experienced which is why it was such a stumbling block for me. But as you say we seem to have similar reading tastes so maybe I should give the series another try.
I didn’t read as much this month as the Grand Prix of Figure Skating started so my weekends were spent streaming not reading. But I did read enough that I should hit my Goodreads challenge of 200 books this year.
The Darkest Star by Jennifer Armentrout — This book hit my kindle app on October 30th and is pretty much the reason that no work was done that day. Finished it that evening. I love Armentrout’s YA series. Her characters are fun and the stories are easy to fall into.
While the Duke Was Sleeping, The Scandal of it All, and the Duke Buys a Bride by Sophie Jordan — These were all fun by the Scandal of it All was my favorite and sent me down the rabbit hole of finding older women/younger men romance stories.
Legacy of the Demon by Diana Rowland — I remember starting Rowland’s demon series after the second book was published and it was fun police procedural with a main character that summoned demons to help with police work. I hadn’t read the series in a few years but Rowland dropped enough backstory that I was able to pick the main plot back up. Hopefully the last book in the series will come out next year.
Up Shute Creek by Denise Grover Swank — I love this series. I binge read all of the Rose books after SBTB did a review of one of them earlier this year. This one wasn’t my favorite but I still enjoyed the relationship between Rose and Neely Kate.
The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne — Yup. This was crazysauce. The kids marrying as kids clued me in that crazysauce was about to be spread all over.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 8 — This one wasn’t as memorable. I don’t even remember what took place.
Stripped by Zoey Castile — It was ok. I thought the issues between the heroine and her best friend could have been fleshed out more and it seemed too trite that the heroine admitted to being depressed and the cure was a boyfriend.
2 Fuzzy 2 Furious by Shannon Hale — Another Squirrel Girl aimed at kids. I read this to my 9 year old daughter. We both enjoyed the idea of Hydra attempting to take over the world by building a mall.
Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas — I may have forgotten to eat while reading this book. I know that the laundry piled up because I kept doing loads while I was reading and then never folded any of it.
The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, Bad Blood, Twelve by Jennifer Lynn Barnes– The Naturals was for my Teen Reads for Grown Ups book club and I binge read the entire series that same week. While the mysteries weren’t that believable I loved the found family aspect and the teen characters were written very believably as teens.
Wildcard by Marie Lu — I spent the first 100 pages trying to remember what happened in Warcross and the last 200 pages going WTF? This was a fantastic finish to this duology.
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley — Apparently I read this book a few years ago and only remembered it when I opened it to find the hero buying a bowl. I suspect that I will forget that I read this book again in a few years and add it to my TBR list again.
What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell — This was frothy and delightful. Mari was fun and the way she handled the twins made for some lol scenes. I already own the second book but haven’t picked it up yet.
The Rogue not Taken and A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean — MacLean is hit or miss for me and I haven’t read her in years. But I enjoyed these two books and I’m halfway through The Day of the Duchess. I did see others cite that they didn’t like Sophie in the first book and that MacLean tends to describe her heroines as having self esteem issues, but that’s precisely the reason I liked these. I also have horrible self esteem and reading about characters that also feel that way is soothing for me.
Next up: The other 33 books I have checked out! It’s hibernation season.
I’ve been both busy with my needlework shop and in a bit of a reading slump lately. However, I finished a couple this month and started one.:
* The Murderer’s Son – Joy Ellis (Audible audiobook)
I’ll admit that I started this series purely because Richard Armitage narrates them, but it does somewhat fill that The Fall/Happy Valley/Hinterland-shaped hole in my heart. Did I mentioned Richard Armitage is the narrator?
* A Week to be Wicked – Tessa Dare
Recommended via your Instagram, actually. This was a fun read and it had a heroine who was into fossils and geology! I was a dinosaur kid, so this was right up my alley.
*The Prize – Julie Garwood
Another rec from your Instagram stories. No opinion just yet, because I haven’t even finished the first chapter. I am looking forward to a giant hero who is secretly soft. Such catnip.
@Kati I had forgotten all about Diana Rowland’s series, so thanks for the reminder!! I read the first two or three of those and was really into it, but then there was one that started with the heroine going into the demon world and things got less police procedural and more….out there. I was fully here for what I referred to as “CSI with demons and sex!” but it lost me a little. Maybe I’ll give it another try.
I am currently starting Yoon Ha Lee’s military science-fantasy trilogy “The Machineries of Empire.” I am really into the premise—strict observance of ritual-based calendar allows for shifts in the nature of reality enough to allow for exotic effects like FTL travel; the heroine is a brilliant mathematician who understands the alternate-reality business enough to use it in combat; she has a long-dead military genius sharing her body, who’s possibly crazy and possibly working on a centuries-long project to topple the Empire. But there’s a lot of names to keep track of, I’m not following it as well as I’d like, and having only an audio version available to me doesn’t help.
I also read some short stories this month. The best was a collaboration between Seanan McGuire and Jennifer Brozek, “Home and Hope Both Sound a Little Bit Like ‘Hunger'”—it was sort of a horror story but mostly it hit me hard in the feelings. I’ve never read anything else by Brozek; this really sounded a lot like a McGuire story, but one of the best of hers I’ve ever read, so I should check out Brozek I guess. It’s in an anthology of collaborations (horror), Chiral Mad 4, which has been hit-or-miss overall but the best are top-notch. I also have been picking at an anthology called Sword and Sonnet, fantasy stories about warrior poets: what a great concept, but execution mostly meh, with the “voice” of the stories being too much alike. The best so far, besides an intriguing bit of horror by A. C. Wise, was the one by Margo Lanagan. No one could accuse her of sounding like anyone else, ever.
I re-read K.J. Charles’s Think of England and now I am wildly impatient for Fen and Pat’s prequel story that she’s promised.
What else? Oh yeah, the second half of Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer duology was a bit of a letdown–not that it was bad, just not up to the stellar first half. It had pacing problems with too much crammed into it that should have been spread out over both halves of the story; I am not really convinced by [no spoilers here] things to do with ghosts; and there’s a surfeit of redemptions for long-standing emotional traumas that comes off as just too much too easily.
Some library reads, since I’m not buying them anymore… Hardcore Twenty-Four. Too much Lula, not enough grandma. Joe and Ranger each get some. Diesel is back, but he doesn’t get any. Christine Feehan’s Dark Sentinel. Oh, Carpathians. Not as much sex, more battling. Christine Feehan’s Leopard’s Run. Much rough sex and killing. Things I bought… Susan Mallery’s Why Not Tonight and Not Quite Over You. These are similar to the Fools Gold books. Hello stranger by Lisa Kleypas. I have Someone to Trust on order for Tuesday.
This is my favourite monthly post, and because I read diversely, I love that certain familiar names each month give me great suggestions in various genre’s.
Not a huge reading month:
The Highlights:
Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren.
And a reread of Glitterland by Alexis Hall via the voice-gasmic Nicholas Boulton on audible (happy sigh).
The Good:
The Duke I Tempted by Scarlet Peckham, a new voice to historical romance, enjoyed very much.
Just OK:
Visions of Heat #2 by Nslini Singh, I’m glad to finally continue the series, and enjoyed learning more about their worlds. But, a shadow of the quality of book #1.
I finished a couple of lengthy books this month!
Excellent:
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris: The first in a three volume biography, the writing and the story telling in this book were superb. The book covers TR from his birth until the moment he finds out McKinley has been assassinated and he will become President. It is very long, though, so I would particularly recommend it to those with a strong interest in Presidential history. I plan to read the second volume.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins: Holy crap, peeps. This book is amazing – gothic and creepy. The story is told in chronological order but by different characters which is an absolutely brilliant way to see different angles of the story. The villain is deeply disturbing because he is a fully drawn character rather than a flat, non nuanced bad guy. The variety of women in the story is awesome – Marian the true backbone of the entire story. And the author creates this feeling like the walls are closing in and horror is all around without the book being actually horrific (in the sense of on page violence or gratuitous scares). I can’t say enough good things about this book, please read it.
Very Good:
None
Good:
None
Meh:
All I Want for Halloween by Marie Harte: Loved that this was a Halloween romance which are too few and far between for my taste, but this was so uneven. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was great, the relationship was developed well, and I liked the side characters of the heroine’s family. BUT the hero’s ex-girlfriend was such an over the top villain it was ridiculous and there were some crazy plot points that just pulled me out of the story including some weird choices about the use or non-use of birth control/protection.
The Bad:
None
@ Katie C. The Woman In White is amazing. The scene where Walter first encounters Marian is my favorite in all of literature. Their essential natures are so quickly established in little more than a page.
Carved out some time for fun reading this month!!
First, I BLAZED my way through Bec McMaster’s entire London Steampunk series, and I’ve now moved on to the companion series. I LOVED the whole series, even if the dynamics of the different romances got a little repetitive at times. I had started her Dark Arts series earlier and never continued it but Vampire Steampunk London just WORKS for me. Incredible world-building, too.
Getting back into Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series also, after reading the first one a few months ago. Enjoyed Visions of Heat, LOVED Caressed by Ice. I saw someone (not sure where??) describe the hero of Caressed by Ice as a sociopath, though, and he’s…not? At all? Just totally emotionally shut off at the beginning of the book. “Hero-of-ice cracks” is a trope I love so that worked well for me. I also enjoy the political aspects of these books enough to keep going through the series even though I sense some of the romances are going to be more “meh” for me than others.
I also read The Winter King by CL Wilson. While I liked it overall, some parts of it came across pretty Old Skool to me so I was surprised that it was published in 2014. I also think the book could have been cut by at least 100 pages. Haven’t decided if I’m going to read the sequel, but fantasy romance is sadly not super thick on the ground these days so I may end up doing so.
I feel like I read some other things that I’m forgetting but these were this month’s major offerings!!
@KatieC and @Iris – ditto for “The Woman in White.” Read it years ago – loved it. I know there’s a series now, but I’m in Italy and we can’t get it.
I will look into the Teddy Roosevelt book(s), as well. I have a doctorate in history but don’t (yet) have the right to work in Italy, so I’ve got plenty of time to read! I loved the Caro series on Lyndon Johnson. Currently reading “Victory 1918: The Last 100 Days” about Canadian soldiers in World War I. (I’m Canadian and we often feel overlooked when these commemorations happen – many don’t seem to realize we had troops in both world wars, and they played an important role in victory in both cases.)
As for more light stuff, I’m just discovering Sheila Roberts’ wonderful work! I’m a big cat lover and started with “The Nine Lives of Christmas.”
Also read a lovely story about an Iranian-American mother and daughter, called “Together Tea” by Marjan Kamali.
This week I’m busy in reading One and Only by Jenny Holiday and inspirational quotes . Struggling to read it also but luck so far.
I listened to the Yuri on Ice podcast six days ago, paused to actually watch the show before the spoilers started because it’s only 12 episodes so it won’t take long AND IT HAS NOW CONSUMED MY WHOLE LIFE AND IT’S GLORIOUS.
@Veronica Bell – I hope you enjoy the TR biography! I have the Caro biographies on my TBR because I have heard great things about them , but so many books so little time!