Whatcha Reading? August 2019 Edition, Part One

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1. KateB says:

   August 10, 2019 at 3:08 am

   Apologies for the multiple “blank meets blank”, but my brain really does do that. And, 100% #teamcorvid

   Faves

   – RETICENCE by Gail Carriger – the end of The Custard Protocol and what feels like a wrapping up of the Parasolverse (I hope not! I’ll read the tales of any generation, please please!), this is just as delightful as the rest. This time with a no nonsense lady doctor!

   – JADE WAR by Fonda Lee – I loved JADE CITY, which you could describe as The Godfather meets Avatar: The Last Airbender, and WAR builds in an almost 2nd book in a trilogy structure. You get more on the map, characters in new positions find their way through and there are new fights and explosions and secrets and characters that just will not die. I’d say if you liked AMBERLOUGH, you should give these books a shot.

   – GIOVANNI’S ROOM by James Baldwin – this managed to tear into me. You want to sink into the language and the Paris environment, but Giovanni is in trouble and the narrator won’t just tell you, so you read with dread.

   – CAPTAIN VORPATRIL’S ALLIANCE / THE FLOWERS OF VASHNOI by Lois McMaster Bujold (audiobook) – SCIFI MARRIAGE OF CONVIENCE! I *think* you could read CAPTAIN absent the rest of the series, as this is Ivan’s only solo outing, and it’s so fun. VASHNOI was fine. I liked seeing the characters more than I liked the story.

   Good

   – BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #5 & #6 by Jordie Bellaire & David Lopez – these issues have a new artist and the direction is… unsettling. But it fits, because this arc is unsettling!

   – RISING GROUND: A SEARCH FOR THE SPIRIT OF A PLACE by Phillip Marsden – a personal meditation/history/memoir of Marsden’s travels around Cornwall.

   – THE VAN APFEL GIRLS ARE GONE by Felicity McLean – Virgin Suicides meets Picnic at Hanging Rock but without the impact of either.

   Currently Reading

   – THE ROYALS by Kitty Kelly (audiobook) – I watched all of THE CROWN despite long stretches of boredom, just so I could feel less guilty about reading this gossipy tome.

   – MEMOIRS OF A STAR by Pola Negri – discovered this just browsing the nonfiction stacks of my library and I’m excited. Memoirs of Classic Hollywood keep me going.
2. JoS says:

   August 10, 2019 at 4:31 am

   Nice to see WOTAKOI get a mention here. It’s a lovely series! I think non-gamers and non-anime fans would get it as long as they’re up for following the lives of geeks in the workplace. Geek culture resonates across geekdoms. Watching the Wotakoi anime would be a get start.
3. Lilaea says:

   August 10, 2019 at 5:30 am

   I totally put Sorcery Of Thorns on hold after reading the premise! Mostly this month has been A Lot so I have been reading a new to me Mercedes Lackey series that’s kind of Fantasy/Science Fiction post apocalyptic YA. I have some issues but it was genuinely comforting fluff with a lot of Found Family.

   Am also trying to read City Of Brass but my brain is not cooperating. I also want to read the newest Tessa Dare when it comes out, depending on whether I can handle it because I could really use some stories in which characters who are [spoilers] are still worthy of love and also that love that doesn’t magically fix things and it sounds like it does.
4. K.N.O’Rear says:

   August 10, 2019 at 7:13 am

   Read: HOW TO BREATHE UNDERWATER by Vicky Skinner. This was a contemporary teen romance about starting over after a divorce with an attractive love interest thrown in for good measure. It was okay, as someone whose parents divorced it is relatable, but her issues with her dad and how she kinda used the love interest as just an escape at first don’t feel entirely resolved( I know the author and as far as I know it’s a stand alone ). Not to mention it was really slow paced and hard to get into. However if YA “ problem books” are your thing you might look into it.

   Reading: THE VICTORIAN CITY: EVERYDAY LIFE I’m DICKEN’S LONDON by Judith Flanders. Firstly the title is a bit of a misnomer, it is literally about the London in which Charles Dickens( roughly 1825-1870) so it isn’t set completely in the Victorian era , but the information is solid. The author is really descriptive and uses lots of journal clips to paint a clear picture of London during that time, so it can be quite useful if you are writing about that era( warts and all) . However, it’s also really dense and if you just have a passing interest in the era there are far more interesting Nonfiction books out there.

   THE BLOODSTONE INHERITANCE by Serita Deborah Stevens. This is an old Zebra Gothic I came across at half price books. It’s okay. The biggest problem I have with it is it leans far more in the Gothic side of the Gothic Romance and far less on the love story; in fact the heroine and her hero spend very little page time together. Even if you are just into Gothics, there are probably better ones that are easier to come across.
5. Ren Benton says:

   August 10, 2019 at 7:27 am

   Read:

   THE KILLING MOON by N. K. Jemisin. First of the Dreamblood duology (which I got in a bundle, but this one ends with such finality, I can save the second for a time when I need guaranteed good writing). Priests who usher souls from this world through dreams, political intrigue, family drama.

   THE LUMINOUS DEAD by Caitlin Starling: Caaaaves iiiiin spaaaace! Subtle, skillful creation of the best kind of reading anxiety. The Iron Man suit that should make everything easier actually sounds like my worst nightmare, and the balance between “she’s obviously hallucinating” and “plausible legit explanation for this weird thing” and “oh, we can’t trust the narrator” kept me not-uncomfortably on edge. The ending was too neat and tidy for me, given the trauma that came before, but others will probably appreciate that the resolution isn’t as grim as I would have preferred.

   DNF:

   NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff. Young assassin trainee is sent on a quest to find the elite assassin school where she can level up enough to complete her revenge goals. I quit specifically because one of the numerous flashbacks exited into a flashforward ahead of where we’d left off in the “present” and then went BACK to where we’d left off in the present, so it would necessarily eventually get back to the “future,” which I already know about, and I have nothing positive to say about that structural choice. But also, like Daniel O’Malley’s THE ROOK, half the book is in italics, which is physically unpleasant to read for people with certain eye and neurologic conditions, and a formatter ought to know that.

   Currently reading:

   ASH AND QUILL by Rachel Caine: The third Great Library book. Alternate history where the Library of Alexandria didn’t burn and grew into a political monster that controls all the world’s written knowledge. I’d perceived the first two books as loosely Victorian era, but this one starts with a piece of architecture I know to be more modern than that, which was obviously constructed long before this rebel city came under siege for a hundred years, and now I’m extremely distracted by finding myself in what sounds like more of a postapocalyptic future. It’s not quit-bad, but it’s jangling my nerves enough that I’m having a hard time getting invested in the adventures of Wolfe and Santi I MEAN JESS AND HIS PLUCKY TEEN FRIENDS.
6. GraceElizabeth says:

   August 10, 2019 at 7:54 am

   I found Stella Riley’s backlist at my library and I’m in love. I work in research on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries so as a rule I don’t read historicals set in that period, but I’m enjoying the Rockliffe series so much that I just want to read more of her writing!
7. MirandaB says:

   August 10, 2019 at 8:01 am

   Whoever told me Armstrong’s Cainesville series improved on the second book was correct. Visions was Awesome. I’m forcing myself to wait and get Deceptions from the library since it’s a little pricey on Kindle.

   Also read ‘The Double A Western Detective Agency’ by Steve Hockensmith. Two cowboy brothers run a detective agency. I really liked the earlier books in this series, but this one was meh.

   Delirium Brief by Charles Stross: Re-read to prep for Labyrinth Index. Still good.
8. Another Kate says:

   August 10, 2019 at 9:08 am

   It’s been a while since I’ve posted on “Whatcha Reading?” but I’ve had a decent reading summer so far.

   I have enjoyed Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley books in the past, but had been disappointed in the past several in the series. I finally picked up the next one (to me) in the series, A Banquet of Consequences and was pleasantly surprised in both the mystery and the characters.

   I just finished Nora Robert’s Come Sundown and was a bit meh. It dragged on too long (in my opinion) and even though I liked the characters, they were a bit too flat for me.

   I read and loved Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun.

   I DNF’d Personal Geography by Tamsen Parker about 3/4 of the way through (I was bored, which disappointed me since I’ve enjoyed other books by Parker that I’ve read).

   I read and loved The Bride Test by Helen Hoang.

   I read Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole and wished that it was a full-length novel instead of a novella.

   I read and laughed my way through Unmentionable by Therese Oneill.

   And I’ve just started The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine!
9. Jennifer Estep says:

   August 10, 2019 at 9:12 am

   I recently read TRULY MADLY ROYALLY by Debbie Rigaud, which is a royal-themed YA romance.

   I’m looking forward to reading AN ILLUSION OF THIEVES by Cate Glass and SPIN THE DAWN by Elizabeth Lim.

   I’ve also been binge watching YOUNGER this summer. It’s a fun rom-com with some interesting comments about ageism. Although the publishing stuff is not very realistic. I keep wanting to yell at my TV, “That’s not how publishing works!” LOL.
10. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    August 10, 2019 at 9:56 am

    I returned to work a few days ago and my reading time will now be significantly curtailed; therefore, the last two weeks were a race to finish as many books as possible before school reopened.

    Kelly Hunter is a relatively new-to-me writer. I read one of her HPs last month and liked it very much. This month I read Hunter’s MAGGIE’S RUN, part of the Outback Brides series, which grabbed me from the first page. It’s a beautifully-written and somewhat melancholy story (cw: infertility and PTSD related to a fatal car accident): a woman returns to the Outback from Melbourne when she inherits her late aunt’s sheep station. The station has fallen into disrepair, and the heroine works with a neighboring rancher (a man with whom she has a long, complicated history extending back to childhood) to renovate the property with an eye to offering destination weddings. (Incidentally, don’t google “Outback Weddings” unless you have a free afternoon to spend drooling over some gorgeous images from Down Under. I speak from experience.) Hunter did such a great job with the story: the socially-awkward heroine, the pining hero, the fraught bonds of the past, the enormous amount of work that goes into running a station or renovating a property on it. And all the while, these two quiet people become more entangled with each other and the community around them. A lovely book. Highly recommended.

    I loved Molly O’Keefe’s ONE LAST CHANCE—a bittersweet story of a married couple who have been apart more than they’ve been together in their ten-year marriage. The heroine—a Cordon Bleu trained chef—returns to Texas to help the with the hero’s restaurant-bar. But their tangled past—the heroine’s awful father, the hero’s insistence that the heroine forgo her opportunity to attend culinary school in France, parental illnesses and deaths—keeps blocking them, even while their sexual chemistry is through the roof. This is one of those books where the journey is just as important as the romance—and in this case it’s the hero’s journey to understanding the part he has played in the mess his marriage has become and his acceptance that he must take the steps to repair it. So beautifully written, I cried during the hero’s grovel (and so do the hero and the heroine—so I wasn’t alone). Another highly-recommended read.

    I thoroughly enjoyed Naima Simone’s novella GRADING CURVES, which I think was recommended in last month’s WAYR. It’s equal parts sexy, funny, emotional, and wonderfully trope-y: interracial couple (she’s black, he’s white), older heroine (she’s 30, he’s 23), power imbalance (after getting a tattoo and, um, “other services” from the hero, the heroine discovers he is a student in the college class she is teaching), curvy heroine (unapologetic about her size 14 clothes), and a hot, dirty-talking hero who could give Tessa Bailey’s and Kati Wilde’s alphas a run for their money. All this—and a great underlying message about coming to terms with the various ways family can hurt us. Yes, there is an element of insta-love/lust, but considering GRADING CURVES’s novella length, Simone packs a lot of story into a small package. This was the first book by Naima Simone I’ve read, but it won’t be the last.

    BIG BAD MARINE is the fifth of Jackie Ashenden’s six-book Texas Bounty series. The hero is a 35-year-old former marine (hence the book’s title); the heroine is 21 and his coworker at an Austin bounty-hunting agency. (The age gap didn’t bother me—Ashenden’s books often feature significant age gaps, some up to 20 years.) The two are assigned to work together to retrieve a fugitive from Las Vegas—and thus begins a road-trip/enforced-proximity story. Since her mid-teens, the heroine has had a huge crush on the hero—including acting in the sort of cringe-inducing ways a person does when trying to get the object of their crush to notice them. The hero has made it clear there can never be anything romantic/sexual between them, and will hardly acknowledge—even to himself—that he finds the now-adult heroine attractive. But then the old “fully-booked hotel only has one room available” situation rears its head and, before you know it, h&h are having hot sex (including some mild D/s kink and spanking). Then, as the two continue to travel together, the heroine’s feelings mature away from that of a teenage crush, while the hero begins to appreciate the heroine’s intelligence and insight. This being Jackie Ashenden, there’s amazing eye color, distinct fragrances, similar dysfunctional backgrounds, a break-up (because…reasons), and a satisfying HEA.

    Once I finished BIG BAD MARINE, I could hardly wait for Ashenden’s BLACK SHEEP BOUNTY HUNTER, the sixth and final book of the series—featuring the couple whose story I’ve been waiting for (and shipping) since 2017! Sometimes, if we wait too long for a couple’s story, when it finally arrives, it can be disappointing (cough—BROOKLYNAIRE—cough), but that was not the case with BSBH. I loved it! An enemies-to-lovers theme and unresolved sexual tension so thick it vibrates off the page. The hero and heroine run rival bounty-hunter services in Austin. Even though they are business rivals and have previously had an adversarial relationship (albeit with lots of sexy back-and-forth banter), they join forces to discover who is blackmailing the heroine about an episode in her past. This requires them to be in a fake relationship—enforced-proximity alert!—which eventually becomes the real thing. If you’re not ready to invest in a six-book series, BLACK SHEEP BOUNTY HUNTER can be read as a stand-alone, although I do think that one of the things that makes it so good is the simmering tension between the h&h that we’ve glimpsed in the previous five books. A sexy and perfect ending to the series—and well worth the wait. Highly recommended.

    The prolific Ashenden also released a new HP this month, CLAIMING HIS ONE-NIGHT CHILD, a surprise pregnancy (as opposed to secret baby) story. The heroine attempts to assassinate the hero to carry out her family’s desire for revenge against his family (although the hero had no part in the original cause of the families’ acrimony), but ends up pregnant by him instead—as one does. Can the h&h overcome family enmity and dysfunction to make a loving life for their baby? As you know, I love HPs, but other readers’ mileage may vary.

    SONATA is the third and final book (after OVERTURE and CONCERTO) in Skye Warren’s series about a violin prodigy who falls in love with her guardian. This book was far more of a romantic suspense than the previous two, with the hero (who runs a security & personal protection company) trying to find the identity of the person who attempted to kill the heroine, and the heroine learning a lot more about her parents and trying to decide if she really wants to continue playing the violin. There are some nice set pieces in the book, such as a long scene at a formal ball where the heroine and two other women are dressed in elaborate gowns with insect motifs (ladybug, butterfly, honeybee), but I have to say I was more interested in the stories Warren is setting up for those other two women: one a dancer who is somehow involved with the hero’s brother (that will be in an upcoming book titled AUDITION, which has a lovely “ballet shoes” cover); the other, a woman in an arranged marriage to a wealthy man who apparently has rather twisted tastes. That last one should be really good—no one does dark sexuality better than Warren.

    After liking (with some reservations) Cara Dee’s IF WE COULD GO BACK last month, I tried Dee’s INAPPROPRIATELY YOURS which I also liked—perhaps more than IF WE COULD GO BACK because there’s no cheating in INAPPROPRIATELY YOURS. The book is actually two interconnected love stories, one with a 16-year age gap between hero & heroine, the other something of a second-chance romance between two people in their forties (one a widower, the other divorced, both with grown children). In the first part of the book, a young woman (whose father is a famous writer) has published a book to uniformly awful reviews. She goes to visit her father’s good friend, an editor, for help in bringing her writing to life. But once she meets the editor, their attraction for each other—despite their age gap and the fact that he’s her father’s friend—is impossible to ignore. In the second part of the story, the woman’s father arrives in town, determined to confront his daughter and his friend about their “inappropriate” relationship. When he checks in at a local B&B, he discovers the owner is the woman who was the long-ago inspiration for his first novel, and a love affair ensues. INAPPROPRIATELY YOURS is a sweet and relatively angst-free read—with the proviso that one secondary character in this book will later end up in a very dark place in another Dee book (AUCTIONED); knowing what was in store for him in the future tempered my enjoyment of INAPPROPRIATELY YOURS somewhat.

    Sometimes (well, let’s face it, frequently) a book stays on my tbr list for so long, I forget why or when I put it on the list to begin with. I think Sarah Darlington’s BUT FIRST, COFFEE was a Rec League recommendation for romances where women are in positions of power/authority. BUT FIRST, COFFEE neatly reverses the “traditional” gendered CEO/employee romance novel dynamic: the heroine is the CEO of a small chain of coffee shops; she’s 30 and somewhat “prickly.” The hero is in his mid-twenties, unexpectedly promoted to a management position because of his success as a barista at one of the heroine’s shops. He also has ADHD and, after years of self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, has been sober for two years. Also, unlike the traditional romance set-up where the female employee has secret reasons for getting close to her boss, in this case it’s the hero who finds himself being blackmailed into sabotaging his boss’s business—circumstances that aren’t helped by his drug-addicted sister and his own fight for sobriety, especially in light of how attracted he is to the heroine. (CW for both the hero and his sister being the past victims of non-consensual sex acts.) I liked the book, particularly the dynamic between the tart heroine and the truly conflicted hero, but I think it had one subplot too many—and the villain might as well have been twirling his mustache while emitting “Bwaa-ha-ha-ha” laughter. However, in spite of its somewhat cluttered plot, I do recommend BUT FIRST, COFFEE as an interesting take on the CEO/employee trope.

    Helena Newbury’s ALASKA WILD was another “When did I put this on my tbr list?” book. I think it was recommended in the “Surviving the Elements” Rec League. Despite insta-love/lust (as in, “I will trust this fugitive from justice because he makes my lady-parts tingle”), I quite enjoyed this story of an FBI agent and a former SEAL (now an unjustly convicted felon and a fugitive) who have to battle the environment—and bad guys—when the small plane they’re on is deliberately sabotaged in the Alaskan wilderness. Along with de rigueur enforced proximity in a snowbound cabin, there’s a high level of suspense in the book, in part because of Newbury’s decision to have some chapters narrated by the villain who masterminded the plane crash. Therefore, the reader has information that the hero & heroine don’t—leading to some real tension and anxiety. There’s also an interesting subtext to the story regarding how wealthy young men get away with significant crimes because their families pay to make the problems go away and/or blame others—and their crimes just escalate from there. Sadly, quite relevant in today’s world. Recommended, but there are certainly more suspense/thriller elements than romantic ones here.

    Despite my predilection for dark & angsty, I quite enjoyed Lilliana Anderson’s FOOL ME TWICE, a romance with both comedic and serious elements (Anderson does a good job of balancing the two): the forthrightly plus-sized heroine has a fantastic night with a man she meets at a club—but the next morning she discovers that, after the sexy-fun-times, the guy drugged her and cleaned her place out completely—car, credit cards, furniture, electronics, jewelry (including a keepsake from her late mother). She is determined to track him down. Then she finds him and…he cleans her place out again (but returns her mother’s jewelry). She tracks him down once more—discovering that he’s part of a family of thieves—and now he wants to marry her so she can’t testify against him (and because, of course, he luuurves her). Family shenanigans and drama ensue. This is the sort of over-the-top, morally-dubious, madcap plot that only a clever rom-com can pull off. Entertaining—but be prepared to tolerate a lot of criminal behavior and park your suspension of disbelief in the back lot.

    Perhaps because of my grief in light of my mother’s recent passing, I found I liked Penelope Bloom’s SAVAGE less for its bad-boy-redemption/opposites-attract/enemies-to-lovers relationship than for the journey of the hero coming to terms with the death of his parents. Unlike my situation, the hero’s relationship with his parents was bitter and fractious—but the steps of grieving the loss of a loved one felt similar. I’m sure if I’d read this book under other circumstances, the hero’s smug entitlement and refusal to trust the heroine would have gotten on my nerves, but right now I was focused on his grief-influenced acting out. One of those “right book at the right time” situations.
11. HeatherS says:

    August 10, 2019 at 10:09 am

    Okay, “The Blacksmith Queen” sounds fabulous. But why y’all talking up this book that I want to put in my eyeballs NOW and it’s not out until August 27?

    I have a ton of library books and a teetering TBR stack, but I’m not reading much. The last thing I read was George Takei’s graphic memoir, “They Called Us Enemy”, and it was fantastic. The illustrations were simple but evocative and I didn’t pay attention to anything else while I was reading it cover to cover. He drew parallels between what happened then and the heinous policies and actions of 45’s administration (especially the Muslim ban and the caging of Latinx immigrants on the southern border) and the words and behavior of 45 himself today, and the similarities are chilling. I’d rank it right up there with John Lewis’ “March”. If you haven’t read it, please do. If you’re a teacher or a librarian or, heck, anyone, get copies of “They Called Us Enemy” and get as many people to read it as you can.
12. DonnaMarie says:

    August 10, 2019 at 10:43 am

    Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam is not a book that would normally have made my radar, but it appeared as a recommendation from an author I like, so I thought what the heck? The professor is a curmudgeonly economics professor who has once again been passed over for the Nobel Prize everyone assured him was his this time. He has just turned 70 and, after being hit by a bicycle, is advised by his doctor to change many things about his life. In effect to find his bliss. His journey is a bit more passive than the title or medical advise makes it sound, but kicking and screaming, the professor does find a new way and along the way manages to reconnect with his estranged family and make new friends. It was in many ways delightful and instructive.

    I’ve been enjoying Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series so much, I picked up her Wherever She Goes. Aubrey’s happy life has fallen apart under the secrets she’s kept about her past. Separated from the husband she loves and the child she adores, she has taken a job as a librarian and an apartment in a shady part of town. While out jogging she witnesses a child being snatched. And no one believes her. Loved it, and while I understand this to be a stand alone, it certainly could be built into something more. I know I’d love to spend more time in Aubrey’s world.

    A Wolf Apart continues Maria Vale’s Last of All Wolves series with the story of Elijah Sorensson, the pack’s attorney, who is starting to feel the weight of decades of living Off Land among humans to protect the interests of his pack. He is desperate to return to the pack before he loses himself. Then he meets the providentially named human Thea Villalobos and forbidden love ensues. The language is compulsively readable, the world building is excellent. Absolutely recommend this series.

    Currently reading Kelly Bowen’s A Duke In The Night because of all the love directed at the second book in this series. Can’t read series out of ordr. I’m OCD that way. Will August overcome his totally time period appropriate views about women before Clara dumps his ass? Or stabs him? Well, it is a romance….
13. JenM says:

    August 10, 2019 at 10:54 am

    First of all, thank you so much to the Bitchery for the joy of reading JANE DOE by Victoria Helen Stone. I’ve read and loved her Victoria Dahl romances, but I don’t know that I ever would have found or picked this book up if it hadn’t been for the fabulous review here that made me immediately go forth and one-click (although, it STILL took another year for it to bubble up to the top of my TBR pile!).

    For my bookclub, I read and loved THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah. TW for violence and abuse, and the usual general warnings that this is LitFic, therefore, bad things happen to good people, but otherwise, I was completely swept up in the story and the setting in an isolated community near Homer, AK (I’ve been to that area and it’s stunningly beautiful).

    Finally, my current guilty pleasure is Amanda Milo’s STOLEN BY AN ALIEN series which has the usual bonkers Earth women abducted and sold to aliens plots, but I’m totally in love with the aliens – horns, wings, spikes, prehensile tails, and raised in matriarchal societies to adore women. I find it rather soothing to read these types of SF Romances where the males are so loving and careful in spite of their overwhelming physical attributes – it’s total wish fulfillment LOL. TW for abuse, rape, slavery, etc. (backstory, not by the heroes, who are uniformly appalled by such horrific behavior).
14. Susan Cliff says:

    August 10, 2019 at 11:01 am

    I’ve had mediocre reading luck lately, finishing only two books. The one worth mentioning is THE CHILD FINDER by Rene Denfeld. Not easy subject matter (abduction, abuse) but beautiful writing & storytelling, with the most memorable main character I’ve read in ages. It’s in my top 5 reads of the year for sure.
15. Anna says:

    August 10, 2019 at 11:02 am

    It’s been a decent reading month – I feel like I’m not reading anything, but then I look back and realize that I’ve read more than I thought. I’m also in the middle of a nonfiction text for work which is extremely slow going.

    Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (SBTB recommendation): Wow, this was amazing. I was really disappointed to realize that the next book won’t be out until next summer.
    The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai: I had preordered this, and I’m not sad that I did. It almost put me in the Bad Decisions Book Club, but luckily I had a lot of train time that day. It was good. I liked Samson and Rhi, and there were some hot moments (Rai’s excellent at those).
    A Duke in the Night/Last Night with the Earl by Kelly Bowen: I kept wanting to smack August, although he did eventually become tolerable, but boy, I loved Clara and Anne. I adored Eli in LNwtE, but wasn’t as much of a fan of Rose. Maybe because as someone said on another post that her story seemed to be already in progress, and her character arc didn’t feel as complete to me. I’m excited for A Rogue by Night, which I’m on hold for at the library.
    Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz (Sarah MacLean recommendation): It was ok. I approved of the hero’s daughter and the heroine standing up to her (truly awful) family, but I wasn’t wowed by the romance.
    Under Currents by Nora Roberts: I think I talked about my reaction to this on the review post. It felt like three books were jammed together. I really wish an editor would dare to actually edit La Nora. She tells a good story, but she’s been getting sloppy, and her last few books have been poorly constructed.
16. DonnaMarie says:

    August 10, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @DiscoDollyDeb, I also read One Last Chance just last week. HOW did I forget to put it and The Tycoon on my list?!! I am always amazed by her short format writing. Seventy odd pages doesn’t leave a lot of room, and yet she manages a fully formed story with character development and an engaging love story. Really great writing.
17. Veronica says:

    August 10, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    Finished The Silent Patient and Things You Save in a Fire. I’m picky about thrillers, but really liked The Silent Patient. I liked Katherine Center’s last book, How to Walk Away, but didn’t love it. Loved Things you Save in a Fire, and it’s going into my save to read again pile. The main character is a woman firefighter, and she’s tough and I love her. I’m about halfway through The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, and had high hopes, but so far I’m finding it meh. I’m not going to DNF it, I don’t think,but hoping it improves. If not I have Ruth Ward’s newest waiting.
18. Katie C. says:

    August 10, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    Not too many books to report since the last Whatcha Reading, but I am in the middle of many, many books so hopefully more to talk about next time!

    Excellent:
    More About Paddington by Michael Bond: The second in the kid lit series Paddington and this one was just as funny and adorable as the first!

    Very Good:
    A Mortal Terror by James R. Benn: The sixth in the Billy Boyle mystery series set during WWII, I thought this might be one of the best I have read in the series so far. Billy is tasked with tracking down a serial killer among the fighting forces in Italy circa early 1944. I thought this was a really good mix of historical fiction about the reality of war and a mystery. These books are best read in order for character arcs and development and because of the progression of the war. CW for this one for suicide, socio/pyschopathy, PTSD, and war scenes.

    Good:
    None

    Meh:
    None

    Bad:
    None
19. Heather C says:

    August 10, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    I read Alyssa Cole’s A Hope Divided and An Unconditional Freedom. I LOVED A Hope Divided even more then An Extraordinary Union ( which I had given 5/5 stars).

    I also read Two Man Station (4/5) by Lisa Henry. Its about 2 cops working in a small town Australia.

    At the very end of last month I did the audio for Annabeth Albert’s Rough Terrain (Out of Uniform). I’m considering getting an ebook copy for a re-read.
20. Teev says:

    August 10, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    My first SEP was Heroes Are My Weakness, which has a heroine puppeteer (!) who must figure out who is menacing her puppets. Is it the horror novelist hero who lives in the gothic mansion up the hill? This of course made me want more SEP and there are a few more I liked (Natural Born Charmer has a trope I especially like which is isolated old lady that no one in town likes is befriended by heroine), but sooner or later you hit the wall that is those “gotta have a baby” books and YIkes they are bad. (Although I didn’t actually read the one where she drugs and rapes the dude to get pregnant because why would I want to read that?)

    Just finished Evvie Drake Starts Over. I think because it was Linda Holmes, who I love, and because it got so many raves, I had very high expectations. It was fine. Some of it was great (cereal box derby) and some of it wasn’t.
21. neh says:

    August 10, 2019 at 2:23 pm

    Yes Teev on Evvie Drake-if a cereal box race is the best part, well…I’ll try her next though. Thanks to DDDeb for recommending author Julie Kriss. Her Riggs Brothers are like Penny Reid’s Beard brother’s cousins. Fun.
22. Janet says:

    August 10, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    Sarah – I thought Penric was my secret! The whole world of the five gods is on replay for those truly desperate times in reading when I start and discard one book after another. McMaster Bujold gets me back on track and loving books.
    I don’t recommend Sherry Thomas to anyone, because I cannot stand to hear anything but complete adoration of her books, all of her books, from any of my friends. Love His at Night, so angsty, but I am completely committed to Not Quite a Husband as my all time favorite, for reasons I cannot explain.
23. Frida says:

    August 10, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    @DiscoDollyDeb +1 about Brooklynaire!

    I’m in a bit of a slump now so thank you all for especially amazing recommendations this month! These all went straight to my tbr:

    Maggie’s Run
    But First, Coffee
    Stolen by an Alien
    Sorcery of Thorns
    Crisis in the Red Zone
    The Blacksmith Queen

    Thanks also for the reminder about Zen Cho’s latest, I bought it when it came out but somehow haven’t gotten around to it. I think it might be just what I need now.
24. AmyS says:

    August 10, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    I’ve had too much getting-ready-for-school business going on to get much reading done. I did really enjoy PUPPY LOVE by Lucy Gilmore. It is about a gruff wildfire firefighter that needs a service dog for his diabetes and gets attached to an adorable Pomeranian puppy and the trainer that came along with it. I found the writing solid with good dialogue and banter. It was low on angst and high on making me smile with warm and fuzzy feelings.
25. treakle1 says:

    August 10, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    @KateB, I read JADE WAR and THE RISE OF KYOSHI (one of the previous incarnations in the Avatar world) in that order. Both books are phenomenal because they deal with the utter frustration of wielding great power.

    Exceptional:

    JADE WAR by Fonda Lee. Such beautiful writing! I cared about every character, which is not always the case when I read a series. I can imagine how difficult it would be to stay within the lines of the clan structure as you try to wield your power because Ms. Lee meticulously highlights each character’s struggle. “There’s more than one way to be a Green Bone.” Too bleeping right, Anden.

    THE RISE OF KYOSHI by F.C. Yee. The enjoyment level of this book depends on your knowledge of “Avatar: the Last Airbender” lore. THE RISE OF KYOSHI is pretty much oppositsies of JADE WAR on how to deal with immense personal power. KYoshi grows up as a servant whose massive earth bending powers are unrealized until tragedy strikes. Kyoshi has to run away from the person who would teach her how to wield her avatar powers. She takes up with some unsavory characters who challenge Kyoshi’s notion of right and wrong. I was floored by the ending. I loved this book so much that I bought copies for my nephews in their early 20s. They grew up watching “Avatar: the Last Airbender.” The boys, who predominantly read nonfiction, loved THE RISE OF KYOSHI.

    Current series:

    Nalini Singh’s psy/changeling series. I thought about skipping ahead to KISS OF SNOW but I saw there was a cast of characters so I will keep reading in order. Next in line is BRANDED BY FIRE.

    DNF:

    THE STRAWBERRY THIEF by Joanne Harris. I could not get into the book despite my appreciation of magical realism and the further insight into the characters of CHOCOLAT. I may revisit it at a later date.

    On deck:

    RETICENCE by Gail Carriger. Currently I am in a stalemate with the library. If I pick up books that are available and go home I am often alerted that the next book on my hold list is now ready for pick up. I refuse to be thwarted today! And so I wait…
26. Carol S says:

    August 10, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    I finished Mary Balogh’s SOMEONE TO CARE which was everything you’d expect from Mary Balogh. It’s part of a series and I love the fact that it focused on a slightly older woman (40s or 50s). It also addressed the issue of sex for pleasure AND outside of marriage, which is out of the ordinary for the Regency genre. The only significant flaw was the “if only they’d had a conversation instead of assuming” conflict. Remember what Felix Unger always said: “when you assume you make an “ASS” out of “U” and “ME”.”

    I am halfway through THE BENEFICIARY by Janny Scott. Janny Scott’s grandmother was Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, who is reputed to be the inspiration for Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story. I live pretty close to Ardrossan, what’s left of the estate where Hope Scott lived. I’m finding it fascinating. Janny Scott is a reporter and so she writes beautifully, bolstered by her insider perspective (but also outsider, since she lived away from the family for a long time). I can’t tell if it’s more fascinating for someone like me who knows Philadelphia and the Main Line than it would be for someone not living around here. TW for alcoholism.

    I am also partway through THE PRINCESS AND THE FANGIRL by Ashley Poston, part of a series but works as a stand alone. Heroine looks just like an actress who plays a lead role in a fantasy/sci fi series. Heroine loves the show but the actress hates being stuck in the same role. They are about to switch places and I am sure hijinx will ensue. I like this series with its geek culture setting.

    From a personal growth standpoint, I highly recommend THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE, by B. van der Kolk. It’s about post-traumatic stress. What a mind-blower for me. I was the victim of a natural disaster as a child, grew up with an alcoholic father who was often abusive, and a few years ago had a very shocking and sudden end to my marriage with financial and legal repercussions that are still unresolved. I always viewed PTSD as something that war veterans and crime victims got but this book helped me understand that any kind of traumatic event can cause this constellation of symptoms and behaviors. The book is written by a doctor who has studied patients with PTSD for many years and is a pioneer in treating PTSD patients. I cannot begin to tell you how much this has resonated with me. Truly one of those things that is changing me in a very positive way.
27. Darlynne says:

    August 10, 2019 at 4:11 pm

    Loved:

    AN EXTRAORDINARY UNION by Alyssa Cole. Because of course.

    THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL by Abbi Waxman. Really unexpected and this little California town was populated with the wittiest people in the world, but every word was delightful.

    Really liked:

    THE ARMORED SAINT by Myke Cole. First of three novellas about a young woman in a world ruled by the Sacred Throne, which put me very much in mind of Joan of Arc in terms of sacrifice and leadership, and THE POPPY WAR although not as violent. Heloise is angry and I am here for that; also, lesbian heroine in mechanical armor.

    Liked:

    NUMBER ONE CHINESE RESTAURANT by Lillian Li. A complicated, extended restaurant/family dynamic with a surprising number of not-very-likable characters save one. Still not sure how I felt about spending time with these people.
28. Kristi says:

    August 10, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    I live in the heart of the Sonoran Desert where it is HOT! My AC was on the blink so I gasped my way to Northern Lights by Norah Roberts for the Alaskan scenery. I need lengthy descriptions of ice flows, white out snow storms and crisp nights with otherworldly light displays like I need air to breathe right now. Frankly, I don’t care if it’s good or not…this is medicinal! However, in the spirit of this post, it’s a good read. Not my favorite Norah Roberts. It is a bit predictable as far as murder mysteries go but contains Norah’s usual attention to detail and colorful characters. She always spends quality time painting her world. It’s what I need right now. Anyone else finding solace in tundra-set books?

    Trading in my prickly-pear eating neighborhood javelinas for a sled team.
29. Ren Benton says:

    August 10, 2019 at 5:27 pm

    @Darlynne: I’m so used to rooting for persecuted mages, I felt betrayed by magic in THE ARMORED SAINT. Cole is a military guy, and he did a great job focusing on the plight of ordinary civilians squeezed between hostile forces. THE QUEEN OF CROWS is just as good (and just as brutal to Heloise physically and emotionally), and I’m looking forward to THE KILLING LIGHT tying my emotions in knots in November.
30. StarlightArcher says:

    August 10, 2019 at 5:37 pm

    I’m racing to get as much read before the start of the semester as possible. I’m finishing up the audio book of “The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet’s Nest”. I seem to read the series on a perennial cycle. And no, I haven’t read the new books and I’m not sure how I feel about them.

    I’m also working my way through A Feast of Crows, by George R.R. Martin. I will one day read all the books, but this one has been kinda slow going. Mostly because school is starting and I’ve been taking a break from reading to recharge my brain batteries in time for the big push.

    Lastly, my mom (who works at a library) just sent me a heads up about a new book “Awards for Good Boys: Tales of Dating, Double Standards and Doom” by Shelby Lorman. The subject matter seemed pretty germane to me, since I keep dating and keep finding new ways to be disappointed by guys who claim to be good but really just are one big disappointment. Even if it offers no insight, here’s to feeling somewhat validated that other ladies are paddling in the S.S. Disappointment canoe along with me.
31. Vivi12 says:

    August 10, 2019 at 6:36 pm

    @Teev- I too like SEP’s Natural Born Charmer, I laughed at the start with the heroine in a beaver suit, and enjoyed the “mean old lady”. I never understood why the heroine had to prove herself by staying at the ranch and not contacting the hero…
    Current reading:
    Between the Sheets by Molly O’Brien Keefe two untrusting g adults learn to trust in each other and a young teen boy makes believably flawed decisions with the best of intentions.
    I read Thirsty and Trashed by Mia Hopkins and can’t wait to pre-order the next one Tanked. Thirsty was much angstier, but I loved both.
    I tried Julia Kent, Fluffy looking for something super light, but it was too slapstick for me.
32. Emily B says:

    August 10, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    I’ve been trying to make better use of my Kindle Unlimited but running into the problem I sometimes have with KU, which is mediocre books.

    THE GUY ON THE RIGHT by Kate Stewart. New adult friends to lovers college set romance. I didn’t like the beta hero and I don’t love the sexist implications of the friend zone concept. I’ve read some of Stewart’s baseball rom coms and enjoyed them, but this was meh.

    The Smart Jocks series by Rebecca Jenshak. Someone recommended these in a prior Whatcha Reading, and I was in the mood for something Elle Kennedy Off Campus-esque. These scratches that itch, but I can’t see myself rereading them like I have with Kennedy’s series. The last one was the best.

    I’m currently working my way through Lauren Rowe’s Morgan Brothers series based on a recommendation of Ball Peen Hammer in the sex puppies thread. I have a thing about reading series out of order so I read the first two and am now at Ball Peen Hammer. I can’t say I love this authors style- the dialogue is a bit juvenile, and the over the top insta-Love/lust is a little much. They’re enjoyable enough, but I wouldn’t pay for them outside of KU.
33. Kareni says:

    August 10, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    Since last time ~

    — The 5th Gender: A Tinkered Stars Mystery by G. L. Carriger. The author is Gail Carriger, but she uses this pen name for her books with adult content. It’s a male/alien romance. I quite liked this and expect to read it again.
    — Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport which I enjoyed. I’m not sure though if I will continue on with the next book in the series. (Significant violence) This is science fiction.
    — Many samples that have accumulated on my Kindle.

    — Teach Me (There’s Something About Marysburg Book 1) by Olivia Dade was a very enjoyable read. The two leads are the teachers we would all like to have.
    — My Boyfriend is a Bear by Pamela Ribon; it was definitely a unique graphic novel/comic but certainly not for children.
    — The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins was an enjoyable story with a touch of magic. I will happily read more by the author.
    — The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune was an enjoyable male/male romance that I’ll likely reread. It had a very intriguing character and an interesting premise.
34. DonnaMarie says:

    August 10, 2019 at 8:54 pm

    @Emily B, if you haven’t read them yet there are LOTS of Molly O’Keefe books on KU, including her latest series which switches off with two other writers, also KU. It starts and ends with her. You won’t be sorry.
35. Melanie says:

    August 10, 2019 at 9:38 pm

    I’ve had a streak of good books since the last time I commented here. My favorite was The Huntress by Kate Quinn, a historical novel with a triple timeline. It follows a young Russian woman who becomes a pilot in the Soviet Air Force during the Second World War, an Englishman hunting Nazis in the 1950s, and a teenage girl in postwar Boston who suspects her new stepmother is hiding something. A character from Quinn’s previous novel The Alice Network makes a cameo appearance.

    I also loved The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, which was reviewed here a couple of months ago. The setup was clever, and I enjoyed watching the hero and heroine fall in love by exchanging notes with each other. I always like romances in which the protagonists are shown to have important relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues as well as with each other, and that was the case here.

    I was a little afraid to read Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston because it seems to be a book that people either love, or that doesn’t work for them at all. I loved its alternate-universe version of today’s world, and the ending made me cry happy tears. I do wish that the author had chosen other names for Henry and his siblings than ones that duplicate names of members of the current Royal Family (use the names of Victoria’s children–she had nine! Use the names of obscure Plantagenets!)

    There was a lot to like about Spellbound by Allie Therin, a new m/m historical paranormal romance. The setting, New York City in 1925 in the midst of Prohibition, was terrific, and I liked Arthur and his group of friends. However, the romance itself didn’t work for me because Rory, the younger of the two heroes, was so very young. He’s described as being twenty, but his actions made him seem even younger. I could see why Arthur would want to protect him, but I couldn’t see why he’d be attracted to him.

    Finally, I read American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera, and enjoyed it so much that I went directly to the second book in the series, American Fairytale. I read that in two days. Now I have to wait till October for book three.
36. Crystal says:

    August 10, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    ::::comes in humming the Star Wars theme:::

    Well, I left on Star Wars: Master and Apprentice, and Gray continues to be the Rock God of writing in a galaxy far, far away. Ever wanted to know why Obi-Wan hates flying? You will. Also, I would read entire books about Pax and Rahara and Fanry. Good stuff. Because it is a Very Big Book, I’m currently reading Dark Age by Pierce Brown, the latest entry in the Red Rising series. More SPAAAAACE goodness, but also this book is DARK, pun not intended. Good rule of thumb, don’t get attached to anyone. Cool character set up in the last book, looking like they’ve got a mysterious backstory, backstory that will be slowly revealed in the continuation of their story? Ooops, they’re super dead. So dead. It was a little slow getting going, because there was a lot of battle setup (literally almost the first third of the book is a battle sequence). However, it has gotten going, and whoo doggie. Fun fact: I met Mr. Brown this past week at one of his signings. He is the sweetest, funniest guy. My husband, who has also read the first three Red Rising books, told him about how he almost rage-quit the third one, and Brown, without missing a beat, goes “Ragnar or Sevro?” (it was Sevro). He hears this A LOT, y’all. He took pics, signed my book, and has gorgeous eyes. It was also funny the next day, as we’re driving home, and I read a particularly brutal sequence to my husband as he drove, and then went, “That sweetheart we met yesterday? THIS LIVES IN HIS BRAIN.” We all contain multitudes, I guess. A good time was had. So until next time, check for snakes.
37. Kris Bock says:

    August 10, 2019 at 11:34 pm

    I recently read the second book in the Hollywood Homicide series and enjoyed it too. Also a sweet contemporary romance by Abby Tyler with a small-town setting and shelter dogs. I got the Margery Sharp collection volume 1 after reading about her here, and I’ve gone through the first two books. I have a new Jana DeLeon from the library downloading on my Kindle as we speak, plus the Miss Silver mMsteries by Patricia Wentworth, which are a few years old.
38. Kareni says:

    August 11, 2019 at 12:54 am

    A book whose cover art @DiscoDollyDeb has mentioned quite favorably is currently on sale for 99 cents for Kindle readers. It’s Anton: A Chicago Blaze Hockey Romance by Brenda Rothert.
    https://www.amazon.com/Anton-Chicago-Blaze-Hockey-Romance-ebook/dp/B07K6JXZGS?ref=silk_at_search
39. Escapeologist says:

    August 11, 2019 at 9:01 am

    For the Bujold fans: have you tried Sharon Shinn’s Elemental Blessings series? Troubled Waters is the first book, they get better – the third one is my favorite. There are 5 elements and 4 books so far, each one with a different protagonist and story arc, lovely worldbuilding.
40. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    August 11, 2019 at 10:35 am

    @Kareni: I have to confess, I haven’t read ANTON yet, but I’ve, um, enjoyed looking at that cover! The cover model is my favorite, Zack Salaun, whom I have dubbed, “king of the soulful-sexy-scruffy-hot look” (copyright: DiscoDollyDeb). He tends to show up on a lot of “dark romance” covers and is easily identified by his distinctive tattoos, messy hair, and scruffy beard. In fact, he looks comparatively polished on the cover of ANTON.

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