Are you ready for September to be over? Or is it too soon? I love October, but I’m not sure how I feel for 2019 to end already. At least we have books, right?!
Shana: I’m reading The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite. It’s been on my list since Carrie’s review. Women slowly falling in love over conversation is the perfect chaser to all the m/m novels with emotionally inarticulate men that I’ve been reading lately.
Tara: That is waiting for me on my Kindle and I’m so glad to hear you’re loving it!
I’m reading 200 Hours by Natasha West ( A ), which is about two young British women with a major class gap who fall for each other while doing community service. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it’s totally sucked me in.
In audio, I’m listening to Recipe for Love by Aurora Rey ( A | BN | K | AB ), which is about a new chef at a farm-to-table restaurant in upstate New York who falls for one of the farmers that supplies produce for the restaurant. I had no idea how much I needed this book in my life because it is adorable and the narration is very good.
Catherine: I’ve just finished Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh which is one of the most magical novellas I’ve read in a long time. It’s about the Wild Man of the Greenhallow Woods and it feels properly mythic, and very real, as though if you wandered into the woods at the wrong time this could happen to you. I love it (and yes, I’ll be reviewing it).
And now I’m reading an ARC of Angel in a Devil’s Arms by Julie Anne Long ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), and it’s delightful and very funny. So I’m having a pretty good week for reading!
Susan: I’m reading the reissue of Alexis Hall’s Iron & Velvet ( A | BN | K | G ), which is the first book in his Kate Kane series! It’s about a lesbian paranormal private investigator who really doesn’t want to be dealing with vampire/werewolf politics but DOES need money, and it does brilliant things with noir tropes and pop-culture vampirism.
Catherine: Ooh, that sounds like great fun!
Susan: It really is, especially because Kate Kane is very aware that she makes nothing but terrible life choices.
Elyse: I just started Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren. They’re one of my go to comfort read authors.
Amanda: I’m so excited to see them in Boston next month!
Aarya: Susan, I have Iron & Velvet on my TBR and this makes me want to pick it up now! I, too, am very aware that sometimes I make nothing but terrible life choices. Lolsob.
In terms of my own reading… I’m coming up blank because I’ve been super busy and stressed lately. Thanks, Real Life Obligations. But I’m reviewing my kindle right now and I think my next read will be Tempted at Midnight by Cheris Hodges ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). I’m a sucker for one-night-stand-oh-crap-guess-we-now-work-together books. Fingers crossed that I’ll like it!
Carrie: I just finished The Institute by Stephen King ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). It was…not his best.
AJ: I just finished The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang. I was trying to find something to help with my Gideon the Ninth ‘goth lesbians in space’ hangover, and it had “black” in the title. It was good, but very different and not goth at all, so it didn’t really hit the spot. I think I might need some real over-the-top nonsense next. Shapeshifters, mermaids, dragons, maybe all three.
Charlotte: I’m reading A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro ( A | BN | K | AB ), which was a recent daily deal, and loving it. I rarely read books from a male POV, so it’s an interesting experience.
Sneezy: I’m reading/listening to the Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls by Mona Eltahawy ( A | BN | K | AB ). The audiobook gets me so fired up, I fucking work out to it.
Amanda: I’m waffling between Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and Heartbreaker by Inara Scott ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Aurora is my commute reading, mostly, and is a different feel than Polaris Rising, but I’m still really enjoying it.
Heartbreaker is quite the surprise and if the romance keeps going without any egregious issues, I will be glomming up Scott’s other books. The heroine is prickly and dog-training research was clearly done. This one is for reading at night when I just don’t want to keep my light on any longer and would prefer to read in night mode on my kindle.
Catherine: I cannot wait to get my hands on Aurora Blazing.
Amanda: It’s not as fast paced and has some significant focus on explaining the tech, but the tropes are more my catnip.
Catherine: I’m fine with that.
What were your faves this month? Let us know in the comments!
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WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS by Rosina Lippi. The 1880’s in New York City. Multiple subplots, medicine then, female doctors then, abortion laws, treatment of diverse races and ethnic groups, some romance. If we were giving stars, this would definitely rate at least a 5 out of 5.
PARK AVENUE PLAYER by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland – The story’s “twist” plus the actions of a secondary character turned a B- romance into a D- disaster recommended for fans of soap operas and martyrdom.
PERFECT STRANGERS by J.T. Geissinger – I found the narrative structure pretentious. But if that were my only reaction to this book, I wouldn’t bother mentioning it at all, because I know some readers are really going to enjoy it. My problem is that in order to preserve the reading experience, accurate descriptions of the book’s content are not available, including something that’s a huge emotional trigger for me. If just three letters had made it to the surface, I would never have picked this book up. [F, YMMV]
I need to find something both excellent and fun to read to reboot. I’m hoping Evie Dunmore’s Bringing Down the Duke is up to the task.
@Jill Q. – I’ve been on a Nevada Barr binge for the past few months. They definitely vary in engagement from book to book. I liked Firestorm, but then Lassen is one of my favorite parks.
Other than that, my reading has been all over the place.
Hits:
—Evvie Drake Starts Over
—Mistress Masham’s Repose by TH White – even though this is one of my mom’s favorite books, I somehow never read it as a kid and I think that’s actually for the best because so much of the humor would have gone straight over my head.
Good:
—Year One and Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts – I’m not a fan of Nora’s romances (there, I said it!) but was poking around on my mom’s Kindle one night and started Year One out of curiosity and it totally sucked me in. OB&B is more YA-ish, but I am intrigued to see how this all ends.
—The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite – Got it from the library after hearing the podcast and enjoyed it. I wish the author had added a note about real female scientists of the era and maybe some resources for historical embroidery as I had a very hard time picturing what she was describing.
Meh:
—The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater by Alanna Okun – Essays on relationships and crafting. The second half is better than the first, as I had a hard time relating to what she was talking about.
—Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett – A by the numbers murder mystery that I was inspired to read after going to the Scottish Games this year. Might read the next one, might not.
Currently reading:
—Windfall by Tempe O’Kun – a furry new adult romance/paranormal mystery that someone recommended on another thread. I’ve never read an anthropomorphic romance before, but it’s really charming and funny so far!
@Kate: Olivia mentioned The Subversive Stitch by Roszika Parker in her blog as a Lady’s Guide reading list.
Also, l found this list: https://www.threadneedlestreet.com/bookshistory.htm
I have not read much over the last couple of weeks but what I have read has been deeply satisfying. I commented on another post about how I read The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and think that I’ve found a very specific sub-genre that just checks all my boxes, namely fairy-tale or folk-tale retellings with a romantic subplot. Basically, if it’s fantasy with magic and also romance and a happy ending (heh) then I want to read it. Like now. This one is the first book in a 3-book series so it definitely does not resolve the story, but I have it on good authority that as a romance reader I will be satisfied by the end of book 3, so I’ll be happily reading on.
Next on my list was Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt, which I know everyone else in the world has already read but somehow I missed it. I struggled at the beginning because the whole book just seemed a little….dark, or depressing somehow. I think the sick and possibly imperiled children were a trigger for me. As the mystery got more intricate I found the book to be more and more completely freaking bananas, but also I could not stop reading it. And now I need to know what happens to all the other millions of side characters, so looks like I’ll be continuing on with that series as well.
Currently I’m about 20% through The Savior by J.R. Ward and am enjoying it quite a bit. It sounds funny to say because story-wise, the sh*t is totally hitting the fan, but I am finding it so comforting to visit this world and these characters again. Plus I really like the heroine so far. I read Elyse’s review of this and can totally see where she’s coming from with the complaint that we get to almost a quarter of the way through the book and the hero and heroine have not even met yet, but right now it’s not bothering me because I’m enjoying all the threads of the story. I do hope they meet up soon though…
I have been blocked three times a firewall message, so here is try 4!
GREAT
Wayne, Aiden – PLAY IT AGAIN [M/M Long distance e-romance]. A really really sweet romance between a blind you-tuber and an irish gamer.
Andrews, Ilona – SAPPHIRE FLAMES [F/M Urban fantasy]. The story continues!
Burnett, Francis Hodgsen – THE MAKING OF THE MARCHIONESS [F/M Historical]. From the writer of The Secret Garden, this was light and sweet – like regencies before they were so realistic.
GOOD
Harper, Kaje – SECOND ACT [M/M Contemporary]. An actor returns to his hometown.
Jacen, Kris – ALWAYS WITH ME [M/M and M/F] An epilogue to the wonderful With Me series with much less angst than the rest
Nicholas, Annie – NOT THIS series (Dragon, Werewolf, Vampire, Gargoyle….) [M/F Lite Urban romances] A light series with different couples every book. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the characters are interesting.
OK
Ball, Margaret – THE LANGUAGE OF THE DRAGON. A fantasy novel with a possibility of romance later on. Its in the same world as her Topology novels
Harper, Kaje – LIKE A TASTE OF SUMMER. [M/M 1980s] A short story that was more a rememberance than a romance.
Marks, Laurie – FIRE LOGIC. [Fantasy] I want to like this better than I actually liked it. However I’m going to try the next book in hope of more.
Milo, Amanda – STOLEN BY AN ALIEN series [M/F Aliens!] This series was slow going at first, but its starting to grow on me.
Stone, Leia – Magic Bite [M/F Witch & Werewolf] This was from a SBTB post. It is good enough that I’m going to read the next in the series, but not spectacular.
Also continued reading the next books in the PRIDE SERIES by Kaye Draper (Reverse Harem with an alpha female gryphon shifter at the center); BLUE SOLACE by C.W. Gray (Sci-Fi Mpreg universe with neat people and lots of pets – I’m on my second read in 3 months); and CASE FILES OF HENRI DAVENFORTH by Honor Raconteur (Fantasy Police Mysteries with a modern policewoman thrust into an alternate universe)
@HeatherS, thank you for that site! I think I will look at getting The Subversive Stitch via interlibrary loan. I also found this article on the V&A site about embroidery by Mary, Queen of Scots: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/prison-embroideries-mary-queen-of-scots