It’s our last Whatcha Reading for the month of October! How are we all feeling? Exhausted? Thrilled for the holidays?
Right now, I have two modes: devouring a book in one sitting or not touching a book for DAYS.
Catherine: I’m reading Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey ( A | BN | K | AB ), which I was drawn to after reading this review a couple of years ago. I grew up on Greek myths and legends, so I’m delighted to read a new perspective and a new translation (and the introductory essay at the start is fantastic).
And lest you think I am just showing off with all my classical reading, I am also reading Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland by Melinda du Champ ( A | BN ), which certainly is a thing. Think coming-of-age porn with Lewis Carroll-style rhymes and so much BDSM. It’s very funny (though the humour is a little mean-spirited at times), and very hot if kink is your thing.
Charlotte: I’m reading Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen ( A | BN | K | AB | Au ), which is pretty good but not great – the worldbuilding is strong but the characterization is a bit thin and I’m disappointed that Cecile’s singing ability is peripheral to the plot (especially given the title).
And I just finished Shadow of Doubt by Hailey Edwards which is the first in a spinoff of her Undead City series. I really enjoyed it. I thought I was tired of urban fantasy, but her books are super well-written and (to my great gratitude) there isn’t a sword-wielding woman in leather pants in sight.
Aarya: I’m in the middle of Sara B. Larson’s Sisters of Shadow and Light ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and am perilously close to a DNF. It’s…fine? It’s one of those situations where I like the characters and the writing, but I’m strangely emotionally detached to everything (which is NOT how I want to feel when I’m reading). I can’t tell if the problem is me or the book (it’s me, if I had to pick). I’m going to shelve this and come back to it later. Normally I really like YA SFF about magical sisters, but I’m not in the mood now.
I’m also reading Talia Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown and liking it so far. I’m a sucker for “bucket list-type” books, and this one has a GREAT list (camping, travel the world with nothing but hand luggage, meaningless sex, etc). I love “bucket list” books because the protagonist assertively sets out on their journey looking for something specific, but often ends up finding and accomplishing things they never dreamed of. The book deals with serious issues (chronic illness, near death experience, etc), but I’m laughing and having a good time. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
Shana: I’m halfway through The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). I was inspired to read it by an unflattering podcast review, but the romantic tension sucked me in and I stayed up to late reading. I love a fake date trope. I think this book has more delicious food descriptions than any book I’ve read. The MCs are in politics and medicine but are definitely California foodies. Where are my tacos?
Tara: I’m finally reading The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite and I’m loving it. I keep highlighting passage after passage because either the writing is gorgeous or something just strikes me in a way that I know I need to go back to it later. I love that more and more f/f historical romances are coming out and wish I’d been able to read these when I was a kid swiping my mom’s old romances (not that she would have read a lesbian romance).
In audio I’m listening to Party of Three by Sandy Lowe ( A | BN | K | AB ). Holy shit, is it ever a good one. It has linked erotic romance novellas, following three best friends as they go to a birthday party and each of them gets some real good sex and a HFN or HEA—one with a woman she’s just met, one with the woman she’s never told anyone she’s been in love with for years (who thankfully had a crush on her too), and one with an ex. I’m almost done the second part and it’s super hot and SO sweet. Also, Lori Prince doesn’t just narrate the book, she acts the shit out of it. I highly recommend this one, specifically in audio. (edited)
AJ: I just finished Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and I’m heart-eyes forever. The heist! The twists! The banter! I have good book hangover again.
Claudia: Sorry not sorry, AJ…
I was chasing that book high for weeks after I finished Any Old Diamonds. Good news is you are ready for Gilded Cage now.
I am about to start the second book in S.A. Chakraborty’s The Daevabad Trilogy after some misadventures with library e-book expiration dates with the first one! I’m not usually a fantasy/science fiction reader but I did love the first book and I am very curious where this series is going to take me.
Kiki: I’m reading the same, Claudia! I’m listening to the audiobook and hoping to actually finish the book this time. I started it in the spring and put it down with a hundred pages left because I was so anxious over what was going to happen. Books tend not to activate my real-life anxiety but clearly S. A. Chakraborty tapped into something in me.
Aarya: I need to read this series but I’m terrified of starting a YA fantasy trilogy before the third book comes out. For incomplete trilogies, I don’t have the reassurance that things will end happily in the relationship (cough Divergent by Veronica Roth cough).
Claudia: I hate putting myself into these situations too. I’m not even sure the author has a date for the third book. I blame Sneezy for this state of affairs!! She was the one who told me about this series.
Kiki: It’s actually adult! And I think it reads like adult too, in the way that I think of adult fantasy as tending to have more complex socio-political systems. And I REALLY would caution against going into it for romance. I don’t really know how to talk about it without spoilers but on the list of things the series is, a romance is very close to the bottom.
I think the third is coming in July 2020!
Aarya: Ah. I’ll still def read it but thanks for the heads up.
Still going to wait for book 3 to make sure she doesn’t kill everyone off. I’ve been burned too many times in SFF, adult or YA.
Carrie: I’m studying Beats, the work of Neil Gaiman, and Women’s Suffrage so I’m re-reading the Sandman series ( A | BN | G | AB ) while also reading The Woman’s Hour. The inside of my head right now is a strange place.
Elyse: I don’t know what to read next ::flops dramatically::
Ellen: I just finished the Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen and I’m still collecting my thoughts. Like, it made me feel intense feelings but I’m not sure what those feelings are yet. Before that, I read Hate to Want You ( A | BN | K | AB ), which I enjoyed even though contemporary is not one of my favorite genres.
Sneezy: Been snuggling up with everything Beverly Jenkins in between Our Women on the Ground ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Just started Rebel. ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Susan: I’m rereading Any Old Diamonds in preparation for Gilded Cage as well! I never forgot how much I loved Susan Lazarus (and the Lilywhite Boys, and Alec), but it’s nice to get the reminder!
But I DID just get Sarah Gailey’s Magic For Liars ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) as a birthday present, so I’m very tempted to dive into that…
What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments!
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I hope everyone has a great Halloween and the weather stays bright for trick or treaters!
Faves
THE MONSTER OF ELENDHAVEN by Jennifer Giesbrecht – omg? This novella is so odd? And the central relationship is so twisted? And the writing is amazing?? And please tell me there will be another one? For fans of, like, NBC’s Hannibal.
A CONSPIRACY OF TRUTHS by Alexandra Rowland – stories within stories combined with intriguing worldbuilding, of which you only get glimpses, because the reader is trapped in prison cells with the narrator as he spins tales. I’d recommend this for fans of The Traitor Baru Cormorant.
THE WIDOW AT ROSE HOUSE by Diana Biller – really fun romance! And such great dialogue! I hope Sam’s sister is the focus of the next book.
THE CASTLE ON SUNSET: LIFE, DEATH, LOVE, ART, AND SCANDAL AT HOLLYWOOD’S CHATEAU MARMONT by Shawn Levy (audiobook) – Hollywood history! Give me all the Hollywood history! I’m such an easy sell!
Good
THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor LaValle – I have no real familiarity with Lovecraft, except to know that this novella tackles one of his most racist stories. I enjoyed it but was a little lost.
DARK DESIRES by Eve Silver – really enjoyed this historical gothic that managed to take place outside of a mysterious old house. Also the romance developing around an actual heart made me laugh.
THE CRUSADES: THE EPIC HISTORY OF THE WARS FOR THE HOLY LANDS by Dan Jones – I love Jones’s writing but have no interest in the crusades so this was a bit of a struggle.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1: THE CHOSEN ONES by Mairghread Scott & Celia Lowenthal – short vignettes about past slayers. Not my favorite of this new run, but still fun.
Currently Reading
FIRE AND HEMLOCK by Diana Wynne Jones – I’ve never read anything by Diana Wynne Jones! A huge gap is my reading education. I’m puzzled by this, if only because the main friendship seems unlikely, but I like her writing, so Howl’s Moving Castle is next!
MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM by Grady Hendrix (audiobook) – not as funny as it was marketed, but a read that really makes you question, is this really supernatural? But also high school is hell, soooo? Really enjoying it.
I have been having a really slow time reading lately, but the things I’ve read, I’ve really enjoyed.
I loved, loved UNPREGNANT by Jenni Hendrix and Ted Caplan. It’s a YA about a girl who has her whole life together and is about to graduate and go on to college. She finds out she’s pregnant and knows that an abortion is the right choice for her. But she’s 17 and knows her family would never agree and ends up taking a road trip (to get to a clinic) with a friend she’s been estranged from for years. First off. This is very much a pro-choice book (yay! as far as I’m concerned). There is no last minute change of heart or miscarriage (which I’ve seen in more than one book and seems like a really weird narrative choice). The authors handled the whole story perfectly, in my opinion. It was not overly earnest, like an afterschool special or “very special episode”, but it also wasn’t flippant (although parts of it were very funny). There’s no romance, but there’s a wonderful heart to the story about the two young women’s friendship how and why they become estrangedA and they come to trust each other and become friends again. Some parts of the story might be a little bit hard to believe, but while I was reading it, I was totally immersed and bought it. It was definite A for me.
I also really enjoyed (in a very different vein) MURDER ON MONDAY by Ann Purser. It was an older cozy mystery (2002) with a cleaning lady protagonist. The mystery was only so-so, but I felt like the author did a better job balancing “cozy” against reality than a lot of authors in the genre. Before she wrote mysteries she wrote “slice of life” English village stories and the practice in writing characters and setting shows. The inhabitants of the small town have good qualities and bad (and some down right awful) and you see a lot of scenes from different point of view, getting to know all the characters well. I’d give it a B and will probably try some more in the series.
I’m also reading THE FLATSHARE and really enjoying it, so I have my fingers crossed it ends well. Usually if I mention something before I’ve finished it, I jinx it.
I wasted a lot of time this month reading–and then ragequitting–a book where the singular character trait the author gave to the villain besides “evil” was “fat.” I. Am. So. Sick. Of. This. Shit. If the only way you can code someone as a villain is that they’re fat (even worse, “sloppy” fat, with grease stains on all their clothes, because did you know fat people are slobs?) because it’s some kind of moral failing, you need to do better.
And then it happened again in the next book I was reading, but at that point I was nearly done and just so, so tired I let it by me.
So, a smaller month than usual:
Roshani Chokshi- The Star-Touched Queen
YA fantasy, where a girl marries Death. Maybe? I don’t know, I had very little idea of what was going on most of the time. And we had the forementioned fat=bad thing, where she knows her brother is evil not because she’s, like, ever met him before or anything, but because he looks like a toad and has a plate of chocolates next to him in his audience chamber. Nothing spells indolent and terrible like a Whitmans Sampler! (it was not, actually, a Whitmans Sampler of course but…yeah, ok, I’m done giving brainspace to this.)
Ann Leckie- The Raven Tower
I liked this much more than Leckie’s last book, which had been a huge letdown for me. The Raven Tower had such an unusual narrative voice I initially didn’t think it would work for the course of a whole novel, as opposed to like a short story (it’s a character addressing a specific “you,” and the character narrating is omniscient but also goes into “I” quite a bit; I can’t think of anything else quite like it.) The plot is very Shakespearean (kinda Hamlet-ish I guess), and I really enjoyed it.
Evie Dunmore- Bringing Down the Duke
I’m not sure I would have picked this one up if I didn’t have BotM credits to burn through, but it was fun.
Brigid Kemmerer- A Curse So Dark and Lonely
I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. The “modern girl/fantasy world” aspect initially worried me, and I ironically thought the sections set in our world read less genuine and realistic than the ones in the fantasy kingdom, but overall I really liked the writing and the characters.
Olivia Waite- The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics
A lovely, gentle romance, as many have been saying. I wish the characters had been better at using their words, as I felt the main angst and conflicts were mostly avoidable. But very good overall.
I just discovered Cat Sebastian and I am so pleased I did. I’ve gotten through seven of her books recently (favorites were A DUKE IN DISGUISE and UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS). I’m all in for queer historicals and I like how her characters can be prickly but ultimately lovable. Oh, and I can’t wait for the next Regency Imposters book with Amelia and the next Sedgwicks book (my preorders are set!)
I also read RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston. My main complaint, honestly, is the age of the characters. For Alex in particular, there’s so much that he’s already done in terms of politics and all the drinking (all the moreso for the underage son of the president) that I felt like it would have been a lot more believable if he’d been older than 22. Also, while I accept that text message exchanges are probably here to stay in contemporary novels, I really loathe group texts in books.
BRINGING DOWN THE DUKE finally, actually made good use of the complaints about the legal rights (or distinct lack thereof) of married women that pop up in Regencies/Victorians. I’ve gotten really tired of the “married women have no rights and I want to run a business and oh look! A handsome duke!!! Whatever was I going on about…?” line. (Looking at you, Lisa Kleypas.)
Looking forward to the next one in the series although I was hoping for Catriona and Sebastian’s brother instead of Lucie next. But I’ll take it.
Non-romance, but one that I suspect will be of interest to some folks here: BECAUSE INTERNET by Gretchen McColloch. It’s all about the evolution of language on the internet, how slang and usages evolve and morph. She clearly has a love for all things internet—she talks about how internet communications are much more like the notes people would leave on the kitchen table, etc. and how linguistics overall is much more biased towards formal writing at least in part because of the available texts that survive to study. My favorite tidbit is that there are words that have superfluous letters in English (debt, salmon, island) even though they derive from words that don’t, but that people thought it would be more proper for them to reflect Latin spelling. Her delight in her subject is infectious.
Finished Time Served by Juliana Keyes and was not a fan – this one came highly recommended but it just didn’t feel like the characters liked each other. The Hero was mean, and there was some weird consent stuff that I didn’t necessarily find offensive, but I don’t think she’d well. But mostly, I just found myself thinking why do these people even want to be together.
FALLING FOR MY BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND, the latest in Piper Rayne’s Baileys series. These are quick fun reads. This is a trope I generally enjoy, and I feel like you don’t see it where the older sister falls for her little brother’s friend (as adults) as often, which was a nice change.
A LIE FOR A LIE by Helena Hunting – the start of a new spin off from her Pucked series. If you’re a fan of Pucked, you get to see some favorite characters. I know Hunting is hit or miss with some people but I really enjoyed this one – it does involve an accidental pregnancy/surprise baby plot, so if that’s not your thing then steer clear. I found this to be less over the top than the Pucked books, but I also think Hunting’s writing in general has been improving since the start of that series.
Currently reading AWK-WEIRD by Avery Flynn, another accidental pregnancy book (this is not generally my catnip, just a coincidence). So far it’s cute, Flynn’s stuff is always good fluff.
A couple really excellent YA books from library holds that finally came through:
YOU’D BE MINE by Erin Hahn. Sort of a YA country music A Star is Born without the tragic ending. I just finished watching the Ken Burns Country Music documentary series, so this paired really well. Hahn obviously knows her country music, both classic and contemporary. My only critique of this one is that it would have worked better had the characters been a bit older and if the story had taken place over a longer period of time, rather than one summer tour. Also, best not to think about the math too much when it comes to the young ingenue’s parent’s tragic backstory – from the way they’re described they had the influence of a Johnny and June or a George and Tammy, but if you do the math you’re looking more at like a Tim and Faith. Still very big, but not quite the same.
FIELD NOTES ON LOVE by Jennifer E. Smith – two 18 year olds who’ve never met end up taking a cross country train trip via a series of very peculiar circumstances. A lot of this one requires a suspension of disbelief, but the writing and the characters are just so lovely, and while there is a romance, it’s really more of a coming of age for both young characters.
I like to have several books going at the same time.
Really enjoyed the novella, “The Uncommon Reader”, by Alan Bennett (humorous look at the present Queen of England imagining she becomes a voracious reader thanks to a visit to a book mobile).
Discovered Regency mysteries by Amanda Quick…love them! Currently reading “I Thee Wed”.
I recommend “The Bookish Life of Nina Hill”.
But my favorite October book is “A Convenient Fiction” by Mimi Matthews. She writes beautiful stories about complicated people. The sex is behind a closed door, but that doesn’t bother me at all…and I love a well written sex scene. But her attention to historically accurate detail (clothing, manners) transports me with every one of her books.
Weird month (or two) with ‘straight’ (read however you wish) romance less and less satisfactory. I find these days I’m much happier having romance happen in the background as characters deal with whatever world they inhabit.
Loved.
THE GOBLIN EMPEROR by Katherine Addison. Talk about going high when everyone else is going low! Needed this. Half Goblin, half Elf comes into power at age 18 after a decade of exile. It’s a very compelling examination of growth [beyond coming of age] in an environment of extreme prejudice and lack of necessary knowledge of how to govern.
Ilona Andrew’s SAPPHIRE FLAMES came through. Wonderful world building. Again, tough decisions made to do what is right (for the time) rather than what feels good.
Liked a lot.
Have read three or four of Anna Zabo’s books. Most are quite good, but after a couple, I started skimming the sex scenes. I cared more about the relationships than the sex. Different queer relationships, which keeps them from becoming cookie cutter. Like the characters a lot.
Three books into Naomi Novik’s TEMERAIRE series and really enjoying it. Dragons and the Napoleanic Wars. No romance (per se) but much love and caring in dire times. Also have learned several new words! Novik has quite the vocabulary.
Liked.
On the third book in Deanna Raybourn’s VERONICA SPEEDWELL series. Like it, but have to stop every couple of chapters to read something else.
Rantable.
Read PUCKED and hated it. It was a watery stew of slut shaming, shallow characterizations, lack of even vaguely intelligent conversations, pretty young people judging everyone else by pretty young people standards, etc. Skipped at least three chapters then skimmed the rest.
My top read for the past few weeks is SWEEP OF THE BLADE by Ilona Andrews. I was really uncertain about this at first, because while it’s part of the (much-loved by me) Innkeeper series, it doesn’t follow the innkeeper or take place on Earth. Fortunately, the novel won me over fairly quickly, and I’ll definitely read the next installment whenever it is published.
I also read and enjoyed THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE, which is about a female firefighter who has been living solely for her career and keeping herself very cut off from people, in part due to some trauma in her backstory. It’s pretty obvious from the beginning that she was assaulted in the past, so I don’t think it’s a spoiler to give a TW for rape. A bunch of things happen at once, forcing her to change jobs and move in with her estranged mother. I liked watching the heroine slowly come to realize that she wanted more from life and start to develop connections with other people. It had a particularly unnecessary epilogue, but otherwise was very good.
I’m 150 pages into DISCOVERY OF WITCHES for my book club and it is not working for me. I may DNF, but I know a lot of people really like this one, so I may give it one more try. The place descriptions are lovely, but the pacing is glacial. Since that book is boring me, I decided to re-read Connie Brockway’s MY DEAREST ENEMY. So far it’s just as charming as I remember it.
Currently reading ‘Because You’re Mine’, by Lisa Kleypas. This one I picked up because something about the first edition with the blue cover said ‘autumn’ to me.
I’m really enjoying it, but man it’s annoying how nearly everyone wants to decide the heroine’s life for her. (Okay, that’s nothing new in historical romance, but still. Her parents didn’t even let her have a season. They decided to try to just marry her off to some nasty, much older guy.)
My reading has been so slow that I skipped the earlier Whatcha reading this month and this second half of the month wasn’t much better due to being busy, but the books I did read were pretty good.
Read: SEVEN FOR A SECRET by Lyndsay Fae
Great story, excellent setting awesome characters. This is book to in a romance mystery set in 1840s New York. The historical details is good, however your mileage may vary in the hero who is quite liberal for the time and has a bit of a “saving people thing”. I personally adore him, but some people may find him too modern. Also this novel deals with slavery and the other Issues of the time and uses the slurs of the time( not the hero for the most part ) so CW warning for that ( it isn’t a white savior book despite the the protagonist being a white man). However, if you can handle the grittiness and like mysteries pick this series up.
Reading: THE FATAL FLAME by Lyndsay Fae
This is the final book in the mystery series mentioned above. So far it’s the weakest the series, but I wouldn’t say it’s bad. My biggest reason for not liking it as much is that a love triangle has been thrown in and they kinda ruined the love interest character using the excuse that she’s “traumatized”. Now, I don’t know how this will be handled throughout the rest of the book, but she’s not even in it that much(so far) so we shall see. The same content warnings as the previous books apply here as well.
INSIDE THE VICTORIAN HOME : A PORTRAIT OF DOMESTIC LIFE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND by Judith Flanders
This is a nonfiction book about, as it says, Life in the Victorian Era. Interesting read , but if you aren’t writing stories set in the Victorian Era And just want to dip a toe into the fascinating world of social history I’d go with Ruth Goodman instead, she’s both a writer and featured in a lot of documentaries and Honestly the better nonfiction author of the two of them. Once again CW for Victorian Era history.
I read A Discovery of witches a few years ago. It was a second attempt as I don’t really like the heroine (she’s supposed to be a thirty something professor but she’s very TSTL) I won’t read the sequels though (I would tell you but it would be a spoiler).
We’re having work done at our house, plus league championship & World Series baseball games have been on tv, so reading time has been severely diminished. I only read five books in the past two weeks. Five!! I’m hoping that once the house is in better shape and the baseball season is over, I can return to my first (non-human) love: reading.
Almost the entire first half of Caitlin Crews’s very good and ultra-sexy THE RISK is an extended scene featuring the heroine (a ballet dancer) acting out a secret fantasy with a wealthy stranger in an exclusive members-only club in Paris. At one point, the heroine meditates on the difference between a sexual scenario and dancing: “…this was not the ballet. There I was an object valued for the pain I could withstand in my ability to make it all pretty and perfect for the audience. But here I was a different sort of object altogether.” (Crews’s style here reminds me very much of Skye Warren, who often writes about women internalizing the demands of their artistic expressions.) Naturally, the heroine and her anonymous lover make a connection beyond the sexual—but there will be complications (demanding careers, dysfunctional families) before the HEA. Although THE RISK differs entirely in style and tone from Pam Godwin’s equally good Tangled Lies trilogy, there is a similarity in the dancer heroines and how they use and relate to their bodies and to dance: the discipline, the commitment, the joy. THE RISK is almost as much about love of dance as it is about love of another person; and, although it can be read as a stand-alone, it works better if you’ve already read the first book in the Billionaires Club series, Jackie Ashenden’s THE DEBT (the heroes of the two books are brothers).
After loving Kate Canterbary’s FAR CRY and HARD PRESSED last month, I’ve started a backlist glom of her work, beginning with the first three books (UNDERNEATH IT ALL, THE SPACE BETWEEN, and NECESSARY RESTORATIONS) in her eight-book Walsh Family series about six Irish-American siblings who work for the family architectural firm which specializes in preservation of historic buildings in the Boston area. Each sibling manifests in various ways the damage wrought by their mother’s early death and their father’s subsequent decline into rage and alcohol. The first two books do contain elements of insta-lust (on both the heroes’ and the heroines’ parts) with the first sexual encounters occurring early in the stories followed by complications and angst because the emotional connectivity does not happen at the same rapid pace as the physical attraction. NECESSARY RESTORATIONS has more of a friends-to-lovers vibe where the music professor heroine and the architect hero (who has a chronic medical condition along with a lot of childhood baggage) both want more from the other but are unsure how to articulate their needs. The books are also full of competence porn and not just on the architectural side: for example, the heroine of UNDERNEATH IT ALL is a teacher who has received a grant to open her own school; she oversees the entire process from building selection to teacher hiring—and she’s extremely good at it. If I have any misgiving about the books, it’s the amount of drinking that goes on in them; no get-together (even something as innocuous as meeting friends for pedicures) is complete without the characters consuming mass quantities of alcohol (including, in one case, by a woman who has had unprotected sex and is not sure if she’s pregnant—it turns out she’s not, but her continued drinking while unsure about her situation struck me as irresponsible to say the least). Despite that concern, I thoroughly enjoyed these books and am baffled as to why it took me so long to start reading Canterbary. I have a number of her other books (many available on KU), including the rest of the Walsh Family series, queued up for future reading.
Clare Connelly’s THE GREEK’S BILLION-DOLLAR BABY checks all the HP boxes: Virginal heroine essentially alone in the world? Check. Billionaire hero with tragedy in his past? Check. One night of white-hot passion? Check. Unplanned pregnancy resulting in rushed engagement? Check. Ongoing angst and misunderstanding, interspersed with frequent sexy-times? Check. Break-up, confront past demons, make-up, HEA? Check, check, check, and check. Yeah, you know the drill—and either you wanna read it or you don’t.
I read CS Poe’s Southernmost Murder: Aubrey is a manager(-type) for a historic house and he’s about to be visited by a FBI friend (who he hopes will become his boyfriend) when he finds a skeleton in a wall. Also, Aubrey has narcolepsy. I liked this book A LOT. But I had to have a debate in my head when I went to rate it in good reads. In the middle of the story Aubrey does something I thought was so stupid, I got angry and had to put the book down. Eventually he admits it was a stupid thing to do, but nobody in the story got as angry as I did (I guess a sign I was really invested in the story!) 4/5 stars
Then I read the Gilded Scarab by Anna Butler: Steampunk – Rafe was a pilot in the military but he crashed his plane and lost some of his peripheral vision, so now he’s out a job and kinda doesn’t know what to do with his life. This was not a quick, fluffy read. I had to slow down and look up some vocabulary words. The main relationship doesn’t start until past the half way point. But when it does I really enjoyed the progression. I have the sequel on my kindle, it will be a good snow storm day read. 4/5 stars
Wrenches, Regrets, & Reality Checks (Wrench Wars, #3) L.A. Witt: Reggie owns a garage that participates in a reality show. Producer Wes is sent to pitch an idea that the network hopes Reggie will reject so they can fire him. This was not for me, everything happened too fast. But I mention it only because its the 3rd of a series and I really liked the 1st of the series Last Mechanic Standing ( I reread the scene where Mark realizes he’s in an official relationship with Chandler) and the 2nd of the series was different and memorable (car kink)
Currently reading:
Fox and Wolf (Apex Investigations) Julia Talbot. Contemporary shifters. so far 3/5 stars and some aspects of shifters that I’m confused about
The Fair Fight: women boxers. I’m a lot more invested in this story then I expected
@DiscoDollyDeb Kate Canterbury’s Walsh series is a total comfort read for me, but I’m partial to the sisters’ and Riley’s stories, so I’m so excited for you to get to those. She’s got some good ones with other characters from the Walsh series (and Talbot’s Cove is technically a spin off as well).
I’ve been having a pretty good month, considering that from June to September, I finished one book.
VENDETTA IN DEATH, by J.D. Robb – Read this back in September, but I don’t think I mentioned it. I recall enjoying it, but I no longer remember anything about it.
GIDEON THE NINTH, by Tamsyn Muir – I really enjoyed this and am sad I have to wait for the sequel.
THE TWISTED ONES, by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) – This is a slow burn, monster horror book, set in the woods. It had me genuinely creeped out and worried for the characters* at times. A good book for this time of year.
Currently Reading:
THE STARLESS SEA, by Erin Morgenstern – I won an ARC 😀 (It comes out on the 5th)
I’m not really sure how to summarize the plot of this, since I’m less than 100 pages in. So far, there’s a mysterious book, a mysterious library, and mysterious people doing things. I loved THE NIGHT CIRCUS and I’m enjoying this.
*Since it’s a thing that bothers some people, it’s made clear in the first chapter that the dog comes through the story okay.
I recently finished A MATCH MADE IN MEHENDI by Nandini Bajpai.
I’m reading to dive into the holiday romances, so I’m currently reading ROYAL HOLIDAY by Jasmine Guillory.
I also want to check out THE HIGHLANDER’S CHRISTMAS BRIDE by Vanessa Kelly and THE DEVIL IN THE SADDLE by Julia London, which both come out later this month.
For the folks talking about A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, have you watched the TV show? There is a bit of insta-love that annoyed me, but overall, I thought the first season of the TV show was really well done. I haven’t read the book, though, so I don’t know how it compares to that.
@EmilyB: Next to Kelly Hunter, Kate Canterbary is my author “discovery” of the year. Like Hunter, Canterbary has a way with prickly, complicated women; and I like how Canterbary’s characters are not magically transformed by love—their rough edges may be smoothed out, but they remain their essential selves. I’m especially looking forward to Shannon’s story—she’s so important to the business and does so much for her siblings, can’t wait to see her get her chance at love.
I’ve been on a scifi kick lately. Started with To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Not a romance but spectacular book. Fascinating worldbuilding, great science, and well written. I immediately looked for more by this author. Read through her backlist, which I really enjoyed but not as much as her most recent book. Read a few meh historicals and then remembered I had Polaris Rising, by Jessie Mihalik, unread on my kindle. That was super enjoyable – love the problem solving, kick ass heroine. Definitely more of a romance – a space opera with sex, essentially. Reading the sequel now (Aurora Blazing) and enjoying it, but don’t love the heroine as much as in Polaris Rising. If you like scifi give those a shot.
@KateB Shawn Levy is doing a Q&A in a Facebook group I’m in on 11/5. It’s called Unbound: The Unspooled Podcast Book Group (Unspooled is a great podcast where Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson watch the AFI’s Top 100 American Films) in case you want to ask him questions or just read the discussion. I know they want questions submitted before the 5th.
I’m still in a major slump. I’m currently reading Ice Cream Lover by Jackie Lau, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, and listening to Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore which are all very good, but are taking me forever to get through.
Forgot add that I just picked up The Last Wolf by Maria Vale for free on Amazon (it seems to be free on all platforms). I know it’s gotten a lot of love in previous Whatcha posts.
The best book, and the one I’m pushing at everyone, is William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land a coming of age story set in Depression era Minnesota. The language is beautiful, the setting is obviously well researched, the characters so well drawn, the story reminiscent of both Huck Finn and Homer’s Odyssey with a little touch of magic. There’s even a sweet little hint of romance.
This morning I finished Well Met by Jen DeLuca. It was a lovely experience. I loved the Ren Faire setting, the conflicts were believable and well tempered, the romance was a delight, even though you really only get Emily’s input as this is a first person narrative. It’s not really my favorite style for romance, but when it’s well done -as it is here- you get a good sense of what’s going on in the other person’s head.
This morning I started Mia Vincy’s A Wicked Kind of Husband. I had to tear myself away, because how long can you lay in bed on a Saturday morning when you have errands and the bank is only open until 11? The banter, my god, THE BANTER!!! You can’t stand when they’re apart because you just want more five star banter. Thank goodness his assorted secretaries feel free to contribute. There’s his Secretary in
Charge of Matrimonial Affairs, the Secretary For Doing Whatever the Blazes I Tell Him To aka The Secretary For Managing Whims and Getting Yelled At A Lot.
Maybe I should go to the bank next week.
Those of you struggling with A Discovery of Witches: I’m in the love it camp. I devoured it, but I can see where others are not so enamored. You know that old cliché “write what you know”? Deborah Harkness knows A LOT, and she shoehorned it all into that first book which can make it a difficult book to sit with. However, it gets better as the story goes along as a lot of the extraneous details get trimmed from the story telling.
I’m still not completely over my reading slump, but I’ve pared back my reading and it seems to be helping. And I’m only mildly anxious about all the time I’m not reading and how many books that means I won’t get to read ever.
We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson – a quick and haunting read. The gothic atmosphere and unreliable narrator kept me unsure about what was actually happening throughout the story.
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles – creepy and sexy, which is not a description I ever thought I’d use. I really enjoyed the episodic format of this book and Charles did a great job of developing the characters and relationships within this format.
Soulless by Gail Carriger – This is the second book I’ve read in this world and I really enjoy the juxtaposition of “proper” etiquette and manners with the snarky supernatural character interactions.
The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren – Another solid entry in this series. Surprisingly low angst considering that both leads were dealing with intense past trauma and personal demons. I love it when characters behave like adults and communicate with each other, it’s a much more enjoyable read when there is no ‘Big Misunderstanding’.
Currently reading:
The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai – I was really enjoying this one but only made it halfway through before the library sucked it back into the void. I guess that’s what happens when you wait until the day before it’s due to start reading. I’m back on the waiting list so I’ll get to finish it in about 20 weeks.
The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter – I loved her interview with SB Sarah on the podcast and this book has SO MUCH INFORMATION. I’m listening to the audio a couple of chapters at a time during my commute, but I will definitely be picking up a paper copy for future reference.
Rereading Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia and it’s one of those situations where I’m thinking “this could of been great”, but they just don’t quite get there. Also read some of Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily which is absolutely horrible. Lady Emily is a jerk!
I loved loved love A Discovery of Witches. The second book Shadow of Night is amazing. The Book of Life has problems, but I still recommend it. Jennifer Ikeda is the narrator for the audio books and she is very talented especially handling so many different accents.
Annette Blair has sexy funny Halloween romance titled The Kitchen Witch and it’s a lot of fun.
Happy Halloween Bitches! I’m going to dress up as Kate Daniels again this year….I even have a great fake sword!
Get a Life, Chloe Brown is next on my TBR pile; excited for it!
I grabbed THE DUKE I TEMPTED by Scarlett Peckham as soon as it went on sale. I guess I was just in the mood for an outwardly cold and controlled, but inwardly submissive duke and the smart, strong spinster botanist he falls for, so it leapfrogged right to the top of the TBR mountain. Happily, it did not disappoint.
Currently reading EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER by Linda Holmes. It good, but hasn’t really grabbed me, I think because Evvie is so mired in guilt over the fact that she’s not particularly grieving her husband’s death (the marriage was failing and she was about to leave him). To me, the guilt is kind of tiresome. He was a jerk! Move on!
I’m also enjoying the cute alien animals and romances in PETS IN SPACE 4. The stories are all novella length and perfect for a change of pace in between longer books.
I missed the last Whatcha Reading because I delivered our baby boy that very day – so needless to say too busy to post! Last night I got the best night’s sleep I had in the past two weeks (not great, but some decent chunks of sleep), so here I am with my updates.
Excellent:
None
Very Good:
A Talent for Trickery by Alissa Johnson: Investigator for the crown hero and daughter of criminal mastermind father meet in a second chance romance. There are a lot of complicated feelings and true differences between the hero’s world view and that of the heroine, which made the conflict seem real and very compelling. I would also categorize this as a yearning hero romance, which is my catnip. CW for child in peril.
Good:
Unbuttoning the Innocent Miss by Bronwyn Scott: A gentle romance where the heroine has a longtime crush on the hero and finally goes about trying to capture his attention. The hero struggles with survivor guilt after the Napoleonic Wars. I liked it enough to add the next in the series to my TBR. There is a Mean Girl rival to the heroine so if that is not your thing, steer clear.
Meh:
Reckoning by Jo Leigh: Generally, I have found, all category romances can be read as standalone even if they are technically part of a mini-series. This was not the case with Reckoning which was part of complicated series about bioterrorism and the former soldiers trying to clear their names and stop the terrorist plot. I had not read the previous books. The hero, who leads the group, has (apparently) wanted the heroine over the course of the previous three books and this is their story. CW for violence, descriptions of consequences of chemical weapons deployed against civilians, and suicide.
Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann: A historical paranormal set in the Regency period. This had a lot of potential with the cold vampire hero (who is the Lord Vampire of London) and the energetic, curious, author heroine. The world wasn’t completely explained and I thought some of the issues between the two were too easily resolved.
The Sh!t No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby’s First Year by Dawn Dais: Parts of this book were really funny – including the cartoons at the start of each chapter comparing pre-baby you with post-baby you, but actually most of what was in this book people had already told me (or I had learned myself through podcasts and books).
The Bad:
None
@Katie C: Congratulations on your family expansion!
My only leisure reading since last time was the Welcome to Night Vale novel, which might have worked as fan service but didn’t work *as a novel* for me, coming in without an existing attachment to the podcast. It started out fun, but the middle was boggy with repetition (“I KNOW, we’ve been over this already” was grimly muttered to my Kindle on more than one occasion), and though I stuck it out to the end to get the answer to the mystery, I wished I’d moved on to something else sooner.
I’m not having great luck with new-to-me books lately, so I’ll probably haul out the box of paper books and do some re-reads of stories I deemed worthy of moving across the country.
@KatieC: Congratulations! I’m thinking back to some WAYR posts from earlier this year when you were reading lots of pregnancy and childbirth books. Love, good thoughts, and best wishes to you and your new little one.
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. Started but couldn’t commit to at least 5 books in the past few days but not sure if it was the books or my mood. I thought maybe I should branch out a bit and try some Romantic Suspense – I did enjoy Jayne Ann Krentz’s When All the Girls Have Gone but then the next couple were just creepy and I don’t need that right before bed. I’m listening to audio of Things You Save in a Fire – really enjoying it, although it’s on CD and I can only listen when driving. Makes me look forward to going to work, at least! Before the slump, I read and loved Alyssa Cole’s An Unconditional Freedom and Adriana Herrera’s American Dreamer. Also enjoyed The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai.
@Katie C., best wishes to you and your son!
If you’re looking for something amusing to read, I’ll recommend Baby Blues: This is Going to be Tougher Than We Thought by Kirkman and Scott. My husband brought home a copy when our daughter was about six weeks old, and we truly laughed until we cried.
Since last time ~
— Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is described as a short story, but I’d quibble with that description. It’s a story that is composed of letters by four people. It begins with a letter written by a woman who has just found love letters written to her husband by another woman; she writes to the husband of that woman. And the story goes from there. The time period is the seventies. I enjoyed it.
— Gateway to the Moon: A Novel by Mary Morris for my book group. It was rather ironic to finish this on Columbus Day as Columbus figures in the book and not in a positive light. While I’m happy to have read the book, I’ll caution that it contains rape, torture, and more rape and torture.
— Dark Matters (Class 5 Series Book 4) by Michelle Diener was released this week, and I’ve already finished it. I enjoyed it. This is a science fiction romance series that is best read in order.
— Bone Rider by J. Fally was a book that I quite enjoyed. It was loaned to me, but I believe I’ll be buying it to reread. It’s a male/male/alien romance with significant violence.
— the short work Monster Till Midnight: A Cross-Dimensional Love Story by E.J. Russell. It was a pleasant story.
**
— reread Bone Rider by J. Fally plus The Sentinel by Eden Winters both of which I enjoyed once again. Incidentally, The Sentinel is currently free for Kindle readers: http://www.amazon.com/Sentinel-Eden-Winters-ebook/dp/B00IB4YWX8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=sentinel+Eden+winters&qid=1571889589&sr=8-2
— read Our Pet by S. M. Matthews which was a pleasant reverse harem story though it did end with a cliffhanger.
— read/looked at Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers by Becky Cooper which proved to be a quick read. I can imagine this book might be enjoyed by New Yorkers as well as those who like maps and/or art.
— And read another boatload of samples on my Kindle.
I had a long train trip last weekend, so I got some extended reading time, which was really lovely. I read A Better Man by Louise Penny, which is the latest installment in her Inspector Gamache series. I really enjoyed it. I also bought the Maria Vale trilogy because of the sale and read both The Last Wolf and A Wolf Apart. I liked them both, but I must admit that as someone on the sale post promised, Elijah (the hero in A Wolf Apart) just wrecked me, so I had to put off reading the third book. One thing that I particularly liked about these books is that they are set in the Adirondacks (which I had not expected) and the author uses actual places in the book. I have family who lived in and near places like Plattsburgh, Glens Falls and Schroon Lake, so it was a delightful surprise to have them mentioned in passing in these books.
I also read Intercepted by Alexa Martin, which went on sale on Monday and was a good way to finish my train trip. I had enjoyed her podcast interview, so I was delighted to see her book on sale and enjoyed it. It was nice to read something a little lighter after Elijah’s angsty story.
I just finished Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen which was also enjoyable, although it made me want to reread some of the other books in her hockey series, starting with Dave and Zara’s story, because I was a little confused about where this book fit in the timeline of events. So, I may read that next just to clear up my confusion.
Put me in the category of people who enjoyed A History of Witches. I particularly enjoyed the second book because I love historical tourism.
@Another Anne, glad my rec lived up to your expectations. I, too, am putting off book three for the same reason.
Just finished reading Lighting the Flames by our very own Sarah Wendell, and it was, to coin a phrase, EPIC. I loved both Gen and Jeremy and I loved the fact that they had so much fun together. You could tell by their interactions at camp how alike they were so there was no question about the HEA. My only minor quibble was that when Jeremy said he was avoiding her because he was afraid he was a reminder of what had happened in her past, I would have liked to see Gen address that more directly. Otherwise, if you like slow burn, friends-to-lovers, mutual pining, go get this book. It’s a perfect holiday read, no matter what holiday you celebrate. (and it also helped me understand my freshman college roommate better, so thanks for that.)
@KateB, you will LOVE Howl’s Moving Castle; it’s quite different from the movie but still one of my favorite Wynne-Jones books. Also look for the sequel, Castle in the Sky, to see Howl as a parent (!). I also recommend unreservedly all her Chrestomanci books; you can either start with The Lives of Christopher Chant and go through the series chronologically with Christopher as he ages, or start with Charmed Life and go in order of publication, but they are all delicious.
@KatieC, congratulations and best wishes for the whole family!!
I missed the mid- October checking, so this is for the month….
GREAT
Bowen, Sarina – Goodbye Paradise – a young adult M/M contemporary about two young men leaving a cult. The second in the series, Hello Forever, was good but not as interesting as the first one.
VERY GOOD
Deiner, Michelle – Dark Matters – Sci-Fi M/F. A nice addition to the series, although not as much music in this one. Lots of action which makes me wish for more downtime to work on the romance.
Himes, SJ – Mastering the Flames- Urban Fantasy M/M. Very nice addition to the series. I didn’t expect to be as interested in these characters as I was.
GOOD
Drake, Taki – Traditions of Childhood – Sci-Fi Halloween short story. Very short, but sweet. A nice filler while waiting for the next in the series.
Gala, Lyn – Ends, Means, and an Angry Ship – Sci-Fi. Not really related to the rest of the series, just in the same universe. More action than sci-fi or romance. I really didn’t see why the main characters wanted to be together.
Lennox, Lucy – Heart2Heart volume 3 – M/M contemporary short stories. Good stories and I found a new author out of them, Nora Phoenix.
Lindsay, E.M. – Stick and Poke – M/M contemporary. A nice continuation of the series.
Phoenix, Nora – Irresistible Omegas (Books 1-7) – MPreg Shapeshifters. A new to me author that I gobbled down the whole series in a week. Looking forward to more.
Wickenden, Dorothy – Nothing Daunted – Non-Fiction. Interesting story about two New York misses who went out to Colorado to teach in 1916.
SO-SO
Alepou, Brea – His Bewildered Mate – M/M shapeshifters -Great premise in a shifter romance but just not all there.
Oliver, Lily – The Phoenix and the Jackal – M/M shapeshifters- this felt like the second in a series, but there wasn’t a first one.
:::stomps in to Tell That Devil, because I wish that Wynonna Earp was back for my Halloween viewing pleasure:::
And she’s home.
I’m writing this from my own bed, which I got to sleep in again after 368 days. Yeesh. Hurricanes.
I left off on Vendetta In Death, which I passed on to my mom. Again, not a lot of Roarke, and while the hook was good, the murderer was more absurd than frightening. I mean, I liked the idea of bad people getting got (more on that in a minute), and Eve and Peabody continue to be entertaining, but it definitely was not one of the stronger ones in the series. Then I moved on to The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis. First time author, so it had some weirdness with pacing, but the characters were great, and remember how I said I like bad people getting got? Plenty of that in this book. I think I could have used a touch more world-building, since I really enjoyed what I did get, but I think that with the world expanding in the next one and the heroine having essentially found her mission, that that will be addressed. Then it was time to Goth it the f*ck up for SPOOKYSEASON and read Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. LOVE. SO MUCH LOVE. MAN can Bardugo write. It reminded me of The Magicians in tone, and I got your female rage right here. CW/TW: there are assaults in the book, physical and sexual. But it was full of mostly women that refuse to be powerless, and are here to get shit done, and jack up their abusers, and take their power. God, I loved it, and I am ready to have the next one Goth my eyeballs right up. After that, I was still in SPOOKYSEASON/MURDER mode, and blew through The Escape Room by Megan Goldin. Very clever little take on the locked room mystery about some Wall Street hotshots that are trapped in an elevator for what they’re told is a team-building exercise (corporate American loves a team-building exercise), and as the hours pass, it becomes pretty clear that someone trapped them there because they don’t like them very much and it’s time to address some sins that had gone unpunished. The folks in the elevator are, to a person, pretty bad people. You find out quite a bit about their backstories and motivations, and by the end of it, they are complex characters that deserve everything they get. It was a fast, smart read. Bringing us to now, in which I think I’m going to start The Outsider by Stephen King. I saw the preview for the HBO show, which sparked some interest.
Hmmm. I really did have a thing for bad people getting slapped around this month, didn’t I? I wonder why::::remembers the recent contents of the 24 hour new cycle::: nope, wait. Makes total sense. Until next time, folks, light the candles and get the candy ready, because that might be a kid, or it might be a hobgoblin, but let’s not take the chance.
This month I’ve really enjoyed Samantha Wayland’s Poetry in Motion, a MM hockey romance that had much better characters and writing than most in that subgenre. Hockey is my favourite American sport for romance novels and I have learned a surprising amount about it, despite never having seen a single game. But you have to weed through a lot of dross to find the gems.
Currently listening to Beth O’Leary’s The Flat Share, which I found out about from a comments thread, on this site I think. It’s one of those books where the right narrators add so much entertainment value (although I’m sure the print version would be great, too). And audio makes me savour the book, and not inhale it at a single sitting until about four in the morning; a considerable added bonus. This book is funny and touching without seeming like it’s trying too hard. My sense of humour skews much more British than American, which helps.
I finally finished THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN by G.A. Aiken. I started it in September but only got about 1/4 way before I knew I would want to finish it in one sitting and didn’t have the time that day. Turns out I didn’t have enough time to do that until October. Thank goodness the book is available through my library’s Hoopla service and I was able to check it out as soon as I had the time to devote to it. So even though my Goodreads says it took me a month to read, I read it in two sittings and loved it. I’m looking forward to the next in the series. And it got me itching for a revisit to Aiken’s Dragon Kin Series.
Trying to make the most of my discounted Audible Escape/Kindle Unlimited subscription, I started listening to Aiken’s Dragon Kin series and very much enjoyed the narrator of the first 4 books. But I stopped after book 4 because the narrator changed to a new one and I hate when that happens within a series. I do have all the Dragon Kin series in ebook format that I’ve been picking up over the years. But so far I haven’t made it past book 4. Hopefully I’ll get to the rest of the series during November.
I switched to listening to Aiken’s other pen name Shelly Laurenston and her Pride series. This also has a narrator I very much enjoy who does a great job with all the characters. I’ve made it through book 4 and will probably finish this series straight through book 9.
(Side-note – I tend to forget just how explicit Aiken/Laurenston’s sex scenes are, which I don’t have any issue with usually. But I listen to audiobooks at work and I’m always terrified that I’ll forget to turn on my headset and the books will start playing for everyone to hear. So when those scenes start, I’m always double checking my phone nervously, and taking out one earpiece just to make sure no audio is playing through my phone speaker.)
Through my library’s Hoopla, I checked out the first two audiobooks for the Greatcoat series by Sebastien de Castell. It took me a bit to get into the first book TRAITOR’S BLADE. The narrator for the series is also good. Sometimes I get annoyed with how male narrators perform the women characters. But he does a great job and so far doesn’t do that whiny voice for women that so many male narrators do. I had to stop a bit after a section of the book that featured some CW/TW content (a rape scene that is used as motivation for the protagonist). But I did try again a few days later and enjoyed the book enough to start the next in the series. The second book KNIGHT’S SHADOW I enjoyed even more, but the CW/TW content does popup again in the second book, with even more graphic detail. I’m taking a break before continuing the series, but do think I’ll eventually jump back in. There are only 4 books in the series, but they are longer ones in audio, around 20 hours. I’ve enjoyed the series enough that I put the author on my eReaderIQ author tracking list, so if the books go on sale I will scoop them up.
In October I also listened to and enjoyed:
– HUNTED by Meagan Spooner (A wonderful YA fairytale that got me in the winter season mood, even though I’m not ready for cold and snow yet.)
– The Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan (I wanted more dragons but this series helped satisfy my Amelia Peabody withdrawal after bingeing that series in audiobook throughout summer.)
– The Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber (the first couple books were a little slow for me, to the point that I increased the listening speed to move things along, which I hardly ever do. But I’m enjoying the series more and more with each book and will pick up the next one when it comes out. Another narrator I enjoy and will look for more books featuring her narration.)
(Second side-note – I’m luck that I get to listen to audiobooks for pretty much my entire work shift. I work 12 hours shifts and can usually make it through an entire book in a night. It’s a perk of my job that makes it easier to go into work, especially if I’m in the middle of a good book or series. Hoopla has a great audiobook selection but I have a monthly check out limit, so I decided to give Audible Escape a try. Between the two, I’m able to keep my wishlist full. I just wish both companies would publish a What’s Leaving Streaming Next Month similar to what Netflix and Amazon do. I hate putting a book on my wishlist only to discover it’s no longer available to stream.)
Sorry. I tried to use a spoiler tag to hide the CW/TW content for TRAITOR’S BLADE in my post but must not have done it correctly.
@Nan de Plume—if you liked A Duke in Disguise, I definitely recommend Unmasked by the Marquess. (That one has a bi male hero and non-binary heroine, mistaken identity, blackmail, and hot hot sex.) Most of Sebastian’s other ones are m/m.
(I’ve used FashionablyEvil as a screen name since high school, but only for commenting on blogs; I spent a LOT of time in the feminist blogosphere circa 2002-2010ish. I think there’s someone with the same handle on Twitter, but that’s not me.)