January is nearly at a close, which feels strange because it’s lasted for eighty-seven years.
Here’s what books we’re finishing for the end of the month!
Claudia: I’m reading Headliners by Lucy Parker but distracted by a million things so it’s been slow going!
Tara: I don’t typically read short story collections, but I’ve been slowly making my way through How Long ’til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin and it’s excellent. I like reading a few stories at a time between other novels and there are some serious gems in the first third of it.
I’m also reading Floodtide by Heather Rose Jones. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s a lesbian historical fantasy that takes place in her Alpennia world, but can be read as a standalone. She’s so damn good at worldbuilding and her writing is so vivid and gorgeous that I’m really enjoying this one. It’s not a romance and it’s too soon to say if it has romantic elements or not, like Daughter of Mystery did.
Catherine: I’ve just finished Fire & Water by Alexis Hall, ( A | BN | K | AB ) which is the third Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator novel. I haven’t read the first two, but it stands alone fairly well, and I really liked the dry humour of it. And I am evidently in a lesfic mood, because I have Beautiful Dreamer going on my Kobo I’m about a chapter into it.
Lara: I’m reading The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan and trying my best to love it… but so far, it’s a “meh”. Fingers crossed things liven up!
Shana: I just finished A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha Harrison, ( A ) which was a warm and gooey post-divorce reinvention story. The heroine is a herbalist who who takes an entrepreneurship class, and is gently pursued by her teacher, a younger man with teddy bear tendencies. Lots of steamy scenes. I’m having trouble getting into another book and keep dropping them in the DNF pile of doom. I’m considering reading Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik to pull me out of my SFF slump.
Tara: Shana, do it! I had so much fun reading that recently and it totally helped me beat a reading slump
Carrie: I’m reading The Hanged Man by K.D. Edwards. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s the second in a series involving Atlantis, Earth, politics, love, family, and tarot and I heart it.
Charlotte B: I’m reading Strange Love by Ann Aguirre. I tend to find her worldbuilding pretty thin, but something about that really works here – the plot is ridiculous and over the top, and you just have to strap in and jump on board, like Beryl does when she and her dog are accidentally abducted by aliens.
Catherine: Strange Love was such fun!
Elyse: I’m reading Whiteout by Adriana Anders, so far it’s the perfect blend of suspense and romance.
I just finished a and it was so amazing i put it on my comfort reads list
Susan: I’m struggling to read right now, so I’m comfort re-reading Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk for the ten thousandth time, because apparently queer cosmic horror is just how I relax now.
Carrie: Oooh that one is goooood.
Aarya: I really liked Strange Love. That makes me the fourth endorsement? I blame Elyse for making me read it because her Slack reading updates were irresistible.
I’m still reading the same books I mentioned in the previous Whatcha Reading. No idea why it’s so slow-going, but I might take a break and come back to them in a better mood.
Carrie: Well now I have to add Strange Love to my list.
Maya: I struck out with two cozy mysteries today–the first I DNF after a few chapters because of some weirdly racialized descriptions of people and some generally implausible behavior. The second (Pies Before Guys by Kirsten Weiss)( A | BN | K | AB ) I finished but, didn’t particularly enjoy much about it. It was one of those stories where people show how they care about each other by being casually cruel and dismissive of each other’s feelings (mostly coming from all the secondary characters to the main character). There was a whole lot of codependent behavior and general lack of boundaries. Basically, nothing about it felt charming or interesting. It’s also the fourth book in the series, so maybe dropping in the middle had to do with my general inability to connect with the story.
BUT! now I’m reading an ARC of Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai. It’s the #2 book in the series that started with The Right Swipe. Much like the last book, the characters are diverse and I’m generally enjoying it so far!
If anyone has any suggestions for cozy mysteries written by AOCs and/or with protagonists of color (living in diverse communities!!) please let me know. I’d be all about getting into that genre!
Amanda: Maya, there’s Widows of Malabar Hill, though it may be more historical mystery (1920s Bombay) rather than cozy.
Maya: Thanks, Amanda! I’ll totally check out Widows of Malabar Hill!!
Lara: Elyse, perfect blend of suspense and romance is my CATNIP! I’m adding Whiteout to the TBR pile.
EllenM: I just finished Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas, which i liked but was definitely not blown away by. Currently also reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin, ( A | BN | K | AB ) which I’ve been meaning to read for years but am finally getting around to. Of course the world building is excellent which is a huge thing for me.
Shana: Maya, have you read YS Lee’s The Agency series? ( A | BN | K | AB ) They’re historical mysteries with a mixed race heroine.
Also, I think I already recommended Gethsemane Brown mystery series by Alexia Gordon ( A | BN | K | AB ), which are true cozies.
Maya: I haven’t! Thanks, Shana!
Shana: I hope you like them! I really wish Lee would write more books.
Sneezy: A few of the books I have on hold came in all at once, and I’m…low key about to explode. Of joy. Of being overwhelmed. Just general implosion. Either way, I’ll be cracking open the Vagina Bible ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) this week, and I haven’t decided which book I’ll be chumming up with for romance.
What have you read lately?
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I need to vent about a book that gave me a case of Book Grumps instead of Book Squee. It was Herb Witch by Elizabeth McCoy, and I’m so torn by it. I really liked it overall. I could’ve kept reading about the world and characters indefinitely. BUT I felt the conflict was too drawn out, and I was really starting to get frustrated with the stubbornness and obtuseness of the heroine and hero, respectively. I was eager for that plot to resolve so I could get on to reading Herb Wife which I thought would be the story of them learning to live together. BUT the plot didn’t resolve; instead is carried over into the next book! So I want to read more but I don’t want to read more of that plot. I don’t want to get caught up in another compelling book with the same frustrations and the addition of a marriage under false pretenses side plot. 🙁
In other reading, I’ve really enjoyed books by Alice Coldbreath, particularly Her Baseborn Basegroom which reminded me of the best of Amanda Quick. I have to mention, though, that the editing is abysmal.
I tried reading The Gilded Wolves but didn’t make it very far. There were too many POVs for my taste. Also there was something weird going on with the characters’ ages. I kept trying to figure it out and couldn’t, and it nagged at me so much I couldn’t suspend my disbelief. It was a shame because I’ve been wanting a good heist book ever since I almost read The Lies of Locke Lamora. 🙂
Great
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – my first 5 star read of the year! Not genre romance but a lovely historical fiction set in New York, 1940 – 1970s, with an unusual love story. It started out fun and frothy and slowly deepened.
Good
Bitter Pill (Psycop #11) by Jordan Price Castillo. M/M UF romance/mystery. I really enjoyed this installment – I like Victor’s character development.
Meh
The Stolen Suitor by Eli Easton. Tropey mm small town contemporary western romance with too much plot and too many POV characters.
I am doing a cheap trial of Kindle Unlimited and finding that it changes my reading dynamic a lot. I find myself rushing through books that I may not truly want to read. So, moving into DNF or just skimmed territory. I did also find some good reads.
Enjoyed Making Up by Lucy Parker. Not the most excellent of her books bur still very good.
Also liked a YA, The Infinite Pieces of Us by Rebekah Crane. It follows a 16 yo whose family has moved her to small town New Mexico after a difficult event in her life. I really enjoyed it and the other characters seemed very real.
Sisters One, Two, Three was good, dealing with family trauma, denial, a mom who seems to be cluster B.
Nine Elms, police/suspense. The main character is a female police officer who had an affair with her superior and then found that he was a serial killer. Fifteen years later, she is still dealing with the fallout when a copycat arises. I enjoyed it.
Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen did not grab me as her sports based series have. Not bad and not great. Younger man has been lusting after his siblings’ babysitter for a decade. Now she is divorced and he is free to pursue her. Interesting premise but not so great in the execution.
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. Nine friends trapped by a snowstorm in a lodge and one of them is murdered. Interesting suspense, a little creepy, and thought about it afterwards. So pretty good.
Marriage for One by Ella Maise. Marriage of convenience between young woman who is left destitute by her uncle/guardian’s death and the uncle’s lawyer. Some of it is interesting and good. But there is one piece in there that, while I think it was meant to show how much he had done to win her, really creeped me out. Like finding someone else’s hair in the last bite of your dinner.
The Bodyguard by Ruchi Singh. An Indian billionaire hires an ex-army woman as his bodyguard. Someone is trying to kill him. She and his director of security try to keep him safe. Who is doing this and why? Some of it is a little over the top but, in general, an fun read.
Leaving out the DNFs. Maybe I will try them again later.
I have been doing so much re-reading of books, and rewatching (why is rereading and rewatching not words?) of the Great British Bake Off.
January is always a tough month for me, and I have given myself allowance to get through it any way I can! The new book I read is The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary which I freaking LOVED! At first I wasn’t sure-the two voices, one so different from the other-but I stayed up till 4:00 am finishing the book-it was that good. It is so charming, I was blown away!
The Katie Allen books-I’ve read all of them in last few weeks. I love that the heroines are strong, it is such a great trope for me. So many of these books made me laugh out loud! I am a big fan of her writing as Katie Ruggle.
I do hope she continues with all her series!
First time doing this but really want to shout out Jackie Lau’s Man vs Duran, the final book in the Baldwin Village series. m/f Asian-Canadians living in Toronto. Fake relationship to real one. Grumpy heroine (with good reason) and dreamy hero. Frank discussions about sexuality beyond PiV, family expectations, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Just respectful communications all around. And so much about food! I loved this series and look forward to starting her new series Holidays with the Wongs.
Finally read Joanna Shupe’s The Knickerbocker Club trilogy (Magnate, Baron, Mogul) and really enjoyed the setting and the couples.
Working on finishing Jaci Burton’s Play-by-Play series. This month I’ve read Quarterback Draw and All Wound Up. (Enjoyed both) The others are on the pile.
Also working through Lucy Parker’s Celebrities series. Loved Act Like It and Pretty Face, although her use of some film terms in theatre drove me insane. I had to force myself through the first half of Making Up but the second half of the book was enough for me to continue on to The Austen Playbook.
Really have enjoyed all the books I’ve read so far in Erica Ridley’s 12 Dukes of Christmas series. All set in this town that does Christmas year round, the dukes are in various forms and the books are fun (no angstfest here) with characters that communicate. I haven’t once had a ‘wtf?’ moment. Don’t expect historical accuracy but if you can get past that, they are a great ride.