Heck yeah! It’s October, my personal favorite month. And then, in my opinion, it’s all downhill from here. But let’s be honest, 2020 has been downhill since January.
We all love Whatcha Reading, where we can discuss good and bad books of the month, and get plenty of recommendations.
Carrie: In War and Peace, the French are advancing on Moscow! Their victory seems inevitable! I wonder how things will turn out! Also I just finished Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline ( A | BN | K | AB ) and I am NOT OK, MAN.
Catherine: Carrie, I am loving your War and Peace commentary. I’m a bit miserable at present, so I’m all over my comfort reads. Today it’s Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid, which is still utterly wonderful. I think Lucy Parker is next on the menu.
Elyse: I’m reading Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee.
Sarah: I started reading two books which was not wise.
I started The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu, ( A | BN | K | AB ) which is a mystery set in 1936 Singapore. The sleuth is Chen Su Lin, whose family would like to arrange her marriage so she is trying to find a job and some autonomy for herself.
But then I also started, because I am a big silly person, Ties that Tether by Jane Igharo. ( A | BN | K | AB ) The heroine, Azere, is also being encouraged most strongly to make a “proper” marriage to a Nigerian man (unintentional themed reading!) so of course she falls hard for a Spanish man named Rafael after a one night stand.
I like both so it’s book buffet time.
Claudia: I’m back in trouble again, trying to see which book sticks. I’ve started a few only to leave off around the 10% mark.
Shana: I’ve been playing library due date chicken, and mostly losing. I’m currently on a queer SFF kick and I have one day to finish The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco.
Carrie: Go Shana! You can do it! I believe in you!
Tara: I’m reading Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I started it a month ago and had a really hard time getting into it, but I happily had a breakthrough last night and am loving it.
In audio, I’m listening to We Have Always Been Here: a Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib. I was first interested when I heard it won the Canada Reads competition this year and then I saw Vivek Shraya raving about it on Twitter and knew I had to check it out. I’m not very far yet, but it’s excellent so far. Sneezy, I think you’d really love it.
Lara: I’m reading White Rabbit by London Miller at the moment. I chose it (as I choose most books) because of the cover… and I’m sticking around because I cannot even begin to imagine how the conflict in this story can be resolved. The hero and heroine come from diametrically opposed places and I’m here for it. Also, the hero is an anti-hero (maybe even an alphahole? too early to tell), which I haven’t read in a good long while.
Catherine: Oh my gosh, and I’ve just started Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade, and hellooooo bad decisions book club because there is no way I am stopping this tonight. It’s utterly brilliant and hilarious, especially if you have spent much time in fandom or reading fanfic.
And this is one in the morning Catherine back here to say that I finished Spoiler Alert and I have no regrets, because that honestly could not have been more my catnip if it had tried for a week with both hands. So much fun.
Shana: Yay! I’m glad you loved it Catherine.
Catherine: So much. Just enormous fun.
What have you read this month? Let us know!
The Duke Who Didn’t, by Courtney Milan: funny, light, the h&h have great chemistry, and everyone was just so wonderful and such a decent human being. Exactly what I needed. No big misunderstanding or contrived drama at the end either (there was a misunderstanding towards the beginning, but it was cleared up soon enough).
Spoiler Alert, by Olivia Dade: Tropetastic in a fun way, but a lot of this felt so real–the freedom and limitations Marcus & April’s online friendship; the frustration with TV shows that wreck favorite characters and going completely off the rails; how family can have such an effect on how you see yourself, even as an adult; how good it feels to be honest about who you really are and have people who can accept you. There was some drama, but in this case, there was actually good reasons for it (high stakes honesty).
I couldn’t stop reading Spoiler Alert, even though I was supposed to be clearing out my closet and bathroom so they could be painted, because the owners of the apartment building I live in have decided that NOW is a great time to do a bunch of repairs to “add value.” Last month they replaced the flooring and cabinets, and completely redid the kitchen. If I couldn’t escape into books, I’d probably be going craz(ier) right now.
The Idiot, by Elif Batuman: Dry humor on almost every page, and so far away from anything that is happening right now. It’s literary fiction where nothing terrible happens to anyone–enough said.
The Heroine’s Journey, by Gail Carriger: Gail Carriger’s answer to the hero’s journey, minus all the gender essentialist bullshit. Carriger uses the word “heroine” to describe a protagonist of any gender who focuses on friendship, connection, teambuilding, etc. instead of traditional lone wolf/rugged individualist cowboy/unstoppable badass style heroism.
She uses Harry Potter as an example of a heroine, because he works together with Hermione, Ron, and all of his friends and found family. Found family plays a large part in the heroine’s journey.
Reading this made me realize why I liked some protagonists so much, and got annoyed by others: a successful heroine will rely on friends and allies, and feel comfortable asking for help when he/she/they needs it. Otherwise, your protagonist is probably on a hero’s journey. Some really annoying (to me anyway) failed heroines repeatedly refuse help they know they need, and go over the top to be self sacrificing, because that seems to be the incredibly messed up feminine ideal. And that type of annoying heroine is almost always female. They go so far out of their way to help other people, even putting themselves in danger to do it, but get offended if anyone tries to help them. When their friends and/or love interests try to help, she gets upset and tells them off, and they chase after her trying to help anyway. And at the end of the frustrating mess, her man comes along, sweeps her off her feet, and solves all her problems, forcing his help on her so she never has to lower herself to ask. I was so sure I hated this type of story just because it’s sexist, but it turns out I hate this type of story because it’s sexist AND also breaks too many expectations for what a heroine’s journey should be like.
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales Disability, and Making Space, by Amanda Leduc: I spent pretty much the whole time reading this thinking “OMFG YES, THAT!!!1!!” and it’s too far soon for me to actually say anything coherent about the contents of this book. Amanda Leduc said so many things that I have thought a lot about, even if I wasn’t able to say any of it so clearly.
It’s insightful, necessary, fascinating, and very well written.
For Heyer, besides the ones mentioned, I would recommend The Masqueraders. It’s set just after the Jacobite revolution and features gender swapping twins. It’s very, very funny, and at the same time, has one of the best declarations of love in any Heyer romance.
If you read These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub, and Regency Buck, don’t stop there. Read An Infamous Army, the fourth book in the Audley-Alistair tetralogy, for the rest of the love story and the best book ever written about the Battle of Waterloo (according to many experts). Also, read The Black Moth, which is an early Heyer. That book is basically the Duke of Avon’s story, but with names changed to protect the innocent. Well, not really, but Heyer obviously draws Avon’s backstory from this earlier work, only changing some names and a few details.
I love A Civil Contract, which follows a different path than most of Heyer’s books. It’s a marriage of convenience and doesn’t have the same humorous aspect, although it has all of the insight and perception in to the human mind and heart that all her works have.
@Wub I wondered why Band Sinister had a Heyer-eques cover!! I can’t get it fast enough now. I love Heyer, and Charles and I can’t wait to see what she does with all the tropy goodness!
@Carrie G: Brilliant! I love putting the right books in front of the right readers!
@LN: for real? I grew up on Jean Dit. After reading the Jacques Dit bit in the book, I did wonder if Jacques was used elsewhere in the world (after all, we’re apparently the only ones regularly putting on souliers on our feet and sometimes finding things too dispendieuses 😉 ). But when I searched ‘Simon Says Translation’, only Jean Dit appeared in Linguee.
My excuses to Becky Albertalli then! She did do her research, better than I did! (If only I’d googled ‘Jacques Dit’ instead, the Jacques a dit thing definitely would’ve come up…)
@Susan/DC I actually added Smarsh to my reading list because I’d heard it was a better look at the white working class — I didn’t read Vance until this year and when I did, I really did not like it, partly because he spends so much of the book assigning individual blame for outcomes instead of acknowledging what happens when there’s no social safety net and the workforce undergoes major changes. I also felt like the way he wrote about his family members came off as more of asking the reader to gawk at them than Smarsh did — perhaps because she is not assigning people sole responsibility for their lives?
I also was directed to Elizabeth Catte’s WHAT YOU ARE GETTING WRONG ABOUT APPALACHIA, which was fantastic and deconstructed the “it’s Scots-Irish culture/in the Scots-Irish blood” aspect of Vance’s memoir. She contextualizes his comments on Appalachia as fitting into a longer history of eugenics and how Appalachia has been painted as backwards and homogeneous in order to fit particular narratives. Of course, these narratives have enabled economic exploitation by business interests.
Hmm, my first post vanished into the ether. Trying again.
— I finished the month-long challenge I was participating in on a different site. The last challenge was to read a book that you’d had for more than a year. I read several.
The first four Claiming series books that feature Liam and Ondry are amongst my favorites, so I was interested in reading more by author Lyn Gala. I began Tap-Dancing the Minefields (on TBR since 2019) soon after getting it but did not read on; I’m glad to have completed it but have mixed feelings. I was thinking ‘just one more chapter’ until well after midnight, so the story grabbed me; on the other hand, some aspects seemed foolish and characters magically knew information without having been informed. One surprise was that the alien ship in this story bears marked similarities to the ship in the author’s fifth Claimings book. I don’t know if there is supposed to be a connection or whether the author simply reused some fine world building.
**
I’d enjoyed several of the Christmas Angel series so decided to read Shrewd Angel by Anyta Sunday (on TBR since 2019). It’s a modern day retelling of the Taming of the Shrew thus the clever title. Sadly, I gave up after reading more than a quarter of the book as it was too silly for my current mood.
**
I enjoyed the story Haunted by Irene Preston and Liz Rancourt (on TBR since 2018) which featured a detective turned insurance investigator plus a historian starring in a show about hoaxes. It’s FREE for Kindle readers. I would happily read more by these authors; this story is a standalone in the Hours of the Night series.
**
False Engagement (Marrying Men Book 1) by Hollis Shiloh (on TBR since 2018) was a short work in an alternate regency setting where marriages between men and with multiple spouses was the norm. It featured two men who had been childhood friends then lovers and who had parted after a fight. It was an okay read. Currently FREE for Kindle readers.
**
I quite liked N.R. Walker’s Imago (on TBR since 2017) which was set in Tasmania and featured a bowtie wearing nerdy butterfly specialist on the hunt for a new specimen and a park ranger.
**
Soothsayer by Cari Z. (on TBR since 2017) was my favorite of the week’s books. The main characters were Cillian, for whom the book is named, Sören, and an Icelandic land spirit who is possessing Sören’s body. It’s a complicated story but an interesting one. It makes me want to reread J. Fally’s Bonerider which has some similarities.
**
I also enjoyed Blue Notes by Shira Anthony (on my TBR since 2014!) which featured a lot of music and good food. Jason, NYC lawyer, flies to Paris when he discovers his fiancee has been unfaithful. He soon encounters Jules, a talented and struggling violinist, and feelings develop.
**
In addition to the above, I also read a new book, Once Dishonored: An Empowering & Thrilling Historical Regency Romance Book (Rogues Redeemed 5) by Mary Jo Putney. I enjoyed the book, but I will say that it strained credulity a time or two.
**
– At the Slightest Sound: a military paranormal romance (Shadowforce: Psi Book 1) by M. L. Buchman. It was a pleasant read but not my favorite from the author. I would, however, read on in the series.
— Enjoyed The Orphans of Raspay: A Penric and Desdemona novella in the World of the Five Gods (Penric & Desdemona Book 7) by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is a series that is best read in order.
— the contemporary romance Spoiler Alert: A Novel by Olivia Dade which I very much enjoyed, even when it made me cry.
— The Book of Two Ways: A Novel by Jodi Picoult. I’ve read quite a few books by this author, and she almost always manages to surprise me in some way. This book was no exception. It was incredibly well researched; I learned about Egyptian death practices and hieroglyphics, quantum physics, and death doulas. I enjoyed it, but I could imagine some might dislike the end
Having trouble this month. I can’t really get into any books. Sometimes in feels like a chore (if I read one more chapter I can start another book that might be better…). Also as I have previously mentioned I am not much of a contemporary reader and for some reason I had a bunch of contemporaries (that were well reviewed or from authors I liked in the past) on my hold list at the Library. Well they all came in at once, and I as another here brilliantly described, I was forcing myself to read them or get caught in due date chicken.
So I read TAKE A HINT DANI BROWN, I really liked Zaf, so sweet, so in touch with his emotions, so a romance fan and so damn sexy. Dani…. well I liked her better than Chloe, the heroine from the first in the series, but I don’t know she felt a little self centered. For Zaf alone I give it a C, just wish I was rooting more for them as a couple. Plus I hate all the social media inserts.
I also read RECIPE for PERSUASION. I generally really like Sonali Dev, but this one really fell flat for me. There was sooooo much trauma in the mother’s back story and I just felt depressed reading it. Also the food competition just felt fake and off and when the lovers reunited it was almost too easy and all the discussions that needed to be had about why they broke up just evaporated. I really should have given this one a D.
I also read THE MARRIAGE BED, by Laura Lee Guhrke. I have read the first two in the series and I liked them well enough, the first book was the best with the bluestocking heroine and the ass-hat Duke. This couple has been in both of the other books, although very tangentially. After reading this and RECIPE I have discovered that I hate second chance romances. I mean if there were enough issues that they parted in the first place what major changes could happen to make them a viable couple again? In this case she just accepted he needs regular sex from her so he doesn’t cheat. I wouldn’t have taken him back… God all the descriptions of her sitting across from his Mistresses at society events and having to be polite as the salt is rubbed in her wounds it was awful.
I have been reading LOTS of Laurann Dohner, I mean LOTS. Her books are like potato chips or really good cookies for me. My Library System only has so many and I have having to ration myself so I don’t run out. They are heavy on the sex, some with pretty sketchy consent if I am being honest. Plus damn they take me away from all the BS of the world right now. The CYBORG SEDUCTION series started hard for me (consent issues, literal ownership of women), but I found the concept of the cyborg society really interesting. I kept reading and they got better and now I am out of them. The SPECIES series is pretty dark and the first book has major consent issues and a pretty brutal rape of the hero, but her world building got me and now I am ten books in. The WARRIORS OF ZORN series has it’s issues, but the first book was the best for me.
Sadly I read 2 Carla Kelly’s since the last time I wrote in and they were average at best. She was one of my comfort reads, I typically love her heros and accept that the heat level will be luke warm at best. Just finished the WEDDING RING QUEST, which started strong (older hero and heroine which I like), a fun adventure, but then it lost me. There is a scene at the end of the quest where the heroine gets hurt and the hero is acting anything but. Their reconciliation later fell flat for me and had undertones of abusive relationships (he didn’t mean to lose his temper and have her get hurt etc). The other Kelly was LIBBY”S LONDON MERCHANT. The heroine really passed over the hero for the longest time and although she chose him in the end I wanted more romance with it, longing etc.
I saw this REDDIT romance post a few weeks back about your auto NOT buy authors. I loved it since people really let loose about authors they didn’t like and why. It made me laugh and it helped curate my TBR list. Since I am relatively new to romance it has been a process to learn what I like and what I don’t. I wish we had a questionnaire for new readers to help narrow the field of options. Or even better a page of: if you liked blank author, you should try this one.
I hope everyone is safe and healthy and dealing with all the emotion and stress this year has brought into our lives.
@Wait, What? If you’re on an Apple, switch from Safari to another browser. I have the problem all the time, but only on Safari.
Good to read about everyone’s books. Like some others, I am furiously listening 24/7 when not at work, trying to get through as much as possible before Audible’s Escape Program disappears. I am SERIOUSLY annoyed about that!
I’ve been reading Kerrigan Byrne’s Victorian Rebels series. They do have some dark parts, all is not light and fluffy. I’m on book 4 right now, The Duke-and I have read the 6th because I didn’t want it go back to the library unread. The characters are connected, so I would recommend reading them in order-most of the heroes are bonded by experiences as young boys growing up in Newgate Prison. I have shed tears reading them! I got hooked on Byrne after reading the first two books in her series The Devil You Know. For the Victorian Rebel series, I enjoy them enough to have bought the ones my library didn’t have. Recurring characters, redemption arcs, strong and interesting heroines-I’m in!
I’m a huge Jane Austen fan, and I had started the book The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner, but for some reason it didn’t grab me. I ended up listening to the audiobook (Richard Armitage narrates for the win!) and I loved it. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed, but I loved it’s message about how much books matter in people’s lives. I also would listen to Richard Armitage read the phone book, but seriously-good book!
Midnight At the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber-I didn’t put this book down, I was reading it when I was brushing my teeth! I adored this book, and I think it was reviewed here, or else a commenter mentioned it. Anyway, it was just the book I needed, small town interesting characters, a thread of mystical running through it, food descriptions. It really made me want to try to make homemade pie crust.
Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake-Put a Belgian Malinois on the cover-I will read your book. This was a book I found through SBTB, and I liked it enough to want to continue on with the series. To be honest I was way more invested in the dog than the human characters. I love that the Malinois are having their day, we got our first one in the late 1990’s-and it seemed like no one had ever heard of them. Everyone thought she was a smaller, thin coated German Shepherd. This is the first book in the True Heroes series, and I am interested to get more of the backstory of what is happening at the dog training center.
Just wanted to add that tonight I finished THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB by Richard Osman and it is a total delight. Murder investigations at a retirement home in England by a group of seniors isn’t usually my thing, but these characters are complicated, capable and smart. No one and nothing are as they appear. Highly recommended.
@FashionablyEvil I love Hoyt’s The Raven Prince and To Beguile A Beast. I tried with two of the Maiden Lane series and the other two books in the Prince series and they just weren’t for me.
Right now I’m on Brown-Eyed Girl, by Lisa Kleypas, the last book in her Travis series.
Next, I’ll be reading After Midnight, by Teresa Medeiros. Normally I’m not into vampire books, but I wanted something more appropriate for October, and a friend gifted it to me a long time ago.
I’ll admit I’ve been watching historical romance booktubers/historical romance book hauls on YouTube and buying books more than actually reading them this year. I’ve been stocking up because something tells me I’m going to need books as an escape in 2021. (I hope I’m wrong.)
@Carrie G:
I have read books that worked so much better in audio than in normal print or electronic print, unfortunately the books I’m thinking of are not romance, and they aren’t ones I’m interested in reading again otherwise. Having said that, If you’re interested My Christmas Number 1 is available in audio. I haven’t finished it yet, but based on the sample the narrator did well describing the music and reading from both characters’ POV. Also the book was less than a credit when I bought it. If you still don’t like it, you can return it for any reason and get a refund. I don’t know if this audio book is available in the library apps.
@everybody
I have a recommendation for those of you who listen to audio. Matthew Rubery wrote The Untold Story of the Talking Book which traces the history of audio books from the first spoken recordings and talking book services for the blind to today’s commercial audio book services. It’s available to check out from the Audible plus catalog with your membership. There is a limitation in that since the author only knows English the history is centered on English audio books, but I’m enjoying it and it’s been on my tbr for awhile. It’s relevant to my interest since I began reading audio when the materials available were on cassettes either commercially or from the Library of Congress Talking Books service and have continued with audio digitally through both sources.
Follow-up note: You can read the Untold Story of the Talking Book on other formats such as electronic and hard copy print, if you’re interested in the subject, but don’t want to listen to a recording about it.
Reading has been mixed for me since the last WAYR. I’ve been taking some recommendations from this site (which my library actually had for a change, hooray!)
Someone here mentioned M.C.A. Hogarth, and my library has her books on Hoopla, so I started the Dream Healers series and really enjoyed the first 2, Mindtouch and Mindline. They are more SF than romance, about the intense platonic relationship between the two heroes, who are xenopsychology graduate students and later therapists. Wonderful characters, interesting world building. Unfortunately book 3 has technical issues at my library (grrr), so I started Hogarth’s Her Instruments series, also set in the Pelted universe. Book 1, Earthrise, really annoyed me, because the female main character, Reese, consistently messes up and misinterprets things, mostly because she is being driven by her anger. This was even more annoying than usual because not only is everyone around her competent, but the male main character is a perfect in every way Mary Sue space elf, AND just to top things off, perfect elf is literally extra white, while she (the angry woman who screws up) is Black. Yeah. Was kinda rage reading in parts of it, but because I’d liked her other books so much, I finished Earthrise and decided to see if the author could redeem herself in book 2, Rosepoint. And she did! Perfect elf guy turns out to have faults and limitations, and Reese is shown to be smart and capable. Unlike the Dreamhealers books, these are more action and adventure oriented, with slave traders, smugglers, space battles and such.
Also read Claws and Starships by M.C.A. Hogarth, short stories in the Pelted world– OK, but prefer her novels. By the way, her novels are quite short, some more novella length, if anyone is looking for quick and fun reads.
I’m working on reading Further Tales of the City, the 3rd of Armistead Maupin’s series, which feels less fun than the previous 2, so I keep putting it down.
I started Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed (YA, dual timelines current Paris and 19th century Turkey, Romance with mystery) and initially really enjoyed it, but eventually lost interest due to the love triangle and two many coincidences, so DNF.
Started A Deadly Inside Scoop based on a recommendation here. I liked the heroine, who is reviving the family ice cream shop, but ran into my usual problem with cozy mysteries– watching untrained people do dangerous and probably illegal things which (in reality) would probably just mess up the investigation makes me nervous and cranky. Sigh. Seems like this would be a very fun book for people who like cozies, however, and the author also appears to have a few other series.
Started The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre, which turned out to be a DNF. Why do people seem to think it is romantic for a guy to completely break down, throw a destructive tantrum and then sulk for years because his wife died? He seemed more like a self indulgent child than a hero qualified to lead anyone (even himself) to me. The last straw was when a character is sent out with a team on a scouting mission with no training at all, without even understanding what they are looking for (she was distracted at the briefing) at a time of looming war. Seriously?
Anyway, thanks again to whoever recommended Hogarth. Hope I’ll find some more good recommendations on here this round.
In a reading slump after a summer of devouring books.
Currently reading:
– Steadfast: still! I’m so enjoying it but what is focus ???
– The Bone Witch: not feeling it at all. The concept is so cool but every character is so flat and cliches
– Halloween Party by R. L. Stine because I need some seasonal stuff.
Read:
– Crust No One: I wanted a cozy mystery and I guess it was but it barely featured the bakery & there was some real ableist language so like… big YIKES
– The Litany of the Earth: Amazing short story. I plan on reading the book connected to it.
– Royal Holiday: solid fun, light on the angst.
I have some good books on the library queue so hopefully my next report is better!
@Jennifer Estep – I just came across a historical Xmas anthology set in Texas in 1859 that might fit the bill for your mom, although it doesn’t feature cowboys per se. It’s called A Texas Kind of Christmas, by Jodi Thomas, Celia Bonaduce and Rachael Miles.
@Susan/DC, I love those Rockliffe books by Stella Riley, have read them on and am moving on to her Cavalier series. If the Georgia period is a win for you, may I recommend Patricia Veryan?
@Emily A – yes, as written, I agree that Rebecca was a sociopath, but I guess I just found that super uninteresting right now? I think with all the power and wealth Maxim de Winter had, I just didn’t like the pity others felt for him and have a hard time believing that he couldn’t figure out any other way to deal with her than to murder her. And then he went and married someone with the personality of a wet mop. It had echoes of Jane Eyre to me (although I loved Jane as a heroine as opposed to this book), but not in a positive way.
@chacha1 My favorite stand alone books by Stella Riley are A Splendid Defiance and The Marigold Chain.They are wonderful! Bonus if you listen on audio because Alex Wyndham is an amazing narrator. Thank for the mention of Patricia Veryan. She’s new to me and I’ll definitely check her out.
@Katie C I shake my head every time Rebecca is listed as a romance book. I’ve never cared for Rebecca or Jane Eyre, and haven’t understood why the “heroes” are so popular. They are both pretty much ruthless asshats.
@JenM — Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. 🙂
@Carrie G:
So far as I can tell A Splendid Defiance and The Marigold Chain are her only stand alone novels. Having mentioned that A Splendid Defiance is affiliated with her Roundheads and Cavaliers Series.
I am a fan of Daphne Du Maurier and I don’t think she intended Rebecca as a romance at all. There is an element of ruthless skepticism to many of her depictions of relationships (indeed she was a pretty dark writer most of the time). By the end, the initially awestruck narrator has grown in power and her husband has fallen sharply, but they hardly seem happy together. It would be like Du Maurier to take a cynical view of the narrator’s decision to stay with her husband even though she knows the worst about him.
Re Daphne du Maurier: if you’d like to try something by her that’s off the beaten path, I highly recommend THE PARASITES, about three half/step-siblings growing up between the wars and then their lives after WWII. It’s very atmospherics and does a great job of capturing the continent in the 1920s & 1930s. She also does some inventive narrative things—there are passages where it appears all three siblings are narrating. It’s my favorite du Maurier—and complete unlike REBECCA.
So I think in last month’s WR I had just started BURN FOR ME by Ilona Andrews, and since then I have read WHITE HOT, WILDFIRE, and DIAMOND FIRE. These books are legit everything I need right now. Three books that I have really wanted to read are all waiting for me at the library, BEACH READ by Emily Henry, A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik, and WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole. All top of my list, but the problem is, all I want to do is read more Ilona Andrews! I also read THE BILLIONAIRE’S WAKE-UP-CALL GIRL by Annika Martin. This was a drunk purchase, I had two glasses of wine and an Amazon credit and woke up the next day and this book was on my Kindle. It happens. But I actually really enjoyed this even though it has some tropes that I tend to hate, including “big deception and you’re just waiting for one of the main characters to find out and be hella mad about it.” I thought the writing was smooth and the book was light and fun, although I think one other commenter alluded to this and I agree, there was one major plot point that I thought was going to be a huge deal and it got sort of hand-waved away. My other read this month was UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle–overall very good but as the mother of a youth soccer player who has worked her absolute tail off to make and stay on her team, the part about her daughter making the elite travel soccer team with no previous experience made me roll my eyes so hard. Umm, you think the fact that your wife is Abby freaking Wambach had anything to do with her making the team?? But aside from that weird quirk that might be entirely specific to me, I thought she had a lot of good empowering things to say and I found myself highlighting quite a bit.
@Katie C:
This might be of interest. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BD2USE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
What I’m currently doing is trying to make my way through the shorter categories (novella, novelette, short story) of the Ignyte Awards ballot before the winners are announced next weekend. I might not make it but I have nothing to do for the next few days but read. I won’t say here which of the ones I already read I did or didn’t like (I’m irrelevant really) but each one did have at least something that stood out to me, so here, some notes that might not be about the central point of the story.
“Circus Girl, the Hunter, and Mirror Boy” by Neon Yang. Our world is drowned up to the second stories, Kraken and Leviathan are gods. So many nifty details show how the sea’s creatures infiltrate life and thought — outside a witch’s doorway, “bundles of shells and fishbone and cartilage festooned the doorway with great cheer, and the protective beak of a colossal squid hung over the premises” — and language — the oaths and metaphors: “they all lived in Darlingfort, in coffin-rooms smaller than a whale’s heart.”
“The Deep” by Rivers Solomon and collaborators, with an interesting afterword about all the collective work that went into the building of this world. Another sea-one, underwater. I was struck by how the telling skillfully blends interiority and exteriority: memories felt as lived experiences, the presence of other people felt on the skin, the entire body and interior water vibrating with the water around.
“While Dragons Claim the Sky” by Jen Brown. The main character binds magic by styling people’s hair. “Wish styling is about binding what we most desire into the tapestry of magick itself …. Now, you just need to focus on your wish — think it, speak it, doesn’t matter.” I made Myra sit, and began dampening her loose coils. “The rest is my job: binding it so that magick’ll rearrange the universe to make it true.” ….. “Did you try other wishes?” [The professor] downed the rest of her coffee; smiled at another professor sweeping by. “Ones that might change the course of something large?” My brow crumpled. “Well, most wishes are about the client. Things like wishing for a good harvest, or — ” “What of wealth? Power?” … “Yeah, I’ve gotten such requests, but there are no guarantees. A lot of wish magery depends on what follows, with how you dance alongside the universe as it tries to rearrange.”
“The Haunting of Tram Car 05” by P. Djeli Clark. What a world to live in! An alternate Cairo circa 1900, bursting with hopeful change, a splendid cultural moment when any sort of social, artistic, or technical innovation seems possible. And so much for the reader to see. Someone could assemble a great visual companion for it — the clothes particularly fascinated me, I got lost in old photos of people of Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean, and eastern Africa.
“Emergency Skin” by N. K. Jemisin. The voice is pure Jemisin and very amusing. The best people left Earth and are telling their agent sent back there what to expect of the ugly, worthless people left behind, and then the arrival, ’nuff said.
Excuse the missing link, list of finalists is here.