2020 is coming to a close and I’m torn between breathing a sigh of relief or if 2021 is going to be a “bitch, you thought” sort of year. If there’s anything we can take a small amount of joy in, it’s that there are good books out there.
Here’s what we’re reading right now:
Sneezy: I’ve just started Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron ( A | BN | K | AB ) and IT’S SO GOOD. IT’S SO GOOD!!!! Between the break I gave my brain and the SMASHING first chapter, my brain is FINALLY sinking into a story THE WAY I WANT IT TO!!!!!!!
Sarah: I have been mainlining the Psy Changeling series, ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) one or more per day like they’re vitamins. 300 page very sexy vitamins.
Shana: I’m reading The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary and it made me join the Bad Decisions Book Club two nights in row. Gah, so cute.
Sarah: Isn’t it? I loved that book.
Shana: It’s so good! I haven’t even finished it yet, and I want to convince everyone I know to read it.
Elyse: I’m reading The Ex Talk which takes place in a public radio station. I’m only a few chapters in but there is lots of competence porn in terms of how public radio (and radio in general) works.
Claudia: I just finished Loretta Chase’s Ten Things I Hate About the Duke and thoroughly enjoyed it! So much that I immediately borrowed from my library the first book in the series, which had passed me by when it came out a few years ago. I’m also very excited about the next book, which looks to be marriage-in-trouble.
Shana: Ooh, I love a romance with married people
Sneezy: (I am a quarter of the way through Accidentally Engaged now, and all the bread and food in it is making me SO. FUCKING. HAPPY.)
Catherine: You rang?
Sneezy: *puts down baguette-phone*
Why yes, yes I did!!!
Tara: I’ve been listening to Eloquent Rage by Brittany Cooper. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I can only listen for half an hour or so at a time because I need time to digest what she’s saying in each chapter.
Ellen: I’m reading One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London. Not sure I have previously revealed to the Bitchery that I am actually obsessed with the Bachelor franchise and I watch and analyze it like a sport. So far I’m really enjoying the numerous winky winky Bachelor references in the book but i’m not far enough to have much of an opinion other than that.
What have you read this month? Let us know all about it!
I’m buzzed b/c a fictional couple I only follow casually (Fjord and Jester on Critical Role) went canon. They are very cute. I foresee lots of fanfic ahead. Reading and maybe the fizzy feeling will inspire me to write some (not for them, but for other half finished stuff in my notebooks)
I read –
lots of Vera Stanhope. I’m just enjoying the world. I’m not a re-reader, but sometimes when I find a mystery series with a vibe I like, I kind of just want to read them to they’re all gone. Weirdly that doesn’t happen as much with romance or sci-fi/fantasy series. I think maybe mysteries have the 1)only one or two main characters usually and 2) more self-contained plots than sci fi and fantasy. I’m five books in and now I’m annoyed at myself for not putting more books on hold at the library b/c now I have to wait.
THE LEFTHANDED BOOKSELLERS OF LONDON by Garth Nix, which I found readable but not great. A fantasy version of 1980s London with a heroine is trying to find her (magical) father. The setting was well-drawn and the love interest/action partner was fun (a flirtatious, pan guy who loved dressing up and being pretty) but I found the main character kind of bland. If there is another in the series, I would probably read it.
WHAT BECOMES A LEGEND MOST by Phillip Getter. a really long biography about my favorite photographer, Richard Avedon, which I loved even though I think you already have to be into him to enjoy the book. He loved celebrity (both having it and examining/deconstructing it) and was a very talented, but mercurial person who sometimes was excellent to those around him and sometimes terrible. The book kind of races along, trying to fit in everyone he knew and worked with (if you can think of a famous person of the 20th century, he probably photographed them). I think the biggest disappointment of the book is that there are no Richard Avedon photos in it. I’m sure the rights would have been incredibly expensive, but it was frustrating to read about a certain photo in detail and have no way to look at it. There is a really good American Masters episode about his work (it’s pretty easy to find it on YouTube). I saw it in a photography class almost 20 years ago and I’ve been a fan of his work ever since.
I think many of you will count the 20th January as the real New year, right?
As for us, New year won’t be the celebration many want, all the fireworks are cancelled and restrictions are only lifted for Christmas (there’s a lot of guilt tripping from people, saying we shouldn’t mix and I agree sort of but I’m a single parent and spending Christmas alone fills me with dread, plus I think we’ll be heading for a third lockdown in January whether we mix of not). I’m not going to celebrate New year in any case.
So books, I’ve ventured into reverse harem lately, most works in this subgenre are paranormal but the one I’m reading at the moment The Proposition by Cassie Cole is contemporary, it’s suitably steamy enough for me. Good to see that the jealousy side of this is actually addressed, though only at the surface. It’s all very consensual and the heroine isn’t inexperienced so it feels very natural. I don’t buy the virgin going from nothing to 2,3+ guys in a short space of time. These books aren’t for everyone and no, I’m not sure if this arrangement would work in real life without some serious issues and some major ice packs!
I also read the first book in SM Reine’s Tarot Witches quartet. If you think Tarot Cards, Stripper Witches and werewolf bike gangs sound fantastic then this might be for you.
I tried a few other PNR KF Breene’s Born of Fire was a hard DNF, it just got bogged down in exposition, the heroine was too Kickass (as in you could figure out she’d turn into a TSTL) and hero was a jerk. I should have known better, I also DNF’d her Magical midlife crisis I just didn’t realise it was by the same author. May Sage’s After Darkness Falls I’m struggling with and have put to one side. Goodreads reviews have said the romance takes a backburner and it’s mainly about the heroine and the academy. Not a fan of paranormal set in academy so this could be abandoned.
I’m also reading Wattpad novels again! Don’t look at me like that! There are some diamonds amongst the adopted by BTS stories. The Watty winners are out and one book stood out: Inspector Rames by MM Hunter is a cyberpunk police procedural set in a post apocalyptic 22nd century Britain has definitely held my interest. If you want to check it out the link is here https://my.w.tt/GJ24VPpD9bb
Finally on my elibrary, Rachel Caine’s first book in the red letter days series has just been made available. I was sad to hear the author has passed away recently, I enjoyed her weather warden series (I think all the books are on KU).
And on that more I’ll end this ramble. I love reading what everyone is reading!
Is it that time already?
I know I have the memory of an amnesiac goldfish, but I have been really hard-put to remember half the books I’ve read in the last couple of weeks. Is it me? Or the books? I suppose it could be two things…
Caitlin Crews CHOSEN FOR THE DESERT THRONE which was… fine? Doctor who’s been held in a palace dungeon, unknown to the resident sheik. It’s a relatively comfortable dungeon so there’s not too much suffering. Sheik offers her marriage for politically advantageous reasons, she falls in love, he doesn’t want her love etc, etc. Her dad’s not a great person, and there’s a slightly mean & vacuous step-mother, but she does get humanised in her own mini-arc which was nice. Lacked the ‘oomph’ of some of her other stories. The bad dad was the worst antagonist here.
THE SPANIARD’S WEDDING by Jackie Ashenden. This was mentioned by someone as being a re-jig of These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer. It’s Ashenden though! I like her! I like These Old Shades! Surely it can’t be that bad? Well, no, it wasn’t bad, exactly, but as the other commenter said, it just fizzles out. Also, the antagonist isn’t really ever made to repent. I’ve really liked her books but have noticed a tendency for plot lines involving evil parents to get resolved off-page in a slightly half-arsed way and this seems to be the zenith? nadir? of this.
THE ITALIAN’S FINAL REDEMPTION, also by Ashenden, was better. A young woman’s father has used her genius at maths to further his crime empire. She escapes and throws herself on the mercy of the H, who comes from a criminal family himself, and is now on a crusade to bring such families to justice. Sex, affection, love ensues.
THE QUEEN’S IMPOSSIBLE BOSS by Natalie Anderson. A princess swaps places with her twin to live a more ordinary life for a few weeks. Caitlin Crews did something similar to this, I think, but a bit more angstily. Is fine.
STOLEN TO WEAR HIS CROWN by Marcella Bell. Should have ticked several of my boxes: Diverse Older Heroine! Prince & Scientist Must Marry! Secret Plots! Can they find love? How Will She Fight For Her Beloved Career and Independence? Uh, well, very disappointingly, she doesn’t. The h has been snatched away at what should be the pinnacle of her career and just passively rolls over and accepts it. I remember the side characters as being snappier and more entertaining.
BRIDE IN A GILDED CAGE by Abby Green. Green writes good angsty books with plenty of conflict, put-upon heroines, and excellent climb-downs by the H at the end. I found the H of this one almost too much to take, though. Another arranged marriage, but the h goes through with it because she’s oddly fascinated with him. At the end, she says she’s always loved him on some level (didn’t buy this, entirely, at least I wouldn’t call it love). The H, though, is overbearing and unpleasant about her resistance to him. I did want to say to him, ‘look, I know she’s fighting this and you need her to be a good little corporate wife, but have you ever considered being, IDK, a bit kind and understanding about it, rather than behaving like a smirking dumpster fire of overbearing arrogance? Hmmm?’
But then I suppose his big turn-around wouldn’t have quite the impact. And it is foreshadowed by small moments through the book where he tries to better support and understand the h, so is believable as well.
@Kit: I love to see what’s everyone is reading too! The WAYR thread really helps me manage my tbr, because the bitchery is usually right – I’ve been burned often enough with strings of 5-stars comments for books I hated. Here I feel everyone is more honest about what they like and what they don’t, and, more specifically, their taste matches mine. I guess that’s what’s important, hey? Find the pool you like swimming in 🙂
The Hanukkah threads are also a blast to mark books I’ll definitely want to read, depending on how many times they appear. I think Boyfriend Material shows up more than 15 times, and Spoiler Alert too…
Ah, WAYRs are my favorite posts! I would recommend all of the books below, but they’re not unequivocal recommendations.
BOYFRIEND MATERIAL by Alexis Hall. I laughed so much reading this book. All the bad jokes! I also found Luc and Oliver very endearing and I’m a sucker for a fake relationship. That said, the reason for the fake relationship is hardcore homophobia (Luc is a fundraiser and donors are abandoning his organization because he’s a “bad gay.” Oliver is an attempt to make him look like a “good gay.”) so would caution others on that front.
A CONVENIENT FICTION and THE WINTER COMPANION by Mimi Matthews. I’ve now read 4 or 5 of Matthews’s books (the best of the bunch being GENTLEMAN JIM), and I really like her character arcs and she writes great chemistry. My main complaint is the lack of sex—it doesn’t seem to be her jam, but it’s like, “Come on! Just get banging!”
Owing to the lack of sexytimes in Matthews’s books, I went with Jackie Lau’s HER PRETEND CHRISTMAS DATE. It’s not Lau’s strongest work (if I have a complaint about her writing, is that she’s a tell rather than show author), but, as I said above, I’m a sucker for a fake relationship*/marriage of convenience trope and Lau writes great sex scenes. She also writes a lot of heroes who appear buttoned up, but aren’t quite so buttoned up in the bedroom (gimme gimme gimme.) I’m now onto MAN VS. DURIAN which is the third in the Baldwin Village series which I am always happy to revisit. It’s another fake relationship, this time with a landscaper and a former computer engineer.
THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA—this just didn’t live up to the hype for me. I loved the bits with the kids, but the romance didn’t do it for me. I can see why people loved it (definitely a wish fulfillment type book for inclusion and belonging), but I found it a bit saccharine.
A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik. I loved Spinning Silver and Uprooted, but this one was a bit of a miss for me. It’s basically Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games. It has the high stakes and brisk plotting that I would associate with a book like that, but there are a ton of non-white characters who are basically used as wallpaper, rather than as fully fleshed out individuals. I’ll probably read the next book in the series, but if you’re looking for diverse character representation, looks elsewhere.
*Initially typed “I’m a sucker for a rake relationship”—interesting Freudian slip!
It’s that time of the year when I treat myself to a re-read of what I think of as Kati Wilde’s Christmas Trilogy: ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS, THE WEDDING NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and my all-the-feels favorite, SECRET SANTA. They’re each stand-alones that you can read in any order, but I prefer to save SECRET SANTA for last because of its perfect combination of angst, passion, and joy. Other than those, I’ve read only a handful of new books, mostly angsty HPs:
After recently reading Maisey Yates’s brilliant 2016 HP, CARIDES’S FORGOTTEN WIFE, I’ve added Yates to my list of auto-buy HP authors, and her latest, HIS MAJESTY’S FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION, did not disappoint. There’s a dark fairytale feel to FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION, which features a king-hero who blames himself for the deaths of his brothers (both of whom, at different times, died in the country’s wolves-inhabited forest). His self-blame has resulted in a duty-focused, joyless existence where he sees any possibility of happiness as a temptation he must avoid. Because he refuses to acknowledge his feelings for the smart but somewhat naive woman who was once engaged to one of his late brothers, he allows an antagonistic dynamic to flourish between them. I found the book interesting because it addressed the difference between sexual chemistry and compatibility in other areas: the hero & heroine of FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION appear to have plenty of the former but significantly less of the latter. Dichotomies & contrasts abound: dark versus light, choice versus fate, duty versus joy, fable versus truth. Key quote: “It’s so easy to get caught up in the stories everyone else tells about you. But at some point we have to start telling our own.” Recommended.
Jackie Ashenden’s latest HP, THE ITALIAN’S FINAL REDEMPTION, would be the standard Ashenden-template-meets-HP-template angst fest (which is generally quite good, but not always particularly memorable) were it not for the hero: a man who has dedicated himself to bringing down organized crime, despite having grown up in a crime family himself. I’m not sure I’ve read an HP before where the hero’s background was so far removed from the realm of business tycoons, self-made billionaires, and royal progeny that compose the general run of HP heroes—“scion of an organized crime family” was a new HP hero type for me. When the innocent and isolated daughter of a crime boss voluntarily seeks out the hero, offering information about her father’s nefarious deeds in exchange for help in disappearing with a new identity, the hero’s resolve is tested because he knows the daughter has been helping her father launder his ill-gotten gains and thus should be turned over to the authorities along with her father. So naturally the couple jets off to the hero’s villa on Capri to sort things out, enforced-proximity style. As usual with Ashenden, the characters’ internal struggles (Ashenden excels at interior monologue) are just as riveting as the passion between them. Recommended for angst devotees.
Clare Connelly released a duet this month (the heroes of the two books are twin brothers): AN HEIR CLAIMED BY CHRISTMAS and NO STRINGS CHRISTMAS. The most intriguing thing about the two books is that HEIR is published by Harlequin Presents and NO STRINGS is published by Harlequin’s Dare line. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a duet, both published on the same day and featuring recurring characters, released by two different lines. Unlike HPs, where occasional sex scenes interrupt the angst, the Dare line requires that the angst occasionally interrupt the sex. While there are writers who can move smoothly back and forth between the different requirements of the HP and Dare lines (Caitlin Crews being the best example), I’ve always maintained that the Dare, with its emphasis on frequent sex scenes, is not a good fit for Connelly’s style, which focuses on the emotional pain and growth of the characters rather than on the number of times they tumble into bed; and it’s for this reason that the tame, euphemistic, and somewhat infrequent sex scenes of the HP template, along with its emphasis on angsty heartache, is much more suitable for Connelly, and these two books are no exception. AN HEIR CLAIMED BY CHRISTMAS is a “secret baby” romance where the hero and heroine marry after he discovers that the one-night-stand he had with his late best friend’s sister (as is par for the Connelly course, the heroine simultaneously lost her virginity and became pregnant on the same night) seven years before resulted in a now six-year-old son. The marriage does not begin auspiciously because of regret and recriminations on both sides. I know many do not like the secret baby trope, but I give Connelly credit for making the heroine’s decision not to tell the hero about her pregnancy (along with the hero’s repudiation of the heroine after their one night together) plausible—at least in a Romancelandia way. I liked the story of how the couple had to overcome the obstacles they had each built against the other. On the other hand, NO STRINGS CHRISTMAS, with its multitude of samey sex scenes, did not showcase Connelly’s style to best advantage. As the title implies, the hero & heroine (both wealthy, both the product of dysfunction) agree to a no-strings affair during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Well, we know that’s not going to fly, and so the h&h spend much of the time having sex and then once in a while remember, oh yeah, this wild hot-pants fling is giving me an existential crisis. I admit I started started to skim the pages after a while. Harlequin is apparently discontinuing the Dare line in 2021 and—for writers like Connelly—I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing; her style is just so much more suited for Harlequin Presents.
I’ve enjoyed a number of Adriana Anders’s books, going back to her Blank Canvas series, and I really liked her Love at Last series, especially LOVING THE WOUNDED WARRIOR (which opens with a man pushing an empty wheelchair up a hill—how could you fail to be intrigued by that?). Recently, with DEEP BLUE and WHITEOUT, Anders seemed to be making a turn toward romantic suspense, but her latest, DADDY CRUSH, is a well-written romance between a sensitive young artist and her older, much tougher neighbor. Despite its somewhat unfortunate title, DADDY CRUSH contains very little Daddy-kink erotica (beyond the heroine occasionally calling the hero “Daddy”). The story is essentially an age-gap/culture-gap romance with a sexually-inexperienced heroine, raised in a strict religious home, and a somewhat world-weary hero (he’s 43 to the heroine’s 25). While I enjoyed both the physical and emotional development between the couple in DADDY CRUSH, I would have liked the story to have been filled out a little more (especially the hero’s background and the breakup of his marriage). One thing I really did like is Anders’s acknowledgement that even the most virginal woman today has access to the internet and, if she chooses to do so, can readily find examples of what people do sexually. Key quote: “I know that it’s not the act that makes it good, it’s the man.” (Fun fact: it wasn’t until I came to the chapter titled, “Blister in the Sun,” that I realized all of the book’s chapter titles are taken from songs—mostly by what satellite radio would call “Classic Alternative” artists. Apparently Anders is a fan of Morrissey & the Smiths, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, and Depeche Mode, among others.)
I’m going all out with the Christmas reads. Where I live, the sun sets very early these days and the walk home from school is made in the dark. Since everyone on our street went crazy with the Xmas lights, it’s very atmospheric, it puts me in the mood. Also, our neighbor has an inflatable Snoopy driving a light decked zamboni that my 16-months-old looooooves and seeing her extreme level of excitment for Snoopy EVERY DAY puts me in the mood EVEN MORE.
First, my favorite so far: HOLIDAY OUTINGS by Astrid Amara. OMG the family dynamics in this one, loved them! Here’s the blurb, and the story is a good as it sounds: “Jonah is going to spend Hanukkah with his parents in order to finally tell them the truth: not only is he gay, but he is a successful author of gay novels and not the struggling (and straight) writer they imagine him to be. But the holiday starts poorly. A record blizzard delays his flight. The snow storm locks him and his loud, argumentative relatives in the house. The power fails. And, worst of all, Jonah has to share his room with his childhood rival, the perfect Jewish son, the one he spent his entire life unfavorably compared to: Dr. Ethan Rosenberg, son of his mother’s mahjong partner, and apparently God’s gift to the Chosen People. If this isn’t bad enough, Jonah has to interpret Ethan’s strange new fascination with him. Is Ethan flirting?” This was a r-read for me and it lived up to my recollection. I’ll keep it tucked away and read it again for the holidays in a couple of years.
Another r-read: THE (ALIEN) NANNY FOR CHRITSMAS by Amanda Milo. For those familiar with the Stolen by Aliens series, this takes place after the trip to Earth for supplies (ie: chocolate and coffee 😉 ), and Mitteeku was the Rahkii that wanted to stay and visit Earth. As the title says, he ends up being a stay at home, earnest, protective nanny. The story starts in September and we follow them settling into a family all the way to Christmas; it’s trademark Milo, ridiculously funny, sweet and sexy, with emphasis on sweet. It can be read without having read the rest of the series I think.
THE CHRISTMAS PACT by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward. I read a couple of books by Keeland and it was not exactly my cup of tea – y’know, like someone who usually prefer light jasmine tea will once in a while try ice cream flavored rooibos tea and not hate it? That’s Keeland for me. I picked it up because I liked the starting point : Riley Kennedy and Kennedy Riley work in the same company and will sometimes get the other’s e-mails. He usually forward it with comments attached and she. doesn’t. appreciate. They meet for real at the cie xmas party and somehow end up playing fake b-friend/g-friend at each other’s family celebrations. The heroine is nice in a bland way, the hero is cocksure, but he also has a good sense of humour so it’s a save. A string of funny moments, rather superficial but the book’s short, so it ends before the fun runs on empty. As cotton candy christmas fluff, it hits the spot.
CHRISTMAS IN THE KING’S BED by Caitlin Crews (Crews seems to have gotten around this month). It’s been very long since I’ve read an Harlequin Present (and I was such a fan! To the point that my local library gave me their whole collection when they got rid of it in 1990). I’d forgotten how intensely everything focused on the couple. The outside world only exists as far as it impacts the love story and 90% of the internal monologues are about the other main character. Then there’s the antagonistic stances and the whole “being betrayed by your own body” thing. Aaaah, such a nice walk down memory lane, but with enough new twists to make it interesting. (Also, reading the backlist of outrageous titles made me chuckle, they sound like tongue-in-cheek teasing.) Not much of a Christmas vibe though.
The story that made me the most feel “Christmas” (despite being the darkest) was GLASS TIDINGS by Amy Jo Cousins. A touching story, two lonely men catching each other. Very good characterization, especially Eddie the drifter.
In between Christmas stories, I read a couple of other stuff. THE PRINCE OF AIR AND DARKNESS by M.A. Grant. An m/m story, it has a bit of Rowell’s Carry On feel, with a supernatural school and two roomates who “hate” each other. The first half of the book is about setting the world in place, full of politicking and the tension of when will Finn an Roarke finally correctly connect. It starts slow, but the pace picks up, faster and faster, the further we get along. The book decently navigates the tight wire of giving enough information to the reader to follow the ramifications, without drowning us in too much details. It left me with lots of hanging questions marks, but they’re not necessary informations, just details that would’ve fleshed out the world a bit more. There’s not much character development either, most of it happened before the start of the book. Still, it’s an engaging read, I wish it could’ve been longer. I’d love to know how their life afterwards go, I hope we see them in the other books of the series.
The other non Xmas book was THE CROSSING PLACES (Ruth Galloway series 01) by Elly Griffith. The present tense narrative bugged me to no end. I’m usually laid back about this kind of thing, after a couple of pages I don’t notice anymore, but here, I kept being pulled out of the story by it, the writing was so terse. I also found Ruth hard to like – she is distant, every emotion locked down, she was hard to connect with. The whodunnit wasn’t mysterious, but the path to it’s conclusion was interesting; I guess it must get better in later books. I won’t be continuing the series though. There’s a romantic subplot and the couple seemed hopeless to me; checking out the reviews, it looks like they’re still waffling by book 10… No thanks. No matter how good the mysteries, that couple would drive me nuts.
@DiscoDollyDeb totally agree with the statement about virgins. I lost mine ridiculously late but still knew what I was doing. Totally don’t buy the Anastasia Steele type virgin, I mean seriously? An English student (who doesn’t identity as asexual I hasten to add) not picking up a steamy book and not exploring? Come on!
I read “Recommended For You” by Laura Silverman last night in one sitting. It was pretty good, although the timeline – everything happens in ONE week – made it difficult to buy the “hate-to-love” romance. I’m sorry, if the new guy at work is an absolute jerk to you the minute you meet him, you’re not crushing on him two days later. I get it, the main character is a 16 year-old girl and I remember how dumb I could be at 16, but still.
I did enjoy the way Shoshanna waxes poetic about working in a bookstore, though. Totally how I felt when I was a bookseller.
Rep: Shoshanna is Jewish, she has two moms (one of whom reads Sapphic romance), Jake and his mom are also Jewish, the bookstore owner is disabled (uses a wheelchair), and one of Shoshanna’s friends is queer and Black.
I’m reading an ARC of Freya Marske’s upcoming historical fantasy-m/m-romance A Marvellous Light, and it’s GORGEOUS and delicious – perfect for any fans of KJ Charles and/or C.L. Polk! I’m really loving it.
I’ve been on a non-romance run lately: Axiom’s End, and Black Sun both excellent additions to the science fiction and fantasy genres. I especially recommend Black Sun. If you’re ready for something beyond traditional Euro-centric fantasy this is an epic adventure built from pre-Columbian mythology. And it has giant bugs and crows. And there’s definitely enough going on for another. Please let there be another.
Currently reading Ready Player Two. I always approach sequels with caution, and I thought it was warranted for the first few chapters. It’s been a while since Ready Player One, so maybe my memory is a bit cloudy, but I don’t remember Wade being suchy a whiny little bitch. I was pretty close to pulling the plug on the OasisThe High Five (Four) have barely started basking in the lives they earned by winning Halliday’s contest when a new technology puts them at odds. How many times should Art3mis have to say “I told you so”? The new technology also brings a new enemy and soon a new quest to save not only the Oasis, but millions of lives. Once the quest starts, though, It’s back to the 80s trivia test that is The Oasis. I realize that there are probably way more readers out there who don’t know who Mad Mardigan is, let alone recognize his dialog, but I could do with a less side notes explaining the references. I’m not going to give it the rave I did the first book, but it’s still a solid entertaining read.
Next up might be the finally acquired Archangel’s Sun. Honestly, three stores before I found it in stock. I keep vacillating between driving down to see my Dad for Christmas and staying home. I have to drive through three states I’d rather avoid like the plague, because plague. If I go, the book waits until I go, otherwise it’s up next.
Somehow it is Saturday? I was texting with my aunt yesterday about verb tense not meaning so much to me right now and that verb aspect (underdeveloped in standard English) feels more relevant — ongoing actions that have been happening and continue to happen. Linguistic musings aside, I had to look at my reading spreadsheet to check the dates on what I’ve been reading! I’m not normally one to read holiday-set romances, but I’m staying put instead of traveling to my family this year, so a little extra cheer is nice.
Romance:
WRAPPED UP IN YOU by Talia Hibbert was pretty cute, a trope-fest for sure. I think it’s exclusive to Kobo? Anyway, holiday novella set in the UK about an actor, Will, who’s returning home after a stint in Hollywood (playing what sounds like a knockoff Captain America role, and between the cover and this, I think Chris Evans is the implied inspiration?) in order to finally confess his feelings to best-friend-since-childhood-and-twin-sister-of-his-other-best-friend Abbie. They’re mostly at her grandmother’s house in the country and there’s a blizzard, so some mild isolation is part of the setting, and there’s a lot of mutual pining. Content warning: Abbie is divorced and has been processing some trauma from an abusive marriage. I like Hibbert’s writing and I think she handled it well–lots of discussion of therapy, no “love will cure your emotional pain” being tossed around. Overall, though, it was pretty cute, and I am now sad I will probably not see much snow yet.
A SECOND CHANCE ROAD TRIP FOR CHRISTMAS by Jackie Lau is another holiday novella with some forced proximity and long-time feelings, though main characters Greg and Tasha had dated in high school and broke up in college, so as the title promises, a second-chance relationship. Second chance romance isn’t usually my favorite, but I do actually really like it for a novella format — it’s more convincing for a compressed time frame. Here, it’s obvious why now 30-something adults Greg and Tasha broke up — they were like 20 and going to different schools, that’s a very understandable reason to not keep dating! So I did believe in their compatibility and reunion. I think thanks to the blizzard forcing them off the road, the meddling of the parents is fairly minimal, aside from them being in the car together at all; I know some folks have issues with the parental interference.
LIGHTING THE CANDLES by Sarah Wendell for a break in my Christmas novella streak — very cute! I guess there’s a theme of childhood friends growing into more going on in my holiday novella picks this month. I found the depiction of sleepaway camp culture fascinating, as it’s something I don’t have much experience with. (Now that I think about it, I went to a week-long sleepaway camp once when I was 11, and my parents were probably not enthused to pick me up on the second-to-last day to get a small cut on my head stapled shut.) The discussions of familial grief were handled very well, and I believed in Gen & Jeremy’s happy ending.
HER PRETEND CHRISTMAS DATE by Jackie Lau was also fairly cute, though I’d agree with @FashionablyEvil’s comment above that it’s probably not her best work and that there’s a little more telling than showing. I found myself a little annoyed at how quickly Julie and Tom jumped to conclusions about each other on their first date, but they were much more mature during the fake relationship portion and nobody was trying to hide Real Feelings for too long. I know some people were concerned in the review posted this week that the parental meddling would be a problem — I actually think there’s less direct meddling (the Gingerbread House Competition feels more like an effort to make a larger-than-the-family-usually-has holiday gathering feel more deliberate & exciting) than some of the other works by Lau. I think the more interesting and potentially painful-to-read subplot is Julie’s ongoing distress around how her parents badger her constantly that she doesn’t have a ~traditional career~ and is held in contrast to her engineer sister. The eventual confrontation (and discussion of the job market for Millennials) with Julie and Charlotte’s parents was satisfying to me, and I’m glad that Lau explored the sisters’ relationships with their parents across two books. Charlotte has not been getting nearly as much nagging from their parents and it has resulted in a different relationship, which is something I’d like to see more in romance series about siblings.
Non-romance:
I finished CALLING BULLSHIT: THE ART OF SKEPTICISM IN A DATA-DRIVEN WORLD by Carl Bergstrom & Jevin West, and it was very informative — I have some opinions about bar charts I didn’t have before! It reminded me a bit of Daniel Kahneman’s THINKING, FAST AND SLOW in terms of teaching people how to reason through statistics — as Kahneman’s research has revealed, people are very poor intuitive statisticians — which is really important when studies and numbers are constantly being thrown around.
SHE COME BY IT NATURAL: DOLLY PARTON AND THE WOMEN WHO LIVED HER SONGS by Sarah Smarsh was short and fantastic — highly recommend for Dolly fans and the people who don’t get Dolly’s appeal.
POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM by Natalie Diaz was so, so good — I can see why it made the National Book Award shortlist! I found the ways she wrote about desire compelling and different from other poets in ways I can’t quite articulate.
THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS by Pat Barker was recommended to me by the aunt I was texting yesterday, and wow did it leave me with a lot to think about. (All the trigger warnings for an Iliad retelling primarily narrated by Briseis, one of the women captured & taken as a slave by the Greeks.) I finally read SONG OF ACHILLES this year and I think they both have interesting ideas to explore about the Iliad (which I love), but tone-wise are very, very different.
Up next:
I have Leigh Stein’s SELF CARE in from the library finally and wow is this scathing. It’s set in 2017 and feels very disconnected in some ways from 2020 (because how do you talk about the wellness industrial complex without talking about the global pandemic? you can’t, really, and obviously Stein couldn’t have predicted the release environment), but many of the topics (startup culture/founder culture/VC culture, racist structures, internalized misogyny, exploitation & extraction through social media) are still very relevant. I’m maybe 80 pages in and I’ve had to stop a few times to laugh at some of the references and digs.
I’m also hoping to read ARTIFICIAL CONDITION by Martha Wells this month (maybe closer to Christmas when I want a distraction from how my usual holiday traditions have been disrupted), and my long-distance partner’s next pick for our private book club is AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RED by Anne Carson. I’ve read some of Anne Carson’s translations but not her originals so to speak, so I am looking forward to it.
I’ve been on a sci-fi romance kick recently, and I’m hoping to start THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT by Jessie Mihalik. I’m also hoping to read some thrillers, including NO EXIT by Taylor Adams.
After the holidays and when my house is finally divested of candy canes, I want to check out FIX IT WITH FOOD by Michael Symon. I don’t usually download cookbooks, but this one caught my eye. One of my resolutions is to always try to eat a little healthier than the year before.
I hope everyone has a good holiday season. Cheers! 🙂
I haven’t read in a bit so I decided to last night for the first time in weeks. I am currently reading Tomboy by Avery Flynn and am enjoying it. Not sure what I will read next.
CHASING THE STAR GARDEN by Melanie Karsa: What a surprise! A female steampunk airship captain races competitively, has two lovers (one is Byron) and an opium addiction. She battles all of that, particularly her horrid childhood, and is on the hunt for a lost statue of Aphrodite. This was great, a really good break from everything.
FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW by Amy Belding Brown: Book club is the only reason I picked this up. Colonial America, everyone hates/fears Native people, rigid white Christianity is the only way. Ugh. It’s a well-done, popular book, based on the real diary of a white woman taken prisoner by a tribe; she eventually sees what a different and freer life she is able to lead as a woman in the wilderness. Everyone suffers, starves and dies horribly. My biggest issue is that it’s another book from a white perspective about indigenous people. Surely we can handle narratives with other points of view.
LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn: A really interesting twist on Arthurian tales, set at contemporary UNC-Chapel Hill. The blend of Southern Black history–in which the university is steeped and bloody–and Welsh legend made for a fascinating read. It’s the conflict of all this, plus being a 16-year-old early-admission student away from home for the first time AND dealing with her mother’s death AND learning about root magic, that completely captured me. I liked it so much, I wrote to the author and am now impatient for the next book. It’s not perfect, but it is great.
THE SOLOMON EFFECT by C.S. Graham: My enjoyment of the Sebastian St. Cyr books by C.S. Harris prompted me to start her collaborative contemporary thriller series about remote-viewing, spies and political intrigue. This is the second book and I’m conflicted. The subject is interesting, but our intelligent 24-year-old heroine says some of the stupidest things while mercenaries are trying to kill her that I cannot. Plus, I’m pretty sure you can’t just pop in and out of Russia without a long-term visa, which can take weeks to secure (at least in my experience). Finally, I am really tired of reading the POV of the bad guys. Don’t care, not interested, I skip those pages altogether and am happier for it.
Currently reading SET MY HEART TO FIVE by Simon Stephenson. This may be the one that soothes me through the rest of the year. For all of us who feel different.
It’s been awhile since I have listed my books. So he are some that I have enjoyed lately:
M/M
Love Fool by AF Zoelle
The Experiment by Rebecca Raine
Two Men and a Baby by Isla Olsen
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (the audio was so great!)
Draw by VL Locey (best enjoyed after reading the previous books in the series)
Risking the Shot by Amy Aislin
Starting From Here by Lane Hayes
Try Me by Neve Wilder
Take Us There by Louisa Masters
During the Flight by Emma Alcott (I’d read this in print first, but then the audio blew me away. This is a super hot one with consensual rough sex. And the female best friend almost steals the show.)
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (This was a slow to warm up book for me, but so glad I stuck with it. A heart-wrencher similar in feel to Brokeback Mountain.)
Baby Makes Three by RJ Scott and VL Locey
Love Directions by AF Zoelle (such a happy loving read. The posthumous letters from his mom were some tear-jerkers.)
Starting from Somewhere by Lane Hayes
Merry Measure by Lily Morton
M/F
Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant
The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe
If a Lady Lingers by Anna Harrington
Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey (good on audio)
The Hero and the Hacktivist by Pippa Grant (this was a re-read on audio and loved it just as much)
Currently reading Remote: Finding Home in the Bitterroots by DJ Lee. The author travels to the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho after an old friend disappears, and while investigating, ends up investigating her own family history in the area. I recommend this for anyone interested in women in the wilderness stories.
@Jill Q A fellow Critical Role fan! The Fjord/Jester kiss has been the highlight of my month. Now I’m just twiddling my thumbs for Beau and Yasha to get their act together!
It’s been an incredibly slow reading month by my standards, just two books.
HOW TO CATCH A QUEEN by Alyssa Cole. Charming and reliable as always, although I definitely preferred WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING from her this year.
WHEN A ROGUE MEETS HIS MATCH by Elizabeth Hoyt. I think this finally killed Hoyt for me. It just wasn’t good. A real shame because I love reading historicals set in the 18th century. Not that I’m reading romance novels for historical accuracy, but when every historical is “Regency” because an author hasn’t attempted a superficial set dressing to try and establish a specific time, it drives me up a wall.
I’ve read Chasing Cassandra for maybe the 8x. Also another reading of Meredith Duran’s The Sins of Lord Lockwood, as well as Mia Vincy’s 3 books – I will admit to having a complete and total crush on their covers – the vivid colors give me joy. I have a bunch of new to me books I plan to read during my actual time off from work, but right now I just have decision paralysis.
I’ve been binge-reading all year. 210 separate titles, quite a few of those read multiple times. Plus of course compulsively re-reading my own stuff as I compulsively write more stuff.
Currently I am binge-reading holiday-themed romances, mostly M/M. Notably: MERRY & BRIGHT by Joanna Chambers, in particular ‘Humbug’ which gave me all the feels; MERRY CHERRY CHRISTMAS by Keira Andrews; HER PRETEND CHRISTMAS DATE by Jackie Lau, which I think is the first Lau I’ve read; YULETIDE TREASURE by Eliot Grayson; WINDOW DRESSING by Jodi Payne & BA Tortuga; THE CHRISMUKKAH CRISIS by Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood.
In the non-holiday category I would recommend AGAINST THE GRAIN, new M/M contemporary by Jay Hogan; DINE WITH ME by Layla Reyne; and GENTLEMAN JIM by Mimi Mathews.
Fairly soon I’ll have to assemble a list of favorite reads of 2020. Among those will be BOYFRIEND MATERIAL by Alexis Hall (have read it three times) and RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston. The books look similar but are very different.
DiscoDollyDeb, I’m going to read DADDY CRUSH based on your recommendation and because sexually-inexperienced MCs are endlessly intriguing to me. While I agree that anyone with an internet connection can get information about sex, it’s not the same as experimenting with an actual living human being. I’ve read a lot of comments over the years about how unrealistic it is to have virgin heroes & heroines above a certain age (25 seems to be the cut-off), and I’ve never understood that. I’ve known many people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and up who are sexually inexperienced. I was raised in that weird evangelical subculture where it was not only sinful to have sex outside marriage, but to watch it, read about it, even think about it (we’re supposed to take every thought captive for Christ. Ring a bell, anyone?) That’s a tough history to navigate. Hey, if someone writes a book where a 30 or 40-something MC has left the church (the conservative church anyway – there are amazing progressive churches out there) and is trying to learn a healthy sexuality I would one-click that so fast.
So not only have I had trouble even working up the desire to read for the last few months, recently my e-reader has been dying every 15 minutes or so, even when fully charged. It’s relatively new, and I’m annoyed as heck. Arrgh.
Anyway, I managed to finish Better Than People by Roan Parrish. It was very soft and gentle, but I’ve sort of forgotten it already. I don’t really get pet-centric fiction. I like animals, but it always seems like a distraction to me to focus on pets so much in prose.
Over in The Tale of Genji…Genji kicked the bucket with 500 pages left to the novel. Which I was not expecting. The cast of characters is huge and I need a family tree…though I suspect it would reveal far more uncomfortable relationships between characters than I’ve already been able to parse (all these men seem to pursue their nieces or their cousins which is….eesh.) But! I have less than 100 pages to go and I am going to Finish. This. Thing. Take that 2020, I CAN focus on something for longer than 15 minutes!
I just re-read the first two Virgin River books by Robyn Carr while watching the Netflix series. I feel the books are much better. I still really enjoy them and the medical errors are few and not egregious.
Rise by Karina Bliss is a m rock star/f professor romance. It was good.Not sure if I will read the others in the series but I did enjoy this one and would recommend.
Started to read Smoke by Catherine McKenzie. About a arson investigator who is starting to divorce her husband and her friend who is divorced with children who may or may not be involved with the fire threatening their Colorado town. Interesting premise but DNF’ed as I could not get into it. The chapters did not flow and I did not connect with the characters. Might just be a me problem.
Her Magical Pet which is a collection of F/F stories. Some were quite good and others were mixed. I would recommend if you like magical animals. And it is a benefit for a LGBTIQ organization.
Erica Ridley’s first two books from her 12 Dukes of Christmas came in an onsale set. The stories are set in a town that does Christmas all year. Though some of the dukes are more “bah, humbug.” If you are looking for cute and fun, this is it! If you are looking for historical accuracy, look elsewhere.
Some comfort re-reads; a couple Nora’s, some of Bishop’s Others series. Always reliable.
I also, for some reason, started a deep dive into MZB. I did some several years ago when her daughter was in the news, but hit it deeper this time through. Some very disturbing stuff. As a young person, I always thought of Berkeley as a wonderful hippy place. Well, this stuff is all Berkeley, CA, and hippies apparently just went with the flow, so to speak. Children were not protected. It is also causing me to question where Mercedes Lackey, who has been a comfort read for over two decades, was in all this. I am wondering if I will be reading her less.
I am also dealing with my grandson (who lives with me) who has the Fear of Harm phenotype of bipolar being bullied in virtual school by one of his teachers.
As a result of all this stress, I am now starting to read Anna Kingsford. She became a physician in 1880 without ever experimenting on animals. I expect it will be challenging but it is mysticism by someone who seems to have been a moral person and whose works have, indirectly, informed my spirituality. Just starting Clothed with the Sun and so far, it’s good.
At the moment I’m in the middle of Diana Quincy’S HER NIGHT WITH THE DUKE and Robert Galbraith’s (JK Rowlings) TROUBLED BLOOD. They are as different as night and day and I am totally caught up in both. Earlier in the month I re-read AMERICAN ROYALS (Katharine McGee) in anticipation of reading the sequel, and I liked it just as much the second time. I also thoroughly enjoyed Jojo Moyes’ THE GIVER OF THE STARS which I had avoided because I (foolishly) thought the subject matter sounded uninteresting.
Having just finished Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh (have been loving the Psi Changeling series throughout 2020) with a book hangover, I have settled myself into Christmas themed books for the remainder of the month.
Currently enjoying Mistletoe and Mr Right (Moose Springs series), by Sarah Morganthaler (although I recommend book 1 first, which is cute and funny and delightful escapism), and then I have Jill Shalvis’s The Trouble WithMistletoe lined up next… and then some sitting in my kindle cue are: Meljian Brook’s Frozen, Anne Calhoun’s Breath on Embers. We shall see… I may break and read the next Psi-Changeling.
I somehow went 2 weeks only reading 1 romance, I’m not sure how that happened!
Mel Gough’s The Valet (m/m historical) I really love historicals that focus on characters below the upper class. This is a previously burned (and being blackmailed) first footman and a newly hired valet. I liked it a lot, but I did end the book worried that they were eventually going to get caught and something bad would happen.
I think I’m going to spend the rest of the evening continuing to read Reese Morrison’s back list
Audiobooks:
Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase, narrated by Kate Reading. Excellent story and narration.
Relistened to Sex Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson. It held up better than expected. Fun.
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn, narrated by Nichol Zanzarella. I thought the use of font designs as whimsy was overdone, but overall I enjoyed it. Narrator was great, but I think this book would have worked better for me in print, due to interruption of story by font-induced flights of fancy.
A Guy Walks Into My Bar by Lauren Blakely narrated by Shane East, Joe Arden, and cast. Cute story, great pair of narrators. The cast recording didn’t work so great, there were some obvious sound differences between speakers. Recorded over zoom.
Cadenza by Stella Riley, narrated by Alex Wyndham. #6 in the Rockliffe series. I’m so sorry to see the saga end! Every one in the series is a five star read for me.
Relistened to A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer, narrated by Phyllida Nash. This somewhat bittersweet story of a realistic marriage of convenience during Regency times is still a favorite of mine. All about learning that what we think we want and what will make us happy can be very different things.
Print:
The Christmas Deal by Kiera Andrews, cute.
At Your Service by Sandra Antonelli, a different take on “romantic suspense”(not sure I’d actually label it that). Well written,interesting, at times funny, at times brutal. First of a series.
Angles in the City by Garrett Leigh, new-to-me author and I really loved it. Full of emotion without undue angst.
Merry Measure by Lily Morton, another new-to-me author. Sweet and very funny at times.
Two Christmas themed anthologies, Gifts for the Season (m/m), and Season of Love.
I know I read “Dreaming of You” years ago, but I didn’t remember anything that actually happened, so I was really enjoying a reread. However, I stopped around page 40 and decided I wanted to know about Lily more to enrich the story, so I stopped and read “Then Came You,” and I’m really glad I did. While not perfect (I hated hating the hero for most of the book!) the heroine was lovely and I ultimately loved the build and supporting characters. Now I’m back to Dreaming and I’m happy to have the background on it.
I recently finished two Christmas anthology collections, “Wish List” and the much more recent “How the Dukes Stole Christmas.” I thought all the stories were at least good, but the Kleypas and Lynsay Sands stories were my fave in the former, and the Joanna Shupe and Tessa Dare stories were my faves in the latter.
Speaking of Dare, I recently read the novella “Lord Dashwood Missed Out” from her for some snowed-in action (super fun, recommended) and I checked out “Once Upon A Winter’s Eve” from the library and I’m reading that now. All these Spindle Cove novellas and I haven’t read any of the books proper yet…
I skipped the first book in the series in my TBR to read Vanessa Kelly’s “The Highlander’s Christmas Bride.” While I ultimately enjoyed it, it suffered from some of the worst editing in a professionally published book I’ve seen for a while. Certain chunks were so repetitive that I thought I lost my place and was rereading passages (I wasn’t), and there were major mistakes, like someone getting their “just deserts.” Beyond the obvious copyediting issues, if all that repetitive filler was removed, the book would be so much better. Really disappointed with Zebra/Kensington on this one.
Sarah Morgan’s One More for Christmas. I loved Morgan’s HPs and love her women’s fiction’s titles, especially her Christmas ones. This one too packs a satisfying story and all the christmassy feels. The healing between the mother and the daughters was a tad. . . I think it would take more than a conversation or two to turn around a few years’ worth of mistrust but Morgan does a good job of showing how it would be sustained in the long run.
Also started Jamil Zaki’s The War for Kindness which is turning out to be extremely thought-provoking.
Reading “The Deadly Hours” which is an anthology of novellas which are tied together by a mysterious cursed watch, which gets passed down through the centuries. The authors are Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, C.S. Harris, and Christine Trent, quite a lineup! The Kearsley one, set in the 18th century was excellent. The Huber novella is not as compelling so far, but I’m just getting started on it.
Since last time ~
— The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I REALLY enjoyed this book; in fact, my husband (who hasn’t read it) could likely tell you quite a bit about this book given how much I shared with him! Right after I finished the book, I reread portions.
— Axiom’s End: A Novel (Noumena, 1) by Lindsay Ellis. This science fiction was an intriguing read which frequently strained credulity; I read it over the course of a few weeks and nearly abandoned it. I notice now that it is the first in a series. I have to admit to being slightly curious as to where the next volume will go, but by the time the next book is published I may have lost that interest.
— And a book that I quite enjoyed ~ The Lost Love Song: A Novel by Minnie Darke. I think I’ll be rereading this at some point.
— Season of the Wolf (The Legend of All Wolves Book 4) by Maria Vale was an enjoyable read. I think it would be best appreciated by someone who has read the earlier books in the series.
— Common Goal: A Gay Sports Romance (Game Changers Book 4) by Rachel Reid which I enjoyed (but not as much as other books in the series).
— My Christmas Spirit by KC Wells which was a pleasant(-ly silly) romance that featured a matchmaking ghost.
— His Knight (Shining Armor Book 1) by Charity Parkerson which was another pleasant story.
— The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After by Julia Quinn was a fun read but would make little sense if you’ve not read The Bridgerton series. I enjoyed it.
— His Bewildered Mate by Brea Alepoú was an okay read that ended on a cliffhanger. I don’t plan to read on.
— My Christmas Number One by Leonie Mack which I quite enjoyed. Thank you, @DDD, for recommending this.
I’ve been a reading a mix of romance and non-romance. Most of it has been good!
ISLAND AFFAIR by Priscilla Oliveras. Social media influencer and a firefighter enter into a fake relationship to please the influencer’s parents. The Key West setting was nice and the story moved along well. I liked both the characters, which helped with believing in the story despite the compressed time frame. I’ll be reading the next book in the series.
THE DESERTED HEART by Mary Lancaster. A woman who is overlooked by her family meets a duke at a deserted inn. They connect, but he is planning to marry her sister. This one has quite a bit of angst, but I liked it.
THE LAST WATCHMAN OF OLD CAIRO by Michael David Lukas. A man goes back to Cairo to learn more about his father and his family. His father was a synagogue watchman. Not a romance, but very good.
YOUR REPUBLIC IS CALLING YOU by Young-Ha Kim. A man who has been living in South Korea for twenty years and has built a family there is called back home – he’s a North Korean sleeper agent. He has one day to settle everything and follow the order. Not a romance, but an interesting plot and unique writing style.
CRISIS IN THE RED ZONE by Richard Preston. The story of the 1970s and 2010s Ebola outbreaks and the response to them. Definitely not a romance, and enraging and sad in parts, but I learnt a lot.
NEED YOU NOW by Nicole Helm. City girl heroine goes to work PR for an adventure company. The hero is super grumpy, and things are somewhat speedily resolved at the end, but it was mostly good and I have gotten the next book in the series. I got it as a KDD sale and it was worth it at that price.
PLAYING WITH FIRE by Kate Meader. This was a hard one. I liked the premise: female firefighter (YESSS) and the mayor go from enemies to lovers. There’s some hilarious dialogue and I liked the heroine. On the other hand, I really struggled with the hero being a sexist jerk in many parts of the book. I also thought he needed to grovel more to make up for what he did. Not reading any more in the series.
Now in the middle of MESS WITH ME by Nicole Helm for romance and A RISING MAN by Abir Mukherjee for non-romance.
@Vicki: good luck to you and your grandson. Sending good vibes your way. <3
Currently only reading. Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe (thanks, Amanda event!) And just started Dark Matter (SFF anthology from Black authors). I plan on reading more intensely for the next couple of weeks to see if I can hit my reading goals!
recent reads
Wow, No Thank you: kinda lost it’s steam towards the end but I still love everything she writes
The Lady’s guide to celestial mechanics: I… found everything but the romance compelling? And I was so confused by the Big Misunderstanding because they were misinterpreting each other in a way that I could *not* get.
Southern book club’s guide to slaying vampires: his stuff is always so dark and upsetting and GOOD.
Dark Archives: about book covers made of human skin! Surprisingly also about early medicine and callousness towards patients.
Seance Tea Party: super cute and I cried A LOT. Middle grade about a girl who befriends a ghost.
When no one is watching: I really enjoyed it though the end felt very rushed and not super satisfying. :/
It was a good month for me. My library recently changed their online system, and books are available very quickly. I have been burning through my wishlist!
Plain Bad Heroines – I couldn’t put it down. The story of making a movie about a possibly haunted old school with the story of what really happened there entwined. Several f/f romance stories, including the central mystery of the book.
Beach Read – Great book. A romance about two people with very different world views who have been hurt finding each other. Also both characters are authors so lots of literary talk. I laughed, I cried, I swooned…..so good!
The Glass Hotel – It was weird but I liked it. A story of how a crime affects a group of unrelated people. I like how this author pulls threads of stories together in ways you can’t predict at the beginning. A character from the author’s other book Station Eleven makes an appearance.
The Roommate – As good if not better than promised. Read it! I hope there’s a sequel.
And there were more but have to run to soccer game. Happy holidays!
@Margaret If you liked Moyes’ Giver of the Stars you might want to try
Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Same premise, different story but very compelling.
@Carrie G — There is final Christmas themed novella MIDWINTER MAGIC just released this week that really closes out the Rockliffe series. It is a winter house party that features several of the couples and ends the series on a really lovely note.
my recent reads include:
HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING – by Denise Williams. Great writing, good story and romance. But I added a content warning for domestic abuse to my review because it was definitely present in the story.
THE JIGSAW FILES series – By Sharon Sala. Three books in the series with a final fourth book coming out in February. Not a romance but a mystery/suspense series featuring a PI named Charlie and his kick-ass assistant Jane Wyrick. Although there was no romance in the first three books I suspect the fourth book will pull the trigger on some hints that have been laid out. The series is basic PI procedure with a liberal dash of sci-fi elements (Wyrick, the assistant, is the result of gene manipulation by a shady corporation).
HOE TO CATCH A QUEEN – by Alyssa Cole – charming and fun. I thought the heroine was more charismatic on page that the hero.
IF TOMORROW COMES and THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT – by Sidney Sheldon. Both of these were fantastic. I’ve forgotten what a super entertaining writer Sidney Sheldon was. About to track down some more of my favorites and re-discover the awesomeness.
@Sue the Bookie: Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve put Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in my queue. Part of my hesitation stemmed from only recently listening to and loving CARRY THE WORLD by Susan Fanetti. Same time, same subject matter, and also beautifully done (with a bit more emphasis on the love story in Carry the World).
And @MHV: I share your taste in that I truly liked BEACH READ, THE GLASS HOTEL, and THE ROOMMATE. Makes me think I should try to track down PLAIN BAD HEROINES!
There are only 5 days of school until winter break!!! This week has the potential to be really rough, so I’m just trying to hold on and get through it.
In AMAZING NEWS! I met my (adjusted in June) reading goals for the year! Over 300 books and over 100,000 pages! Feeling very proud as I did need the push to read instead of rewatching GBBO and Community on Netflix over and over.
In the past two weeks I read-
The GUILD CODEX Series by Annette Marie (KU). This is a series with multiple story arcs/subseries, kind of like Discworld.
In THE GUILD CODEX: SPELLBOUND series of 8 books, the main character is Tori, a 21 year old human who stumbles into the world of mythics on accident bc she has a major temper and can’t hold down a job. The temper is pulled back on A LOT after the first book, which I think is good because there is a line between speaking your mind and being a jerk and I felt like if her temper hadn’t calmed I would have stopped reading. One thing I loved about this series is that throughout the books *SPOILERS* Tori starts dating the brilliant, powerful, cocky guy she threw a drink on when she first met him, but then she realizes that while they have AMAZING chemistry, that isn’t enough for a relationship to work *END SPOILERS* Tori’s immaturity got to me at times, but she’s also only 21 so it was more frustration with the character than the author if that makes sense. Like, yeah, a 21 year old with impulse control issues and a huge chip on her shoulder will make some stupid decisions.
I think my impatience with Tori was also tempered by reading THE GUILD CODEX: DEMONIZED concurrently (the series as a whole works best if you follow the reading order suggested by the author) where the main character, Robin, is Tori’s opposite. Robin is a 20 year old student whose parents told her doing magic is nothing but trouble but she loved magic, so she went into the research side of things. Then her parents died, she moved in with her uncle while he tried to steal her inheritance, found out he was illegally summoning demons by making friends with one of the demons he had summoned, then dealt with the fall out from that. Robin is more mature than Tori, has much more willpower/better impulse control, but is also less sure of herself. There’s still some immaturity, but it manifests in a very different way than Tori’s. There’s also one book to start another subseries that takes place in this world, THE GUILD CODEX: WARPED. It starts a 21 year old guy, Kit, who didn’t know about this whole mythic world until he fell in with a group of criminal mythics who were disbanded/arrested in one of the earlier books in the series. This is a solid 4 star PNR series. I’m not dying to finish reading the entire series, but it was enjoyable and scratched the PNR itch I’ve been having.
I also read the Alice Quentin series by Kate Rhodes. This is a British mystery series that follows psychologist Alice Quentin as she assists the police in apprehending serial killers. The story lines are good, the writing is excellent, and the novel isn’t full of only completely straight white people (an issue I’ve been having with many books written in the UK), but there is some fatphobia. It took me a while to pick up on, and it was especially jarring that so much of it is from the perspective of a psychologist who shouldn’t be so judgmental. The main character has a lot of compassion for people who are dealing with mental health stuff though, so that was nice. One frustrating thing that might be the most frustrating because I’ve read several books, one right after the other, is that while many of the side characters change and grow, Alice doesn’t. She has the same issues with relationships in the last book (that I’m halfway through) as she did in the first book and it’s supposed to have been 2 or 3 years. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author, but more because I’m in a mystery mood than because she’s the best mystery writer.
One thing that was frustrating about all those series, the PNR and the mysteries, is that the characters do not have a sense of self preservation. Maybe it’s because of the times, where every time I need to leave the house I weigh the risks in doing so and have to make sure I’m doing everything possible to prevent catching a dangerous disease, but I cannot understand why someone would not take self defense or undergo training or listen to experts when they are in or have been in dangerous situations. With The Guild Codex series I could blame some of it on the characters being young and dumb and it is vaguely addressed, but in the Alice Quentin series she is resentful every time the police try to keep her safe because a killer is after her. In all 3 series the characters never make the decision to do more to ensure their safety. If they do anything, it is because others in their life push them.
I also read Radiance by Grace Draven. I loved it! It’s a fantasy romance where the two main characters are different species, one human and one not, who are forced to marry to secure an alliance between kingdoms. They find each other hideous at first, but agree that there’s nothing they can do about it so they’re just going to try to get along the best they can and call it good. There was very little conflict between the main characters, the story just follows them getting used to each other at first then slowly falling in love. It was quiet and perfect and lovely, then there were bad guys and all that. I’ve been holding off on reading the next book in the series because I don’t want anything else bad to happen to these characters. As long as I don’t read the book, they’re basking in their happily ever after and the events that the villain set into motion are far away and won’t affect them.
Also read the short story THE GROWN UP by Gillian Flynn and I haven’t read anything by her since the early 2010’s when Gone Girl came out, but it felt like there was a really strong thread of misogyny in the story. If I hadn’t chosen it because of the author, I would have assumed that some guy that is super into evo-psych and reddit and calls guys “Chads” unironically had written it. Not recommended.
Coming in late but hot with the Hamilton cast (I’m on the livestream they’re about to do for the Georgia Senate runoffs). Also, I wasn’t feeling great this weekend (not rona, something else entirely, not fun, but manageable).
Let’s see, we’ll jump off with The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken. SO FUN. It was Grumpy Themiscyran and Sunshine Centaur, and there were several moments where I laughed out loud. And also, I think there are dragons coming and YISSSS I LOVES A DRAGON. Then I decided that I was ready to get hurt, so I cracked A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, the latest and last in her Ember in the Ashes series, and MY GOD. So much action, and pathos, and sexiness. It’s an amazing series, and contains some of the loveliest writing and character work and world-building. After that, I decided it was time for some wintry murder, and I had been holding onto One By One by Ruth Ware just for that. It was a sneaky read, and I really did not figure out who the resident psycho was until later in the book. They did a really good job of hiding in plain sight. I decided it was time to get seasonal-ish, and read Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer. It had some clever stuff in it, and I loved the Fabien Nightingale character. But it wanted to be more clever than it was, I think, although I did like the fact the end really kind of showed how you can’t escape types of fate, especially if it was one you chose. Which brings us to now, in which I’m reading The Awakening by Nora Roberts. I’m not very far into it, but I really liked that it kind of started like a fairy tale, and I always love Ireland as a setting. Until next time, folks, anyone can be a Christmas elf.