Welcome to February! This is where the winters in New England get gross and all the romance op-eds come out of the wood work. I will give the save advice I gave on a recent podcast episode and on my Twitter, just let it go. Do something infinitely more enjoyable than ranting about the ill informed writers who want to talk about romance for Valentine’s Day.
ANYWAY!
Let’s talk about what we’ve been reading lately!
Catherine: I finished Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner ( A | BN | K | AB ) on Saturday. It’s a very satisfying ending to the series, though I did feel it got bogged down in military manoeuvres in the middle.
Of course, then I spent half a day trying to read something from my TBR piles before giving up and inhaling The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King Of Attolia in the space of two and a half days. I guess tomorrow I’ll be reading A Conspiracy of Kings. It really is a very compelling world she has built…
EllenM: Currently reading Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder. I’m really enjoying it and there are sooooo many interesting things going on but it is also heavier than I expected because the world is basically a Trumpian dystopia with everything bad about the past few years (sans Covid) ramped up in some way, plus supernaturals, so I spend a lot of time reading it internally screaming.
Tara: I am back to bouncing between too many books again because my brain is a magpie. At the risk of being the jerk who talks about a book that isn’t out yet, the one I’m loving the most at the moment is The Menopause Manifesto by real-life superhero Dr. Jen Gunter. (Seriously, has anyone else been watching her go after Vagisil for predatory marketing against teens lately? I am here for it.) This is the feminist approach a menopause book that I’ve been craving.
Elyse: I just started The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Amanda: Let me know how that is! I was eying it at the bookstore the other day.
Shana: I just started Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West, ( A | K | AB ) because I convinced my book club that we should read a queer BDSM Hanukkah romance. Also, my library carries the book, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by them.
Claudia: Last night I finished Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins, I feel a little bit of a book hangover!
Sarah: How did you like it?
Claudia: I really enjoyed it. The heroine is absolutely amazing, and the pairing with bookish hero really worked for me even as things felt a bit rushed at times. The way the historical background was interwoven in the story was masterful, from “Wild West” themes to class and race reflections and familial ties… I got choked up when hero’s dad examined the reasons behind his need to keep the hero in his orbit.
Susan: I’ve been going through my kobo library because they’re doing a “finish a book, get 100 points!” thing, and I have read so many good romance novellas
Shana: I love a novella, they’re so satisfying to finish.
Susan: Agreed, it feels so nice to be able to finish something in one sitting!
What are you reading this month? Let us know!
Don’t get me started on feminine hygiene products. I frequently get incensed at the tena lady adverts for normalising incontinence. Leaking urine is not normal and should be checked out by the doctor. Being in my forties now the big M is looming large but I’m not ready to face is head on.
I’m on a free KU membership so I’ve been bingeing (and re reading) Zoe Chant shifter firefighter romances. I don’t know why as I don’t particularly find firefighters interesting but I love the characters and the banter (I’m missing human interaction in this lockdown). Still can’t get over a shark shifter named after my daughter though. Apart from that I haven’t been reading much else apart from the BBC news website and Time to Sleep Alfie Bear! For the umpteenth time to my three year daughter. In case you didn’t know, it’s about a young bear who drives his Mum crazy being a total jerk and not going to bed. Trying to write a novella sometimes inbetween all that.
I’m still in a bit of slog, but I really enjoyed
In nonfiction:
WORD BY WORD: THE SECRET LIFE OF DICTIONARIES by Kory Stamper and BECAUSE INTERNET: UNDERSTANDING THE NEW RULES OF LANGUAGE by Gretchen McCulloch. It definitely made me want to do a deep dive into language and linguistics.
In mysteries:
the latest two Mystery Men books by Elly Griffiths. THE VANISHING BOX and NOW YOU SEE THEM. I feel like the mysteries are consistently good, I like the historical setting of 50s/60s Brighton, and they hit my sweet spot of not too gory/upsetting and not too twee.
In romances:
Nothing, shamefully! I have a couple of promising things started, but b/c I am very apt to DNF, I won’t mention them here.
@at Kit : I feel you! Here, it was “And What If I Won’t?” by Maureen Fergus, with my meta commentary: “Wow, that mom is so patient. What do you think would happen of you did that here ?” and my son: “You’d be yelling real hard, for sure!!”
Has it been longer than usual since the last WAYR? Or have I just been reading more than usual?
After a couple DNFs last time, some better reading news for me:
I devoured THINK OF ENGLAND, PROPER ENGLISH, and BAND SINISTER (all by KJ Charles) which were all great. There are a handful of authors who consistently work for me and KJ is definitely on that list (others include Tessa Dare, Cat Sebastian, Deanna Raybourn). THINK OF ENGLAND and PROPER ENGLISH are both delightfully pulpy and twisty (basically snappy and queer versions of Agatha Christie) and I really enjoyed them. The stakes in BAND SINISTER were quite a bit lower (no dead bodies), and I liked the way Charles doesn’t go with the conflict that would have been The Conflict in a classic romance (it ends up being a minor misunderstanding that’s briskly dealt with with, you know, the characters actually using their words) and instead makes ideas of duty and obligation the central conflict. I suppose this will sound like an odd criticism, but I could have done with a little less sex? There’s the “rake indoctrinating the virgin” angle to it, and I just wanted to spend more time with all the secondary characters because they were so good. In any case, definitely recommend all three of them.
A ROGUE OF ONE’S OWN—meh? There were parts of it I liked but I am over what I’ll call Dukes with Daddy Issues (Tristan’s not a duke, but minor quibble). It’s a problem I’ve come across a number of times in romances, where there’s behavior in a character’s origin story that’s straight up abusive and is never really confronted? In this case, Tristan’s father killed his pets (PLURAL) and, I dunno, it’s just presented as a reason for estrangement as opposed to deeply alarming and violent behavior? (Elizabeth Hoyt also does this in at least one of the Maiden Lane books.) Sarah said something on a recent podcast about it being fine if there’s emotional conflict or growth the couple has to work through, but It can’t rise to the “ooh, this would really require help from a professional before I believe in an HEA here,” and this is in that camp. Anyway, I quite liked Lucie and Tristan, but there were a lot of villains (Arthur, Cecily, Tristan’s parents, Lucie’s parents, Blackstone) who were all under baked and overall it was just okay.
Read the first three Bridgertons, (er, what was I just saying about dukes with daddy issues…?). I am not sure I would have watched the show or read more than the first book if I had started with THE DUKE AND I. Daphne is just HORRENDOUS both in the way she treats Simon and his desire not to have children and the level of arrogance she displays in explaining Simon’s relationship with his father. If you flipped the genders in this one you’d more clearly see it as birth control sabotage (aka abuse) and mansplaining.
THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME was fine—I didn’t really empathize with Kate’s fear of thunderstorms. The whole thing felt melodramatic rather than sincere, although Anthony’s paranoia about not outliving his father seemed very plausible. (My FIL’s father died when he was 42 and my FIL is going to be 80 in August and now finally seems to have accepted that he’s not his dad.) I would have liked to have seen more of Edwina, Kate’s sister who I liked quite a lot.
AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN—this is a Cinderella story which, normally, eh. Cinderella doesn’t really have a ton of agency and while Sophie had a bit more, it’s still blah.
Why did I finish all three Bridgerton novels? Because of Quinn’s dialogue and the family relationships. The ones between the siblings and Violet are really good. Quinn’s plots on the other hand? Not my favorite. I’ve now read 6 of her books only one of which I really liked? Do other people have authors like that? Where you’ve read a bunch but aren’t sold? (For me that also includes Courtney Milan.)
Non-Romance (actually, non-fiction, which is unusual for me)
Still working my way through CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson. It is so so good, but I have to pace myself because even the parts that aren’t violent are still often upsetting. Of note, I will never look at blackface the same way again—I had always thought of it as generally offensive in terms of stereotyping/mocking a group of people and/or being boorish enough to think you can pretend to be Black by darkening your skin, but Wilkerson connects it to a much broader trend in which enslaved people were forced to sing or dance even as they were being sold, separated from their family, or otherwise subjected to horrible things. Wilkerson names blackface as an attempt by white people to expiate their guilt and deny how awful, violent, and cruel slavery truly was by playing the Black experience for laughs. I am sure I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
BAG MAN by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz. This book expands on Maddow’s excellent podcast of the same name which tells the story of Spiro Agnew’s resignation. I never really paid much attention to Watergate and had always just assumed Agnew went down in something Watergate-adjacent, but, no, the man was deeply corrupt and the investigation into him and his eventual resignation was about something totally different. If you’re not familiar with the history, I don’t really want to spoil it (an odd thing to say, but some of the details are so jaw-dropping), but the story has a lot of contemporary resonance. The podcast series and book are both fairly short—they’re telling a small chapter of a much larger story around Watergate, but don’t attempt to expand further, which I think was a good narrative choice.
DIGITAL MINIMALISM by Cal Newport. This book felt like an odd thing to read in a pandemic when everything is virtual, but it was a useful reminder of how little intention went into the development of smartphones and apps and how they might impact how we use and spend our time. I have some minor quibbles around the edges (too many of the examples are about men, which Newport acknowledges but doesn’t really interrogate), but it’s a quick read and a good reminder to think about how we spend our time. (I also enjoyed another of his books, DEEP WORK.)
Up next: JANE STEELE. I’m not usually into vigilante serial killers, but this one is working for me.
@JillQ Have you read Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths? It’s a stand-alone which won the Edgar award for best mystery of the year from Crime Writers of America. I had not read her work before- it was for a discussion group-and found it compelling.
Ooooh! WAYR! My favourite!
It’s been a while since I last wrote, so here are just a few of my latest reads. And I have to start with the most wonderful discovery!
So I read WED BY PROXY by ALICE COLDBREATH. I picked it up because of the cover. I mean, seriously: It’s the most beautiful cover ever! How can you not want to read this? The world in these books is (as far as I have been able to grasp anyway) set in a medievalesque time. The h in WED BY PROXY has grown up at court, and has never been outside it. Her mother is a scheming sort of woman, and the h is three years into her third marriage. They have all been political deals, and both her previous husbands died. Her current marriage was part of a peace treaty, and she has never met her husband. She decides to flee court, and her only option is to flee to her husband.
The book was a wonderful experience, so I immediately picked up a trilogy from the same authour: HER BASEBORN BRIDEGROOM, HIS FORSAKEN BRIDE and AN ILL-MADE MATCH. They all have wonderful covers, by the way. These books are set in the same world as WED BY PROXY, and are about three brothers from the same court as the h. I love the fact that we get into the inner workings of the court in some of these books (as in regular HR, the young girls are just “presented” to court, and that’s it). Also: These men are totally alpha, but in a non-man-whorish kind of way, which is refreshing.
I have to say that ALICE COLDBREATH is a discovery for me on the level of KERRIGAN BYRNE. Highly recommend! I am certainly looking out for more from this author.
I read SHIPPED by ANGIE HOCKMAN. It was promoted as “The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game”. If you compare yourself to THE HATING GAME, you put the bar pretty high as far as I’m concerned, and although enjoyable, I don’t think SHIPPED delivered. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe.
Then I read A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by SARAH J. MAAS. I liked it, but as I had the audio, I sped up the speed to finish the last few hours. I’m half-way through A COURT OF MIST AND FURY now, but have taken a break. I’m thinking this is either not quite my thing, or I’m just too old. I plan to finish it, but plans can change. We’ll see.
When I got tired of MAAS, I picked up HEATHER MCCOLLUMS’s Highland Isles series. Because highlanders… THE BEAST OF AROS CASTLE, THE ROGUE OF ISLAY ISLE, THE WOLFE OF KISIMUL CASTLE and THE DEVIL OF DUNAKIN CASTLE were all well worth the time. Strong women, protective men and delicious smexy-times.
As I have earlier enjoyed (and even re-read) ANNIKA MARTIN’s MOST ELIGIBLE BILLIONAIRE and THE BILLIONAIRE’S WAKE-UP CALL-GIRL, I picked up BREAKING THE BILLIONAIRE’S RULES: AN ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANTIC COMEDY. I was disappointed. It was just too much (which says a lot, since I enjoyed the previous books in the series).
I just realized I listed a lot of disappointments. Sorry about that. I will finish this off with a good one: BLACK KNIGHT by ELIZABETH JOHNS. A rakish rake is wed off to an heiress who really wants to live out her life in spinsterhood. By proxy. As far as I remember, the story is quite clean, but utterly enjoyable.
Finally started J D Robb’s IN DEATH series. I’m into book six and fascinated with the hits and misses of the potential future of the the 2150s as imagined in the mid to late 1990s when books 1-6 (and more) were written. Wow. I now understand how Nora Roberts gained such an incredible reputation. Not perfect, but the dynamics between the characters are wonderfully complex surrounded by police procedurals. It’s amazing to think these started over a quarter of a century ago.
Also listened to the unabridged LORD OF THE RINGS books as I worked on a project. Talk about homoerotica…
I’m getting ready to re-read Stranger Diaries to prep for the sequel coming out in March! (I’m already on hold). Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series is great too!
Death comes to the Rectory by Catherine Lloyd. The last book in the Kurland St. Mary’s series (sniffle), but very enjoyable. I love the whole series. Robert and Lucy are people of their time and not perfect, but they love each other and are good in general. Robert is not magically cured of his PTSD about horses, but it becomes more manageable over the course of the series.
Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire. Meh. It was ok. The plot was good, but I’m not much of a fan of Artie, and Sarah isn’t nearly as interesting as Antimony.
Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews. Good as all Andrews’ books are, but after everything about Catalina’s dazzlingly beautiful wings, I’m in the mood for Arabella’s story.
I’m reading The Survivors by Jane Harper. It’s a good mystery, but trigger warning for the protagonist’s dad having early-onset alzheimers. It’s heart-wrenching and triggering at least to me, after going through it with my grandfather. I’m basically skipping all pages of the book where his dad makes an appearance. Harper has either dealt with alzheimers or knows someone who has because it’s very realistic and not at all pretty.
Happy Valentine’s week-end everyone! Even for those who loathe Valentine’s day, I hope your week-end has fun in it. Personally, I’m looking forward to half-off chocolates on Monday.
I’m still going through old boxes of books, purging those I won’t be reading again, and I’m still on the manga boxes. Lots of discards, one gem I found (I must have read it in the past but I have absolutely no recollection of it): SAMEJIMA-KUN AND SASAHARA-KUN by Koshino. I loved the characters, and their dynamic. Samejima is awkward, dorky and intense (both in his love and in his despair). Sasahara fits well with him – outgoing, open and willing to think things through, and to give Samejima a piece of his mind when Samejima goes into one of his to-be-happy-is-a-hopeless-dream spiral. They’re casual friends, then more, and the closer they get, the more they fight. In the fights, they pour every honest feelings that’s usually so hard to share – it makes them a very honest couple hahaha! Then there’s all the desperate need for and about the sex. The first time they make love is frantic and intense, in contrast with the slow prep of going to buy condoms and taking separate showers. The art is very cluttered, with lots of details, asides in little text, and sounds effects. Samejima also has an animated shark swimming around his torso, usually acting out his emotions – it sounds stupid when I describe it, but in effect it’s actually cute and whimsical and it fits Samejima, and the story, and the art. I give two thumbs up to this manga and it goes into the keeper box.
This month, I also tried another Jill Shalvis : INSTANT ATTRACTION (Wilder book 1) “Live life balls out” is the first line, and the heroine’s new moto. Um, okay. Why would you have as a moto 1) something so tied to a masculine perspective, as if men are the only one willing/able/brave enough to go out of their comfort zone and 2) even if it were anatomically possible for the heroine, who would want to live their life with their balls out? I had this flash of men going around with their pants undone and their peen & attendants (or as it was called during the sex scene, their “essentials”) living their life out. Live Balls Out was not an inspiring image, sorry. Then the heroine’s weirdly fogging glasses kept distracting me. They did not fog over when she went from cold to hot like mine does, but rather 5 minutes later, suddenly, just in time to make her feels foolish. The glasses kept magically fogging over – the more it happened, the more it became like a tongue-in-cheek joke (the hero made her hot, wink wink), and I could’ve come to enjoy it if not for the sense that the winter, the snow and the cold were something the author did not have a proper grasp of (or does the snow in California form, I dunno, at a higher temp than in Canada? o.0) Examples: on an 0°F day, the heroine was working inside, saw the hero flick a finger to invite her for a tour of snow mobile, and she flew out to join him. Huh… at 0°F, you put a lot of clothes over before going for a snow mobile tour, like snow pants, snow boots, inside scarf, coat, hat, mittens, outside scarf… going out in ski-doo without a hat or snow pants and her coat open… she’ll get so cold it’s going to take hours to chase the chill out of her bones. Another one: their first sexy moment happens outside, on a winter night, on top of a mountain, where they take most of their clothes off…(!) I felt so cold reading that scene, I just wanted them to hurry up their big O and get dressed already. Luckily, right after, there was this passage: “He stared into her eyes, realizing that he was still expecting her to turn into someone else at every turn, waiting for her to turn needy, or clinging, or demanding, or something other than what she appeared to be.” —> this, I liked and I thought we were moving on into emotional growth and developping closeness and all the good feels. And for a couple of chapters we did and I finally started to really get into it. But then it’s like their brain short-circuited a quarter from the end and they devolved into hypersensitive teenagers for a last angsty hurray before the HEA. Personally, I mentally gave up when the hero walked out without boots or socks (or coat, or shirt) then STOOD TALKING IN THE SNOW, his FEET NAKED (…no winter sense!!). I finished it (and got the full effect of a last lawsuit-worthy winter stunt) and came to the conclusion Jill Shalvis’ books aren’t for me. In both books I read, the MCs acted too much like weathervanes for me to root for them (I do like her blog entries though, you were right about that Carrie G.)
Next was THE DUCHESS DEAL by Tessa Dare. This book was everything that is good. Funny, touching, vindictive when it counted (no forgiveness for characters that didn’t deserve it!) and a h&h that are into each other and treat each other right. I would’ve loved to see more of the heroine’s new friends – their peculiarities and their insta-friendship with the heroine were a bit too down pat, it might have benefited from being more fleshed out – but if we did, there would’ve been less time spent on Ash and Emma and I couldn’t have that. The whole vigilante side plot also felt a bit superfluous, but it certainly did not diminish my enjoyment of the book.
I feel I did not read much this month because I’m still obsessed with sewing. I started a crazy quilt victorian style and I’m having such satisfaction tearing up quality clothing I never wore because it made me look dumpy but didn’t want to throw away because I loved the silk fabric. Well, the beautiful silk fabric will be useful and on display. Win win. I’m also reading through MENDING MATTERS by Katrina Rodabaugh. Slow sewing, mending your clothes so that they last a long time, and stay well-loved through every alteration. I like the way she writes about sewing; she equates hand sewing & mending with mindfulness.She sometimes turns a bit preachy, but her projects are really interesting. It also meshes well with the capsule wardrobe thing I’ve been trying to keep going for a couple of years.
I did manage to finish a romance yesterday: THE MANE SQUEEZE by Shelly Laurenston. Pride series book 04. The Laurenston books have been on sale one after another since december, and I’ve snapped them up because she’s popular with SBs. But after Jill Shalvis – liked by many but her flowers unfortunately didn’t bloom in my garden – I got leery and figured I should try Laurenston out before buying any more. I chose Mane Squeeze because I really liked the heroine’s challenging look on the cover (or is it a pissed off look? A cocky one? Gleeful? Possessive? You pick). Since it’s my first time reading Laurenston, I dropped cold into her shifter world, but after 80 pages or so new characters stopped coming in and I was able to keep everyone straight. It was zany, but not too much, cute just enough and the MCs were fun together and perfect for each other – the laid-back bear with the high-strung feline who doesn’t need any more high strung people around her. The crazy crowd around them also was entertaining. It was like eating a party mix chips bag: I liked most of it and even the stuff I liked less was still pretty palatable. I’m interested in reading more (a good thing too because at last count, I have 15 Laurenston/Aiken books …how did I get so many without noticing ?! In my defense, I’ve been buying her without reading since… 2017 >.< )
Happy Saturday! I actually love February (probably because my birthday falls next weekend–always after the Valentine’s Day chocolate goes on sale!) but I understand why for others it’s yet another dreary month. I’m also taking Amanda’s advice to ignore all the Same Bad Takes on romance novels.
Romance:
REBEL by Beverly Jenkins: Best thing I’ve ever found in a Little Free Library so I snatched it right up! (I have a HUGE number of Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood, but they often look like some neighbor did a KonMari on a shelf last touched in 1996 and so they are not always filled with interesting materials.) I really enjoyed this one, mostly because the heroine Valinda is undergoing such a great journey towards financial independence and emotional vulnerability. Truly, a wonderful conflict for her to negotiate whether marriage is something that will harm or help her–still an issue for many women today. Drake, the hero, is lovely but for me the core of the book is about Valinda, probably because Drake is settled and self-actualized or whatever. I feel like the suspense-y elements worked better for me in this one than in some of her other books–possibly a pacing thing. Also, I loved the postbellum New Orleans detail. The food descriptions had me very hungry. I’m going to have to snag WILD RAIN very very soon, I remember loving Spring in her earlier book appearance. (B+)
FAKER by Sarah Smith: oooooof I did NOT like this, probably some spoilers following. I need to get better at DNF-ing, but I have completionist tendencies and was overly optimistic it might improve. First, I don’t love solely first person narration for only one of the main characters unless there is a compelling plot reason (cf. LOVE LETTERING). In theory there was a plot reason here but it was very apparent from miles away. Second, I’m realizing I need to avoid most office romances–as a regular Ask a Manager reader, they feel full of red flags around favoritism and professionalism and have my brain going “but what if they break up?!” Third, I did not like the hero, Tate–his efforts to help Emmie (the heroine) felt condescending and a little overbearing. He also got into some really gross jealous behavior towards someone Emmie had flirted with and I did not think it was cute, nor did he grovel enough. Also, he spends too much of the book being too emotionally constipated for an adult man. Grow up! Go to therapy! And the plotline involving his ex-girlfriend was awful. The redeeming qualities were that I liked Emmie, the heroine–her care for her family and friends, her competence at her job (the details about her copywriting and marketing job at an industrial parts company were unusual and a highlight of the book!), her acute awareness of being a woman in a very male-dominated workspace. But I’m going to be wary of picking up more of Smith’s books if this was her idea of banter. (Should have DNF-ed & regret not doing so)
A BIG SURPRISE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY by Jackie Lau: a good change of pace for me after finishing Smith–Lau’s books generally work well for me! I think this was my second favorite of the Holiday with the Wongs books (my first favorite being the Christmas one because reunited lovers works best for me at novella lengths), I liked how Sebastian and Amber kind of slid from FWB to more and had to actually work through their feelings. Side note, versus the others in the series, I think there were more sex scenes in this one. Another small highlight for me was that Sebastian is described as “stocky” at one point, and not-all-muscle at another–always nice when I don’t get distracted thinking about like Marvel superhero movie fitness plans and how heroes fit those into their days. (B+)
XENI: A MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE by Rebekah Weatherspoon: my hold came in from the library this week so I read this and generally enjoyed it! I think the review on this site captures most of my feelings pretty well. Xeni and Mason have a pretty low-tension relationship, which worked well for me this week because I was pretty busy during work. A lot of their relationship development and intimacy-building is tied into the sex scenes, some of which I was skimming more than others. I did agree with Shana’s review here that Xeni’s conflict with her mom really doesn’t get enough on-page resolution, so I was disappointed with how that played out (especially in contrast to Mason’s conflict with his father, where Mason gets to establish his own boundaries and help his mother). (B/B+)
Non-romance:
THE RADICAL AND THE REPUBLICAN: FREDERICK DOUGLASS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, AND THE TRIUMPH OF ANTISLAVERY POLITICS by James Oakes: this was alright–the author was interested in exploring the ever-relevant tension between radical reform and coalition-building (which often conflicts with the fully radical ideas because compromises must be made), which was somewhat interesting. Oakes REALLY does not like John Brown, geez. There were some tone things in here where I felt like he was overly hard on Douglass for things Douglass could not have known (because Lincoln wasn’t, say, tweeting every thought in his head, for example), and times when he was overly invested in Lincoln as canny-political-operator-working-towards-ending-slavery-quietly (there’s certainly some support for the idea that Lincoln’s careful moves to not upset the border states were pragmatic and key to the war efforts). Douglass had reasons to be upset and demand a total overhaul! Slavery was extremely bad! (C+ for my personal feelings on how this was handled.)
Currently reading:
FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES: A VISION OF LIFE AS PLAY AND POSSIBILITY by James P. Carse: this is my long-distance partner’s pick for this month in our personal book club. I’m liking it but moving very slowly, because I need to stop and think through sections.
REAL LIFE by Brandon Taylor: I’m enjoying this campus novel although I’m not very far into it yet. Taylor’s got some beautiful sentences that also convey sharp pain so well.
On deck:
HOW TO CATCH A QUEEN by Alyssa Cole just came in from the library, looking forward to that one! I enjoyed her Reluctant Royals series and am glad she’s doing more of these AU-contemporaries. (Is there a word for categorizing otherwise not-fantasy historicals and contemporaries with fictional countries? They’re not necessarily alternate histories…)
DUKE OF MY HEART by Kelly Bowen: some commenters had good things to say about Bowen, whose work I have not read, earlier this week, and this trilogy of hers is available at my library and I snapped up the first one when I saw the heroine is like a Regency-era fixer a la Olivia Pope.
I finished Heaven Official’s Blessing, which I just completely loved. There was a moment near the end where a character confirmed out loud something which I already knew, but when it was said it affected me so much that I actually put both hands over my mouth to hold in my happy squeal. I’ve read two of MXTX’s books now and I don’t know precisely how or why they hit me so much, but somehow, a Chinese web novel writer has become my favorite author. Go figure, nothing goes as expected in Quarantine Times.
The Worst Duke in the World by Lisa Berne: It was ok, a good lunch-break novel that I didn’t have to think too deeply about, very cute and funny. But I got quite exhausted by the constant run-on sentences and the fact that these people were being idiots for literally no reason but that the book needed more words. Also, as someone in a relatively similar position to the widowed sister/aunt, I identified with her quite a lot and it really bothered me that these otherwise good people treated her…really badly. They just were not kind, and where I could see (or at least justify in my own mind) exactly why she acted the way she did, everyone in the book let me down with the way they reacted to her. And then it was all erased not at all convincingly in the epilogue and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Stuff You Should Know An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things by Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark: If you enjoy SYSK the podcast, you’ll probably like SYSK the book. If you haven’t heard the podcast, you still will probably find something to like in the book. It’s twenty-something chapters on different subjects (Mezcal, The Jersey Devil, Pet Rocks, Donuts, etc etc). I’ve been listening to a ton of episodes of this podcast since Covid. I really like their voices and their enthusiasm for all sorts of random knowledge on all kinds of topics. The book pretty much is, well, the podcast in book form. It was fun.
Want to edit my remark about THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I don’t think homoerotica is the appropriate term. The books presented, rather, a wonderful account of people/beings loving others in ways that was often sex, gender, and species blind.
I’m reading FROM BLOOD AND ASH by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and I’m looking forward to A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES by Sarah J. Maas next week.
I also have A KNOT IN THE GRAIN, a collection of stories by Robin McKinley, to read.
After that, I will probably switch gears and read some YA, like BY THE BOOK by Amanda Sellet and HOT BRITISH BOYFRIEND by Kristy Boyce.
@Qualisign I think Frodo and Samwise are the original bromance, though I thought the eagles were a copout, I wouldn’t be happy if the died in the end. Definitely the eagles were overused in the Hobbit films!
Have looked at the vagisil teen products and they made me itch. I can’t believe that they’re still trying to guilt trip young women with the not fresh enough lie.
I’ve been on a roll so far this month.
Blood of a Gladiator and Blood Debts by Ashley Gardner — These are historical mysteries taking place in Rome during Nero’s reign. The stars are recently freed gladiator Leonidas and his slave Cassia. Leonidas and Cassia have a mysterious benefactor that paired them together to help each other. And the friendship just works. Cassia is bookish and clever and Leonidas is concerned with the basics but doesn’t have any clue how the outside world works. And things happen and it’s just fun. I can’t wait for the next one due out in May.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han — This was a reread for my book club and we also watched the movie together on zoom. I love this series. I love Lara Jean and Peter. I love Lara Jean’s family. I want Jenny Han to write a follow-up romance after they finish college. Nuf said.
Also rereading An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir– this book gave me such a bad book hangover that I vowed to wait until they were all released before I read them. Each one would arrive on release day and quietly sit until the next one was released. It was hard to wait, but now I’m ready to have my heart completely broken. I hope my favorite character Helene Aquilla makes it through!
Still reading through Kate Daniels. I’ve read everything in order and now I’m on book 7. Um I know that Hugh is a complete villain, but I find him to be the most interesting character in this book. I really want to dive into his book immediately and it keeps staring at me from the shelf saying read me, you know you want to. I might have to bury it under other books to keep the temptation at bay.
The new Maas book A Court of blah, blah, blah arrives on Tuesday and I am so excited to finally get Nesta’s book. I adore her. She’s my favorite character. I hope Maas does her justice.
Finished BLOODY ROSE, Nicholas Eames’ follow up to KINGS OF THE WYLD, told not from the titular character’s point of view, but that of Tam Hashford who has joined Rose’s band as their bard. Both Rose and Tam have grown up in the shadow of a parent’s larger than life reputation. Rose’s father is, of course, Golden Gabe, front man for Saga, the greatest mercenary group of all time. The mercenary group that came to Rose’s rescue when she got her band trapped in a siege. Tam’s mother was a world renowned Bard before her untimely death. Rose has contracted a gig to kill an unkillable monster. A feat that will surely make her name outshine her father’s. We all know that it’s not going to go well. It is every bit as clever, violent and funny as the first book, but with a much more bittersweet ending.
Then came A LADY’S GUIDE TO MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM by Manda Collins, new to me author. Charming enough for me to pick up the next book. He’s a Scotland Yard detective, she’s the publisher of a newspaper working of women’s rights whose investigation into a series of murders gets him kicked off the case and the wrong man charged. Can they find the real villien and set things right? The romance is really rushed, as in antagonists to we’re getting married in like a week. I found this a little troubling as Lady Bascomb is adamantly against remarrying, for good reason, and I didn’t see anything that should have made her change her mind.
Since I’m getting ready to go stay with my Dad for an unknown amount of time, I have cancelled a lot of my reserves at the GBPL and turned to rereads. First was Jillian Stone’s AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY. I can’t believe I forgot to mention Cassie in the Historical Women in Trousers! post. Definitely one of my favorites. I started my next favorite in the series A PRIVATE DUEL WITH AGENT GUNN this morning. I enjoy Stones’s contemporaries a lot, but I wish she hadn’t abandoned The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series. Interesting, engaging characters, believable sexy romance, lots of non-ballroom settings, adventure and daring do, what’s not to love.
My New Year’s Resolution for 2021 is to systematically go through the unread/half-read books on my Kindle and delete the ones I’m never going to read/finish; or, conversely, if I decide I will read a book, to read the damn thing! So far I’ve had middling success—when there are so many new books being released each month, it’s hard for me to yield “new book reading time” so that I can read something that has been languishing on my Kindle for five years. However, I did manage to sneak a few “oldies but goodies” into my reading this month.
FIERCE AT HEART is the second in Zoe York’s Kinkaids of Pine Harbour series. It features both marriage-of-convenience and older heroine tropes. Also, both MCs are military veterans—and when they were on active duty, the heroine was the hero’s commanding officer. At the start of the book, the h&h have been out of the service (and haven’t seen each other) for several years. The heroine, having left an abusive marriage, is hoping for a fresh start as a baker; the hero has just passed his training to become a fireman—he’s the youngest of five brothers and, despite being close to thirty, is often deemed incapable by his loving but protective siblings. After sharing a night together, h&h decide to be friends, rather than lovers, and when a business opportunity presents itself for the heroine, the couple embark on a marriage of convenience, which is complicated by their decidedly non-platonic feelings for each other and the return of the heroine’s slimy ex. I enjoyed FIERCE AT HEART, although I felt the “emotionally-abusive ex” element was really played up, only to be rather anticlimactically resolved. I almost wish York had not used that particular plot point if she was going to dispense of it in such a casual fashion. But other than that, I liked this latest visit to Pine Harbour and look forward to the third book in the series, WILD AT HEART, coming in September.
Jackie Ashenden’s IN THE DARK is the first book in her Playing for Pleasure duet (the second book, WITH THE LIGHTS ON, is scheduled for publication in May). The book features best-friend’s-sister and Beauty & the Beast tropes—and, other than a brief epilogue, the entire story takes place during the course of a single night. The heroine has loved the hero (her older brother’s best friend and business partner) since she was a teenager and was heartbroken when he deliberately cut ties with her. At the beginning of the book, she hasn’t seen him for close to a decade. Then, through an only-in-Romancelandia series of coincidences, she finds herself in his hotel room, blindfolded, pretending to be an escort from a high-end agency. The set-up may be convoluted, but the execution is pure Ashenden: both h&h are struggling with physical limitations (the heroine with dyslexia, the hero with severe burns from a fire)—and while the hero eventually recognizes the heroine, it takes the heroine (she’s blindfolded, after all) significantly more time to recognize the hero. There are also the “Ashenden template” requisites: absent/abusive/dead/distant parents, astonishing eye colors, amazing personal fragrances, angst, pain, hot sexy-times, and ultimately an awareness that only one other person in the whole world can truly see you because they have a similar upbringing and outlook. Pure Ashenden catnip!
Mia West’s excellent, immersive INTO THE FIRE consists of eleven interconnected novellas and short stories (published between 2014 and 2017) that chart the decades-long relationship between Marcus, a former soldier, and Wolfram, a blacksmith, as they work to build a small community into a thriving village in the years immediately following the fall of the Roman Empire (late 5th century C.E.). I loved the epic sweep of this story that begins with Marcus returning to his garrison town home in Germania after 20 years in the Roman army. He hopes to see his foster father, a blacksmith, once more. But he arrives at the town to find it deserted, his foster father dead, and Wolfram—a man Marcus knew when they both were teenagers—the new blacksmith. The two men throw in their lot together, traveling across Gaul to the coast of Brittany where they become part of a group of people living together in a crumbling Roman fort. I really liked how the men and their relationship with each other evolved through time. They start out more as fuck-buddies than friends, but slowly begin to trust and have feelings for each other. As the years go by, they become leaders in their small village, eventually adopting an orphaned boy (who, over the course of the story, grows to manhood, marries, and becomes a father himself). In something I rarely see in m/m romances, Marcus & Wolfram briefly open their relationship to a third person (this man, in turn, later finds his own true love); the menage never affects the deep feelings Marcus and Wolfram have for each other. They grow older, grayer, softer; they get sick and have to acknowledge that they can no longer do all the physical work they once did; and, I’m not gonna lie, when, late in the book, the settlement is threatened, I was anxiously turning the pages, hoping things would be resolved in the heroes’ favor; but through it all, their love remains strong and true. While the central focus of the storyline remains on Marcus & Wolfram, we also see the many other characters in the story grow, change, and some even die. A brilliant depiction of Europe just on the verge of the Dark Ages, before the Christianity completed its domination of the area (both Marcus & Wolfram pray to their own group of gods and practice the older, pagan rituals). Highly recommended, especially for fans of sprawling multi-generational stories. [Also, for those who are interested in alternate views of the Arthurian legend, INTO THE FIRE leads directly into West’s SONS OF BRITAIN series, with Arthur being one of Marcus & Wolfram’s grandsons.]
Genevieve Turner’s FOREVER A SOLDIER, published in 2016, is the first book in her Always A Cowboy series. The hero is a member of the large Anglo-Latino family featured in Turner’s earlier A Cowboy of Her Own series. He is a veteran who suffers from panic attacks (exacerbated, but not caused, by his time in combat) and prefers to live a solitary life acting as a caretaker for an old farmhouse that has been in the family for generations. The heroine is a Ph.D. candidate whose subject focus is the treatment of Latinas in the California justice system of the early 20th century. With permission from the family, she comes to the farmhouse to read a trove of letters and diaries from that time (Turner detailed those stories in her Las Morenas series of historical romances). In keeping with Turner’s ethnically- and culturally-diverse cast of characters, the heroine is Turkish-American—there are some delicious descriptions of Turkish food in the book. As the heroine continues her research, she and the hero begin to develop feelings for each other. I liked that problems were not miraculously resolved in FOREVER A SOLDIER: the hero’s anxiety disorder doesn’t magically disappear because of love and the heroine’s academic future and possible job prospects aren’t discounted; but love gives both h&h a strength and a renewed sense of purpose. Recommended.
If you’re looking for a prickly heroine, look no further than Juniper Gries, the heroine of FOREVER A MAVERICK, the second book in Turner’s Always Cowboy series. Juniper is a young single mother, working hard to make a better life for herself and her son, struggling to make ends meet, and dealing with a judgmental hometown (her mother, a school board member, was a strong advocate for “Abstinence-Only” sex education, so when Juniper got pregnant at 18, there were a lot of snickers and pointing fingers). Turner doesn’t sugar-coat the challenges of raising a child alone or of the complicated relationship Juniper has with her mother. Into the picture steps Ash Warner, a local farmer who offers Juniper marriage and a monetary settlement in exchange for the hereditary water rights she holds. Juniper takes time to decide if she’ll accept Ash’s offer—FOREVER A MAVERICK shows there can be a downside to a marriage-of-convenience, even with a push-pull of attraction between husband and wife. I enjoyed Juniper’s tart personality, her growing awareness that not everyone in the world is against her, and her blossoming love for Ash. And I liked how Ash appreciated the parts of Juniper’s personality that others found too thorny and how he saw beneath the hard shell life has forced her to grow. Recommended, especially for fans of MOCs and prickly heroines.
Misha Horne’s NAUGHTY AF is a sweet m/m Christmas romance between college-age stepbrothers (their parents recently married). In keeping with the other Horne books I’ve read, the heroes discover a mutual kink in spanking; and—also in keeping with Horne’s other books—discovering that mutual connection leads to a relationship that permits each man to mature emotionally and take steps to enter into responsible adulthood. Although I found NAUGHTY AF to be a little “fluffier” than the other Horne books I’ve read (LOOKING FOR TROUBLE and WORKING OUT THE KINKS), I still enjoyed it and recommend it.
I read some of the books in Addison Cain’s Alpha’s Claim series (set in the Omegaverse) starting with BORN TO BE BOUND. Cain is not a very good writer from a technical standpoint: she uses a lot of passive voice and tell-not-show, and don’t get me started on the purple prose she uses to describe erect penises. On the other hand, I found myself really getting into the story of an Omega heroine “claimed” by the Alpha leader of a rebel group that has taken over the “Dome” where she lives. An interesting aspect of the series is that the heroine resents how her hormones and her body’s responses have been manipulated for the Alpha’s purposes. Cain acknowledges that the whole Alpha-Omega power dynamic can only exist if both A&O are completely on-board with the total power exchange—and that the relationship will be dysfunctional and unworkable if that is not the case. Not objectively “good” books, but compulsively readable if you’re in the right mood—which, obviously, I was.
I am in the middle of reading a delightful book – Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand, by Carla Kelly. It was published in 1994, but it doesn’t feel dated in the way that some older historicals do. It has a lot of humor, a great hero and heroine, and even the child characters are great. I really need to read more Carla Kelly. She is such a great writer.
I’m sloooowly reading THE WITCH’S HEART because right now everything is going nice and fine for Angrboda (except from the being stabbed and burned thrice part) but I know the bad stuff is coming (because it says so in the synopsis) so I kind of want to good part to last.
And I’m alternating this with A MAN ON THE MOON by Andrew Chaikin, a non-fiction book on the Apollo missions. I’ve had this book sitting on my desk for a year now but I always got distracted by newer shinier books and well, you know, all the other stuff.
Anyway I finally decided to read this after reading EARTH BOUND by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner. I try not to read romances involving my own field (computer science) because it kind of defeats the purpose of reading romance for me but I decided to give this one a go because I’ve heard so many nice things about it here and its about the space program. She’s the head of computing (technically the deputy directory but her boss is never around) and he’s the head of engineering and for some reason they decide to have an affair which they promise themselves never to bring to work and vice-versa. It goes about as well as one can imagine. Surprisingly, aside from the secret affair and the all-consuming nature of the work they’re involved in, these two get along very well because he trusts her judgment implicitly and she knows her stuff. I was hoping for a bit more conflict and not just a failure to communicate because no one is right all the time, not even Charlie Eason, and a wrong call could jeopardise the entire mission.
I also read another book in this series, MIDNIGHT FEAST, about one of the astronauts trying to save his failing 20-year marriage. This is pretty sweet and low-conflict also. It’s basically two people who still love each other but have just never had the time to tell each other so due to all the space missions and the publicity and the six children.
Other stuff:
A MOMENTARY MARRIAGE by Candace Camp: Marriage of convenience story where he’s dying of a mysterious illness and she’s left destitute by her father’s recent death and since his family is terrible, he decides it’s better to leave her the money than let them have it. It sounds fun but the execution is pretty forgettable.
THE STRANGER TIMES by C.K. McDonnell: This was really fun! It’s about the staff who work for the tabloid paper The Stranger Times where they mostly write about ghosts, UFOs, and such. It’s unclear who in the paper actually believe the stuff they publish until people start turning up dead around Manchester and its clear that The Stranger Times is more than what it seems. The paranormal/underworld stuff is okay (though with some awkward exposition) but it’s really the characters that make this story. Hannah is the new assistant editor which turns out to be position with a high turnover rate since her boss Vincent Banecroft is rude and yells a lot and has issues of his own regarding his wife’s mysterious death. Hannah’s just coming off a divorce from her rich cheating ex-husband and refused to take any of his money as a matter of principle so she can’t turn down the job. Grace is the office manager basically running the paper and keeping everyone alive. The rest of the staff also have some stuff in their past they would rather leave behind. It reminded me quite a bit of the Rivers of London series.
GODS OF GOTHAM by Lyndsay Faye: This has also been highly recommended here and I can see why. It’s definitely not a romance and there’s a lot of terrible stuff that happens and mostly to children (CW for all kinds of abuses against children including some pretty graphic stuff). Tim Wilde is part of the newly-formed NYPD after a fire burns down his old house and job as a barman. His first case involves solving the brutal murder of a boy with ties to a brothel while trying to protect a little girl who literally runs into him wearing a nightgown covered in blood. I read some criticism on Goodreads about how Tim’s progressive attitudes towards things like women’s education, and immigrants, and gay people are anachronistic. Well so what. This was written by a 21st century author for a 21st century audience. Personally if Tim were more cynical I wouldn’t have finished the book. He’s not perfect though and he messes up a lot especially with regards to Mercy Underhill who he’s been in love with since forever but somehow never told her so and then he lashes out at her when he finds out she actually has a life he had no idea about. Tim’s saving grace is that he’s self-aware enough to know when he’s being a jerk and sincerely tries to make up for his mistakes.
I have been in a terrible, month long reading slump. Its been horrible. I’m trying different genres to push myself out of it. But I’m so excited to see @DiscoDollyDeb mention Mia West’s Into the Fire because this was the first book that seemed to mark the end of this slump. It seemed so long but if I try it in the small, bite-sized novellas I’m able to concentrate and I’m very invested, not just in the main couple but their whole community.
I also have a copy of Olivia Waite’s The care and feeding of waspish widows from the library, so I may give that a try today.
I just devoured the romantic suspense OPEN SECRET by Fiona Quinn. I have no idea how the book landed in my queue, but it is very timely and frightening (foreign and domestic agents using online gaming to both plan terrorist activities and ignite social unrest), and a pretty good romance. The hero is an FBI agent and the heroine, a romance book-editor, of all things. Sounds improbable, but it worked, and I’m going to add more of her books to my list.
My Whatcha Reading comment from last time vanished somehow (and it was long, sigh) so I’m trying to remember those…I had stayed away from KISS HIM, NOT ME! for a long time because I thought it was fat-shaming at times, but I admit the fandom aspects of it have grown on me, and Kae’s eventual love interest is pretty cool. I loved the yaoi one-shot FALLING IN LOVE UNDER THE BLUE SKY, featuring a young Tokyoite returning to a country house (and the secret crush he pines for) for the summer. It manages to be both incredibly sweet and compellingly raunchy (Yuuichi’s fantasies about Sei pop up constantly, and escalate quickly). MY BOYFRIEND IN ORANGE palled on me because the high-school heroine has so many TSTL moments, but hot manga firefighter guys compensate for a lot. I got hooked on CHIHAYAFURU, which begins when junior high student Chihaya befriends bullied country boy Arata, who teaches her the competitive card game karuta. Arata moves back home to help care for his ailing karuta-champion grandfather, and Chihaya forms a karuta club in high school. The sports and cultural aspects are riveting, and there seems to be a love triangle brewing (Chihaya’s friend Taiichi secretly loves her, while Chihaya’s original motivation for pursuing karuta was to see Arata again at a match one day). I’m about 3/4 into the series…there’s anime and three live-action movies too, which may help me catch up. Can’t wait for part two of TORITAN: BIRDS OF A FEATHER next month (wisecracky yaoi about a guy who can understand birds’ speech, and a guy who may or may not be a bird shifter).
SAMEJIMA-KUN AND SASAHARA-KUN sounds so good! Looking forward to THE MENOPAUSE MANIFESTO too, though I did have some problems with THE VAGINA BIBLE (namely the blanket statement that virgins and lesbians can’t get BV, which, though it’s rarer for those groups, is not true–that led me to wonder what else she was outspokenly wrong about. I’m a fan of Gunter’s in general, but that did bother me).
Laurel,
Reforming Lord Ragsdale by Carla Kelly is still free on Kindle
First of all, a huge shout-out to this rec league which my pandemic brain didn’t know it needed and salvaged an otherwise disappointing month of reading: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2019/07/the-rec-league-sex-puppy/
Re: above, I read MATING THE HUNTRESS (Talia Hibbert), OPEN HEARTS (Eve Dangerfield), and GOOD BOY (Sarina Bowen) and enjoyed all of them! I will retrospectively say THE ROOMMATE by Rosie Danan also fit into this archetype but I didn’t quite buy into the romance (just finished the book last night) although I loved the hero.
Other than that, I’ve had a sad string of disappointments/mehs 🙁 Reading lots of m/m is apparently just a gateway drug to hockey m/m which in turn is just me forever chasing the high I got from Rachel Reid’s HEATED RIVALRY. Nothing has quite matched up – I read Sarina Bowen’s HIM and UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR and while I think they were both well written I’ve realized the New Adult genre is not for me, especially in college settings.If they act their age I’m like ugh, these are like the college kids I’m a TA for and feel creeped out. If they don’t act their age, I’m like… “act your age!” So yeah. It’s not you, it’s me. I also read Avon Gale’s BREAKAWAY and EMPTY NET. First was fun, second was meh, I’ve realized Gale does a good job of showing character growth but the romance itself doesn’t feel very… romantic?
I’ve been meaning to try Tessa Bailey for a while but decided to start with, unusually, an m/m (she only has two I think). I read HEAT STROKE and really loved both the MCs they were so wonderful towards one another. Which led me to try more Tessa Bailey – TOO HARD TO FORGET which has been mentioned here a couple of times and phew. What. a. creepfest. I was honestly super grossed out by the origins of this relationship and no amount of grovel at the end could compensate for the icky feels. Maybe if you’re a football coach god getting it on with a college cheerleader, don’t start reciting the bible every time you have sex? Or call her “little girl”? Honestly it was so disturbing I was like, nope, no Bailey ever again.
I also read Harper St George’s THE HEIRESS GETS A DUKE after reading all the rave reviews (and what a gorgeous cover!) but I wasn’t feeling it. In an abstract way, i appreciated that the prose was well written and the characters were intelligent. But I feel I’ve read this heroine before in so many HRs now and I just didn’t find myself invested in the plot or MCs.
Lastly, because this book has really, really stayed with me since I read it last month – SEIZE THE FIRE by Laura Kinsale. Oof. Where to begin? What an amazing hero. What an intensely real depiction of PTSD. What a terrible heroine. What a bonkers plot. And what a disturbing end. I didn’t buy into the HEA because the only way they came together was the h falling so far from grace she found herself in the same bleak place as the H. It left me so sad and unsettled. But it also really disturbed me in another way. The last 150 pages are just pure, virulent, racism. Just pages and pages of murderous, conniving, barbaric, women-hating Muslims. I’m a Muslim and all I’m going to say is I wasn’t angry, I was just grieving for the waste of skilled writing that Kinsale excels at being put to use in a way that left me heart broken. I kept reading because I had to know the end, but it left me traumatized and I should have stopped.
Phew, that’s a lot I know. Pandemic brain means insomnia, which means lots of late night reading. Hoping for a better reading month in March!
Hey I actually finished some new to me books this time! Still going strong on rereads for soothing 3 am anxiety brain.
romance:
Anyone but You by Jennifer Crusie. Someone on here mentioned another one of her books in a comment, I checked the library app, saw the cute dog on this cover, started reading aaaand pulled a bad decisions book club. 40 year old divorced woman and younger man, forced proximity, funny banter. So good.
And some DNFs of books I was quite enjoying until 40-50% in, because stressed brain is ready to cut my losses and run as soon as things get angsty. Not naming names, it’s not them, it’s me.
non-romance:
Went to the actual physical library and checked out a stack of YA graphic novels hoping something would stick for my bored tween daughter. Then ended up reading some of them myself.
Cucumber Quest 1 and 2 by Gigi D.G. – tween approved! The artwork is so freaking cute, the worldbuilding has depth, the jokes are actually funny. Started out as a webcomic, plenty of free content in the archives.
Raven (teen titans) by Kami Garcia – great supporting characters, girl power and grown woman power, beautiful artwork.
All Summer Long by Hope Larson – nice and fluffy, musician protagonist.
The Plain Janes 1 and 2 by Cecil Castellucci – CW/TW for trauma, PTSD, depression/anxiety… maybe read some reviews first. I was pulled in by the artist girl protagonist and the author who I remembered reading before, but forgot how angsty she could get. There’s romance of the pining high school variety. Some great bits about the healing power of art, some weird plot holes and stereotypical side characters, and plenty of potentially triggering stuff as mentioned above.
Happy reading everyone!
I’ve read several of the books by Alice Coldbreath that @Vår mentioned above, and although they were consistently enjoyable, I consider them medieval-lite. Some of them are set in an imaginary kingdom which has medieval trappings, but minus the nitty-gritty parts of the Middle Ages. Coldbreath is now writing books set in the Victorian era. The first one is called “A Bride for the Prizefighter”. So far everything I’ve read is very low angst, so they work as an escapist read.
I am almost done reading “The Heiress Gets a Duke” by Harper St. George and loving it. The heroine is a business genius, the hero respects her brains and her sass, and the Gilded Age setting is wonderful. I can’t wait for the sequels so I may try something in her backlist, even though they seem to be mainly HH Viking romances, not my favorite!
I read a Paula Marshall book which I had somehow overlooked before, “Major Chancellor’s Mission”. It’s an older book, but very entertaining. I make a point of seeking out her books because while some are just so-so, several of them are gems.
I realized there were a couple of novellas I had missed which are part of Elizabeth Essex’s Reckless Brides series, so I am catching up on them. I love everything about her books, I can’t recommend them enough.
Lastly, I am reading the 3rd Inspector Ben Ross mystery by Ann Granger, “A Better Quality of Murder”. It’s not totally gripping me, but it’s well written, a typical Scotland Yard procedural plot, with good Victorian London atmosphere.
Feeling the winter/pandemic blues along with everyone else.
The only book I would actually recommend would be SAVE THE DATE by Annabeth Albert and Wendy Quails. M/M contemporary, sweet with a nice emotional arc.
Did not enjoy A WORTHY OPPONENT, by Katee Robert, LOVE KILLS TWICE, by Rien Gray, the novellas in HOW THE DUKES STOLE CHRISTMAS, or AGNES AND THE HITMAN by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer. Could have been me, but a common theme was “I do bad things (like leave for more than a decade or kill people for money, or run a criminal organization), but I’m still lovable,” and it did not work for me. For instance, in Gray’s book the heroine’s ex was horrible to her, but she had the money/power – having him killed seemed wrong, even from her point of view. She wasn’t in fear for her life, or desperate to escape, and she didn’t have the guts to kill him herself. I had hoped for a JANE DOE level of satisfaction, and this was not that. Of course, these books were read with impeachment trials in the background, so I may not be a fair judge.
Going to try and give myself some time this long weekend to dig into the recommendations, so thank you all! Hope you are all staying safe and sane!
@GradStudentEscapist if you are looking for m/m hockey, I suggest Taylor Fitzpatrick. She has three published books so far. THROWN OFF THE ICE was recommended here by @DiscoDollyDeb, which is how I found her. That book is pretty heartbreaking, so fair warning. Most of her other stories do have a more traditional HEA, though. Her published stuff started on AO3 and tumblr, where she has a treasure trove of stories all set in her m/m hockey world. You can find her as youcouldmakealife on both AO3 and tumblr. YOU COULD MAKE A LIFE is also the name of her first book.
Amy Aislin has a series of m/m hockey books that I also enjoyed. Her books fall right after Taylor Fitzpatrick and Rachel Reid for me.
@Lainey I am right there with you on the slow read of THE WITCH’S HEART. I want it to last. I have been in a pretty severe reading slump, and I am hoping this book will bring me out of it.
The Mia West compendium that @DDD mentioned above is 99¢ for US Kindle readers.
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fire-Complete-Mia-West-ebook/dp/B085WZW5L7/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=mia+west&qid=1613246912&sr=8-3
Since last time ~
— The Dutch House: A Novel by Ann Patchett for my book group. Had I not been reading this for the group, I’d have put it aside early on. However, by the halfway point, I was quite invested and overall I enjoyed it.
— a prequel novella A Haunting at Midwinter (San Amaro Investigations #0.5) by Kai Butler which I enjoyed. I hope, at some point, to read on in the series.
— Chuffed (Finnshifters Book 1) by Tia Fielding; this was a pleasant contemporary romance, but I’m not inclined to read on in the series.
— Fifty in Reverse: A Novel by Bill Flanagan is a book which I quite enjoyed; I’ll recommend it to others who enjoy books with time travel or similar themes. It’s a quick read and I finished it in one evening. It’s a very new book and even mentions COVID-19 in passing. I also found it interesting that one of the cover blurbs was from Salman Rushdie.
— Finder (The Finder Chronicles Book 1) by Suzanne Palmer; this was recommended by SK Dunstall, the authors of one of my favorite series. I enjoyed it and plan to read on in the series.
— The Sergeant’s Lady by Susanna Fraser which is the first historical romance that I’ve read in a while. I enjoyed it. It’s unusual in that the heroine is wealthy while the hero is a commoner.
— Hunting by Andrea K Höst which I quite enjoyed. Unlike the author’s Touchstone series, this was fantasy rather than science fiction. (While I liked this, I don’t imagine this is a book I’ll be quick to reread as I did with the other series.) This book would be a fine read for teens as well as adults.
— And All the Stars by Andrea Höst. I enjoyed this science fiction book (which had a surprising revelation at one point), but I also found it less straightforward than some of the author’s other books.
— reread Stray (Touchstone Book 1) by Andrea K. Höst; thus far, the Touchstone series is my favorite of the books by Andrea Höst that I’ve read. I enjoyed this once again. (Just a reminder that this book is free to Kindle readers.)
— and a good number of the hundreds of samples I have on my Kindle. I made a small dent but acquiring samples is much quicker than reading them!
@Laurel, I would put MRS DREW PLAYS HER HAND as one of my top ten romances of all time. Maybe even top 5. I’m almost afraid to reread it b/c I’m worried about it not holding up.
I’ve only finished seven books this year but I’ve abandoned another seven, some after a chapter or two and some when well over 50% or even 75%. So my 2021 resolution of not wasting good reading time on books that take too long to get good or that take too long to just finish already is going quite well! Focussing on am I really enjoying this book rather than chalking up another stat is very liberating.
@FashionablyEvil , any specific books you recommend by Deanna Raybourne? The other authors on your list are autobuys for me, so I was excited to see a new-to-me one!!
I’m enjoying reading for #SnowInLoveBingo – I have 5 bingos!
Other Half (PsyCop #12) by Jordan Castillo Price – 4/5 stars. Not at all stand alone, but so, so satisfying! I surprised myself by really getting into Vic and Jacob’s wedding. Just as the characters were surprised. They use their wedding as an excuse to do some secret sleuthing so they end up doing a lot of wedding things so it will look normal and yeah, they get into it.
Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur – 4/5 stars. Cute and tropey fake relationship ff bi romance set in Seattle.
Harbor (Beards & Bondage, #3) by Rebekah Weatherspoon – 3.5 stars. This has a lot of the things I like about Rebekah Weatherspoon’s romances – interesting and relatable characters, hot sex, strong friendships and found family. But the relationship development was lacking, at least for me.
This is the last in the trilogy but it worked as a stand-alone for me. I don’t like romantic suspense and I’d say this book isn’t really RS – there is a horrific crime but it was committed and solved before the book starts.
Checking It Twice by Lucy Bexley – 3/5 stars. Cute f/f holiday romance between a super organized wedding planner and a messy graphic designer / sister of the bride.
M/M books I’ve enjoyed lately:
PICTURE LOVE by AF Zoelle —This series features some sweet, no angst, insta-love couples that are funny, as well as combined with heat. This one also has a sexy French man.
WORLD ACCORDING TO LIAM by VL Locey — continues following an adorable couple that also features a charming nephew that one of the MCs blogs about. I would not consider this a stand alone.
WHERE THE LOVELIGHT GLEAMS, and SANTA DADDY by Kiera Andrews — I listened to both of these on audio and enjoyed them with their Christmas themes and excellent narration.
RYKER by RJ Scott and VL Locey — a NA enemies to lovers with a hockey theme
VALENTINE’S HEARTS by RJ and VL — a novella that comes back to the couple from Ryker with a serious undertone that has a deserved content warning.
US, and EPIC by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen — these two were re-reads for me in audio form because I can’t ever get enough of Wesmie, they make me so happy.
A couple M/F books that I enjoyed:
THE HOT MESS AND THE HEARTTHROB by Pippa Grant — I know that this author has been discussed in this group before in the context of not being for everyone. I always enjoy the happiness that comes through in her books and how they make me feel good from reading them. The “hot mess” portion of this book will be understood by every mom out there. Pippa nailed a lot of feelings that permeate motherhood.
CRAZY STUPID BROMANCE by Lyssa Kay Adams — I have listened to each of this series’ books in audio and the absolute best part is the book club segments. I laughed out loud while driving, especially the parts where the guys were being enlisted to help with wedding planning. The kidney donation part of the storyline was not what I was looking for though.
In nonfiction, I’m reading Work Won’t Love you Back by Sarah Jaffe. I highly recommend it!
Also excellent is Aliette de Bodard’s Fireheart Tiger: F/F romance novella in a universe inspired by historic Vietnam. I can’t say much more without spoilers but it’s going on my keeper shelf.
@DiscoDollyDeb, based on your recommendation, I just read Genevieve Turner’s FOREVER A SOLDIER
It was FREE! At least on my kobo. And so good! The multicultural aspect was amazing and the heroine’s super cool. Thank you for the recommendation!
I love these threads. They remind me of the joy of reading.
Just finished PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER (collection of three novellas) by Katherine Anne Porter. The title story was superb – based on the author’s actual experiences during the 1918 Pandemic. It’s the final story in the book, I recommend skipping ahead and reading it first, which is what I did. The other two stories are good, but not out of the park, YMMV. But I highly recommend PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER. Although, there is nothing happy about the endings of anything in this book, fyi.
Also reading a lot of cookbooks – SIMPLY by Sabrina Ghayour is great. The things I’ve made so far have all been tasty, fairly easy, and end up looking like the photo in the cookbook! The curry spice parmesan French toasts were really good.
NEW SUNS by Allyson Johnson (‘there’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns’ tagline from Octavia Butler – it’s a collection of short speculative fiction by people of color). I thought the first several stories were the strongest, there were a few in the middle that didn’t capture me, but on the whole it was a very strong collection and I recommend. The first story in particular will stick with me.
Whipped through HENCHMEN OF ZENDA by KJ Charles in two days — hilarious! So well done! How could they channel all the crazy of Prisoner of Zenda and yet make the story so perfect for now? I’m in awe. I was reading parts of it out loud to the spouse and interrupting his immersion in Tana French’s latest.
Have to reread THE DUKE AND I for a book group, so that’s next. Also working through THE WAY OF THE WRITER (in audiobook) by Charles Johnson.
@Jules: I hope you get out of your reading slump soon! I’m at 39% of the book and the sh*t has not yet hit the fan, Angrboda is still happy(ish) and Loki is being, well, Loki.
I’m currently adoring the audio book versions of Harrow the Ninth and Gideon the Ninth. Moira Quirk does an amazing job and her voice for Ianthe is just *chef’s kiss* Next up is the hardcover of Winter’s Orbit, but I know I’m going to binge-read so I have to wait for a day when I can carve out enough time to do so. And I recently finish The House in the Cerulean Sea, which made me very happy and I highly recommend it.