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!
@Taylor—definitely the Veronica Speedwell series! The first one (A CURIOUS BEGINNING) is on sale for $2.99 on Kindle. (Book 6 is coming out in March.). I will say, they are not romance, per se, although Deanna Raybourn has appeared on the podcast here a couple of times. I adore Veronica and Stoker, although the slow burn is VERY slow and I want them to have all the amazing sex that they CLEARLY should be having! (I actually own all the books on paper, which is a high bar at the moment! I have pre-ordered the last two in hardcover.)
It’s been a while since I read her Julia Grey series—those are more straight up mysteries, as I recall, about a widow and a gentleman inquiry agent. She also has a new series starting I’m not sure when, about lady assassins? detectives? in New Orleans that I am keeping an eye out for.
@FashionablyEvil, thank you! Grabbing the first speedwell now, and thrilled to have new book yumminess ahead 😀
Earlier this month, I read a book that I absolutely devoured and loved. It was not a romance and it needed many trigger warnings (child abuse,especially) and I will mention some of that in this note. The book is Strong at the Broken Places by Clayton Lindemuth and I got it through kindle unlimited. Our protagonist is an extreme distance runner and the entire book is the Badwater 135 that starts in Death Valley and ends at the Mt Whitney trailhead. Nick is about to retire. Each chapter is another part of the race, discussing the running and mechanics thereof and also examining his life as a runner. His crew chief has just been found murdered so the police are also following him as he is a suspect. He uses his personal pain to push himself as we see plenty of that, starting with his very abusive childhood, his unfaithful wife, his daughter’s suicide. What I loved about the book: it sucks you in and you are along for the run, it is very knowledgeable out the details of running, and Nick actually shows great character growth as he examines his life.
I also comfort read the first two of Anne Bishop’s The Others series. Continue to love and recommend.
Nalini Singh’s Love Hard is part of an ongoing series. I love other books in the series more than this one but this was also good. Our hero lost his wife shortly after their child was born, leaving him a single teen dad. He reunites with her best friend five years later at his brother’s wedding. Sparks fly, misunderstandings are overcome. And the kid is more than just a plot moppet.
The bitchery convinced me to try The Hidden Legacy series, and oh my, that just blew the rest of my schedule to smithereens! I had to power through ALL FIVE OF THE BOOKS in the series one after another. There was enough disruption in the schedule that my husband had to ask, what ARE you reading? 😀 The world-building is addictive. I admit to being a weakling and skipping the action/violence/gore parts but else-wise I gobbled it all up. The romance is realllllly good too but it was the worldbuilding that just sucked me in. I LOVE how the alpha heroes respect the heroines’ boundaries and work as partners.
Which brings me to Lisa Kleypas’s Smooth Talking Stranger. I could not believe this was a Kleypas. It felt so off. This was a huge UGH to me because of the way the hero believes that the heroine’s “no” to physical overtures is a covert yes, and just powers through her no till she lays writhing in a fog of lust. I could not believe it the first time it happened. In fairness I have to admit that that scene was enough of a turn-off for me to skip vast swathes of what happens next. The no-yes happens more than once. As I said, I had to double-check that it was a Kleypas book.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo: this is really well written. But I guessed the surprise at the end as soon as some elements of the story were introduced. Probably because enough of the reviews remarked upon how much they hadn’t anticipated the twist. Worth reading.
The Gentleman and The Thief by Sarah M. Eden: The second in the series, and a lot of fun. This series features protagonists who aren’t titled, so if anyone’s in the mood for romance sans earls and such, this is a good option. I’m tempted to check out the author’s extensive backlist!
Scandal Above Stairs: I have to think STBT for introducing me to this series. This is such a warm hug of a series. I love it much more than the Lady Charlotte mysteries. There’s a coziness to this one. Plus, it features a chef (she calls herself a cook) and I LOVE the food scenes!
I also read a lot of picture and early chapter books with my toddler and our current favorites include Catherine Rayner, and Kenneth Kragel! Rayner’s artwork is dreamy and gorgeous and just plain soothing. We’re so glad that the library near our home finally opened up for pick-up and drop service! We also enjoyed Ben Hatke’s Julia’s house duology this week!
The size of my TBR is spiking a lot of anxiety, which should be impossible, but here I am. I’ve delayed all my Libby holds in order to address this embarrassment of riches.
To my absolute delight, I finally listened to the Audible edition of Gene Doucette’s THE SPACESHIP NEXT DOOR. I did verbal cartwheels at DA over this book about a spaceship that lands in a small town and absolutely nothing happens for years. Until of course something does. These characters are wonderful, weird and so funny. I’m getting the next in the two-book series and looking forward to the other Doucette titles languishing (see above).
Also finally read PROVENANCE by Ann Leckie. I have only a vague idea of what’s going on in her books, but I am here for every word. This one actually seemed a little more accessible than the Radch series, but I love them all.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE FIVE AND DIME by Connie Willis was a gem of a Christmas book. The idea of memory, traumatic and otherwise, and bringing people together was so welcome. Also funny as Willis usually is.
Trevor Noah’s BORN A CRIME was illuminating and heartbreaking. Highly recommended.
THE ARCHIVE OF THE FORGOTTEN is A. J. Hackwith’s follow-up to THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN. The characters from that book have survived the trauma in Hell and, honestly, like characters in WUTHERING HEIGHTS, could use some serious therapy. Burying what happened to them, not talking to each other in any meaningful way means they are working again at cross purposes. They do figure things out, there is great understanding. I am hopeful any future book can go on from there because this is an astonishing world.
Currently reading PRINCESS FLORALINDA AND THE FORTY-FLIGHT TOWER by Tamsyn Muir and loving her take on the princess in the tower. So far, so awesome.
What am I reading? Well, for one thing, the internet as I try to remember the purpose of and how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. God save me from distance learning and 8th grade algebra.
Well, let’s see, I followed up When Gods Die with Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz, which was recommended on Twitter by the fabulous Robin Bradford. I really enjoyed it. It hitched a bit getting started, and I could have used him talking just a schoche less about snobby vodka, but the action scenes and plotting were solid, and I like the idea of a trained government spook that just decides to stop spooking and become a guardian angel instead. I ended up buying a copy for my dad, and he really liked it as well. And then my world went a bit kablooey for a few days, as my beloved grandfather passed on, and thanks to the fucking pandemic, I was not able to join in saying goodbye to him and laying him to rest. That said, what I was able to help with, since I had to stay in town with my quarantined child (close contact at school), I was able to play my part by staying overnights at their house and taking care of their animals (old, arthritic dog that needs 3 am potty breaks, middle-aged cat, and two teenaged kitten hellraisers, one of which, I shit you not, plays fetch), so that the parents could go to help with Grandpa’s passing. My parents recently converted to satellite (they hate it, buyer’s remorse for days), and I was wary of the new setup and frankly unwilling to learn it, so I took a damn doorstop with me, The Sunne In Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. 900+ pages of the life story of Richard III. It was a deep dive, very immersive. Penman clearly came down on the side that Richard was not involved in the disappearance of the Princes In the Tower, and it was a good way to pass those nights alone in the house. Nine days later (it took me a bit), I finished it, and decided to get all up in a novella, just to give the brain a bit of a break from big huge books, so I got my Murderbot on, and read Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, which is MB #2. It was exactly what you need from Murderbot, quick, snarky, and with some entertaining action. Also, I probably don’t need to think too hard about how relatable said Murderbot is. I too often wish humans would get their shit together so I can enjoy my stories in peace. From there I eeny-meeny-miney-moed my way into reading Faithless In Death by JD Robb, which Past Crystal had apparently preordered. Not that I have any memory of doing so, but oh well. 50-odd books into a series, you’re bound to have some variation in quality. Am glad to report that this was one of the better ones that she has done of late. It had an engaging case, which probably has to do with the fact that I am all over a cult story (note to self, finish watching The Vow already). Then it was off to The High Republic in a galaxy far, far away, so I read Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland. I like Ireland, and this is a MG novel, only about 150 pages, so it read more like a novella for me (it was roughly the same length as Murderbot). That said, it had a nice, compact, well-told story, I very much enjoyed Avon and J-6 (we know I love a snarky droid), and we see a young Jedi that, in the throes of grief and rage, nearly embraces the Dark Side. Which brings me to now, in which I just fired up Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. Bromance Book Club made me laugh, and it’s been a heavy few weeks, both personally and in my reading, so I wanted something that would make me laugh, and I do believe that this will do the trick, based on the first few pages.
A quick note on my Grandpa. He was 91, and had a paperback Western collection to thrill the most avaricious book dragon (I have some of them, they live on my bookshelf in his memory). He was an inveterate candy sneak, no Snickers bar was safe. He loved having granddaughters and great-grandchildren. He grew the best cucumbers, tomatoes, and corn that I have ever seen in his garden. He was still going hard into his 80s, and by that I mean that he loved being ATVed around his property; I would drive the ATV in question and he was pointing me toward the muddier, woodsier parts, as that’s where he wanted me to go, and asked that I not be stingy with the gas. He was married to my grandma for almost 70 years, and he loved her for every minute of it. They were the HEA. I miss him, but I’m glad he was here.
@Crystal, my sympathies on the death of your grandfather; he sounds like a wonderful man.
@Crystal:
I also send condolences on the death of your grandfather.
I read Sunne in Splendour several years ago and thought it was a very good book. I then went on to read the first two books in her Plantagenet Series. I hope to get back to this series at some point. Maybe now would be a good time to do it in her memory since she recently passed away from cancer.
I was incorrect. Penman died of pneumonia, although I believe she had other health conditions.
Let the record show that I’ve re-read Return of the Thief multiple times (the audiobooks are A++ honestly) and I bought my best friend the first three books for her birthday on the 9th. She’s on book two already and I regret not just buying all of the books for her. I just…love the whole series so much and would LOVE recommendations for books that are similar in their masterful layers, romances, lush mythology and world building, and the ability to reread a gazillion times and go “Oh. OH. THIS THING CONNECTED TO THAT OTHER THING TWO BOOKS AGO. WOW.” (seriously. everything all falls into place a million times over. How does she do it?)
ugh. I just. LOVE this series so much. (Also I was THRILLED my side-characters ship of T/R was canon. heck yeah. I KNEW it!) I have a huge TBR list, but now i’m listening to Queen of Attolia on audiobook for the zillionth time so when my best friend texts me I can cackle.
I’m currently re-reading fantasy favourites from my teens/early twenties during my lunchbreak at work bc it’s easier to pause when you already – vaguely – know what’s going to happen. Right now I’m re-reading “Dark Horse” by Mary H. Herbert and it feels so lovely to explore this world again with all it’s familiar characters and places but also wondering what would be different if the book was written/published today. I also have very fond memories of reading this books for the first time when I was still in school and a friend of mine borrowed it to me and we discussed it afterwards. Oh, the nostalgia.
I’ve also rediscovered my love for shoujo manga so I’m currently powering through “Kirameki no Lion Boy” (a shy girl who is besotted with a manga series and a reserved boy try to figure out how to relationship) by Yoko Maki and “Horimiya” (a popular girl who is secretly a homebody and a quiet boy who is secretly a punk discover each others secret identities and fall in love) by Daisuke Hagiwara and Hero. What I appreciate about both of these series – aside from being hella cute – is the subtle humour through little comments in the panels and the nuanced depiction of friendship.
Overall I’m just having a good reading time right now which was very much needed after a somewhat slumpy January.
@Des: if you’re ok with urban fantasy, try the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. She drops hints and foreshadowing in each book that doesn’t pay off until several books later, and they really reward rereading. The series levels up at book 3 and stays there.
@Crystal, sending both condolences on the death of your grandfather and solidarity on the distance learning/8th grade algebra. We’ve had a lot of algebra-related tears over here, and not just from the 8th grader.
Reading-wise, this has been a tough month for me. After starting off the year reading WAY more than usual, this month I’ve been finding it hard to settle on anything. I did a reread of the entire Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott, including the fourth book DEEP which I had not read before. While I love the other books in the series, particularly the third, the fourth was just meh for me. The library delivered me THE SWITCH by Beth O’Leary, which was lovely. Then, I struggled through the first 40% and ultimately DNF a book that everyone seems to love, MY FAKE RAKE by Eva Leigh. Why? I have no idea! Objectively I knew this was a good book, well-written, interesting characters, I just could not get myself to care about it. Sometimes this happens and it’s way more about me and whatever is going on around me than the book itself. Currently “whatever is going on around me” includes the aforementioned algebra drama, general teen/pre-teen malaise in the house, possible hybrid school decisions, and a bunch of other stressful stuff, so I’m planning to come back to this book when things are a little less uncertain. Deciding I needed familiar ground, I did a reread of some of Christina Lauren’s Beautiful series and that was OK for a couple of days. Now I’m reading THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME because it came up at the library and having never read any Bridgertons before the TV series spurred me to pick up the first one, I wanted to continue the series. So far I’m finding it good but not great. I love Kate. I just don’t like Anthony that much.
I’m really not over how much of an a-hole paragon of toxic masculinity he was in the first book, and while I’m sympathetic to his issues around his father’s death, somehow that wasn’t enough to make me feel sympathetic toward his character as a whole. Here’s hoping next month brings me either less angst or better reading, or possibly both!
Throwing some love behind books mentioned upthread:
@Arijo – Samejima-kun and Sasahara-kun is just so good. (Re: the shark thing: the “same” in Samejima’s name is the kanji for shark, so it’s a fun visual pun.)
@Vår – Alice Coldbreath’s Vawdrey Brothers/Karadok books came to my attention via a past WAYR comment comparing Coldbreath to vintage Amanda Quick (a powerful rec for me, and I’m so grateful).
@DDD – I’m afraid Addison Cain is forever tarnished for me by the omegaverse lawsuit, but there’s a scene in Stolen that chills me in recollection (even though it was so familiar to me that I feel like it was “borrowed” from another book or movie…lol at the irony and curse my swiss cheese memory because I feel like the original source is on the tip of my brain).
As for me, I’m currently slogging through EVER AFTER ALWAYS by Chloe Liese. In many ways this feels like a book tailor-made for smart bitches…have I missed mention of Liese’s Bergman Brothers series in previous WAYRs? I want to like the book, but
1) its neurodiverse cast with a variety of physical challenges reads first as a bunch of labels to me. This could be in part because I haven’t read the two earlier books in the series, but I think my reaction could be avoided by letting the characters enter a scene without telling me about their place on the autism spectrum or their anxiety disorder or the arthritis necessitating the use of a cane. Just let these diagnoses surface through normal interaction, please. (Also, the diversity doesn’t appear to stretch to race.)
and
2) the heroine is label-less so far (21% in) and consequently comes across as unsympathetic compared to her emotionally vulnerable, anxiety-ridden, workaholic husband.
@GradStudentEscapist Love Heated Rivalry! Empty Net is my least favourite in Gale’s Scoring Chances, and I think it needs the character set-up in Power Play, so maybe try others in the series? In particular Power Play and Coach’s Challenge have older MC’s, so are not NA. I’d also recommend Winging It by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James.
Favorite read this month so far has to be ‘Somewhere In France’ by Jennifer Robson…Oh Robert Fraser is EVERYTHING. Le sigh…