We’re approaching the end of August and that means it’s time for our second monthly Whatcha Reading post!
We want to hear all about what you’ve been reading, though here are some of our books from the month!
Shana: I’m halfway into the audiobook of Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) It’s a little slow plot-wise, but really hitting my sweet spot with its caring space collective. I also just started One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.
Elyse: I just finished a A Lot Like Adios which is a second chance, friends to lovers romance. I really liked it. Now I’m reading The Family Plot by Megan Collins. ( A | BN | K ) It’s a strange thriller about a family obsessed with true crime that live in old mansion on an island.
Claudia: Busy time with back-to-school stuff and other obligations plus I’m still on a bit of a reading slump. But I’m finishing The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian and it is highly enjoyable.
Catherine: I just inhaled The Scoundrel’s Daughter by Anne Gracie, ( A | BN | K ) and I loved it. Such a gentle tender romance. And the secondary romance was hilarious and adorable.
Also, not a book, but I broke my glasses on the weekend so I spent two days mostly listening to podcasts, and Natalie Haynes Stands Up For The Classics is my new favourite thing. Haynes is a classicist and a standup comedian and each episode is standup comedy about a different Greek or Roman philosopher or poet or empress etc. It’s hilarious and smutty and educational! I am completely delighted by this podcast.
So, whatcha reading? Tell us in the comments below!
Greetings from southeastern Louisiana where, here on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, we battening down the hatches and awaiting Hurricane Ida—on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, no less. I’m up early—obsessively watching The Weather Channel (while we still have power). Meanwhile, books—
Part One
I read two books in the Vino & Veritas series of m/m romances from Sarina Bowen’s Heart Eyes Press; both books reminded me in certain ways of books from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series:
It was interesting to read Leslie McAdams’s UNDONE not long after reading Rachel Reid’s ROLE MODEL because both of them deal in part with gay/bi men having to address the toxic masculinity of their fathers and unlearning the destructive lessons of being raised in an environment where that type of thinking is standard. In UNDONE, insurance salesman Jason is in a rut—he works for his father’s company, but feels no great passion for what he does; he has a friends-with-benefits situation with a local woman, but has never had a strong, loving sexual relationship with anyone. Jason, who has always identified as straight, needs a new roommate, and this is when Murph, an out-and-proud V&V employee, enters the frame (I haven’t read a lot of the Vino & Veritas books, but several of them seem to follow the “I didn’t know I was bi until I got a gay roommate” formula). So begins a friends-to-lovers-with-bi-awakening story. As a love story, UNDONE is unobjectionable (if a little speedy in the “from-roommates-to-pants-feelings” department), but I actually think it’s much more interesting as the story of a man who realizes he is bi and has to confront his straight white male privilege and the toxicity of his father’s worldview.
L.A. Witt’s AFTERMATH put me in mind of Rachel Reid’s TOUGH GUY in that both books include one hero who has sexual performance issues. In AFTERMATH, Brent, a former hockey player, was in a career-ending automobile accident and, despite numerous surgeries & ongoing physical therapy, continues to suffer from intense pain and ED. Brent meets Jon, a massage therapist and amateur musician, when Jon is singing at Vino & Veritas. Jon is recently divorced (from a woman) and shares custody of his young son with his ex. Brent & Jon begin as friends-with-benefits (although, with Brent’s situation, it’s really more “friends-with-lots-of-cuddling”), but grow closer as each helps the other come to terms with the curve balls life has thrown at them (chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, divorce). The men also adopt two dogs from the local pound; these dogs become important characters in the book and help their owners heal physically and emotionally (cw/tw: one of the dogs shows signs of having been abused by her previous owner). If I have a quibble with AFTERMATH, it’s that Jon (who is 40) describes coming to awareness of his bisexuality by saying that he thought he was gay until he realized he was also attracted to women: “I didn’t actually know what bisexuality was. I mean this was twenty-plus years ago.” Huh? Nobody knew about bisexuality in 2001? Old lady here to tell the young-uns that we knew what bisexuality was by the turn of the 21st century!
[CW/TW: death of a spouse, suicide of a secondary character, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, abusive childhood] The beautiful writing and sympathetic heroine of Jennifer Hartmann’s THE WRONG HEART—about a grieving widow who makes contact with the recipient of her late husband’s heart—manage to keep an uber-angsty, coincidence-filled storyline from completely tipping over into melodramatic Jodi Picoult territory. In THE WRONG HEART, the heroine and the heart recipient agree to keep things anonymous and begin emailing each other; an interesting dynamic—restricted solely to emails—develops as they share elements of their lives, but no identifying personal details. Meanwhile, the heroine grows close to a man she meets at group therapy for people who have attempted/ideated suicide (cw/tw: there is a lot about suicide in this book). She eventually hires him to do some remodeling work in her home. This man is completely closed off, the product of an abusive childhood and subsequent neglect in a foster home, but the heroine feels a strong attraction to him and he can’t seem to help his reciprocal feelings for her. I’ll refrain from sharing more of the plot, but will simply say that the literary term “dramatic irony” comes into play here. I found THE WRONG HEART to be compulsively readable despite the occasional OTT emotional interactions of the characters. Recommended if you’re looking for some well-written “sturm und drang.”
Although Layla Reyne has been hit-or-miss for me, when I saw the moody-sexy cover (credit Wander Aguiar Photography) of her latest book, WHAT WE MAY BE, I immediately wanted to know more. The book’s premise is interesting: ten years after the breakup of their MMF-menage, an FBI agent re-enters the lives of his two former lovers—a male college professor and a female police officer (the two have remained friends, but not lovers, in the ensuring decade). Although they try to deny their feelings, all three are back in bed together within a few hours of reuniting. Reyne can write a hot three-way scene for sure, but a rather convoluted suspense plot involving waaaaay too many characters and elaborate murders featuring Shakespearean references (what is this, “Theater of Blood”?) detracts from the emotional push & pull of three people trying to determine what their future together might look like. I’ll give Reyne credit for keeping me guessing as to the identity of the villain (I was backing the wrong horse all the way), but the cluttered plot couldn’t seem to decide if it was a menage with suspense elements or a suspense with menage elements. And it bugged me how often three supposedly mature people in their thirties failed to use their words or share important information with one another. On the whole, I’d describe WHAT WE MAY BE as three characters in search of plausible motivation and better communication skills.
Part Two
K.L. Kreig’s intense and emotional BLACK SWAN AFFAIR (published in 2016) is about flawed people involved in a messy situation. It asks the question, can we make ourselves stop loving someone we know is “bad” for us and fall in love with someone objectively “better”? Mav, the heroine of BLACK SWAN AFFAIR, has been in love with Killian, her sister’s husband, for years (long before he married her sister). This wasn’t a one-sided thing—Mav and Killian were lovers for a long time before he married her sister. After the marriage, in a fit of retaliatory pique, Mav married Killian’s brother, Kael—a man who has always loved her. So she’s married to one brother and hopelessly in love with the other—even though her friends keep telling her that Killian has shown himself to be unworthy of her love and she should “make” herself love Kael. The action moves back and forth in time, so we see how feelings evolve between Mav and the two men in her life. Kreig does a great job with ambiguity in the plot: Is Killian the total asshole his abrupt marriage makes him seem to be? Why doesn’t he answer the one question Mav always asks—why did he marry her sister? And is Kael’s love for Mav completely unselfish? Or did he have motives beyond love when he married her? What’s with all of his out-of-town trips? And is it just coincidence that both brothers work for the company owned by Mav’s father? Key quote: “You can’t stop loving someone just because you tell yourself to. I wish it worked that way.” Recommended.
I continued my stroll through Claire Kingsley’s back catalog by reading her seven-book Jetty Beach series (small-town romances set in a coastal community in the Pacific Northwest). Much as Zoe York’s Wardham series is not quite as deep or rich as her later Pine Harbour series, so I think Kingsley’s Jetty Beach books aren’t quite as immersive an experience as her more recent Miles Family or Bailey Brothers books. However, similar to the Wardham series, the Jetty Beach books are still worthwhile reads with engaging characters, gentle humor, and plenty of emotion and heat; plus you can see how certain themes and plot points in Jetty Beach have been expanded and amplified in Kingsley’s later work. Although each Jetty Beach book is a stand-alone, I think it’s best to read the series in order because characters do recur and timelines overlap. (Also, all the books have been retitled since they were first published in 2016-2017.) In order, the Jetty Beach books are:
BEHIND HIS EYES (originally titled, MUST BE LOVE): a couple have to surmount the obstacles of a long-distance relationship, along with one partner’s clinical depression.
ONE CRAZY WEEK (originally titled, MUST BE CRAZY): a teacher and a billionaire fall for each other. Unusual for a “Billionaire Romance” in that the change in the heroine’s circumstances is not presented as completely positive; and the story includes interesting exploration of the differences in the h&h’s lifestyles and their understanding of wealth & money.
MESSY PERFECT LOVE (originally titled, MUST BE FATE): opposites attract between a workaholic doctor and a free-spirited new arrival in town. Marred by a heroine who is a bit too manic-pixie-dream-girl for my liking, along with the tired “bitchy ex-girlfriend” character.
OPERATION GET HER BACK (originally titled, MUST BE HOME): second-chance between former high school sweethearts who haven’t seen each other for over a decade. He’s a veteran with PTSD and she’s a divorced woman with a controlling, gaslighting ex. This was my favorite of the seven Jetty Beach books—featuring my ultimate romance novel recipe: a beautifully-written emotional-nuanced journey with angsty complications and a splash of melancholy.
WEEKEND FLING (originally titled, COULD BE FOREVER): can an overthinking, type-A heroine and a spontaneous bartender hero make things works beyond a hot weekend fling? Well, this is Romancelandia.
GOOD GIRL NEXT DOOR (originally titled, COULD BE THE ONE): sheltered young woman asks her neighbor (a bit of a bad boy) to help her find her inner “Sandy at the end of Grease”—with predictable results.
[CW/TW: rape, stalking] THE PATH TO YOU (originally titled, COULD BE THE REASON): this is the only book in the Jetty Beach series for which a full-on trigger warning is necessary—the heroine (a waitress in the chef-hero’s restaurant) was raped by her brother’s best friend, bullied by her clueless family into dropping the charges, and is now on the run from the rapist’s obsessive stalking. Naturally, she is both physically and emotionally wary—and the hero understands her need to take things very slowly as their relationship develops. A good romance that deals realistically with trauma and recovery. (The book also includes a epilogue that catches up with all the couples in the series—if you don’t care for baby-filled epilogues, this may not be for you.)
Still mostly reading kids’ books and trying to relax my brain, but I did really enjoy LAZINESS DOES NOT EXIST by Devon Price. Absolutely as wonderful and helpful as I thought it would be and right up there with HOW TO DO NOTHING by Jenny Odell. Ever since my 20s, but particularly since I became an on again off again stay at home mom, I struggle with ambivalent feelings about my desire to live at a slower frequency than a lot of people (especially living in the ambitious culture of Washington DC). I kind of need these books to recalibrate and remind myself to be true to myself and what works for me and my family. I’m sure there’s a lot there that could resonate with people whose lives have been shook up and forever altered by the pandemic.
Not at all a romance, but I have to give a short plug (maybe again?) for the MAC B. KID SPY books by Mac Barnett. If your kids have read all the Captain Underpants/Dog Man books, this is a good next step. You see, now Mac is a children’s book author, but in the 80s he was a kid spy who flew around the world on top secret missions for the Queen of England with her pet corgi, Freddie, often riding shotgun in his backpack. If that sentence made you smile, you will probably like these books. There are lots of 80s references for the parents, the humor is very silly but mostly very gentle (not gross potty humor which is a plus for me), and there’s usually a few good pointed comments snuck in about the silliness of adults. My youngest kid is old enough to read big, fat chapter books like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, but I think sometimes emotionally these are more his speed. Also, they’re very lighthearted books, but this last one talks about the Berlin Wall coming down and made me cry a little. Hashtag 80s kid 🙂
I also enjoyed INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING by Nicola Yoon. Evie, a young woman who is cynical about love after her parents’ messy divorce starts seeing visions of how other people’s relationships will end and for plot reasons decides that means she needs to take ballroom dancing lessons. Now 2 big caveats. This is more Young Adult fiction than Young Adult romance and yeah, that means the happy ending may be a little different than you expect. I still really enjoyed it and felt it went with the message of the book. The other caveat and the thing that bothered me more might be a small spoiler (you find out very early in the book), so stop reading here if you really don’t want to know. Evie’s father cheated and that was what broke up the marriage, but that’s not what bothered me. Evie and her mother are the only ones who know about the affair. Evie’s little sister does not. Evie’s mother and some of the other characters put a lot of pressure on Evie to forgive her father quickly and just keep the secret. As someone has seen something not too different play out in real life, I wasn’t at all happy with that pressure put on a kid and some of the narrative choices made in service of that plot point. I felt like if this was real life, Evie would need some serious therapy down the line and the truth would end up coming out in some messy way down the line anyways. Just my two cents. I also felt this was a little bit derivative of and not quite as good as THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, but I read that first and it still really hit the spot during my time of reading woe and strife.
Part One went to Comment Moderation limbo, but Part Two posted?
We have had a big increase in spam comments lately and I think the filter is being activated by more keywords. Don’t worry I fished out part one!
@DDD, fingers crossed for safety for you and yours!
I’m looking forward to reading several new August releases, including UNCHARTED by Adriana Anders and THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Kit Rocha.
I also have some mysteries/thrillers waiting on my TBR pile, including ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware and ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz.
I’m also continuing my LEVERAGE rewatch. Such a fun show.
Hope everyone has a good weekend! 🙂
My goal of whittling down what I’m actually reading failed miserably and I still have 11 books started and none of them finished.
I started A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova sometime last week. I like it especially the hints of Hades and Persephone that are throughout the book. The romance is slow burn, but believable so far.
Also reading the Bad Luck Bride by Janna MacGregor. I originally got this one from the library after forgetting I bought it sometime last year. I’m having a hard time with it because it does feature a hero out for revenge essentially using the heroine. I have no memory of why I bought this in the first place. It’s ok, but not noteworthy so far.
DNF Hot Under His Collar. I know this was featured on a review. I gave it an F for what I did read. From the stupid cover, to the lack of chemistry between the characters, the heroine being immature, and the priest missing a lot if angst, this book was godawful.
Has anyone listened to the audio version of Laziness does not exist? Is it worth it? I very much want the knowledge from the book, but I’m not in a mental place to cuddle up on the couch with a physical version. (And my library has taken a long time to even get that)
I’m continuing to struggle with concentrating while reading and have only finished 3 books in the last month
K.J. Charles The Sugared Game. Other people have described this better than I could
Reese Morrison All Tied Up: Jamie and Sebastian own a B&B and host a kink weekend. Neil is a guest who wants to be a boy but thinks he’s too old, too boring, too big. Jamie/Sebastian adopt Neil as their third. I just love Reese Morrison. Their characters are just so unexpected. I did think the story got a little repetitive and bogged down but now I see that is because it was 516 PAGES!! :-O
Samantha SoRelle His Lordship’s Secret. M/M historical. Alfie was pulled out a workhouse as a kid and trained up and passed off as an Earl’s heir. Now someone is trying to assassinate him. He hires a bodyguard, Dominick, an old friend from the workhouse.
This weekend I have 2 books going (I’m alternating chapters from each, it’s the best focus I can muster)
Roan Parrish Better Than People.
Cat Sebastian The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
I’m currently reading The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri and it is AMAZING! I’m 2/3 of the way through and it’s a wonder I can do anything other than read it. It’s an epic fantasy set in a world that’s vaguely like medieval south-east Asia. There’s a bit of a love story between two of the female main characters but I don’t know if it will end with a hfn – it’s definitely not genre romance. At first it reminded me why I used to love epic fantasy and why I stopped reading it – So. Many. Characters. So. Much. Plot. Now that I’m into it, I can’t put it down. Janine of DA recommended it and it’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2021.
Other books this month:
Hellion’s Waltz by Oliva Waite – excellent historical f/f romance (set in 1825) with a satisfying con / revenge against a terrible man plot. Very different from the first two in series and equally enjoyable – it’s stand-alone. There are a couple references to previous characters but not much.
Hope on the Rocks by Annabeth Albert – A low conflict mm romance between a bartender and a doctor exploring daddy kink. I liked the first half more than the second – I got bored with their relationship. I usually like low conflict romance but I wanted more chemistry and tension. It’s the 4th in her Rainbow Cove series and not one of my favorites (the 2nd in the series, Tender with a Twist, is a favorite comfort re-read of mine and probably my fave Annabeth Albert).
Highlights from earlier months, because it’s been awhile since I’ve posted
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho – Immersive queer UF set in contemporary Malaysia. Much darker, with more violence, than other books I’ve read by Zen Cho but really good. It’s the engrossing story of a young woman facing down a god and a ghost that also has a lot to say about immigration, generational trauma and parent-child dynamics and expectations. This is a coming of age story.
Fake Dating the Prince by Ashlyn Kane – Exactly what the title and cover promise – a fluffy, tropey mm romance between an airline attendant and the prince of a (fake) tiny European country. There’s a nice Cinderella element – including a bespoke tux and a charity ball.
Circus Rose by Betsey Cornwell – Compelling queer retelling of Snow White and Rose Red (which is a completely different fairytale from Snow White) set in a steampunk-ish world with magic.
Possibly a Very Important Notice for a few other people: I read Barbara Hambly’s Scandal in Babylon, her new historical mystery. This is a non-fantasy reboot of the Bride of the Rat God world, with the main characters’ names filed off and replaced, but all of the relationships intact.
The books are set in silent-movie Hollywood, and the main character is the sister-in-law and handler of a movie star who’s a really bad actor but has It in spades. This installment has now-Emma Blackstone trying to figure out why her sister-in-law’s (ex-?)husband has been found dead in her dressing room. Hambly has degrees in history and the period elements are a lot of fun.
I enjoyed it a lot – while I’d probably rather have more fantasy-mystery, I will take more Rat God universe any way I can get it.
Oh, and there are dogs. I forgot the Pekinese dogs. They’re not as big a factor in this book, but they’re fun too.
Last weekend I abandoned all responsibilities and I read through some Kati Wilde as well as Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake.
I read Pretty Bride and The Midnight Bride one after the other and I look forward to whenever the next entry in the series comes out. I also read Going Nowhere Fast and while the plot details kind of strained credulity, the chemistry between the main characters made up for it. I’m not super into MCs but maybe I’ll dip my toes into her Hellfire Riders series one of these days.
As for Rosaline Palmer, I was relieved that the pacing was good – week after week of baking show would get old fast. I liked our main character, rolled my eyes at the initial love interest, liked the blokey other love interest, also rolled my eyes at all the class-self-consciousness. The discussion questions written by the author made me laugh. If only more discussion sections came from the author and not the publisher.
Just a note, The Goode Girl, the auction book by Jack Harbon that was mentioned back in June or July is now out but is released under the name Shiloh Clark. I read it; it was passable. It comes with a note in the beginning that this book is a bit dark and doesn’t necessarily have a HEA/HFN but I thought it had a more optimistic ending than the warning would indicate.
Since last time ~
— Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig for my local book group. This is the rare book group book which I really enjoyed. It’s set in the early fifties (mostly in the US west), but there were things that resonated with me: the westerns of German author Karl May were huge in this book and May was an author my Dutch father spoke of fondly; S & H green stamps figured in the book and my bedside lamps were purchased with those back in the day; and a character in the book was surprised to meet a family member with a glass eye which happened to me, too. This led to a fun discussion with my group.
— reread one of my favorite series ~ Linesman (3 Book Series) by SK Dunstall.
— The Year’s Midnight (Death’s Lady Book 1) by Rachel Neumeier. I found this book in a Reddit thread that was asking for recommendations of fantasy books that contained a character undergoing therapy. It definitely has that, and I enjoyed the book. I’d like to read on in the series, but sadly my library does not have the sequels.
— Battle Royal by Lucy Parker which I quite enjoyed. I look forward to reading on in the series.
— and a true boatload of book samples. I had over 400 samples on my Kindle at one point and am now down to about fifty.
It’s been a rough few weeks and all I’ve managed to finish was The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, but that was absolutely delightful from start to finish.
@DDD, sending good thoughts to you and others in the path of Hurricane Ida.
Finished only two of seven attempts.
GUARDIAN OF CHAOS by Michelle Manus. An aimless-in-the-mundane-world heroine stumbles into a new career as the guardian of a between-worlds waystation, fits in better than she has anywhere else, makes new friends and enemies, goes on adventures, screws up, makes good. Concludes nicely but has plenty of material left over for a series.
THE GOVERNESS GAME by Tessa Dare. Clocksetter inadvertently gets hired as a governess to orphaned sisters. Probably others would consider it to have too high a ratio of kids to romance, but I was into the doll funerals and piracy-based lesson plans.
Currently halfway through THE HOLLOW PLACES by T. Kingfisher. I remember the real-life Museum of Wonders from Twitter (@ursulav for all your residential chickens, hilarious DnD, and Knife-Throwing One-Eyed Cat needs), so that’s kind of neat.
Hey, Bitchery! Hope you are all well!
Ironically, I did not get a lot of vacation reading in during my vacation, though I did have a great time. Hoping to correct that lack this weekend. What I do have to report:
Someone had left THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren at the house we rented. Contemporary, M/F. Why do other peoples’ books call to me much more loudly than those on my own TBR pile? No idea, but I ate it right up. And it was a good, solid, romance. Nothing earth shattering, but a perfect beach read. Really enjoyed it.
Reread THE GODFATHER, by Mario Puzo. Not a romance. Not as good as the movie, but somehow makes you enjoy the movie more, if that makes sense? I don’t know if Puzo was just convinced that the members of the Italian Mafia hated women, or if the Italian Mafia did hate women, or if Puzo hated women, but certainly the characters in the book all hated women – lots of subservient females and virgin/whore/mother stuff, so be warned. Otherwise, pretty much same story as the movie.
THE WITNESS FOR THE DEAD (The Goblin Emperor #2) by Katherine Addison. Fantasy mystery, not a romance. I really enjoyed this book, but I feel very disappointed that there was just not more there. It follows a minor character in the first book, in a different setting, and with few if any references to the first book or its characters. It was a murder mystery, not a story of intrigue in a court like the first one, and it was much shorter. Lots of world building, which settled down after a while, and great character development, but just not enough of a story. Too short, and just not as ambitious as the first book. Actually, much more similar to The Angel of Crows in construction and flow of plot (A of C is not in the Goblin Emperor world, but is also a murder mystery/investigation centered book by Addison). I recommend this book, but don’t expect a continuation of the Goblin Emperor.
Also started Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Sci-Fi. So far, it’s excellent. The characters are fantastic and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Looking forward to poking through the recommendations – thanks to everyone for posting your recs!
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes is my favourite book of the year. Best paired with The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Just wonderful (albeit no HEA)!
I read two books during the break between August Part 1 and August part 2, but each was 600 pages or thereabouts. I finally reread The Black Madonna by Stella Riley, so I could read for the first time the rest of the Roundheads & Cavaliers series. I don’t know if I blew through it the first time, but it was a much richer reading experience the second time around. This could have been because I have since read A Splendid Defiance which is as I have written before, affiliated but not officially part of it. Even so, while a reader isn’t lost by any means, I recommend reading Defiance first. If you like a family saga type of read this series is definitely worth it, but to answer a question based on another comment posted in the last Whatcha reading, I’m not sure what books would be similar to this series specifically. I suspect that person would be better finding books similar to her Georgian romances, only if for the reason that that period has more books set in it. The only reason I am half way through the series is that we had company for the past few days whose intent for visiting was to find what open mic events were available; he retired from a successful career in real estate and is following his creative muse as a musician. As it happens, with a bit of arm pulling, I went from being a spectator to singing harmony on one of his songs, to eventually doing my own set of songs. I had not sung in front of a mic to sing more than one song since I was a kid, so I really wasn’t sure what would happen when I did. I had never developed a harmony part before either, so I was nervous about how that would go. Coming up next is my birthday which is tomorrow, and then my best friend will be visiting next week to celebrate. Since she and I do make time to go off into our own corners, and I have some downtime today before going to see Band of Horses in concert this evening, and downtime tomorrow I will hopefully get time to start the third book, The King’s Falcon.
Hmm. It was a weird month for me. I had a hard time understanding my own reading mood, so I started with two re-reads: THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE (Jennifer Ashley) and NORMAL PEOPLE (Sally Rooney). Both held up to my original ratings–a five and a four respectively.
Then I picked up HEARTSTOPPER (Alice Oseman), and I must be the one person who doesn’t care for it. It’s not bad, but for me it was just okay. Too cute and too twee for me. Then again, at 33 I’m not the target audience, so ignore me.
Then I had the good luck to stumble onto Alice Coldbreath’s work. I read both A BRIDE FOR THE PRIZEFIGHTER and A SUBSTITUTE WIFE FOR THE PRIZEFIGHTER. I haven’t rated them yet, but they were thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely fulfilled my craving for 1) a Victorian setting and 2) middle/lower class historical romance. In other words, no ballrooms detected. I will definitely be reading more of Alice Coldbreath.
Oh yeah, I also read Finley Fenn’s THE LADY AND THE ORC. Simply put, it was bonkers. I both hated and loved it. It was a fun time. So many fluids on page tho… It’s NOT for everyone for sure.
I’m now reading the second orc book, THE HEIRESS AND THE ORC (still bonkers fun, but I’ll be taking a break after this one), and LJ Shen’s PLAYING WITH FIRE (never read this author before, but took a chance on it because it was free on kindle recently; I’m at roughly 25% and so far I’m severely unimpressed, so I took a gander at Goodreads and I’m completely baffled by both the high overall rating and all of the gushing reviews).
I’m reading the Two Date Rule by Tawna Fenske and I starting Finding Freedom the book about Prince Harry and Megan. It’s sympathetic towards them but I just am having a hard time having sympathy for them. Racism exists everywhere in the world and people are really struggling to just pay bills and buy groceries and they are still living in a bubble. My grandparents would have ashamed of me
I loved The Girl’s Guide to Fantasy and Adventure by Evi Kline. I’m pretty sure I heard of it here, and never would have picked it up otherwise so thanks to whoever originally rec’ed it! The book wasn’t specifically romance, more about a woman who is finally learning to live her own life and make her own choices rather than just doing exactly what her controlling father expects from her.
I also loved all the books in Elizabeth Hunter’s two separate paranormal women’s fiction series, Moonstone Cove and Glimmer Lake. Both series feature three 40-something women who suddenly develop paranormal powers and need to navigate their family and romantic relationships while dealing with their new powers. In the Glimmer Lake series, the three women are already best friends, while in the Moonstone Cove series, the incident that triggers their powers is also their introduction to each other, but both series feature strong, smart women in mature, supportive relationships.
Rounding out my recent great reads were Battle Royal by Lucy Parker, a grumpy/sunshiny baking delight, and A Court of Mortals, the third book in the Stariel fantasy series by AJ Lancaster, which I also first heard about here.
It’s been a busy month, but I have read several books I really enjoyed:
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade was the plus-size body positivity I’ve been wanting. A fabulous, courageous heroine and a hero who, while he doesn’t always get things exactly right, is a lot more clued-in about his own privilege than lots of real-life guys are. (Plus, he’s a cinnamon roll.)
In other books, I finally read Courtney Milan’s The Duchess War, and loved it. Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex was a lot of fun; it’s due out in late September. I also enjoyed The Solstice Countdown by Lisa Shearin (urban fantasy); it was my first introduction to her books, and I plan to go back and read the whole series.
And I have been rereading Laurie R. King’s historical mysteries starring Mary Russell, protege-turned-partner (in every sense of the term) of Sherlock Holmes. I dearly love this series, and it’s been a long time since I reread the entire thing. I’m currently on Pirate King, which is my least favorite, so…
I started listening to A Grave Matter, the third Lady Darby mystery by Anna Lee Huber — a new series for me, and one I am thoroughly enjoying despite the heroine’s regrettable tendency to get herself into dangerous situations that she could have avoided with a little forethought, or at least the sense to tell someone where she was going. The audiobooks are a pleasure to listen to.
One of the great pleasures of being able to be back into the library-wandering the stacks and finding treasure!
Love Study and the follow up, The Hate Project by Kris Ripper follow a diverse group of found family & friends, but focuses on a romance couple in each book. LGBTQ rep., and conversations that I actually found informational-educational-aspirational! Love Study is the first, and very good, but The Hate Project just hit the right spot for me, with a perfect balance of snark/sweet-about 85%/15% 😉
A shorter list for me this time (alas, back to work after vacation):
THE HEIRESS GETS A DUKE. I quite liked the main characters here (including August, Evan, and Violet, the heroine, the hero and the heroine’s sister) and didn’t really mind the deus ex machina type plot twist at the end. August’s relationship with her parents is also complex and compelling. Would recommend.
DEVIL IN DISGUISE by Lisa Kleypas. Insta-lust and adventure—someone is trying to assassinate the hero!— and then very boring—the go sit in the countryside while someone else works on the mystery. I liked Merritt and Keir just fine, but the plot was pretty blah.
Up next: SOMEONE TO CHERISH (Harry’s book in the Westcott series) and A VOW SO BOLD AND DEADLY, neither of which is really pulling my interest at the moment, alas.
Reading has been a struggle but this month was the reverse readathon, so I still got through a few books.
1. THE GIRLS WHO WENT AWAY. Devastating book. It’s a series of interviews with mothers who placed their children into adoption in the ’50s-70s. Many were forced by economic issues and it’s heartbreaking to reflect on the impact this had on their lives.
2. NEVER LET ME GO (re-read). I read this & watched the movie years ago and I think the combination of time + reading reviews and discussions really made it a new experience. Still excellent.
3. QUACKERY: on random “health cures” tried throughout the times. Fun!
4. LOVE SPELLS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD. I can’t say I understood the Big Bad but I loved the setting (Halloweentown basically) & the characters. A Halloween novella.
Currently reading:
– YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. So far, cute queer YA. Although the racism the MC has to deal with is heavy.
– TYCOON. Gilded age novella. Poor girl on the run meets rich businessman who is willing to protect her.
I have been fantastically fortunate in my reading/listening since last time I responded to Watcha Reading in a timely manner. It was an eclectic mix, starting with an unusual but beautiful YA entitled BUDDHA BOY by Kathe Koja. I had been intrigued by her CHRISTOPHER WILD a few years back, and had let the Buddha Boy sit on the top of one of my many literal too-be-read piles that line the narrow passageway on the floor between my side of the bed and the actual bookshelves (which themselves are overflowing). Passive non-violence attempted at a high school full of bullies with mixed results was conveyed with grippingly sparse prose that evoked both sadness and awe.
Next in the winner category was THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, beautifully narrated by Robin Miles. You think you know history, and then you’re gob-smacked once again by the horrible reality of how we’ve treated each other. But for anyone who’s interested, this is the remarkable and mostly historical tale of a Black woman who passed herself as White and worked for years as the personal librarian to JP Morgan in the early years of the 20th century.
Then came the truly heart-wrenching but equally beautiful THE FOUR WINDS, by Kristin Hannah, phenomenally narrated, as always, by Julia Whelan. If you’re anything like me, you heard “a book about the dust bowl,” and thought, “do I really want this right now?” But maybe, like me, your heartstrings have been torn apart while your brain was forced to think about new things in a Kristin Hannah novel before. If so, don’t be put off by the general idea “dust bowl.” The book is incredible.
Then, when I thought my heart and brain had been wrung dry, I listened to THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn. OMG was that book incredible. Again – stuff about history I hadn’t thought about, and a story liberally sprinkled with historical figures that kept me ignoring my family for hours on end.
On a lighter note, LIES AND LULLABIES by Sarina Bowen was exactly what the doctor ordered during one of our bleaker recent weeks (there have been far too many of them of late). It’s a perfect romance: providing understandable conflict and misunderstanding dealt with by a sympathetic hero and heroine who earn their delightful happily ever after.
Other books that I enjoyed: ALL STIRRED UP by Brianne Moore (you get to spend quality time in Edinburgh without worrying about international flights and enjoy a v-e-r-y slow burn romance), THE FLOAT PLAN, by Trish Doller (everything you wanted to know about sailing and finding love after loss), and THE BEAUTY IN BREAKING, by Michele Harper. The last was the memoirs of a Black emergency room physician. I kept thinking she was too young to be writing her memoir. Her story was always interesting, but I’d really like to know what happens going forward as it leaves her in her mid-thirties still working and perhaps hoping for a life partner.
And finally, I succumbed and listened to ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, the first Murderbot story everybody here loves so much. I could see its appeal, and I’ll probably listen or read more down the line, but there are other titles I’m more anxious to get to. If we all loved the same flavor ice cream, life would be ever so boring, right?
Let’s see… Had my first Covid test. Negative, of course. I caught my 6mo godgranddaughter’s cold, but I work in a medical office so there’s no returning to the office without the test. Poor punkin got tested twice because apparently daycare wouldn’t take the quick test result.
Book are still running together in my brain. I’ve brought home three from the GBPL this month only to realize I had read them during the winter. Hence the numerous comfort reads. I’m reading BUTTERFLY FROST on my Kindle now, and I know I read it while I was in Arizona, but I remember nothing about it accept the fact that the mc works for the characters from Day’s Crossfire books. And I really need to read the last boo in that one…
Finished the last book of Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious trilogy, THE HAND ON THE WALL. There’s one accidental death too many for Stevie to take at face value while she brings her school project – solving the nearly century old murder/kidnapping of the school founder’s wife and daughter – to an end. Then there’s the return of the is he or isn’t he her boyfriend, David, with more plans to ruin his Trumpesque father and a white out blizzard to ratchet up Stevie’s anxiety. A truly engrossing end for Stevie and her stalwart band of friends.
Somewhere in here I also read THE RUSSIAN CAGE, the third Gunnie Rose book from Charlaine Harris. I adore this character. She’s both naive and savvy, practical and wistful. Since she and Eli are now settled in Texoma, I wonder if this is the last book. No, that can’t be possible. It’s such a well built world. And her sister is still with the Gregori. And someone’s going to figure out she has powers. There had better be another book.
The MM books I’ve enjoyed recently:
THE BALLAD OF CROW AND SPARROW by VL Locey was a book I didn’t know I needed as it is about two very unlikely characters set in the old west. Loved it from start to finish.
RULE OF LAW by Isla Olsen has some very funny banter
OUR FIRST AND LAST by Becca Seymour is a sweet friends to lovers story with a single dad element.
DAWN’S DESIRE by VL Locey is a story with a significant age gap between a rancher and a paleontology professor. It also has a great grumpy/sunshine element with a younger bossy top.
THE FRIENDSHIP EQUATION by JR Gray was a complete surprise for me to love as the MCs are 18 year old high school swimmers. I don’t generally get through an entire NA romance, but this one had me not skimming a word.
Audiobooks:
LOVE ALWAYS, WILD by AM Johnson was more angsty than I usually like, but so well done that I didn’t mind. And I’ve yet to listen to a book narrated by Kirt Graves that I haven’t liked.
WITHOUT YOU by Marley Valentine is another angsty one that I liked a lot. And it has the best MM cover I have ever seen!
JUST FRIENDS by Saxon James is another Kirt Graves narrated delight. I’m a sucker for friends to lovers.
@DDD I used to live in SWLA and my friends there are keeping me updated on Ida. I find it very difficult hoping to spare some while knowing others are going to get hit hard, so my thoughts are going out to all of you to stay safe.
:::comes in humming something soothing, because the universe was having a slapfest with my face this week:::
It’s been weird. Anyway, books. I started matters off with Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault. It’s the first in a new Disney series called The Queen’s Council. It’s what happens to all the Disney Princess when they have to stop being Princesses and start being Queens. This one told the story of Belle and Lio (formerly the Beast, and yes, canonically, his name is Adam, but the story explains that he primarily uses his mother’s nickname for him). In this case, okay, yeah, they broke the magic spell and people aren’t Beasts and household goods anymore, but now they have to survive the French Revolution, and figure out how to rule. I enjoyed it, although some of the characterization of Belle felt off in parts. I remember her as being braver and more outspoken in the books, and this Belle took awhile to really speak her mind the way she needed to, and this tendency allowed the villain to emotionally manipulate her. I did like the frank treatment of mental health in the book (Lio has PTSD and Mrs. Potts also acknowledges her difficulties in that area), the setting of the French Revolution, and a surprising redemption arc for Lefou. Then, because I just wanted something that would make me and my brain happy, I read Battle Royal by Lucy Parker. There was pretty much nothing I didn’t love about this book. I love the royal aspects, the rivals-to-lovers, the food (it’s probably directly responsible for me having my husband grab some cheesecake from the store), and so much of the humor. Also, Mabel is the GOAT. Then, I was like “You know, it’s been such a stressful week, I should really continue reading something comforting and happy” and my brain instead went “Or, and hear me out, Gothic horror/suspense about some weirdo family that take being true-crime aficionados to some new places!” and I started reading The Family Plot by Megan Collins :::high-fives Elyse::: I’m enjoying it very much, although I take issue with one of the exemplars of how the children’s upbringing was weird. She referred to an assignment in which their mother gave them a cold case and they had to give her 5 paragraphs on how they would solve it. Okay, that sounds like an amazing assignment and I wish I had thought of it first (although, true story, you can worksheets and projects for middle and high school students about Forensic Files on the internet, which sounds great). So until next time, please take care of your brains, even if that means you end up reading weird stuff. Hey, it asked for it.
My brain was demanding rereads, so I read Mimi Matthews’ “The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter”, so sweet and touching; and an old Mary Balogh book, “Almost Married”, which is one of my all time favorites. Then I read the latest Balogh, “Someone To Cherish”. Although I liked the story just fine, it’s getting to the point for me where the series is getting overloaded with characters from past books. I mean, fine, have a few favorite characters make an appearance, but we don’t need every single one of them to show up, along with their kids and dogs, and then they all have to opine and get involved in every development of the current romance.
I almost never read contemporary romcoms, but I’ve developed a real liking for Annika Martin. I read “The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée” and the title says it all. It was extremely entertaining.
Also read “The Railway Countess” by Julia Justiss. She is a reliable longtime author of Harlequin Historicals, which are well written and satisfying. This one has a heroine who loves math and engineering, and is reluctant to marry because a husband may not let her pursue her interests.
Right now I am in the middle of the latest Wrexford & Sloane mystery(Andrea Penrose), “Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens” and it’s wonderful. Not released yet, I won an ARC on Goodreads. Weasels ftw!
Right now I am just counting the days until “Portrait of a Scotsman” gets released.
@Ren Benton: I knew I loved the hero of Tessa Dare’s “The Governess Game” when he gave the elegy for Daisy’s doll: “‘Almighty Father’ he began in a dispirited tone, ‘we commit to your keeping the soul of Millicent. Ashes to ashes. Sawdust to sawdust. She was a doll of few words and yet fewer autonomous movements, yet she will be remembered for the ever-present – some might say permanently painted – smile on her face. By the grace of our Redeemer, we know she will be resurrected, perhaps as soon as luncheon.'” The man may be a rake and a reprobate, but he’s also compassionate and loving, even if against his will, with his two orphaned wards, who eventually blossom under his attention and care.
As for my current reading:
o RAINBOW ROWELL’S SIMON SNOW TRILOGY – I’ve read the first two and am waiting for the third from the library (have moved up to 15th in line from 37th a few weeks ago). Clearly Harry Potter set the ground for this kind of story, but Simon is his own character and the books are fast-paced and fun.
o RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Cosby – Most definitely not a romance. The story of two men, one Black and one White, both ex-cons, who bond in a search for the men who killed their sons. Isiah & Derek were married, and brutally gunned down in a way that indicates it was something more than a hate crime. Neither Ike nor Buddy Lee had fully accepted that their sons were gay, but each is devastated by the loss and the fact that they now can’t make right all the ways they did wrong. Lots of death and blood, mostly – but not entirely – of bad guys. My favorite quote: When asked if it’s revenge that keeps him going, Ike replies, “No, hate. Folks like to talk about revenge like it’s a righteous thing but it’s just hate in a nicer suit.”
o HAMNET by Maggie O’Farrell – Again, not a romance, although much of the book is about Shakespeare and his wife, how they met, fell in love, and then negotiated their marriage. Agnes (as she is named in the book) is a fascinating character, strong and steadfast, a loving mother devastated by the death of their young son, Hamnet. The ending, when she goes to London to confront her husband (Shakespeare is never actually named in the book) after she learns he has written a play named after their son, somehow both pierces the heart yet demonstrates the transcendence of love.
o MR. MALCOLM’S LIST – A Regency romance about a man who has a list of the qualities he would like to find in a wife. Somehow this is presented as arrogant, yet don’t we all have such a list, even if we don’t write them down? Rather simplistic so only a C read, although I think they are making a movie of it which I may watch, as the issues which annoyed me may not be so apparent on the screen.
o NGAIO MARSH mysteries – someone put several of these in a Little Free Library in my neighborhood, so I took them all, as I remember my mother reading these when they were first published. Reading them was rather like popcorn, little nutritional value but quick and easy to get through half a dozen books between reading other, more substantial titles.
o SLIGHTLY MARRIED by Mary Balogh (a reread) – the first of her Slightly series. Balogh is a wonder at small moments that define a character, as when Eve Morris learns of her brother’s death and is “engulfed in pain, blinded, deafened by it, by the unbearable agony of loss”. Aidan Bedwyn was her brother’s commanding officer, a career soldier who is very good at what he does. When Eve calls him cold and says he never smiles, he responds “I am a killer,” he said abruptly, “I kill for a living. There is nothing very amusing about that” – which is both shocking and true and tells us much about the man who wanted to be a caretaker for the land but who had to harden himself to fit the career open to the 2nd son of a duke.
o THE RAILWAY COUNTESS by Julia Justiss – She’s the daughter of a businessman/engineer, who helps him with his work. He’s is the heir to an earl who invests in new technology such as railroads. Liked that he was attracted by her intelligence as well as her beauty and that it portrayed how frustrated she felt without having her act too far out of bounds (other than her visit in men’s clothes to a talk by George Stephenson). Also liked that there was no premarital sex, which happens way too often in historicals.
o ARSENIC AND ADOBO by Mia Manansala – A mystery with two potential romantic interests for the heroine. The mystery was a bit off, as the reader discovers answers to some of the events but the police do not, so it’s a bit naive to think the police would stop the investigation and the heroine and others could blithely go their way.
o THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman – Told mostly from the POV of a middle-aged man as he looks back on his childhood, so less intricate story telling and more straightforward than many of Gaiman’s other books, although still full of wonder. Loved that the moon was always full above the house down the lane – a little throwaway detail but nonetheless quite telling about the warmth and magic to be found there.
@DonnaMarie sympathies with you, my daughter had to get tested twice in July both negative, but the isolate/waiting for a test is frustrating, especially when I was almost sure it was an upper respiratory infection, (it was!) And @SEE stay safe. Not much reading since last Wayr. Signed up for another 3 month KU deal but so far the last few I’ve tried to read were duds. Nothing wrong with them just turned out to be 1st person POV which I only like in a few books.
I’m away staying with my late partner’s family, so maybe it’s an emotional time to get into a book at the moment.
@DiscoDollyDeb: Please interrupt this regularly scheduled website to keep us up to date on your situation. Hoping fervently that you and yours and indeed the whole area will weather the storm with little damage.
@Meg: right now, we still have power and the weather is rainy with gusty winds. We expect conditions to deteriorate as the day progresses. I have one daughter riding it out in Baton Rouge (second-story apartment); another in the area (also in a second-floor apartment), her job is considered “essential,” so she can’t leave. My husband, our third daughter, and I are sitting tight in the old homestead. A mandatory evacuation was not issued for our area—and with the interstates bumper-to-bumper and my back killing me, I couldn’t see being in stop-and-go traffic for hours, heading to Florida or Texas (in addition to everything else, Ida will be a covid super-spreader event). We’ve made all the preparations we can here—now all we can do is wait. Thanks for all the good thoughts.
@DDD:
Stay Safe. One of my mom’s oldest friends lives in New Orleans, and we’ve asked her to keep us updated.
I raced through Book 3 to Book 8 of Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries because I HAD TO KNOW how it all starts, and then once started, how Sebastian and Hero’s relationship really develops. It was hard to believe after book 3 that Sebastian could have any sort of meaningful relationship with Hero but C.S. Harries make Hero a compelling enough heroine for them to start something long and meaningful!
I also read and loved Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan. I’ve followed Morgan from harlequin to woman’s fiction? is that what its called? and I love her work. One reason is because a lot of her work just resonates with me. In Summer Seekers, the trouble with Liza’s marriage was just so relatable. No, I thankfully don’t have troubles with my marriage but I have experienced how the advent of our son and just living can slowly creep in and take hold of the moments and conversations which used to breathe life into US. It’s good to see that reflected and dealt with in the works I enjoy reading. I found both Liza’s and her mom’s arc really compelling. (the other girl, I forget her name, not so much). I’m definitely going to be reading her Christmas book too! It’s a marvel to me that she continues outputting two books per year! Also, why is it called women’s fiction? Because it centers womens’ lives and relationships?
Last Guard by Nalini Singh. oh, I am a goner for a book where the hero is a goner right from the start. I just find it incredibly romantic and emotionally satisfying. So of course, I really did enjoy this book. And as I have mentioned before, by now I am perhaps even more vested in the underlying structure and nature of PsyNet than the relationships themselves! So every bit that advances that is just so much fun to read. I do have to mention one very jarring sentence that pulled me right out of the story and made me go, really Nalini, really, you couldn’t have done better than this: “She had an organizer on her lap and was doing complex financial transactions as part of her job as the Rao CEO.” I mean complex financial transactions? Really? Made me think of a 5 year old trying to explain stuff!
Mirror Dance by Bujold: I admit, I skipped over all of Marc’s torture scenes. Other than that, I love these books! I can’t wait to finally reach book 12 (I think, the one where Miles marries), the one which I wanted to read. And which made me want to go back to book 1 and read the whole thing properly! I recently recommended this series to a friend who loves SFF, and hasn’t read a lot by female authors.
How to Catch A Duke by Grace Burrowes: Umm, Ok? I kinda liked it but now don’t remember why it didn’t exactly captivate me (must have read this about 3 or 4 weeks ago)
Only by Chance, Betty Neels: I continue to be grateful for Neels’s huge oeuvre. She’s my warm blanket, my cozy corner, the balm that soothes when I want beautiful homes, delicious food, and familiar rhythms. I do seem to enjoy the ones where the heroine is totally down on her luck and finds things serendipitously turning around for her the most. This was one of that. No, I don’t believe that someone will swoop down and make everything right, as the hero does for the heroine, but I do find comfort in (most of) Neels’s heroine’s belief that taking one day at a time, and just taking the next step, will surely lead SOMEwhere.
@Margaret, I’m with you on murderbot and loving other flavors! I likes it but didn’t love it, and have never felt like reading more of that series!
@DDD, wishing you and yours, safety and well-being!
Oh, @Juhi, that’s exactly how I feel about Betty Neels’ books.
@DiscoDollyDeb and everyone, stay safe.
I’m still out here picking up books and putting them down. Here are the few actually finished:
– Innkeeper Chronicles books 1,2,3 by Ilona Andrews: found as a box set on hoopla, book 1 was a reread for me. This time around, the theme of the house taking care of the people inside really stuck out. Enjoyed all the little cozy details like the endless cups of tea and the grumpy chef. There is a body count but usually the fantasy elements tone down the blood and gore – my brain has “fantasy violence” filed under a whole other category far away from real life anxieties.
(This is your friendly reminder to get your hoopla borrows for the month by August 31.)
– Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett: I had not read this one even though I love the witches, probably because I generally dislike Cinderella retellings – well, it’s much more than that, and lots of fun. tor.com is currently doing a weekly series of Discworld rereads, if anyone is looking to escape to that universe.
Currently on deck:
– The House That Walked Between Worlds: saw it on Amazon prime reading, similar vibe to the Innkeeper books above.
– Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett, because witches. Have started it a couple of times before, might finish it this time, or not.
– Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig: picked up the audio on hoopla this weekend after seeing it mentioned in this here thread, and remembering it fondly from a couple of years ago, also thanks to a SBTB rec. Narrator is excellent so far.