Welcome to Whatcha Reading! It’s our first one of the month. Here’s what we’ve been reading and enjoying lately!
Elyse: I’m reading The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m not very far in but I’m enjoying it so far
Sarah: I put The Body is Not an Apology by Sonia Renee Taylor ( A | BN | K | AB ) on hold at the library so long ago I completely forgot. My hold came in and WOW is this some radical mind blowing counter programming to what Taylor calls “the Body Shame Profit Complex.”
Maya: I’m listening to The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It is read by the always amazing Bahni Turpin and the author! I’m also reading Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown.
Shana: I’m in the middle of Finding Forever on Their Island Paradise by Therese Beharrie. The characters just have this bone deep kindness that I’m finding very soothing. However, it’s set in a penguin sanctuary based on Boulders Beach in Cape Town, and so far I haven’t seen any penguins. They better be coming soon…
AJ: You can’t set a book in a penguin sanctuary and then not write about penguins! It is Illegal.
I just finished The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I don’t know what rock I’ve been under that I never picked this one up before!
Sneezy: Manta recently added a new webtoon, Her Peculiar Visitor. The main character is a celestial being that has been banished to the mortal realm for saving a human that was supposed to die. She leads a quiet life as a second hand bookstore owner and book restorer. There are tracks being laid for a slow-ish burn romance, excellent world building, and the supernatural elements are great!!! I’ll probably end up writing a review for it when it’s further along, just so I can list all the tropes. For now, know that we get treated to a cute, meddling grandpa arranging dates and making the couple to be sign a contract that they would go on at least three dates. Content warning for death though, including the grandpa’s.
So far there are 20 chapters and it’s updating every Thursday.
Kiki: Julie Garwood has a very tight grip on my entire brain/kindle right now. The only thing I want to consume are very long historicals. I do not want to pass go, I do not want to collect $200. I just want to give Julie Garwood my money so that I don’t have to wait for library holds to come in.
Sneezy: You should collect the $200 and double back though. To buy more Julie Garwood with.
Whatcha reading?! Let us know below!
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot – Marianne Cronin
When terminally-ill teenager Lenni meets octogenarian Margot, she realizes that between them they have lived 100 years (17 and 83, respectively). They set out to create 100 paintings to mark their 100 years. I really, really loved this. It was a beautiful meditation on grief & mortality. I was a little worried at first that it would be too twee, but I fell a bit in love with the characters. CW, obviously, for death (including infant death): there are no miraculous healings here, but its very much a celebration of life, in all its messiness.
Human Acts – Han Kang (translator Deborah Smith)
Oof. This short novel is about the 5-18 student uprising in Gwangju South Korea in 1980. It is incredibly graphic and violent, and definitely will not be for everyone. One of the most difficult things I’ve read in a long time. But Kang is (I believe) a poet, and the book is also very moving, and beautiful despite the horror. Content warnings for literally everything, including torture and sexual violence. It was an interesting experience to read this against the backdrop of the Russian war in Ukraine. Obviously they are quite different things – state-sponsored violence against the democratic organizing of said state’s own children versus an invasion of a sovereign nation for territorial expansion – but the futility, and ubiquity, of human violence against each other really resonated with me at this moment in time.
The Last Kiss – Sally Malcolm
I’ve always felt that the ending of Maurice by E.M. Forster (the book, but also the film, which I’m more familiar with) is bittersweet because Maurice & Scudder get to be together but you know that, even if they manage to transcend their classes, WWI starts about ten pages after the story ends and they’ll probably end up in a trench in France. The Last Kiss reminded me a lot of Maurice, as it takes place in a post-WWI world where two men find themselves right back in that trap of Edwardian class division, where nothing has changed at home, but everything has changed for them. In addition to the class divide the characters in this book face physical disability, PTSD, and of course the necessity to hide their relationship. Which they don’t do very well–I was constantly screaming at them in my head to stop being so reckless because they were going to end up in jail. They didn’t, quite, but I’m not sure I fully bought the ending. I bought that they’d be happy together, but I didn’t quite buy how accommodating the world ended up being towards that happiness, if that makes sense. Still, an enjoyable book.
My reading situation has been pretty dire lately and I’m hoping it’s just because I’ve got a lot on my mind with finishing a huge fanfic project (and wanting to start another) and also a giant baking project that I haven’t started that is due on, oh Thursday. I don’t like the alternative idea that I’ve read all the good books
Since I’ve been in “binkie mode” (as I like to call my re-reading of favorites), I am reading (again and again) THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson, a modern YA retelling of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. She has a loose sequel to this which is a retelling of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, which is also delightful. But I’m still craving Beatrice and Benedick banter, so that’s where I’m at.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the few books that I have enjoyed recently. THE MIDWINTER’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Kati Wilde, a fun novella that is kind of Conan the Barbarian road trip romance. I think I owe DiscoDollyDeb for this one. She described it some time ago in a way that made me think “that is probably just the right type of ridiculous for me.” I grew up on stuff like HE-MAN and CONAN, BEASTMASTER, etc, as Saturday morning entertainment, but never wanted to read the old skool books with old skool values. This had a brutal warrior dude who was really into consent and a heroine who wasn’t a damsel in distress. Quite fun and I plan to read the next in the series, but I want to pace myself.
I’m reading something really good right now, but I just started and I don’t want to jinx myself. Fingers crossed for a quiet weekend and marathon reading (and baking!) time.
Short list for me this time, although I am absolutely delighted to report that my sister (finally!) got a Kindle so I am loaning her All. The. Books (within the somewhat annoying restrictions imposed by Amazon/the publishers.)
AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTER—latest Veronica Speedwell. I quite enjoyed this one. Stoker remains, as ever, the best. This one focuses around a secret from Veronica’s past that pops up and must be unraveled. Usual hijinks and occasional jaunts into geopolitics occur. If you liked the other books in the series, I would also recommend this one.
SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley. Probably the best vampire entry I’ve read, although that’s not usually my jam. Also, it’s pretty cerebral—it’s told in first person and the narrator, Sunshine, spends a lot of time thinking over human-vampire relations and how to approach her unusual gift. I was very glad that I knew going in that this one doesn’t have a sequel (thanks, Smart Bitches!) because there’s so much world building and sequel bait in here.
A DUKE AFTER DARK by Julie Ann Long. I’ve enjoyed the other books in this series (Palace of Rogues) and this is another solid entry. I like the heroine, Mariana, an opera singer and Valkirk, the somewhat grumpy and dour duke/general. There’s a bit of an age difference (she’s 25 and he’s 43, I think) and he has a son who’s only a few years younger than the heroine.
Up next: looks like my library holds on A MARVELOUS LIGHT by Freya Marske and SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by Shelley Parker-Chan just came in, so will be diving into those shortly.
Between deadlines, family stuff, and random outbreaks of Covid, I am very tired. Now, when I daydream about falling into the clutches of a darkly domineering man, being taken to bed involves him making sure I have a really, really good night’s sleep. Make that a few nights actually, interspersed with naps, slouching on the sofa and sitting on a lounger in the garden with a book and a cup of tea. Actually, being provided with cups of tea and light meals form a large part of the fantasy. An omelette would be nice. Or some soup. I’ve even started wondering whether sourdough or a seeded bread (lightly toasted, lots of butter) would be best with the minestrone conjured up by my torrid imagination. Which is a long-winded way of saying that I’ve been reading comfort books a lot lately.
Debbie Johnson – the COMFORT FOOD CAFE series. Very soothing and forgiving. An offbeat group of cafe regulars help people through the power of friendship and, well, comfort food. The friends and cafe are unbelievably accepting and welcoming, and I wish I lived there is all. Having said that, the problems her characters deal with are often quite thorny and Johnson is very good at expressing their emotions and fears in a way that feels true to life.
Because I liked the Debbie Johnson, the library app recommended THE MAGNIFICENT MRS MAYHEW by Milly Johnson. Woman brought up to be a perfect political wife breaks free of ghastly husband & family. Story told competently enough with no obvious spelling or grammatical errors, and all the verve of soggy cornflakes.
I knew Meg Cabot because of the Princess Diary books, but found that she’d written some adult romances as well. My library had a twin pack (or whatever), both written in a mix of journal entries, emails & texts. The first, THE BOY IS BACK was a lot of fun – light and fluffy, but sharply written, and even though I found the format a bit difficult to follow sometimes, the humour and pace kept me reading.
Then there was EVERY BOY’S GOT ONE. Also written in the style of text/email/journal entries. The H & h are best man and bridesmaid to friends who are marrying in Italy. I found the h a bit too cutely ditsy and parochial, especially for someone who lives in New York and is the creator of a very popular cartoon character (also, doodles of this character are scattered through the story and they’re just… amateurish. Not what I would think of as the work of a professional artist with a TV development deal). And I never really felt the attraction between the H & h, apart from them confusedly admiring each others’ looks, and realising that the other had the odd good quality. Whatever, it’s entertaining enough so far, right? Then the jolly German housekeeper of the Italian villa turns out to have been in the SS in WWII. Yikes. The notes at the end mention that this was based on someone that Cabot met on holiday, same nationality, same war record. And that was when I started to doubt the author’s judgement quite seriously. Still, I got to the end, complete with weak big misunderstanding and unconvincing HEA, and the author’s experiences and obvious affection for Italy shone through.
Playing Library Chicken with an audio book of PALADIN OF SOULS by Lois McMaster Bujold. Enjoying it very much, and the narration is good except that she pronounces the word ‘niche’ as ‘nitch’, which is slightly painful to hear. A minor quibble, though.
THE GENTLE ART OF FORTUNE HUNTING by KJ Charles. Not my favourite favourite of hers, but even that means that it is very good – funny and heartfelt and sharp . A brother and Sister insinuate themselves into high society by any means, fair or foul, in the pursuit of riches. The main characters were delightful, the villains properly villainous. I genuinely worried about what would happen if they failed, and could hardly bear to see how everything was going to come right, but of course it did.
I grabbed AFTER DARK WITH THE DUKE by Julie Anne Long while it was on sale (still $1.99 as of this morning). I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but I’m neither lost nor finding the references to past events excessive. I’m so used to starchy, uptight noblemen merely pretending to be respectable while they’re secretly pirates or running a casino or whatever, it’s nice that this one actually BELIEVES in being as honorable as people expect him to be. Yes, it makes him judgmental, but it also compels him to admit when he’s been wrong and unfair, and he knows how to do all the steps of a proper apology, including acknowledging what he did wrong and making amends. And then pairing him with a heroine who values his decency rather than viewing it as a barrier to smash in order to prove he’s no better than any other jerk? It’s nicely done and surprisingly comforting.
Part 1
For the opening of Julie Kriss’s DUET (the first in her new Road Kings series) to work, you have to suspend disbelief enough to accept that the piano teacher heroine (who moonlights in a jazz trio) has never heard of the hero, the lead singer of a rock band that has been on a five-year hiatus. I think Kriss makes this premise plausible by having the band in question be a mid-level one, famous for their live shows but never huge superstars. The couple meet when the hero goes to the club where the heroine is performing and, when it’s clear she doesn’t recognize him, does not identify himself other than by his first name (he later apologizes for his lie of omission). The couple begin a relationship, but almost immediately the hero’s band reunites for a tour (in due course, each of the hero’s bandmates will each have their own romances/books). The heroine is unsure if a new relationship can take the stresses of a tour. “When you’re famous, everyone’s a stranger,” says the hero, but later realizes that, to him, the heroine has never been a stranger. I liked that the couple in this book were older (mid-to-late thirties) and that the heroine made it clear that children are not in the future for her. I also liked Kriss’s way of writing about music: the creative side of songwriting, the collaborative effort of being in a band, and the high-energy thrills of a live concert; but she also shows the darker side of fame: the isolation, the temptations (one band member has been sober for three years and takes a sobriety coach with him on tour), the loneliness. Kriss writes in such a smooth, relaxed style that it’s easy to overlook the skill it takes to make a book comfortable while still maintaining a level of engagement that makes you want to continue turning the pages. Every time Kriss publishes a new book, I always lament that she is so underrated—perhaps DUET will be the book to push her through to a wider audience. I hope so. Recommended.
Over the course of March, Serena Bell will be republishing (with some “light editing”) her three Under One Roof books: DO OVER, HEAD OVER HEELS, and SLEEPOVER, all originally published in 2018 and all featuring at least one MC who is a parent. In DO OVER, the first of the republished books, the hero and heroine co-parent their four-year-old son—product of their brief affair. When the heroine discovers her boyfriend and her best friend together, she and her son need a place to stay and the hero offers his home as temporary shelter while the heroine looks for a new apartment. Living together under one roof gives the hero and heroine time to re-evaluate and reconsider their pasts and what went wrong between them. The romance grows at a nice pace and there are quite a few steamy scenes, but the real star of the book is the way Bell shows the emotional growth between the MCs. I didn’t read the original book, so I’m not sure how different this book is from its 2018 iteration, but if you haven’t read DO OVER, I certainly recommend it.
I’ve been backlist-glomming my new favorite, Cate C. Wells, and read two of her MC romances: WALL and HEAVY. These both feature MCs who are siblings of the heroes of HITTING THE WALL and AGAINST THE WALL (which are not MC romances). Chronologically, the four books should be read in this order: WALL, HITTING THE WALL, HEAVY, AGAINST THE WALL; but I read them out-of-order and there’s enough background information provided in each book (assuming you don’t mind spoilers) that you won’t get lost. Regardless of sub-genre (MC, shifter, mafia, etc.), Wells writes in a gritty, realistic style and WALL—with its working-class MCs and settings—reminded me in some ways of Jill Sorenson’s MC romances, RIDING DIRTY and SHOOTING DIRTY. WALL is a rather downbeat, melancholy second-chance romance between a married couple who have been separated (but never divorced) for over four years. There are elements of the story that require content/trigger warnings: the heroine miscarried several pregnancies during the marriage; the couple broke up after the hero admitted he cheated on the heroine; there is also a secondary plot involving a drug dealer and criminal activity that ends in violence. I know cheating is a hard-no for many readers, but I liked how Wells made plausible the circumstances behind the infidelity and showed how reuniting will not be easy and will require the MCs to adjust their relationship dynamic. Key quote: “There is no excuse [for infidelity]. But I don’t know if you need a good excuse to forgive someone. Maybe forgiving is something you do. And then the rest follows.” WALL won’t be for everyone, but Wells excels at imperfect-but-not-irredeemable heroes and I think she’s created a great one in WALL. Recommended—but take the I’ve been backlist-glomming my new favorite, Cate C. Wells, and read two of her Steel Bones trigger warnings seriously.
HEAVY features a neuro-divergent heroine (the sister of the heroes from the three WALL books) who approaches the president of the Steel Bones Motorcycle Club with an offer to trade information she has in exchange for help “eliminating” an evil relative. The hero in turn proposes a counter-offer: they should marry so neither of them can be forced testify against the other after they carry out their plans. I thought Wells did a good job describing what life is like for someone who is on the high-functioning end of the spectrum and knows herself well enough to see when her senses are getting overloaded and has to take steps to minimize sensory input. There are also some interesting exchanges between h&h as they navigate their relationship, especially regarding the differences between emotional honesty, truth, and “little white lies” used in social contexts. I spent a lot of time highlighting quotes in HEAVY (one of my daughters is high-functioning ASD and I work with students who are on the severe end of the spectrum): “Theory of mind is my Achilles heel. I assume other people feel what I feel and know what I know. It never fails to throw me when I realize for the bazillionth time that they don’t.” On the heroine’s preference to stay inside: “Why is it that when everyone else lives life how they want it’s the American way, but when I do, it’s a disorder?” I really could go on—there are so many great quotes in HEAVY. Recommended—with the same warnings for violence as WALL.
Part 2
Ruth Cardello’s HE SAID TOGETHER is the third book in her Lost Corisis series. I’m assuming this will be the last book because there were three “lost” Corisi siblings and now each one has had their own book (HE SAID NEVER, HE SAID ALWAYS, HE SAID TOGETHER). HE SAID TOGETHER is a serviceable romance between a male exotic dancer/stripper and the woman who discovers at her bachelorette party (where the hero is dancing) that her fiancé is cheating on her. Needless to say, the marriage doesn’t proceed and the hero’s words of encouragement give the heroine the push she needs to move to Florida and pursue her interests in marine biology (an interest the hero shares). There’s a lot of exposition in HE SAID TOGETHER about how all of the members of the Corisi and Romano families are related, and we get quick synopses of how the couples in the previous books got together. As I said, the romance in HE SAID TOGETHER is fine, but I found the information about how climate change and pollution are affecting marine life (especially, because super-yachts belonging to Russian Oligarchs are currently in the news, how super-yacht anchors tear up coral reefs) and what steps can be taken to alleviate damage to be of more interest. If you’ve read the other two books in the Lost Corisis series, HE SAID TOGETHER is a nice way to end the story, but I would not start with this book, there are too many characters and their connections are quite tangled.
Jackie Ashenden’s THE INNOCENT’S ONE-NIGHT PROPOSAL is a perfectly serviceable HP featuring the usual: hot Greek bazillionaire committed to taking down a trafficking ring that stole his sister from the streets of Athens, a never-been-kissed virgin who offers her virginity in exchange for money to pay for her sister’s IVF treatments, the need for a fake relationships (with a real marriage), and lots of angsty heartache before the eventual HEA. As much as I usually love Ashenden, I felt THE INNOCENT’S ONE-NIGHT PROPOSAL was a rather lackluster outing. In fact, just a few days after finishing it, the story has already blurred in my memory. Recommended only for Ashenden/HP completists.
Perhaps because I read Garrett Leigh’s three Blue Boy Studio books a few weeks ago, Vicki Tharp’s ONE SHOT recently popped up on my recommendations. It’s the first book in Tharp’s Black Stallion Studios series and, like Leigh’s stories, involves MCs who are part of the gay porn industry. The gimmick for Black Stallion Studios is that the actors have to sign an affadavit asserting that they are straight and are only “gay-for-pay.” ONE SHOT is about a baseball player who has lost his money to an embezzling money manager and might lose his career to an elbow injury. He accepts a gay-for-pay spot at Black Stallion Studios where he is partnered with a military veteran who is also looking for a way to make extra money. Both MCs experience a bi-awakening when they start working with each other. Tharp (a new-to-me writer) focuses on the camaraderie of the actors and the sort of dorm-life atmosphere that takes place between shoots at the studio. I thought she also did a good job with both the baseball elements and the media circus that erupts when the player’s porn experience is exposed. I didn’t think 2022 would include a comparison-contrast of m/m romances involving gay porn studios, but here we are. While Tharp is nowhere near as angsty as Leigh, I still enjoyed and recommend ONE SHOT.
Ella Frank’s WICKED HEAT, the first in her new Chicago Heat series of m/m romances, had a weird, oddly-gendered feel to it. Take the opening set-up: Ryan (PA to a major cable news journalist) goes to a rather sketchy bar with a friend (who is meeting a date from a hookup app). While Ryan sits at the bar, he has to fend off the advances of a drunk and horny older man. Then Jameson, a firefighter, intervenes and “rescues” Ryan from the situation. Despite Ryan’s obvious interest, Jameson shuts down any possibility of a further connection, telling Ryan that he (Jameson) is far the rough for the likes of Ryan who “smells rich.” Ryan then goes home and spends the rest of the evening with his friend, mooning about Jameson. There was such a retrogressive feel to the entire thing. Why does Ryan—who is described as tall and well-built, although much is made of the fact that he’s wearing suspenders—need to be rescued in the first place? Even in an m/f romance, I’d find that “savior” premise hard to take, but when applied to two men, it just left me baffled. As the story progressed, the same sort of old-skool “masculine/feminine” dynamic seemed to be in play: Ryan dishes about Jameson with his best friends (in a way that seemed awfully adolescent and innocent for sexually-active men in their twenties) and even describes himself as being like the “shy high school kid wanting the bad boy’s attention.” Jameson is grumpy, rough around the edges, and completely shut down emotionally; Ryan, by contrast, is talkative, friendly, and emotionally available. I wanted to like WICKED HEAT more than I did. It put me in mind of the early days of m/m romances when some writers would republish their m/f romances as m/m by simply changing the female MC’s name, pronouns, and gender references. I’m not saying that’s what Frank did here, but in her attempt to make her MCs complete opposites, Frank made some odd character choices that seem more suited for a 1990s m/f romance than for an m/m romance set in 2022. Even though WICKED HEAT ends on a cliffhanger, I can’t say I’m interested in continuing the rest of the series.
I’d love to see SBTB reviews (even lightning) of The Body is Not an Apology and Pleasure Activism if Sarah and Maya are interested.
I just finished reading The Goblin Emperor, and I think that I will be turning back to page one. I wanted to give Maia a hug and a kitten through every chapter of the book.
My local independent bookstore still has not managed to get me the new Seanan McGuire InCyrptid book, Spelunking through Hell, or Crowbones, both of which I pre-ordered, which is frustrating. But a second indie got me Farah Heron’s Kamila Knows Best (on release day, harumph).
After Sarina Bowen’s Pipe Dreams was on sale, I bought it and the previous novel Hard Hitter. Hard Hitter was fine but wow, I did not care for Pipe Dreams. I liked that Lauren is given more of a character than icy bitch, but I never liked Mike all that much and I didn’t like them as a couple. I know from the comments here that Brooklynaire was a letdown so I have adjusted expectations for that, but Pipe Dreams was also a disappointment for me.
*Thumbs down while giving a razzberry*
Beyond that I know I skipped the last one of these but I also read the Wells rejected mate book and I liked it quite a bit even though I don’t go for shifters and/or fated mates usually.
Definitely intrigued by the recommendation for Duet! That might be my next read.
I’ve been reading lots of fantasy this month. Take me awaaaaay…
Silver Birch, Blood Moon anthology of fairy tale inspired short stories, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Winding. Any collection edited by this duo is worth a look. This one was recently mentioned on Jo Walton’s reading list on tor.com. The stories are varied, some quite dark. So far my favorite is Patricia Briggs’s twist on Rumpelstiltskin with a very satisfying HEA. There’s also a Robin McKinley story and a poem by Neil Gaiman.
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett – the Discworld witches fighting off vampires, it was good but quite heavy at times. Also started a reread of Lords and Ladies, the witches fighting off fae with added wizard shenanigans and extra puns.
I got a bag of paper books from the library, as the hold wait times are now shorter than for ebooks.
Got more than halfway through Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert, iffy on finishing it. Eve is a fun character but the hero is not quite working for me. There is discussion of autism hitting a bit too close to home. I loved Dani Brown so much, I want to like her sisters’ books. Sigh.
Also among the loot:
Beauty and the Werewolf, a Mercedes Lackey five hundred kingdoms book, fluffy fantasy;
My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand et al, billed as an irreverent alternate history version of Mary Queen of Scots with shifters. I liked their My Lady Jane (Grey), also featuring shifters, it was quite funny with some tense perilous parts but all ends well.
Looking forward to my hold on The Book of Dragons, a recent fantasy anthology by some stellar authors including Jo Walton, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Ann Leckie, Aliette de Bodard, and many more.
I have been trying to force myself to get through some very boring nonfiction by not having any fun alternatives.
I have mostly been reading gay hockey romances, Heated Rivalry remains my favorite, but there are just so many. Is there a reason hockey is so well represented of all the sports? Or is it not actually and I just never paid attention but there are lots of great gay othersportsball romances awaiting?
Incidentally, I read that Mary Balogh Someone Perfect nine millionth Westcott novel that was (somewhat?) recently reviewed. It’s true it’s not quite as bad as some of the others in expecting me to care about all the family. The real problem for me is that the selfish, immature (dead) villainess rejected her family, because wicked/youthful ignorance. Her efforts to instead make a family of her friends are portrayed as damaging to herself and her children when she could have had a real family. This one! the bestest, made of bloooood (and Marriage! and Wuv!) family, they’ve all been here. waiting. waiting. here ready and waiting to love you, alllll along. The pervasive family is so important propaganda really creeped me out. So I’m emulating the villainess and rejecting the boundless love of this whole extended family.
I just finished HIS SECONDHAND WIFE by Cheryl St. John which is a story about nice people being nice but also not thinking they’re good enough because of their childhoods. This guy takes in his worthless brother’s pregnant widow in 1890s Colorado. He has a lot of scars from an old accident that keep him from connecting with people. She’s just an unbelievable ball of sunshine despite the bad things that have happened to her. Everyone in the community is nice and supportive except for the snobby mother-in-law. Totally ridiculous but enjoyable.
I’m reading THESE HOLLOW VOWS by Lexi Ryan. Up next, I want to go back and finish the Cruel Prince trilogy by Holly Black. I still need to read THE WICKED KING and THE QUEEN OF NOTHING.
After that, I will probably switch genres and read some of the many contemporary romances waiting on my TBR pile.
I’m also hoping to finish REACHER on Amazon Prime. In some ways, I think the show is better than the book it is based on. Reacher is much more likeable in the show than he is in the book(s), although he is still pretty arrogant in both versions. But I really like the secondary characters in the show, and there is a lot of good, snarky banter between everyone.
I keep starting books but I’m having difficulty finishing them. Also, Hugo nominations close on Tuesday night so that’s governing a lot of what I’m trying to finish. Here’s a partial list of everything I’m halfway through (based upon my Goodreads account)
BILLY SUMMERS by Stephen King
A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT by Becky Chambers
BLACKTHORN WINTER by Liz Williams
PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir
IF WE WERE VILLAINS by M. L. Rio
THE SEARCHER by Tana French
IRON WIDOW by Xiran Jay Zhou
Happy March (as the snow falls outside my window). Somehow I missed February all together. I’ve been swinging between re-reads and low angst. That said, the Gamer Girls led not just to several Bad Decision Book Nights, but a hibernation weekend.
@kkw Your mention of M/M hockey books makes me want to go back and re-read the Avon Gale SCORING CHANCES series. The third, POWER PLAY, is one of my favorite couples of all time (and you don’t have to have read 1-2 to enjoy it). Anyway, now that I know what I’m re-reading next, here’s February and March’s books:
Great
AMARANTHINE SAGA by Forthright (M/F Japanese based fantasy). After reading about Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox on SBTB I finally started it, and then devoured the entire series and accompanying ‘songs’. Lovely characterizations. FYI Mikoto and the Reaver Village makes much more sense if you’ve read Marked by Stars first.
GAMER GIRLS series by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox (F/M Contemporary). Romances set among gamers and game developers. These do not shy away from the hard aspects of being female in a male world. However, they stand up to it and make you root for the protagonists.
STYLE OF LOVE by AJ Sherwood (M/M Contemporary). Friends to lovers. No big explosions or magic, just guys falling in love.
TRADER’S TALES by Nathan Lowell (YA Science Fiction). A young man’s going to space series. No battles or aliens, but life on a merchant ship and an incredibly rich world.
UNBREAKABLE SOLDIERS Series by Megan Derr (M/M Fantasy). The characters, oh the characters. The first, the ENGINEERED THRONE, remains my favorite, but the newest, the STOLEN COURT, wasn’t a bad addition to the series.
Very Good
DARK ORCHID Series by Auryn Hadley (F/M…Dark Fantasy). This series is not light, especially the first book. However the characterizations and people just made the whole world come to life. And the move from Lust to Compassion to Love makes you think about what those, and sex really mean.
MEGAN DERR’S Short Stories (M/M Fairytales). Picked up the Little Moments, which are extra scenes for Megan Derr’s stories, leading to a great Re-Reading of FAIRYTALES SLASHED, ONCE UPON A DREAM, and many other of her works. Little angst, lots of happy endings.
OFFBEAT CRIMES Series by Angel Martinez (M/M Police paranormals). A Philadelphia squad room of paranormal misfit officers with slowly deepening characterizations and growth. Not to mention kittens, and animated leather jackets, and much more.
WOLVES NEXT DOOR Series by Auryn Hadley (F/M/M/M/M/M shifters). Contemporary divorcee with teenage daughter moves next door to the local alpha and his betas. And… they act like adults (mostly) and the kids act like teenagers. Refreshing! And of course there are guys in the hot tub and fixing the washing machine, which is what everyone wants, right?
Good
SECOND ACT by Kaje Harper (M/M Contemporary). A lovely contemporary with real people in both LA and Minnesota.
FROSTED HEARTS by Kaye Draper (M/M/M/F Paranormal). A short winter tale about a cupid, santa, crampus, and frost fairy meeting at a resort.
UNEXPECTED MATES SERIES by Brea Alepou (M/M Mpreg Shifters). Lowish angst, and lots of babies as the series progresses.
Ok
ALL THAT GLITTERS by Arden Steele (M/M Paranormal). Part of Nocturne City, but no need to have read the others. Ok, but little plot or growth.
BRINDLE DRAGON SERIES by Jade Fisher (YA Fantasy). Interesting premise and I’m always up for a ‘girl and dragon in school’ premise, but plot holes and general ho-hum mean I’m not anxious to pick up book 4 in the series
RIVER’S EDGE SERIE by Lorelei Hart (M/M Mpreg Shifters). The latest (LOVE ISN’T FERRET ALL and I PUFFIN LOVE YOU) continue the instalove, low angst series. Ok, but not reaching to good.
SKYLER by Tia Fielding (M/M Shifter). This is a nice novella to Fielding’s Wolfy series, but can not stand on its own.
After reading Adriana Anders’ Whiteout and Uncharted, upon learning at the conclusion of Uncharted that supporting character Ans may be in a mine cave-in several states away, I reached for that third book…and there is no story yet for Ans. Not even a pre-order button. Oh, no!
Fortunately, there are always more books. Author Katie Ruggle wrote a series set in the Colorado Rockies with ice-divers, fire fighters, search & rescue teams, and sheriff’s deputies. The setting is vivid, the characters interesting, sympathetic, poignant, and a plot arc lightly ties them together. The first, Hold Your Breath, is available in KU.
At loose [book] ends, I continued to Ruggle’s Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit series. On Thursday I finished Run to Ground, with man and dog having a rough time adjusting to the loss of friend and partner. When I finished, I made the mistake of peeking (and reading five chapters) into the second book. Instead of having Friday night to read, I had work. A sensible person would wait until Saturday instead of picking up a romantic suspense at 11:50 p.m., but not I! Bad Decision Book Club, sign me up.
MY TBR STACK FOR THIS WEEK:
THE SOULMATE EQUATION (Yes, I have been living under a rock)
THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF
ARCS of ECLIPSE THE MOON BY JESSIE MIHALIK and YOU WERE MADE TO BE MINE BY JULIE ANNE LONG
I JUST FINISHED:
HOOK LINE AND SINKER which I liked but didn’t love.
THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS which I hated with a passionate intensity.
ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND which was beautiful and moving and made me cry. I am a sucker for created family.
I have been in a reading rut recently. Hopefully I can also get to SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN because I am so excited about that book!
I read Randy Rainbow’s memoir, “Playing With Myself”, yesterday. I swear I heard the entire text in his voice as I was reading. It was what you’d expect from him – sharp, witty, funny, campy, over the top, but with unexpected emotional moments – talking about the death of his grandmother, and his cat’s illness and passing during the COVID shutdown in NYC (seriously, I almost needed a box of Kleenex during this part). My brain has basically been boycotting any attempt to read for what feels like months at this point, but this was easy to get into.
I’ve also been sloooooowly making my way through “You Truly Assumed” by Laila Sabreen and “Indomitable: The Life of Barbara Grier” by Joanne Passet – it’s about Barbara Grier, a major early bibliographer of 20th century lesbian fiction and one of the founders of Naiad Press.
I’m on a nostalgia kick so I’m re-reading Anne McCaffrey’s Crystal Singer trilogy. Apparently I had no memory of the first book so it was like a new read. Reading the second one now and so far the series is mostly holding up.
Someone mentioned Marrying Winterborne on Twitter so I was dying to read it again. Sadly the library copies are out so I ordered it. But in the meantime I wanted some Sad Historical Businessman trope so that I went back to the rec league post and got a bunch of the recs from the library to keep me going this month.
So, there was A PECULIAR COMBINATION by Ashley Weaver, another historical mystery based in WWII London. I like the premise, she comes from a family of locksmiths with a sideline in B & E and is coerced into the war effort. Although, I imagine they would have helped out if asked nicely. It suffers by comparison with the Maggie Hope series which has a level of versimilitude that this lacks.
RAFE, by Rebekah Weatherspoon which was a BOS or WAYR rec from a while back which I enjoyed immensely for the low angst, emotional maturity and openness of the MCs.
Now off to the GBPL. Book envy is over because CROWBONES in waiting at the drive-thru. I need a good waiting room read. The Year of Recovery after the Year of Dad is turning into the Year of My SIL. All we know after her one hour procedure turned into a NINE HOUR without an update shitstorm of surgeons dicking around in her brain, is that it’s not a tumor. And the only thing we’ve smiled about in four days is that none of us can say that without sounding like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Oh I forgot Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon. I listened to the audio while auditing this week and I found myself forgetting to work. Xeni was definitely my new favorite romance this month and I downloaded other RW titles on audio.
I was on the road (well, in many planes) this last week and finally got back to reading as it is my go to for re-centering when forced to people.
UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR, TJ Klune. After extending my library hold many, many times, I finally read this book about death and and living. (CWs all over the place: death, murder, child death, animal death, suicide, grief, and even panic attacks. TJ Klune wrote this as a way of dealing with his own grief over the loss of someone very close to him.) The book was was highly imaginative, deeply thoughtful, and overall rather wonderful. Aside from an HEA that was the only too-good-to-be-true aspect of the story, I loved the caring, but gritty look at the inevitability of death and the inevitability of life. While the Reaper, the Ferryman (or Ferryperson), and the support staff (the Ferryman’s deceased grandfather and his also deceased dog) sound like cookie-cutter roles, Klune instilled each one of his characters with — um, there’s no better word for it — a soul. The book follows the changes in main character, a newly-dead, truly awful, utterly self-centered lawyer, as he learns to be a compassionate ghost in the way-station of the Chiron Corner tea shop while finding his way to “after”. I don’t know how others might read this, but I found it a compelling take on death and life both, one that was, for me, a timely and wonderful read. (Objectively B+ due to the lovely but unnecessarily contradictory HEA. Otherwise it would have been at least an A.)
A TOUCH OF RUCKUS, Ash Van Otterloo
This was another oft delayed hold at the library that I finally got around to reading. This is supposed to be a children’s book (Scholastic Press released Sept 2021), but it also dealt with death (“ghosts”), living and loving. Two young protagonists, Tennie (she/her) and Fox (they/them), have gifts (or “burdens” in Tennie’s case) that allow them to feel the past in things (Tennie) or see ghosts (Fox), and sometimes, together, both. It’s a good, lightly angsty story for middle-schoolers, but as an (old) adult, I found Van Otterloo’s treatment of capitalism, death (literally from capitalism), and family struggles to keep problems from one another. It was an excellent kid’s book that dealt with a lot of real issues. Not a romance, per se, but the sweet (early throes of) attraction (f/non-binary) was nicely done. It was worth reading.
HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING, Denise Williams
Suggested this week at SBTB and my library had it available. As a former (actually, unreformed) academic, I have a love/hate relationship with books that feature universities, but HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING was close to dead on. [CW for domestic abuse played out between profs. The abuser was senior and used his position in the past to defame the main character, and later threatened her with posting pictures he’d taken when they were in a relationship.] The cover and even the title were a bit deceiving: this was not a rom-com in the slightest. It was a lovely story of an untenured woman of color faced with university down-sizing whose attempt at having a one-night stand after shutting herself down for three years following a terrible relationship was both a failure and highly successful. The issues that the main characters had to deal with were many, and very real: past-relationships (the academic’s evil ex and the consultant’s soon-to-be ex-wife), the ethical dilemma of dating a consultant who is evaluating which departments should be promoted or axed from the university, the difficulty of a long-distance relationship, and the repercussions of not being open about current problems outside the relationship. It was a very good book. (At least B+)
FIRELIGHT, Kristen Callihan
Another book listed on SBTB’s BOOKS ON SALE. Enough was written about it in the posting, but I just want to add my thumb’s up.
@DDD. You’re spot on about WALL. I also re-read WALL this week. The fact that I RE-read it says it all for me.
I’m reading Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin. I love it, and it’s made me cry more than any other horror novel I’ve read.
Against a Wall – Cate C. Wells
Part-time nature photographer/barista fake dates her redneck school bully and hijinks ensue. Picked this one up after binging the Tyrant Alpha’s rejected Mate last month. I’ve never been drawn to a “bully” romance, which I guess on the face of it this one is, but the characters were nuanced and the “bully” is actually a total cinnamon roll. I think Wells is working for me right now partially because her heroines (or at least the two I’ve read so far) are grumpy and a little awkward and her hero’s LOVE it. I feel sort of grumpy currently with the world being the way it is and I’m all for reminders we still are lovable even when we’re not super chipper. Of note, this book is part two in a series, but I skipped the first book since it’s a “secret baby trope” which I wasn’t feeling at the moment. I had no trouble following what was going on despite that. TW for death of a parent (occurring in the past) and associated grief processing- I actually found this aspect of the book really well done, but it also made me tear up so be aware. Whatever the opposite of a TW is for a really cute dog.
A Marvelous Light – Freya Marske (Audio)
Really enjoyed this one. Perfect for laundry folding and walking to work. The synopsis is pretty spot on I think- a sort of queer Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell.
Murder at Pirate’s Cove – Josh Lanyon (Audio)
M/M cozy mystery. This wasn’t very memorable but was very comforting over the past week when I needed to decompress after work and not think about sad real world stuff.
I’ve finally gone down the Murderbot hole, and am having trouble getting out! So much excellent worldbuilding and a very compelling narrator. Slightly embarrassed to admit that I’ve done a full re-read of the series + audio versions! Shout-out to Libby and my local library for providing initial access, though I’ve gone ahead and invested in the audiobooks. But huge thanks to SBTB for recommending the series- though I like StarTrek, I’m not a huge SciFi fiction reader and may not have given it a chance otherwise!
EVEN SO, I WILL LOVE YOU TENDERLY by Yoneda Kou (family name Yoneda) – [squee] – I don’t know how this came up in my library feed (if it was a new acquisition or just a cross-recommendation), but I adore this manga story of a savvy but vulnerable gay salaryman who falls in love with the supposedly straight friend-of-a-friend. I remember hunting down the separate doujinshi at resale shops in Ikebukuro a decade ago…one of the plastic sleeves still has the resale price tag affixed. Let’s just say I was very invested in this story, and the greatest compliment I can give any book when I see it on sale for less than what I paid is that I have zero regrets for having paid (exorbitantly) more when I did.
PERFECT PARTNERS by Jayne Ann Krentz, audio narrated by Amy McFadden – [A-] – Whenever I reread the text of Perfect Partners, I start roughly around 30% into the book to avoid the worst of the condescension being thrown at the heroine by her father, her father’s second wife, and her love interest/CEO. Unfortunately, I never skip ahead in audio, so I had to sit — well, walk — through it all. The book is 30 years old, and while I usually don’t feel I’ve evolved much at all as a reader, I know 20-something me was less prickly about this offensive treatment (while anticipating the payoff where Letty wins and everyone needs to acknowledge that the wise midwestern librarian understands more about everything important than they do). 50-something me is just really angry at everyone’s smug rudeness. I’m honestly not sure I could finish this book if I were picking it up for the first time today, which would be a shame because at time when we didn’t have a vocabulary for it, JAK did a magnificent job portraying the anxieties of a demisexual heroine. Also, I really like McFadden as a narrator for Krentz’s contemporaries.
NOT THE WITCH YOU WED by April Asher – [B] – I really wanted to like this (I was so eager for the book, I placed holds at 5 separate libraries!) but just wasn’t engaged by the protagonists. I was terribly distracted by the fact that he was leader of the Shifter Pack for all of North America (all shifters…wolves, bears, eagles, guppies). I just assumed that the different species wouldn’t have enough in common to accept common leadership. Perhaps their political organization includes a species-pack-specific sublayer where all those disagreements get worked out. Also — and I started skimming in the middle, so don’t hesitate to correct me if I’m wrong — it felt like the romantic conflict could simply have been resolved by him choosing her over whatever fated mate nonsense he was holding onto. However, there was an absolutely adorable scene with a spunky kid witch facing down some shifter bullies at a youth center.
THE COWBOY by Jayne Ann Krentz, narrated by Kate Rudd – [C] – This is a case of poor narration making a bad book worse. Or maybe (improbably?!) I’m a generous reader, because when I read the text, the heroine doesn’t sound nearly as shrill in my head as she does in Rudd’s narration. Regardless, the real problem here is the inadequate grovel. A year ago, Rafe Cassidy booted Margaret Lark out of his life because she felt obliged to warn her employer when she discovered her lover was vying to take over the same company her boss was (the book was originally published in 1990, tail end of merger mania). Krentz’s objective here is to create an archetypal cowboy hero, and while part of that involves some very flashy footwear for the hero, the other part involves the kind of macho nonsense where the sum total of his grovel is that he bent enough to approach the heroine first (having lost patience/hope that the heroine would come to him). With the aid of her incredibly disloyal father, Rafe manipulates Margaret into spending time at his ranch, where everyone pressures her about forgiving and marrying him. But what really drives me crazy is that Rafe insists on addressing the heroine as “Maggie” even after she repeatedly asks him to call her Margaret. Dismissing a heroine’s preferences does not a good grovel make. (I do love noting where elements of JAK’s stories get recycled: the emphasis on the workaholic hero making a bad husband takes center stage in Sweet Fortune (1991), and the “joke” where every secondary character accuses the heroine of walking out/breaking the hero’s heart when the opposite is true reappears in Obsidian Prey (2009).)
DARK FIRE by Ruby Dixon – [yikes] – This is the last of Dixon’s Fireblood Dragon series, and my feelings at the end reminded me of my feelings after reading Laura Thalassa’s Pestilence: the HEA doesn’t feel secure to me because I can’t imagine typical human beings being able to build a welcoming community with the perceived source of their misery. But my real discomfort with the book is that the heroine is a Black woman (which makes the title seem pretty sketchy) and her love interest enslaves dragon shifters. This isn’t a neutral choice. The heroine has one (!) line where she explains to him that she could never be with him if these rumors were true because her people have a fraught history with slavery. I then spent the rest of the book wondering if Dixon had chosen to make her heroine Black because it fuels the break-up (I’m whiter than sour cream and 99.7% certain I would dump a slave owner) or — please, no — because her ethnicity lends more weight to her forgiveness and acceptance. Either way, I think poor choices were made here. BUT! I was very impressed by Dixon’s analysis in her afterword of the medic heroine’s weariness. In that sense, I felt like this book was a real testament to the COVID pandemic.
:::walks in to Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine, which is living rent-free in my head these days:::
Welp, after The Turnout, I told my brain that it needed to lay off the dark, twisty shit. So I pulled out a historical romance that I’ve been holding onto for when I needed something fun, A Scot to the Heart by Caroline Linden. It was exactly what I needed, from the perspective that I got to read about two protagonists that both loved and liked each other, came from places of compassion and humor, and were actively trying to be good people, and then saw each other from across a room and had their hearts go boom. The conflict in it was honestly slightly unbelievable, since it was clear from the jump that these two are meant to for each other, but it was comforting to read something where it’s just two people that know they’re meant to be together and they figure out how to make that work. Then I did something I haven’t done in approximately 30 years and pulled out some John Grisham. Seriously, not since I was a teenager. I read The Judge’s List, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It involved a judge that is also a serial killer, and the two women that topple him. As serial killers go, it was interesting to have one whose motivations basically boiled down to his being a petty little bitch-baby, and having it be two women (one of whom is the daughter of one of his victims) that brought his crimes to light was nice. I’d like to see some more books about the Jeri character, because she was fantastic. Which brings us to now, in which I’m reading Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire, which is #9 in her InCryptid series and stars the cuckoo (not a pejorative for crazy here, that’s her species) mathematician Sarah and her half-incubus lovebug Artie. I buy the InCryptid series regularly and always enjoy them, and essentially save them for when I need cryptid shenanigans, good humor, and a dose of slightly off-kilter found family. Also, HAIL THE AESLIN MICE.
So until next time, HAIL.
Thanks to various reviews and recs on this blog, I have been reading Celia Lake’s Albion books—specifically, the Mysterious Powers series. I can’t stop reading them! Something about her gentle, thoughtful, slowpaced, character-driving historical fantasy romances is the perfect antidote my fears and despair about the current dire state of the world. To all of you who have recommended Lake’s books over the last few years, thank you.
Since last time ~
— stayed up late reading Prisoner by Lia Silver; I enjoyed it, but it definitely ends on a cliffhanger. I’ve owned the book since 2014, so it was definitely time!
— then read Laura’s Wolf (Werewolf Marines Book 1) by Lia Silver which I enjoyed. The characters deal with PTSD, and a note indicates that the author is a therapist who treats such patients in real life.
— very much enjoyed and would recommend The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence. (One caution is that the book deals with SPOILER ALERTassisted suicideEND SPOILER.) The book is currently on sale for $1.99 for US Kindle readers.
— a reread of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison; this is a favorite book! Note: It’s currently on sale for US Kindle readers for $2.99.
— enjoyed reading Crowbones (World of the Others Book 3) by Anne Bishop. It was fun to spend time with known characters; there were admittedly many new characters and the story was busy. (Shh, don’t tell my library that the book wasn’t supposed to be out for two more days.)
— London Calling Box Set (Lost in Time) by A.L. Lester. This is a compilation of three linked books, and I enjoyed the collection. They are historical (primarily male/male) romantic suspense with a time travel element.
— finished Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers Book 1) by Rachel Aaron; I’d been reading this urban fantasy off and on for two weeks. It was a pleasant read but not so compelling that I’ll read on in the series.
— stayed up late finishing Shadow Unit 1, Book 1 of 15 by Emma Bull, Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette and Will Shetterly; the book contained works from various authors set in a common world. The works ranged from novellas to one page pieces. I was intrigued that one of the authors, Sarah Monette, is the author of The Goblin Emperor written as Katherine Addison. I enjoyed the collection though it was quite dark/eerie in places. I believe that the series was mentioned here.
I’m starting a new job a week from this coming Monday – first full time permanent position after 8 years of freelance and contract work. I’m excited and looking forward to more stability and I’m also anxious about having to go into the office 3 days a week after 2 years of working remotely. I’m expecting it to be energizing but also stressful, so I’m trying to relax and fill up my emotional tank.
Thanks to some library magic, I had 4 holds become available this week (I did not put all 4 on hold at the same time) so apparently the universe agrees that I need to chill out and spend more time sitting in the sunshine and reading.
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar – f/f YA, B+
Lovely, immersive queer YA set in Dublin, Ireland about a 16 year old Bengali Irish girl. There’s a nice rivals to lovers romance but to me it’s primarily a coming of age story.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake – f/f bi romance, B
I wanted to like this former frenemies to lovers / misfit returns to her small hometown romance a little more than I did but I still enjoyed it.
I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson – m/m contemporary, 3.5 stars/ B-
I enjoyed this queer mm rom-com involving fake dating at a fancy wedding, even though I didn’t really buy the romance.
I’d recommend this for fans of Crazy Rich Asians and My Best Friend’s Wedding – it’s light and over the top, with lots of wedding hijinks, mishaps and designer clothing, but queer and Black and Southern. I don’t really recommend it for genre romance fans – the romance is the least convincing part of the novel.
And I’ve just started Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly – f/nb contemporary set during a cooking competition reality show.
I finished Julie Anne Long’s WAYS TO BE WICKED about a ballet dancer forced undercover into a titillating pantomime show. Hilariously, she kept writing about her heroine being forced to pat the other dancers’ ‘fannies’ in the dances. I think she meant patting their bottoms, but in a British context, it’s a bit more obscene than that. Especially as during the eighteenth century, ‘fanny’ really was slang for a vagina (see: the erotic novel FANNY HILL, for example) and probably American Regency authors ought to steer clear.
Also went on a horror binge. I finally read Colson Whitehead’s ZONE ONE, which I found vaguely unsatisfying. I’ve read his later work, but this was not as developed. Then I read Grady Hendrix’s THE FINAL GIRLS’ SUPPORT CLUB (which I liked considerably more than Riley Sager’s FINAL GIRLS), and finished up with MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW by Stephen Graham Jones, which echoed a lot of the same themes and obsessions. The latter was incoherent, passionate and unhinged; I couldn’t put it down.
Should add: I read a lot of reviews suggesting that Sager’s book is superior, which baffled me because he’s clearly not a very good writer..? In terms of the writing alone, I’d rank them MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW > FINAL GIRLS’ SUPPORT CLUB > FINAL GIRLS.
(It probably is interesting that all three books about Final Girls are written by men.)
@Tam: CHAINSAW is the first book in a new trilogy; Jade Daniels returns in DON’T FEAR THE REAPER (ETA February 2023). He also wrote an earlier (2012) slasher book, THE LAST FINAL GIRL. It’s written in screenplay format, so it takes a little getting used to.
My favourite of the things I’ve read so far in March is definitely Josie Silver’s ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND. I understand why some people didn’t like a particular aspect of the story, but it didn’t truly bother me in the context of the characters and story. I loved the depiction of the island and the community and it reminded so much of the travels I’ve taken in Scotland that I couldn’t help but utterly fall in love with the story. I utterly believed their romance.
I liked Trish Doller’s THE SUITE SPOT pretty well. Another island, another community and a lot of things to like about it. The only thing I missed was seeing the H fall for the h. In fact, I was a little surprised when it seemed he was returning her feelings. I guess maybe because she was, but I missed the connection. Still, a good read.
Also really enjoyed Harper St. John’s THE LADY TEMPTS AN HEIR. That’s one where the romance really worked for me and I felt the attraction on both sides, and the hesitancies.
Tessa Bailey’s HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER worked for me, too. I felt like I could understand the H having to learn to let go of the story he believed about himself and the steadfastness of the h. I don’t think I’ve known men who had the same issue as the H, but I certainly have known women who’ve been stuck in that way.
Loved Angela Slatter’s OF SORROW AND SUCH. Not a romance, a fantasy, and an audiobook re-read of a book I read a few years ago. I love Slatter’s fantasy world and her take on it and the community of women that centers and grounds this novella.
Also liked Joanna Lowell’s THE RUNAWAY DUCHESS. Yes, the main character was horrible at the start but I’d like the previous one in the series enough to trust the author and I’m glad I did.
Beth Reekles’ LOCKDOWN ON LONDON LANE was fine, just a little too LOVE, ACTUALLY for me (I’ve never understood the love of that movie–I don’t think I believed any of the love stories in that one.)
I read a few more (yes I’m reading obsessed) but I’m out of typing time for now. ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND was the one I love the most out of this lot, followed by the Slatter.
These were all library books. Damn I love having access to both our city and county systems! I lucked out with all these new releases. Right now I’m listening to Ali Hazlewood’s STUCK WITH YOU. Thumbs up so far.
So I finally read Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry this month and holy shit did I love it and why the heck did I wait this long to read it?! Actually I loved it so much that I went straight back to the beginning and read it again and then went and pre-ordered The Long Game. So now I’m on an M/M hockey romance kick and if anyone has recs for that I’d appreciate them. I finished Catherine Cloud’s Adrian Bradley’s Best Mistake last night and loved that too except I wish it had been longer–I needed a little more on the HEA. I also read another Catherine Cloud, Love & Other Inconveniences, and loved that too. I’m kind of sad that I only have one more of her books left to read (Three is the Luckiest Number) but will probably read either that or Taylor Fitzpatrick’s You Could Make a Life next.
@Sarah I agree with you on The Love Hypothesis. I listened to the audiobook while running and kinda breezed through the terrible scenes but now every time I think about it I want to throw up. A high profile faculty member takes his shirt off at a department picnic and has a student apply sunscreen. The heroine sits on a faculty member’s lap in front of her entire department, all of her cohorts AND her advisors and it’s supposed to be hot?? Her best friend, another woman in STEM pressured her into it???!! This “fake” relationship with a famous academic will haunt her ENTIRE career and nobody is ever concerned about that??? Their names will be linked forever! I don’t care that this is Star Wars fanfic or whatever, the fact that the characters make jokes about title IX places it firmly in our galaxy and I hate it.
@Sarah @MeMe I had a different take on The Love Hypothesis. There is so much about this book that is so accurate about women in academia and STEM fields. Examples of imposter syndrome, microaggressions, sexual harassment all portrayed so well. Yes, I have seen faculty members pressure young women into sexual situations that are completely uncomfortable. And yes, institutional rules are mocked by those in power.
The book isn’t perfect. I do have issues with the romance itself. But I hope it makes others realize the challenges women in STEM face.
@Cristie – mm hockey romance recommendations
Avon Gale’s Power Play has a similar vibe to Heated Rivalry, although the story is quite different. It’s part of her Scoring Chances series and it’s pretty standalone. It came out well before Heated Rivalry and has a grumpy Russian / sunshine-y American (not Canadian) rivals to lovers pairing. They’re coaches in the NFL equivalent of the minor leagues.
Ashlyn Kane has written a couple. Winging It came out in like 2015 but I just read it recently and thought that I would have liked it better if I hadn’t already read so many hockey romances. So you may like it having not read many yet.
@kkw: gay sportsball romance recs:
Avery Cockburn’s Glasgow Lads series is about an amateur football (soccer) league and there’s a spinoff series about a curling team.
Rachel Spangler has written several ff sports romances. My favorite is Edge of Glory – about a downhill skier and a snowboarder who meet training for the winter Olympics. She also has one about curling but I haven’t read it.
Tigers and Devils series by Sean Kennedy – Australian rules football. Snarky hipster / professional jock pairing.
Riley Hart’s written a couple mm (American) football romances that I haven’t read yet.
@Cristie: next to HEATED RIVALRY, my absolute favorite m/m hockey love story is Taylor Fitzpatrick’s THROWN OFF THE ICE. It covers two decades in the relationship between two hockey players, one an “enforcer” at the end of his career, the other a teenage rookie with great promise. It’s brilliant but also heart-rending and gutting. It does not have an HEA/HFN, so I don’t know if it qualifies as a romance, but it’s certainly a love story. Highly recommended.