Hey all! It’s our last Whatcha Reading for May!
We want to know what you’ve been reading, and if you haven’t been able to focus on reading this month, that’s also okay! If there’s something else you’ve been doing or enjoying, you’re welcome to drop that in the comments too.
Elyse: I’m reading The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda ( A | BN | K | AB )
Shana: I just finished Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon ( A | BN ) and I’m about to start Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Sarah: I’m reading A Marvellous Light, and it’s delightful and perfect for staying-inside-because-it’s-so-hot-out.
Tara: Okay, okay, so still not back in the reading groove, but how about a video game with a strong narrative element? Because I gobbled the game Citizen Sleeper two days. It’s kind of like Blade Runner meets Mass Effect, with scarcity driving gameplay, and “fuck capitalism” as the overall message.
Sarah: Oh my gosh that sounds incredible.
Tara: It really is! Neil loved it so much he got me and one of our best friends to play it and all three of us agree that it’s excellent.
Carrie: I am near the end of The Book of Living Secrets by Madeline Roux, in which two teenage girls enter the world of their favorite book, a historical romance, and instead fin themselves in a Lovecraftian horror novel. The concept is better than the writing but it has held my attention.
Sneezy: The webtoon Our Secret Alliance is just starting and I’m already invested in the characters. Fake dating, pining, young angst.
It’s cute, the conflicts feel more chill (though I completely empathize with how big they must feel to the characters), and is a VERY GOOD THING to distract by brain with because I’m also following I Raised a Black Dragon on Manta and the villain is so far proving to be unscrupulous, brutal, and worst of all, very competent. He’s so far one step ahead of the main characters and making excellent use of his magical, social, and political powers much more dynamically AND he has information that the main characters don’t. The art in that webtoon is so fucking cute, why must it stress me out like this???
Lara: I have been reading the Murderbot books by Martha Wells and to say I’m obsessed is an understatement. So much heart! So much adventure! Literally cannot stop reading them.
What have you been reading or enjoying? Tell us below!
Yay, I wasn’t sure I’d catch WAYR before I head out of town for the long weekend.
Here’s what I got through since last time:
Katherine Addison – Angel of the Crows
Sherlock wingfic with Jack the Ripper. I know people love Addison, and this wasn’t bad, but I’ve read her before and yet her work doesn’t seem to connect with me. It’s ok in the moment, then I let it go. Which is fine, I guess. This did some interesting things, but I kept getting caught up in something that bugged me about the worldbuilding: if (presumably) Judeo-Christian angels are waking around everywhere, then how are the multiplicity of religions still a thing? Which it very much was. Anyway, I couldn’t unlock the key of why that was, and it kept dragging me out of the actual story.
Jeannie Lin – The Lotus Palace
I’ve been meaning to read Jeannie Lin forever and a day, so I finally downloaded the first three Lotus Palace books and did it. I enjoyed this one a lot, I liked both the characters, but I’m not sure I buy their happy ending so much. I’m reading book two now and their appearances there do not change that feeling. I have to think a little more on why. Anyway, I’m halfway thorough book 2 now and absolutely loving it, so that might actually change my feelings on this one a bit.
Margaria Engle – La Selva
My second Spanish book of the year! Goal was to do three, so I’ve got six months to tackle a last one. La Selva is a middle grade novel in verse–I can’t say I “get” novels in verse, but at least the format made it a little easier to read. It’s about a Cuban-American boy visiting his father in Cuba for the first time and learning that he has a sister he never knew about. They explore the rainforest and the animals and plants there absent mother is a cryptozoologist, their father is a forest guard), and have to outwit a poacher. There are a lot of evocative descriptions of nature and animals. Still not a very natural reading process for me, but I did learn lots of new animal vocabulary.
I’ve been on vacation this week and the reading highlight has been NETTLE AND BONE by T. Kingfisher. Her voice is so strong and unusual, I always worry I’m going to get sick of her. So far, so good. This one was a little light on romance but had all the things I love about Saint of Steel. Competence, kindness, dry humor, teamwork, fabulous female characters. I’ve been pushing it on everyone I know, including the more romance adverse.
Currently reading The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone, as recommended by Darlynne under a recent sale post. It’s like a cozy mystery in that a completely unqualified person is tasked with solving a murder, but instead of a baker or florist, the titular character is a chronically unemployable 20-something with knowledge of but not passion for geek culture (which is about where I am–yes, I understood that reference; no, I don’t want to participate in whatever it is). It’s made me wheeze with laughter a couple of times, which is desperately needed at the moment.
It’s been a lighter two weeks for me in terms of reading. Wrapped up Katee Robert’s ELECTRIC IDOL, a retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche. Robert’s style of writing just doesn’t seem to work for me, so that’s useful info if nothing else.
Re-read Dorothy Sayers’ GAUDY NIGHT for the first time in, maybe 15 years? It’s just as fabulous as I remembered—her eye for detail and ear for dialog are just wonderful. Peter and Harriet are just a delight.
Currently reading THE SPYMASTER’S LADY by Joanna Bourne which I picked up based on a recent books on sale post and am quite enjoying.
After that, I have four books I recently purchased, including a Jackie Lau, some Bridgerton novellas, a Julie Anne Long, and SPIN THE DAWN by Elizabeth Lim and then I recklessly claimed THE WITCH’S HEART when my ebook hold came in even though I’m not sure I’ll get to it in time…
I DNF’ed 69 Million Things I Hate About You by Kira Archer. It was enjoyable in a forgettable way until I hit a certain scene. I soldiered on for a couple more chapters and realized I did not like the cringe comedy, I did not like the main characters and I did not like this book. YMMV.
I am currently reading Domestic Do-Over by Kate McMurray. I like reno/makeover shows and I’m enjoying the renovation porn, but… Maybe the current housing crisis where I live is making me intolerant of multi-million dollar gentrification projects.
Also, I find the sex scenes hard to believe. Maybe I was reading too fast, but there seemed to be minimal prep and, in one instance, something that seemed anatomically impossible. I guess I’m getting old and cranky.
A LADY FOR A DUKE- This was a wonderful read except for a minor C-plot that I found dragged the book down at the end.
THE GUNCLE- An enjoyable novel about finally moving forward when mired in the mud of grief. Lots of bon mots made it seem shallower than it really was.
HOW TO STEAL A SCOUNDREL’S HEART- Predictable but enjoyable
THE STARDUST THIEF- Squee!!! This book was so satisfying. Well written and with plenty of intrigue and character development. Bonus! A road trip. I can’t wait for the sequel!!!!
Currently Reading
The Fortune of the Rougons by Zola which is full of intrigue and scandal and totally, incredibly readable.
Indelible City by Louise Lim which is about Hong Kong and is very enjoyable so far
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris-I just started this so I have no opinions. Yet.
Part 1
I would describe Molly O’Keefe’s SECOND CHANCE AT THE RIVERVIEW INN as a “post-covid” romance in that it acknowledges that covid has been here and that the lock-down took place and that people did much of their socializing on-line during that time. (It’s a bit of a shock when a casually-dropped comment tells us that two older supporting characters from the earlier Riverview Inn books died at the start of the pandemic.) SECOND CHANCE AT THE RIVERVIEW INN is also a rock-star romance—although, as usual, O’Keefe puts her own spin on the trope. If you’ve read the previous books in the Riverview Inn series, you know that several years ago the heroine, Helen, was five-months pregnant when she lost her fiance in a car accident. Since then, Helen has been living with her parents on the organic farm adjacent to the Riverview Inn and raising her daughter. Helen spends a lot of her time fundraising for a charity that supports single mothers (and their children) affected by poverty and addiction. It is the fundraising that puts her in the frame with Micah, a rock star who has contributed a large sum to the charity. Helen is unaware that she and Micah have a number of connections extending back into the past, but Micah is not. He has several opportunities to enlighten Helen and fails to do so: as he says to himself, “The problem with lies. Even lies by omission. They were always a trap.” Micah is more messed up emotionally than the standard rock-star romance hero and O’Keefe does a great job of showing the dysfunctional, enabling dynamic between Micah and his younger brother (who is also in the band). But it is in demonstrating the creative process that O’Keefe truly shines: she shows how Micah uses random words and phrases, images, and fleeting feelings to lay the groundwork for his music and lyrics. Of course, it’s Micah’s magpie habit of grabbing everything for inspiration that causes the great (and, in my mind, completely justified) breach between him and Helen late in the book. I’m not sure Micah’s grovel was quite as intense as it needed to be, but it certainly was heartfelt. Recommended.
I struggled a bit with Eve Dangerfield’s FIRST AND FOREVER, the third book in her Rebirth series (which she started after returning from her hiatus from romance writing). FAF is writing in Dangerfield’s reliably good style of heart, heat, and humor, but the story—about a professional (Australian) football player and his crush on an up-and-coming songwriter/DJ—didn’t initially grab me because the MCs were so utterly different I wasn’t sure how they would ever truly connect. FIRST AND FOREVER incorporates several tropes: grumpy-sunshine, with the heroine being if not grumpy then shrewdly cynical, while the hero is definitely a brighter presence (but with hidden depths); fake relationship (although the hero would like things to be real, he agrees to a fake relationship to help to heroine promote her career and, possibly, make another DJ jealous); and friends-with-benefits (or perhaps “fuck buddies” would be a better term). FIRST AND FOREVER was a bit more downbeat than Dangerfield usually writes, with a heroine who has a lot of emotional trauma to process (cw/tw: distant & dysfunctional family, sexual grooming by an older man during her teens). As is the case with Dangerfield, the sex scenes are hot and she’s really brilliant with role-play (the scene where the h&h play “Victorian doctor treating a woman for hysteria” is mind-blowingly good). Key quote: “There were no easy solutions to pain. You just had to be there. To help carry it as best you could.” Recommended, but prepare for some triggers.
Katie Golding’s FALLING FOR THE ENEMY is an entertaining, cleverly-written antagonists-to-lovers romance with a ton of sexual tension and a “You’ve Got Mail” element. The MCs are rival music promoters who simultaneously loathe and lust for each other; they are forever trying to one-up the other by being the first to see & sign the latest music acts. Neither is aware that they are also “involved” in an anonymous sexting relationship with the other. What is so ingenious about the plot is that, once they begin a sexual relationship in real life, both MCs feel they are “cheating” on their sexting partner; and then, as their “hate-fucking” evolves into more tender feelings, they both worry that they’re cheating on their real-life lovers by sexting with someone else. Although the couple never agreed to be exclusive, the conflict each feels is plausibly presented. As the hero says, “Turns out, I’m really not okay with talking to someone every day and sleeping with someone else. In either direction.” In effect, Golding has written a story with two romances: the one in the physical world and the one that just exists in texts (where the h&h are far more open and assessable and share more about their feelings than they are irl). Naturally, one MC eventually figures out the situation, but then encounters some credible obstacles that make it difficult to reveal the truth. It’s indicative of Golding’s skill that, even knowing I was reading a romance and an HEA/HFN is almost always a foregone conclusion, I still felt some trepidation about whether the MCs would be able to overcome the lack of transparency once they both know the truth. Recommended.
Part 2
In Caitlin Crews’s latest HP, RECLAIMING HIS RUINED PRINCESS, the hero tells the heroine, “Nobody has a roadmap for a Cinderella story in reverse,” and that accurately describes how Crews upends the Cinderella trope in the second of her Lost Princess Scandal duet. If the first book in the duet, CROWNING HIS LOST PRINCESS, was a Cinderella story, RECLAIMING HIS RUINED PRINCESS overturns the entire trope. The conceit of the duet is that two babies—one the daughter of Kansas farmers, the other the daughter of Mediterranean royalty—were switched at birth (yeah, it’s Harlequin Presents, just go with it). In the first book, the Kansas farm girl must learn how to be the princess a DNA test proves her to be; in the second book, a princess—now stripped of her title—must learn how to exist in a world she is unprepared for. She returns to the forbidding Spanish billionaire who was her first (and only) love years before. She had to leave him because he was “inappropriate” for a princess. Is he still inappropriate? Or will his hurt pride and thirst for revenge destroy the love he still has for his fallen princess? As usual, Crews tells the story with her trademark passionate and angsty style and has a good handle on heroes who, in lesser hands, would simply be unbearably toxic. You know whether HPs are for you, but if you plan on reading RECLAIMING HIS RUINED PRINCESS, I strongly recommend reading CROWNING HIS LOST PRINCESS first: the books are much richer when read as a duet.
In A DIAMOND FOR MY FORBIDDEN BRIDE, Jackie Ashenden appropriates many of the conventions of dark romance (abduction, captivity, forced marriage, faked death, dysfunctional upbringings, psychopathic villains) and repurposes them for the kinder, gentler HP universe. ADFMFB is the first of two books in Ashenden’s Rival Billionaire Tycoons duet about twin brothers raised by a monster of a father and what happens when one of them, presumed dead for 15 years, reappears and wants both his twin’s fiancee and the fiancee’s diamond business. The hero abducts the heroine and whisks her off to the sort of gorgeous, isolated resort in the Maldives that HP heroes can access with the snap of their fingers. While alone together, the h&h reminisce about the innocent teenage love they had for each other. Then things take a decidedly uninnocent (but still HP-approved) turn. Recommended—especially for the way Ashenden neatly turns a very dark story into something fit for HP consumption. Not every writer can perform that balancing act.
Marley Valentine’s m/m romance, UNWANTED, is the first book in her new The Unlucky Ones series about a group of foster siblings. UNWANTED addresses addiction and recovery and how messy (physically and emotionally) the process of getting and staying sober can be. Frankie (a supporting character in Valentine’s ACHE) and Arlo grew up together in a foster home in Los Angeles. They became lovers, but Arlo’s addictions drove a wedge between them and eventually Frankie felt compelled to leave him and make a life elsewhere. Years later, he returns to California when another foster brother suffers a severe football injury. Frankie and Arlo reconnect; the chemistry is still there, but the pain of the past and Arlo’s on-going balancing act to maintain his sobriety threaten to destroy their chances for the future. UNWANTED also has a marvelously evocative cover (models Jacob Cooley and Ryan Haringa in a pose that manages to be both erotic and emotionally fraught) that completely reflects the tone of the book. Key quote: “In a perfect world, he would give a perfect apology, and I would be the perfect man, satisfied and accepting and we could all live a perfect life, together. But neither of us lives in that world.” Recommended for fans of angsty sexual tension and second-chances.
PUNISHED by L.V. Lane was a complete surprise: a metaphysical exploration of the dynamic between a writer and her creation cleverly disguised as dark erotica. I was unfamiliar with Lane when PUNISHED popped up on my Kindle Unlimited recommendations, but the premise—a writer is confronted by one of her fictional characters—intrigued me and I decided to give it a try. I realize that it’s not an original idea for a work of fiction to describe how fictional creations sometimes take on a life of their own and don’t always act the way their writer wants them to, but I found PUNISHED handled the story very smoothly. In dreamy prose, we meet Avery, a writer who has published a trilogy of books about an alien warrior; she has given him a difficult life, full of loss and violence, and the warrior resents that the ending of his story was unresolved, so he does not shrink from seeking to punish his creator when he meets her in one of her dreams. (CW/TW: PUNISHED is a dark romance, and the “punishment” is of a sexual/erotic nature.) Then the warrior starts showing up in Avery’s “real life”, acting in ways that she has never written for him. What’s going on? “The question of reality has baffled philosophers since man first emerged from the dirt. Who am I to presume to know?” Avery asks herself. Later, in an extremely meta moment, she thinks, “Maybe I’m merely a piece in someone else’s book?” And, of course, she is, but in the world she inhabits, she isn’t. I did not expect to find such an interesting construct being picked apart in a dark science fiction romance from KU, but romance always finds a way to surprise me—that’s why it’s been my go-to genre for half a century.
Very aggravating work week, so I’m glad for the long weekend!
Romance:
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF WASPISH WIDOWS by Olivia Waite: Delighted by the epistolary elements of this slow-burn romance! I think the pacing was a little off in the middle as Waite was working to tie the political context to the personal context, but once she got past that it made sense to me as a justice-oriented romance. I wanted more time with the characters and a longer epilogue!
IN PURSUIT OF… by Courtney Milan: Road trip romance novella set against the American Revolutionary War. Handles some thorny topics with consideration, and John and Henry are a delight together on the page. I read this from the Worth Saga box set, so I’m missing some of the broader Hamilton’s Battalion collection context. Although, I have actually read Alyssa Cole’s BE NOT AFRAID, which was part of the collection, but I think it’s been so long I have no memory of the shared characters interacting.
Non-romance:
WHITE RAGE: THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH OF OUR RACIAL DIVIDE by Carol Anderson: Carol did the work!! This is an excellent framework for evaluating US history and political policies since the Civil War.
Up next:
I feel like for months I’ve been saying I’ll start Ken Liu’s THE GRACE OF KINGS and it’s finally happening today!
Thank you to all who post this weekend! We definitely need some good book vibes to carry us through right now.
If you are looking for something short and sweet and clever, I recommend Anita Kelly’s Moonlighters novellas. Queer romance centered around karaoke night at a local bar. This author knows music, but even more importantly, they also know yearning, which I was really in the mood for. Enjoy!
Loved COMEUPPANCE SERVED COLD by Marion Deeds. Heist set in an alternate 1929 London with magic. Romance? No. Vivid characters and a woman outsmarting the rest of the world? Yes. I don’t know a thing about Marion Deeds, but I hope she is writing right now, because I CAN’T WAIT TO READ HER NEXT BOOK in this world. She wrote another series that looks like dystopian fantasy – anyone read ALUMINUM LEAVES? Should I check it out?
Speaking of authors who I would like to bring muffins and tea to every morning to fuel their wonderful writing, rereading K.J. Charles’s Magpie Lord books, because they are awesome. Started NETTLE AND BONE by T. Kingfisher, (who also deserves all the baked goods, IMO) which is great so far, but a little dark for where I am at right now, so I am going to save it. Same with SPARROWHILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire – delightfully creepy and will enjoy it more another day. Really looking forward to A LADY FOR A DUKE by Alexis Hall – planning to gorge myself on it as soon as I can put aside a few quiet hours. Thanks for the excellent review, SBTB!
Hope you are all staying safe and sane!
I was away on a business trip, so I didn’t comment on the last WAYR…time to catch up!
FOREVER CON AMOR, AM Johnson – concludes the For Him series so far. I like them all, and liked this one too. This sort of wraps everything up nicely, as Chance and Marcos were side characters in previous novels. They are all fine as stand alone reads, but it’s more fun reading them all as they are quite connected and this is a series where I really liked every book!
DAVO, NR Walker – this was short-ish, another MM, set in an Australian outback mining community. Gives a good look into how these places work. I was a little wary how this would play out as this kind of place could in reality also be quite machoid (and possibly homophobic?) I guess – however here it’s a pretty quirky and very accepting community, there’s no drama and all in all it’s a cute story.
YOU & ME, Tal Bauer – this has been mentioned by so many others already, and on one of my long flights I got to read it straight through. I’m not into everything by Bauer, but this one hit all the right notes for me. So many feels, slow burn… and humour too. My favourite by him now, with THE JOCK a close second (though I didn’t like the sequel of that one, Quarterback- but YMMV).
A LADY FOR A DUKE, Alexis Hall – well, of course!!!! Work is all sorts of crazy since I’ve been back, but thankfully the public holiday on Thursday meant I could just zone out of everything and read this! Really, really loved it.
In non-romance (because I always take a non-E-book too on trips): THE RED PRINCE – John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster by Helen Carr. Gaunt ist one of those interesting historical side characters who crop up everywhere… never king, always a little too rich and powerful as a duke, ancestor of the Tudors – I thought it’d be interesting to see if there were any books about him, and this one is pretty recent. Very interesting so far – good reading for history nerds!
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – library hold finally came in, inhaled it in one day. So good, y’all. Smart, snarky, fast paced, satisfying ending. No romance in it, and it does mention Covid lockdown.
Dyed and Buried by Livia Day – cozy mystery set in a fashion boutique. Quite enjoyable.
Also spending time on r/eurovision for the memes and music recs, and watching Taskmaster on YouTube.
Just a quick raspberry (which I cannot do irl) for J.D. Robb’s ABANDONED IN DEATH. I have read every one of the series, in no small part for the lovely continuing and building relationships. BUT the missed opportunities to solve the case made me incredibly cranky. That’s it. I’m done with the series.
Also spent an inordinate amount of time reading Amy Lane’s backlist. I will say that her book, IF I MUST, has the all time worst font ever. Good book, but between the kitten on the cover (tres mignon) and the horrible font, I thought it was in a language other than English. Seriously, my brain could not figure it out. Thank you to the person who suggested Lane as a good before bed read. It’s the relationships, families, found families, and emotional growth that make Lane’s books so compelling.
And I got through book eight of Estelle Ryan’s Genevieve Lenard series. While I love the representation of Dr Lenard’s brand of autism, the escalating violence has me rethinking continuing.
I have THE PARIAH by Anthony Ryan waiting in my TBR pile. One of my friends loves his fantasy books and recommended them to me.
I also have PAPERBACK CRUSH by Gabrielle Moss, which is about the history of ’80s and ’90s teen fiction and looks really interesting. The cover takes me back. LOL.
And I want to check out the MISS BUTTERWORTH AND THE MAD BARON graphic novel by Julia Quinn.
Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend! 🙂
Currently reading In Bed with a Highlander, by Maya Banks. It’s my first time reading anything by her. I’m enjoying it for the most part. (I had to put it down this week, I just couldn’t concentrate. The book is funny and sexy, and I’m not in the mood for funny and sexy when I’m sad and angry.) Hoping to get back to it tonight.
I also went and bought Never Seduce a Scot at the same time. I guess I’ll continue with whichever series grabs my attention the most.
About 30 percent through “A Marvellous Light,” enjoying it so far but reserving judgment for now.
Finished reading the “Society of Gentleman” series by KJ Charles with “A Gentleman’s Position,” in which Lord Richard Vane and his brilliant valet Cyprian attempt to figure out if they can have a relationship despite the insurmountable class divide. My favorite of a very good series.
In “The Language of Roses” by Heather Rose Jones, merchant’s daughter Alys takes her father’s place as a captive in the castle of two cursed siblings; Lord Phillipe is gradually transforming into a beast, while his sister Lady Grace is becoming a stone statue. Spending endless days in the castle and repeatedly refusing Phillipe’s marriage proposals, Alys becomes aware that a third presence is trying to communicate with her through the changing colors of the garden’s roses. Feminist fairy tale retelling can be a bit of a cliche, but Jones approaches it with subtlety and I loved her prose. Not a romance, though an f/f love story is part of the plot.
Also read “Her Smoke Rose Up Forever” by James Tiptree Jr., a collection of very dark science fiction short stories (some are more like novellas). Content warning in these for basically everything that could need one, but there was something refreshing about the cynical, angry point of view. Tiptree is a pen-name for Alice Shelton, and these stories definitely come from the perspective of a woman alienated by a world dominated by men.
I just finished WINDOW SHOPPING by Tessa Bailey. It was my first book that explicitly post-covid. It was jarring to me in that covid was spoken about as a past event that was completely over. Given the timing of the release, I suspect it was written during that glorious moment last year when we thought the vaccine was going to make it all go away. Besides that, I enjoyed the book- as I do all of Tessa Bailey’s writing. However, it was very much a novella with the compressed timeline novella’s frequently have.
I’m reading the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Some of them are more engrossing to me than others, but I’m on book 5 now and I keep thinking that this is almost like back when the Anita Blake books were good – a bit of romance, but mostly plot and action and solving a mystery and fighting bad guys and really neat plot concepts. If I’ve read anything else this month, I don’t remember it.
Hello from LaGuardia Airport. I’m headed home to FL this evening after spending most of my week here in NYC. It’s been pretty great. Saw my sister and baby nieces. Saw Hamilton. Visited The Strand. No notes.
Anyway, since I’ve been traipsing about this city, I haven’t read a great deal, other than in my room at night and also when not doomscrolling. But I did read In Every Generation by Kendare Blake last week, a new story in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer saga. I liked a lot of the new characters, but some of the legacy characters felt a bit off to me. It had a good Big Bad, and the story was very typical of what we would see in a Buffy story, and I think I will be interested in seeing where it goes, but it had some stuff that didn’t sit great. And now, because Big Trip means Big Book, I’m reading House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas. It’s pretty great so far. I’m enjoying the politics in it, and it’s got some great new characters, and Maas tends to be pretty nimble at fantasy world-building. Just for kicks, because I’m reading the e-book, I looked at the physical copy while I was in The Strand. Pretty sure you could inflict mortal injury with it. So until next time guys, do not throw away your shot. And by that I mean yell at your senators and reps. I already did.
I had my hands on Amy Lea’s Set on You at work and I thought I’d give it a try. Our 1st person POV character is a “curvy fitness Instagrammer” and personal trainer and I probably should have realized this wouldn’t really work for me because I loathe influencer culture (personal trainers are fine tho, lol).
Big picture the pacing and beats of the story were off. They are together at 70 percent and it feels like a good wrapping up point but then something happens and they’re un-together for a bit and it’s annoying.
And going from big to small the inner voice of the character felt unrealistic and some slang was both outdated and mis-used.
This felt like a book early in an author’s career that’s not quite ready for a big publisher behind it but it’s a Berkley title.
Other than that, I’m still not out of my reading slump but I’ve got some of Jackie Lau’s back catalog purchased and ready to go.
I’m also reading A Marvellous Light, which was Amanda’s recommendation. I got roughly 50% finished before my library loan ran out. But now it’s back on my shelf so I can finish it over the holiday weekend.
I’ve resorted to my usual sci-fi romance, Ruby Dixon, Roxie Ray and a series called the Alien Bride Lottery by Margo Bond Collins which was equally awful and brilliant at the same time. I also ventured into the silver shifter series by Zoe Chant, great to see the older ladies having a chance at love without the usual midlife paranormal drama. Speaking of which I was very disappointed by Lindsay Burokers a witch in wolf wood series. After avoiding the tropes of “my husband left me for a younger woman!” (Done with this!) And batshit great aunties and grandparents, it ultimately ended up a a story where everyone in the town had it in for the main protagonist including the so called love interest. DNF’ed at 30% because I loathe this plot with a firey passion.
And that’s mostly it, not up to anything cerebral. Half heartedly joining some dating sites but baulking at actually talking to anyone online. Maybe I’m just not ready yet (I lost partner three years ago) or maybe real life just can’t compete with fiction? I don’t know.
Until next time
I read Jennifer Armentrout’s From Blood And Ash and while I enjoyed it while reading it, I’m not sure what I actually thought about it. Is Poppy TSTL or just overly sheltered???? Anyway I liked it enough to snag the Illumicrate special editions of the next 3 books.
Was reading Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye which features child soldiers and then Texas happened so I noped out of it for now and went back to The Devil in Winter.
I just finished BAD ACTORS by Mick Herron, the #th book in his Slow Horses series. The crew is possibly more disfunctional than before, the bad actors in the government are after MI-5, and Jackson Lamb is manipulating things in the background. Bliss.
I read the Kingston cycle trilogy (witchmark, stormsong, soulstar) Fantasy with romance subplots.
but mostly I’m watching (and rewatching) Heartstopper on Netflix.
@Midge: I’m excited for A Lady for a duke. I’m trying to decide if I can wait for a library copy or if I should just jump in and buy it
@Jess. A Gentleman’s Position is my favorite of the trilogy. so many people love the second, but AGP is my one of my rereads
@Darlynne Im 18% into Slow Horses, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to push through before my library copy expires
I’m currently reading “Deceived by the Gargoyles” by Lillian Lark which is a MMMF poly monster romance and it’s hot. Also the cover is surprisingly gorgeous.
@Lynn that keeps on popping up on my recommendations so maybe worth checking out. But then I keep getting Ivy Smoak (as was posted on the last WAYR) and I’m sceptical.
Currently reading THE SPARE MAN by Mary Robinette Kowal, due out in July. A sci-fi mystery take on The Thin Man, complete with a brilliant inventor with chronic pain and her service Westie. She’s on her honeymoon with her retired detective husband when crimes happen.
So many points for an inclusive world (characters routinely share their pronouns along with their names) and while the sexy times are so far limited to “we need to pretend we’re making out so we can whisper about the case” I’m hoping for a payoff once the mystery is solved!
@ Em the Librarian
Oops, book has been pushed to October, apologies!
I picked up Grace Burrowes HOW TO CATCH A DUKE on one of the daily deals and just loved it. The hero is a mechanical genius with a damaged leg who walks with difficulty using 2 canes to aid him. The heroine is a private investigator who has been the subject of multiple attempts on her life, and has come to ask Stephen’s helping to fake her own death. They know each other in passing because she helped one of his sisters in another book. The characters grabbed me right away, they’re both quick witted and insightful, (especially about each other,) with great banter, and I love a little mystery or spying, so figuring who’s trying to murder the heroine was also.fun. Since this was so fun I’ve tried several others in the Rogues to Riches series, but so far this is by far the best.
I am about halfway through A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall and absolutely loving it! I am not a historicals person, but this strikes such a lovely balance and is so beautifully detailed. The cast of characters are kind and I would like to think that they could have existed in the early 1800s.
I also loved Chloe Liese’s Everything for You. I thought that the exploration of an athlete reaching the end of his career and trying to figure out what comes next at the same time that he’s falling for (and trying to not be envious of) a younger teammate was so well done. A lot to unpack in that about how we build our self-image around career success.
Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan Knocks Them Dead wasn’t as good as the first one in the series (Finlay Donovan is Killing It), but I will keep on reading the series. The concept of a divorced mom who is a thriller author mistaken for an assassin by the Russian mob makes for some interesting twists and the cast of characters is strong.
I listened to several audiobooks that I think worth mentioning — Danielle Jensen’s Dark Shores, which really pulls you in though is a bit dark. I enjoyed the audiobook of Christina Lauren’s Soulmate Equation. And Kylie Scott’s Chaser in audio book was a nice surprise; it’s written solely from the perspective of a guy who is known for being a player and his slow realization that he doesn’t want to be that guy anymore and is falling for someone unexpected — an interesting exploration of a guy who is far from perfect as he realizes he can do a lot better.
Over the past two weeks ~
— For my local book group, I read Homegoing: A novel by Yaa Gyasi. Overall, this was a sad book. It began in Africa and followed the descendants of two sisters (one of whom was enslaved and sent to America) for some eight generations.
— quite enjoyed the science fiction first contact story Damocles by S.G. Redling. This was intriguing in that it was people from Earth who were aliens on another planet. Much of the story dealt with communication.
— also enjoyed the contemporary male/male romance Charles: Learning to Love by Con Riley. This was a slow burn and had a lot more depth than many romances I’ve read.
— read This Quest is Bullshit! by J. P. Valentine. This is the second litRPG book I’ve read recently; while it was a pleasant read, I don’t think this genre really speaks to me.
— finished a science fiction book that I quite enjoyed and that my husband (the recipient of my many thoughts) could now explain to you in some detail! The book was written in French and won the prestigious Prix Goncourt: The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier.
— read Potential Energy by Kim Fielding. I’d describe this as a science fiction romance featuring two men; the ship AI also played a big role. I enjoyed this not very explicit romance.
— finished The Loneliness of the Deep Space Cargoist by JS Carter Gilson; this was a quick science fiction read. It was pleasant, but I am not driven to read more in the series.
— read Suicide Run and Home Run by science fiction author Nathan Lowell both of which I enjoyed.
— also read Nightwork: A Novel by Nora Roberts; this is a brand-new work of romantic suspense which I quite enjoyed.
@Heather C – I probably couldn‘t wait!
Another vote for Society of Gentlemen here – I‘m a regular rereader, and itˋs hard to decide on a fave! But Cyprian is hard to beat, he‘s a law all unto himself!
I keep getting weird recommendations on my Kindle too,including Smoak – and in general it always seems to be the same stuff and same writers. What are they paying Amazon to be pushed like that?
Also, I went to check out How To Catch A Duke because it sounded interesting. Whoa, there’s some really bad, homophobic reviews out there just because apparently the hero mentions having had previous relationships with men and not just women. Gah !
Books I’ve really enjoyed the last few days…
Birds of California by Katie Cotugno-I could not stop reading this book! I’m so bad at explaining why books resonate with me, but I loved the main characters and the LA setting. A woman who starred in a popular series years ago, but had tough times is being asked to do a reboot. One of her costars is hoping to persuade her, but they end up being drawn to each other. I waited a long time for the library hold to come through, and then kind of forgot about it once it came in. Luckily I had my Kindle in airplane mode, so I didn’t lose the book. Highly recommended.
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary-same thing with the library hold. Basically I’ve learned to keep my Kindle in airplane mode unless I need to download a book. Another book I couldn’t put down. Three women who date the same man, and I really can’t say much more without spoilers. I read this right after Birds of California, and I was awash in good book vibes.
A bunch of the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild by Erin Nicholas-tour guides start a petting zoo that evolves into an animal sanctuary. Read these during a stressful time and they were what I needed. I will say with each book she does go over the same ground, which if you didn’t read from the beginning would be helpful, but to me got old and I skimmed that in the later books.
I’m excited to read the other comments-pen and paper at the ready for my TBR list!
I missed the last post, so this what I’ve read the whole month.
She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick – f/f YA/NA
4.5 stars.
Delightful opposites attract romance / queer homage to teen rom-com movies. Two young women meet the first week of their first year at college and agree to help each other win their respective dream girlfriends. And of course they fall for each other in the process. It’s tropey goodness with a lot of sincerity. And I loved that their queerness was a non-issue / not a plot point.
Warning! Deep Water by A.L. Lester, mm historical
4.5 stars / A-
Lovely, slow burn, low conflict queer romance set in post WWII England between two former soldiers slowly figuring out how to live again while working together at a nursery in rural England. It’s a novella and definitely more of a slice of life type story.
Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper
4.5 stars or B+/A-
I enjoyed this very meta and silly m/nb queer romance much more than I expected to. It took me a while to relax into the story and warm up to the (completely clueless) narrator but once I did, I was all in. I loved how it set up and then skewered genre expectations without making me feel dumb.
This is a romance novel about a character who writes a romance novel about how much he loves his best friend, an avid romance reader (instead of like, actually talking to them). And how his attempt to act out the grand gesture trope backfires spectacularly in his actual life. And about the differences between acceptable behavior in a “book boyfriend” and an actual human boyfriend or potential boyfriend.
I think your enjoyment will depend on how much you enjoy / can handle being in the narrator’s chaotic, anxious and stream of consciousness brain. It’s a lot. Read the sample.
By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery – m/m YA/NA
4 stars
Immersive college set YA about family, friendship and finding your place in the world. There is a romance but I wouldn’t call it central – it’s more of a coming of age story.
Sink or Swim (Shore Leave #2) by Annabeth Albert
B-
Tropey mm romance between a charming, relationship adverse sailor and a doctor recovering from a nasty divorce while raising his two young nieces. I liked the bi and demi representation. I thought the romance was a little lackluster.
If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis, m/m
3.5 stars. B-/C+
I wanted to like this second chance romance / twist on the marriage of convenience trope more than I did. A celebrity chef (Washington D.C.’s only Black, openly queer chef with a Michelin star) discovers that he’s actually still married to his ex husband, who’s the accountant for his family’s failing restaurant. In the process of sorting out a family will and saving the family restaurant the two rekindle their romance. There’s a lot of plot – more plot than I thought was needed and it didn’t completely hold together for me. But I still enjoyed it.
CINDERELLA FOR THE MIAMI PLAYBOY by Dani Collins – [B-] – A sequel featuring the romance of Everett Drake, the cynically charming spy handler from Collins’s fabulous Confessions of an Italian Marriage. This book confirmed I would make the world’s worst developmental editor. I know it doesn’t work for me (I thought his background was trite, her whistleblower dilemma didn’t interest me, the thing with her father felt tacked-on, unexplored, and unrelated to the obstacles to their relationship), but when I pull the elements apart, I see how they’re supposed to be working. I just don’t know how to make them work better. So as a romance this was solid C territory for me, despite my residual love for Everett from the first book. What raised it to the low Bs was the sexual roleplay. The heroine is a romance reader, and the pair roleplay the scenarios from the books she’s reading (starting with a really well-done version of “vengeful tycoon seduces his enemy’s virgin daughter”…note, this heroine is not a virgin, yay!) For this couple, the roleplay is is actually a means of distancing themselves from the intimacy (which is the opposite of what roleplay signifies for me: I’m so uncomfortable pretending to be anyone but myself that I have to be extremely intimate with someone to trust them with roleplay…but we’re not here to talk about my intimacy issues), but it’s also fun and playful and illustrates Collins’s fluency with HP tropes. In a gesture that may be a little too on the nose, she invokes her own recently published One Snowbound New Year’s Night as one of the scenarios: “An hour ago, he had been her ex-husband snowed in with her at their Whistler chalet.” I wish Collins had used this device in a book with fun and playful lovers instead of these two. I feel like I don’t get enough playful protagonists in romance.
CLAIMING HIS BABY AT THE ALTAR by Michelle Smart – [B+] – The highish rating here is 100% for Smart’s effective portrayal of the hero’s unrequited (kind of) love for the heroine, who resented him for taking her brother’s attention when she was young and for the uncomfortable sexual feelings he invoked her in adolescence. The opening scene reminded me a lot of Dani Collins’s A Debt Paid in Passion, in which the hero who has ghosted the heroine after a one-night stand discovers she’s pregnant when she shows up in court for an embezzlement trial (in Collins, the heroine is the embezzler; here, it’s the heroine’s brother, the hero’s erstwhile best friend). Otherwise, I thought there was a little too much going on with her vague baby blues and post-pregnancy body issues in a book that would have benefited from laser focus on the hero’s feelings about being betrayed by his best friend who happens to be her beloved brother.
EARTH FATHER ARE WEIRD by Lyn Gala – [B+] – Miscommunication/mistranslation sets up the premise for this m/m scifi romance between a cephalapodic (?) alien and a fighter pilot kidnapped from earth when (different) aliens rescued him from his jet seconds before it exploded. I enjoyed the awkward communication via the translation matrix, the alien hero’s emotional vulnerability, and the squid kids.
I abandoned a lot of books lately and am mostly still rereading, but the few good new reads were pretty stellar.
I enjoyed the hell out of Demas’s Sword Dance series (which I put off because I dislike the covers and I am apparently deeply committed to making this same mistake endlessly).
Continuing with the Raven Boys series, still enjoying. It would seem I need extremely queer magical boarding schools in order to be happy with YA. This is technically boarding school and magic as separate things but both present, which is close enough. Also tragically not explicit but my brain is pretty committed to remedying that lack. And possibly only mildly queer although I will never accept that either.
I liked Trailer Park Trickster fine, I guess, not as good as White Trash Warlock but fine. It’s not fair to be disappointed that something that isn’t a romance isn’t a romance, and yet here we are, again.
I simultaneously enjoyed and was sort of schmeh on Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, there are lots of things about it that aren’t a good fit for me personally plus unsurprisingly I also don’t like chicklit (everything!needs!more!romance!) but the producer character makes it all worthwhile and then some.
I have already gushed about A Lady for the Duke, such a wildly satisfying read. I still don’t want to articulate all my stupid feelings but wow there are lots of them, and I don’t even resent it for making me all sappy.
I’m beginning to think that I could look up “farming methods in the 1800’s” and Ivy Smoak would still pop up!
Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder
Abt 3/4 thru and I def recommend it; you don’t have to have read Red Notice (those events are recapped with less detail here) and it moves really fast. It’s kind of terrifying but a must read these days, you almost want to advertise it as “The book Putin doesn’t want you to read!” because that’s the truth.