Whatcha Reading? December 2022, Part One

Christmas wooden mansion in mountains on snowfall winter day. Cozy chalet on ski resort near pine forest. Cottage of round timber with wooden balcony. Fir-trees covered with snow. Chimneys of stone.It’s our first Whatcha Reading of December, which means we’re nearly toward the end of 2022! Now, let’s talk books!

Claudia: I’m reading Killers of a Certain Age and mulling over my own hit list!

Shana: Do you think it gets longer the older we live?

Sarah: Yes.

My theory is that the reason menopause is not talked about much (until recently anyway) is because as we enter menopause we have a lot more free time for hit lists and skills development.

A Little Bit Country
A | BN | K | AB
Shana: Mine sure seems to.

On audiobook I’m reading A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy, it’s a m/m about two teens who work at a Dollywood-esque amusement park. There’s a lot of (queer) love for Dolly woven into the book.

I’m also continuing my reread of Talia Hibbert’s Ravenwood series, with That Kind of Guy, ( A ) a m/f romance with a demisexual hero and an older heroine.

Elyse: I just finished The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I stayed up all night. Chips helped.

Carrie: I thought The Villa was Just OK and then like a month later I realized that I haven’t stopped thinking about it since and that it’s kind of amazing. In a moment of madness I gave away my copy and I’ve missed it ever since.

I’m about to re-read Devolution by Max Brooks. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I found it to be disappointing the first time I read it, but it came up in some chat somewhere and when I realized I couldn’t remember what happened in it I had to get it from the library and start all over again because sometimes you just need to set your brain aside, metaphorically speaking, and read about Bigfoot attacks.

What are you reading this December? Let us know!

Comments are Closed

  1. Jill Q. says:

    Life is cookies and cleaning, and family and end of the year excitement for me here, but I really liked ARSENIC AND ADOBO by Mia P. Manansala, a small town cozy that wasn’t too cutesy. In most small town stories I always wonder, where are all the meth houses and bigots? Sorry if that’s harsh, but I went to high school in a town of 800 and it wasn’t all terrible, but we definitely did not have the economy to support a whimsical bakery. Two bars, a gas station, and a feed store yes, no bakeries, bookshops or gift shops, sadly. Not even a Christmas tree farm. This series did have a bakery but it did also have more gritty elements that I associate with small town and often get glossed over. The heroine was believably young (sometimes in an annoying way, but very true to life!), the cast of characters was diverse, and the Filipino food sounded so delicious. Plus, I don’t think the heroine is going to have a cop boyfriend, so that’s another cozy trope that I burn out on quickly. I think I have seen it recommended more than once here, so good job, Smart Bitches!
    I also loved, loved PARTNERS IN CRIME by Alisha Rai. It was set in Las Vegas with a second chance at love story (not usually my favorite) with a jewelry heist, but a lot of it had a ROMANCING THE STONE vibe to me. Very adventure/action romance with some humor. But picture the heroine as the one who is comfortable in the world and the hero the one learning new things. He is very resourceful though! He’s not made out to be a stumbling idiot or anything. The reason they split up was reasonable and well-handled. I was so happy I liked this b/c I loved her “soapy Wegman’s trilogy” but could not get into the “Right Swipe” spinoff. I want to read about social media as little as possible, so that was always going to be a bumpy road.
    Other than that, lots of audiobooks on the go. I’m really enjoying Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) reading me Talia Hibbert. Comfort re-listening at its finest.
    I’ve got a few promising things going, but I won’t jinx it by mentioning them.

  2. Midge says:

    Not a lot to talk about this time, almost all good things!
    DANIEL CABOT PUTS DOWN ROOTS by Cat Sebastian – the next instalment in the Cabot-verse, this time set in 1970s New York, with Daniel, Tommy’s son (from Tommy Cabot Was Here) as one of the MCs. This isn’t a very long book, and again one where not a lot is happening plot-wise, but it has all the feels and is fun at the same time. Alex and Daniel are best friends and everybody knows they’re in love before they realise themselves. Both are lovely, we get a peek at Tommy and Everett, Pat (of course – love her!!!) and there are a lot more great side characters. The only thing I’d have loved to see more of is Alex and Pat shopping together! According to Sebastian’s website, the next instalment in the series will be about Pat and Harry, which I think is definitely a story that needs to be told.
    THREE LESSONS by Rachel Ember – this is a novella set in the Wild Ones universe, but is ok as a stand-alone. Found this via Ember’s newsletter, it is actually part of the Book Boyfriend free romance novellas thing. Anyway, it was short and it was a bit insta-love-ish and at the end it’s not quite clear how they make things actually work, but it’s cute.
    KIND HEARTS AT CHRISTMAS – M/M Holiday romance anthology. This was mostly good, had several stories that gave me all I want in a holiday story – all the warm fuzzy feels and a few happy tears. As usual with anthologies though, there’s a couple that were less my jam. There’s a few that are a little SF/AU/Fantasy. One was just too simple, a sort of modern fairy tale, and the other was just so, so weird, no feels IMHO, not really clear what’s happening, uneven, not properly finished that I considered DNFing. So, maybe just skip that one… (Holly and the Heathen by Jack L. Pyke).
    MASTERS IN THIS HALL by KJ Charles. This came as a total (delightful!) surprise, it was in her newsletter a few days before it was available, no preorder possible. A holiday novella/short novel (about 100 pages) set in the Lilywhite Boys/London universe, though it’s perfectly fine as a standalone. But you get a little more fun out of it if you’ve read the Lilywhite Boys novels, as there are a few references and one cameo from those. Anyone who loves these and KJ Charles will love Masters in this Hall – English country house, Victorian Christmas, jewelry thieves, all sorts of shenanigans and a twisty plot. Loved it.
    HEART2HEART ANTHOLOGY – still working on the lastest issue of hose. Not holiday-themed, though it only just came out. So far it’s been all good – less uneven than the holiday anthology, but after this I think I’m done for a bit with anthologies.

  3. Heather M says:

    Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 – Cho Nam-Joo. (trans Jamie Chang)
    This was a short, unexpectedly deft little novel about structural misogyny in South Korea through a case study of the life of one woman’s mental deterioration. A lot of Kim Jiyong’s choices in school, career, relationships, and motherhood aren’t functionally choices at all, and in many ways its specific to Korean society but there are broader resonances to just how it is to be a woman in this world full stop.

    There’s a framing device that I didn’t realize even was a framing device until near the end, when the reader discovers that even the supposedly sympathetic narrative voice is a participant in and benefit of the misogyny that shapes Kim Jiyoung. It was really quite a fascinating little book.

    Esperanza Renace – Pam Munoz Ryan (trans Nuria Molinero)
    At the beginning of 2022 I set myself the goal of reading three books in Spanish, and I did it! Not sure what I will do in 2023 and I think I am wearing out my library system’s small collection of middle grade Spanish novels, but I guess that’s a problem for three weeks from now.

    Anyway, in English, Esperanza Rising was published just about the time I grew out of middle grade/YA (it’s kind of a cusp book, length wise it felt YA but what I gathered of the content felt more middle grade), so I missed it back then. It’s the story of a young girl who grows up privileged on a ranch in Mexico, but after her father’s death she and her mother are forced to flee to California where they become migrant workers. I really enjoyed it and I think I was able to understand most of the plot even though I’m still not really getting word-for-word. I’m starting to feel more comfortable reading long Spanish passages though, and that was part of my goal. I actually might pick this up in English some time just to see how well my understanding really took.

    Out of Character – Annabeth Albert
    This is one of Albert’s m/m gamer books. I find she’s always good for a cute little comfort romance, and I always learn something about subcultures I’m not really a part of. I thought there was good character work, two people who had been best friends, then enemies, coming to a greater understanding of how they had hurt each other, and forgiveness. There are a couple of things about Albert’s prose that always seem to pop up and give me a nails-on-chalkboard feel. One is the fact that no one in her books ever says Yes, or even Yeah, it is always “Yup.” I don’t know why but the constant yups drive me out of my mind lol. And I also thought there was kind of a strange fixation on whether or not a character would actually say the words I love you –for some reason, to me that feels like a very dated trope, and in this book especially it seemed to get a LOT of page time. So those things kept drawing me out of the story slightly, but I still enjoyed it.

    Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel
    Several people at different points in history experience a strange, anomalous event. I avoided this one for a while because pandemics feature very heavily and I wasn’t sure I was ready for a “pandemic book”. (One of the main threads is a very meta/autoficitional plot where a writer of a post-apocalyptic pandemic novel is on a book tour at the start of a real pandemic- Mandel is of course the writer of a famous post-apocalyptic pandemic novel who wrote this book during Covid-19.) That said, once I finally picked it up I read it in three days. It’s gorgeously written, and it was easy to get lost in this book. It just won the Goodreads award for best science fiction–but at least as far as I’m concerned it is NOT science fiction. It is literary fiction with science fictional aspirations. And that is fine, but I do feel they are different things. The “anomaly” is not difficult to figure out or surprising for anyone who has ever read any kind of science fiction at all or watched like 2 episodes of Star Trek or something. But to me that’s not the point of the book anyway. I honestly do not remember that much about Station Eleven, the only other Mandel I’ve read, but I think this one might stick with me longer.

  4. Jill Q. says:

    @Heather M, yes, the “literary science fiction” thing is something that my husband talks a lot about (he’s more well-versed in sci-fi than I am). He’s found a lot of it disappointing for exactly the reason you mention. I think he’s also annoyed there’s a lot of mainstream praise for how creative and innovative these writers are when they’re not doing a lot that’s truly new. I’m glad you got something out of it though!

  5. I’m reading SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS by Jenny Holiday. I love royal- and holiday-themed romances so this is my catnip.

    I also have THE CHRISTMAS WISH by Lindsey Kelk; CUPCAKES FOR CHRISTMAS by Kate Hewitt; and MUST LOVE CHRISTMAS by Kelly Hunter waiting on the TBR pile.

    I want to check out SOMETHING FROM TIFFANY’S by Melissa Hill, after watching the movie on Amazon Prime. Side note: Every time I hear the book/movie title, I think of the Kelly Clarkson song 4 CARATS: “Just a little something from Tiffany’s …”

    Can’t believe it’s mid-December already. Hope everyone has a great holiday season! 🙂

  6. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    As usual this time of year, I reread Kati Wilde’s Christmas trilogy: ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS, THE WEDDING NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and my all-the-feels favorite, SECRET SANTA. I had a wonderful time revisiting these favorite Christmas stories, but it did leave less time for reading new books.

    Julie Kriss’s RHYTHM is the third book in her Road Kings series about a disbanded rock group that reunites after five years for another tour. RHYTHM is the story of the group’s drummer, who has been in recovery for three years, and his neighbor, a former stylist, who is hired to be part of the tour as his sobriety coach. Much of the book focuses on the individual challenges each MC faces: the hero is afraid that by going back on the road, by touring again, the temptations of drugs and alcohol will be difficult to resist (the book has some of the best descriptions of what “jones-ing” feels like—physically and emotionally—that I’ve read in a romance). The heroine has fled an emotionally abusive relationship (cw/tw) which has resulted in her being broke, unemployed, and spiritually diminished. Kriss is not a dark romance writer, and RHYTHM is definitely not a dark romance, but I did find the story probably the most downbeat (in a good way) of the Road Kings books so far, especially in how it presents the ways the MCs have to get themselves in a good place before either of them can think of getting involved with another person. RHYTHM is also an excellent friends-to-lovers romance as the MCs start out as friends, dance around their physical attraction, realize they have to “keep things in the friend zone”, and actually do that for a substantial portion of the story. Recommended.

    Winter Renshaw’s LOVE AND KEROSENE is a smoothly written, rather melancholy slow-burn (and, essentially, closed-door) romance about a woman who falls for her late-fiancé’s brother when the two of them work together to renovate his childhood home. Both MCs are struggling with past traumas related to the personality of the dead fiancé/brother: he was a smooth-talking charmer, but also a liar and a narcissist; he destroyed the hero’s childhood and stole the heroine’s life savings. A major portion of the story is the MCs coming to terms with what was done to them and how, now that the perpetrator is dead, there is no reckoning left for him. LOVE AND KEROSENE is also the story of people who love words: the heroine has carved out a niche business helping expectant parents choose their babies’ names; the hero is an aspiring writer who (like his late mother) enjoys collecting unusual words (each chapter in the book begins with an obscure word that is relevant to the plot). If I have a quibble with the book, it’s that, after a long build up, the book’s ending seems somewhat rushed, and what looked to be an interested subplot involving the heroine’s new friend is left seemingly unresolved (if Renshaw had published this book under her alternate pen name of Minka Kent, I could see that plot point taking on a psychological suspense element). But these are minor nitpicks in what is an enjoyable story with unexpected depths. Key quote: “Hurt people hurt people. Healed people help people.” Recommended.

    There’s a bit of a Tristan & Isolde theme to Maisey Yates’s latest HP, FORBIDDEN TO THE DESERT PRINCE: 16 years after a coup removed his family from power, the hero has reinstated his older brother as their country’s sheikh and has journeyed to Paris to bring his brother’s fiancée (betrothed since they were children) back to marry him. Naturally, feelings between the two, denied during their teen years, now blossom, but they cannot act on them (until, of course, they do) and risk hurting the sheikh. There’s a lot going on in FORBIDDEN TO THE DESERT PRINCE, particularly as it relates to themes of forgiveness, atonement, responsibility, choice, and love. Key quote: “You cannot control the intent of others.” I’m eager now to read the next book which features the sheikh (who has been imprisoned since he was 16 and has had little exposure to the outside world). Yates is one of my queens of angsty heartache, and she writes incredibly good HPs. Recommended.

    FORGIVE ME FATHER is the latest book in Garrett Leigh’s Rebel Kings MC series of m/m motorcycle romances. It’s uber-angsty with the MCs spending long periods of time brooding about their “impossible” relationship when they’re not fending off explosions of violence from other clubs and criminal elements. Mateo and Embry are officers of the Rebel Kings; they love each other but (cw/tw) past traumas (especially from Embry’s childhood), along with more recent injuries, make sex between them difficult to achieve—as a result, the “will they or won’t they?” of unresolved sexual tension is less about the sex and more about the couple trying to surmount psychological obstacles. As Embry says, for their club brothers “sex was the uncomplicated part [and] loving someone was messy and layered,” but for him and Mateo, the opposite is true: emotions are accessible, it’s physical closeness that’s the challenge (“Sex was weird for me,” Embry notes, it “fluctuated between being the last thing on my mind and all I could think about”). Just when it seems the couple have reached a comfortable point in their relationship, there’s a sudden story change midway through the book taking the plot in a completely new direction (although the two books are nothing alike, that unexpected plot change reminded me of something similar in Samantha Christy’s UNTAKEN TWIN which I read last month). Like everything else I’ve read by Leigh, FORGIVE ME FATHER really puts the MCs through the wringer—physically and emotionally; there’s a lot going on, and you’ll probably be lost if you haven’t read the earlier Rebel Kings books. While the book features quite a lot of violence, some of it incredibly visceral, the focus continues to be on the MCs’ emotional journeys. I enjoyed and recommend FORGIVE ME FATHER, but it is not a comforting read—so prepare accordingly.

  7. wingednike says:

    Much better reading month for me or I was in a better frame of mind. Time is a blur but these were the highlights:

    by Jennifer Estep
    Didn’t realize it was a trilogy when I picked it up, but it ended in a good spot. I liked
    the main character’s resourcefulness and the set up of the world. I have thoughts on the family aspect and am excited to see if it plays out.


    I’m back on the Ruby Dixon train and enjoying the latter half of this series more than I did the first half. Devi was an interesting character and I like how the adapting, exploring, and world-building began again. Those were present in the other books but they felt so self-contained.

    by Annika Martin. I started this series out of order but they are mostly stand-alones anyway. This book stood out because I realized I had a coworker who naturally employs all these rules. The characters seemed immature but I was a fuddy-duddy at five, so what do I know. I joke that everything I know is from romance books and I’m taking the billionaire’s rules as confidence building tips.

    Next week I will probably devour by Ilona Andrews, but I may torture myself by waiting until the weekend to start.

  8. Crystal F. says:

    I’ve been working my way through the Hathaways series, by Lisa Kleypas. Finally on Book 5, Love in the Afternoon.

    I would give Mine Till Midnight and Tempt Me At Twilight about 3 1/2 to 4 stars. Seduce Me At Sunrise and Married By Morning get a solid 4 stars.

    It goes back and forth, but I’m enjoying this series a lot more than I did most of The Wallflowers – where I really only liked Lilly and Daisy’s books, and the Christmas novella.

  9. kkw says:

    I have three (3!) excellent books in the past couple weeks so I am not even going to bother with the ok ones, although I think there have been some ok ones too.
    First and foremost the latest Cat Sebastian was phenomenal, despite it being a historical set in my lifetime, which is a strange new milestone I was not ready for. But I am super into this Cabot series. Idk if each one is really better than the last but I was all in from the beginning so I feel thoroughly rewarded. They’re short, which I generally despise in a book, and I didn’t even care.
    I thought Freya Marska’s latest was also delightful, although I don’t think it would work as a stand alone. I actually read and enjoyed her first novel but had forgotten most of what happened and this wasn’t clicking for me until I did a quick reread in order to understand the underlying scenario better. This is different in tone (more fun, hotter, maybe not quite as emotionally engaging) but it’s the same great world and if you like paranormal historical queer romance as I very very much do, and you have somehow been able to resist the gorgeous covers, this is definitely worth checking out.
    I read Ada Maria Soto’s His Quiet Agent based on recs here, because I was curious if I would like an asexual romance. Loved it. Immediately read the short story, and the follow up book. Could not pace myself, although I know perfectly well that I don’t enjoy things as much when I glom them. Still enjoyed it plenty! I don’t think these are as well written as they might be, the plot isn’t very tightly constructed, there’s more telling than I prefer, stuff like that. Doesn’t matter, though, because the characters are just adorable and the Agency is a great setting.

  10. Jess says:

    The end of the year is really sneaking up on me. I’ve been reading “The Soldier’s Scoundrel” by Cat Sebastian slowly while also trying to finish other books for reading challenges, but it’s delightful — I love the way Sebastian writes class differences conflict and could read that trope over and over again from her.

    “Mistakes Were Made” by Meryl Wilsner: F/f contemporary. I think most romance blog readers know the premise of this one lol: Cassie is a 21-year-old college senior who has a one-night stand with an older woman, Erin, who turns out to be her new but close friend’s mom. It’s obviously a bad idea for them to continue the relationship, but Cassie and Erin can’t stay away from each other. This was pretty similar to Wilsner’s first book “Something to Talk About” in that it’s about a relationship between a younger woman and an older woman that faces a glaring, messy obstacle (one being the other’s boss in the case of STTA). But like STTA, I think this book suffers from sidestepping a lot of the potential drama, rather than leaning into it and writing the relationship as so strong that you want the characters to be together anyway. I never felt like Cassie and Erin had romantic, rather than sexual, chemistry, and they had so few significant conversations that it was hard to believe in or root for them being together. And the potential conflict with Erin’s daughter Parker resolves way too neatly. The sex scenes in this book are really well-written, but I don’t think it’s a good romance.

    “One by One” by Ruth Ware: Mystery/thriller about a group of executives at a social media company, who go on a retreat at a French ski chalet to discuss the company’s possible buyout. Then an avalanche leaves them trapped, and bad things start happening to members of the group. The two POV characters are outsiders: Liz is a former employee who reluctantly comes along because she owns a small number of shares in the company, and Erin is a worker at the chalet. This was my first book by Ware and I thought it was a real cut above a lot of the recent bestselling thrillers; I liked the writing and characters a lot. That said, I did guess the big twist and identity of the killer really early, pretty much as soon as the first disappearance happened. I prefer that over a last-minute reveal that makes no sense and maybe I’ve just been well-trained by all the Christie I’ve read this year, but it wasn’t my ideal mystery-reading experience. Still liked it enough to put a library hold on another one of Ware’s books.

    “The Murder on the Links” by Agatha Christie: I’ve been skipping around with the Poirot books but decided to switch over to mostly reading in order so I can see how they evolve over time. This is the second in the series and features all the elements of the early novels’ formula. There’s a rich victim whose household falls under suspicion; Poirot clashes with a police detective who thinks his psychological methods are inferior to forensic ones; and it’s narrated by second-rate Watson character Hastings, who doubts Poirot’s conclusions and gets tricked by various women. I remember reading that Christie didn’t like Hastings as a character and couldn’t wait to get rid of him; he is irritating in this, but in a way that’s an important part of the plot. I have so much fun reading these.

    “Odessa” by Jonathan Hill: This graphic novel is set eight years after a catastrophic earthquake leaves the west coast of the US as a kind of post-apocalyptic environment that’s cut off from the rest of the world. Teenage Virginia Crane goes on a dangerous journey to look for the mother she hasn’t seen in years and, meaning to go alone, is followed by her two younger brothers. This is an enjoyable adventure story and though it’s pretty violent, the cartoon art style contributes to making it feel appropriate for both adults and older kids. It does end on a “to be continued” cliffhanger and I couldn’t find anything about plans for a sequel; hopefully one is published eventually.

    “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy: I’m the right age to have watched “iCarly,” the show McCurdy starred on, as a tween. I think a lot of people my age read this book not only out of investment in McCurdy and the show, but because of the combination of rumors and confirmed misconduct surrounding iCarly showrunner Dan Schneider, which has been a hot discussion topic for years. McCurdy’s book does detail some of the emotionally abusive behavior Schneider displayed on set, but overall the point of this book isn’t to be a tell-all celebrity memoir or a definitive account of what it was like to work at Nickelodeon. It’s to provide an unflinching look at what it’s like to be pushed into child stardom by an abusive parent, and it’s not written in a way that looks backward — it’s fully immersed in McCurdy’s POV starting as a young child. She doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of her eating disorders, toxic relationships, and bitterness over her career, or from portraying her mom as a terrible parent who she still deeply loved and whose perspective she accepted unquestioningly. The present-tense writing and short chapters do sometimes make this narrative feel choppy and disconnected, but I thought this was a mostly well-told story that I admire McCurdy for telling (also, child acting should maybe be illegal).

    “One Summer: America, 1927” by Bill Bryson: Bryson kind of pioneered “microhistory” books and this is one about a very specific period of time, the summer of 1927, and events in the lives on significant historical figures. I haven’t read any of Bryson’s books in years, but I really enjoyed this; very informative but still in an accessible and often humorous narrative style.

    “Tetris: The Games People Play” by Brian Box Brown: Graphic novel-style nonfiction about the invention of the puzzle game Tetris by a Russian computer programmer and how the game became an international sensation, with its rights becoming contested between the USSR and major video game companies. It was interesting to learn about the unexpectedly dramatic story behind Tetris and the art was simple but good. I did think the author went a little too hard on the “games are art and more popular and cool than other forms of art, which makes them better” message. I like video games and they are a form of art (which can sometimes mean bad art, like anything else), but they also have uniquely exploitative features and even simple games like Tetris are designed and packaged to be addictive. I felt like the author could’ve delved deeper into that and had a more interesting story.

  11. KatiM says:

    Currently reading The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk and it was marketed as a romance novel, but frankly at 43% of the way in, it reads more like Christmas Vacation. I’m much more interested in Gwen’s family dynamics than her romance with her old friend.

    Also listening to the Shatter Me series on audio. I’m about halfway through the first book and I had forgotten how annoyed I was with Juliette’s face sucking with the initial love interest. Her interactions with Warner were much more interesting.

  12. DonnaMarie says:

    We’ve entered the time of years where time to read becomes precious. Too tired to make it through more than a half dozen pages at night. Took many things to get done to laze in bed in the morning. Still…

    As mentioned previously, I’ve fallen into Erin Nicholas’ Bayou Boys rabbit hole. Nothing better than a new-to-me author with a juicy backlist.

    If you like your Nick & Nora mysteries with a side of space travel, and I do, Mary Robinette Kowal’s THE SPARE MAN, is a delightful romp. Forthright heroine with a traumatic backstory, a delightful service dog and a former detective new husband who is being framed for murder. On their honeymoon. The thing he’s most upset about is that someone poisoned him via his irreplaceable bottle if gin. I was delighted from start to finish. It also opens each chapter with a cocktail recipe. Have fun.

    The next book on the tbr pile was Alisha Rai’s PARTNERS IN CRIME. I’ve definitely had a good run feeding my caper catnip. I must say it kept me on my toes. I had an inkling on one of the twists, but just how twisty it was came as a surprise.

    A PSALM FOR THE WILD BUILT by Becky Chambers is perfection in a small package. The next installment is it the top of my 2023 reading list.

    Currently reading Cherie Priest’s GRAVE RESERVATIONS, a new series featuring a psychic travel agent and a police detective. She believes her skills erratic at best, otherwise why can’t she discover who killed her fiancée. He’s determined that she help him with a case he can’t get any traction on. Are we surprised that these two cases may be linked?

  13. Chris k says:

    I just finished The Change by Kristen Miller. And holy smokes. It is a magical realism book about three women over 40, one who can see ghosts, one who is super strong and one who is basically an hedge witch. Someone is murdering young girls and they are trying to figure out who, and not only stop them but get vengeance. This book is made of feminist rage and it is delicious.

  14. Jeannette says:

    @KKW -So glad that you liked Ada Maria Soto’s Quiet Agent series! Its a favorites despite the flaws. I also like her Nested Hearts duology, although it is a bit dated.

    The first half of December has flown, with a lot of re-reading and short stories.

    GREAT
    JON’S MYSTERIES series by AJ SHERWOOD (M/M Psychic Detectives). Everyone needs a Havati in their lives. I enjoy these characters and their world, although I wonder if Nashville’s traffic is really that bad.

    A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by FOZ MEADOWS (M/M Fantasy Romance). Interesting world, characters that actually talk to each other. Reminded me of the ENGINEERED THRONE by Megan Derr. I could only wish for more books written soon!

    VERY GOOD
    UNHOLY TRIFECTA series by AJ SHERWOOD (M/M Contemporary) Re-read due to a new crossover short story with Ross Young Supernatural PA series. Off the wall, with a thief whose favorite tool is a bedsheet.

    BETWEEN THE COVERS and OFFSIDE RULES by LOUIS MASTERS (F/M and M/M Contemporaries). People who act like people and have real problems like normal humans (with a lot of money)

    PERILOUS COURTS series by TAVIA LARK (M/M Fantasy Romance). The first is deeper than the second, but both have interesting characters. An enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the third book.

    GOOD
    THE LITTLE CEO by NORA PHOENIX (M/M Contemporary) Very much a short story, but still good

    Christmas Short stories (all M/M)
    I’ve actually not finished a bunch of Christmas short stories which is not usual for me, but the characters were using Christmas as excuses to be awful and were people I wasn’t interested in knowing about.

    Good
    NYALL by Macy Blake; HOT CHOCOLATE KISSES by Jackie North; ASTER by Della Cain; TIMMY by Kaytea Kat

    So-So
    OBERON by Macy Blake; FINN by AW Scott; NOAH by Jamie Kassel and TERRANCE by JP Sayle

  15. flchen1 says:

    My library hold for KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE came in last weekend and I couldn’t put it down. It was just the right level of competent “overlook us at your peril” energy I was hoping for.

    Thanks for the reminder, @DiscoDollyDeb—I love Kati Wilde, and her Christmas books are a comfort reread! It’s the right time for them!

    And @DonnaMarie, I love Erin Nicholas! She has quite a few Christmas stories too (most of them connected to the bayou, but not all).

    As for other reading, I just finished the first couple books in Jeannie Chin’s Blue Cedar Falls series, THE INN ON SWEETBRIAR LANE and RETURN TO CHERRY BLOSSOM WAY, and really enjoyed them. I enjoy small-town romance anyway, but Ms Chin’s brought Chinese-Americans to life in small-town America in a way that made me feel so much more seen. Just another reminder that representation truly matters!

  16. Lace says:

    I also just finished Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man. SFF mysteries are one of my sweet spots, and I enjoyed this main character. Kowal isn’t afraid to make her frequently aggravating in a very real way – she grew up rich and privileged, and now she’s rich, privileged, and managing a pair of connected disabilities, while trying to be self-aware enough not to run people over or make unfair demands.

    I heard Rick Emerson on the You’re Wrong About podcast, talking with the host about his book Unmask Alice, which is about the creator of Go Ask Alice and other formative works of 70s-80s panic. The structure is a bit odd in places, but if you’re interested in the book or the concerns of the period it’s a good read. I found myself thinking a lot about the similarities to modern conspiracies.

    I’m currently reading the first collected volume of Moonstruck, the graphic novel from Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. I’m just getting started, but I’ll mention it because it’s partly set in a coffeehouse, and some of the feel reminds me of Legends & Lattes.

  17. FashionablyEvil says:

    Nothing I’ve read recently has really grabbed me, probably at least in part because I’m 7 months pregnant and not sleeping well and so am generally a bit grouchy and mentally fuzzy. But anyway:

    VIOLET MADE OF THORNS by Gina Chen. Mentioned this in the books on sale post yesterday: liked the premise, but it was too YA angst heavy for me.

    NEVER A DUKE by Grace Burrowes—this is apparently book 7 in a series and it mostly works as a standalone but all the various heroes and heroines from books 1-6 seem to make cameos to encourage our hero, Ned. There’s women mysteriously being kidnapped and the hero and heroine are trying to solve that. It didn’t really come together for me, but see previous comment re: sleep deprivation.

    A SHADOW IN THE EMBER by Jennifer Armentrout—Armentrout’s books seem to have a lot of danger sex and secret identities which is fine as far as it goes, but it’s obvious the hero is not who he says and the heroine hasn’t really disclosed her identity either, and I’m getting a bit impatient.

  18. DonnaMarie says:

    @Lace, I liked that one of Tesla’s main issues with her account being frozen is her inability to top.

  19. Just finished the ARC for FANGS A MILLION by Tammie Painter, the third in her Circus of Unusual Creatures series. Prohibition-era cozy mystery with an omelet-loving dragon as the narrator and some funny fourth-wall-breaking interludes.

    Recently finished the audiobook for TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS by Kate Racculia. There are multiple layers — a treasure hunt set up by a dead man, a question of what happened to one character’s (probably murdered) father, and the mystery of what happened to the main character’s best friend who disappeared back in high school. Good arcs for even the minor characters (with one possible exception). I had some quibbles about the ending, but it was mostly “I would have done it THIS way” stuff, and overall the book is solid.

    Currently listening to THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB by Richard Osman. So far, so good.

    Recently listened to THE GALAXY, AND THE GROUND WITHIN by Becky Chambers, which was lovely and well-worth a re-read.

    And finally, I finished up the “Edwardian Murder Mystery Series” by M.C. Beaton, and… There are four books and it REALLY should have ended after three. While the couple finally gets together at the end of the novel, they’ve had the same stumbling block in their relationship multiple times and I just can’t see it lasting more than a few days. It’s a very weird failing in an otherwise entertaining series.

  20. Escapeologist says:

    I haven’t been posting because of some disappointing reads I’d rather not talk about.

    Comics, comics are good. They are easier on my tired brain and pretty pictures are pretty.

    If you liked Heartstopper, The Four of Them on Webtoon has a similar vibe. Queer slow burn sweet romance, friendships, cozy slice of life and gentle humor, set in a high school in Argentina. I just started another webtoon called Gradually, a lot of the same catnip with extra silly jokes, this one set in Chile. Apparently the southern hemisphere is calling to me… been revisiting Australia/Tasmania in a reread of the Cafe La Femme cozy mysteries by Livia Day; and New Zealand via Taskmaster NZ series 2.

    Shout out to Sneezy, the SBTB reviewer who led me to the Webtoons rabbit hole with The Sea in You – f/f with mermaids, stunningly beautiful art, season 1 complete. If m/m with fairies is more your jam, The Moth Prince is gorgeous, though not finished and slowwww burn.

    That’s all the news that’s fit to print today. Hope you all are finding joy in whatever floats your boats.

  21. Heather C says:

    Oh Oh Oh! I also read The Spare Man this week (for my sci fi book club) I liked it a lot. I missed that SBTB reviewed it!

    I also have covid so not being able to try almost any of the cocktail recipes was a bummer. There were a couple non-alcoholic recipes but tonic water and muddled yellow bell pepper were not appealing.

  22. Msb says:

    @ Heather M
    “It is literary fiction with science fictional aspirations. And that is fine, but I do feel they are different things.”
    Disagree that SF is different from literary fiction – really good books are literature, not matter what genre they belong to – except that SF writers and readers have some different techniques/practices than writers/readers of literary fiction. Sounds like a really good book, though.

    I read Naomi Novik’s The Golden Enclaves, the conclusion to her Scholomance trilogy, and was so blown away that I reread all three books, to admire how the whole thing works. It’s YA so the protagonist is 17-18 as events unfold, but believably so. Particularly liked all the different forms of connection explored and the role of sexuality in more than one of them. The more I think of these books, the better I like them.

    @ other commenters
    Best wishes for a successful conclusion to pregnancy and quick and complete recovery from COVID.

  23. Kareni says:

    Over the past two weeks ~

    — enjoyed the contemporary m/m romance The Christmas Deal (Festive Fakes) by Keira Andrews which featured a fake relationship.
    — a lovely children’s book: Time is a Flower by Julie Morstad.
    — another m/m fake boyfriend story which was also an enjoyable read: A Kiss Before Christmas (Rory & Jack Book 1) by Ali Ryecart.

    — Ascendant (Songs of Chaos Book 1) by Michael R. Miller which was about a teen who saves a dragon egg which is about to be destroyed because of a flaw. The dragon that hatches and bonds with the teen is blind. This was a fairly lengthy fantasy; while I enjoyed it, I don’t plan to read on at this time.
    — The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud for my distant book group. Do you ever finish a paragraph and turn the page for more only to find that you’ve finished the book? That was my experience with this book. I have mixed feelings about this book, but it definitely led to a lively discussion.
    — quite enjoyed Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell which is a science fiction m/m romance. It is set in the same world as the author’s first book, but it absolutely stands alone. I enjoyed that first book, but I liked this one more. (This book would be a fine read for teens as well as adults.)
    — stayed up late to finish Tic-Tac-Mistletoe by N.R. Walker; it was an enjoyable m/m contemporary holiday romance.

  24. Janice says:

    I’m happy to have gotten my reading groove back. Right now I’m working through several (depending on which device is to hand): From my Cloud Library access it’s “In a New York Minute” by Kate Spencer (cute contemporary with lovely character depth) and on Hoopla it’s “Marriage Deal with the Devilish Duke” by Millie Adams (a regency with strong D/s elements complicated by a heroine who’s treated by everyone as too medically fragile for intercourse).

    Then it will be back to Cloud Library for a historical holiday collection, “A Yuletide Kiss” with works from Madeline Hunter, Sabrina Jeffries, and Mary Jo Putney before I am free to wallow in “Killers of a Certain Age” by Deanna Raybourn.

  25. Kareni says:

    @Heather M, kudos on meeting your Spanish reading challenge!

  26. HeatherS says:

    I feel like I’m in that reading slump where you’re generally discontented with everything you try to read. Nothing is right, nothing is grabbing you, but the massive TBR sits there, judging you silently.

  27. LisaM says:

    Oh @HeatherS, me too! I keep losing interest in highly anticipated books, and I can’t even settle on anything to re-read. And library holds keep coming in that I don’t even remember placing.

    I keep putting off even opening Victoria Goddard’s newest book for fear of the same thing happening.

  28. Stefka says:

    I’ve had Alexis Hall’s BOYFRIEND MATERIAL waiting in the wings for a while and urgency (road trip + long Libby holds) finally pushed this audiobook to the top of my listening pile. The narrator (Joe Jameson) is so skilled at character accents that I was pulled right into the world building, so much so that I immediately bought and listened to the sequel, HUSBAND MATERIAL. While the plots can veer into the “neurotic farce” territory more than I usually prefer, the narration imbues it all with such genuine heart that it works for me. I absolutely adore how Luc and Oliver are brought to life, and found their imperfections charming and, in some cases, personally relevant and healing.

    Audiobooks have been my preference for the last few years, and the difference that a skilled narrator makes is huge! My current favorites are Mary Jane Wells (I re-listen to the Lisa Kleypas’ Ravenel series every few months), Billie Fulford-Brown (particularly the London celebrity series by Lucy Parker), Kevin R. Free (Murderbot diaries!), and now Joe Jameson has joined the list.

  29. Crystal says:

    :::hops in to Hades music, because Hades 2 was announced and I am ready for that game to own my soul:::

    I only have a couple of books this time, but then, I am almost finished with Lego Marvel Super Heroes and I’ve had it for about a week. I think it’s safe to assume that’s why I haven’t read as much. But the brain wants it wants, and it wants to Hulk Smash.

    I read The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the second in the Inheritance Games series. Nice little twisty mystery, with lots of puzzles, and the Knives Out vibes remain STRONG. Made me feel very ready to watch Glass Onion in a couple of weeks. Then I hopped on into Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, the second in the Legendborn series. I love the way Arthurian mythology is intertwined with the story, the way that Bree has the power sets owed to her by both sets of her lineage, and the fact that it does not downplay the implications and dangers of being a Black girl that has power people don’t think she’s entitled to, simply on account of not being a white person (mostly a white guy). I’m almost done with it, and have no idea what to read after, simply because it will be a hard act to follow.

  30. Neile says:

    I’ve had the flu and it has lasted forever, so I’ve had a lot of time to read but don’t have much to say about it. I even crankily bailed on a few books, even though I have trouble admitting to myself that some books just aren’t for me when other people love them.

    Knocked out by:
    * Kennedy Ryan’s BEFORE I LET GO (how did she make this angsty story of a painfully divorced couple trying to still share their children and business so hopeful and readable?)

    Impressed by:
    * Deb Caletti’s YA novel, THE EPIC STORY OF EVERY LIVING THING (very of this opening up after the pandemic moment, a teenage instagrammer with a highly anxious mother and who feels a gap in her life because she doesn’t know her sperm donor father)
    * Carley Fortune’s EVERY SUMMER AFTER (angsty second chance romance)
    * B.K. Borison’s IN THE WEEDS (quietly romantic)

    Enjoyed:
    * Cat Sebastian’s THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES (teetering between farce and romance)
    * Meghan Quinn’s UNTYING THE KNOT (another marriage gone wrong)
    * Chloe Liese’s TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT (a retelling of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING). As usual, I really liked Liese’s character depictions.

  31. kkw says:

    I was trying to read Something in the Heir because it’s supposed to be funny and I thought I liked Suzanne Enoch. I must have her confused with someone else. This story is utterly loathesome and the characters are repellent. It’s all about their zany shenanigans as they blithely cheat their way into anything they feel entitled to …basically everything. All while constantly judging everyone around them as undeserving, and priding themselves on how successfully manipulative they are. It’s like if the narcissist parents in those Freya Marske books were the protagonists. I have decided they die in a house fire, and I don’t need to read more.
    And the universe decided to reward my suffering because there’s a new KJ Charles book (well, novella but still). Thank you @Midge for mentioning! I love it, to no one’s surprise, but y’all I love it so. much. Like ok, I hate Dickens; I love all the references. I have no use for Xmas; this makes me love it. I don’t know (or care) about Xmas carols; I listened to these on Spotify. Love love love. It has everything good thing plus it turns any bad things into still more good things. She is just the absolute best.

  32. Pam says:

    I really enjoyed these recent reads.

    Pearl Sky by Elizabeth Hunter. Tenzin (ancient vampire) and her husband Ben (new vampire) travel to a seat of power for vampires, Pengai Island. They are asked investigate the theft of an important artifact, and discover that all is not well there with the human population. I was a few books behind in the series, but I was able to follow and enjoy this book.

    She and Her Cat by Makota Shinkai – loved this one. It is four interrelated stories about women, their sometimes painful relationships with men, and their cats. I loved it.

    Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg. Fantasy, that feels like it takes place in the Edwardian era from the manners and the dress and social customs. Hauntings, ghosts, poltergeists, and romance. The hero did a good grovel.

  33. Katie C. says:

    I have already read more books this year than last – how many more can I finish by the end of the year?

    Excellent:
    The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman: Second in the retirement community-set Thursday Murder Club, multiple story lines and multiple twists had me finishing this one quickly. A newcomer moves into the community, but is known to one of our MCs (a former spy) from her former life.

    Very Good:
    The Last Passenger by Charles Finch: The third prequel in my favorite historical mystery series (Charles Lenox), this was a mystery in multiple ways – the victim is unknown and the first part of the book involves establishing his identity before moving onto finding the killer. While not my favorite in the series, it is always good to spend time in this world.

    Good:
    What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris: First in the Regency England-set Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series, the MC is falsely accused of the brutal rape and murder of an actress. He goes on the run, hiding from the authorities while trying to find the real murderer. Two problems – too many coincidences and the over reliance of the MC on getting a new piece of information and rushing off to use the threat of physical violence to elicit more information. On the other hand, I was sure I knew the identity of the killer and was totally wrong. I think I will give the second book a chance.

    Meh:
    Worked Up by Tessa Bailey: Third in the Made in Jersey series, a MOC between a rough, gruff mechanic and an art teacher. The reasoning behind the “need” to marry was baffling and unconvincing. And the very very short time frame of the book made the HEA unbelievable.

    The Bad:
    None

  34. cat_blue says:

    I’ve been staggering around through books old & new and not making it far lately, but:

    DEAD DEAD GIRLS, Nekesa Afia–mystery, 1920’s Harlem with an established f/f relationship between Louise, the main character, and her boarding-house room-neighbor Rosa Maria. Louise survived an attack from a serial killer as a teenager and in doing so freed several other girls on the brink of death. Ten years later she just wants a relatively quiet life where she can make a living at the local cafe and dance her heart out at the speakeasy with her friends, but someone is murdering young Black women in the area in ways eerily similar to the killer she escaped. It’s gotten to the point that the cops finally have to pay attention, so she’s been ‘recruited’ (through threats and manipulation) to do their legwork. Dark but not as depressing as I’ve made it sound here.

  35. Stefanie Magura says:

    @Jess:

    I also enjoyed One Summer, which I read because I was reading books about the 1920’s. I have read some of Bryson’s other similar books, and I enjoyed the one on the human body, and hope to get back to the one on the history of the home. The ones on the English language are also good. The one I would caution reading, or at least check out from the library, is his history of the universe. My dad actually bet me $500 that I wouldn’t finish it, and since I wanted a challenge, I did, so I won the bet. I get why he didn’t like it though; it was hard to follow.

  36. AlliK says:

    @Jill Q, as someone else who also grew up in a smaller town (though not as small as yours), your comment made me LOL (literally). I’m sure there are very charming small towns with whimsical bakeries out there, but mine was not one of them.

    @Heather M, for more Spanish-language books, you might check out the author Juan Gómez-Jurado if you haven’t already. I’m reading his thriller “La Reina Roja” which was a bestseller in his native Spain and has the added benefit of being the start of a series if you enjoy it. He also has a middle-grade (I think? it’s recommended for ages 9-12) series that starts with “Amanda Black: Una herencia peligrosa”. I haven’t read it, but since I’m enjoying “Reina Roja,” it seems worth checking out.

  37. MirandaB says:

    @Katie C: Try the second St. Cyr book. I think an editor got hold of Harris because while the plots are still convoluted, at least you don’t hear about his yellow eyes every other page.

  38. Marci says:

    I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything new, so I’ve been rereading LORE OLYMPUS and enjoying that.

    I spent most of the fall revisiting an author that was one of my romance gateway authors. But I don’t really like her writing anymore. So, I guess it was kind of like “hate reading”. Some of the older books I enjoyed for the nostalgia. And because I was used to this author’s style of writing, I just kept going. Several of them were from the early 2000 Harlequin Blaze imprint.

    I’ve been saving up a lot of books for the cold Midwest winter, my nesting time. I’ve got several historicals from this last year that I plan to dive into during the week before Christmas, which I took off from my work. Sarah MacLean’s HEARTBREAKER and Eva Leigh’s THE GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO RAKES and HOW THE WALLFLOWER WAS WON are at the top of that TBR stash.

    I’m looking forward to G.A. Aiken’s THE HERETIC ROYAL later this month. But I put it on hold on Overdrive through my out of state Brooklyn library card. And when I went to log in to check my hold number, I discovered my card had expired. And the Brooklyn library has discontinued their cards for out of state patrons. Bummer. I requested my local library purchase it, and they usually will, but it can take awhile longer.

  39. Kit says:

    @HeatherS I’m also in a reading slump, have been for months. Only books I’ve read are too embarrassing to list here (I’ll hint that they involve well endowed aliens and leave it at that).

  40. FashionablyEvil says:

    @Katie C—I really enjoy the St. Cyr mysteries. They don’t shy away from the dark parts of the Regency (specifically the poverty and violence) and tend to have a high body count, but Sebastian is great and there’s a lovely romantic arc later in the series.

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