Welcome back to Whatcha Reading! This is where we gab about what we’ve been reading lately and we invite you to do the same!
Claudia: I’ve just started Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman, ( A | BN | K ) which is a Cinderella retelling in London’s Jewish community in the 1830s!
Lara: I’ve just finished the first book for my reading challenge – All In by Simona Ahrnstedt and I loved it! Will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
Shana: I just finished Role Playing by Cathy Yardley ( A | BN ) thanks to Kiki’s recommendation. I absolutely adored every cozy, video-game-loving, middle-aged introverts in love moment. Then I started The Stand-up Groomsman by Jackie Lau on audiobook and it wasn’t working for me. But since I switched to an ebook, I’ve been devouring it.
Elyse: I started Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova yesterday at the beach. So far I’m really liking it.
The heroine is the lead singer of a girl group who grew up in show business. She’s finally taking some time off and goes “undercover” as a merch girl for another band to appreciate a more normal life, then of course has feelings for the lead singer.
Whatcha reading? We want to hear all about it in the comments!
Had something of a summer slump, but finally getting back the reading energy now!
Currently rereading Casey McQuiston’s RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE since I saw the movie and of course just had to read the book again.
Recently read:
Jasmine Guillory’s DRUNK ON LOVE. Maybe not my favorite of hers, but all her books have a nice, relaxed feel to them that I really find comforting to read, so I enjoyed it very much.
Louisa May Alcott’s A LONG FATAL LOVE CHASE. I’ve been meaning to read her darker stuff for ages, and I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Found it absolutely hilarious the way every time the villain would catch up to the heroine and tell her how ‘escape is impossible, we have every exit guarded’, only for her to sneak away as soon as his back was turned. Good stuff.
Elizabeth Lim’s SIX CRIMSON CRANES. Perfectly fine fantasy book, but I didn’t really click with it.
I have been holding strong to my “short story summer” so I won’t go into much detail but my favorite discovery of the summer is the works of Edward D. Hoch, an extremely prolific short story mystery writer. I had read a few of his short stories in passing but this summer I worked through his Dr Sam Hawthorne short stories in chronological order (collected into 4 books free on Kindle Unlimited if you can put up with some formatting errors) and enjoyed them a lot. They’re all locked room/impossible crime type mysteries, so you have to really go in with suspension of disbelief. They are set from the 1920s to the 1940s and Hoch started writing them in the ’70s so they’re definitely dated, but in some ways, less than I thought they would be. Do go in to be prepared for some things to not age well. Also these are definitely not deep, serious stories with sparkling prose.
But, but (!!!!) what I loved about them is they were the closest thing I’ve found to Encyclopedia Brown for grownups ;-). Just a good, quick little puzzle that was easy to digest before bed or on a short break. Each story took less than 20 minutes to read and he usually “teases” the upcoming story at the wrap-up of a story, so they I would find myself tearing through 3 or 4 when I promised I would just read one quickly. They were like potato chips.
The other thing that was impressive about reading them in chronological order is that Hoch aged Hawthorne in more or less real time, with world events also changing in the background. It keeps it from being stagnant while still keeping to the cozy format.
I am at the beach this week (yay!) so reading all the books. Since last time:
SORCERY OF THORNS and MYSTERIES OF THORN MANOR by Margaret Rogerson. I didn’t love the beginning of SORCERY, but then it gets going and I was all in. MYSTERIES is a follow up novella—I liked the extra info about a key secondary character, but felt like some of the extra stuff about the romance was unnecessary. Still, definitely recommend.
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams. The premise is interesting (girl whose father is working on the OED starts collecting “women’s words”), but the narrator, Esme, is kind of a drip (I could detect basically no character growth which is saying something since I think she’s 6 or 7 at the beginning) and omg, basically every bad thing that could happen to her, does. Things even go badly for her in the epilogue! If you’re more into tearjerkers than I am, you’d probably like this more than I did.
MADISON SQUARE MURDERS by CS Poe. I picked this up based on some SBTB recommendations and I dunno, y’all. Basically my advice is, don’t read it expecting a romance, though there is a burgeoning romance between our two MCs, Larkin and Doyle. Larkin is cheating on his husband and (IMO) justifying it rather poorly/not taking any accountability. There’s also a serial killer angle and a cliffhanger at the end. Combined with the cheating (which generally is not a disqualifier for me), I don’t think this is a series I’ll be continuing.
HOW TO TAME A WILD ROGUE by Julie Anne Long. If you’re a fan of her Palace of Rogues series, definitely pick this one up. It has one of my favorite tropes (fake relationship), but there’s also a nice revisiting of the first two relationships from the series (Angelique’s and Delilah’s).
APPOINTMENT IN BATH by Mimi Matthews. Not my favorite of hers—the MCs are young and it shows, but there is a revisiting of Fred (the villain from my favorite Matthews book, GENTLEMAN JIM.)
Currently reading Dorothy Sayers’ MURDER MUST ADVERTISE. God, she writes the absolute BEST dialogue. I read and I’m just in awe of how she does it.
I’m looking forward to CODENAME CHARMING by Lucy Parker, which comes out next week. I love royal-themed romances, and I enjoyed BATTLE ROYAL, the first book in this world/series. I also want to finish reading her London Celebrities series.
I also want to check out ZERO SUM GAME by S. L. Huang and DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST by Juliet Marillier.
And I finally finished LADY KNIGHT by Tamora Pierce. The Protector of the Small series is probably going to be one of my favorite reads of the year. 🙂
Part 1
I had hoped to begin today’s WAYR with a review of Kati Wilde’s latest Dead Lands fantasy romance, THE MIDSUMMER BRIDE. Unfortunately, Kati had some difficulties when she uploaded the files to Amazon and eventually had to “unpublish” the book. Poor Kati—she just can’t catch a break when it comes to getting a book out. What I was able to read of THE MIDSUMMER BRIDE (about the first 14 chapters before the book abruptly truncated) was very good, and I look forward to reading the whole thing when Kati is ready to republish.
I read the three most recent books in Maisey Yates’s Four Corners Ranch series of cowboy romances: COWBOY WILD, THE ROUGH RIDER, and WILD NIGHT COWBOY. (While WILD NIGHT COWBOY is a novella involving characters who have previously made very limited appearances in the Four Corners Ranch series, COWBOY WILD and THE ROUGH RIDER feature MCs who are connected by blood, marriage, and friendship with the MCs from earlier books). The heroes of COWBOY WILD and THE ROUGH RIDER are brothers and the heroines are best friends. All four MCs have experienced family dysfunction and abuse (CW/TW: the hero of THE ROUGH RIDER has scars from a horrific instance of childhood abuse; there’s a fairly detailed description of the event). As one of the heroes says of his family of five adult brothers, they “…didn’t do heart-to-hearts or feelings. They preferred guilt, bottled up emotions, and hard work. In that order.” Meanwhile, the two heroines are both processing the way their families fell apart during their childhoods: in one case, a father died and the mother decided to move away not long after, leaving the ranch to her (mostly) grown-up children; in the other case, a father’s infidelity and decision to be with his other family prompted the mother to move away too. It’s interesting to see Yates take these various forms of absenteeism, neglect, or outright abuse and show the scars (some obviously physical, but most internal) and show how—without committed emotional labor (and undoubtedly ongoing therapy)—love will never be enough, no matter how strong the emotion is between the MCs. These books are not “fluffy”, love may be triumphant, but the MCs realize it will only remain so with a strong commitment to each other. But you end the books believing in their HEAs because the MCs are willing to do what they need to for keep it. Recommended.
The other book I mentioned above, WILD NIGHT COWBOY, is a novella involving the daughter of a church pastor and the ten-years-older ex-con who is building a home in the Four Corners area. This is very much a classic “good-girl/bad-boy” trope, but Yates individualizes the story, showing how the MCs, for all their differences, are similar: “They couldn’t be more different, except one thing was the same. They’d both gotten off their paths, and they were on new ones.” The heroine is tired of being the dutiful daughter, seeing her life and youth slipping away, and the hero is grateful that an early stint in prison allowed him to leave behind the criminal life of his father and emerge with a GED and the skills he needed for a career in construction. Yates’s books generally have a good level of steam, but WILD COWBOY NIGHT is very close to an erotic romance with quite a bit of D/s sex along with some relatively mild BDSM. WILD NIGHT COWBOY would be a good way to dip your toe into Yates’s work without being overwhelmed by the interconnected characters and places. Recommended.
Part 2
Winter Renshaw’s YOU OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU is an angsty romance that makes excellent use of the “wrong twin” trope. Sloane is quiet, reserved, and self-contained; she loves art and works in an art gallery. Sloane’s identical twin sister, Margaux, is her complete opposite: outgoing and gregarious, perfectly suited for her job in public relations. Despite their differences, the sisters are close and even share an apartment. When Margaux gets sick on the night she is supposed to go on a blind date with her boss’s nephew, rather than offend her boss, she begs Sloane to take her place as “Margaux”. Sloane, dressed in Margaux-approved attire, goes on the date with Roman, a widower with two young daughters. The date does not go well—the couple’s conversation is stilted and there appears to be no chemistry between them. However, a chance reference to an obscure artist they both admire forges a small connection, which leads to them seeing each other again. Margaux, dealing with some personal challenges of her own, asks Sloane to continue with the ruse of pretending to be Margaux, and Sloane reluctantly agrees, although as her relationship with Roman becomes deeper, she knows she should tell him the truth about who she is, but things are complicated to say the least. The plot becomes tangled (in a good way), and Renshaw does an excellent job of keeping the narrative threads clear and uncrossed: there are things Sloane knows that Roman doesn’t, there are things Roman knows that Sloan doesn’t, there are things that Roman (through his aunt, Margaux’s boss) knows about Margaux, without realizing that the woman he is falling for is not Margaux. YOU OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU is not without faults: there are a few too many “not like other girls” moments, and the dichotomy between Sloane and Margaux sometimes takes on a “good twin/evil twin” element, but Renshaw manages to keep the story fast paced and engaging. Recommended.
STEPBROTHER DEAREST by new-to-me author Willow Dixon is a competently written m/m stepbrother romance. And I must give Dixon credit for expanding the usual premise of “standard” stepbrother romances (whether m/m or m/f), i.e., “the MCs are stuck in a house together at 17 years old when one MC’s mom marries the other MC’s dad”. In STEPBROTHER DEAREST, the MCs are older (mid-twenties), didn’t grow up together (both MCs lived with their own mothers after the divorces/remarriages), and haven’t seen each other for years when they unexpectedly cross paths. Graham intervenes in a domestic dispute outside the strip club where he dances, resulting in injuries that require a trip to the Emergency Room. He is surprised when his ER nurse is Caleb, son of his father’s second wife, and the person he blames for a situation from their teen years that altered the course of his life. Graham does not want to be beholden to his opposite-in-every-way stepbrother, but having no one else to take care of him, he agrees to spend the next few days at Caleb’s home until he recovers. Eventually, the guys begin hooking-up, but after a while their scratching-an-itch encounters evolve into being “…about comfort and connection and bring fully present in the moment with someone.” In addition to moving away from the usual step-sibling romance set-up, Dixon also refreshingly avoids a “big misunderstanding” in the third act; instead, all the misunderstanding is in the past—and is eventually resolved by conversation. I must admit, STEPBROTHER DEAREST grew on me as I read it—and I’ve now added a few more of Dixon’s books to my tbr. Recommended.
I liked STEPBROTHER DEAREST enough to try an earlier Willow Dixon book, BATTLE TO SURRENDER, from her Heroes at Home series of m/m romances about military veterans. BATTLE TO SURRENDER reminded me in an oblique way of Alexis Hall’s FOR REAL in that it is the younger, smaller MC who is the dom and the older, bigger MC who is the sub. That being said, while the sex in BATTLE TO SURRENDER is of the D/s variety, there isn’t any overt BDSM. The MCs meet when veteran Hunter and events planner Shane work together to stage a fund-raiser for the LGBTQ youth center Hunter administers. Both Hunter and Shane deal with mental health challenges: Hunter has PTSD from military combat and Shane is on medication for ADHD. It was interesting to see their unexpected dynamic play out. Shane is a “bossy caretaker” type and Hunter’s kind and accommodating nature makes him assume more responsibility than he can handle, leaving him wanting someone capable of caring for him and making decisions. And again, I liked that Dixon did not have a big misunderstanding toward the end of the book. Recommended.
ABOVE GROUND by Clint Smith was a fantastic collection of poems.
THE BOOKBINDER by Pip Williams was a paint by numbers historical with some cheap, unnecessary trauma thrown in. I disliked it so much I donated my copy of THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by the same author to the library. I will never read another book by Pip Williams, that is how disappointed I was by THE BOOKBINDER.
THE LAST DROP OF HEMLOCK by Katharine Schellman was half as good as LAST CALL AT THE NIGHTINGALE. I suggest skipping HEMLOCK and waiting for the 3rd book.
A DEATH IN DENMARK by Amulya Malladi was a promising start to a new mystery series. I loved the characters and the setting. It was fast paced and left me looking forward to the next book in the series.
HOW TO TAME A WILD ROGUE by Julie Anne Long left me utterly baffled as to how to rate the book. I loved the ending and it was so romantic but I thought there was an excess of telling instead of showing. In addition, I am suspicious of any couple who falls in love in under 3 months.
TASTES LIKE SHAKKAR by Nisha Sharma: NEXT
THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN: I really wanted to like this book but the habit of grafting the Black or BIPOC experience onto magical beings really bothers me. cf The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.
So I did not have the best reading month but next up is:
SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by Tia Williams
WOMEN ON FIRE by Lisa Barr
MANCHESTER HAPPENED by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (I will finish this book this year!!!)
Recs are also appreciated and hugged!
I’m not 100% sure what I’ve got through since the last time I’ve posted, but here’s an attempt.
I finished Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and loved it just as much as the first time I read the fan translation. Next up is Heaven Officials Blessing, but that is loooong, so I’m waiting a bit.
A Lady For a Duke – Alexis Hall
I appreciated a lot about this book, especially the lack of focus on the heroine’s transness. But the focus on children turned me off, it just wasn’t for me. The writing was stellar; Hall is one author I’ve noticed has very distinctive styles for each project.
The Decagon House Murders – Yukito Ayatsugi
A sort-of closed room mystery (there are actually two settings) where university students in a mystery writing club travel to a deserted island. Its very tightly plotted, with lots of references to classic mystery novels. The characters are even nicknamed after English, French, and American mystery writers. It kept me engaged and I was surprised by the solution, even though all the clues were there.
Malice – Heather Walter
Sapphic fantasy mostly a riff on Sleeping Beauty, though there were other fairy tale references as well. I find there’s a fine line between worldbuilding and infodumping, and the beginning was really heavy on the infodumping. But I’m glad I stuck with it, and quite liked it in the end. And there’s a sequel to look forward to.
A Thief in the Night – KJ Charles
Thoroughly enjoyed this quick read. Loved both characters.
@Sarah—Ah, “cheap, unnecessary trauma” exactly encapsulates what I felt about THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS. Okay, terrible things do happen, but did there need to be six or seven of them?
I’m continuing my deep dive into Lucy Score’s backlist. Like most of her books there’s a dark secrets under the lighthearted romance. Police officer “Brick” Callan knows Remi Ford wouldn’t return to her Mackinaw Island hometown in the dead of winter if trouble wasn’t on her tail. If you’ve ever spent a winter on Northern Lake Michigan, you know he isn’t wrong. Now if he can just keep from falling for his brother’s high school girlfriend/boss’s daughter/ex-wife’s former best friend….
Finished the first book in her Riley Thorn trilogy: RILEY THORN & THE DEAD GUY NEXT DOOR. A delightful romp with a reluctant psychic heroine just trying to live a “normal” life ignoring the abilities the rest of her family embraces, working a dead end job and sharing a decrepitating mansion with four senior citizens of the eccentric variety and one disgusting soon to be title character. Enter Nick Santiago PI, a rescue dog of epic size, a vigilante group, a spiritual advisor, crooked cops and mayhem ensues. I love the mix of humor and action, the numerous multi-generational cast if characters and, of course, the smexy romance that grows out of it all. Got the next one cued up on the Kindle for bedtime reading. Currently playing chicken with my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. Love my Kindle. Do not want to put one more dime in the pocket of a man who could pay his employees so much more. Sigh.
On the not a romance front, a book called THE LITTLE QUEEN by Kevin Hunker cropped up in my suggestions list recently. In that mysterious/ominous way of technology it must have intuited my interest based on a post elsewhere about my bee aid station. I am a bee fan so I thought “why not”? Sometimes that pays off, and it did here. A grieving boy with his late mother’s affinity for bees and an escapee genetically engineered queen bee looking for a home find each other. Can they protect each other from dark forces set on destroying her? A nice little exercise in speculative fiction that will hopefully find enough of an audience to generate the sequel alluded to in the end notes.
Currently reading THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS by Eva Jurczyk. Also not a romance. A rare book disappears shortly after being purchased by a small University. I’m having a little trouble getting onto it, and I blame the main character. You know that show vs. tell issue? She’s showing her discontent all over the place, there are comments dropped, but not any details. “Have you taken your meds?” and “having a good day” are obvious codes for mental health issues. I got it. There are a lot of passive aggressive conversations. When fingers point at her, the only person who was physically absent from the library from before the book arrived until after her boss’s collapse does she tell them all to go fuck themselves? No, she does not. She SECOND GUESSES HERSELF!!! This character has a longer way to go to redeem herself.
Hi, everyone! I love hearing about what’s on everyone else’s shelves!
@Jill Q, I’m so interested to learn about Edward D Hoch! I loved Encyclopedia Brown as a kid, and while I don’t read much mystery these days, I am definitely interested in taking a peek at these! And I love the whole idea of short-story summer–writing short stories is such a talent, and not one even otherwise great writers always manage.
@FashionablyEvil, glad you’re enjoying some beach reading time! Thanks for the heads up about the CS Poe–I think it’s been on my WL because of prior recs here, but that additional detail is going to drop it down or off…
@DiscoDollyDeb, ditto what you said about Kati Wilde’s upcoming The MidSummer Bride!
As for me, I just started back in the front office at one of our local elementary schools, and work has really cut into my reading time, LOL!
A few reads I fit in before that:
– Annabeth Albert’s SERGEANT DELICIOUS–a novella about a soon to be ex-marine and a food writer that starts out as two guys corresponding and turns into something once they meet in person. It’s sweet, low-angst, and right along Ms Albert’s feel-good alley.
– Shelli Stevens’s re-released Savage series, SAVAGE HUNGER, SAVAGE BETRAYAL, and SAVAGE REVENGE. These are romantic suspense with shifters. Each story/couple stands alone, but there is a story arc that runs through the three books. Entertaining if you enjoy PNR with some action/adventure.
– NR Walker’s THE WEIGHT OF IT ALL–it’s an m/m romance about a guy who reacts to being dumped by his long-time boyfriend for being well, dumpy, by joining a gym. This is such an ultimately sweet story, about someone determined to make a change in his life and a trainer who sees him clearly and helps him to see himself the same way.
– Jodi Payne and BA Tortuga’s HEART OF A COWBOY–the start of their Higher Elevation series. A restaurateur and a cowboy go from casual to serious in a blink when their life changes with the addition of a little girl who needs them both. I was charmed.
– Kimberly Kincaid’s rereleased STIRRING UP TROUBLE, the next in her Pine Mountain series. It’s a terrific small town contemporary, opposites attract, and it’s well-written and believable as well as engrossing.
– Beth Bolden’s THE GAME, book two in her Charleston Condors’ m/m football series. It’s a second-chance, teammates to husbands story, with a lot of heart.
And managed to happily reread:
– Beth Bolden’s KITCHEN GODS series, BITE ME, CATCH ME, SAVOR ME, INDULGE ME–m/m romance. Four guys are roommates who work for the same Michelin starred restaurant in Napa, run by a notorious control freak of a chef. Each of the four friends ends up finding his own way, and I loved being immersed in the restaurant setting.
– Beth Bolden’s DRIVE ME CRAZY, book one in her Food Truck Warriors series. The hero is the brother of one of the guys in CATCH ME. This series is also a treat.
– Lisa Kleypas’s DEVIL IN WINTER. Ah, Sebastian and Evie!!
So far it’s been an excellent month for reading. Starting with WE COULD BE SO GOOD (M/M, 1950s New York) by CAT SEBASTIAN was a very good idea. OMG this book. I love it. I love the lead characters, I love her writing – I found myself re-reading so much because the prose is just gorgeous and needed time to resonate. It’s what I would term a ‘quiet’ book, charting the slow (not without its setbacks) build into a deep and loving relationship between two young, professional men from very different backgrounds, against the backdrop of illegality and tension they have to deal with every day. Probably one of my most favourite stories of hers or, in fact, anyone’s. Fabulous. All the awards.
After such a positive experience, I needed something really good next, so I chose KJ CHARLES’s SPECTRED ISLE. Another M/M and another favourite writer. I had been saving it for an ‘emergency’ and it was exactly the right choice because it too is a most excellent book. A supernatural (maybe could be described as alternate universe?) story set in the UK around and after WW1. The two leading men are to die for and the story is really quite scary/creepy at points. Five stars.
At that point I was on a roll and went for THE SECRET CASEBOOKS OF SIMON FEXIMAL, also by KJ CHARLES and set in the same supernatural world as Spectred Isle – sort of a prequel – in the 1800s. More fabulous leading men and more vile villains who get what they deserve. The relationship starts with a bang (sorry!) and is pretty tempestuous throughout but the deep connection is always there. A very satisfying read.
Then onto the second and third in the MAGPIE LORD series by the same author: A CASE OF POSSESSION and FLIGHT OF MAGPIES. Victorian M/M with magical goings on, adventure, dubious characters and plenty of sexytimes. The perfect combination. I romped through these two. Note that the first book of the three is free on Amazon UK, if you are thinking about sampling some KJ CHARLES.
Staying in the Charm of Magpies world, I moved onto JACKDAW. Featuring characters from the first three books but focusing on a new pairing, this is a second chance, found family story for one of the perceived ‘baddies’ of the series. And yes, he is morally dubious at times but of course, he has his reasons. Heartwarming.
At this point, I was now so deeply embedded in period M/M I didn’t want to leave. Fortunately, I had one more of JOANNA CHAMBERS’ Enlightenment books left to read: book four (of five), UNNATURAL. This features a character featured in previous stories, the soldier Iain Sinclair and his childhood friend Jamie. One MC is fighting the attraction and one is all in. I have found the whole interlinked series compelling and emotional and this ‘chapter’ did not disappoint.
And so, finally, to HONEYTRAP by ASTER GLENN GRAY. My first book of hers. Set initially in the 50s and then the 70s and 90s, the story is about the (M/M) relationship between an FBI agent and his Russian counterpart who is posted to America. It’s a slow burn, with added tension from the illegality element in the earlier time periods. It reminded me a little of (see first para) We Could Be So Good in that nothing very major happens except the progression of the relationship – the adventures they have on the road are mostly a sideshow. I liked it but didn’t love it. Will explore more of her writing though.
I am now heading off to RomComLand for the rest of the month.
@Heather M – Had to look up Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and instantly added it to my list.
Just this morning finished LAMMAS NIGHT by Katherine Kurtz, a WW2 thriller about British occultists trying to stop Hitler from invading. It’s not a romance, but definitely a love story between two men and I cried at the end. I read Kurtz’s Adept series years ago and this has been sitting on my shelf forever. She may not be the best writer in the world, but she does come up with some intriguing plots.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention the other thing I’m reading a lot of. Good Omens fanfic! No spoilers for the new season, but boy am I glad that there was already a ton of excellent stories to devour when I have a spare moment.
@JillQ: Count me in for an adult Encyclopedia Brown. I looked on-line and wasn’t sure of any of the titles. Details most welcome, thanks.
A VERY TYPICAL FAMILY by Sierra Godfrey was not “hilarious” as described in blurbs, although it was very good. Fifteen years ago, Natalie’s response to an incident at her family’s home put her older brother and sister in prison for several years. Let’s fix that, shall we, now that Mom has died and left the three of us her house? Unpacking and repacking what you know/think you about your family, about forgiveness or none, was really well done. I recommend the book, especially if you want another example of “use your words, people, and also listen. K thx.”
TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER by Valerie Burns: I tried, I really did, but here is my first DNF of the year. All plot (not a deal breaker), but you want me to believe three “you have to sell the business/house/dog to me or else” threats in less than 24 hours after your arrival in town? Nuh-uh, sadly.
THE WISHING GAME by Meg Shaffer: Pick me! Pick me! A famous children’s author (not her) and the kids who devoured his books; the ones who wrote to him, snuck onto his island, hoping he could save them from their fraught lives because they believed in his words. Wow. Complicated, funny, sad and my ideal wish fulfillment. Highly recommended.
THE BLIGHTED STARS by Megan O’Keefe: Dead planets, the heir to the all-powerful family responsible for the destruction, and a revolutionary/enemy trying to stop it are stranded on one of those planets. In this time, people can “print” themselves many times, until their prints “crack.” Nothing is what it seems, treachery spreads like a plague, “misprints” are dangerous zombies. Awesome space opera.
THE LAST WATCH by J.S. Dewes: Just finished the audiobook and while one of the narrators wasn’t a favorite of mine, the story was excellent. Another heir to an all-powerful family has been sentenced to a military penal space station near The Divide, where soldiers who didn’t follow orders are essentially marooned. Our hero is a privileged, sarcastic and immature rebel initially, but life and death have a way of changing that. Found family, loss and a determination to right wrongs made for a fascinating listen.
THE MAP OF STARS, the final book in Laura Ruby’s YORK series. Alternate New York City is in peril still from a ruthless developer who is destroying old buildings/people to make everything new. They’re all looking for the Morningstarr Cipher (of unlimited, unknown power). While trying to save their city, the kids are dealing with their own issues of anxiety, loss and secrets. So highly recommended for all of us.
Since last time ~
— quite enjoyed Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld which is the first book I’ve read by this author. This featured a woman writing for a late night show and a musician appearing on the show in 2018 as a guest host. The story resumes in 2020 when they reconnect, in Covid times, via email. I have a fondness for books with epistolary content, so this definitely appealed.
— also enjoyed Chaos Reigning (The Consortium Rebellion Book 3) by Jessie Mihalik; I thought I had read this final book in a science fiction romance series but evidently had not. My one quibble is that the reader learns very little about the hero.
— an enjoyable historical romance, The Gentleman’s Book of Vices (Lucky Lovers of London 1) by Jess Everlee. This featured two men, an author and a man with debts who is reluctantly on the verge of marrying.
— quite enjoyed Charm City Rocks: A Love Story by Matthew Norman; this book features a once famous female rock drummer and a cardigan wearing piano teacher who are brought together by the latter’s teenaged son.
— For my distant book group, I read The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves. The book takes place in 1991 and 2001 and features a college student with autism and the young man who she dates. I found it an enjoyable and somewhat predictable read but fairly light (though it did have some sad events).
— the contemporary male/male romance To the Moon and Back by N.R. Walker which I enjoyed. This was set in Australia and featured the single father of a newborn and a nanny.
— a graphic novel which was an okay read, Star Trek: Picard-Countdown by Kirsten Beyer.
— stayed up late to finish Hello Stranger by Katherine Center which I quite enjoyed. It featured a portrait painter who experiences face blindness after surgery and two men in her life.
— read an enjoyable contemporary male/male romance that had me laughing aloud ~ Awfully Ambrose (Bad Boyfriends, Inc.) by Sarah Honey. This featured two college students, one of whom hired the other to act as a boyfriend after his mother kept matchmaking.
— read Remember Me by Mary Balogh; this is a historical romance in which the female lead overhears the ultimate hero make a disparaging remark about her. Part of it strained credulity, but it did grab my attention and made me teary eyed near the end.
— read a contemporary m/m novella, A New Pack For New Year by Kiki Clark, which was an okay read. This featured an abused werewolf joining a new pack and finding his mate.
— Last month, for my distant book group, I read The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. I just reread it for my local book group and enjoyed it once again.
— just finished a book that I quite enjoyed, Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center. It’s about a recently divorced woman who decides to go on a wilderness survival course in an effort to make positive changes in her life. The best friend of her annoying younger brother signs up for the same course. This book made me laugh aloud, but it also had depth and poignancy.
I’m having a great summer of yard work and audiobooks. I finally dipped my toe in the Murderbot pool and now am ready to jump into the deep end, on my library’s waitlist for the third installment. I’ve also been binging Hoyt’s Maiden Lane, currently swooning over Captain Trevillion in book 8.
@AnneUK I’m always so excited when someone mentions Honeytrap, one of my favs. And I also adored We Could Be So Good.
@Darlynne,
The titles are a little confusing but in chronological order (which I enjoyed)-
Diagnosis: Impossible The Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne
More Things Impossible: The 2nd casebook of Dr. Sam Hawthorne
Nothing is Impossible: The further problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne
All But Impossible: The impossible problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne
Some of them *are* silly, but a lot of them are really clever.
I think the author is listed sometimes as Edward D. Hoch, sometimes as Edward Hoch.
Today is my 40th birthday – my sister-in-law (who is also my very good friend) decorated the party in a theme of A Court of Thorns and Roses because we both love and have squeed together about Sarah J Maas. It was so thoughtful and beautiful. Now on to the books since it has been 3 weeks since the last WAYR.
Excellent:
THE YOM KIPPUR MURDER by Lee Harris (Contemporary Mystery – Christine Bennett #2): Former nun Christine Bennett is working to help those trying to remain in an old apartment building that the owner wants to demolish and rebuild as pricier apartments. When one of the three remaining tenants is murdered, Christine is determined to get to the truth. Although this is a relatively short book, there are some many threads and stories to unravel.
Very Good:
THE RITUAL BATH by Faye Kellerman (Contemporary Mystery – Decker/Lazarus #1): At a yeshiva in the LA area, a woman is sexually assaulted outside of the mikvah. The caretaker of the mitkah is the person most willing to talk with the police. She begins to develop feelings for the lead detective, but feels like their two worlds can’t be reconciled. CW: This was written in the 1980’s and some of the story and language does not age well
DESIRE IN HIS BLOOD by Zoey Draven (Alien Romance – M/F – Brides of the Kylorr #1): The second book in this series was a HYW (June 13th) pick for Aarya, so I went and looked up the first and suggested it as a joint read to my aforementioned sister-in-law. I loved the world building and that this was a slight twist to a vampire story. I also loved that it read a lot like a historical romance despite being set in space. But I had some questions about the extreme power differential between the hero and heroine as well as the plot. The plot was a revenge plot and I am not sure I have the same level of tolerance for those that I did in the past – how is using the innocent daughter of your enemy ok – doesn’t she get to be her own person and not pay for the sins of her father? But without going into too many details, I think the resolution handled that well. I am really looking forward to the second book (which I am planning to start tonight because it is set in the same world with the twin brother of the hero from the first book, but doesn’t seem (???) to be a revenge plot.
Good:
None
Meh:
THE HEIR (YA Speculative Fiction -M/F – The Selection #4) and THE CROWN (YA Speculative Fiction -M/F – The Selection #5): I would say how well you will tolerate The Selection series (which is set in an alternate history sort of United States) depends on your willingness to read about an absolute monarchy with frequent references to “the people” and “my people” (as in “I have to take care of my people.” or “My people don’t love me.”). There is also a Bachelorette-like competition to become the next Crown Prince of Illia. They were fine, but nothing special.
The Bad:
STARDOC by S.L. Viehl (Science Fiction – Stardoc #1): This book was going so swimmingly – a human doctor moves to a remote alien outpost and has to learn how to treat all the new species of patients she meets. But then there is a sexual assault and the way it was excused or explained away was just not ok. So despite finishing the book and enjoying everything around that part, I just can’t continue on with the series.
I read “To Shape A Dragon’s Breath” and loved it. Kinda peeved I didn’t wait until the next book is out.
Listening to the audiobook of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” because the movie is out in the fall and I’ve been on a road trip. Switched to the paperback because I was getting so much secondhand embarrassment and cringe from the narrator reciting the songs like poetry and couldn’t stand it anymore. Enjoying the book itself, though.
Sorry to be so late today — we were traveling and just got home.
I, like my friend @DDD, have been looking forward to Kati Wilde’s new book — what’s not to love about a Conan the Barbarian type set up with an HEA- THE MIDSUMMER BRIDE. Glad to hear the first half was good and looking forward to gobbling it up.
Despite being on vacation, my reading has not been great. I fell asleep every time I tried to read.
Did read some stuff, however. Vitoria Adeline’s CLECANIAN series are enjoyable, but after three, I have had enough. M/F sci fi abductions. Definitely a mood thing.
A VERY PUNCHABLE FACE by Colin Jost (memoir) had its moments, but was uneven. Not enough there there — worth reading if you can score a free copy or borrow it from the library. I would also guess that it is better as an audio book.
Finally, I liked WEDDED TO THE WANTON WITCH, S.L. Prater, M/F paranormal, the third book in her Fae Tricksters series. This was lighter than the first two books, and the love story was very believable — classic tension due to attraction that morphs into friendship and love. I always am a sucker for watching characters fall in love, and it was done well here. That being said, the world building is spotty and disjointed, so be prepared to not let it bother you.
Thank you all for the recommendations! Hoping to carve out a lot of reading over the next few weeks. 🙂
August WAYR
Weird month, so I’ve been a bit all over the place with reading. Started a lot of books and just sort of didn’t keep reading many of them. I wouldn’t even say DNF, because I’ll go back and read them again, I just sort of drifted off. Then came the one book that I think finally got me out of my reading slump.
GREAT
FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros. I’ve been avoiding this book as I’ve had SO MANY people say I should read this because I would love it, which made me determined not to read it. Finally had enough kindle credit that I figured why not? At 4am on a Wednesday morning, I called into work sick, because I clearly wasn’t going to put it down anytime soon. My first Bad Decisions Book Club entry in a looong time. This is the story of Violet, daughter of a General, sister of heroes, who always wanted to be a scribe. Instead, her mother forces her to go to the Riders Quadrant, and become a dragonrider. Violet is physically frail but smart, canny and not a shrinking violet (lolol). The thing I loved most about Violet was when the love interest tried to do some of that alphahole sexual tension shit, Violet’s response was “yep, I’m in! Here against the wall or on the bed?” Some of the plot points earlier in the book don’t make a ton of sense considering what we find out toward the end of the book, but I’m willing to wait for the sequel to hopefully explain it. Broke my reading slump, and I owe people some apologies for being stubborn.
THE GUILD CODEX: DEMONIZED series by Annette Marie. This has been on my TBR pile for awhile, and I’ve been hanging onto it for a “break in case of emergency” situation when I want a guaranteed good read. I know I can rely on Annette Marie for good quality urban fantasy and this series delivered. The books are TAMING DEMONS FOR BEGINNERS, SLAYING MONSTERS FOR THE FEEBLE, HUNTING FIENDS FOR THE ILL-EQUIPPED and DELIVERING EVIL FOR EXPERTS. I couldn’t begin to separate the plot out because I glommed them all in a few days. Robin Page is an inexperienced demon summoner who is bonded to a demon that absolutely doesn’t want to be bonded. Robin’s parents died recently, and she has no idea what she’s doing. Shenanigans ensue. Enemies to lovers with strong character growth for Robin; thoroughly enjoyed it.
GOOD
THE KING’S HORRIBLE BRIDE by Kati Wilde. While waiting for THE MIDSUMMER BRIDE, I decided to work my way through Kati Wilde’s backlog and found the Royal Weddings series. Each one is fairly short, apparently prompted by Harry and Megan’s wedding. This one is typical Kati Wilde – fantastic sex scenes, 2 people that I believe would realistically fall in love and a good, solid happily ever after. Not my favorite, but enjoyable.
FATAL DECEPTION by April Hunt. Book 3 of The Steele ops series. Tells the story of the second oldest Steele brother, Roman and virologist Isabel Santiago. This book is about people breaking into a lab, stealing viruses and then planning to sell them off, which is going to be a sensitive topic for many people. Isabel is a badass, and I liked that she knew her shit and stood up to people when they didn’t. Roman is a BTK amputee, which is part of who he is, without being his sole personality characteristic. Two very attractive, competent people who could I see falling in love, even though I did keep remembering that “relationships based on intense experiences never work” (Speed, 1994).
OK
DEADLY OBSESSION by April Hunt. I read these books out of order, but I’m not sure it really matters. This was book 1 of The Steele Ops series, about the oldest brother Knox and the girl who has had a crush on him for forever, Zoey. Zoey has a heart condition that has meant she’s had more surgeries than she can remember – and it also means that everyone treats her like she’s made of glass. The romance was fine – Knox was a butthead, and Zoey deserves better, but you can’t win ‘em all. The mystery was well done, and I enjoyed the scenes of Zoey at work. What really irked me was Zoey’s brother Cade – a police detective – allowing not-a-cop-Knox to be part of the investigation, to enter a suspect’s house “because of their time in Kabul together”. So, if you can ignore more evidence of police double standards, this was a good enough read.
THE KING’S SPINSTER BRIDE by Ruby Dixon. Second book in the Royal Wedding series. Princess Halla saves the life of Melthior when he is 8 years old. 16 years later, when he becomes king, he is finally able to marry her. Halla is 8 years older than Melthior and most of her objections about marrying Melthior are based on the fact that she thinks her breasts are saggy. At 32. The various wedding rituals involve a bit of exhibitionism and the groom proving to his bride that he can give her pleasure (I’m all in favor of this one). Insta-love and insta-lust, quick, easy enough read.
TO HER RESCUE by Dria Anderson. I think this book was recommended on SBTB? No idea how I came across this. This was set up as a marriage of convenience, but by about page 20 both leads knew it wasn’t really. They’re already friends when the MOC situation arises, and everyone except the two of them appears to be aware that they’re already in love. Not much conflict between the main characters, which is good because the rest of the plot is batshit insane. There are more books in the series, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading.
MEH
KING’S RELUCTANT BRIDE by Ella Goode. Book 3 in the Royal Weddings. I mean, what didn’t we pack into 106 pages? 10-year hidden relationship, abdication, secret child, blackmail, hate sex, voyeurism, classism … I read this book and won’t read it again.
I’m not sure what’s up next. I really enjoyed the competence porn of both THE FOURTH WING and FATAL DECEPTION, so I think I’m going to try to track down some more books along those lines. Happy reading, y’all!
It’s been six months since I last commented, but I’m going to try to do better over the rest of this year. . . .
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere that after a very long hiatus, Jennifer Crusie is publishing once more. (Hooray!) She’s teamed up again with Bob Mayer (they wrote 3 books together in the 00’s, DON’T LOOK DOWN, AGNES AND THE HITMAN, and WILD RIDE). They are self-publishing a new romance/mystery trilogy featuring Liz Danger, a ghostwriter of tell-all memoirs, who has reluctantly returned to her small Ohio hometown, and Vince Cooper, a former military guy, who has recently moved to Liz’s hometown and is now a police officer there. LAVENDER’S BLUE, which came out in July, is the first book; the second; REST IN PINK comes out later this month; the third, ONE IN VERMILLION, is scheduled to be released in September. It’s been long time since Crusie has published anything, and, although she has been working and reworking quite a few manuscripts (she’s been posting bits from various WIPs over the years on her blog), I was worried that maybe these new books would be lacklustre or too overwritten or that the humour and writing style might not work anymore for me. But LAVENDER’S BLUE was fun and enjoyable – it wasn’t perfect, but there were lots of clever moments and witty banter and many of the scenes were just pitch perfect. I am so looking forward to the next one REST IN PINK and I am so glad that Mayer and Crusie made the decision to collaborate again. Just a small heads up, there are typos. Readers have been letting Crusie and Mayer know, and, I believe, there are plans to clean up the files. I vaguely noted some of the typos while I was reading, but because I was enjoying the story so much, I blew right pass them.
I enjoyed Jennifer Estep’s ONLY GOOD ENEMIES, the second book in her space opera series, Galactic Bonds. I’ve read books from a couple of Jennifer Estep’s previous “adultish” fantasy series (Crown of Shards; Gargoyle Queen) and they were okay, but not especially memorable (and they felt very YA to me even though the protagonists were supposed to be adults in their late 20s and 30s). But last year I read picked up the first one in Galactic Bonds series (ONLY BAD CHOICES) and I really ended up enjoying it – the characters were well developed and acted like adults. There were clear character arcs and a propulsive space-opera plot. And that was my experience with this second book as well – it really was a fun ride and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY (by Megan Bannen) is a short, sweet fantasy/epistolary romance novel that mashes together bits and pieces of You’ve Got Mail/The Shop Around the Corner with the quirky fantasy sensibilities of authors like Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman, and Patricia McKillip. While I’m not a big fan of You’ve Got Mail (The Shop Around the Corner is better), I’m a very big fan of quirky fantasy stories, so this book about a strong-willed, charming female mortician and a grumpy, lonely demi-god/marshal, who go from enemies to lovers and save themselves, the funeral parlour, the town, and their world from a zombie apocalypse definitely worked for me. The supporting cast of characters are also delightful from Hart’s assistant, Penrose to the wise-cracking rabbit/pookah who delivers the mail.
LOVE, THEORETICALLY is my third try with Ali Hazelwood. This book is much stronger than the other two that I read (THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS and LOVE ON THE BRAIN) but that’s because there are some really nicely done individual scenes (especially those depicting MFC’s daily struggles to survive as an overworked, underpaid adjunct in today’s messed-up academic world). Nonetheless, the overall plot is, like today’s academic world, a hot mess. I usually enjoy the way Hazelwood integrates actual STEM references and various real-life academic issues into her books (even if I find the storylines and characters weak). This time, however, her fictionalizing of an actual academic controversy (the Sokal affair from the 1990s) just doesn’t work – it turns what was an ideological fight between various well-respected, left-leaning academics over the value of postmodern philosophy (especially its value for evaluating the sciences) into an unbelievable story of how the MMC, as a teenager, was able to craft an article that undermined theoretical physics as a valid field of inquiry. The MFC mentions over and over that this article’s impact has harmed her field, and it has meant there is less funding and fewer tenure positions for theoretical physicists. But when the MMC finally makes his grand gesture and reveals publicly that he didn’t mean his article as an attack on theoretical physics, the gesture falls flat, because nothing changes — funding is not improved; more tenure track positions don’t suddenly appear. There is no sense at all that theoretical physics is suddenly valued more by anyone in the book (which isn’t surprisingly because the characters who are coded as “good” in the book already respect the field and those who are in the field).
@Kathryn thank you so much for posting about the new Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer book. I loved their other collaborations, been looking forward to this one but wanted to wait for reviews.
My reading these last few weeks has been lackluster. Tried several promising looking titles but didn’t get past 10-20%… it’s not them, it’s me, I keep starting the next shiny new thing and then losing interest. I’ve been watching more TV and reading comics/Webtoons so I guess my brain just wants visuals right now. I can recommend the new 5th season of THE DRAGON PRINCE on Netflix – I ended up rewatching season 4 too. The plot has thickened deliciously. There are 2 more seasons planned and they seem to have a clear vision of where it’s going, the finale will be EPIC. If you need more reasons to watch it, how about interesting characters, diversity, gorgeous animation, adorable baby dragon(!) and really sweet romantic subplots.
Until next time, stay cool like a swimming pool.
In my post above, I forgot to include one book and then a CW!
A TOUCH OF DARKNESS by Scarlett St. Clair: (Fantasy Romance – M/F – Hades x Persephone #1): I would rate this as Good. The world building was full of holes – for example I guess as a college intern at a newspaper you are basically unsupervised, allowed to pursue any story you want which is then published without any attempt at fact checking? And Persephone made a lot of bad choices, but I somewhat chalk that up to her age and sheltered upbringing. However, I liked the tension between the God of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring, sexual and otherwise. I also like the world building in the Underworld itself. This series seems to be span like 7 books though – not sure it will hold my interest for that long although I have started Book 2 which is the same events as Book 1 but told from Hades perspective.
Also I forgot to mention a significant additional CW for Stardoc – much of the book deals with a deadly pandemic.
A Teachable Moment by Ripley Hayes, the 7th book in her 8 book (so far) Welsh Mystery Series. The MCs, Daniel Owen and Mal Kent, are detectives in a small Welsh town and each book involves a crime (or crimes) that have to be solved. The lead characters become romantic partners (light to moderate steam) but there are several bumps in the road and most of the crimes are quite brutal, which takes a toll on the MCs, particularly Daniel. It reminds me of JS Cook’s Kildevil Cove but I think the characters are more likeable in the Welsh Mystery series. I recommend it if you enjoyed the Kildevil Cove series or Cordelia Kingsbridge’s Seven of Spades series or SC Wynne’s Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries.
@J.T. Alexis: Wales? Mysteries? I’m in. The first book in the series, UNDERMINED, is currently .99 everywhere. I’ve already read the sample and listened to Charlotte Church singing “Men of Harlech” as the author recommended. Thank you!
@J.T. Alexis & @Darlynne: I also checked the Ripley Hayes books (you had me at the reference to Cordelia Kingsbridge’s Seven of Spades series), and all seven (the eighth book is scheduled for publication in December) are available through Kindle Unlimited.
:::dances in to Dance the Night Away since the teen and I saw Barbie yesterday:::
Which was GREAT, no notes.
Anyhoo, it has continued, oddly enough, to be Library ‘O’ Clock, except when it’s been Netgalley ‘O’ Clock.
I started things off with Dark Corners by Megan Goldin, the second in her Rachel Krall series. I really like Rachel, a true crime podcaster that has gone undercover at, of all things, an influencer conference due to the suspicious disappearance of one of the leading influencers in question. Very twisty and clever, and there was also the setup of a future relationship for Rachel, and it was kinda hot. I also downloaded the audiobook of The Storyteller by Dave Grohl, and have been periodically listening to it while cross-stitching. His description of the infamous time he broke his leg on stage was GNARLY. Then I went in on Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison. I continue to like Rachel’s approaches to horror. This one was substantially less funny than Such Sharp Teeth, which was probably appropriate, since it was centered around a woman that had years earlier escaped a cult and her toxic family returning to attend the wedding of her childhood best friend and her teenage boyfriend. What kind of cult was it? Well, that would be telling. The only issue that I had was that I figured out much earlier than the main character what was going on, which was odd, since it’s in first-person. On the other hand, she was also coming from a place of trauma and denial, so that might excuse why the reader can see what’s coming when she can’t. It’ll be a fun little Halloween horror read for some folks, methinks. Then, for whatever reason, I decided to try out Old Bones by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I wanted something with some adventure to it, and what has more adventure than an archaeological thriller? Very good stuff, and I didn’t see the primary baddie coming, which is always fun. I read a lot of thriller and mystery and can usually sniff out the baddies, but I missed this one. I also learned a great deal of somewhat horrifying history about the Donner Party, since this book was centered around a fictional lost camp of the Donner Party, and even though the camp was fictional, many of the other facts framing the story were not. Also, I now know the four things that archaeologists look for when they’re evaluating for cannibalistic activity, so I’ve got that going for me. Which brings us to now, in which I’m reading The HouseKeepers by Alex Hay. The comps of Downton Abbey/Ocean’s 11 are highly accurate. It’s very clever, and I always enjoy reading about a) heist prep, and b) bad people getting got. So until next time, if you get a chance to throw a rager with choreography and a bespoke dance song, might as well go with it.
When did romances hit the $12 mark for a Kindle edition? I’ve pre-ordered all the Lucy Parkers, but oof, the price tags have definitely jumped up recently.
I mostly enjoyed LAVENDER’S BLUE, but I found Vince Cooper’s side plot rather disturbing for an otherwise light and frothy mystery-romance. Possibly wouldn’t have been so affected by it if I hadn’t personally known a burn-pit veteran; it pulled me straight out of the expected escapism of a small-town Crusie novel.
Currently re-reading Jenny Han’s SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY series while watching the Amazon show with my son’s sixteen-year-old girlfriend, a non-reader. It’s been fun watching her takes on the show’s romance (which I think has made very necessary and important updates to the books.) I think the show’s efforts to keep the central love triangle balanced are imperiled now that one of the male actors is now outdoing the other in charisma and charm; he certainly has the passionate votes of the all the (non-reading) teenage girls I know.
I have been out and about enjoying summer, with a trip to Colorado, and hiking in the Catskills, so not much to report on the reading front. I did read a couple of good Harlequin Historicals. LORD MARTIN’S SCANDALOUS BLUESTOCKING by Elizabeth Rolls is the last book of a series, and to really appreciate it you have to read HIS CONVENIENT MARCHIONESS and A MARRIAGE OF EQUALS first. I do recommend them. The books delve into the issue of slavery and the abolitionist cause during the early 1800’s.
I also read CAPTIVATED BY HER CONVENIENT HUSBAND by Bronwyn Scott, which has a Martin Guerre inspired plot. Missing husband, who was believed to have died in battle, returns after many years. But is it really him?
In her recent newsletter, Marie Force recommended a debut romance by the daughter of a friend of hers, YES, CHEF by Waitlyn Andrews. When I checked it out, it turned out to be a foodie romance, set in Paris, with two American chef MCs working together at a new restaurant going for a Michelin star. Reviews noted specifically that it was low angst and that the author hates third act breakups, so she specifically did not have one in the book. I really enjoyed it and it was great to not have that pit of anticipation in my stomach knowing there was going to be some nonsensical reason for the couple to break up and then make up near the end of the book. The Paris setting was great and the food descriptions kept me pretty hungry.
As it happens, I had just finished CODENAME CHARMING, Lucy Parker’s latest, which releases this coming Tuesday and YES, CHEF had a similar tone to it. Codename Charming is a lovely riff on Beauty/Beast that was also nicely low angst and also didn’t have the dreaded third act breakup. I think I prefer Battle Royal just a smidge more, but that’s not really saying much as I loved both of them.
Finally read KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE and loved it. Exactly what I needed. I also read/reread the Sean Duffy series of police procedurals by Adrian McKinty, since a new book came out. If you like procedurals and don’t mind gritty, this is an excellent series set in the time of Ireland’s Troubles. Having read CHARM CITY ROCKS and loving it, I’m intrigued by Kiss the Girl so that may be next.
Started NIGHT OF THE WOLVES by Heather Graham, a werewolf-hunting half-vampire-cowboy mystery with a romance in it…but despite that being just my brand of crazysauce, I haven’t gotten far and I don’t think I’m going to continue. Only in the first chapter and we’ve got an ex-Confederate ‘hero’ ruminating on how it was all just a big disagreement and he knew a lot of Very Fine People On Both Sides while I shake my screen and yell “SLAVERY! THE WAR WAS ABOUT SLAVERY!” at fictional people who can’t hear me. Life is too short for this nonsense.
Also reading HENCH by Natalie Zina Walschots. A temp worker henchwoman is injured by a superhero and the system works to cover up the damage. She decides to get revenge by collecting and compiling data on the heroes. I only just started this after buying it the last time it was on sale. It’s also making me angry, but in the good way instead–those of us who’ve dealt with “maybe I can negotiate for dental insurance” type jobs can definitely relate to this one.
Oh, and also reading The Flintstones comics after seeing a tumblr post recommend them. They are surprisingly good, and at least the first few issues are available free online.
Recently finished WE COULD BE SO GOOD which was so so good! Loved the characters, loved the slow sweet pace, loved how kind everyone was! More of this please. Also loved how flipping maturely the nearly-end-of-book-crisis was handled.
Also finished HEY HUN, which was quite a read. Problematic in spots but really interesting, and having watched some (former) friends get sucked into MLMs, it was eye opening. I read it back to back with PLATONIC and the similar themes about loneliness and friendship were really interesting to compare.
Also read A FATAL ILLUSION which was fine; Kira is getting a little too Mary Sue but it was a good mystery.
Finished GRYPHON IN LIGHT, definitely not the best entry in the Valdemar world due to the complete failure of the Betchdel test and the really whiny lead. I have a soft spot for Lackey but wow, this was not one of the better entries (maybe ghostwritten?).
Currently reading BLIGHT: FUNGI AND THE COMING PLAGUE (terrifying!); EON (love Alison Goodman, but finding this one a bit tense, so far it seems a little like an updated Alanna? but I’m not too far in yet). And I’m re-reading RESONANCE SURGE late at night.
Started and DNF’d WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY. I know everyone loved it but I just couldn’t get into it and then Libby sucked it off my kindle. Also started and DNF’d THE FUTURE OF ANOTHER TIMELINE; that was just too dark for me at the moment but I think I’ll come back to it later, I am still thinking about it.
I love these posts; I’ve shied away from posting as I feel my descriptive skills are not on par with many of the commenters here, and I’m terrified of revealing spoilers. I’ve decided I will only improve with practice, so here goes. Please feel free to tell me if I’ve revealed too much or if you have any other tips.
LOVED:
THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA by J.C. Cervantes (AUDIO BOOK) – loved this magical realism romance. The main characters had friends and backstories and long-standing relationships. The writing was descriptive and evocative. I
WITCH KING by Martha Wells – Having read 2X and loved the Murderbot series, I was looking forward to seeing how the author managed with a fantasy setting. I was not disappointed – she has a real art with a gradual reveal of a character, a world and a plot. I loved it and am hoping she writes another in this world.
LIKED:
TOUCHSTONE series by Andrea K Höst – (READ) I enjoyed this fantasy series about a woman on the cusp of adulthood being transported to another world. The main character, Cassandra, is thoughtful and adaptive, and pretty much the opposite of a TSTL heroine. I found the later books in the series to have seriously overstretched the storyline, but as low stakes reading it was ok.
OLD MAN’S WAR by John Scalzi (READ) – classic military sci fi
Interesting premise; deals with mortality, ethics, marriage, futility, friendship. Found it a decent read.
HAIL MARY by Andy Weir (AUDIO BOOK) – space sci-fi
Knew what I was getting into having read THE MARTIAN, and enjoyed it. Fun physics and engineering-driven plot in a two timeline story.
DIDN’T ENJOY:
BABEL: OR THE NECESSITY OF VIOLENCE: AN ARCANE HISTORY OF THE OXFORD TRANSLATORS’ REVOLUTION by R F Kuang – (READ) I enjoyed the world building and the language references but found the character arcs and the relentless focus on the oppressive regime (I don’t think that’s a spoiler given the subtitle of the book) incredibly depressing. Did finish but it was a grind.
DRAGON KIN by G.A. Aiken – went to start this series and discovered I previously started and abandoned it. Tried again but it’s not working for me. Hmm. Not sure if I will retry.
CURRENTLY READING/ABOUT TO READ:
HOW TO TAME A WILD ROGUE by Julie Anne Long – not finished yet so will give my opinion next month
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar
FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros
@Queen Celeste: Well I certainly enjoyed your remarks and look forward to more!
Echoing @Kareni, @Queen Celeste–thanks for sharing, and looking forward to your thoughts in the future!