Welcome back to Whatcha Reading? As we close out January (already?!), we want to hear what you’ve been reading, the good or the bad.
Sarah: Demon Daughter by Lois McMaster Bujold! ( A | BN | K ) New Penric new Penric!
Penric and Desdemona makes me remember Catherine fondly, too, since she and I talked to McMaster Bujold in a podcast episode about this series. I love that the series is her retirement and I hope she’s still having a good time writing them.
Elyse: I’m reading House of Sky and Breath ( A | BN | K )
Tara: Not in the Plan by Dana Hawkins. I’m not very far, but I’m enjoying it. Owner of a coffee shop that’s close to closing inspires an author with big time writer’s block.
Carrie: I’m about halfway through Marry Me By Midnight. I love the premise and author’s note but I’m having a hard time with the characters.
Shana: What is it called when you read a bunch of books in a row and you hate all of them? It’s not a slump, but it’s not fun either. Anyway, Sarah reminded me that I’ve been hoarding Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAllister. ( A | BN | K ) I just started it and the curse has been broken!
Claudia: I’m still on a slump…
Lara: I’ve just started Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs ( A | BN | K | AB ) and I’m really enjoying it. It’s an unusual magic world which makes for fun reading.
Maya: I’m listening to That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming and narrated by Hazel Addison. I love that Hazel Addison chose to go with a southern accent, but I’m struggling a bit with the subplot about slavery. I got this book because it was on a list of cozy fantasies, but for me, it’s a bit hard to get cozy vibes while there is slavery involved.
Whatcha reading? Tell us in the comments!
:::waves from the couch, wherein I am covered in cross-stitch floss:::
It was the weekly viewing of The Traitors in my house, because we love Alan Cumming and he is an icon.
Anyhow, I’d love to talk about how much I’ve been reading, but I got super-sick from an infection (right as rain now, thanks to a light oral surgery) and had NO brain bandwidth as a result. But I did get through a couple of nice ones. First up was Bride by Ali Hazelwood, which I think comes out next month. It was very clever, very snarky, and I liked the chemistry between the main characters. I think I could have used a bit more world-building, but I’m assuming this is going to be a series, so I imagined that we will find out more about this wider paranormal world. Then I went in on a library copy of The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, the second in the Thursday Murder Club series. I really enjoy the interplay between the main group, and how they all have complementary skills. I also think the contrast between Elizabeth’s two sides of her personality (hardened, sometimes brutal ex-spy, and caring spouse of a man experiencing cognitive decline) is one of the best parts of the books. This had a clever twisty plot, and even though the ultimate baddie made a great deal of sense, there were enough red herrings to fill a fish tank, which kept me off of that trail for a good bit. I haven’t figured out my next read yet, but I will. So until next time, may we all know what music we find soothing.
I have been reading a Confederate teenager’s Civil War diary for my work, so I have dropped my current romance list. The diarist is like a terrible cross between Lydia Bennett and Scarlett O’Hara; when she’s not flirting with all the Southern officers, she’s being terribly catty. Occasionally she will attempt lurid Anne-of-Green-Gables-style flights of lyricism before going back to being catty again.
I did enjoy the following entry: “Sitting at breakfast – Jack came in and threw me a letter, saying it was from my sweetheart. I knew directly from whence it came, but did justice to my beefsteak and light rolls – then flew to my chamber to peruse the contents, which afforded me a great deal of pleasure.” Love is no reason not to finish off a good breakfast.
I just finished Lucy Parker’s CODENAME CHARMING, but for some reason, it just didn’t grab me. Honestly, between covering up for Prince Andrew and the way the royal establishment treated Meghan Markle, I am very, very over even fictional portrayals of the British royal family. Not Lucy Parker’s fault, of course!
@DiscoDollyDeb
Those examples are priceless! In a *facepalm* sort of way . . .
Maybe we should band together with @Karin and offer our services as copy editors!
@D3, I think my favorite editing error tops all of those you mentioned: flamingo dancing.
RE word usage and grammar problems: What really gets me is when you’re struggling through a book with many issues, and in the acknowledgement, the author thanks her copy editor. I’d be ashamed to have my name on some of these books.
I was somewhat depressed over the holidays so I picked up two Sabrina Jeffries I got on sale, Undercover Duke and A Duke For Diana. Both were pleasant enough to get me out of my slump. Undercover Duke was actually the last of a series in which the titular Duke is one of three half-brothers trying to find out who keeps murdering their rather charming mother’s husbands; it actually worked pretty well as a stand-alone although I might look into the earlier two as all three brothers had great personalities. A Duke For Diana is conversely the first of a series, about three sisters whose marriage prospects are wrecked by their parents’ very public and very nasty divorce and who instead start a business as event planners. The first book involves their attempt to polish up a civil engineer who has unexpectedly inherited a dukedom and his wallflower sister for her debut into Society. Both good reads.
After that I went into Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which almost threw me back into my depression with its Junkyard-Harry-Potter atmosphere, but I’m about 2/3 of the way through it now and things have picked up so I’m enjoying it more.
Oh, and for T Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon fans, I’ve been following her blog and she is apparently going through a really nasty cancer, so please send good thoughts her way.
@MaryK: your comment reminds me of another of my “favorite” grammatical errors: in a book with a hero named Theo, the author had the heroine constantly using the construction “Theo and I’s” as a possessive (as in, “Theo and I’s house” rather than “our house”). The worst part was that the author thanked her “godmother of grammar” in her afterword. To which I could only say, “Godmother, turn in your credentials!”
Raced through Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, which might have been mentioned here several times and I am late to the party. Nevertheless, oh my goodness, my goodness. What a lovely book. Destined to be comfort-read-but-some-angst for Ever. FYI closed door re sexy times.
I finally sucked it up and purchased Grace Draven’s FALLEN EMPIRE trilogy. Her books are hard to find in the library apps. I had been wanting to read the final book, RAVEN UNVEILED. So I reread the first two and enjoyed the 3rd book thoroughly. I think book 2 is still my favorite.
I was excited for the 3rd book in Pippa Grant’s, 3 BFFs and a Wedding – THE BRIDE’S RUNAWAY BILLIONAIRE. This book tied together 2 of her character sets and was really well done. I enjoy her quirky characters and situations. Definitely fun and wacky reads.
I got sucked back into Mariana Zapata’s books – reading THE BEST THING. be warned the epilogue is a total tearjerker. Her books are very consuming. I ended up going back to read THE WALL OF WINNEPEG AND ME – which was my first MZ book and still my favorite. There’s something so engaging about the main characters and their slow growing relationship. I love how much the fame of the MMC is in the background and we see the everyday moments. I also read HANDS DOWN, which follows a roommate from Wall of Winnepeg.
Started back into the DARK OLYMPUS series by Katee Robert – rereading the first three books – I’m kinda stuck in the middle of the 3rd which is where I stalled out last time I read these. We’ll see if I make it through and move through the next 3.
Now reading THE FIVE PACKS series by Cate C. Wells. Reread the first book, THE TYRANT ALPHA’S REJECTED MATE, accidentally skipped to the 3rd book, THE LONE WOLF’S REJECTED MATE. about to circle back to book 2, THE HEIR APPARENT’S REJECTED MATE.
I’m currently in SUCH a historical romance mood and I’m flying through the Clan Kendrick series by Vanessa Kelly. It’s a Highlander romance series about seven brothers who find love and the family dynamics are so much fun. There are some heavy topics discussed but it never feels bleak. The first book – The Highlander’s Princess Bride – is actually part of a different series (The Improper Princesses) but should be read first to get the best experience. I don’t usually read romance series all in one go but I love the bonds between the family members and they get plenty of cameos in each book without taking the focus from the romance.
@DDD: I read a book recently that was filled with errors in spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, etc. and the author blurb at the end said she used to be an English teacher. Oh, her poor students!
@Jenc — I randomly picked up Charm City Rocks at a bookstore and LOVED it.
I finished a history tome (The Collapse of the Third Republic) about how France ended up as an occupied country in WW2. I’ve been researching some WW2 topics in connection with my genealogy. Very detailed, but readable and helped me understand how France went from victor in WWI to getting their derriere beat in 1940.
I read another one of Cathy Yardley’s Ponto Beach books, Ex-Appeal, which I found very enjoyable. Ditto for The Siren of Sussex, which I read after liking the second book in the series (although I liked the second one better).
I went out on a limb (for me) and read This Is How You Win the Time War, which is speculative fiction? fantasy? science fiction? but written in a very unusual epistolary way. It’s very lyrical and it’s a book where a lot is read between the lines. Liked it very much.
Mayluna was a free Prime First Reads book and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It’s the story of a mom who is reflecting on her life as a music writer 20 years ago, when she fell in love with the leader of a superstar rock band. Sweet and a little sad.
Now I”m reading Demon Copperfield by Barbara Kingsolver for a book club. She’s a great writer and the main character’s voice is so evocative and real.
Hey, this was a good month for me!