Welcome back to Whatcha Reading! Here’s how we’re capping off the end of May 2024:
Sarah: I am reading Love of my Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood , which is about a woman who does, meets her soul mate in the waiting room for the afterlife, and gets sent back to find him, with not a lot of clues and a time limit. It’s got a lot of pop culture (especially romance) references and is so far very effervescent and charming.
I’m interviewing the author for the podcast and I’m looking forward to talking with Greenwood about the book!
Elyse: I am high on Bridgerton fumes so I just finished It Had to be a Duke by Vivienne Lorret last night. It’s enemies to lovers/ fake courtship and it hit the spot.
Sarah: How were the first four? I have been absurdly busy this weekend and haven’t had time to watch.
Elyse: So far my favorite season but 1) I love friends to lovers and 2) I love Nicola Coughlan. She’s amazing in everything she’s in.
I have had to warn a lot of people that the book is very different and doesn’t IMO hold up to time.
Sarah: Nicola Coughlin is incredible.
So, whatcha reading? Have you marathoned the latest Bridgerton season yet?
On my way through Tanya Huff’s Blood series, currently on book three. I’ve seen the tv-series but the books have been on my list for so long I decided to finally read them. They’re so much fun, just what I needed.
I’m on a Tudor binge right now. I’m rereading Margaret George’s The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers.
Wolf Hall is next.
I’m taking a break from Shogun to read the Princess of Las Vegas.
Oh my God,, Bridgerton brain rot is so real for me. I am walking around like a woman dazed. I have sent the memes to many people, including my husband who I’m sure chuckled politely. He is very supportive of romance, but it’s definitely not his thing. I have my quibbles with this season but Penelope and Colin are my favorite couple of the series, so overall I’m very happy. I hope we make it to Hyacinth and Gregory’s stories b/c I like the more lighthearted zany tones of those than the more serious B, E, and F’s stories. I could go on, but I won’t!
Eyeball reading (and particularly romance reading) continues to be hard, but I did finally listen to and enjoy THURSDAY MURDER CLUB by Richard Osman. It did get a little bit darker with a higher body count than the typical “cozy” mystery, but I liked that about it. Most cozies are a little too sweet and cookie cutter for me. Lots of good characters and written in a clever but warm style that absolutely rang true to what I saw of Richard Osman on TASKMASTER. I had heard so many things about this book, but what truly convinced me to try it was my lightbulb moment that book Osman and TASKMASTER Osman were the same person. That and the fact Fiona Shaw narrates some of the later books in the series.
I’ve got big reading plans for this summer. We’ll see if I can pull it off.
Part 1
ONE LITTLE SPARK by Ellie Banks (aka, Maisey Yates, one of my HP Queens of angsty heartache) is the best non-romance I’ve read so far this year. It straddles the line between mystery and women’s fiction as it explores the stories of four interconnected women whose lives have been upended by a massive fire that destroyed much of their Oregon town. Alex, Jenna, and Chelsea have been friends since high school. They are now in their mid-forties and dealing with the after-effects of the fire: both Alex and Jenna lost their husbands in the fire, although neither body has ever been recovered; Chelsea’s husband survived the fire, but she’s not sure her marriage will. Before the fire, Jenna was in the process of divorcing her husband who had left her for a much younger woman, Morgan, with whom he was having a child. Morgan, barely twenty and now a mother, only slowly enters the orbits of the other women. Banks moves back and forth in time, showing us the months leading up to the fire and then a year or so after its destruction, with some flashbacks going further into the past so we see the events that have lead to the dynamic between the women. I don’t want to say too much about the plot because, first and foremost, ONE LITTLE SPARK is a mystery and one of the pleasures of reading it is trying to decide exactly where the story is taking you. ONE LITTLE SPARK is also one of those books that benefits from the gradual accumulation of detail (an envelope with no return address, a locket, a book of matches, a glimpse of a vintage muscle car) as Banks builds the suspense and the tension mounts. There are romances in the book and they are nicely done (especially Jenna’s relationship with a younger man), but the star of the book is the mystery wrapped around the dynamic between four very different women. Highly recommended.
By now, I’ve read enough of Briar Prescott to expect a relationship between two characters, one of whom appears to have his life together and another of whom is hanging by a thread emotionally but assumes a snarky, sarcastic air to keep the world at a distance, and JUST A TASTE fits this template perfectly. Lake & Ryker (Prescott is not quite on par with Nicky James’s idiosyncratic naming choices, but she’s close) are kinda/sorta stepbrothers, but when Lake’s father dies, he leaves money in a trust fund to his stepson Ryker (a college hockey player being scouted by the NHL) and none to Lake (a med student struggling to make ends meet). Ryker, feeling guilty about this financial situation, offers Lake a chance to access the trust fund—which can only happen if Ryker is married. And so the two get married. Ryker has always been straight but begins to wonder otherwise after he and Lake exchange a kiss at the wedding ceremony. The two men slowly begin to grow closer as the reason Lake’s father left him no money is gradually revealed. The sexy-times in JUST A TASTE are super-duper hot (I was not surprised that Prescott says in her afterword that the book started out as an exercise in writing “porn with emotions” to get over a case of writer’s block) but the book has lots of heart too, along with an HFN as opposed to HEA (Prescott hints at a future book featuring the couple). Highly recommended.
Willow Dixon’s work has become a reliable comfort read for me, and her latest, DAD NEXT DOOR, is no different. It brings the usual ingredients of a Dixon book: bi-awakening, strong (non-sexual) male friendship, struggles with learning disabilities and/or neurodivergence, respectful attitude toward sex work, and no third-act big mis. In DAD NEXT DOOR, Quinn (a dancer/stripper, porn star, and online content creator), who has always considered himself straight, moves in to a house next to Tristan (a single dad and veterinarian), who is gay and recently divorced from a controlling ex. Dixon shows the development of the relationship between the two men (I really like that bi-awakening may come as a surprise to her characters, but there is no self-loathing involved). Tristan and his young son have a house filled with dogs and cats (there are some humorous moment with Tristan frequently needing a lint roller for his clothes), while Quinn is gradually moving away from sex work to focus on building his contracting/construction company. I enjoyed the quiet way the two men fall in love as they support each other through complications (especially involving Tristan’s ex). Dixon also introduces some new characters—Quinn’s stepbrothers—so I’m expecting future books involving them. Recommended.
Part 2
Garrett Leigh’s HOUSE OF CARDS is a re-edited version of a book she published in 2016 now revised to loop into the Rebel Kings Motorcycle Club universe. I haven’t read the original, so I don’t know how heavily edited the book is, but characters from the Rebel Kings make brief appearances and/or are mentioned in passing, but HOUSE OF CARDS is definitely not an MC romance. After fleeing London and his abusive, unfaithful boyfriend, tattoo artist Calum finds himself in Porth Ewan Bay in Cornwall where he reconnects with old friend Brix (also a tattoo artist) and sets about putting his life in order. Leigh’s books tend to fall into two broad emotional categories: “Sex is easy; intimacy is hard” or “Intimacy is easy; sex is hard”. HOUSE OF CARDS is definitely in the latter category as Calum and Brix discover a good emotional space together, but for a long time are unable to do much beyond some kisses: there’s a reason for this which is gradually uncovered over the course of the book. A gentler book than I am accustomed to from Leigh, but plenty of angsty emotion too. Recommended. [As an aside, I loved this comment on the copyright page of HOUSE OF CARDS: “The author grants ZERO rights for any and all AI reproduction/training/bot use of this material. Write your own shit.”]
Jesse H. Reign’s WORK: STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL, the second book in her Bad Decisions series, isn’t quite as transgressive as the earlier RENT: PAID IN FULL, but it still plays in various ways with its main tropes (boss/assistant, wealthy/working class, opposites attract, fake relationship, coming out of the closet). Wyn (very much the manic-pixie-dream-boy) is hired (pressed into service might be a better way of putting it) as personal assistant to Derek, an overbearing & wildly wealthy businessman who is going through a contentious divorce from his wife of many years. As time passes, Wyn, super-organized and proud of his ability to shape even the most tangled events, is prevailed upon to plan the wedding of Derek’s son and fiancé (the couple from RENT: PAID IN FULL) which is to take place at an exclusive Hawaiian resort. Derek also persuades Wyn to be his fake boyfriend for the wedding, which leads to close proximity in an only-one-bed-in-a-gorgeous-beachfront-suite situation. I thought the most interesting element of WORK: STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL was the well-balanced approach Reign brings to the character of Derek, a man finally coming out of the closet after being married to a woman for many years and the sadness & guilt he feels in ending the marriage and having hidden his true nature behind a woman for a long time. An engaging take on a number of popular tropes. Recommended.
TWISTED RIVALRY by new-to-me writer Devon McCormack popped up on my Kindle recommendations, and—despite it being an extremely dark story that should more accurately be labelled Romantic Suspense or even Psychological Suspense—I read it in a day. Regardless of appropriate genre, be aware that TWISTED RIVALY, while well-written, is full of triggers (outlined at the beginning of the book); so please check the warnings before you embark on reading it. Ryan and Simon are identical twins who have what can only be described as an extremely tangled and complicated relationship, both in the present and the past. The twins live in a large mansion in rural Georgia. Simon controls the family’s vast wealth while Ryan functions as little more than a glorified groundskeeper. Into the mix enters Jonas, who has been offered a lot of money by Simon to make Ryan fall in love with him (Jonas). Jonas agrees to the scheme, desperately needing money for his sister’s medical treatment (although I was somewhat bemused that McCormack thinks $10,000 is at the high-end of what several rounds of chemotherapy currently cost). There’s a lot going on here, especially when it becomes obvious that Jonas strongly resembles a man from the twins’ past: let the mind games begin. McCormack does a good job of slowly revealing the details of the twins’ history and what has led to Jonas’s appearance. In a somewhat oblique way, TWISTED RIVALRY reminded me of some of Iris Murdoch’s novels where people seem to be stuck in remote houses with others of ambiguous motives. Recommended—but, despite having a central love relationship, it’s probably best to go into TWISTED RIVALRY not expecting a “traditional” romance.
Sloane Kennedy’s DAMAGED (the latest in her long-running Protectors series of romantic-suspense books) has the bones of a fairly decent book, but inconsistent characters, coupled with a romance that moved way too fast (especially in light of the trauma of both MCs), left me feeling rather meh about the whole enterprise. Dalton, a physically & emotionally broken veteran, extends help to Silver, a young man who has been sex-trafficked (cw/tw) in the past. Silver is having difficulty adjusting to “normal” life, having been the plaything of a wealthy man since he was eight years old. The first—but not the last—time Kennedy’s inconsistent characterization made me roll my eyes was after Silver & Dalton first kissed. Silver, a young man who has never had a milkshake and doesn’t understand the concept of a sit-down restaurant, says of the kiss, “The whole scene that had changed the trajectory of my life had been nothing but an elaborate plan to gain my compliance.” Are those really the words of someone who has received no education since he was eight? There were so many other incidents in that vein throughout the book. I might not have found DAMAGED so blah had I not recently read Kris Ripper’s GOING HOME, a much more nuanced approach to a person negotiating consent & autonomy when they’re unaccustomed to having either. I really can’t recommend DAMAGED, it’s just way too inconsistent.
Only one excellent book since the last time (not counting all the inevitable KJ Charles rereads) but what a phenomenal book: YOU COULD BE SO LUCKY by Cat Sebastian. I couldn’t drop everything the absolute moment my hold came in. It took me maybe an hour to hole up with it, lol. I devoured it and nobly returned it immediately, so all the 116 people in line for it behind me could enjoy it as soon as possible, although I am definitely looking forward to reading it again. Preferably back to back with the first in the series because although they stand alone it’s a world I am happy to wallow in for extended periods.
My favorite of her series remains the Page books, which could have been written for me personally if I could have commissioned such a thing, or realized how much I needed it. And I really liked Kit Webb. These have a lot less action, but I don’t mind. Her more modern historicals deal extensively with, well, modern history, so that serves as more than adequate antagonism. I have heard complaints that nothing happens, but it seems to me that most of what happens is tender, and that’s hardly nothing.
I’m reading THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF by Christopher Buehlman. I love books about thieves/heists, and I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for this one.
I also have PORTRAIT OF A THIEF by Grace D. Li on my TBR pile, which is another thief/heist book. I also want to check out YOU, WITH A VIEW by Jessica Joyce and MURDER YOUR EMPLOYER by Rupert Holmes.
I watched THE FALL GUY on streaming last night, and it was a lot of fun. Great stunts, and it has a nice romance too.
Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend! 🙂
Not a book, but I just finished playing Spiritfarer, a “cozy management game where you ferry the dead to the afterlife.” (Yes, you read that right.) Reader, I loved it (though it did make me cry a few times). It’s not for everyone, especially depending upon what’s going on in your life, but I found it beautiful and mostly fun with a good dose of cathartic as I approach the one year anniversary of a parent’s death.
Huh, my link got horked. Here it is in plain text: https://thunderlotusgames.com/spiritfarer/
I am reading THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: ON BASKETBALL AND ASCENSION by Hanif Abdurraqib for its amazing prose.
I am reading SECOND NIGHT STAND by Karelia &Kay Stetz-Waters because Bridgerton S3 was a disappointment and I need my weekly romance dose of women in love. (PS Eloise/Pen 5ever)
I am reading THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera for the mythology.
I am reading THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kailene Bradley for the sense of creeping uneasiness.
I would, at this time, recommend any of these books. Can’t wait to see what everyone else is reading!
Where to start… THE LADY HE LOST by Faye Delacour was mentioned earlier this month and it tickled something in my brain. I haven’t read a lot of historicals lately when they were my bread and butter, so I immediately bopped over to the GBPL and they came thru. Eli and Jane were headed for a friends to lovers romance when he’s caught in a clinch with Jane’s cousin. Jane is devastated to lose him to the cousin who makes her life a misery, and he is horrified to find himself headed toward the same awful loveless antagonistic marriage as his parents. His position in the Navy offers a delaying tactic, and he is lost at sea. Cue a miraculous return from the dead two years later. Eli is willing to do anything to get back into Jane’s good graces, but she has learned to rely on no one but herself. I don’t know that I was totally satisfied with Eli’s grovel, but he kept proving himself worthy. What was satifying was the confrontation between Jane and her cousin. An actual conversation where resentments and hurts were acknowledged, feelings validated and changes in behavior were promised instead of the mean girl getting hit by a bus resolution.
Then came a couple ‘chick lit” reads, both with enough romance to cause a sigh. THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan. Three longtime friends plan a getaway at a quaint New England inn for their annual book club holiday (I feel this is something I need in my life). They are all at turning points, one has lost her job and her ten-year relationship, one is facing an empty nest and not taking it well and the third has a painful secret that brings her to the Maple Sugar Inn looking for resolution. At the inn is Hattie, reeling and exhausted trying to keep her late husband’s vision going, raising her daughter and managing an increasingly problematic staff. It was delightful, even if one woman’s happy solution is a bit obvious and we didn’t get nearly enough Sexy Jack. Sarah Morgan at the top of her game.
Then new to me, but I will be spelunking her backlist, Abbi Waxman offered up CHRISTA COMES OUT OF HER SHELL which made me smile more than any single book in an age. Christa has removed herself as far from the spotlight, and her family, as a woman can go, studying sea snails on a remote island. All that comes to an end when her famous father, lost in a plane crash when she was two, returns from the dead. Hmm, unintentional theme in my reading… Christa’s head was a delight to be in from her nature sketches to her foot notes. Does she come to terms with her problematic family, her less than ideal childhood, her charismatic scoundrel of a father? Why yes, she does. She also learns to face the tough stuff, including falling in love with her childhood crush and allowing him to love her back.
Next up is another historical that peaked my interest when mentioned in a New Releases post: EARLS TRIP from Jenny Holiday.
Hi, everyone!!
Since last time, I enjoyed the first two books in DJ Jamison’s Rom-Com Reboot series set in Seattle, SEXLESS IN SEATTLE and YOU’VE GOT MALE. In Sexless in Seattle, coffee shop manager and single guardian to his preteen brother Zach Martin barely has time to breath, much less date. His brother decides he really needs to think about himself a little more and posts about him on social media, which leads to his connecting with Tristan, a thoughtful guy who’s been accused by his friends of looking for love in all the wrong places. You’ve Got Male is a not-quite-enemies/rivals to lovers bi-awakening story about indie record store owner Adrian Kelly and Chase Fox, manager of a new branch of a larger family-owed chain that moves in down the street. Both are entertaining and moving, and I enjoyed seeing the friend group that connects the series.
I reread and loved Erin McCarthy’s FULL THROTTLE, a fun marriage of convenience story set in the racing community in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rhett is an intense, confident twenty-five year old looking to explore a bit when he happens to meet Shawn at a BDSM club. Shawn finds Rhett hot but can’t see herself as the thirty-two year old cougar. When circumstances of her inheritance bring them together, their compatibility surprises them, and they scramble to make sense of their not-so-fake union. Ms McCarthy outdoes herself again in this delicious battle of wills and two people finding their way to honest communication and trust.
Next, MISTLETOE & MISHIGAS, part of MA Wardell’s Teachers in Love series, and is about energetic first-grade teacher Sheldon Soleskin, who leans hard into his femme side, and reserved Theodore Berenson, a big man who falls into the “manly man” category. MA Wardell’s characters are delightful and sometimes frustrating even as their quirks and all-too-real insecurities and feelings litter their path to their HEA. Their friends and families also shine.
I really enjoyed A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON by Alexandra Rowland, a sweeping romance with political intrigue, bodyguard-antagonists to lovers, and so much pining. Prince Kadou knows he’s weak—he’s often brilliant, but his thoughts take him on occasion down dark paths and he’s overwhelmed and physically unwell in the face of those assaults. When the incredibly disciplined Evemer is newly promoted to be his primary guard, both have impressions of the other that are incomplete pictures. Ms Rowland’s story is hard to put down, and I raced through it, enjoying the action as much as the inner struggles of these two. They are beautifully written as are the supporting characters, and my only complaint is that I would happily have read more.
PLAYER FOR HIRE is the first in Taryn Quinn’s fiery new series, The Heights. Bartender Colder Banks and his new neighbor Naomi Taylor experience some mutual chemistry from their first introduction, and Naomi decides to act on it in the form of approaching Colder for some relationship coaching, in and out of the bedroom. Each quickly realizes what they’re feeling is much more than transactional, but it does take them some reflection and growth to consider whether and how to make the leap to more. Taryn Quinn’s characters are warm and kind, people whom I’d want to befriend. Quite entertaining.
Finally, I loved Anita Kelly’s HOW YOU GET THE GIRL. I really liked Julie and Elle’s growing friendship, and how it gave them the space and strength to learn about themselves and love and life.
Oh, and not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I know I’m among fellow romance readers, so was wondering whether anyone had read Melody Anne, and if so, what you thought. Saw a stack of her books at the FotL sale and wasn’t sure whether to pick any up.
Thanks, and happy reading, B*tchery!
I’m starting book four of THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB series and cannot wait for my friends to start reading it (I’ll supply the books!) so we can discuss it. Also, it’s to be a movie–Netflix?–so that makes it even more exciting. Next up will be Raybourn’s KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE rec’d here recently.
Not been reading with my daughter graduating from college, but have penciled in The Love of my Afterlife. Definitely my kind of book!
I loved SAVOR IT by Tarah DeWitt, which features a sunshiny FMC in a small coastal Oregon town who’s had a rough time in life but still manages to look on the bright side, and a burnt-out NYC chef who has taken on guardianship of his resentful teenage niece and comes to Oregon for the summer to renovate a restaurant. There were no fireworks or big plots, just a lovely romance between two mature and supportive adults who actually acknowledge and discuss problems/issues on a timely basis.
I also really enjoyed POINTE OF PRIDE by Chloe Angyal, her second ballet romance set in Sydney. This one had an enemies to lovers plot. It didn’t focus as much as the first on dance and workplace issues in ballet as it did on how to move on when you don’t really want to retire but have no real choice. The book also dealt sensitively and knowledgeably with chronic pelvic pain, which the FMC has always suffered from and that has made penetrative sex extremely painful for her. I had never seen this topic before in a romance and didn’t know much about it so that was really interesting (and the MMC was very supportive of her).
Finally, I read BURNT: A MEMOIR OF FIGHTING FIRE, by Clare Frank, who was the first and only woman so far to become the Chief of fire protection for the state of California, one of the highest ranking positions in the Cal Fire agency. Clare is a 5’2″ force of nature who apparently finds challenges to be just a way to make her even more determined to overcome them. The book was engaging, there are lots of fascinating details about fire fighting (and its inherent dangers and loss of life) without being too in the weeds and her own personal story is pretty compelling. She does gloss over the struggles that I’m sure she and other trailblazers have had to face in the profession but I think it’s just her nature to minimize the difficulties I’m sure she faced.
@Francesca I’m also on a Tudors kick, having reread THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT for the 1st time since it came out. I wish I liked the miniseries better, I was lucky enough to see the RSC production when it came to New York, which I think captured the electric energy of Mantel’s prose much better.
THE HOUSE OF DUDLEY by Joanne Paul genuinely felt like a new piece of Tudor scholarship to me and not a rehash of everything that’s come before.
I read my first Susan Higginbotham HER HIGHNESS, THE TRAITOR after years of seeing her called a gold standard for historical fiction. Not bad, but not my favorite, but I’m definitely going to check out her other work. Becoming Elizabeth had its faults, but Jamie Parker as John Dudley made me absolutely feral so blame him haha.
I watched s3/e1 with my sisters, which was lovely and maybe a little squirmy in and of itself. It was my very first. I’ve not read any of the books or watched the first two seasons. It was easy to know what’s previously via the socials and such. I decided to start watching for Nicola and only Nicola. I love her. I also adore the chemistry between she and Luke Newton. It comes through even one dimensionally.
Now that my husband has watched Ep1, we can now maybe watch together.
It’s been a good reading time for me, which is a welcome change. I read and loved KJ Charles’ DEATH IN THE SPIRES (TM Not a Romance), and then went immediately back to re-read SPECTRED ISLE, because Jem’s situation reminded me so much of Saul’s. I really hope there will be more mysteries for Jem to solve. He does need a job, after all.
I also read Courtney Milan’s THE DUKE WHO DIDN’T. After failing with an ebook I finally got my library’s sole paper copy. I’m now waiting for the book of THE MARQUIS WHO MUSTN’T. Her historical romances just really work for me.
On the non-fiction side, I read Erika Lee’s THE MAKING OF ASIAN AMERICA. I don’t think I have ever read a book where I spent so much time asking “how did I not know this about my own country” (and I studied US history in college and grad school). The book is devastating and compelling and so relevant to where we are right now in the US. It was published in 2015, so the rise of anti-Asian racism following the 2016 election and COVID would add a few chapters to her book. “America” in the title is important, the author covers developments in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America as well. Among the many, many things I learned, I did not know that the US pressured all the countries in the Americas to intern and/or expel their Japanese citizens in World War II (Peru shipped theirs to the US). Dr. Lee has written a book about Angel Island, the main immigration port on the West Coast, where many immigrants from Asia entered the US. I have it on my library stack.
Back to fiction, I am continuing to read every Melissa Scott book I can get my hands on, most recently FALLEN. And after Martha Wells’ revised/reissued THE BOOK OF IL-RIEN, I have dived into the trilogy set later in the same world, starting with THE WIZARD HUNTERS.
I can see my library list expanding again, starting with @Jen M’s recommendation of Savor It and Burnt. Happy holiday weekend to those in the US – an extra day for reading!
John Wiswell’s Someone You Can Build a Nest In is a quirky fantasy about a monster and the troubled human she falls for, whose family goal is to destroy the monster. Not a “tentacle romance” in the subgenre sense. Ace rep.
Josephine Ruby’s The Vanishing Girl is a younger-YA tie-in, about Daphne and Velma from Scooby-Doo. So it’s also not a romance, but it ended up being a surprisingly thought-making read about some of the same tropes. Daphne and Velma were BFFs until a middle-school experience destroyed that entirely. Now they’re in high school and forced to work together. I more often than not hate the Big Misunderstanding, but this is one based in reality on both sides.
I’ve completely stalled on any romance reading. It is a little depressing. The closest I’ve come recently is TJ Clune’s HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA which has what I think is a no heat romance. I thought it was great but I’m really struggling with the book that came after it.
But my horror genre reading has been fun. So if anyone is interested in HORROR GENRE suggestions. I enjoyed Kiersten White MISTER MAGIC. Its about a long running, live action children’s TV show that had a tragic last day on live TV. Years later the cast members are invited to do interviews for a podcast and so all reconnect in the creepy house the show was filmed in.
I also enjoyed Johnny Compton’s THE SPITE HOUSE. A father with 2 daughters is on the run (we don’t now why) and needs money under the table and so agrees to stay in a haunted spite house to document what happens there. This was fun in that I kept guessing what was going on and was wrong almost every time (where is the mother? why are they on the run? how did that character die?)
And now, although I midway through 3 other books, I’m going to start Alix Harrow’s STARLING HOUSE.
I just finished obligations to a couple of publishing awards and utterly tore through an ARC of Dark Restraint, which I finished this morning. I’m super excited to move on to B.K. Borrison’s Mixed Signals of the Lovelight Farms series. I have a bookstore date tomorrow, and can hopefully bat my eyelashes and convince my boyfriend buy me Ana Huang’s King of Greed and King of Sloth. Fingers crossed.
Fall’s Girl by Gini Koch. Unputdownable.
Five-star favourite this month is KATE CLAYBORN’s GEORGIE ALL ALONG. M/F contemporary, FMC returns to small town to heal, meets bad boy seeking redemption. Just gorgeous. The author creates such an immersive atmosphere in her writing – I was completely under the spell of the MMC, such a soulful character. I’m not normally a fan of the small town setting and accompanying tropes but this one just works. I won’t even try to summarise the story, I will just say read it. Read it now.
After all the recs I have seen for KATE CANTERBARY, I mainlined BEFORE GIRL and THE WORST GUY in short order. I get why they are so highly rated and I enjoyed them but I didn’t love them unconditionally. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess.
Over recent weeks I read all four of KRISTEN CALLIHAN’s VIP rockstar romances: IDOL, MANAGED, FALL and EXPOSED. All M/F, all revolving around the same rock band and their entourage. They were entertaining enough but veering a little close to NA for me. I stayed with them because I’ve liked everything else I’ve read of hers: the contemporaries and the Darkest London stories. I guess one of the dangers of a series binge can be that the stories and characters can seem repetitive, so that’s a lesson learned.
I’ve also bought her GAME ON (M/F, sportsball) series in paperback because I wanted the pretty covers which are in the process of being redesigned as per the current, inexplicable trend for cartoon-style illustration. So far I have read THE HOOK UP, THE FRIEND ZONE and THE GAME PLAN. All enjoyable but my favourite is The Game Plan – I loved quiet, dependable MMC, Dex.
Sadly, it looks as though the final book (The Hot Shot) has got lost in the post and now it’s showing unavailable on Amazon UK. This is my disgruntled face…
And another series binge: all four of ELIZABETH O’ROARKE’s Grumpy Devils series – A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL, THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW and THE DEVIL GETS HIS DUE. Contemporary M/F. Loved them. My first by the author, who I know is a favourite here. Strong, swoonworthy men and the feisty, funny women they fall for. And they all fall hard. A lot of Bad Decisions Bookclub scenarios. I am addicted.
I very much enjoyed HEXBREAKER, HEXMAKER, HEXSLAYER and HEXHUNTER by JORDAN L HAWK. M/M historicals, set in a universe with magic, witches and their shifter familiars. A recurring cast of clever, endearing characters all tied up in twisty paranormal mysteries and enough heat to keep things interesting. If it’s your sort of thing, I would recommend them all. I have read a couple of the Widdershins books but preferred these which concentrate on a different pairing each time while still featuring the whole cast.
And finally… UNNATURAL EXPOSURE by KAJE HARPER is #5 in her Hidden Wolves series which I have been slowly working my way through. Each story features a different M/M pairing (sometimes more than one) but is part of an overarching narrative that brings in all the previous characters. Focusing on packs of werewolf shifters, set in the present day, it’s a harsh, homophobic culture and a lot of tension comes from that and their trying to remain separate from the human world. It’s kept me interested enough to keep buying the next book each time I finish one.
So a mixed bag but mostly good. Looking forward to everyone else’s selections.
DARK ORBIT by Carolyn Ives Gilman: My long wait for this book was completely worth it. A first-contact space opera where factions in the same mission have conflicting goals. The planet defies description–is it crystalline or something different?–as are the inhabitants who live underground. The mission learns the entire planet is headed toward destruction and how can they save everyone? As far as I can tell, this book is a standalone and ends on a real cliffhanger. Would I read it again? Without doubt. The abilities of the inhabitants are mind-blowing and the satisfactory, albeit abrupt, ending gives the reader hope for all. Really want that sequel, though.
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie: Read for bookclub and while knowledge of accusations of sexual misconduct about the author never left my mind, I could appreciate the story and his skill. An evocative and enlightening tale of love and struggle.
THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley: A remarkable feat, really, of reconstituting/repatriating historical figures to today’s London. No one honestly knew what the results and repercussions would be (problematic), but also fascinating. How do you introduce someone from near-ancient Ireland to the 21st century? Not easily.
HAPPILY NEVER AFTER by Lynn Painter: What fun this was. Do you need to get out of your own wedding without blame or expense? Sophie and Max team up to offer that service to any bride/groom after having derailed their individual nuptials for reasons. My quibble is that it took way too long for Sophie to realize she and Max were meant to be together forever, but a very enjoyable ride nonetheless.
GRETA AND VALDIN by Rebecca K. Reilly: A brother and sister–gay maybe, bi-racial Maori and Russian, completely and wonderfully mixed up–find their way to love and self-understanding in this NZ-based novel. Their family is so complicated, kind of who’s zooming who, whose kids are whose and I’m still not sure. Their love for each other is never in doubt and makes for a twisty, energetic tale. Comparisons to Schitt’s Creek, but I’ve never seen that show.
THE PARIS NOVEL by Ruth Reichl: Just pack your bags and hop on the next plane to Paris. Buy a vintage couture gown, eat everything in sight, spend all your money and fall in love with people, places and yourself. Joyous and not to be missed.
THE EXCITEMENTS by CJ Wray: My reaction over at DA after reading Jayne’s excellent review and finally the book was OMGOMGOMG. Two 90-year-old former spies (no one knows this) head to Paris with their great-nephew to accept the Legion d’honneur for their work during WWII. Nothing and no one are what they seem. A glorious and unexpected ride, with a sequel in the works, and to both I say hallelujah.
My TBR list has definitely increased due to everyone’s suggestions! Since last time:
Very Good
BEST FOOT FORWARD by Celia Lake (M/M Historical, Ace). This was my first complete Celia Lake and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Previous Lake books haven’t made it past my kindle ‘sample section’. This one had competent older characters (one in his 60s). The story was more about the time and their thoughts, actions, and found families than romance which really appears in the epilogue story. The many character cameos in a series beginner became old quickly.
AVERY Series by Erin Flynn (F/M/M/M). An overworked and overweight teacher wins the big lottery. While the romances are fantastical, the reinvention and discovery of herself and growing friendships makes this series fascinating. It shows the best, and worst, in people and celebrity culture.
Good
NEW NEIGHBORS Series by M.A. Innes (M/Alien). This is a tentacle romance series which shouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is. Suspend disbelief of aliens who reside in NYC apartments and travel by drainpipes with bad senses of direction, leading to tired plumbers and tentacles in the shower. And then dating and real thoughts about what makes a relationship…
A SUITABLE series by R. Cooper (M/M fantasy). All set in the same world, these books don’t overlap. All deal with somewhat naïve but politically savvy hero and a larger king/guard/warlord love interest. The world is interesting and I really liked the first, but the third was just ok.
So-So
DAWN by AJ Sherwood (F/Dragon). If you haven’t read the rest of the series – don’t read this one. It doesn’t stand alone. If you have a chance – read the rest of the series starting with ORIGIN. Dragons hidden in Europe! The second in the series added Wroclaw Poland on my travel wish list, just to see the gnomes.
I’m pretty near the end of the first book in the Mistborn trilogy, by Brandon Sanderson, and while I have the other two books on hold at the library, the wait is at least two months. I think I’m going to be buying these.
I’ve been caught by indecision between books, so have only read some more EPIGRAMS FROM THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY and a story in a Lankhmar collection.
In non-books I watched MAKING MR. RIGHT (1987) and enjoyed it a lot. Ann Magnuson plays a PR person hired to do work for an android maker. The android (John Malkovich) becomes interested in love; hijinks ensue. I had vaguely dismissed this movie for years but tried it when I learned it was directed by Susan Seidelman, who also did DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (another movie I had no interest in but enjoyed when for reasons I forget I watched it).
@Heather C — I have MISTER MAGIC but haven’t read it yet!
Rereads again, both by Diana Wynne Jones. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE on audio narrated by Jenny Sterlin is like a soft cozy blanket. DARK LORD OF DERKHOLM is still funny, irreverent and refreshing, the middle part still gives me anxiety even though I know the ending.
In pretty pictures land, we have WOVEN on Webtoon, season 2 is ramping up the stakes and revealing more dragon lore and I’m eating it all up. Warning, there are a total of 4 seasons planned but due to contract obligations they can’t publish the last 2 seasons for a couple of years. So like every other favorite author lately… I’ll wait for them too.
Over the past two weeks ~
— For my book group, I read Deacon King Kong by James McBride. It took me a while to get caught up in this story set in 1969, but I ended up quite enjoying it.
— Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me
by Susan L. Roth was an enjoyable picture book by a collage artist who compared herself and her art to a bower bird creating his nest.
— reread Stray (Touchstone Book 1) by Andrea K. Höst as I am planning to make a bookmark for a friend who also likes this science fiction work. This book is currently free for Kindle readers.
— enjoyed Maz, Origin by T. L. Ford which is about an exceedingly bright fourteen year old raised from birth in a prison city on a slightly alternative earth and her life after her escape/rescue. This book took a surprising turn at about the halfway point when aliens landed on earth.
— read the contemporary male/male romance Coast to Coast (Arizona Raptors Book 1) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey which was a pleasant read featuring a hockey coach and one of three brothers who has inherited ownership of a hockey team.
— After rereading Stray, I got sucked in and read on in the Touchstone series. I’ve since reread with pleasure Lab Rat One, Caszandra, Gratuitous Epilogue, In Arcadia, and Snow Day all by Andrea K. Höst.
— finished Whispering Wood by Sharon Shinn which is a newish follow on fantasy to the author’s four books in the Elemental Blessings series. I enjoyed it but my favorite remains the first book in that series.
— enjoyed a quick browse through Paperie: 100 Creative Papercraft Ideas by Kirsty Neale.
Going to start out by mentioning that Shame the Devil by Rosalind James is free on kindle today. She is an auto-buy for me.
Just finished an ARC of Olivia Hayles’ One Wrong Move. He’s been in love with his best friend’s girl since the night they all met. He moves to London so he can stop loving her secretly. She breaks up with the friend and moves to London for a job. He pursues and woos. I enjoyed it.
Last time, I was just starting J Saman’s Irresistibly Dangerous. Which I read on the plane to Hawaii to celebrate a friend finishing the first part of her chemo. The book was great, too. Marriage of convenience so she can get her inheritance. They have history. He has trauma and lives off the grid now. But there you are, two people with lust in their history in a secluded house in Maine. Would recommend, both the book and the concept of a house in Maine. Though I think I’d go back to Bangor and not into the woods.
The Getaway, a novel by Marnie Voinge, thriller, not romance. Fifteen years later, they return to the isolated cabin where one of their friends died. Makes more sense than most of these books, enjoyed it.
Rescue Me by VM Reault, one night stand, two people as low as they can get, meet in a bar, comfort each other, move toward a relationship. TW for death of spouse and for DV. But I really liked the book
Probably more but, after a busy day in the nursery and a classic migraine, my mind/memory is shot.
I’m another who has stalled on romance reading at the moment. I’ve re-read a couple of Chalet School fill-ins this week. Also read, and would recommend, A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast by Dorthe Nors. There is a review here.
Sorry if this is a duplicate comment—browser is being weird.
Currently reading an anthology of all the Lord Peter Wimsey short stories. Peter never fails to delight me and short stories are good with everything else going on at the moment (kiddo dealing with some health challenges.)
I enjoyed the first four episodes of Bridgerton (what is this splitting it up nonsense?), but I have to say, I was distracted by how outstanding Nicola Couglan’s chemistry is with the (not from the book) alternate love interest. He’s charming and interesting and kind! And he just makes Colin look like a bit of a drip by comparison. I also enjoyed the Francesca storyline and am hoping things diverge a bit from the books for some of our main characters (Eloise and Violet in particular.) I keep thinking they’re going to do something interesting with Benedict, but nothing substantive yet.
Well, since last time, I took a page out of this website and read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, which didn’t make me cry, but it was close. I, for one, absolutely welcome our cephalopod overlords whenever they decide it’s time to take over the land as well as the sea. Then, because I randomly decided to be on a YA epic fantasy of epicness kick, I read Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer, which had some nice court politics stuff to it, and I liked the protagonists a great deal. There’s also a nice slow-burn romance going; these two definitely have the hots, but there’s a kingdom to be saved and also people are dying of a plague (it was written before 2020, but bless Kemmerer’s heart, she must have been like “REALLY, UNIVERSE?!?!?”). Which brings us to now, in which I’m reading Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim, who is rapidly becoming my fave for Asian-inspired fantasy. This one takes some Asian mythology, and wraps it around a tale that is inspired by the story of Helen of Troy. I LOVE the main character, who manages to be kind and compassionate, even when the world is awful to her (she’s cursed as a child, and has the face of a snake, if a beautiful snake, and people are real assholes about it, even though it’s her dipshit dad’s fault that she ends up cursed), but is also fierce and ready for violence. There’s also a humanoid dragon (hot) and she has a little snake friend who bites people for her in fights, and is also a little snark monster. It’s really, really good. I’m taking my time with it, because Lim’s writing tends to be lush, so you might as well savor it. Also, on audio, I’m listening to A Rome of One’s Own by Emma Southon, mostly in the car. It’s funny and informative, and occasionally one has to give a bleak laugh about how much has changed about the roles of women in society and how we treat them, but also how much has not. Yes, women are no longer killed by their fathers if they’re raped (at least in this part of the world), but that doesn’t mean that we believe those women and don’t question their motives, and if they report their rape, they don’t end up further victimized by the systems around them. Much has changed, but people remain people. So until next time, if the carriage is rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.
Something is kludging up my reading brain; I haven’t been able to finish a book in weeks, but flit from book to book. Currently I’m part of the way through A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber (the forthcoming Lady Darby mystery), The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton, and Becoming Crone by Lydia M. Hawke. I haven’t actually read any of them in at least a week and a half. There’s nothing wrong with any of the books; it’s all me, though I have no idea why.
On the other hand, when I finally gave up on reading and gave in to my subconscious’s insistent whisper to listen to Susanna Kearsley’s marvelous novel The Winter Sea again, it turned out to be just the thing. I plowed through the audiobook in three days, and now I’m just as riveted by the sequel, The Firebird (it’s my second or third time listening to this one, too.) Next up is probably A Desperate Fortune, also by Kearsley.