Hey, all! It’s our last Whatcha Reading for March. Here’s how we’re closing out the month:
Lara: I’ve just started the latest Emily Wilde book. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m only a couple pages in but my hopes are high!
Sarah: I am reading The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s set in 1613 so it’s perfect for my wanting to read books set “not here, not now.”
It’s set during a politically and culturally volatile time, which also resonates for some reason.
Elyse: I’m currently on a 9 hour road trip (not the driver lol) and we’re listening to Fathomfolk. ( A | BN | K ) It’s an underwater fantasy novel where aquatic creatures (mermaids, sirens, water dragons) are second class citizens to humans.
The main characters are a rebel and a half-siren who is the first Folk member of the military.
Shana: I’m reading A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen ( A | BN | K | AB ) and loving it so far!
Claudia: I’m on another reading lull! Nothing feels worth finishing.
Tara: I’ve been reading Sweet Home Alabarden Park by TJ O’Shea and absolutely loving it. Also, I’ve been reading The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron ( A | BN | K | AB ) with my 10 year old and it’s super fun. We’re both really enjoying that one.
Carrie: I’m reading This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s a serviceable horror/thriller that would be much better if we got to know the character before they started dying off.
So, whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!
Happy spring, all! The cold seems a distant memory, and I’m hear for it. And–bonus!–my reading’ getting back on track as well.
The Last Guy on Earth by Sarina Bowen
Third in Bowen’s Hockey Guys series, this sports romance had the perfect balance between authentic hockey content and a smart, spicy, and an emotionally honest m/m love story. The conflict is real and rooted in a shared past between Denver hockey coach Clay Powers and newly traded goaltender Jethro Hale. There’s intense pining and championship level adulting to elevate this sports romance to the highest level of story telling excellence. Definitely recommended.
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
To DNF or not to DNF. . . . . So at 41%, I had to take a break from this book. It felt like I’d read a number of books with the realist/romantic-opposites-giving-advice-in-a -public-forum premise in the past year or so, and this one wasn’t working for me. Also, I wasn’t sure that I liked the FMC well enough to stick it out through the whole book. She did something dumb and intrusive to resolve an issue with her parents, and it made me squirm a bit. [insert hockey romances here] Anyway, I picked it up again, and I really came to like the MCs, Truly and Colin. Their relationship was intense, and their interactions, steamy. The discussion of their queerness seemed well handled, though his family seemed kinda la-la-la nothin’-to-see-here, yet somehow still obnoxious af. I enjoyed Truly’s parents, rolled my eyes at Colin’s, and still disapproved of the secondary HEA. It was thin, very thin. I did enjoy the book despite Truly’s obsession with moles. (not the one’s in the lawn & not the moles, per se, just the frequent mentions, like, EVERY time they canoodled.) I do hate this cover though. Not only is that image tragic to a former library worker, it doesn’t actually have much to do with the story either. I’m glad I read this book, but I will not reread.
Extra Credit by Sarina Bowen
This collection of three Ivy Years novellas worked well for me despite the fact that I don’t usually care for short fiction. I read the first mini romance ages ago, but the other two were new to me. All three are linked to fictional Harkness College and have a sports connection. I switched to this book from another, because I knew it would work for me as a palate cleanser. And it did. Admirably.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Sara Ney
I got a kick out of this cheerful take on hockey romance. The likable MCs, Gio and Austin (m/f) are the major focus of the story in a way that kind of fades out the rest of their existence. Gio is the goalie on his pro hockey team while Austin is a hockey superfan with a penchant for trash talk. There is a LOT of banter. Also laughter. The hockey background is a little superficial. Teammates are mentioned but not met. Same goes for most of Austin’s colleagues. I would have liked more of both. Romance may be about relationships, but no single relationship is the sum total of a person’s life. However, that’s a me issue. What this book does best is provide a happy, low stress love story starring a pair of very appealing lovers.
Fan Service by Rosie Danan
This book was so weird and sooo good. It is a truly unique paranormal romance. MMC Devin is an unemployed 42 year old actor who peaked as the star of a long running fantasy TV series, The Arcane Files. In the meantime FMC Alex who moderated the TAF Archive back in the day, has settled into adult lonerhood in her tiny yet annoying hometown in central Florida. A sudden shocking change in Devin’s life brings him into Alex’s orbit in search of help when fantasy becomes his new reality. The Werewolfian premise of this story sounds silly enough to be cringe-worthy, yet Danan absolutely makes it work. Devin is a masterpiece of character building, alternating insensitive douchery with a surprising sweetness and giving new meaning to the phrase “raised by wolves.” Alex who encountered Devin’s douchey side as a teen, is slowly disarmed by his vulnerability and unexpected kindness. I’ve been thinking lately that the books I’ve loved most over time are the ones that have shown me something new and completely surprised me. Fan Service meets that criteria perfectly. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Story of my Life by Lucy Score
This novel is launched from a place of misery that is hard to read about. The romance writer FMC Hazel is bogged down in a lengthy post divorce depression that’s further complicated by writer’s block. At the urging of her agent and best friend as well as a random impulse, she moves from NYC to tiny Story Lake, PA in search of inspiration and her own independent HEA. In Story Lake, she finds both in the buff form of Cam Bishop, grumpy local contractor. Of course the path to HEA-land is not easy though it does include a great deal of over the top humor. Though this book suffered in comparison to my last read (which I loved, see above), it was an entertaining novel with a somewhat meta take on romance writing, though not my favorite work by this author.
The Undying King by Grace Draven
This is perhaps the third or fourth time I’ve read this romance novella. It is an angsty fairy tale gem. I wish it were longer, because I’m a greedy soul, but it makes me happy as is. Imogen is cursed with a killing touch. After her powerful hedgewitch foster mother’s death, Imogen finds herself in jeopardy and leaves to seek sanctuary in the realm of the Undying King. Cededa, the aforementioned immortal, turns out to be the rare anti-hero who is pretty much irredeemable, though four millennia is a lot of penance. Together, Imogen and Cededa begin to tame their loneliness and eventually battle forces that threaten them both. Something about Draven’s work reaches out to the teenaged dreamer that still hunkers down in the dark of my mind, craving the salvation of stories. Although the ending is a little rushed, This book provides a satisfying HEA in a compact and elegant package.
Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
Reread. Something about the Discworld just grabs me and does not let go. I wouldn’t call the Guards sequence my favorite, only because it continually jostles with the Wytches and DEATH sequences for the front of the line. However, the Guards are what I need now. Men at Arms is one of the best. One grins, one snickers, one laughs out loud. And then one cries a little too. Sad tears, not laughed so hard I peed my eyes tears. Most of all, one thinks. Ending with a quote: “Personal doesn’t mean important.” Like the Author, I believe it’s worth repeating.
If You Love Me by Helena Hunting
To DNF or not . . . . This book is a workplace romance masquerading as a sports romance. To be fair, it handles the sports side of that subgenre pretty well. Unfortunately, I’m having a bit of trouble dealing with the will-they-or-won’t-they tug of war. Lexi and Roman have never forgotten their two night stand three years ago. Too bad that they are now coach and player for the same hockey team. Even though Roman has only one season till retirement, the pining is UNBEARABLE. I know where this is going. You know where this is going. Imma hit pause now, not because I can’t bear the suspense, but because these grown-ass adults can’t control their zippers for a matter of months, no matter who it hurts.
Bonded in Death by J. D. Robb
In Death #60 delivers once again. This sixtieth(!) outing with Eve and Roarke is rooted in the Urban Wars resistance movement and an old treachery. It is less a mystery than it is suspense, and the reader basically rides along as Eve & co. quickly identify and then doggedly track down a treacherous killer. Though this novel is not a real nail biter, it does offer an opportunity to enjoy an expanded version of Dallas’s large and varied found family. One question: does anyone else find Robb’s version of the Urban Wars terrifyingly predictive?
Filthy Rich by Julie Kriss
Having devoured the Road Kings books, it was only logical to check out another series by this author. I like workplace romance–though with some reservations–so Filthy Rich looked promising. One of those reservations was a recently acquired aversion to billionaires, but I handled it. So, like many workplace romances, this one involved a busy CEO and his highly competent executive assistant. It was not, however, overloaded with the usual tropes, so no enemies to lovers or opposites attract. What we have are two decent, extremely professional adults, and a gradual, slow burning attraction through the first half of the book. Once Aiden and Samantha acknowledge their attraction, they negotiate an intelligent and extremely hot solution to their dilemma. And make no mistake, their encounters are indeed hot, even as they segue into something more. Great writing and a pair of very likable narrators made this book for me. Recommended.
Wrote that first paragraph at 4:30 am, so apologies for the typos.
Haven’t been much on reading of late (anyone else who works in a fed or fed-adjacent space, good luck and solidarity!)
I did enjoy THE PROSPECTS by KT Hoffman about a trans minor league baseball player, Gene, and his evolving romance with his teammate, Luis. If you like KD Casey’s baseball romances and/or Heartstopper, give this one a whirl.
Currently reading THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES by Julie Leong about a young woman, Tao, who travels and tells small fortunes, but who quickly picks up several travel companions. Not sure if there’s a romance angle, but right now it’s giving me Becky Chambers A PSALM FOR THE WILD BUILT vibes and that suits me just fine.
A friend recommended Melanie Karsak’s books, so I’m hoping to check out some of those.
I also want to look at some cookbooks, including SHEET PAN SUPPERS by Molly Gilbert.
I’m bad about getting cookbooks and then never looking at them on my tablet. That’s one instance where I think a print book would be better so I could see in sitting on the counter and flip through it easier.
READING BETWEEN THE LINES is the third full-length book (there is also a prequel novella) in Nicky James’s Shadowy Solutions series of romantic-suspense stories featuring private investigators Diem Krause, whose horribly abusive childhood factors into everything he does (and doesn’t do) as an adult, and Tallus Domingo, whose charm and bubbly enthusiasm counter-balance Diem’s understandable reticence and difficulty expressing emotions (particularly positive ones). At the end of the previous book, Diem & Tallus became partners both romantically and professionally—and in READING BETWEEN THE LINES both connections get tested. The guys are called in to investigate a case that left a teenage boy brain dead: the boy’s mother does not accept the police’s verdict of an accident and asks Diem & Tallus to look into things. The guys uncover a lot—including a very creepy group of teenagers who like to plan perfect fictional murders—and put themselves in harm’s way a number of times. I liked how Diem is become more self-aware and how he’s trying so hard not to drink, smoke, or turn to violence when he gets angry or frustrated (he thinks of himself as having“three settings—complacent, miserable, and angry”); although he also often feels that he wears himself out “trying to fill a position I wasn’t qualified for,” he has enough self-insight to recognize that, “Sometimes I focused so hard on the things I couldn’t do that I forgot to be proud of the obstacles I’d already conquered.” As for the impulsive Tallus, he is becoming less of a manic-pixie-dream-boy—which is all for the best because, as Diem sees it, “I might lack couth, but Tallus lacked a filter.” A solid addition to what is shaping up to be a very good romantic-suspense series. Highly recommended.
I virtually inhaled the Contested Possession series of m/m sports (Australian football) romances by new-to-me author Sasha Avice: it was Bad Decisions Book Club on several nights because the books are so good—well-written, angsty, nuanced (Avice isn’t afraid of getting her characters into tangled & messy situations), deeply-emotional, and cleverly constructed—I could not make myself put them down. All of the books are highly recommended—and the fifth book, WE WERE NEVER LOVERS, is on my list of favorite books of 2025. I do recommend reading the books in order because characters, incidents, and situations recur, often shown in a different light or from a different perspective:
The first three books in the Contested Possession series—MY BOYFRIEND’S ROOKIE, BECAUSE HE’S MY GUY, and YOU COULD DO BETTER—trace the end of one relationship and the start of two others (CW/TW: there is emotional cheating involved). In MY BOYFRIEND’S ROOKIE, George (a football coach) and Joq (the Security Chief at the sports stadium where George’s team plays) have been in a secret relationship for over a decade. George is deeply closeted and wants no one to know he’s gay or is living with Joq (who chafes against these restrictions but has accepted them). The guys have a physically open relationship, and Joq has frequent casual hook-ups, while George has always been monogamous. However, things begin to change when rookie Finn joins the team. For the first time, George wants to take advantage of the open relationship (even though it’s a colossal lapse of judgment for a coach to have a relationship with a player, especially one so much younger than he is). Joq can clearly see that George & Finn are not capable of having meaningless hook-ups but are growing emotionally closer. As Joq watches George fall in love with someone else, he feels as if he’s “turning into an uncertain version of himself.” Avice does such a good job of peeling back Joq’s layers (the book is told entirely from his POV) that, when Joq does something utterly reprehensible toward the end of the book, we can’t approve of what he does, but we can understand what drove him to do it. Joq’s gesture backfires spectacularly, and he loses any hope he ever had of keeping George. The second book, BECAUSE HE’S MY GUY, retells MY BOYFRIEND’S ROOKIE from the points-of-view of George & Finn. This lets us see what was going on between George & Finn during the time their relationship was developing—and it’s clear that there was emotional cheating on George’s part long before anything physical happened along with awareness on Finn’s part that he was falling for another man’s boyfriend. I really liked how Avice manages not to make anyone a complete villain in the books, but shows how the stresses of being closeted, being in an open relationship (for the wrong reasons), and suddenly being faced with an unexpected, overwhelming cataclysm of emotion causes a long-established relationship to crumble. The third book in the series, YOU COULD DO BETTER, follows Joq as he tries to recover from losing George and to deal with the sense of shame he has for the terrible thing he tried to do to George & Finn. Roq meets wealthy, handsome Chris (who has issues of his own) and the guys stumble their way into love (with a lot of “one step forwards, two steps back” during the process).
There’s a different couple in the fourth book, THIS IS MY CHURCH, a friends-to-lovers-to-estranged-teammates-back-to-friends-and-finally-back-to-lovers story in which teammates Lacy (self-destructive & self-indulgent but a brilliant athlete) and Thad (serious, deeply-religious and pretty much a journeyman player) experience an opposites-attract affair. Like the other books in the series, THIS IS MY CHURCH is very well-written and keeps a good balance between the spiritual and the carnal sides of the MCs’ lives, but I do have to issue a strong content/trigger warning:
Avice doesn’t make Thad perfect and doesn’t make Lacy unredeemable, but she also doesn’t discount the pain that coming from a church-centric family takes on a person coming to terms with their sexuality. After Thad & Lacy start a sexual relationship, Thad has “a balance—have sex, repent, pray for help to stop it, beg for forgiveness, plan to change his ways, and repeat.” Avice also shows that, just as Thad has a strong sexual side, Lacy has a strong spiritual side—although it doesn’t express itself in church ritual or dogma. The men have to overcome a lot (Thad’s internalized homophobia, Lacy’s self-destructiveness, the outright refusal to acknowledge that loving a person of the same gender could ever be anything but wrong on the part of Thad’s family and church) and make compromises along the way to achieve their, admittedly rather complicated, HEA.
I loved, loved, loved everything about WE WERE NEVER LOVERS, the fifth book in the Contested Possession series. Not only is this brilliantly-written, uber-angsty story one of the best explorations of the amnesia trope I’ve read since N.R. Walker’s Missing Pieces trilogy, but it also squarely addresses issues of racism and homophobia in professional sports without being heavy-handed or detracting from the romance. Football player Sean (who is First Nations/Aboriginal) wakes up in a hospital room with no memory of how he got there, but based on the extent of his injuries, he knows he’s been badly hurt. Even more surprising is his teammate Jack—with whom Sean has a complicated, antagonistic relationship going back to their teens—is in the room and is obviously devastated by Sean’s condition. Within a few days, Sean learns he was in a terrible vehicle accident—and he also discovers that he has lost his memory of the past two years, during which time, apparently, he and Jack became such good friends that he and Jack are housemates during the football season, and everyone around them assumes Sean will be staying with Jack to convalesce. Avice does a wonderful job of being in Sean’s head (we see nothing from Jack’s POV for the first half of the book), and that works perfectly for us to see how off-balance everything is for Sean: what happened between himself and Jack to erase antipathy that had pervaded their dynamic for years? We understand Sean’s bafflement—especially when he gets to Jack’s house and can’t figure out why, if he (Sean) lives there, his bedroom is so empty. We can also understand Jack’s misery—he has been advised by doctors not to burden Sean with information he is not ready to process and, because the guys have kept their relationship on the d/l, no one knows they are a couple except Jack. Jack is a complete cinnamon roll/golden retriever and the fact that Sean has regressed to his earlier hostility hurts him terribly. As Sean tries to piece together the last two years, he feels “like a tourist in someone else’s life” and every time he and Jack talk about the past, “it felt like they were trying to work something out, to say something. He just wasn’t sure what it was…It was as if they were always having multiple conversations, layers Sean couldn’t track because there was so much he didn’t know.” This is a story where the “big mis” truly is a “big mis” and has had long implications. A favorite read of 2025. Highly recommended.
Haven’t read a single thing due to RSV. Desperately in need of recs!
I stayed up until 3 AM this morning to read “Sunrise on the Reaping” (the new Hunger Games prequel about Haymitch) cover to cover. Worth it.
@Jennifer Estep—I really like checking out cookbooks from the library for that. I can browse and get ideas without having to commit, plus paging through a physical book is much more enjoyable for me with recipes.
Back in December I read and greatly enjoyed LAST NIGHT AT THE LOCAL by Sarah Grunder Ruiz, and then learned it was the third in a series with interconnected characters. This fortnight, I finished the first two books, LOVE, LISTS & FANCY SHIPS, and LUCK & LAST RESORTS– and then re-read the third book (something I seem to be doing a lot lately with related books I’ve read out of order).
All three of Ruiz’s books feature well-developed characters and intriguing storytelling that meshes personal dilemmas with growth on the way to satisfying HEAs. I suppose content warnings/trigger warnings apply to all three, with plot elements across the series that include coping with the aftermath of the death of a child, the aftermath of parental abuse (some physical and some emotional), teenagers and adults affected by divorce, adults affected by tension in a sibling relationship, and adults dealing with significant ADHD and OCD mental health issues. But these books didn’t feel problem-focused– all three are engaging romances with lots of humor along with the moments of angst. The first two are set largely in the world of superyacht cruises off the Florida coast, centering on crew members and best friends Jo and Nina, and the romance each enters with a chef from the yacht (Jo and Alex in the first book; Nina and Ollie (“don’t call me Oliver”) in the second book). The third book has a different location (not naming it since it’s a bit of spoiler for book 2) and includes appearances by Nina and Ollie in the story that features Ollie’s brother, Jack, and a new FMC, Raine.
Ruiz’s writing has become more engrossing in each book of the series. Book 2 effectively uses flashbacks to reveal the twisting path of Nina and Ollie’s relationship over a span of nine years, and book 3, as I said in a December WAYR, helps build deep understanding of what it’s like for people coping with neurodivergent conditions but primarily is a sweet, slow-burn romance. I’m not sure if Ruiz has a new book in the works but I look forward to reading more of her writing.
When Farah Heron’s JUST PLAYING HOUSE was featured this week in Books on Sale, I was intrigued by the description and the SBTB review… and discovered I’d already purchased it during a previous sale. For me, this read was closer to a B than an A rating. The premise held my attention, and I appreciated the insights gained about the experience of preventative mastectomy for those with the BRCA1 gene, but the storytelling seemed slow and repetitive at times. However, I own two other not-yet-read Heron ebooks, so more titles from this author will be moved up on my TBR list.
Also read JANUARY and FEBRUARY, the first two in a planned 12-book series by Nicole Pyland, who has self-published more than 50 F/F romances since 2017. I’ve read almost all of them (via Kindle Unlimited), but few of Pyland’s novels have “stuck” in my memory, and I frequently have trouble keeping track of the characters in her collections that revolve around a group of friends located in a specific city (Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, etc.) or connected by a theme (sports, celebrities, royalty, etc.). I suppose these books are palate cleaners for me– easy-to-absorb stories, usually with a satisfying amount of spice, that I’ll read when I want to take a break from more complex plots and characters. Pyland‘s writing style has a lot of telling rather than showing (including in sex scenes that emphasize the mechanics and say much less about the emotions), and I wish she would stop relying on “have gotten” as her go-to verb choice. It pulls me out of the story every time as I start thinking about possible replacement verbs.
Nevertheless, I’m confident I’ll read (eventually) the rest of this new, year-long, New Orleans-based series. And for anyone considering this author, I recommend the Royalty series—the “friend group” includes several 21st century European princesses who are coping with various challenges and machinations of being royal in our contemporary world, while also finding love.
I just finished Credence by Penelope Douglas. I loved all the plot but wasn’t into any of the (taboo) smut, so it averaged out to a 3/5 for me.
I just started Hardley Strangers by AC Robinson.
@FashionablyEvil — Oh, that’s a great tip! I’ll have to try that. Thanks for sharing.
So here I am at my desktop with a pile since I got post-blocked on my phoneby the Intel ad of death last time. So much frustration. Thanks for being on it SBSarah!
Got my coffee and a chocolate chip danish from Jarosch’s, let’s get started.
THE MIRROR is the second book in Nora Robert’s Lost Brides trilogy. Not going to talk about pacing, dialog, characterization, it’s all been said before, and this book is at the upper end of the curve. In a departure from her previous trilogies, book two stays in Sonya’s head instead of moving to the secondary characters of the first book. She does achieve a nice balance between fear of the ghost haunting her house and disdain for her. Come on book three!
THIS ORDINARY STARDUST: A Scientist’s Path From Grief To Wonder, by Alan Townsend. I need to start making a note about who in these posts recommends a book instead of just putting it on by reserve list. Thank you unnoted Bitchery member. I appreciate you. This will not be for everyone, but it should be. Explorations of grief are difficult to read. The author’s journey through two of the most awful experiences a person can have was beautiful and thought provoking, even at its most emotionally devastating.
On to Olivia Atwater, who has also been getting a lot of recs lately. HALF A SOUL and TEN THOUSAND STITCHES are historical fantasy of the low angst variety. And they are beautiful. The first is the story of Dora, who is Fairie cursed and Elias, the least liked man in England. With half her soul gone, Dora finds navigating society without causing a scandal or at least an unfortunate incident difficult. She does not feel caution or embarrassment or shame. Those parts of her are locked away in Fairie. Enter the Lord Sorcier of England whose discomfort with his acquired title and high society as a whole make him quite the curmudgeon. Of course, Elias feels he should help her reunite her soul and protect her from the Fairie who took it. The beautiful part is them realizing that Dora, as she is, is perfectly whole. Yes, there’s a message there. All good fairy tales have a message.
TEN THOUSAND STITCHES is a very timely retelling of Cinderella, without the princess falling on hard times motif. Effie has always been a maid. An irritable, angry maid who one day encounters a Fairie. Lord Blackthorn is on a mission to better himself by helping others. He and Effie strike a bargain. She has one hundred and one days to marry her employer’s youngest brother, with whom she believes she is in love, or she must return to Fairie with Lord Blackthorn as his maid. Forever. Effie knows better than to bargain with the Fae, but to pass on this chance to be more than a faceless, nameless servant? Sometimes a girl has to take a chance, and unknown to Effie, she’s having a bigger effect on the household than she dreams. And sometimes true love is a dog.
Both of these are beautifully written. They pull your heartstrings and have you cheering for the characters. They touch on emotions and inner demons that we’ve all experienced and treats them with care. I am so looking forward to what comes next from Atwater.
And next, because the GBPL is giving me all my historical fantasy reserves at one time, THE ORNITHOLOGIST’S FIELD GUIDE TO LOVE from India Holton. It’s a rivals to partners to lovers story set in the high stakes world of…. ornithology. Caught up in a contest to find and retrieve a rare magical bird sited in England, rivals Oxford professor Beth Pickering and Yale (but is really a university?) educated Cambridge Professor Devon Lockley find themselves working together. Their colleagues a wily and dangerous, someone is following them and all is not as it seems with this contest. All in all a clever, fast paced and charming road adventure read with lots of forced proximity. Also, surprisingly, a little spicy. Best book in a month of really good reading.
Hi, everyone, I feel like I haven’t been reading as much recently, maybe in part because of just how the world at large feels. Thanks for continuing to be a safe space here–I so appreciate that.
Anyway, since last time:
I really enjoyed Jennifer Bernard’s WIND VALLEY, the latest in her Firelight Ridge small-town Alaska romantic suspense series.
Maryann Jordan’s LANDON, the latest in her Lighthouse Security Investigations Montana series, is also excellent romantic suspense.
Also picked up Cynthia Eden’s Holding Out for a Holiday Hero, romantic suspense with a completely different vibe–made me laugh, as she always does!
And finally got to Annabeth Albert’s FEATHERBED and Leslie McAdam’s UNDONE, part of the Vino and Veritas series in Sarina Bowen’s True North universe. Enjoyed them both.
Can’t wait to see what you’re all reading…
@PamG, thank you for sharing your thoughts–some of those are on my TBR.
Sending hugs, @FashionablyEvil–I’m so sorry, and just continue to pray and do what I can to help these days.
@Sarah, hope you’ll be feeling better soon, and find lots to read in the meantime.
I’ve been reading a lot of reddit. A lot of reddit. I’m prepping my finances for retirement and had to google the difference between a particular mutual fund and etf, and a reddit post popped up as the top match. I liked the info I received, so I dug deeper into the finance subs, reaping references to various tools (I love a good retirement calculator!) and guides. But the honeymoon period wore off just about the same time the markets dipped a couple of weeks ago, at which point I discovered that men mansplain to other men (or to a gender-undefined audience) just as obnoxiously as they mansplain to women. I had always interpreted mansplaining as a chauvinistic act. Turns out it’s just the default setting for some guys, and on a public forum, those guys unfortunately outnumber the experts who have something relevant to say.
I’ve also been stalking r/romancebooks and…woah. This has helped me appreciate how much Kindle Unlimited is part of the romance reading ecosystem. Plus, I learned that if someone strings two GenZ slang terms together in a sentence, there’s an 80% chance I won’t be able to decode it using context clues. Google to the rescue again.
books
MISDIRECTED by Lucy Parker is an Audible original that I debated over purchasing for ~5 minutes because I can’t approve of Amazon’s getting away with acting like a monopoly, but I am weak for Parker. Was it worth the sacrifice of my integrity? Enh…the protagonists are fun, the banter is top-notch, the romance is believable, but I tripped hard over two elements:
1) the protagonists are actors in a period drama, but unlike every other Parker performance protagonist, the FMC didn’t choose this career and pursue the craft. She went from a PA job with no performance experience to this ensemble cast. And she’s very unhappy, but loathe to quit because of the money. I was going to say this isn’t relatable, but if you shift her job to “CPA,” sure. I can sympathize. It just feels very privileged to complain about feeling trapped when she has a job so many other fictional characters (hi, Lainie!) would consider their dream.
2) The narrative includes a lot of snark about evil corporations, If this were more targeted to a corporation that looked like Amazon, I would call it sly and applaud (remember David Letterman poking at General Electric?). But since the target is generic corporate evil, it just comes across as rather hypocritical given the publishing arrangement for this book.
YOU, WITH A VIEW by Jessica Joyce didn’t hit the spot for me either. There’s a lot going on in this book, and some of it snapped together too neatly while some of it was left dangling. Other than finding the odes to photography a little pretentious, I couldn’t put my finger on what wasn’t working for me…until I read the book listed below. My problem with YWAV is that all of the threads didn’t serve the romance. Maybe it’s borderline women’s fiction (or actual women’s fiction…what do I know about genre?), but I got told a lot of insightful stuff rather than being led to discover the insightful stuff for myself by exploring the protagonists’ relationship. To be fair: one insight that was heavily told but worked well for me because the telling was a combination of epistolary communication/first-hand history was the story of their respective grandparents’ broken romance. I walked away from this book with the warm fuzzies because it did a beautiful job of illustrating that a failed love affair doesn’t have to lead to bitterness AND it’s possible to have more than one great love in your lifetime.
FAN SERVICE by Rosie Danan – A washed-up actor who had the lead role of a werewolf in a long-running paranormal tv series suddenly finds himself transforming into a werewolf for real and reaches out to the admin of a popular fandom wiki for help. Too bad he had unknowingly insulted this fan at a convention in the distant past. There’s a lot going on in this book and every bit of it serves the protagonists’ romance. Danan deftly weaves tropes and trends into her plot without making it feel like a checklist. So much fun.
I’m currently reading The Kings Messenger by susanna Kearsley. I’m absolutely savouring this. Every POV is excellent and I just don’t want to rush it. It’s been a long time since I’ve read such a wonderful book.
I bought the Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal for my next read. I haven’t read any Jodi Taylor series before so I hope I won’t be missing anything by starting here. It looks like her Chronicles and Time Police series are right up my alley.
I’ve been reading a lot to avoid doomscrolling. Also, while doing chores, I’m listening to SPINDLE’S END by Robin McKinley. It’s a Sleeping Beauty retelling that’s really comforting and focused on nature and community. Exactly the slowness I need right now, and the narrator’s voice is great.
Reading BODIES FROM THE LIBRARY, editor Tony Medawar. It’s short mysteries from the Golden Age. I like short stories because I can read them in between novels for a break. I love Golden Age mysteries, and it has been fun to discover some new-to-me writers. I can look up their other works after I’m done with this.
Finished THE JOURNAL OF A THOUSAND YEARS, the last in the Glass Library series by CJ Archer. You can’t start here, because the story builds over the series, and I have to be vague not to spoil things. It’s a mystery about magicians who have a specialty, like strengthening leather or ink, and the parentage of the FMC and the people trying to kidnap the MMC. I like the series, and I think this was a good ending. Although the reintroduction of a character felt abrupt at the end. Maybe it’s a setup for a spinoff?
Also finished WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN, by Stephanie Burgis, which I mentioned on this site’s review. I really like the strong female friendships, the mutual respect in the romance, and some general silliness. It was a lot of fun, even though there’s trauma to overcome, and I highly recommend it.
Reread THE EDGE, by Dick Francis. A racing investigator goes undercover on “The Canadian Racing Mystery Train” as it travels across the country. You know who the bad guy is — the mystery is what is he going to do and can the MMC stop him in time? I like Dick Francis’s horse-racing mysteries as they’re more about the people and atmosphere. Sometimes I want to immerse myself in a completely different world — like horse racing.
I’ve been reading THE SIX, by Loren Grush, young reader’s edition, with my kids. It’s about America’s first female astronauts and we have been learning a lot about the struggles the women had to go through, along with their amazing accomplishments. I really recommend it, because it’s keeping these preteens’ attention.
Next books that I want to read:
THE QUEEN’S SPADE, by Sarah Raughley. “The Count of Monte Cristo” meets “Bridgerton.”
HAMMAJANG LUCK, by Makana Yamamoto. “One last heist” but cyberpunk and Asian.
THE LAST HOUR BETWEEN WORLDS, by Melissa Caruso. Sci-fi locked-room mystery.
I bounced off so so many things I was sure I would love, so I am thrilled to report there were three excellent books too.
They are also all things I would have been shocked if I disliked, but then that did keep happening. One never knows!
I really adored the latest Katherine Addison (aka Sarah Monette) THE TOMB OF DRAGONS. It did some unexpected things as regards romance, and I am not sure how I feel about it, busily reorganizing my head canon. But the books are not and never have been romances as such, so however absorbing that aspect always is to me, the bulk of the story is exactly what I wanted and expected and wow do I adore a queer fantasy detective series. Read in order for sure, and although the Celehar books are very different from THE GOBLIN EMPEROR in vibe, idk how much sense they would make without it too so I’d count that as the first of them.
I also read A THEORY OF HAUNTING by the same author. This is the far edge of scary as far as I am concerned, but much like with T Kingfisher I am willing to suffer a little when I have faith in the author’s… idk the exact word I want, but something like decency. This book is like a fixit for Lovecraft/REH/30s pulp necromancy stories. Tragically short, deeply satisfying.
THE TENANTS OF 7C is the start of a series by Alice Degan better known to me as AJ Demas. It is alas the only one my library has acquired. Contemporary paranormal which is a thing I love albeit not generally as much as historical – and her alt-ancient Mediterranean is everything I didn’t know I needed even without magic, so whichever way I’m happy. Too short for my tastes but I know plenty of people who need that.
I was also happy tho not ecstatic with CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson. It is darker than I tend towards these days, more on the misery porn end of the spectrum than the cozy detective, but I have bounced off a lot of cozy detectives of late so this worked. It feels a little more literary mainstream than detective genre fiction, which would not be my preference if anyone had asked me, but it’s not unbearably pretentious. A little snide humor goes a long way with me, already have a hold on the next one.
Taylor Fitzpatrick has me entirely hooked on her AO3 updates, and the news that there will be a new KJ Charles in May is absolutely life giving.
Huge, huge reading slump over here. All the things are making it really hard for me to focus on a book so I’ve been watching endless episodes of The Repair Shop (full episodes on their YouTube channel!). I did manage to finish THE CURE FOR WOMEN about Mary Putman Jacobi by Lydia Reeder—almost certainly found out about it here given that’s where I get a huge percentage of my book info. It was really well done. Chilling to see the parallels with male attitudes to women in the 1800s and now but also gave me hope. Planning on starting THE BLUESTOCKINGS (another rec from here) and I’m excited about MY BODY IS NOT A PRAYER REQUEST by Amy Kenny about disability in the Christian church context. Definitely feeling that I should crack open SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR THE SENSITIVE SOUL by Dorcas Cheng-Tozun that just came in for me. I’ve got EARL’S CRUSH on loan from Libby and hope to manage to read it, EMILY WILDE is on hold. My teen read WATER MOON (another SBTB rec) and liked it a lot. Funny that I’m doing better with non-fiction than fiction at the moment given how rough non-fiction life is but i wonder if immersing myself in fake worlds is not working because I can’t fully forget the moment we’re in. The Repair Shop is less demanding and is also hopeful and sweet.
@editchief I did the same thing with Last Call at the Local, read the series backwards!
I am currently reading The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton, impatiently waiting for the action to kick in… (Mickey7 was *fabulous*!)
I just read The Last Guy on Earth by Sarina Bowen and The Off Limits Rule and The Temporary Roomie, both my Sarah Adams.
Somehow, I went from slogging through books over the last year and a half to reading three at a time this week.
The current read on my TBR is The Gift, by Julie Garwood. It’s my first time reading one of her books. I keep going back and forth on how I feel about Sarah as a heroine.
My second read is the novelization of the live-action version 2017’s Beauty and the Beast. Actually, I’m re-reading it twice in a row. It’s an easy read. I love both versions and have been watching them when they’ve aired on Freeform. (Especially since a power outage took out both my TV and Blu-ray player last month.) Both versions have kept me sane these past three months.
And for whatever reason, I just picked up and started re-reading Romancing Mr. Bridgerton yesterday. The last two novels in the series and Queen Charlotte are coming up soon on my TBR list. (And I guess anything to keep me from re-reading my Tessa Dare/break in case of emergency books for a third time.)
(Please forgive any typos, I work on a tablet now. I usually worked on computer before, and am not used to using mobil devices, not even a cellphone.)
I was a reading a couple of books last week but then I saw Anora for the first time and that ending… WOW. Apparently there’s some debate over whether it’s a hopeful or a bleak ending. I firmly believe it’s the former, a moment of genuine human connection. Anyway, I spent the rest of the week reading all the Anora fics on AO3.
Over the past two weeks ~
— After reading Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, I requested from my library more Liaden world books that featured the main character, Theo Waitley. While waiting for those to arrive, I read Local Custom and Scout’s Progress which are also part of the Liaden world. This was a fortunate choice as the second of those books featured a character that played a big role in Theo’s stories. I then read Saltation, Ghost Ship,and Conflict of Honors. I’ve enjoyed all of these science fiction books and plan to read more.
— very much enjoyed a reread of the science fiction romance Bone Rider by J. Fally; this book has a lot of violence but also tenderness.
— For my book group, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. This book was depressing; the author has a true gift for description to the point that I’m left feeling that I never wish to visit India. As I read this, I realized that I had read the book previously (perhaps with a different book group when it was new back in the late nineties) though I could not remember the outcome.
— On a more pleasurable note, I enjoyed another science fiction book in the Liaden universe ~ Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Also enjoyed a two story collection set in the Liaden universe, Sleeping with the Enemy.
— read the very first science fiction novel in the Liaden Universe, Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller which I acquired back in 2014. I’m enjoying the books in the series and will happily read on, but I don’t think that these will be rereads for me.
— enjoyed the fantasy novella, How to (Not) Train a Firecat by R. Cooper which features a love story between two men.
I read Funny Story by Emily Henry last weekend. Renewed my membership in the Bad Decisions book club while I was reading. It has some of my favorite tropes, small town, librarian FMC and a fake dating relationship to spite the exes.
I was going to start The King’s Messenger, because Susanna Kearsley is a favorite author and I’d been looking forward to this but. Then, I decided to relisten to both The Winter Sea and The Firebird, to get myself in the mood. Both have good narrators and it was nice to revisit the characters. I was surprised to discover that there was a third book about the Jacobites, called The Vanished Days that involves some of the characters that were introduced in the Winter Sea. It turns out that I had bought it and forgotten about it, so I decided to read that before I start the King’s Messenger.
I took a short break from the Jacobites to read No More Spies by Lexi Blake. The main characters are the adult children of characters introduced in Blake’s Master and Mercenaries series. If you can suspend disbelief that these children are adults now (20s and 30s) and are having adult relationships and problems, it is a fun read. The FMC is one of Ian and Charlotte Taggart’s twin daughters and the MMC is the baby adopted by Alex and Eve McKay in one of the early books. Plus she has other characters from the prior series pop in and out.
Hoping to resume The Vanished Days tonight and finish it this weekend, so I can start The King’s Messenger next week.
I’ve been working my way through a boxed set of the first three books in Lauren Dane’s “Goddess with a Blade” series (thanks, library), and I don’t know why I keep reading when I’m not really liking or enjoying them at all. I know these have been mentioned here before, but I’m finding that Dane’s style tends to rush through parts and leave things out when it comes to the plot, so it feels like I’m missing entire scenes in the story. The first book was published waaaay back in 2011 as one of Carina Press’ first batch and it shows; it feels dated and like the editor just phoned it in on a debut author’s work. The plot holes are glaring. The characters are generally underdeveloped across the board. It’s like reading a first draft, rather than a finished, edited work.
Finished THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern and really loved it, although I felt terribly sorry for Celia with all the abuse she goes through and while the ending was bittersweet SPOILER
Currently rereading MAD FOR THE PLAID by Karen Hawkins to decide whether it’s a keeper. Trying to cull the herd here.
I read some really great books this month! Didn’t post in the first March WAYR, so here’s the best of my March reads.
I inhaled the entire Breakaway Series by E.L. Massey – YA/NA queer hockey romance series of 4 books. Free From Falling (m/f) is the 4th book and my very favorite, with Like Real People Do (m/m) (first book) coming in second. They were all well written and emotionally satisfying. Even though I keep saying I’m done with hockey romances because they all blend in together, especially the NHL ones, these really worked for me (even the one with the intense playoff season and the coming out plot)
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess – SF queer romance
4.5 stars – Really enjoyed this queer SF adventure / romance about unlikely heroes investigating weird things happening in a Wyoming small town. It has the feel of classic SF movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, although it’s set in the near future or an alt version of our time. The narrator is a sarcastic pie blogger who witnesses what looks like an alien spaceship exploding over their town and thing get weirder from there. Highly recommended. Just don’t read the spoiler-y 2nd paragraph of the blurb.
Twice-Spent Comet by Ziggy Schutz – SF
4.25 stars. Galactic space mermaids! What else can I say? Engrossing, well written queer / trans space opera and pretty much a master class in what a good novella can do.
Thanks to whoever mentioned Lost Things by Jo Graham and Melissa Scott. I really loved this Indiana Jones-esque adventure book set in the 1920s.
44 books and counting…the mission continues.
DANIEL CABOT PUTS DOWN ROOTS by CAT SEBASTIAN is my most recent five-star read. M/M, recent historic (1970s). I read Ms Sebastian for pure comfort and she never disappoints. This is the story of prickly, neurodiverse Alex and golden retriever Daniel, finding their way to a meaningful life together in 1970s New York. And it’s an absolute joy.
I also enjoyed THE EARL MEETS HIS MATCH by TJ ALEXANDER. Queer historical, marketed in the US as A GENTLEMAN’S GENTLEMAN. Not sure why the different titles were needed but you guys got a better cover!
Slightly scatterbrained Lord Eden is very private but finds himself in need of a valet. Enter the very buttoned-up James Harding. A delightful and tender story.
Mary Balogh’s F/M historicals are also constant companions at the moment. THE SIMPLY QUARTET are of a very high standard: featuring four lady schoolteachers finding their HEAs with various titled (and persistent) gentlemen. Four and five stars all of them.
Happy reading, all.
When New Zealander Keri Hulme won the Booker Prize for THE BONE PEOPLE in 1985 I was at a stage in my life when I read the book that won every year, and THE BONE PEOPLE blew me away, becoming one of my favourite books. I used to re-read it every few years. It’s been a while since I picked it up–at least a decade–and I assumed I’d lost my connection to it because I’m SO much less interested in reading mainstream award-winning books these years. However, my library picked up the just-released audiobook, and I thought I’d try it. I was immediately hooked again. Despite the (WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!) horrific child abuse depicted in the story, Maori culture lost to colonialism, self- (and other-) destructive tendencies of the characters, there’s something so life-affirming in it. You have to be in a strong space to read it, though I have to say I’m really not in that space right now I still loved this re-read and this book. It’s tough and gorgeous. The audiobook also has some lovely music.
Really enjoyed THE KING’S MESSENGER, especially how (most) of the characters were simply people who wanted to do what they saw as the right thing.
Also really enjoyed Sylvia Cathrall’s A LETTER TO THE LUMINOUS DEEP. Such a lovely fantasy, though at times I wasn’t 100% sure what was going on. I loved the friendships and families here and the format (letters!) was enjoyable and actually worked for me. Looking forward to the second book in the duology coming in about six weeks.
Really loved Amal El-Mohtar’s fantasy novella THE RIVER HAS ROOTS, a lovely and different faery-based re-telling of The Two Sisters ballad. A pleasure to read. More lovely music on audiobook!
Thought I’m not a horror fan, A.G. Slatter’s books work for me. THE CRIMSON ROAD is a complicated Gothic tale set in Slatter’s Sourdough world where a young woman has been raised as a hero to rescue her world from vampires escaping from the part of the world they’ve been walled into. She’s most reluctant. It’s a delightful world and she’s a delightful heroine.
Liked Alexandra Kiley’s contemporary f/m romance SCOT AND BOTHERED, which is much less silly than its title, which almost put me off reading it. Then I remembered how much I liked her debut, KILT TRIP, despite its equally silly title. She gets so much of the magic of Scotland and balances a serious romance with travel and character development. Here a ghost writer agrees to co-write her mentor’s memoirs and finds herself traveling a remote, rugged trail on Skye with the man who ruined her academic career, who is the mentor’s nephew and is there for photograph the trip. You can see those views and feel that travel.
Debbie Johnson’s STATISTICALLY SPEAKING is mostly a women’s/mainstream story about a women who had to give up a daughter in her teens and 18 years later wants desperately to find her. She had a terrible childhood herself and has isolated herself, throwing herself into her teaching job. Gradually life forces her to start letting people in, including a lovely golden-retriever-type PE teacher in her school.
Likewise, I enjoyed Riss M. Neilson’s m/f contemporary A LOVE LIKE THE SUN. I did get annoyed with how often the FMC declared how she couldn’t possibly let her best (male) friend know she had fallen for him as it would ruin their friendship, especially if he didn’t reciprocate when the author made it so clear he did. However, their relationship and their lives did keep me interested so I let myself gloss over the repetition.
Like PamG I also read Sarina Bowen’s m/m hockey romance THE LAST GUY ON EARTH and liked it. There’s something about the feeling that Bowen is able to invoke in almost all her books that warms my heart. I don’t know how else to describe it.
The setting is what sticks with me most about Kell Woods’ fantasy UPON A STARLIT TIDE, set in Saint-Malo, Brittany, in 1758. There’s a lot going on here, with the fae retreating from the world and a friendly smuggler who teaches the FMC to sail and her love of the sea and her escapes from her stifling world in wealthy-merchant society, and her sisters…. If you like historical fantasy I recommend this one, too.
I have had a really great reading year so far – I hope it continues. I look forward to reading everyone’s recs.
MAYBE THIS TIME by Jennifer Crusie has been on my TBR for a long time and I finally got around to it – definitely worth the wait! While there is a lovely romance, it is definitely in the background. This is a story of family (those you love by choice as well as those you are connected to by blood) as well as a paranormal mystery. I enjoyed Andie Miller, our FMC, who strode into a tough situation and through sheer determination began righting wrongs, taking names, and becoming a safe port in a paranormal storm for two children who desperately need someone who puts them first. I enjoyed this one.
WILD RIDE by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer is indeed a bit of a wild ride – it is also a bit of a hot mess, but it worked for me. There is a LOT going on in this one, but I felt the authors did a good job of not just dropping the reader in the middle of the mess, but slowly building it up (as it builds up around the characters, of which there are quite a few) until I was good and hooked. I read this in one sitting and it was a lot of (absurd) fun.
TIMBERWOLF LODGE SERIES by Vivian Arend (THE ALPHA OPTION, THE ENFORCER’S GAMBLE, and THE OMEGA’S PRIZE) was a cute series featuring three women who win a lodge in a lottery provided they can fix it up and have a viable business within a year. Of course, things aren’t quite that easy – they have no idea the paranormal world exists or that the lodge used to be a favorite among werewolves. Antics ensue as each of the women find love within the local pack.
THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN by Sarah M Eden was a pleasant surprise. I burned myself out on historical romance years ago, but every once in a while I get the impulse to revisit the genre. This book features two MCs who write penny dreadfuls (and both of their latest stories are told between chapters which was a lot of fun) for different reasons. I appreciated the strong characters (main and secondary), the real life stakes that had potentially serious consequences, and the banter. I look forward to reading more from this series.
STORY OF MY LIFE by Lucy Score is a delight! FMC Hazel starts the story in a pretty bleak state – she has been wallowing in the wake of some major life curve balls and is on the verge of losing the career she loves. She does lose her current home and, on a whim, buys a house in a small town (as one does) in the hopes of jump starting her writing muse. While the first few chapters show a woman on the verge of going under, Hazel is a character I found it easy to root for. Once she (and her BFF Zoey) start the move to her new home, the humor starts flowing. I laughed out loud more than once. The town is populated with a lot of unique (mostly in a good way) characters which allows for some fairly zany situations. This won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I found it to be a lot of fun.
GIVE ME BUTTERFLIES by Jillian Meadows is a top-notch contemporary romance with two MCs who are relatable and easy to root for. Millie is an entomologist with a gaslighting ex who is fighting to reclaim her sense of self. Finn is dealing with the grief of losing his sister while raising her two daughters with the love his self-absorbed parents never game him. There is so much to love about this book – characters who are mature and self-aware (usually), great secondary characters, clear communication between the MCs and a gorgeous, moving love story. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel – it is so well-written. Highly recommended!
GRAVE SITUATION by Louis Masters started its life as a Patreon serial which can be felt at times (some situations are drawn out longer than preferred leading to a book that could be trimmed by a 100 or more pages without losing any plot). I adored the snark and banter between the small group entrusted with saving the world but felt the overall explanation of why the baddie had engineered the entire situation was ridiculous. A well built world, I would be happy to revisit but hopefully in a more tightly written tale.
Not too much to report since the last WAYR.
Excellent:
None
Very Good:
WHY MERMAIDS SING by C.S. Harris (Historical Mystery – Sebastian St. Cyr #3): Although the murders are more grisly than what I normally read, I powered through to enjoy the intricate plotting and development of the recurring characters even if the latest twist was super soapy.
Good:
CARRY ON by Celia Lake (M/F, Historical Fantasy Romance, Mysterious Powers #1): Set in the parallel fantasy world (where magic exists) of Albion during World War I, this is a super slow and gentle romance between a nurse and patient. But the “bug” is the feature in this case, because the slowness and gentleness was super comforting. There was also a bit of a non-murder mystery to solve. I plan to read the next in the series.
Meh:
MURDER BY DEGREES by Ritu Mukerji (Historical Mystery): Set in post-Civil War Philadelphia, this one had a lot of potential (woman doctor! Class issues!), but unfortunately fell flat. There was too much dumped into the book and some of the plot “twists” were repeatedly telegraphed many chapters in advance. And the plot – beyond crazy – not in a good way! This was the March pick for my mystery book club.
The Bad:
None
@Carrie I had higher (no pun) hopes for that book as well.
I had kind of forgotten about Susanna Kearsley until this podcast episode, but have added her back to my library list.
On the historical about history topic, I found GUILTY PLEASURES by Laura Lee Guhrke at my library, a book that’s been on my TBR for years based on the premise. I nearly dnf’ed after the first few pages but hung in and am enjoying it now at nearly halfway through.
@FashionablyEvil, @Jennifer Estep, I check out cookbooks from the library, and if there’s just a few recipes I really want to keep, I photocopy them. I really don’t want a tablet or laptop in the kitchen with the cooking mess, and I need it on paper so I can add notes about recipe tweaks I made. My pandemic project was to organize all those recipes, plus handwritten ones, recipes from the internet, and newspaper clippings, and put them all in page protectors and 3-ring binders. The system works great.
I’ve mostly been bouncing off fiction lately, so this will be mostly non-fiction.
Last time I mentioned starting both a historical & a contemporary mystery series by Xiaolong Qiu. Unfortunately I gave up on both due to the salacious focus on the sex life of the poet/courtesan suspect in the previous (2nd for me) historical mystery. It seemed like a continuation of the oppressive male gaze in the 1st contemporary mystery, and I just can’t support that. Disappointing, because both the 1990s China and Tang Dynasty China settings were really interesting.
Stayed up way too late reading ALL I WANT IS YOU by Falon Ballard, but was ultimately a bit disappointed. For me at least, it had the same problem as Make the Season Bright (which I also read recently). Both are 2nd chance romances in which 1 MC dumped the other years ago and they are forced back into contact by circumstance. In both cases, I felt the dumper explained their actions without sufficient apology, and the MC who had been dumped not only recognized their role in the breakup, but accepted far too much responsibility for it. I did really like the grand gesture in ALL I WANT IS YOU.
OUT OF THE DROWNING DEEP by A.C. Wise is hard to describe. It’s a mystery novella set in a space pan religious gathering place/building. The sentient ancient automaton in charge of the place works with an angel and a detective to try to solve a mystery before some horrifying murder nuns can apply their own version of justice. I really enjoyed this and wanted to spend more time with the characters.
THE SUSTAINABILITY CLASS: HOW TO TAKE BACK OUR FUTURE FROM LIFESTYLE ENVIRONMENTALISTS by Vijay Kolinjivadi and Aaron Vasintjan was interesting and inspiring. They discuss corporate greenwashing and how focusing on individual action to fight climate change and other environmental destruction accomplishes little except to distract us from the sort of systemic change really required. Highly recommend.
THE GREEN AGES: MEDIEVAL INNOVATIONS IN SUSTAINABILITY by Annette Kehnel reviews different ways of using/managing resources in pre-modern Europe. Lots of stuff here you may never have heard about before. She’s careful not to idealize the past or suggest going back to it, instead suggesting that it can help us consider alternatives and get past the idea that our current global capitalist system is the only option.
THE SEXUAL EVOLUTION HOW 500 MILLION YEARS OF SEX, GENDER AND MATING SHAPE MODERN RELATIONSHIPS by Nathan Lents is outstanding. He’s a biologist and reviews the evidence across a wide variety of species that sexual and gender diversity are the norm. Lots of fascinating stuff here, and the writing style not at all dull or dry.
I’ve been trying to finish the books I have checked out on KU so I can cancel it, but whenever I get close, I find something new to read. This week it was WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN by Stephanie Burgis which was a delightful read. There is trauma in the MCs backstories, but very little on the page. Very cozy. And I’m working my way through Miranda Spencer’s ACADEMY OF LOVE series. Some are better than others, but I’m reading all of them because I love the cast of characters. My favorite so far is DANCING WITH LOVE, which is an MOC.
I also read NO ORDINARY DUCHESS by Elizabeth Hoyt. I enjoyed it, but it’s not in the top half dozen of my favorite Hoyt novels. That being said, I love her books and will continue to read every single one of them. And this Greycourt series has some real kickass heroines. Literally.
I’m still mainlining Ariana Fraser and Zoey Draven books while I have the Kindle Unlimited subscription. I’m not renewing, so I have a few more days before the books disappear from my library. I’m glad I tried out the service but am also glad to cut-off another subscription. I overall enjoyed the Horde King series and the Kylorr Brides.
Almost DNFed THE JEWEL OF THE ISLE by Kerry Rea and CANADIAN BOYFRIEND by Jenny Holiday. I just sped up the reading speed of the audiobooks to get through them. The male reader in JEWEL sounded like a surferboy version of Rod Serling to me. Overall, both books seemed more like fiction than romance, except JEWEL had more hijinks.
(note: I tried to post yesterday, but I’m assuming it got caught in the aether. Dividing into two parts in case the issue was length.)
Part 1
Happy Spring everyone! Hopefully I got the tags in the right spot.
The Pretty Dang Good
A DANGEROUS KIND OF LADY (LONGHOPE ABBEY BOOK 1) and A WICKED KIND OF HUSBAND (LONGHOPE ABBEY BOOK 2) by Mia Vincy. (Kindle Unlimited) Regency romances with lots of witty banter. Book 1 has a fake engagement trope, while book 2 has a marriage of convenience. Let’s let the heroine of book 1 say something about herself:
And her opinion of the hero when their plan is going awry:
Since I’ve given you quotes from book 1, let’s also introduce the characters from book 2 with a snippet of our main characters’ first conversation:
Spoiler text for a content warning on book 2:
YOU, AGAIN: A NOVEL by Kate Goldbeck. I enjoyed this “When Harry Met Sally” inspired novel, but I didn’t find it a relaxing read, which I think because the main characters are both going through tough times and making bad decisions for large portions of the book. (Bad is relative here, it’s more that they are both struggling with something that looks a lot like depression and doing the best they can under the circumstances for a large part of the book.)
THE KINSMEN UNIVERSE by Ilona Andrews (collection of 3 short stories) and FATED BLADES by Ilona Andrews. (Fated Blades is Kindle Unlimited) These are awesome short space opera stories in a loosely connected universe.
SILVER BORNE (Mercy Thompson Book 5) by Patricia Briggs. I’ve been rereading this paranormal series about a shapeshifting coyote that was raised by werewolves. It’s more mystery than romance, but it is pretty good. It does get dark in places, so approach with caution if something like Law & Order: SVU bothers you.
A GENTLEMAN OF UNRELIABLE HONOR (The Lord Julian Mysteries #6) by Grace Burrowes. Lord Julian continues solving mysteries with the aid of his friends and family. I like this series, but I wouldn’t start here.
Part 2
The Interesting But…
THE IMPOSSIBLE JULIAN STRANDE: COMPLETE BOX SET by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. (Kindle Unlimited) First, I want to acknowledge that this book is absolutely not going to work for everyone, and the author is quite clear in the description that she enjoys writing books where villains get happy endings. So, if you were rooting for The Phantom of the Opera to get the girl, this book might work for you as a romance. Otherwise, I think it works as a horror story. And if at this point you are wondering what this book has going for it, well, there is a creepy labyrinthine house, the cute house owner who runs it as a museum, the sexy ghostly stage magician who haunts it, and the down on her luck female lead who just got a job as the house’s new live-in caretaker. She also loves animatronics and puzzles, and the house is full of both. Spoiler text for random thoughts.
BEAUTIFUL BEAST: An Age Gap Forced Proximity Mafia Romance (Mafia Legacy – Perfectly Imperfect Book 1) by Neva Altaj. (Kindle Unlimited). I have a weakness for Beauty and the Beast stories, and this one adds a mafia twist to the retelling, which really isn’t that big of a stretch. On the plus side: She’s a computer hacker who got into the wrong system and now has to make amends to a mob boss. On the minus side, there’s a lot of the kind of violence you’d expect from a mafia story. @wingednike, I think this one has a similar feel to Ariana Fraser’s MacTavish books.
The DNF…
THE SPY WHO GHOSTED ME by Jennifer Peel. (Kindle Unlimited) The cover is so cute, this must be romcom! There’s a spy and his ex-girlfriend who have to team up to stop bad guys! So much potential! I was really hoping for Scarecrow and Mrs. King vibes, but I think the author was more inspired by Grosse Pointe Blank. It’s dual POV, and every time we got to one of his chapters, I just couldn’t find that much self loathing funny right now, which is a real shame. There are enough positive reviews that it must work for others though.
@C I am a big Mia Vincy fan. She’s top of my ‘underrated histrom authors’ list.
I’m going to have to buy the Sarina Bowen, aren’t I? It’s been on my wishlist for ages, waiting for a price drop but the three recs here are testing my resolve. The Power of the Bitchery…
I forgot to mention I’m participating in the Trans Rights Readathon 2025 (3/21 – 3/31). I’m planning to read 2 or 3 books and donate to 2 trans organizations – one local and one national.
https://transrightsreadathon.carrd.co/
I’m 2/3rds of the way through What it Takes to Heal by Prentis Hemphill. And then I’m planning to read World Running Down by Al Hess (the author’s description says it’s like Mad Max but make it cozy and queer) and maybe something by Joshua Whitehead.
There’s a challenge page in StoryGraph that has a lot of recommendations for those that are interested.
Here’s a quick, off the top of my head list of romance authors that I believe are openly trans, non-binary, agender etc. (I put books they’re written with trans or n-b characters in parentheses)
Penny Aimes (For the Love of April French)
Aleks Voinov
Anna Zabo
Heidi Cullinan
Jay Northcote (Starting from Scratch)
Casey McQuiston
I cannot speak for everyone else, but it has been a weekend for trash takes for books. One book in particular. One very high-profile release. We’ll get there in a second.
Anyway, I oddly have more books than I did last go-round. Actually, since I took this past week off work, it might not be that odd (I read a lot and played a lot of Far Cry). Anyway, I started things with The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson. I liked the chemistry between the leads and a lot of the supporting cast, particularly the hero’s BFF and teammate. I did spend a lot of time mentally screaming “USE WORDS ALREADY” at both of the leads. I mean, I get the writerly reasons why they didn’t, because that would have nuked most of the plot, but nonetheless. Then I read Love Is a War Song by Danica Nava, which I really enjoyed. I liked the idea of this young pop star making a conscious effort to become more integrated into the family and culture that her mother denied her access to most of her life. I also liked that it delved into more serious issues, such as addiction in the Native American communities and the dangers of being disconnected to a person’s culture (the book starts off with her doing something very offensive to her own Native American community, and the fact that she actually didn’t know it was offensive doesn’t help her in public opinion). Then, because it was THAT TIME, I went all the way in on Sunrise On the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. This is the story of Haymitch and his Games, and boy does he go through it. It gives a sad, if incredibly understandable, explanation as to how he became the bitter drunk of the first book. There is some incredibly graphic stuff in here, and the death of a tribute with a close connection to a character we already know well literally caused me to put the reader down, close my eyes, and mutter “Jesus Christ”. Also, media literacy must be at an ALL-TIME low, because it has been a week/weekend of trash takes. Apparently some of the more, ah, conservative readers out there are bemoaning that the book is too political, and did they not read the other books? Honest question. My daughter is reading the first one right now, and when I told her about some of these takes, she just went “Huh?”. Which brings us to now, in which I broke the glass on The Woman In Suite 11 by Ruth Ware, because sometimes you have to go in on something that you know is going to be good, because after reading something like Sunrise, you’re risking a book hangover and don’t want to feel let down, and Ware nearly always works for me. This is apparently a long time coming sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10, and features the same heroine from that one. In this, she’s trying to break back into the journalism field after taking some time off after covid and babies, is finding it challenging, and receives the requisite mysterious invite to come check out and write about a new luxury hotel owned by a reclusive billionaire (honestly, I wish right now that more billionaires would embrace the recluse life, but that’s another conversation). I’m not too far in, but am enjoying it. So until next time, can’t speak for the rest of you, but the way I am going to be suspiciously eyeing cute little fuzzy animals for the rest of time.