Welcome to Whatcha Reading! This is where we talk about what we’ve been reading (duh!). Here’s how we’re kicking off May:
Lara: I picked up Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) when it was on sale recently. So far it’s ridiculous. An imaginary sister, a shipwreck and amnesia
But I’ve only just started so who knows what else lies in store. Looking forward to it!
Claudia: I’m reading Gabriela and His Grace by Liana de La Rosa. ( A | BN | K | AB )
Elyse: I’ve read almost nothing this year. When my anxiety is bad I can’t focus enough to read and it’s been a rollercoaster with everything going on in the world.
Sarah: I mentioned this on a podcast recording already, but I’m listening to Bruce Vilanch’s It Seemed like a Bad Idea at the Time ( A | BN | K | AB ) – which is all about the worst television in history and how he wrote a lot of it. It’s 50% incredible dish about how television and Hollywood used to run 30 years ago, and 50% behind the scenes details about why some shows are the way they are, like the Oscars. It’s terrific company while puttering.
I love a good puttering audiobook.
Shana: I just finished rereading Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert ( A | BN | K | AB ) and the purple dildo scene remains one of my favorite sex scenes of all time.
Now I’m reading Hen Fever by Olivia Waite and it’s SO good. I love a romance with low stakes drama, and two women disagreeing over raising fluffy chickens is perfect. Even though the heroines have a tragic backstory—the sister and the friend of someone who died in war—this book has such cozy cottage vibes.
Susan: Oooh, I have Hen Fever on my Kobo, I should get to that.
Instead, I’m reading The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada, ( A | BN | K | AB ) which is…definitely a book that I’m reading. It opens with a guy who switches between ruminating intensely on astrology and how his birth chart has affected his life, and his plan to murder his family, and it hasn’t really improved since
Lara: Dracula Daily started this week and I’m having such a good time reading along!
Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!
Archangel’s Ascension by Nalini Singh
I have THOUGHTS. So many thoughts. I used to read everything Nalini Singh wrote. She was one of my favorite authors. But eventually I found that both the Psy-Changling and Guild Hunter novels became less interesting. When I saw that after many years of teasing, Illium and Aodhan were finally going to get their own book, I caught myself up and waited with bated breath for Archangel’s Light. And I honestly loved Archangel’s Light, even though it was not a romance in the way Singh usually does romance. There was actually almost no romance at all, it was really about the history of Illium’s and Aodhan’s relationship and how they repaired their friendship in the present day while also helping the new Chinese Archangel. So there was clearly more story to tell. This book is the rest of that story.
The book starts by jumping ahead hundreds of years after the battle for New York to the moment Illium ascends. Recall that Illium almost died trying to ascend during the Cascade when he was far too young to survive. So logically, his ascension had to take place long after the Cascade. But after we find out he has ascended in chapter one, the book immediately leaps back in time to Illium’s return home to New York from China. The rest of the book leapfrogs back and forth in time as we find out how Illium and Aodhan become more secure in their romantic relationship and how they deal with Illium’s ascension.
I must say that I was very curious going into this book to see how Singh handled the physical aspect of their relationship since Archangel’s Light had a kiss that was about it. The answer is that Singh writes everything that isn’t kissing in the gauziest, vaguest language. I had to go back and re-read their first really intimate moment to make sure I was reading correctly between the lines. This is quite a contrast to Singh’s M/F romances, which are pretty explicit. I do wonder if Singh felt less comfortable writing intimate scenes between two men because I’m not sure if she has any M/M pairings in any of her other romances.
There’s not a lot driving this story, to be honest. There’s no big evil Archangel because Lijuin is dead. There’s no big battle. There’s no disease. There’s no existential crisis. In the post-Lijuin time frame, Aodhan is still trying to recover from being abused and Illium is trying to handle his abandonment issues. But these issues are overcome with surprising ease. In the present/future time frame, they are dealing with Illium’s ascension, but again there is no real adversary. Everyone is sad for Illium and Aodhan to be leaving, but everyone is also very supportive.
So what is there to keep you reading? It’s really just Illium and Aodhan, with some help from the cast of characters in New York that we’ve gotten to know very well in the previous 16 books. This is not a book you want to jump into without any context from the previous novels. Lots of folks make cameo appearances and others take bigger roles, including the Hummingbird, Raphael, Elena, and Dmitri.
I personally think that the book would have been stronger if Illium and Aodhan had spent more time on the page working through their physical relationship issues. These are two guys who have known each other for hundreds of years, but have never been physically intimate with each other. On top of that, Aodhan has some very specific trauma around touch and intimacy. But we only get hints about how they manage to work through these issues, even verbally, because Singh never goes into much detail. And again, you really have to wonder why. She certainly doesn’t shy away from characters dealing with trauma in her other books.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. Illium has always been a great character and Aodhan is a wonderful foil for him. This book is really one big warm bath featuring my favorite characters being nice to each other. By the end of the book, you do feel that these two are really right for each other and adore each other. For a romance novel, what more do you really need?
In the decade-plus I’ve been regularly posting to WAYR, I think this is first time I’ve ever only had one book to discuss. Several family events, along with a busy work schedule as the school year winds down, severely cut into my reading time. While I’m part-way through several books (including Jesse H. Reign’s THE LEGEND NEXT DOOR, which is oh-so-good thus far), I don’t like to write about a book until I’ve finished it. Luckily, the book I did finish was a great one: Jay Hogan’s THE MEANING OF US. It’s the start of a new m/m romantic-suspense series featuring forensic accountant Nick Fisher and rare-book restorer/conservator Madigan Church. It’s a nuanced story of two mature men (both MCs are in their fifties) negotiating grief, loss, friendship, and love while working together to solve a nefarious business involving Nick’s late husband, Davis. Hogan makes an interesting narrative choice at the start of THE MEANING OF US, showing us the car crash that left Davis in a persistent vegetative state from Davis’s point-of-view. 18 months later, Davis is still lingering in a care home, while Nick and members of Davis’s family wait for the inevitable. While visiting Davis, Nick encounters Madigan, whose aunt resides in the same care home as Davis. Nick & Madigan don’t take to each other right away: even without the specter of his comatose husband hanging over him, Nick is prickly and confrontational; Madigan meanwhile tends to be a loner with few friends. As he puts it, “Choosing to live a quieter life did not equate with being or feeling old. All it meant was that you liked living a quieter…life. I was that person at twenty-five and I was still that person [at fifty-five].” A series of unsettling events leads to Nick & Madigan growing closer—although not without angst, discomfort, and emotional distress. After Davis finally dies, Nick grieves all over again, and Madigan—as much as he might be attracted to Nick—knows he cannot pursue a man who will only break his heart. Hogan does a great job of showing the push-pull of attraction between the men. As the suspense is ratcheted up, each man must decide if he’s willing to risk his heart even as the bad guys close in. I should note that there is no sex in THE MEANING OF US. I don’t mean the book is closed-door or fade-to-black, I mean that—aside from some kissing and one scene that is a little more physically intimate—there is no sex in the book, and I think that works perfectly for the dynamic between the two men: a grieving widower not sure he’s ready to love again and a lonely man not willing to compromise his self-worth for one-sided love and companionship. THE MEANING OF YOU is a great start to a new series: highly recommended.
I can’t believe I wrote a whole post about the Jay Hogan book and kept using the wrong title! The book is called THE MEANING OF YOU. Lesson learned: don’t post before breakfast, lol.
I have read nothing excellent, nothing good, nothing disappointing that I wish I had known to adjust my expectations. Everything new I have tried has either been fine whatever no comment, or DNF because not for me.
Some sort of interesting non fiction about gardening and gay history (separate subjects, although would read the hell out of an book about both). Nonfiction is what I read when I am desperate and I personally am very disappointed whenever someone recommends it to me (it’s like salad, it might be good for me and I feel better if I have it fairly regularly and it’s not unpleasant exactly but there’s so. much. chewing. and it’s really only once in a very great while that I am like: I am so thrilled for salad and this one is superb!) but I know if I don’t include the titles someone is going to want them so:
GAY NEW YORK and WHEN BROOKLYN WAS QUEER were both a lot of fun. I mean, obviously plenty of harrowing stuff but that’s sort of why history is reassuring, that we’ve been here before and survived worse.
Stephen Scanniello is the rosarian at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and listen I am not even really a rose person (although Jude the Obscure is the best rose, indisputably) but his books are fascinating. A YEAR OF ROSES made me really glad I don’t have to ever tend a rose garden, but also happy that civilization exists and we are sufficiently specialized that someone else will want and be able to do these jobs. A ROSE BY ANY NAME is just the sort of niche specificity I find fascinating.
Dunno what I would do without KJ Charles, I am still looking for and not finding references to cricket as my latest excuse for rereading.
@kkw: you might try something by or about Vita Sackville-West. She created the beautiful gardens at Sissinghurst and, although married to a man, had affairs with women—some rather open and scandalous. She was protected somewhat by being a member of the English upper-class, but if gardens & gay history are your jam, Sackville-West’s life and creations wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Several books waiting in my TBR pile including THAT PRINCE IS MINE by Jayci Lee and THE LAST DAYS OF LILAH GOODLUCK by Kylie Scott.
Not a book, but I just finished THE RESIDENCE in Netflix, which was delightful. I totally want to silently stare someone down like Cordelia Cupp now. LOL. Although a few things about the plot are nagging at me, like … *spoiler alert* … what was wrong with the calligrapher?
Hey everybody!
Excited to do some reading this weekend. I have been too tired to really dig into anything new so far this week. However, I pulled up GRIM LOVELIES, and I am going to dive in!
Last week I really enjoyed NOT THAT RIDICULOUS by Isabel Murray, M/M contemporary. It was a really good character study of Charlie, and I really believed that Kevin was into him and they were both ready to fall in love. I also really enjoyed the way in which their respective strengths made each other’s lives better. It wasn’t that one of them was a billionaire and could sweep in and rescue the other on their private jet (which is sometimes satisfying), but a more realistic, “You have a house? I don’t, but I happen to love fixing houses!” Deeply satisfying. Like the Sesame Street clip where one guy has the smocks, one guy has the paper, one guy has the brushes, and one guy has the paint. Highly recommended!
Have a great weekend, and thanks for all the recommendations!
It’s been so long since I last posted, I feel like I need to remember everything I’ve read. Since that won’t happen, I’ll go backwards.
I took a dip back into historical romance. I just finished re-reading Lisa Kleypas’ WALLFLOWERS series and Sarah MacLean’s LOVE BY NUMBERS, RULES OF SCOUNDRELS, and the first two books of BAREKNUCKLE BASTARDS. The third book just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve come to realize second chance romances aren’t my cup of tea, mainly because I don’t enjoy flashbacks. I also read MacLean’s A SCOT IN THE DARK, the dog house cracks me up every time.
I also re-read CRY WOLF, by Patricia Briggs. This is a spin off from her Mercy Thompson series. I’ve always preferred this series to the main one. TW for rape and violent assault (off page but referenced often due to the FMC’s trauma being triggered as she navigates a new relationship and environment).
Rosie Danan’s FAN SERVICE was entertaining. The concept was fresh, though I found I had to suspend my disbelief pretty far. It’s got the female grump and male Labrador vibe.
I’ve been listening and thoroughly enjoying Ilona Andrews KATE DANIEL’S series in the Graphic Audio. I’ve made it through book 8 on Hoopla, now pondering buying the rest of the series so I can finish. Also for Graphic Audio, I’m listening to KF Breene’s LEVELING UP series. It’s totally quirky contemporary romance – the romance is slow burn over the series. I’m on book 3 and they are mostly pining, trying not to “ruin the friendship”. The book makes me laugh and snort will listening, but I also find myself pondering the premise of white divorced 40 year old who gets a magic house and power handed to her and doesn’t always have to work or learn hard to make the magic happen.
My favorite read of the last couple months was Cara Bastone’s PROMISE ME SUNSHINE. It’s an emotional doozy, but the grief was so deftly and lovingly handled. In Bastone’s books, I find myself so drawn to the everyday moments – making lunch in the kitchen, watching movies together, walking through NYC. Her books feel so grounded. This book and READY OR NOT have been two of my best reads in the last 6 months. READY OR NOT was a great audio book.
In an actual dip into non-fiction, which is not my forte, I started listening to THE SIREN’S CALL by Chris Hayes (msnbc host and author). It discusses the concept of attention and how our attention is made into a commodity and is fiercely sought by news, social media, advertising. I’m waiting for the audiobook hold to come back around to me, but the first 3 chapters were very informative and thought provoking. We give so much of our attention away without thought, and this book helps bring that to surface so we can be aware and maybe make changes.
My TBR includes a new Mariana Zapata THE THINGS WE WATER. Sadly, it’s only on Amazon, from which I’m not purchasing, so I’m waiting to see if it pops up in other spots.
I read two FANTASTIC books since the last WCR.
On Her Terms by Amy Spalding which is a novel about coming out in your 30’s. Finding community, friends, and (re)defining yourself on your on terms. There is also fake dating, created family, a wedding, and a smokin hot scene at the end.
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett is the latest Ana and Din novel. It starts out as a locked room mystery and spools out from there. It furthers the relationship between Ana and Din, provides a great mystery and wonderful world building and a satisfying ending. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end after you finish this wonderful novel.
Happy Reading, Yall!
Much of my early May reading was OK but not great, and several books had sports themes.
SHIFT THE TIDE, by Bryce Oakley, is part 2 of her “Latitude & Longing” series of F/F romances (available on Kindle Unlimited). Although this book can be read as a standalone, I think starting with the first book, ONE LAST RUN, is advisable. Both novels revolve around five women who were friends in college and are still involved in each other’s lives 15 years later. Instead of the ski vacation near Denver that launched book 1, the group meet-up this time happens at a beach house in San Diego. The romance plot for SHIFT THE TIDE involves Kiera (divorced from a cheating husband, now living at her parents’ house in Denver along with her two young kids, and feeling adrift) and Izzy, who lives in San Francisco but is spending lots of time in Denver since she’s now working at the non-profit organization started by their friend Pete (short for Petra) whose partner is Dani, another member of the five-friends group.
Kiera was a bit of a villain in the first book, responsible for some bad decisions that caused distress for Pete and Dani before their HEA. Kiera’s “rehabilitation” in this book wasn’t always convincing, and I didn’t feel like I got a full explanation of what was supposedly long-time mutual longing between Kiera and Izzy. I thought this novel was slow compared to the first book, but as in the first book, the group banter (including text message threads as well as in-person and phone conversations), as well as a complication late in the book involving the fifth member of the group, Maggie, provided credible examples of people who have a long, fond history with each other, and have remained friends through bad times and better times.
POLE POSITION, by Rebecca J. Caffrey, is an M/M romance set in the world of Formula 1 racing. I’m not a big fan of motorsports so I was curious about a new-to-me setting for a sports romance, from a new-to-me author. I considered DNFing several times, when the lack of communication between the MCs produced one unnecessary complication after another. But I did learn things about the athleticism required for motorsports (including a lot about workouts and other pre-race preparation), and the antagonists-to-lovers plot was OK overall, especially in the final third of the story.
I started another romance from a new-to-me author, featuring an unfamiliar sport– OAR THAN FRIENDS, by Lulu Moore, features rowing (and the book cost only 99 cents on Amazon). American FMC Kate Astley has just arrived at Cambridge University on a scholarship, studying medicine, when she runs into (literally) British MMC Arthur Osbourne-Cloud (also known as Oz, or Ozzy, and occasionally by his initials, AO-C), who is a member of the Oxford University crew, an Olympic medalist, and a classics student majoring in ancient Greek and Roman literature. The MCs experience insta-attraction, and then spend the first half of the book avoiding each other and pining for each other, although Oz does most of the initial pining in this “he falls first” storyline, while Kate is reluctant to get involved with someone from the rival school who has a reputation as a “player” with women on both school’s rowing teams.
Kate isn’t sure she wants to be pre-med; she’s doing it to honor her brother who died suddenly from a heart condition. Oz wants to be a teacher but knows his father, a British politician, doesn’t approve. And both Kate and Oz thrive when they are on the water, training or competing.
I put this book aside at about the halfway point, because it seemed dreadfully slow and repetitive (Oz wants Kate; Kate avoids Oz; they both attend their classes and their training sessions; repeat ad infinitum). I’ll go back and finish it at some point because I’m sure the ending will involve the all-important Boat Race between the universities, and I want to read the description of that sports event. Or maybe I’ll just skip to the end.
Instead, I turned to another British-set novel with a sports theme— and also a contemporary queer princess theme. THE PRINCESS MATCH, by Clare Lydon, is an F/F romance in which 33-year-old Princess Victoria, destined to be the next queen, falls for Ashleigh, the captain of the England women’s football (soccer) team. Lydon is one of my go-to authors, and I liked both MCs a lot as they worked to build and maintain their relationship, while also dealing with the challenges of their individual celebrity and the consequences of their combined celebrity. Plus, the book has plenty of the humor that is always part of a Lydon sapphic romance, and several good scenes with other members of the soccer team, both on and off the pitch.
Reading THE PRINCESS MATCH reminded me that Lydon wrote another other princess themed book, so I reread ONCE UPON A PRINCESS from 2018 (co-authored with Harper Bliss). The older story also featured a 33-year member of the British royal family, but Princess Olivia is the “spare” and not the queen-in-waiting, and the other MC, Rosie, is a non-celebrity commoner who owns a café in small town where Olivia is hiding out and trying to avoid thinking about the arranged marriage she’s agreed to, with a woman of suitable status.
Overall, the recent book was more enjoyable to me, but it was interesting in retrospect that the 2018 book posited a British royal family that had no problem with a lesbian princess getting married to another woman, whereas in the 2025 book the lesbian princess is closeted and spends a portion of the book dealing with the queen’s insistence on a (fake) engagement to a man. In both books, though, the Queen Mother character– described in a way that suggests the fashion sense associated with the late Elizabeth II– provides a progressive viewpoint and is the supportive grandmother for the MC princess as she deals with her dilemmas.
I have a couple of new books by favorite authors (Rachel Lynn Solomon & Meryl Wilsner) at the top of my TBR list, so I’m hoping for satisfying reading in the latter half of May.
This month’s WAYR is subtitled “Adventures in KU’s recommendation system” because I feel like I have been severely typecast and I need to escape. (You read a few billionaire/mafia romance books, and suddenly it’s all surprise babies.)
The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening: A New Zealand Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Naomi Kuttner (KU)
Not a romance, but recommended. Murder mystery with a retired assassin main character. He really wants to stay retired, but lately this has been more challenging than expected. Perhaps a short quote to get a feel for the style?
One for the Money: Billionaire Fake Relationship Romance (Hughes Book 1) by Skye Warren (KU)
Two for the Show (Hughes Book 2) by Skye Warren (KU)
Three to Get Ready (Hughes Book 3) by Skye Warren (KU)
This entry in the Midnight Dynasty shared universe follows Eva Morelli and Finn Hughes through a fake dating trope. It’s got all the angst, and it’s good but also low key depressing. I’ll put a few more details in the spoiler text.
Coldhearted King: A Billionaire Workplace Romance (Empty Kingdom Book 1) by L. M. Dalgleish (KU)
Reckless King: A Billionaire Fake Engagement Romance (Empty Kingdom Book 2) by L. M. Dalgleish (KU)
Do you like billionaires? Do you like third act break-ups? These were fine, but unless you already know that these tropes are your jam, these probably aren’t going change your mind. (I’ll admit that the masquerade vibe of the private sex club in Book 2 is giving me ideas , so, um, if anyone has some good follow-up suggestions, I’m listening.)
King of Envy (Kings of Sin Book 5) by Ana Huang (KU)
I’ll admit I’ve been curious about the hero in this book since we spent a little time with him in (I think) the previous book. Vuk is a mysterious, silent businessman who is know for his distilleries. (In the previous book we learn that one of his product lines is non-alcoholic vodka, which I find hilarious.) He’s obsessed with his best friend’s fiancee, thus the envy in the title. Ayana may be a supermodel, but she needs cash to break away from her terrible agency, which is why she agreed to marriage of convenience. And did I mention that someone’s trying to kill Vuk? It’s entertaining in a soap opera crazy kind of way.
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs (library)
A collection of stories about characters from the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series. It’s good for the background info, but probably won’t be of much interest unless you are already familiar with the series. In terms of reading order, it looks like it was published in between Night Broken and Fire Touched.
Over the past two weeks ~
— enjoyed two more science fiction books in the Liaden universe, Trade Secret and Fair Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
— zipped through Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian, a historical romance set in 1960 featuring two young men who have just graduated from college. One is from a poor but loving family while the other, whose father is running for President, is (surprise!) from a wealthy family. They end up driving cross country so that the first can get to his new job while the other can avoid his family. I quite enjoyed this book.
— While I enjoyed Mongrel by Lee Colgin, I also found it easy to put down for a week mid-read. This is a fantasy romance set in Hungary in the 1600s featuring a vampire and a character, called Mongrel as an insult, who is part werewolf/part wolf. They team up to search for missing young women.
— quite enjoyed Flowering of Ink by K.L. Noone which was, for about the first half, a contemporary epistolary romance novella featuring a scientist doing fieldwork and a renowned architect. They connect due to a misdelivered birthday card which is opened by mistake. I expect to reread this.
— read Two Sherpas by Sebastián Martínez Daniell and translated by Jennifer Croft which my book group will be discussing this week. This was an intriguing (and quick) read featuring two sherpas, one young and one older, who are looking down at the body of their British client who has fallen to his death. The dialogue they exchange fills less than a page; however, we are privy to their thoughts and pasts as well as some history of sherpas and of Mount Everest.
— enjoyed another science fiction book in the Liaden universe, Accepting the Lance by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
— quite enjoyed the contemporary romance The Last Guy On Earth by Sarina Bowen which features two men reuniting after a fifteen year absence. One man is a hockey player suddenly traded to a new team; the other is head coach of that same team.
— enjoyed the contemporary romance Last First Kiss by E.M. Denning. which featured a young man returning home after his boyfriend/boss suddenly marries and the best friend of his father who offers him work when no one will hire him.
— enjoyed the historical romance A Question of Duty by Jayne Davis which is set in 1760 and features an army captain called back from the Colonies as his father is near death. He is given the task of escorting an officer’s wife and daughters on board ship which is how he meets the female lead (one of those daughters). This is currently FREE to US Kindle readers.
— Sauce for the Gander by Jayne Davis was a reread featuring a forced marriage. It featured the nephew of the male lead mentioned above and a young woman seen as a pawn by her father. By signing up for the author’s newsletter, I obtained a free and lengthy epilogue, “A Winning Trick” which I also enjoyed.
— quite enjoyed The Orb of Cairado by Katherine Addison which is a fantasy mystery novella set in the same world as the author’s Goblin Emperor. This book is unrelated to the author’s spin off series of books also set in that world. It features a disgraced (through no fault of his own) historian whose best friend dies and leaves him a mysterious bequest.
Happy reading all!
I did not know HEN FEVER existed previously but bought it immediately.
I finished BLACK ROSE, the second in Nora Roberts’ In the Garden trilogy at the beginning of the month and it was fine. Nice to see a middle aged couple for a change. Decided to pause before picking up the third book since I’m not especially interested in that couple and have a pretty good idea of what’s going on with the ghost.
Instead, I’ve been binging categories this week, especially ones about food:
*Her Sweet Temptation by Nina Crespo – 3.75 stars – The first I had read by Ms. Crespo and she’s quickly becoming a new fave. This is the second in her Tillbridge Stables series, an interracial relationship between a bakery owner and a stuntman. Very sweet (har har).
*A Chef’s Kiss by Nina Crespo – 4 stars – series spinoff from Tillbridge featuring a local restaurant owner forced to work with an old flame who is now a celebrity chef. Well handled with strong community.
*Recipe for Redemption by Anna J. Stewart – 3.25 stars – Grumpy celeb chef hiding out in a small town near Monterey meets manic pixie dream girl innkeeper. Waaay too much going on in this book but the couple was cute with good banter.
*Southern Charm & Second Chances by Nancy Robards Thompson – 2.75 stars – Pastry chef is forced to work for the restaurant owner who once fired her. Felt more like a HFN. The couple didn’t get to know each other much at all and Liam’s issues weren’t resolved–plus I just didn’t really like him.
Currently reading an old paranormal, IMMINENT THUNDER by Rachel Lee, from the Silhouette Dreamscapes line published in 1993. ER nurse moves into a haunted house next door to a former Army Ranger who might be psychic? It’s very creepy so far, and the hero is so, so 90’s alpha.
A little bit of a mixed bag of late:
ONYX STORM–I am really tired of Xaden. Any time he was on page, I just skipped ahead and was like, “okay, good, he’s gone now.” I also skipped all the sex scenes which is always a bad sign for a romance! Oddly, I really struggled with the use of pronouns in this book–it felt like there’s at least six named characters on every page and I hard a hard time keeping track of who pronouns referred to, especially when it’s not quite obvious what gender a person/dragon/god might be (for example, Dunne is a female god.) I know Yarros has signed on for two more books, but I wish this had been the last in the series–it could have been a lot more compact and been much higher impact. But! Still fun. And my 12 year old has discovered the series and has read them all at least 4 times now, so I’m not mad about that.
EMILY WILDE’S COMPENDIUM OF LOST TALES–I always love visiting with Emily and Wendell. Definitely recommend if you have enjoyed this series previously.
I loved FAN SERVICE by Rosie Danan right up until the third act break up. It was just so unnecessary and it really underscored the characters’ insecurities in such a way that I felt it undermined the HEA. But funny and bonkers in a good way.
Currently on my nightstand: MARRY ME BY MIDNIGHT (historical with Jewish MCs in 18something London; gender-flipped Cinderella. Okay so far.)
OATHBOUND–third book in the Legendborn series by Tracey Deonn. Our heroine, Bree, has partially lost her memory–she remembers events, but not really people. Which is a problem for me because I don’t really remember books 1 and 2 either at this point…
A PHYSICAL EDUCATION by Casey Johnston. This is memoir/non-fiction about weight lifting and diet culture. Johnston wrote Ask a Swole Woman for the Hairpin (RIP) and currently writes the website and newsletter She’s a Beast. I got to see her on her book tour with Roxane Gay last night which was a delight! If you ever have a chance to hear Roxane Gay speak, you should definitely go. @SB Sarah–she asked a question that I loved and would recommend for any of your future podcast interviews which is to ask an author “What do you love about your writing?” It got such a good response.
@DDD Do you recommend her writing specifically? I have avoided it even though it’s routinely recommended to me. I don’t tend to do well with biography or adjacent books, because celebrity squicks me out as a concept. If it’s history that touches on lots of people I am fine but if it’s all about why this one person or family is so special I start to get idk, revolutionary. Especially when they’re famous because they’re so pretty, or so rich, or so connected. And I know the white garden at Sissinghurst is about nighttime visibility but it just sounds so bad. Is that just me? It’s probably just me. Exclusivity is not my jam.
But if she’s a good writer that changes everything!
Hi, I am reading Lynsay Sands – The Countess.
It’s actually the book I saw you ask about on here 5 years ago —- Weekend at Bernie’s meets HR
I’ve been in a reading slump like Elyse’s this year (with added stress and sadness on the personal level). I haven’t read more than 4 chapters in any given week, and in some I’ve read nothing. But for whatever reason, the slump ended last week (for now).
I finally finished WHEN THE TIGER CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN by Nghi Vo, an Asian-inspired fantasy novella I started in late January. When a nonbinary, folklore-collecting monk and the mammoth rider they’re temporarily traveling with get waylaid by tiger shifters, the monk tells the story of a romance between a tiger shifter and a human scholar, and the tigers add corrections from their version of the story. I liked this one less than the prior novella, THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE. It has more supernatural world building details sprinkled in, which I enjoyed, but the romance feels unmotivated, and the narrative doesn’t really explore the power dynamic of a courtship in which one of the women could easily kill and eat the other if her random liking ever fizzles. If you’re into the right tropes it may be fine; I’m not, so can’t evaluate how well it works.
After that I resumed JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL by Susanna Clarke, that ol’ blockbuster alternate history gaslamp fantasy about 2 men who revive the practice of magic in England, and also about frighteningly amoral, powerful fairies. My reading got derailed by book club reading a year ago and is now trotting along.
@Sarah: Thanks for the rec of “On Her Terms” by Amy Spalding! I had been meaning to get to this author eventually. I read the sample and then dashed to the library on my lunch break to check the book out. Clementine is 36, doesn’t especially want to get married, doesn’t want to be a mother EVER, is awkward with her nieces and nephews, just got out of a long-term (upwards of 20 years) relationship with a man and decides to explore her bisexuality by dating women. She has an annoying brother who says obnoxious things about her not having “a real job” and “if you had kids, you’d get it”.
This book is totally my catnip. I’ll take it on vacation with me, if I can keep myself from reading it before then.
I finally read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and really enjoyed it. I do want a sequel. I just downloaded The Book Club of Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick from Libby last night and I am looking forward to reading it.
Not too much to tell, because I finished one chonker, and immediately went into another one. I’m currently with my nose in Oathbound by Tracy Deonn. I am a huge target for anything involving Arthurian mythos, and the way she has woven Southern Black history and culture with the Arthurian mythology is highly interesting. It is a good companion piece if you happen to have recently watched Sinners (which I saw Easter Sunday and it RULES). I’m also listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It’s the next selection in the book club that I facilitate, and this gives me a slightly different experience from when I read it when it came out. So until next time, support PBS and NPR.
I have been on a Helen Harper kick. I’d already read and really liked her Lazy Girl’s Guide to Magic series. And then I read her Highland Magic series — having a dedicated pacifist heroine in urban fantasy takes some getting used to as I’ve been indoctrinated by so many kill first heroines in other books. I also read the first book in her most recent series, Waifs and Strays which was really fun so I am looking forward to when the next one comes out next month. But I decided to do a foray into some of her backlist.
I listened to her Thrill of the Hunt series (4 books) and I really liked the first three books but even though the 4th book was the big conclusion and the showdown to vanquish the big bad, It felt more like a chore than a payoff. I just wanted it over already. I think it was the sheer omnipotence of the main foe. They were so super-powered and were an entity that I didn’t understand the why of them in this universe, except to be the thing the heroine had to vanquish. The ending was satisfying but it was the last long march in the final book that felt wearing.
I am now starting the first book in her Blood Destiny Series, BLOODFIRE. There is a somewhat common template across her series that I find comfort reading at this point. While her heroines and much of the world building are wildly different from each other from series to series (so they don’t feel cookie cutter at all, some are very light hearted and some are darker) there are elements that are common. For one the heroine usually starts off as somewhat of an outcast, usually a loner, supposedly low or no magic. Which… of course she isn’t. She learns she is a power over the course of the series. Another commonality which I’ve found I enjoy, is that there is usually a found family element and often we get one or two characters who serve as comic relief. The author writes comedy well.
After not adoring her A Funny Story the way many readers did, I just finished Emily Henry’s A GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE and loved it. It’s not as focused a romance as her earlier (adult) titles as there’s a gradually unfolding mystery that takes center stage, but it’s a wonderfully intricate story (à la Taylor Jenkins Reid) that speaks to love of family, one’s partner, and one’s children. I had tears in my eyes a few times–something I’ve not experienced in any of her other books. I’ll buy the print copy as soon as it’s out in paperback, but the audio version, narrated exquisitely, as always, by Julia Whelan, is fantastic.
Looks like it’s gonna be a loooong, hot summer, kids. It’s not that we don’t get 70s temps in May, it’s that I don’t ever remember them being this consistent. And the news. . . . Pretty sad when the best I can do is read about the selection of a new pope. Thank gods for books.
Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas
DNF
Well, I reached my limit of woo woo with this one. I was slogging through chapter eighteen when it struck me how little pleasure I was deriving from this book. Justine is a hereditary witch who is estranged from her distant, manipulative mother–think Endora with no chill–and who is mourning her life-long inability to sustain a relationship. Her response to her problem is to turn to her ancient grimoire for a solution. It bothered me that Justine’s approach to her magic seemed so careless, like she’s a craftsman who can’t be bothered to care for her tools. Into this walks tech wunderkind Jason Black who has issues and secrets of his own. Jason comes across as a smug genius boi who’s planning some chicanery of his own. They have magic and mishaps and mayhem and sex, but as characters, they just annoyed the crap out of me. I felt like the magic in this book just smothered the romance. Not even good writing could save it. So, I’m done.
Bold Moves by Emma Barry
I really wanted to like this book. Jaime and Scarlett were high school sweethearts until Scarlett left town to pursue a career in competitive chess and Jaime stayed behind to deal with his father’s arrest and conviction for peddling prescription painkillers. The story opens as Jaime, now a documentary film maker, seeks out Scarlett to pitch a docudrama based on her successful memoir. To be fair, both the chess culture and the screenwriting/TV production stuff was interesting. I also appreciated the handling of Dr. Croft’s incarceration, the consequences of prescription drug abuse, and the multiple disparities of class and sexism. For me, the main issues were uneven pacing, more telling than showing–especially when rehashing the past–and muddy character development. I felt that the protagonists lacked communication skills and maturity. Their teenaged lust for one another was an unconvincing foundation for an adult relationship. The third person POV kind of slid from Jaime to Scarlett and back without warning and tended to center Scarlett’s viewpoint. Basically, there were two break ups before they sorted their shit out, and it was as though they couldn’t just have a discussion and clear the air. Nooo, they HAD to break up and stomp out of the other person’s life until the next wishy-washy reconciliation. Despite the epilogue, it was hard to picture them together a decade down the road. Frankly, it was exhausting. As always, ymmv.
Calamity by Constance Fay
Thanks to all of you who’ve mentioned this series in the last few months. Calamity is the first in the Uncharted Hearts series, and it is a well balanced blend of space opera and romance. This particular universe features a highly stratified classist society ruled by dominant Families, main characters who are forced to work together to achieve diverging goals, and attraction across an insurmountable social divide. Though Temperance and Arcadio, the MCs, spend a great deal of energy running around having adventures, they do find time for a convincing slow burn romance Theme song: Pretty Spaceman. Recommended.
Fiasco by Constance Fay
The second of the Uncharted Hearts series features Micah, one of the Calamity crew, and Cyn, a bounty hunter. There are characters (including Cyn/Generosity) and other elements from book one, but it is definitely not a rehashing of the earlier romance. The world building is unique and fascinating, and the resolution is great. The character arc for Cyn is particularly gripping. Theme song: Spaced Oddity. Recommended.
Grown Wise by Celia Lake
This first book in the Liminal Mysteries series takes place post WWII and features Ursula Fortier, heir to the Fortier land magic and responsibilities, and Jim Pullan, war veteran and displaced farmer. Lots of Albion’s most intriguing characters make an appearance, and the harrowing events in the Mysterious Fields trilogy are finally and definitively untangled. Ursula is a truly delightful character, but Jim is kind of a rudimentary sketch by comparison. He wasn’t unlikable, but he was faded out by Ursula’s brilliance. Other than that, this was an enjoyable comfort read. Recommended, but I was left wishing that Lake would write a mature romance for Uncle Garin. He’s wrong headed but kinda hawt with that broody silver fox energy.
Chaos by Constance Fay
This aptly titled third book in Fay’s Uncharted Hearts series totally made my week. It looks like the author plans to continue the series, and that makes me so happy. Chaos is Caro’s story. At loose ends between jobs, ship’s engineer, Caro, is lured into a rescue attempt at an infamous prison run by the Pierce family. It turns out that the computer chip that she’s supposed to liberate is implanted in the head of a dangerous super soldier named Leviathan. Caro must navigate the prison without the use of her usual talents, but her limitations include a few surprise advantages as well. With the support of twin mercenaries, Victor and Victory, a rogue prisoner, a chronically pissed off android, and the deadly Leviathan, Caro manages to face down her enemies and make amends for past errors. Also, in case I haven’t mentioned it, these books are hilarious and seem to be getting funnier with each new adventure. Theme song: Chip-a-dee-doo-dah. Enthusiastically recommended.
Back After This by Linda Holmes
On pause. . . I read and enjoyed Holmes’s first two books, so I had no qualms about this one. I even reread the first one. FMC Cecily is a producer of podcasts. Within the first couple of chapters we know she had a bad breakup and she works for assholes. The social commentary is sharp, accurate, and often funny, but I could hear the Jaws theme in my hindbrain. That’s when I knew I needed a break on this one. It wasn’t that bad stuff was coming. (Look what I replaced it with.) It was that bad, humiliating stuff was coming, and I wasn’t feeling up to it.
Rocky Start by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer
Crusie & Mayer are back with another novel cobbling together suspense with doggies and comfort food and small town hijinks. And romance, of course. I liked this one better than their last series. Rocky Start is the small mountain town where spooks, spies, and special ops personnel go to retire. Rose was a pregnant fugitive who stumbled into town 19 years ago, made a life, and raised a daughter. Now, after the death (natural) of their protector, the future is all uncertainty. Max and his black German shepherd Maggie are shadowing the Appalachian Trail in pursuit of (Max’s not Maggs’s) mental health. Max is lured to town by the delivery of much needed new boots. Paths cross, and the adventure begins. No one does stoical heroines and laconic heroes with unplumbed depths better than Crusie & Mayer. This may not be my favorite by these authors, but it’s a dark, delightful, solidly written diversion. (CW: on page, but not graphic, violence.)
Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair
Reread. This sci-fi romance was just what I needed, as I knew it would be. Trilby Elliot is a solo short-haul freighter captain working on the edge of inhabited space. While holed up on an inhospitable planet making repairs to her ancient ship, she is interrupted by an alien fighter ship crashing in the jungle. The injured pilot is thrown clear and, sadly, still breathing. Published in 2005, there are elements that could be a bit jarring for a new reader. The MMC, Rhys, is introduced as a mustachioed alph-hole, and the various planetary cultures have some stereotype adjacent qualities. (Goodreads discussion of the lip fringe is hilarious.) Trilby, however, is the bomb and has no trouble putting Rhys righteously in his place. Also on the up side, there is a chatty android, a great cast of supporting characters, and an entire vocabulary of space-going slang. My only disappointment was the rather abrupt ending. I always want to spend just a little more time with these characters. The last Sinclair I read was Accidental Goddess which tends to be my go-to reread, so if the yen is still unsatisfied, I may have to pick up Games of Command again. Great comfort rereads, all.
Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
McKinlay’s story of a neurodivergent chef summering at her family’s island cottage packs a lot of charm and a healthy dollop of heat. When Sam Gale accidentally deep sixes Ben Reynold’s paperback from the deck of the ferry to Martha’s Vinyard, she has no idea that her entire summer plan has been rebooted. At first, it took me a while to engage with this romance. I found the narrator’s (Sam’s) voice kind of frenetic and maybe a little young for a twenty-eight year old, but I soon dug into the growing attraction between dyslexic Sam and hot library director Ben. Almost as engaging was Sam’s tetchy yet tender relationship with her fourteen year old half brother Tyler. Add in beguiling side characters, a wonderful sense of place, lots of yummy food, and parental drama to achieve an absorbing summer love story. Aside from a brief but pretty gratuitous third act break up, this book is a sunshiny little gem.
@kkw: with the usual caveat that everyone’s reading experiences are different, I have enjoyed Victoria Glendenning’s VITA, Janelle McCulloch’s WHERE THE OLD ROSES GROW, and Jane Brown’s VITA’S OTHER WORLD. I believe these are all fairly old books (I’m of an age now where something published in the 1980s still feels new, lol), so I’m not sure how well they might hold up in terms of social context. As always, ymmv.
@FashionablyEvil – Same re ONYX STORM. I found it very tedious until they all set off on their island trip at which point it was only mildly more interesting. Ridoc is the only character I like anymore; the others are nearly interchangable.
@Kolforin – I also consumed JONATHAN STRANGE in two chunks. It was too large to take on a trip so sat on my shelf for nearly a year before I was in the right mood to pick it up again. Still a good read.
@TinaNoir – I didn’t realize that Helen Harper had other series besides the Lazy Girl’s Guide books which I need to pick up again soon. Adding them to my TBR!
I react to stress the way Elyse does – just can’t really focus or engage with a book. I’ve been listening to audiobooks – it takes a lot less energy, and either it doesn’t matter too much if my mind wanders and I miss a few things, or (if the book seems great) it goes on my list to be read with my eyes. I also listen to old favorites. Right now, I’m relistening to Lake Silence, by Anne Bishop. Before that, I discovered authors Emily L. Finch and Irina Shapiro. Enjoyed the audiobooks, plan to read with focus sometime in the future. I’m planning to try to read Murderbot soon. Hoping it works, ‘cause not being able to get submerged in a book is depressing.
Thank you to whoever recommended Annette Marie’s interconnected Guild Codex series. I’m following the author’s recommended reading order and have mainlined almost all the audiobooks while I’ve been home sick last and this month. Tory and her gang took some getting used to, Kit and the MPD are okay, and my favorite (so far) have been Robin and her demon one.
I’m mentioning the reading order specifically because I do not deal well with uncertainty or unchecked, omnipotent villains. The author’s reading order mixes the series together in a way that events covered in one or more series show a resolution vs reading/listening to one series at a time and being left hanging.
I may take a break before going into Druid portion of the universe. I’m also on hold for one of the books, so this is a good time as any to come up for air and see what other books I can borrow from the library.
Recent reads:
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods. This took a little getting into for me (likely my head space when starting) but it was fascinating! Historical/magical fiction. Extremely detailed and very twisty. Throughly enjoyed it.
Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis. SO good. Looking forward to the next.
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods. None of her subsequent books have lived up to the Lost Bookshop, which is disappointing.
Witches Get Stuff Done (#1) and Big Witch Energy (#2) by Molly Harper. I picked up the second one and promptly realized that I needed to read the first one. They were very enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the third!
Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker. Fine. A little farfetched. I tried the Takedown and couldn’t get into it. This was entertaining, but I now don’t remember much about it.
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. Historical fiction, not romance. I enjoyed the setting, and the last third of the book was excellent. Definitely a few unnecessary plot threads, but overall good.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. Way outside my usual zone, but a delightful trip. The narration took some getting used to, but I was eventually completely caught up by the story.
Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James. Classic Eloisa James, and I really enjoyed it. I miss good historical romances, and this reminded me why.
Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams. Dual timeline, with many flashbacks to a third. I put off starting this one due to the Egyptian setting of the historical timeline, but it was a very different era in Egypt than The Stolen Queen. I felt like the story was overall really uneven. I also was particularly annoyed by the present day FMC. YMMV.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. I think I just need to accept that certain authors are not for me. That said, I had a hard time buying this as a romance with all of the family drama surrounding the MCs. I also saw a comment on reddit that I felt captured my feelings, so I’ll paraphrase: their relationship only seemed to exist when they were in person, so use their texts, their phone calls, their FaceTime calls, show them connecting! Too much telling, not enough showing. (I just finished this today, so I remember a lot more than when it’s been a few days.)
DNF:
Lady Knight by Amalie Howard. Probably my head space so I’ll try to come back to it. Like Elyse, I struggle to read when the world is on fire.
The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle. I did actually skip to the end to see if it was an ending that I wanted to get to. It was not, so I sent it back to the library.
Currently:
Re-reading Nora Roberts’ Key trilogy.
TBR:
Nothing at the moment. I need to do a deep dive into upcoming releases and see what tickles my fancy.
@book_reader_ea01sj71r4: I agree on all points about Archangel’s Ascension. I read and enjoyed it in one night with a box of tissues to hand, but there definitely should have been more of the physical intimacy between the leads (and I say this as someone who often skips sex scenes). There was a lot of emotional intimacy, but it’s clear Singh backed way off, and I have to wonder whether it’s because the couple is MM, and whether it was her idea or her publisher’s.
Also enjoyed: Tanya Huff’s Direct Descendent, which blends a cute paranormal FF romance with Lovecraftian forces
I’m currently reading Eve Holmes’ TIDE OVER. She’s a new-to-me author and I was excited to stumble upon her as she’s from Atlantic Canada and this series is set the Atlantic provinces. This first one is a m/m romance in which one of the MCs is dealing with a painful period in his life and moves back to Nova Scotia from Calgary and (temporarily?) settles in a small fishing town where he meets and connects with the other MC who is going through his own stuff.
I like the writing and the characters and I’m enjoying the story, although I’m a little annoyed that I’m halfway through the book and I still don’t really know what happened with the MC who moved from Calgary. I get frustrated when I’m trying to join this character on an emotional journey – he’s feeling pain and guilt and can’t bring himself to talk to his parents – but I only know vaguely what’s happened. I don’t want a big backstory dump, but a slow reveal within the first few chapters would be helpful for me to understand this guy a little more.
I haven’t finished it, but so far I highly recommend – just be sure to read the trigger warnings at the beginning.
Looking forward already to the second book which is set in my home province of Newfoundland. I don’t see a whole lot of romance set there!
I am trying to play catch up for all the things that have sequels coming out. Just finished the second Emily Wilde, Listening to GHOST STATION by Barnes because he 3rd book was just released, Just checked out THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD 4 because 5 is coming, and TEA YOU AT THE ALTAR by Thorne. I am perpetually behind
A big thank you to whomever recommended Sara Donati’s historical THE SWEET BLUE DISTANCE here a while back. I just emerged from this absorbing read. Long and detailed but what a pleasure to exist in. Going to have to add more of her books to my TBR.
Loved Emily Henry’s f/m contemporary/historical romance/women’s fiction GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE, both the main romance and the story they’re chasing. Emily Henry just works for me, her characters and their relationships.
Also enjoyed Eloisa James’s HARDLY A GENTLEMAN. Her earlier books were mostly just okay for me but I’ve liked her recent releases more. And what a great meet cute (he’s fly fishing naked).
Another large enjoy: Stephanie Butland’s THE LOST FOR WORDS BOOKSHOP about a damaged woman finally coming to life. There’s an f/m romance, but it’s more about the FMC.
Well worth reading: Danielle Allen’s CURVY GIRL SUMMER, a well above average contemporary f/m about the messed-up dating world and family expectations.
Also worth the time is Myah Ariel’s NO ORDINARY LOVE, another contemporary f/m about a pop star trying to escape her toxic marriage with the man who launched then managed her career when coincidence forces her into a PR relationship with a star baseball player.
Enjoyed Holly Brickley’s f/m contemporary romance mostly because of the way the FMC experiences songs and music. The relationship was a little too toxic and the characters a little too realistically messy for me to believe in the HEA, but she really got deeply into what music can do and that was great.
Finished Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series. It was fine.
Re-read Sheri S Tepper’s THE GATE TO WOMEN’S COUNTRY which has already been my joint-read recommendation with A HANDMAID’S TALE which I can never face again. Lots to think about in TGTWC.
Jenn McKinlay’s I CAN’T EVEN which at first I considered DNFing but ended up glad I continued.
Olivia Atwater’s fantasy Regency romance TEN THOUSAND STITCHES was what I rank an enjoyable-once read. Good to read about staff in a Regency household.
Thanks to a couple of plane rides, I read The Ministry of Time (loved it!) and A Dreadful Splendor (liked it a lot). I am now reading some historical fiction and have decided I want my kids to call me “My Lady Mother.”
I think it’s been over a year since I did WAYR post. Sorry everyone – I’ve been freeloading off your excellent recommendations and insights. My four latest reads were all good or better: Sarah Morgan’s Other People’s Summer, Jackie Lau’s Time Loops & Meet Cutes, and B.K. Borison’s Mixed Signals and Business Casual (3 and 4 in her Lovelight Farms Series).
Sarah Morgan has been transitioning from writing pure romances to women’s fiction over the last decade. I really enjoyed her earlier romances (both her category and single titles), and I must admit I’m not really fan of women’s fiction, and especially women’s fiction that is set in a completely white, upper middle-class, strictly het and cis world. And yet here I am still reading Sarah Morgan, even though I often up rolling my eyes at the naïve world that is presented within her books. Other People’s Summer is a nice example of Morgan’s undemanding women’s fiction. Two female friends — one a successful film star, the other successful owner of holiday home business in England’s Lake District — reconnect when the movie star begs her friend to hide her after a personal scandal upends the movie star’s life. This book has many of the usual Morgan trademarks – the innkeeper’s family is composed of her spunky, snarky grandmother, her wise mother, and a snarky teen daughter who has her own secrets. There are some cute animals and some moments spent in the outdoors, hiking in the Lake District. The two main female characters will each be rewarded with an interchangeable tall, dark good-looking man with great biceps. It’s a nice low stakes summer beach read.
I picked up B.K. Borison’s first Lovelight Farms book (titled Lovelight Farms, just like the series) through one of SBTB’s daily deals last year. I read and liked enough to see if my local library had any of the other books. And it did have the remaining three in the series. Number two, In the Weeds, I read last fall, but by the time I finished that one, the next two had several months’ worth of holds on them. I guess a lot of people are becoming interested in the Lovelight Farm series. I just finished the last two in the series this past week. This series is set on a Maryland Christmas tree farm and in the nearby small town. As you would expect the town is full of quirky characters from the grumpy, but lovable female café owner to the Mexican-American bookseller who loves romance novels and his abuela’s desserts. The first three books concern the romances of the three co-partners of Lovelight Farms. The last book is about the romance between the half-brother of one partner and the youngest sister of another of the partners. Light, fun, and charming. I’ve now put a hold on Borison’s new book, First-Time Caller, which is about a Baltimore romance hotline radio show host who no longer believes in love and a young single mom, whose daughter calls the show looking for dating help for her mom.
The best book that I read recently was Jackie Lau’s new book: Time Loops & Meet Cutes. This is one of her traditionally published novels, so it’s more expensive than her self-published ones can be, but I thought it was worth it. Noelle Tom, the MFC, is perhaps a bit too risk-adverse, even for an engineer; she puts up with a less than great job with long hours because at least it’s a dependable source of income. Without quite realizing it her world at 32 has shrunk, as Noelle has retreated more and more into herself in order to avoid the messiness of human connection. And then on a Friday in June, heading home late from work, Noelle, tired and hungry, stops at a city night food fair and buys some amazing tasting Chinese dumplings from a little woman, who promises her that the dumplings will give her what she needs the most. And the next day when Noelle wakes up, it is again that Friday all over again, and when she goes back to the fair the dumpling lady is not there. This book is in some ways similar to the movie, Ground Hog Day, but in other ways it is very different. Noelle figures out quickly what is going on, and then as the good engineer that she is, she tries to figure out what she needs to do to break the time loop. And of course she keeps failing. Being caught in the time loop forces Noelle to reflect on why she values stability and financial security at the expense of almost everything else in her life including friendships, her family and the possibility of a romantic relationship. Lau grounds Noelle’s fears and insecurities not just in the typical rom-com reasons of a bad breakup or childhood financial insecurities, but also in her memories of how parental grandparents’ difficult, traumatic lives in Communist China, although never really discussed within her family, nonetheless, created within her a need for security and stability. Noelle meets another woman also caught like her in the time loop and as they both work together to try to break the time loop, a tentative friendship begins to form between them. And of course, there is the romance between Noelle and this cute guy, Cam, whom she meets over and over and over again in different circumstances. Cam is not caught in the time loop; so each time they meet it’s like the first time for him. Noelle at first just sees him as a possible way of out the time loop – she hopes that if she engineers (pun intended) a meet cute with a kiss, then the time loop spell will be broken. But gradually she begins to build a relationship with Cam, even though they each time they meet – it’s a first date for Cam (or is it?).
A really clever, charming take on a time loop romance, recommended.
Sad to see so many people are suffering from anxiety at present, and wishing everyone well.
Tore through the Ladies’ Guide to Utter Ruin, which I enjoyed so much that I reread the first book. Keep it up!
I just read Swept Away by Beth O’Leary and Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory. Now I am reading Pomona Afton can so solve a murder by Bellamy Rose and I am going to be good and finish it before I pick up my library hold of Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez.
I’m very much enjoying THE KING’s MESSENGER by Susanna Kearsley. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, set during the reign of King James(of King James Bible fame).
I’m also currently reading AN EXCELLENT THING IN A WOMAN by Allison Montclair. I can’t believe it’s already Book 7 of the Sparks & Bainbridge mysteries. It’s post World War II England, and I’m totally engaged in this series, in spite of a tragic event at the end of the last book.
Someone gave me a free e-book of LITTLE SISTER by Mary Burchell. It’s quite dated, but the writing flows and the plot premise is unique and interesting. It’s more family drama than romance. As some may know, Mary Burchell is the pen name of Ida Cook, who churned out many romances in the 1930’s to fund her trips to Europe to rescue Jews during the pre-war Hitler era.
I read the latest Sebastian St. Cyr book, which was excellent as always. The title is WHO WILL REMEMBER.
I read THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, a space opera novella by Jessie Mihalik with lots of pew pew pew. Not my favorite of her books, but a page turner none the less.
I also read THE PEARL OF PENANG by Clare Flynn which I think was free at the time? I can’t think of any other reason I would have had it in my library. It’s set in pre-World War II Malaya and the attitudes are so dated it’s hard to believe it was written recently, and not decades ago. I’d call it a soap opera and not really romance, and I can’t really recommend it, but once I started it I kept turning pages. It had sort of a Rosamunde Pilcher COMING HOME vibe, but more depressing and with adultery.