Welcome back! Here’s what we’re reading right now:
Shana: I just finished The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I read this entirely because of the gorgeous cover and luckily it was solid, if predictable, with a very feminist vibe. I’m glad I gave it a chance even though it’s YA with a love triangle, two things I tend to avoid.
Lara: I’ve started reading for my project on self- and indie-pubbed historical romance and it’s going well! Grace Callaway’s The Duke Who Knew Too Much was great and I’ve just started Nearly a Lady by Alissa Johnson ( A ) which I’m enjoying so far. I’ll be writing up my findings including a collated list of historical romance authors in the nearish future
Claudia: Oh Alissa Johnson seemed to have been traditionally published a few years back then re-issued her books. She also hasn’t had a new book in a while. I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of hers that I got my hands on.
I am starting some oldies by Teresa Medeiros. Including re-reading Yours Until Dawn — ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) clearly it took me years to forgive that book’s twist!!!
Another disappearing author that I used to enjoy.
Elyse: I’m reading A Dawn with the Wolf Knight by Elise Kova.
So, whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!
I read the second of an older Barbara Hambly trilogy, The Silicon Mage, which I enjoyed. Lots of 1980s IT, capable heroine. I have the third in the series, but am putting it off for a rainy day.
Re-read Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts. A lot of decorating talk in this one.
Re-read a favourite of mine, T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1913). There are some lovely cosy descriptions of living in New York on a small income in a tiny flat on the fifteenth floor and watching the lights below – juxtaposed with life in an enormous country house in Lancashire, servants, picture gallery etc. It’s on Gutenberg.
Just started the new Penric, Testimony of Mute Things. I got bogged down in the last one and discovered there’s a limit to what I want to read about Penric’s children and wards, but this one is set earlier in the series, and I’m enjoying it so far.
I DNF’d my way though October before finally finding, ‘The Keeper of Magical Things’ by Julie Leong. It is so comforting, well written and just a little sweet. The perfect end to a long month of extremely frustrating reading experiences.
QUEEN DEMON by Martha Wells was as awesome as I expected, which is extremely. Loved it. Not a romance, per se, although there are elements. This series is nothing like Murderbot, which I also love, but expectations can easily ruin a reading experience. Second in a fantasy series for anyone who somehow missed it. Multiple timelines, elaborate world building, big cast of characters which some people find too much work as a reader but I am all about it it. Loved being back in this world with these characters, bitterly resented finishing it.
I am enjoying THOUSAND AUTUMNS by Meng Xi Shi. It’s not good, exactly, but it’s fun and has got enough going on that it’s providing a good distraction. And there are lots of volumes. Magical kung fu makes me happy, add in romance, and I’m extremely happy.
I guess I can also recommend BREAKOUT YEAR by KD Casey even if it didn’t live up to my expectations – which would have been somewhere between the stratosphere of Martha Wells or KJ Charles and a new to me author of a book that sounds intriguing like Meng Xi Shi, because I have read and really enjoyed KD Casey in the past. And this was still sweet but it was just really, idk, long and structureless? And it felt a bit didactic, which is a huge turnoff for me, but not as good as her best is still worth it.
Mystery, not romance: THE SAVAGE NOBLE DEATH OF BABS DIONNE by Ron Currie was a dnf for me but someone here will enjoy- I might myself in a different mood- it seemed like a fascinating murdery good time but atm just really not interested in sexual violence. I *think* it was more of a setting of the stage in realism, not ongoing misery porn, nor gratuitous, nor fridging. Nevertheless currently not available to find out for sure. It was clearly going to be all about strong female characters and a fuck the police vibe, drug smuggling in Maine, I was prepared to enjoyed something that seems made to order as a TV series. But realism these days is not so much a no thank you as a hell no.
I had a couple of good reading weeks that started with sort of a project. I decided to buckle down and finish Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering. It’s the first book of hers that I ever bought, and I couldn’t finish it after several attempts. Fortunately, I picked up her Chance of a Lifetime series and every book after, so I need to solve the riddle of why I can’t finish this one book that was loved by readers I trust.. However, I don’t plan to muscle through, so I’m also reading some other stuff when I feel pressure. I know it’s silly, but I feel what I feel. Please be patient with my meandering.
My Fake Christmas Fiance by Julie Kriss
The title of this short fluffy category romance says it all. Wes Kane and Penelope Gold are scions of their families, and their dads make the kids’ marriage a condition of the merger between their two Christmas themed businesses. The MCs acquiesce, figuring they’ll wiggle out of it during the year of their engagement. Things go pretty much as you’d expect. The details of running a business under pressure or obtaining a divorce are pretty sketchy, but suspension of disbelief is a thing, I guess. However, if the trope and the holiday were in a wrestling match, Christmas would tap out for sure.
How My Brother’s Best Friend Stole Christmas by Molly O’Keefe
This is the third entry in the Kane Christmas trilogy of category romances, and again, the title kind of sums up the main trope. However, this one goes way beyond tropesville. Sam Porter is a former Marine dealing with both PTSD and lingering physical damage since his last disastrous deployment. He and Sophie Kane have pined for each other for years, until his troubled homecoming begins to bring down the barriers between them. This book is heavy, both in substance and in angst. Sam and Sophie’s rocky journey toward a relationship is both credible and moving. Recommended, but not for the holiday cheer.
So I’m back, nibbling away at Love Lettering like a mouse at the wainscoting. I’m more than 50% through and well past the place where I last gave up on the story, but mostly I’m just bewildered. It’s like this isn’t the book I remember at all. I could barely stand the narrator, she put me so on edge, as though there was some huge reckoning coming due. Now I’m really getting into it and wondering if Nancy Pearl might occasionally be wrong.
Level With Me by Claire Wilder
I got sidetracked into this book and was impressed by how well-written it was. As a workplace romance, it has an interesting and unusual set-up. Cassandra Kelly is CEO of her family’s resort hotel and the Harringtons are consultants hired to evaluate and revamp the hotel’s operations. After a unique meet cute, Cass and Blake Harrington have a “moment” that enrages Cass. The situation is complicated, and the personal stakes are high for both characters. They mostly handle it like adults which I liked, but when they fall, it struck me as disconcertingly porny, by which I mean the sex seemed kind of scripted and fake. While the story mostly recovered, I’m trying to decide whether I want to continue the series after an annoying preview disguised as an epilogue.
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
Yay! I finished it and it was well worth the effort. This time around, I could let myself become absorbed in the characters of Meg and Reid as well the twin backgrounds of New York City and the art of hand lettering and custom stationery. I loved the ways that Meg manages to deal with her work and social issues and how Meg’s POV gradually reveals the fascinating complexities of Reid’s character. I also enjoyed the many-facetted uses of coding in unravelling the emotional and practical puzzles in this story. This personal reboot was completely worth the effort. I will probably reread.
Completely by Ruthie Knox
The final book in the New York Trilogy is also the most difficult to deal with as a romance. Rosemary and Kal each have unresolved internal conflicts which in turn amplify the main conflict between them as a couple. As a result the plot kind of meanders like an emotional road trip with an unknown destination. It’s great reconnecting with characters from previous books, but I don’t know if the resolution between Kal and Rosemary is fully convincing. On the other hand, Nepal joins NYC and Wisconsin as a locale in this story, and the mountaineering background is both harrowing and fascinating. Recommended, as a superbly written novel.
Witch King by Martha Wells
It’s been awhile since I’ve read a really solid, immersive fantasy. Witch King follows a dual timeline, alternating between Kai’s present when he and his companion Ziede rescue themselves from entombment and set out to find Ziede’s missing wife, and his youth when his people are sucked into a devastating war with merciless invaders. While this is a found family/road trip adventure with stellar world building, it is anything but low stakes. Fortunately, it is not a cliffhanger, though thorny questions remain at the end. After a breather, I plan to dive into the recently released second entry of this richly imagined series.
How to Find a Nameless Fae by A. J. Lancaster
This fairy tale retelling with a twist was an absolutely lovely read. Based on the type of Fae bargain that demands the first born child as a forfeit, this story focuses on what happens to that child if the Faerie lien holder fails to collect. This “what if” frames a story of complicated, unstable magic and a gentle, sexy romance. The firstborn princess is a practical forty year old demanding a resolution to her curse from her “Malediction,” a somewhat chaotic, underpowered Fae scholar. While the protagonists struggle to untangle their errant magic, the reader gets to savor a love story that charms more than it surprises. By turns touching and funny, this book is going right into my Comfort Reads folder.
And Then There Was the One by Martha Waters
This clever pastiche is a tribute to the classic British village mystery from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Like Sayers or Marsh, Waters doesn’t sideline the growing relationship (m/f) between Georgie and Sebastian. While the mystery is undoubtedly entertaining, the real pleasure lies in seeing the MCs sometimes reluctant alliance ripen into a true partnership. There’s also a fair amount of dry humor, mostly at the expense of men, hmph, and Murder Tourists. Overall, a very fun read
The Griffin’s Mate by Zoe Chant
DNF @24%
This came up on Jo Walton’s September reading list, but I knew it wasn’t for me pretty early on. For what is obviously a shifter/fated mate romance, it was extremely mild. I was shocked when I realized that my quitting point was at the 24% mark. I was a quarter through, and nothing much had happened yet. I often have this problem with cozy fiction; bland low stakes rarely comfort me or hold my attention.
The Besotted Baron by Grace Burrowes
Fourth in the Bad Heir Day series, this tale of badness does not refer to either his titular lordship or the lady with whom he is besotted. Cam and Alice are entirely appealing protagonists–both monuments to the virtues of hard work and care for others. Though the supporting cast is also likable, there is a truly evil serpent in the garden who will be recognizable to anyone who has been forced to deal with sly, two-faced hostility in a co-worker, so-called friend, or family member. The comeuppance is epic! I like this particular series, and this is one of its better entries.
Its been a while, but I diverted myself into non-fiction, litprg (so few have good female heroines!), and a Charlie Richard’s re-read. I’ve been diving into Kobo Plus, so finding new free-to-me books:
ANNA KOMNENE and THE ALEXIAD by Ioulia Kolovou (Non-Fiction). A Byzantine princess who was also an historian. Anna’s life, family, and how she fit in her world was fascinating. The remainder on the First Crusade and how other scholars had dismissed her for almost 1000 years wasn’t as riveting. The author fulfilled her purpose; I’ll be looking for other books on Anna and other Byzantine women.
TEACHING MAGIC by Alanna Cole (F/M Academic Magic) I enjoyed the characters, and the magic school setting. The adults were realistic – they talked! Ok, some of them talked. However the story seemed rushed, with too much plot for the book. And most of the mysterious backstory was explained all at once and seemed unnecessarily complicated. Other mysteries, which would help understand the character were never explained, just hinted at. I came away interested, but frustrated at the same time.
GARY AND BILL ADVENTURES by Madeline Kirby (M/M Short Stories). These are outtakes on Gary (a policeman) and Bill (a banker) in a small Texas town with a hint of the paranormal in the 1970s. They really don’t stand without the rest of the books (start with NOT A WEREWOLF). I was glad to see a new Madeline Kirby and hope she continues with Gary and Bill – and the rest of her world.
A DRAGON RIDER’S GUIDE TO RETIREMENT by Julia Hunt (F/M Cozy Magical Retirement) Truly a Cozy. Thoroughly enjoyed, would definitely recommend and I want to live on an island with a bookshop and have a magical entity do my cleaning.
ADMIRING HIS OMEGA by C.W. Gray (M/Mpreg Contemporary). So glad the Hobson Hills series is continuing. Definitely start at the first one, FALLING FOR HIS OMEGA (set at Halloween, so the perfect timing). There are soo many people and children and pets that they won’t make sense otherwise. If I can’t retire to the Dragon Rider’s island, I wouldn’t mind living in mythical Hobson Hills Maine – or at least visiting in leaf-peeping season.
OUT OF A FIX by Mary Calmes (M/M Contemporary). A fixer goes and turns a family’s life around, both children and single father. This is a hard one to judge. Good – I really liked the story and how the M/M slowly got together. The competence porn was amazing, therapy was respected, and we could all wish for a fixer in our lives. Con- I’m not sure the main character deserved to be forgiven that easily.
Last but not least
ESPRESSO YOURSELF by Lara McKenzie (F Paranormal Barista) This book is fun to read. It’s constructed as a series of blog posts by a human barista in a paranormal coffee shop. The story slowly grows and deepens, and occasionally the snark overflows. Very mental health and feminine power forward. Frothy but with a hint of grounds- enjoy!
Where did October go? I hope y’all are enjoying a little cooler weather!
Twilight (The Twilight Saga Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer (KU)
I decided to reread this one because of the SB article, plus Halloween is a good time to read about vampires. I’m assuming no one needs recap of the plot. It’s still fine. My main takeaway at this point is that Ms Meyer did a good job of capturing a teenager’s complete lack of chill.
All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens (KU)
I picked this one up because of the SB review. Set in a world mostly like ours except there’s a few dozen alien super heroes and super villains running around with back stories kind of like Clark Kent’s. Our hero is smitten with the head of a PR firm when her and her team is interviewing to take over his account, leading to a fake dating trope. He’s grumpy and morally gray. She’s shy. Would I have noticed her clumsiness if I hadn’t just revisited Bella from Twilight? Overall, it’s cute.
Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Companion novel to Bride , and I don’t know that I’d recommend it as a standalone. I accidentally convened the Bad Decisions Book Club for this one. (I was just going to read until my SO came to bed. I didn’t realize they were meeting the Bad Decisions AV Club in the other room!) Serena is the half-human and half-werewolf orphan best friend of the vampire princess heroine in Bride. She’s also the fated mate of Koen, the stern alpha of the Northwest pack, who isn’t interested in a relationship. When she needs protection from the vampires for plot reasons, she asks Koen for help, leading to her moving in with him. We learn about Serena’s story and how her story ties into Koen’s. I enjoyed it.
It’s been awhile since I posted so I have a big backlog of books.
I’ll start with CRASH TEST by Amy James. The cover drew me in. I really enjoyed this. It’s a M/M romance with some pretty serious hurt and pining. But also has great found family and people learning to be supported in relationships. I’m not usually a fan of flashbacks – but the author wove them into the story very well. This book was also sexy without being sex-centered. TW for severe homophobia from family members.
I went on to read Amy James’ A FIVE LETTER WORD FOR LOVE. F/M romance set on Prince Edward Island (but not at all about Anne of Green Gables). It had some cute moments, but I struggled with the youth and immaturity of the FMC, and felt like the MMC was a little flat.
I revisited A LOT of Julie Anne Long’s books. I started with a reread of MY SEASON OF SCANDAL. Which is so so good!! Then returned to the Pennyroyal Green series to read my favorites and my second favorites. In order of my preferred titles in the series:
WHAT I DID FOR A DUKE/IT STARTED WITH A SCANDAL
HOW THE MARQUESS WAS WON
I KISSED AN EARL
LIKE NO OTHER LOVER
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND IAN EVERSEA
The rest are ho hum for me.
I took a turn into dark and quirky with the Ruinous Love trilogy by Brynne Weaver. They were definitely dark, entirely insane at times, but still so oddly quirky and enjoyable. They definitely appeal to those who like a side of disturbingly dark humor. I waiting my turn for her new book TOURIST SEASON.
I hit the jackpot at the library this last week or so. I read Juliette Cross’ two newer books. A REBEL WITHOUT CLAWS – which is the next generation of witches and werewolves from her STAY A SPELL series based in New Orleans. It was an ok read – I liked the general story but the drama at the end felt thrown in without a lot of build.
I really enjoyed FIREBIRD from her new Fire that Binds series. Dragons in the Roman Empire. Be warned it’s fairly violent and there are explicit threats of sexual violence and on page physical assault/drugging.
THE LIBRARIANS by Sherry Thomas – such a well crafted book. I got very hooked into the story. It was a mystery and a romance and found family. Loved the way things were revealed and trust built along the way. A touch far-fetched, but not enough to ruin the story.
I reread Cathy Yardley’s ROLE PLAYING. I needed something with an older couple. There’s a lot of cozy, but also a lot of growth in the MCs that feels satisfying even when it’s hard.
I also re-read Mariana Zapata’s THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME and ALL RHODES LEAD HERE. These are two of my favorite romances – slow burn. Lots of relationship building and learning about one another. I love rereading these and anticipating my favorite moments. They both still get me in the feels every time. I feel super bummed that so many of MZ’s books are exclusively on Amazon.
I’m currently reading T Kingfisher’s A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES. I’m not super far in but it’s promising some creepiness – a little spooky season read.
In non-fiction, I just started reading THE UPSWING by Robert Putnam. A friend recommended this after hearing him speak. He’s a political scientist who wrote BOWLING ALONE. The book was written in 2020 and is looking back 125 years ago when society looked a heck of lot like our current situation. His goal is show how we came out of such a self-focused/divisive time in history and how we can do it again. I read some concrete, historically based hope these days.
In audiobooks, I’ve just finished everything by Lyla Sage – her REBEL BLUE RANCH series and her new book, SOUL SEARCHING. I enjoyed most of the series and especially the new book. The only book I struggled with was WILD AND WRANGLED – for two reasons – I’m not a fan of second chance romances (see my dislike for flashbacks mentioned above) and the FMC was a lot helpless and felt really young, even when she was supposed to be adulting. I never felt like they resolved the issues she had with her parents, which were very significant, because she never stood up for herself and set boundaries.
I just started the audiobook for THE BILLIONAIRE’S WAKE-UP CALL GIRL by Annika Martin. I’ve read the book, just wanted to enjoy the audio version which is well read thus far.
Be well and safe out there reading friends!
I spent this two-week stretch working through a bunch of TBR books borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, starting with the most recent releases. I DNFed a couple, but the ones I finished ranged from moderately good to great.
The six Amazon Original novellas in the “Scared Sexy” series (that I started reading in early October) are Halloween-themed paranormal romances, although some contain just a passing reference to the holiday. I especially enjoyed HOT FOR SLAYER by Ali Hazelwood (a vampire and her slayer are forced to spend time together), FALLING by Christina Lauren (woman meets an intriguing stranger at a party), and SPACE VAMPIRE by Ruby Dixon (a human and an alien hybrid are trapped on a space station). I also liked BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE by Katee Robert (a sleep paralysis demon fails to scare the human she’s supposed to frighten) and MY BOYFRIENDS ARE ALL MONSTERS by Kimberly Lemming (a woman finds herself in an enchanted town where many supernatural men compete for her attention). The Robert and Lemming novellas accomplished an impressive amount of world-building in only 50 pages each. I wasn’t as pleased with SPICY LITTLE CURSES by J.T. Geissinger (journalist searches for info about a mysterious New Orleans tattoo artist), a quick read that had a lot of repetitive elements.
Alexis Daria’s 200-page novella THE HOLIDAY HOOKUP LIST (another KU) was OK, but I liked her 2024 holiday short piece ONLY SANTAS IN THE BUILDING more than this one. THE HOLIDAY HOOKUP LIST begins with FMC Valencia, who decides to attend a holiday party at a queer club after breaking up with a cheating fiancé. At the club she’s surprised to run into her high school nemesis, MMC Gideon. They dance, they hook up, and they then decide to spend the 12 days leading up to Christmas together, with each day’s agenda including a “nice” Christmas activity (decorate a tree, watch a holiday movie, etc.) and a “naughty” activity that always includes sex. While exploring their sexual fantasies and hanging out, they also take some time to explore why Gideon treated Valencia badly in high school, and why he thought he didn’t have other options. Overall this was a mostly fun, quick read but I didn’t feel like the characters were fully developed, even considering the limits of a shorter approach to storytelling.
WISH I WERE HERE (KU), by new-to-me author Melissa Weisner, combined a satisfying romance with a small touch of magical realism. FMC Catherine is a 30-year-old rule-following math professor whose life is suddenly disrupted when her identity disappears and all of her records, like Social Security number, driver’s license, and other essential ID items, are deemed fraudulent. Solving the problem requires her original birth certificate, but Catherine’s father– a circus performer who raised her in an art colony of sorts along with burlesque dancers and other zany types– won’t help her locate the needed document that is held by Catherine’s mother, who disappeared from Catherine’s life shortly after she was born. A key helper in the quest to restore Catherine’s identity is MMC Luca, the attractive, tattooed, but rarely-on-duty and perpetually late doorman in her apartment building, where most of the other residents are in their 60s or older. Weisner tells an amusing and absorbing story about how Catherine’s dilemma helps her understand herself in new ways, and find family and companionship in unexpected places. I’ll consider reading more of Weisner’s books in the future.
I greatly enjoyed the final KU option in this reading cycle, by another new-to-me author, Melissa Brayden. CAN WE SKIP TO THE GOOD PART? started slowly, but I’m glad I stayed with it because the relationship between MCs Ella and Maxine (Max) was delightful. Much of the story revolves around the romance-reading book club that both women are part of, and Brayden weaves a lot of the tropes discussed by the club into the experiences of the MCs as they meet, deal with insta-attraction, try to stay apart (because Max is the ex-girlfriend of Ella’s best friend), eventually give in to their shared feelings, and successfully navigate a variety of relationship complications. I liked both MCs a lot because of excellent character development throughout the book, explicated through banter as well as serious conversations that seemed especially authentic. I also liked the other book club members and assorted other friends and a few relatives (like Max’s mom) who populate the story. Brayden has a backlist of more than 20 books, so I’ll be probably seeking out more of her work, too.
Have a few more KUs to finish and then I plan to move on to some other TBRs. My list remains quite long.
Where did I leave off? Oh! INK BLODD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Torzs, a debut novel from 2023. You need to enjoy a slow build because the first of the book is more about introducing the main characters, sisters Joanna & Esther, and Nicholas, and the lives they live. Joanna in isolation behind wards meant to protect the family legacy, a library of magical books. Esther living a peripatetic life of constant relocation meant to protect her from the forces that killed her mother. Nicholas is the bird in a gilded caged as the last remaining scribe, someone with the ability to write spells (with ink made from blood). Esther’s decision to stay another season in Antarctica with her girlfriend has dire consequences that sets the three on a collision course. The last half of the book moves pretty fast with lots of secrets and betrayals and a delightful bodyguard who adds a hint of romance.
Then I took another shot at romantasy (which is turning out to not be my bag) with Julie Soto’s dark fantasy ROSE IN CHAINS. I very much enjoyed her contemporaries: FORGET ME NOT & NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG, so I thought “why not”. Turned out to be a mixed bag. Full disclosure, it started out as a Bad Decisions Book Club entry. I was up till after 3am. Unfortunately, while I determined to finish, it was also about 150 pages too long, occasionally repetitive, the titular heroine was by turns naively oblivious, ridiculously submissive and stupidly impulsive, and there was a STUNNING level of misogyny and violence against women. My romance journey started in the 70s. I cut my teeth on Rosemary Rogers. When I say stunning, I mean STUNNING. Short discourse on another issue: if this is a fantasy where they haven’t even advanced to the stage of the steam engine, why are there short sparkly dresses and high heels and dates? Yes, I know, it doesn’t need to follow my idea of what a fantasy should be, but every time I read about short sparkly dresses in a world where, if you were not rich and magically inclined, you walked or rode a horse, I’m out of the story. Drink whiskey, yes. Drink Scotch, no. How do you have Scotch in a world where THERE’S NO SCOTLAND? All that being said, will I read the next installment? Yes. I want to see if Tovan comes to his senses and goes back to the bad girl, and there are several characters that need to come suitably crunchy, hopefully castrated, ends. Since there’s a dragon, at least one of these is possible.
Currently reading my first Jenny Holiday, INTO THE WOODS, and am enjoying immensely how the main characters are growing individually and together. I’m halfway through and the level of adulting is five star.
I finished “Sea Glass” by Maria V. Snyder (the second book in the Opal Cowan trilogy) late last night. I sure hope the next book is better, because Opal made some truly stupid and baffling decisions in this one and I feel like she’s being a big baby at this point. Will be starting “Spy Glass” tonight. (FYI, the author says you can read “Poison Study”-“Magic Study”-“Fire Study” and then skip Opal’s trilogy if you want to continue with Yelena’s story.)
Three books to discuss this time—all three m/m sports romances, although sports are not front-and-center in any of them, and almost an afterthought in two.
I had been wanting to read Rachel Reid’s THE SHOTS YOU TAKE since it was released back in March, but the $13.99 price tag was just a little too rich for my blood, so imagine my joy in seeing THE SHOTS YOU TAKE available on KU. I immediately grabbed it, consumed it, and before I was halfway through, I was pretty confident that it would become one of my favorite books of 2025. This is a second-chance romance, but it’s also a story of facing your past, the choices you made, the consequences of those choices, of expressing true remorse and of seeking forgiveness, of finding your way back to love while still being true to yourself. A fabulous book—Reid’s best since HEATED RIVALRY—and, as she did in that book, Reid moves smoothly between past and present as we meet Adam and Riley, both retired professional hockey players who haven’t had contact with each other for over a decade. The first two-thirds of THE SHOTS YOU TAKE are angsty and melancholy in all the best ways—and I was there for every moment of it. Many years ago, hockey teammates Adam & Riley had a FWB arrangement—although Riley, fully aware and accepting of his being gay, was truly in love with Adam while Adam covered up his own feelings by using women, alcohol, and a frequent refrain of “we’re really not like that” as avoidance mechanisms. Adam eventually married and had children while (after an event that was a significant lapse of judgment on both men’s parts) Riley sunk into alcohol dependency and depression. The guys are now in their early forties: Adam is divorced and in the process of coming out; Riley has been sober for many years and has addressed his mental health challenges with medication and therapy. Adam became a superstar in the hockey world and recently retired; Riley lives in a small town and runs his family’s sporting goods store. When Adam shows up at Riley’s father’s funeral, it is the first time the men have seen each other for years—and it’s not a happy reunion. At first, the reader is completely on Riley’s side: Adam did treat Riley badly, he used him and dismissed him in an effort not to address his own sexuality. There are several great scenes of completely understandable anger on Riley’s part as he confronts Adam about his past behavior; those confrontations are both necessary and cathartic. But as the book continues, Reid carefully shows us Adam’s growing awareness of how much he has hurt Riley, how much he regrets that, and how much he wants to make amends. One of the best things about THE SHOTS YOU TAKE is that Reid does not make it easy for either man to move forward: there are a lot of issues that have to be addressed and a lot of healing that has to be done. If I have to compare THE SHOTS YOU TAKE with any other book, I would say it is most like Nicky James’s equally melancholy, angsty, and beautifully written PROMISES OF FOREVER, with its forty-something MCs reconnecting and having to address the past in order to make something of the future. I loved THE SHOTS YOU TAKE, and, as I suspected, it made my list of favorite books of 2025. Highly recommended.
KD Casey’s BREAKOUT YEAR is the baseball romance that features almost as little baseball as THE SHOTS YOU TAKE features hockey. Eitan is a rookie phenom, newly traded to one of the New York teams (in all likelihood because he was critical of his previous team’s limited and grudging LGBTQ outreach). Although he has had girlfriends and has never so much as kissed another man, Eitan is making his way slowly to coming out. Casey does a good job with Eitan who is naturally optimistic and positive and, for a good portion of the book, considers his support of diversity and inclusion as him just being a decent person. Eitan goes so far as to arrange a “fake boyfriend”—in the form of Akiva, a former player that Eitan knew in the minor leagues. Akiva, now ghostwriting mysteries and modeling under the far more gentile name of Spencer Lattimore, is at first unwilling to participate in the ruse, but goes along, more in memory of his long-ago crush on Eitan than anything else. I really liked how Casey interwove a number of threads into BREAKOUT YEAR, particularly how Eitan and Akiva each expresses their Judaism and relationship with their faith and how much palpable homophobia there is in professional men’s sports. Akiva is also a good counterbalance to Eitan, noting at one point, “Maybe optimism is for people who don’t have to worry about rent.” I wouldn’t say this is Casey’s best book: I’m a big baseball fan, so I would have preferred a few more “on the field/inside the game” moments, but overall, I felt BREAKOUT YEAR was a satisfying read and an interesting take on the fake relationship trope. Recommended.
Jessie H Reign has to walk a fine line in FLAGRANT FOUL (the latest in her Totally Pucked series of m/m hockey romances): she has to make it clear that Sev (the older MC) had no interest in Teddy (younger brother of Sev’s best friend) until after Teddy became an adult. I think she handles it well—especially because Teddy has had a huge crush on Sev since he was in his teens and, once he turns 18, tries (unsuccessfully) to act on it. The book sets up a situation we’ve seen a million times: two guys (one with a crush on the other, the other one trying to fight his feelings) have to become roommates for…reasons. Sev has promised Teddy’s older brother that he will protect Teddy and never get involved with him (although I have to agree with Teddy that, at 24, he is now old enough to make his own decisions and face the consequences of those decisions). At first, I thought FLAGRANT FOUL was going in one direction where Teddy’s flirty seductive behavior would finally break down Sev’s resistance, but that was not what happened at all—and I’m glad Reign didn’t fall into that old cliché but instead cleverly moved the story into an unexpected direction. FLAGRANT FOUL isn’t always a success: the character of an 80-year-old woman who is supposed to be considered a loveable eccentric because she reads “smut” and drops the f-bomb falls utterly flat; she seems to have wandered in from a 1980s rom-com. Also, as she did in ROMEO FALLING, Reign sets up what looks like it’s going to be an important confrontation (in the case of FLAGRANT FOUL, one between Sev and Teddy’s brother) and then never really follows through. So, while not a perfect book, FLAGRANT FOUL is a perfectly serviceable m/m hockey romance. Recommended.
Lots of rereads the past few weeks – Jackie Lau (romances set in Toronto with diverse characters) and Eryn Scott’s Pebble Cove (cozy mysteries). The one new book was Strength Check by Katherine McIntyre, which I loved. It’s a sapphic romance between two women who become roommates, then friends, then finally realize they are both in love with the other after their pasts stop blocking them. Loved Roxie, the nerdy heroine who co-owns a gaming cafe with her best friends. Melody was also interesting between her job (she is proud to finally get the promotion she deserves but it turns out her coworkers are a den of vipers) and her love of roller derby.
So I finished KJ Charles’ ALL OF US MURDERS and liked it a lot. I agree with other reviewers, the epilogue felt rushed, I would liked to see that expanded, see the two guys making a life together and seeing Zeb inherit the rest. Though the last sentence of the epilogue was very satisfying to read and a fun nod. I loved the MCs and how their relationship worked. This is a second chance romance, and basically they have had their big misunderstanding and breakup before the book starts. Therefore, one MC is mad at the other and not very nice to him at the beginning. However, they do what they should have done in the beginning – they talk and work things out. And they acknowledge that they should have talked before. So whilst mistakes were made, seeing them getting their sh*t together and generally seeing them together was so good. I just needed this. As much as this book has a creepy component, it felt like comfort read to me!
THE GENTLEMAN SPY by Georgina North. I had thought this would fit right in with my recent Regency binge. The book was featured in Cover Awe a couple of weeks ago and the plot sounded right up my alley, so I got it. Unfortunately, the cover is the best thing about the book IMHO. For me, there were several issues. First, this book promised, like the title said, a gentleman spy – though he’s sent home to lay low at his estate due to a botched last mission and to recover from an injury. Yes, a mystery plot does happen, but it’s not center stage and it doesn’t have enough spy shenanigans for me. Also, we never find out what happened in that botched mission or how he got injured there. I wanted more mystery/spy content! Also, he’s a nobleman and never told his family what he does for work, except his father. His father didn’t want his only son and heir to do what he’s doing – hence a big falling out and the hero not having been home since before his father died. His family think he was just living it up on the continent. I appreciate his motivations for wanting to be more than just his father’s son and heir – as in finding his own identity. At the same time, he hasn’t been home for years, took no interest in the running of the estate even from afar, and gets in a tizzy when he finds out that his father’s ward, who is now his ward, has been running everything, and tries to act the autocrat with her. We do not even get an insight as to why he feels he has to act this way, he just goes full-blown old-school autocratic aristocrat. I’ve read so many old-school Regencies with plucky wards and autocratic heroes, and his behaviour felt like a complete throwback to that. Not her, Emerald is mostly a great and independent heroine and not your old-school plucky ward, though she lets Beau drag her into behaving badly too and in front of other people. Their age difference is only 10 years, in case you’re asking, and Emerald is just a few weeks away from reaching her majority, so at least that part isn’t like it used to be in old school Regencies of this type. But still, Beau’s out of the blue, unexplained bad behaviour grated on me and made me nearly DNF. And then suddenly something happens and it’s all good, and things get sexy. On that part too – the last sex scene felt a little ridiculous – as in, get everybody out of the drawing room where they were just celebrating with the family so that a sex scene can happen. Also, I do not ever want to read the word “mewling” in a sex scene again – this word is used constantly here and it’s just – nope! So this was unfortunately not as good as it promised to be.
Slow going, no romance. The books are both youthly spookies.
Currently THE REVENGE OF THE WIZARD’S GHOST by John Bellairs. Sequel to a book I read in my youth. Started a bit so-so, pretty good now.
SAY CHEESE AND DIE! by R. L. Stine: Cursed camera produces photos of misfortune that come true. Second GOOSEBUMPS book I’ve ever read. Was OK; had some “too stupid to live”.
“The Faery Handbag” in MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS by Kelly Link. Tried to start this book several times only to decide I wasn’t in the mood. Finally stuck with it, and this story was so good! Involves an eccentric immigrant grandma and a village in a handbag.
“Reckless Eyeballing” by N. K. Jemison in OUT THERE SCREAMING: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele. Not-so-good cop turns worse when he sees eyes on headlights and targets those cars. Good.
“The Eldritch Pastiche from Beyond the Shadow of Horror” by Christopher Welch in BLOOD LITE (an anthology of humorous horror stories) edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Turned cheap in the middle but otherwise fun. The anthology as a whole so far is not great.
The best thing I read this month, and probably all year, was THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon. Not a romance, but it does have a beautiful love story running through it. Also lots of violence, including a very cathartic and satisfying revenge near the end of the book. But I can’t stop thinking about this book. I put myself to sleep every night by thinking about it, literally. I don’t know why going back into the world of this book is so soothing, even though it’s a harsh and difficult place.
I also finished off Carla Kelly’s Gunwharf Rats series. Amazon will tell you there are only 3 books in the series, but actually there is a 4th one, THE UNLIKELY GUNWHARF RATS. This is Carla Kelly in her earthiest mode, which you only get a hint of in her old Signet Regencies. THE UNLIKELY HEROES, which is #3, and includes the Battle of Trafalgar, was my favorite.
I read EDENBROOKE by Julianne Donaldson, and I didn’t think it was all that. I got whiplash from the heroine’s sudden turns.
I’m working my way through THE CHOCOLATIER’S GHOST. It’s a sequel to THE CHOCOLATIER’S WIFE which I very much enjoyed, but this book is much heavier on the magical elements, with a very scary ghost. The rules of this magical world are complicated, and require more of a commitment that I have. I’m only a casual fantasy reader, although I still really like the MCs.
I have been reading through the Vampire Chronicles since watching season 2 of the TV adaptation. Mostly rereading but the last 3 are new to me. Read PRINCE LESTAT (the first of the last 3) earlier this week. Anne Rice had a bit of a problem with higher stakes since all the way back in book 3 Queen of the Damned so we have reached absolutely ludicrous levels of peril. I’m half expecting to end up in space by the very end. Lestat is the specialest boy.
The rest of the week has been indecisive rereads, first BASS-ACKWARDS by Eris Adderly and PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT by Heather Guerre. PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT is some good femdom. The dynamic between the two MCs hits the sweet spot for me, but there could have been a little more stuff outside of their relationship.
I was lost as to what I should read next but seeing that the latest Rachel Reid is on KU is pointing me in the right direction. Thanks, DiscoDollyDeb!
I had a great time reading Pippa Grant’s latest book, THE SPITE DATE, which features the goldiest of golden retriever MMCs. Simon was right up there with Mal from PLAY by Kylie Scott and kept me smiling through much of the book.
My last few months of reading have been pretty romance-centric so to break that up, I just started SLAYERS OF OLD by Jim C. Hines. So far, so good as it’s already giving off good cozy fantasy vibes with three retired Buffy-style slayers, living together in a somewhat sentient house and about to be challenged by yet another possible apocalypse.
Over the past two weeks ~
— enjoyed The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish which is a contemporary romance set in New Orleans. One lead runs a cat cafe and is terrified by the ghosts he can see. The second lead is a man (trans) who designs haunted houses and works part-time as a burlesque performer.
— enjoyed Danny Hall Gets a Lawyer by Lisa Henry. This featured a young man who is living in his grandmother’s house (she’s moved to an independent living situation) with a roommate and homeless twins they’ve taken in; he’s working at a small town gas station trying to earn money for EMT training. An elderly neighbor cuts down a tree. The second lead is a lawyer in a nearby town (hoping to move to the big city) who is tasked with offering his services, pro bono, to the young man’s grandmother. They meet and connect.
— read The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride for my book group. This book is set primarily in Pennsylvania in the 1930s in a town with many poor Blacks and immigrants. There are a lot of dark events that take place but there are also some genuinely good people foremost of which is a Jewish woman who runs the Heaven and Earth grocery store.
— enjoyed His Leading Man by Ashlyn Kane which is a contemporary romance featuring a screenwriter and a famous actor; the screenwriter is prevailed upon to costar in the film. Both men have secrets.
— Breaking Orbit: vol. 1 of the Titan Run Trilogy by Robert C. Murray was a science fiction novel featuring a small-crew space ship that is about to take off on a three year mission from Mars (now well populated) to Titan. To a large extent, the story focuses on two new crewmembers and their backstories. The author thanked his sister for editing the book, but I noticed quite a few errors. I might have overlooked them had the editing not been brought to my attention!
— enjoyed Sunward by William Alexander which is a science fiction novella about a woman, a courier who delivers private messages and packages. For the past seven years or so, she has been fostering a succession of baby bots for a year of what is effectively their adolescence. She and her current charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, encounter a drifting spaceship, an assassin, and more.
— enjoyed Murder in All Patience by Anne Cleeland which is the 21st (just released) book in a favorite contemporary mystery series. I don’t read this series for the mysteries, I simply enjoy seeing what the characters are up to these days. If interested, start with the first book, Murder in Thrall.
— read Haroom’s Harmonance: Book 1 (Ice Planet Octogenarians) by Opal Mason which is a futuristic science fiction romance. Romances that feature women kidnapped from earth who find their mates on distant planets are not uncommon; this book is the first in a series that has fun with that trope. Generally, it’s young attractive women who are kidnapped; in this case, it’s a car with a group of octogenarians with bad knees, cataracts, and osteoporosis.
— enjoyed The Daymakers by Grace McGinty which is a contemporary (reverse harem) romance featuring a young woman who, in escaping an abusive boyfriend, hides under a bus belonging to a touring rock band. She signs a contract to be a … companion to the band.
— enjoyed The Deaf Chef by E.M. Lindsey, a short contemporary m/m novella featuring a foodtruck chef who is Deaf and an interpreter for the deaf.
— read Mate by Ali Hazelwood which was an enjoyable book featuring a young woman who is the first (known) human-were hybrid and a male were who is Alpha of his pack. This is a follow on book to the author’s Bride (albeit featuring a different couple); I recommend starting with that book.
— quite enjoyed Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs and can foresee reading this again. If you are a reader of the author’s Alpha and Omega or Mercy Thompson books, I suspect you’d like this, too. It features Asil, a very old werewolf, and the five blind dates that he is maneuvered into taking.
— read Echoes of a Seer: The Starbinds Series, Book 1 by Angela K. French which would likely be considered a young adult science fiction novel with a romance component. It was sufficiently compelling that I completed the book, but I doubt that I’ll read on in the series. A nearly 18 year old and several friends end up on another planet; they are healed/taken from Earth after encountering a downed spacecraft. Many of the people on this new planet have psychic powers as does the heroine; she also has other connections to this world.
Currently reading POISON STUDY by Maria Snyder and enjoying it!
@Kareni: I still chuckle when I remember a book that was chock full of appalling grammatical errors (including the phrase, repeating more than once, “Theo’s and I’s house”) where, in her afterword, the author thanked her “Godmother of grammar” for editing the book; to which I could only mutter, “Granny, turn in your blue pencil, stat.”
@catscatscats – I loved The Silicon Mage (and Barbara Hambly in general) back in the day. Glad it still hold up.
I’ve read two books since the last WAYR
Taste the Love by Karelia Stetz-Waters and Fay Stetz-Waters – ff contemporary
4.0 stars – I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this tropey, over the top Sapphic romance with a marriage of convenience between two rival chefs.
I was interested in it because of the authors’ story. A long term, interracial lesbian couple decides to start writing interracial Sapphic romance novels? Sign me up! But I kept second guessing myself because the blurb sounded more zany and over the top than I like.
The set up required a huge suspension of disbelief but I enjoyed the characters so much I was able to mostly just go with it. I’m still not exactly sure how the authors managed to pull that off.
Both characters are so over the top that they could have become cliches but somehow it worked. I did love their banter and the way they competed with each other without being mean, even if some of the plot twists made me roll my eyes.
The Lady and The List by Elizabeth Briars – the author mentioned it in the indie Regency thread and I was intrigued.
3 stars. Queer (m/x) Regency romance.
I wanted to like this a little more than I did. It’s a trad Regency about two childhood friends (Gregory and Henrietta, who prefers to go by Henry) who reconnect during Henry’s first season in London.
I enjoyed the queering of the chicks in pants Regency trope. Henrietta / Henry reads to me as bi-gender – so wearing male clothing is more than a lark, it’s essential to their emotional wellbeing. There are several queer side characters and it looks like more books are planned.
One of my issues with this book is that it’s very much a traditional Regency romance between two young members of the Ton and I’m not as fond of those as I used to be. So that’s a me thing.
But my other issue is that the romance didn’t work well for me – too much pining, not enough communication or character development. And Gregory does something early on that puts Henry at risk and it takes him forever to take responsibility for his mistake. That was almost a deal breaker for me, although he did come through in the end.