Happy Saturday! It’s time for Whatcha Reading! Here’s how we’re kick off May:
Lara: After reading Dolly All The Time by Annabel Monaghan ( A | BN | K | AB ) (and LOVING it with one tiny caveat – full review coming), I’ve decided to delve into her back catalogue and this morning I started Nora Goes Off Script. Of course I only got 20 minutes in before my daughter woke up and the pre-school morning routine kicked in, but I’m looking forward to it. (edited)
Claudia: I am in some circle of hell where nothing is sticking!!
Shana: Oh no! That sounds so hard, Claudia.
I’m reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, ( A | BN | K ) on audiobook. I tried to read the book when it first came out, but I wasn’t in the right mood for a meditative read. It’s perfect for me right now!
Sarah: I’m reading Platform Decay for the 2nd time, and a book called Murder at Gulls Nest, a mystery set in the 50s featuring a former nun who leaves her convent after 30 years to figure out what happened to her missing friend, a former novitiate.
Susan: My brain is very smooth this week, so I’m basically switching between D-Genesis ( A | BN | K | AB ) (researcher accidentally kills a dungeon boss in a car accident and unlocks the stat window, decides to research how levelling up works) and The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter ( A | BN | K | AB ) (very fun; an accountant gets summoned to a magical world, attempts to solve the national budget, and falls into a very respectful fuck or die).
Sarah: Update: I’ve now started the audiobook of Platform Decay, narrated by Kevin R. Free, AND am still reading Murder at Gull’s Nest.
Whatcha reading? Tell us in the comments!
May got off to a good start with a group of very solid reads. None of them inspired me to rave about them, but none of them was awful either. The single DNF was purely a response to some of my least favorite plot devices rather than a blanket condemnation of said book.
Darksight Dare by Lois McMaster Bujold
The sixteenth in Penric and Desdemona’s adventures harks back to earlier in Pen’s travels when he first encounters his future wife Nikys and her brother General Arisaydia. The General sends Cinar, a cavalry captain who has been cruelly blinded, to Pen in hopes that he can cure or improve Cin’s sight. While Cin’s malady cannot be healed as Adelis’s was, Pen and Des, in their usual convoluted way are able to offer a partial solution. I deeply enjoyed this latest entry in a favorite series–even more so than the last few novellas. Pen and Des are perhaps my favorite quick comfort reads. Recommended.
Overruled by Lana Ferguson
DNF @19%
So Dani and Ezra are rival lawyers on opposite sides in a high profile, high stakes divorce case, but they can’t keep their pants on when they’re together. Dani bemoans this constantly, and Ezra constantly needles her about it. And I am just. . . Stop it, Danzra, You’re embarrassing me! The writing is fine and all, but I’m not enjoying it, so I am bowing out.
A Ticking Time Boss by Olivia Hayle
I’ve been soldiering through this workplace romance series, but this one was really hard. Set at a respected (fictional) NYC newspaper, the story was hampered by my awareness of what’s been happening in journalism for years now. Carter is the investor who takes over as the CEO tasked with making the Globe profitable again. Audrey is the dewy eyed, idealistic young reporter whom he first encounters in a bar. While the age difference isn’t that major, the experience gap between these two is a chasm. Both have trust issues stemming from events in their youth, and there is a twist that is painfully obvious early on. Lies of omission by the MMC threaten the relationship, but the very real HR issues are hand waved away. I finished it, but it left me feeling itchy and uncomfortable.
An Italian Island Love Story by Leonie Mack
This romance is the third Wedding Planners adventure. While I loved the Elba locale and appreciated the premise, this story does not work as well as the previous two–at least not for me. Wedding planner Toni is on Elba for a week of vacay before tackling her first destination wedding and plans to stay with her online “girl” friend Gabri. Florist Gabriele looks forward to hosting his pen pal Toni. Big Mis evolves into a fling and then into lies and evasions when Toni’s son and her Mum arrive on Elba. Awkwardness simply rolls off the pages, and this couple never seemed to finish a single much needed conversation in the run up to Toni’s departure. I found it very unsettling that two adults tottering on the verge of forty had such a shaky grasp on how communication and consequences work. Despite all, HEA is achieved.
Unknown Depths by Celia Lake
I think this is destined to be one of my favorite reads by this author. Thom Marwick is a selkie, whose shifter magic is contained by his inherited sealskin. Rowena Edgerton’s shapeshifting ability is Learned. Though both embrace the ocean as seals, on the the surface they have little else in common until Thom’s Gran sends them on a quest to discover and heal the unknown force that is troubling local waters. This story is both highly detailed and deeply focused, which I loved. My only gripe is that Thom’s character is kind of muted in contrast to the much livelier Rowena. This treatment of male characters seems to be a trend in Lake’s recent books, and for the most part, I’m not loving it. It seems like you should be able to support your partner without becoming one with the wallpaper. Fortunately, there are compensations in this one, like lots of Gabe Edgarton, one of my favorite scions of Albion. Recommended.
Suite on the Boss by Olivia Hayle
This book is the final entry in the New York Billionaire series, and it was one of the better ones. Sophie meets Isaac on one of the worst days of her life. He is kind and supportive, but she is no crushed heroine. In the year that follows, she divorces her cheating spouse and pours her energy into her career as a consultant until she once again meets Isaac–this time across a conference table pitching a proposal to expand the Winter Hotel empire. I really liked Sophie and Isaac as a couple. They begin as friends and gradually progress to more than friends, dealing with some weighty baggage as they do so. I was happy to conclude this series on an upbeat note.
Duchess in Diamonds by Jennifer Ashley
This Regency romance is a light, mildly spicy story, perfect for those moments that require a simple HEA without too much angst or complexity. It introduces three friends who meet in boarding school, survive Waterloo together, and are seeking their fortunes in London after the war. Eamon Stone is a charmer whose work as an art appraiser brings him into the orbit of impecunious widow, Lady Aylesmore. Eamon finds himself much taken not only with the duchess, but also with her son Leo, the nine year old Duke. Though Caroline’s first priority is to protect her son, she finds herself returning Eamon’s regard, and together they work to unravel several puzzles with the help of their friends. I look forward to reading upcoming books in the series.
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
(CW: references to accidental deaths and discussion of eating disorders)
This atmospheric romance is set in the Florida Keys. Sara is hoping to sort things out with her achievement oriented family during a week-long vacation in Key West, but her no-show boyfriend undermines her ability to do so. Luis, who is on involuntary leave from his job as a firefighter, is willing to fill in as her partner for the week, primarily to help Sara deal with the stress of her situation. It’s clear from the beginning that these two are really good together despite the personal issues each is dealing with and the way their lies keep tripping them up. The dynamics of Sara’s driven family–doctors all–as well as Luis’s lively Cuban-American famiglia are a welcome focal point of this book. I especially loved the sensual writing style, applied to both the emotional and the ambient landscape. It’s not so much a matter of spice level as it is the immediacy of their experiences and the vivid sense of place. My two main caveats are the insta- aspect of falling in love within three days and the abruptness of the happy ending. However, I will definitely read more by this author.
Love on the Line by C. W. Farnsworth
This sports romance is the final book in the Kluvberg trilogy. Football (soccer) players Claire Caldwell and Otto Berger meet, become lovers, and part during the Olympics in Paris. Six years later, Otto is an elite football player for FC Kluvberg in Germany, temporarily coaching a professional women’s soccer team in the States while recovering from a debilitating injury. Claire is a player for the Boston Siege. Yup, the very same team. Watching these athletes find their way back to each other while juggling family and team responsibilities is an unadulterated pleasure even with the flashbacks to their earlier encounters. I’ve read a bunch by this author, but the Kluvberg sequence is my favorite. It portrays adults coping with and maturing through grownup problems. It also portrays sport as both demanding and rewarding work rather than some kind of golden ticket to pampered prosperity. Wholeheartedly recommended.
Navy Captain’s Convenient Wife by Carla Kelly
This modest historical romance covers familiar ground for Kelly’s long time fans. Anna meets Royal Navy Captain John Beatty when he brings her news of her brother’s death in action. She, in turn, offers refuge to him and two young children to the detriment of her reputation. Cue marriage of convenience. What follows devolves into a sort of boys’ (and girls’) own adventure splashing about the Med post-Trafalgar. In short, this was a mildly daring tale with a surprising amount of cheerful sex, touches of domestic humor, and bunches of Royal Navy cheerleading. I found it a very soothing read, though I would have really liked some payback for Anna’s maliciously gossipy neighbors and un-Christian congregants.
Thirty Love by Tom Vellner
(CW: health issues, bullying and sport related homophobia)
I’m currently reading this m/m sports romance that Sarina Bowen recommended on Goodreads. It’s written in third person present tense single POV which I sometimes find a bit awkward. Leo Chambers is a pro tennis player who has always been coached by his dad, himself a former tennis pro whose career was cut short by MS. Leo’s primary rival is Gabe Montoya, a strong competitor who becomes the first pro player to come out as gay. Leo, who is a rule follower, is also gay but deeply closeted. This is a fairly complicated slow burn story with a large cast of interesting characters. It seems a lot weightier than just sport and romance. . . and there’s a LOT of tennis, about which I know fuck all. Still, the sports content is fairly accessible, even for me. This story grew on me the longer I read it. I especially like the touches of sly and occasionally sophomoric humor that emerge as Leo’s character reveals more complexity and Gabe lets down his guard. Recommended.
Hmm, let’s see where were we? I’ve been working a lot on Saturdays and reading has been ho-hum, so I haven’t been chiming in often.
My husband and I just finished WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel, the first in the series about Thomas Cromwell and Henry the VIII. We both agreed that we found it well written and engaging from scene to scene but the ending felt kind of anticlimactic. There was a lot of build up of all this skullduggery and behind the scenes machinations but the final plot points are presented very flatly. Now, of course, there are two more books to come, but sadly I don’t think there’s going to be more excitement. I think it’s just how “literary” books work these days..” I’m still enjoying it, but I’m trying to adjust my expectations that there will be no fabulous dramatic reveal that makes you gasp ala Dorothy Dunnett (probably my favorite historical novelist of all time).
In mother-son book club news, I finished SCYTHE w/Neal Shusterman which honestly dragged for me. I felt like it was very much “tell and not show” and even though we were in this well thought out post dystopian society, I had no sense of what life was like. What do people eat? What do buildings look like? What animals are around? There were definitely some clever plot moments and my son really likes this series so I will press on, but I suspect it will drag for a while.
And last, but not really least was the audiobook version IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT written by Riley Sager. Two boys in 1994 are camping in a safe suburban backyard. The tent is ripped in the middle of the night and one is kidnapped, never seen again. Now the survivor, Ethan, has moved back to his neighborhood for the summer and he’s started to wonder if his kidnapped friend is back, as a ghost. I will be honest, this book was entertaining enough but it reminded me of why I primarily read mysteries and not thrillers. Very good at building suspense, but not very good at actually surprising reveals. Every “twist” became pretty obvious as the book went on. But it did move along at a fast clip and was fun to listen to while I did baking projects or housework. I would slot it in the category w/Lucy Foley as “read occasionally and don’t think too hard about it.” I can see why Riley Sager is popular and I might pick up a book again as a palate cleanser, particularly as a “beach read” type of book. I might not recommend this particular audiobook to others though. There were a lot of teen and kid voices and the narrator did his best, but it was. . . not great. There were multiple POVs (this was one of the most skillful parts of the book), it would have been great if they had multiple narrators, but so many POV characters had only a chapter or two, that it probably wasn’t doable.
So there, we are. Not many great reads and no romance but that was week that was, as they used to say. Really looking forward to Murderbot, whenever that may be. I have the audiobook from Libby but I’m also working a lot for the next couple of days. We’ll see how much I can cram in when I’m not working.
KJ Charles has a new book out and I love it even though it has kinda wrecked my life because I haven’t been able to finish another book since. HOW TO FAKE IT IN SOCIETY is delightful, everything about it works for me, I don’t know how to describe it without gushing. As a tiny detail but indicative of the overall degree of mastery, the way the character who makes paint/is an artist talks about color and light is eerily reminiscent of my mother who is an artist who used to make her own oils and tempura. The factual research is all there but never dry or extraneous. The way it shapes how a person sees the world and what they focus on. And not least, that I can enjoy a romance with a character that has any similarities with my own mother? KJ Charles can do absolutely anything. I don’t even care that I can’t read other books because this one has provided such a sustained internal gooey floaty sensation. Joy? Content? I deleted the app that was supposed to help me identify emotions, but it would definitely be in a positive quadrant. Safe? Elated? You try and pin them down and they evaporate ime, but the latest book, like all her books, is made of good feelings.
I also read some of THE CASEFILES OF JAY MORIARTY by Kit Walker (on KJ Charles’s recommendation) and was enjoying them before my inability to concentrate on anything but KJ Charles kicked in. They’re shorts, which one would think would be helpful under the circumstances, but I have never done well with that format – I want to be able to really sink into a whole world.
The book I read just before KJ Charles ruined me once again for everyone else, VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS by Jesse Q Sutanto is fun. It’s not deep, it’s not difficult. Despite dealing with fraught parent/child dynamics and generational estrangement, it manages to just be warm and funny and accepting and silly. The denouement is a bit of a mess structurally but it was such a good ride I was able to roll with it. It reminds me a bit of early Evanovich books before I overdosed on the formula.
On a different note, I am pretty sure I am not the problem (well, KJ Charles is not the problem) with two of the books I have subsequently bounced off of. I AM NOT THE ONLY MURDERER IN MY RETIREMENT HOME is a blatant and incompetent rip off of Osman. It makes fun of the trend it is part of in a disparaging way, like it was making fun of me for wanting to read it. Which in the specific case is fair enough but it is in fact incredibly disparaging of …everything and that’s just tiresome. It’s a truly deeply unkind and hateful worldview masquerading as just being a joke. The characters are utterly inconsistent with their only motivation being …not even because plot, but because the author wants to be a dick about something else, plot is not the word for a series of random events. What happens seems mostly based on this lazy half baked sort of: wouldn’t it be funny for old people to have sex, or fight, or do something else so wildly unexpected. And – spoilers I guess but srsly there is nothing to spoil – the murderer turns out to be the foreigner, so after we make fun of olds for being racist hahaha they turn out to be correct? The whole thing is shitty and made of ick.
I also wish someone had warned me that Serra Swift’s KILL THE BEAST is not general content Beauty and the Beast retelling but YA, and the deadly kind of YA that wants to impart Values. I’m not sure what the Values were because I am impervious to that sort of thing plus I was very distracted by my rage at the imbecile not-like-other-girls heroine, but it might have been Chose Love not Vengeance or Reconcile with Your Toxic Family and there were definitely notes of Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover. All of which I struggle with tbh but that last one actually is particularly on the nose because I really liked the cover.
Happy Weekend!
Kitty and The Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville Book 1) by Carrie Vaughn
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/bookinfo/kitty-norville-box-set-books-1-3/
This one was mentioned in one of the books on sale posts a couple of weeks ago and I realized that I already owned a copy. It’s good urban fantasy and the start of 16-ish book series, but I wouldn’t call the first book a romance. Kitty is a radio DJ who hosts a show that talks about weird and supernatural things. Kitty is also a closeted werewolf. The book starts with her trying to balance her work life, family life, and pack life, but as her radio show gains popularity, Kitty gains enemies who don’t like her talking about the supernatural world. Fans of Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson books might want to give this series a shot.
Managing the Vampire’s Mansion: Magiford Supernatural City by K. M. Shea (KU)
A workaholic decides she needs a fresh start as a household manager in a small, lakeside town. To the surprise of no one who read the title, her new boss turns out to be a vampire. There’s a mystery to be solved (tourists attacked!) and a bit of romance (closed door, or at least I can’t remember anything explicit.) It’s cute.
King of Gluttony (Kings of Sin Book 6) by Ana Huang (KU)
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/bookinfo/king-of-gluttony/
Rivals-to-Lovers. Sebastian and Maya go way back. All through school they challenged each other for the top two slots, and then they chose similar marketing careers in their family’s food based companies, so the competition continued. And now their dads want them to work together to launch a new product line. We can see where this is heading, right? I was entertained. (I think this one would work fine as a standalone. You see the characters from previous books, but their relationships aren’t important to the main plot.)
Tattered: A Small Town Second Chance Romance (Lark Cove Book 1) by Devney Perry (KU)
Billionaire, secret baby, and small town tropes. It’s fine.
Reckless at Heart (The Kincaid Brothers Book 1) by Zoe York
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/bookinfo/reckless-at-heart/
Small town slow burn between an EMT and his daughter’s midwife. Very good. I liked the way every one tried to be an adult about their inconvenient attraction. (This one was free when I picked it up on Amazon, so definitely worth trying the sample.)
A Viking’s Peace: Futuristic Science Fiction Romance (Vikings in Space Book 1) by Zoe York (KU)
A Viking’s Bride (Vikings in Space Book 2) by Zoe York (KU)
Vikings in Space! The setting is a space colony founded by Vikings who left Earth to pursue a more traditional lifestyle. The first one involves a romance between an Earth diplomat and her Space Viking counterpart. The second has a Space Viking rescuing an Earth officer from a prison planet. I’ve read a couple of things by Zoe York (and alter ego Ainsley Booth) and liked them. These were pretty short (novella length), so there’s not a lot of world building, but I was intrigued by the alien environment and the couple of potential plot hooks sprinkled in.
Bad Bishop: A Dark Mafia Romance (Society of Villains Book 1) by L.J. Shen (KU)
Dark mafia romance. I’d seen this one awhile ago, but the cover blurb sounded darker than I usually go for. But it’s got like 29K ratings on amazon and 4.5 stars, so I figured it had to have something going for it. If you can get through the first 10%, the rest of it isn’t any darker than I’d expect in a mafia romance, and the author clearly has a sense of humor (dark humor, but still). The first 10% though…
Also, why does the dude smirking at me on the KU cover have two eyes? It’s false advertising.
Darksight Dare (Penric & Desdemona Book 16) by Lois McMaster Bujold
I enjoyed returning to the world of Penric and Desdemona. This novella focused less on Pen and Des, and more on the cavalry officer who comes to them for help with his injured eyes. I enjoyed seeing the hand of the god of the balance at play.
Bonus:
The In Death Cookbook By Theresa Carle-Sanders
I haven’t tried to cook any of these recipes inspired by J.D. Robb’s In Death novels yet, but this cookbook is a lot of fun for fans of the novels. Recipes include things like “Eve’s Spaghetti and Meatballs”, “Cheese Phyllo on the Go”, and “Salmon Thingy with the Stuff”, each accompanied by the passage from the book that inspired it.
It’s been a busy back-half of April into May…
Started & put a pause on JADE CITY by Fonda Lee, picked up when it was on sale a while ago. This is supposed to be grown-up fantasy but reads as very YA; I don’t hate it and I love the concept (what if wuxia movie powers were real thanks to wearing jade jewelry, who would control those resources and what would they actually do with them) but the tone’s not hitting where I want right now; will try maybe a few months from now.
DNF’d THE ALIENIST by Caleb Carr. Historical murder mystery set in Teddy Roosevelt-era New York City. I found this…swinging wildly between ‘perfectly fine’ and ‘incompetent’ in ways that showed a lack of understanding of what makes writing competent. I am also very over the all-tolerant modern-values-having rich white historical people. It feels almost mocking of the struggles people have gone through against those extremely privileged people who caused their problems. This story was extremely violent and graphic against people you are meant to find sympathetic, including children; while that’s for your own determination of boundaries, with the same Nice And TolerantTM rich white men as the leads it felt exploitative to me. I won’t be continuing this one. I looked up the author and he seemed like he was a nice enough guy who meant well, for what that’s worth.
To wash that down I went down the free ebook rabbit hole, specifically the Regency Romance one.
DNF’d LORD OF CHANCE by Erica Ridley. I liked the ideas in this one but I don’t feel like the author did–a reckless but golden-retriever-y duke (earl?) with a gambling problem teams up with the daughter of a once-popular courtesan to find her supposed lairdly father in Scotland and they end up woopsie-daisy married…sounds madcap, right? Yet I found the execution boring and overly safe, with inconsistent motivations on everyone.
Enjoyed THE RAKE MISTAKE and THE GOVERNESS GAMBIT, both short prequels (didn’t realize at the time) also by Erica Ridley in her WILD WYNCHESTERS series. Your tolerance for quirky teams of characters who each have a ‘thing’ and talk over each other will determine if you like these, but I found them a refreshing change from what I’d been reading. I really enjoyed the planning & advice the Wynchesters give each other during their missions and how Phillippa in RAKE MISTAKE was just so DONE with everyone telling her who to marry. GOVERNESS GAMBIT does include more serious topics including child labor/child abuse and smallpox. I’m probably going to read more in this series.
Started GHOST TALKER by Byrd Nash, a steampunk murder mystery in a Parisian-style fantasy world. The main character is persnickety and sassy, which I like, the mystery is interesting at least so far, and I like the world building. I can tell I’m supposed to find the duke attractive (because he keeps being physically described, and also he’s a sad young widowed duke in an antagonistic-yet-close role with the female main character) but I’m not that easy to please. There’s also a handful of editing errors which I feel should’ve been taken care of.
Also reading THE HISTORY OF PYRATES by Daniel DeFoe (you know, the reason we still talk about Blackbeard and all a’them). No reason; it’s just public domain. It’s one-personality-per-chapter so it’s not like you have to read the whole thing through; the sections for Mary Read and Anne Bonny are worth it if you like real historical women being badass.
I’m not very consistent about posting but here we go.
THE ART OF THE LIE by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – I think I might have heard about this one on this site? At the midway point, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I realize that is a me problem, but I still think the author chose the “safe” route. I hung in there and the story ended in a mostly satisfying way, and it’s rich in Georgian history.
MISS TONKS TURNS TO CRIME – thanks to the SBTB winter bingo, I’m listening to this series of short trad regencies by MC Beaton. The humor slips in at unexpected moments, which I truly appreciate. Nothing like busting out laughing as you fly down the freeway:)
LAST ONE OUT by Jane Harper – I love Harper’s writing. Yes, this one is slow. No, it’s not a thriller in any sense. There is a mystery but that is not the focus of the book. The people and the community are the focus, and Harper is excellent at teasing out the nuances of both.
CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES by Jenny Elder Moke – I picked this one up based on a review here, but it was a DNF for me. I disliked the heroine and wasn’t captivated by the story at all.
A SINISTER REVENGE by Deanna Raybourn – another series that I listen to on my commute. I loved the visit to the country home of the Templeton-Vanes. I also appreciated that Veronica finally found some sense in regards to her relationship.
ENEMIES TO LOVERS by Alisha Rai – this is a wild ride across the country, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Is much of it implausible? Sure. Did I care? Not in the slightest. Highly recommend.
THE END OF THE WASP SEASON by Denise Mina – this is book two of an older police procedural series set in Scotland. It is very gritty (be ye warned) but I’ve been swept in. I don’t like how abruptly the stories end but they are compelling nonetheless.
Hello everyone! I tend to read a lot of ebooks but I had a week where I was primarily reading physical books and I forgot how much pleasure I get from seeing my bookmark move closer and closer to the back cover. Less fun is the fact that I now have to wear cheaters to read most physical books. For someone who desperately wanted glasses as a kid, the reality is less glamorous than imagined. I didn’t realize how often I prop my head on my hand until I repeatedly collided with the earpiece. Oh well…just another aspect of adulthood that has not lived up to expectations. My childhood visions for being an adult included a lot more Little Debbie treats and a lot less stress. Here are the highlights of the last couple of weeks:
DAWN ON THE COAST: A GRAPHIC NOVEL by Ann M Martin & Arley Nopra continues my love affair with the graphic novel adaptations of the BSC. I grew up with the BSC, the series came out during my elementary and middle school years and I looked forward to ordering the newest one every month from my school’s book clubs. I had them all: the original series, the mysteries, the super specials. Reading these graphic novels is a nostalgia filled delight. This book in particular tugged on the heartstrings as Dawn grappled with the realities of having friends and families living on both sides of the country.
AN ASSASSINATION ON THE AGENDA & THE BEAST OF LITTLETON WOODS by TE Kinsey are numbers 11 & 12 in the Lady Hardcastle series. I am now caught up on published titles and am counting down to May 26 when Murder on the Rocks releases. I am surprised by how attached to this series I have gotten…I really adore Flo and Lady Hardcastle. These later books are taking place in 1912 and you very much feel the looming threat of WWI…Book 11 actually featured a mystery that was very closely aligned with the politics of the time and was therefore less cozy than its predecessors. The story was still enjoyable but I found myself dreading the inevitable…I am curious if the author will end the series before that time, or incorporate the war into the plot lines. I rather suspect the latter but time will tell. Book 11 was set in London which also made the overall story feel faster paced. I have found that I tend to prefer the books that take place in Littleton Cotterell so was happy to see that book 12 returned to this sleepier (but decidedly deadlier based on murders-per-capita) town. This may be my favorite book of the entire series as multiple mysteries seemed to be playing out at once. I look forward to book 13 and am happy my wait is not more than a few weeks.
NOBODY’S BABY by Olivia Waite is the second in the Dorothy Gentleman series of novella length mysteries and I enjoyed it even more than the first book. A baby that shouldn’t be possible is an intriguing premise but what I really enjoyed was seeing the deepening characterizations. Reggie in particular was a delight. It will be a long wait until book 3 (whose blurb sounds delightfully devious) in March 2027.
MURDER AT THE MERTON LIBRARY, MURDER AT KING’S CROSSING, & MURDER AT SOMERSET HOUSE by Andrea Penrose saw me get up to date with the Wrexford and Sloane series. This is a historical romance with a lovely romantic subplot. These three entries see the series expanding its viewpoint by presenting murders that have larger implications than those in the past. Each book seems to be ratcheting up both the tension and the possible consequences as England balances (rather unsteadily at times) on the brink of war. The author balances this out be continuing to deepen (and broaden) the relationships in the found family at the heart of the series. Highly recommended, but start at the beginning of the series.
STAY FOR A SPELL by Amy Coombe has the most delightful premise of a princess being cursed to live in a bookstore (she literally can’t leave) until she finds her heart’s desire. As many of us would, the princess immediately sees the benefits to this “curse” and happily sets about making the best of things which are immensely better than the life she left behind. Parts of this book were quite clever (I quite enjoyed the way the author played with the idea of true love’s kiss) but others were quite thin. I would have preferred a bit more depth to the magic system and the princess’s supposedly fraught relationships with her family were wrapped up a bit too easily. I did enjoy the comedy of the inn that kept changing names and the “barn pirate” with a unique curse of his own. Overall, a fun read even if the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book.
THE BLACKOUT MURDERS, THE SPECTRE OF HAWTHORNE MANOR, & THE SPITFIRE MURDERS by Anna Elliott were Goodreads recommendations (based on my reading and enjoying the Lady Hardcastle series) so I gave them a go. These, the first three in the Homefront Sleuths series (as I am unable to read a series out of order), are set in WWII and feature five main characters who all get POV chapters as they work together to solve various murders. In the first book I made the mistake of reading the character list at the front of the book which basically gave away the plot…books 2 & 3 used a lot of heavy foreshadowing that lessened tension and increased predictability when I rather think it was meant to do the opposite. Despite that, I am finding these more enjoyable than not; very much a popcorn series. I will most likely continue to use these as palette cleansers between other reads.
THE CASE FILES OF HENRI DAVENFORTH audiobooks #1-6 by AJ Sherwood were newly added to Hoopla and have been a delight to listen to. I have read the ebook series about four times so I am obviously biased and predisposed to love the audiobooks, but I truly think they are extremely well done. Rather than having narrators switch with POV chapters, the voice narrations are spliced so that any time male characters are speaking it is by the male narrator and any time female characters are speaking it is by the female narrator. The background info is by whichever narrator fits that chapter’s main POV. They remind me strongly of graphic audios which I happen to love. Other audiobooks may be done in this fashion, but these are the first I have heard (not counting the aforementioned Graphic Audio productions). If you know of any others, I am open to recommendations! This series is typical AJ Sherwood – which mean they are clever and highly addictive with wackadoodle plotlines that somehow feel grounded with characters who are easy to root for. I look forward to additional audiobooks being released – hopefully soon, along with the release of the final book later this year.
I finished reading THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME by Ilona Andrews and would still be wallowing in the world’s most immersive book hangover if PLATFORM DECAY hadn’t dropped on Tuesday. Murderbot, you rescue more people than you will ever know.
@Elaine – that style of narration is called “duet” narration (as opposed to dual narration). You can occasionally find the term printed on the covers (so tempted to use scare quotes here) of audiobooks, but I don’t know of a reliable way to search for duet-narrated books.
The most recent duet narration I’ve listened to are Susie Tate’s DAYDREAMER series, narrated by Shane East and Zara Hampton-Brown, but based on the list of books in your comment, I’m not sure Tate is a good match for you.
Not a lot of reading for me during the past couple of weeks; too much work to deal with. I DNFed several books that didn’t hold my attention and finished three books set in the music industry, two of which I liked a lot. COLTON GENTRY’S THIRD ACT, by Jeff Zentner, was slow at times, but slow in the way that a warm summer afternoon stretches out time and makes you want to linger in the comfortable feeling. I don’t remember who recommended this book (I think it was someone here in the Bitchery), but thank you. I liked the MCs a lot, and Zentner’s descriptions of Colton’s suffering (physical and emotional) and eventual recovery were often lyrical as well as sometimes agonizing. Colton is a former high school football hero turned country music star who blew up his career, and his marriage to a pop star, as a result of a drunken anti-gun rant delivered from on-stage, after his best friend was killed in a mass shooting. Colton retreats to his hometown in Kentucky where he’s surprised to learn his high school girlfriend, Luanne, is now the owner and executive chef of a renowned farm-to-table restaurant. The story of their second-chance romance is told in flashbacks to high school in 1995 and to Colton’s entry into the Nashville music scene, as well as present day scenes placed in 2015. The writing is lovely–I had to look up several words, and didn’t mind it a bit, even in the detailed descriptions of restaurant menu items that occupied a considerable number of pages. Zentner is a new-to-me writer and I’ll be looking for more of his work.
SOME KIND OF FAMOUS is the third novel by Ava Wilder, and for me her best so far. As in Wilder’s first two books, the FMC is a celebrity, but this time the MMC is a “normie.” Merritt is 35, living with her twin sister and brother-in-law in a small town in Colorado, and still in recovery from massive fame and massive trauma resulting from her 20-year-ago rise as a teenage singer/songwriter and 10-years-ago painful fall from Grammy- and Oscar-winning heights. When her sister announces her pregnancy, Merritt decides it’s time to move into the fixer-upper house she owns, so she hires local (and very attractive) contractor Niko to get the house ready. A “just-for-the-summer” romance begins, but both MCs have complex backstories that are gradually revealed and eventually resolved with a satisfying HEA. I’d recommend checking the trigger warnings since this story has a lot of problematic elements; however, I thought Wilder’s story of Merritt’s not-easy journey to mental health was just as compelling as the romance.
My third music-adjacent read was THE POPSTAR’S COWGIRL by A. Goswami, author of a large number of F/F novels distributed via Kindle Unlimited, and a new author for me. The pop star, Skye, is 20; the “cowgirl” is a 38-year-old rancher named Rowan with a 14-year-old daughter who’s a huge fan of Skye. The story was OK, but a lot of the content in the early chapters involved descriptions of the MCs ogling each other’s bodies. They get together via what seemed to be a highly contrived storyline–Skye wants to shoot a music video on Rowan’s ranch because (for reasons that were unclear to me) it’s the one perfect location, and gains permission for the shoot despite Rowan’s objections. The MCs deal with their insta-lust and then embark on a more meaningful relationship, with various complications along the way. Although I finished the book, I wasn’t motivated to want to visit this author’s backlist any time soon.
I just started the debut novel by Emily Zipps, ALICE RUE EVADES THE TRUTH, and while I’m only a few chapters in, I like the writing style and I’m intrigued by the MCs, so I’m eager to continue.
@Elaine, I had completely missed the memo that AJ Sherwood and Honor Raconteur were pen names for the same author.
First and foremost Abby Jimenez’s THE NIGHT WE MET.
“Maybe this isn’t the kind of love that deserves to exist. Maybe it’s the kind that wars start over. The kind that topples empires and never leaves the world better than it found it.”
This book!!! Aside from her usual skill with language and character building, she’s written the story no one wants to read: Jesse’s Girl. People still know that song right? The quote, and I don’t generally write down quotes from books, is from a book that the main characters share a love for and is so salient to their story. On the fateful night they meet Larissa has a choice of two people to accept a ride home from, flirty outgoing Mike and his best friend reserved, slightly disgruntled Chris. Mistaking Chris’s reserve for dislike, she takes the ride from Mike, which leads to a relationship. What Chris feels is far from dislike, and he struggles to protect his heart and keep his best friend oblivious while yearning for the woman that best friend is head over heels for. It’s an impossible situation. She’s off limits even if they break up, as one of their more astute friends (“you never touch her”) points out. Circumstances keep putting them together leading to a lively friendship of shared pet parenting and a love of books. She believes him to be one of her best friends. He knows she’s the love of his life. This is the kind of story that takes a lot of skill. Jimenez has it in spades. She wisely left the “she’s touching him with that body” element completely out of the story. Is it weird that I remember a lyric from a 40yo pop song? There’s no easy out of ruminating on anyone’s sexual prowess, or lack thereof. We can’t hate Mike, why would Larissa be with him if he was an awful person? Doesn’t say much about her if she did. The cracks do start to show, though, and Chris finds himself covering for his friend more and more. There is so much heartbreak in this story. Larissa’s slow realization that Mike isn’t who she thought/hoped he was or needs him to be. Chris trying desperately to protect his heart and his friends’. Mike spiralling down under the weight of issues he’s in denial about. I loved EVERYTHING about this book. I’m not one to save quotes from books, but in this case I wrote down two. The one above and a one I’ll keep to myself because people need to experience this most swoon worthy statement in context. I may embroider it on something.
THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE is the sequel to Sarah Beth Durst’s SPELLSHOP, one of my top five books from last year. This did not disappoint. This is the story of librarian Terlu Pema punished for illegal use of magic by being turned into a statue and put on display in the main reading room as an example to all. Lonely in a strange city Terlu enchanted a spider plant, making it sentient. Yes, Caz’s creator. Many years later Terlu comes to consciousness, human once more and alone in a snow covered forest. She stumbles toward the only light she sees and finds a greenhouse. A series of them really, full of wonderous things both mundane and magical. She’s discovered by the sole gardener in the vast construct, a grumpy young man, Yarrow. He’d sent for help and received a statue and a spell. The greenhouses are failing. The spells cast by the long dead wizard are failing. Can Terlu unravel his notes and save her new home, because Terlu has come to realize that this island with it’s unwittingly charming gardner and enchanted plants feels like the home and purpose she’s always sought. Like its predecessor, this book was an absolute delight to read. A quiet and lovely story of two lonely people growing together. There were long pauses where I just stopped reading so I could picture the greenhouses: the sunflower maze, the leaf mice, the singing plants, the sea dragon. It was a treat for the mind and the soul.
Currently reading an unexpected gem of a historical romance that I found during an insomnia scroll through the free on Kindle list, downloads I don’t generally have high expectations for. THE SPINSTER STRIKES BACK by Ava Devlin is the story of a young woman abandoned at the altar who decides she shouldn’t suffer this indignity alone when the woman she was jilted for -her best friend’s sister- shows up at her door, alone and pregnant. Together they publish a listing of all Freddie’s failings, frauds and foibles. Has anyone else noticed that the feckless brother/cousin/friend in historicals is invariably named Freddie? I digress. Enter his older, illegitimate half brother, a lawyer who is not happy, but he is charmed by this intelligent woman who has decided to not accept the indignities heaped on the women who cross Freddie’s path. Add a disgraced Bow Street Runner and a third abandoned woman seeking justice, and I am finding myself charmed, even though we have hit the 3/4 mark mis understanding. He has failed to mention the fraternal relationship. It has a quiet tone, despite the fraught nature of the relationships. Allowing Freddie’s, victims isn’t the right word, women move in with her might seem doormatish, but it gives her a sisterhood of support. Taking action against their victimizer gives them agency, I here for that. Heading back to see how the man who waxes eloquent in court but can’t adequately express himself to one lone woman gets himself out of the mess he’s made. Hope Devlin can stick the landing.
Yippee! WAYR is here!
I don’t usually read many of the recommendations before I write my entry, but today I glanced at some of them.
@kkw, you totally read my mind (not only about KJ Charles, who is so good, and I’m going to start their new one this week) but about I’M NOT THE ONLY MURDERER IN MY RETIREMENT HOME. I DNF’d for all the reasons you said, though they were not as well-articulated in my mind. Thank you for giving voice to my frustration! I have started THE SUNSET YEARS OF AGNES SHARP (written by THREE BAGS FULL author Leonie Swann) which I am hoping might be more the book I thought INTOMIMRH would be. I also have a hold on an audio book that might provide elder murder shenanigans, TOO OLD FOR THIS by Samantha Downing. I will report back. It’s not that I always want to read Thursday Night Murder types of books, but they are a mood, aren’t they?
Books I did read:
GRIM GAMES by Abigail Kelly. Recommended. This was another solid installment in this series. Paranormal, good worldbuilding, M/F. Fated mates on the vampires’ side. Also, the Syndicate is a crimial organization, which I know some folks were looking for on a previous. SBTB post.
TICKET OUT by Michelle Diener. London historical, 1963, F Australian/Italian immigrant meter maid and police officer solve a mystery and start dating by the end. I wanted to like this book more. It was a beautiful painting of London in a moment of time, which I loved. And the two main characters felt very real. But the mystery and the romance were meh. No spoilers, but the way it wrapped up was lazy and stupid. I will not be reading the next book.
A LADY FOR ALL SEASONS by T.J. Alexander was worth the read. The love story was really beautiful. I totally bought this complicated queer romance, and it felt authentic, even given the moment in history. I am not expert enough to know if it was, but there were no, “She would never have said that in 1820” moments. Just a lovely romance. It wrapped up a little neatly, but I was so happy for them that I did not care. Check it out.
There was one annoying thing (to me), that others may find charming — Lord Byron was a secondary character who popped up regularly in the book. After he appeared the first time, I immediately did a deep dive online on him, because I was curious about whether he was represented in a way that made sense. While in some ways I can understand that he might be seen as a brave icon given his time, he truly was a selfish, privileged F-boy, too. Which was called out in the book, but I just don’t know why the author couldn’t have made up their own F-boy — why drag Byron into this? Jarred me out of the story repeatedly. As in life, Byron took up much more space than he probably deserved in the book. YMMV.
Thank you all for your recommendations! Happy Mother’s Day! Wishing love and strength to all those for whom Mother’s Day is complicated, sad, hard, or just exhausting.
Over the past two weeks~
— enjoyed my reread of Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs which contains a novella, a number of stories, and a couple of scenes. If you are a fan of the author’s Mercy Thompson or Alpha and Omega series, this is well worth reading.
— read a science fiction novel by a new to me author, Man, True Man (The Chronicles of Tonath Book 1) by Mari Collier. (Incidentally, this book is currently FREE for US Kindle readers.) A man in a spaceship manages to crash into the ocean near land and swim to shore, but he suffers a head injury that leaves him with amnesia. The book covers the next thirty or so years of his life on this unusual planet that has two different types of men and biospheres.
— read Off-Ice Behavior by Hannah Henry which is a contemporary romance featuring an ice hockey player and a tattoo artist. The former is being pressured by his mother to attend his ex-fiancee’s wedding. He ends up inviting the latter (who is the friend of a friend) to attend the wedding with him as his fake boyfriend. The two men develop feelings for each other over the course of the summer.
— quite enjoyed Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett which I’d describe as a fantasy set in our world and time. A hotel which normally transports magical individuals of various types to other worlds suddenly ceases to function and must land on earth. The manager believes that the hotel needs a new guest to recharge it and thus looks for a tenant. A single mother (widowed and with a four year old son) answers his ad. This had a lot of humor and a nice romance. I look forward to reading the next volume.
— for my distant book group, I reread with pleasure Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. I enjoyed this even though several events strained credulity. The story begins as two estranged siblings are brought together to listen to a lengthy recorded message that their recently dead mother has left for them.
— read a romance set in New York City in the late sixties which I quite enjoyed, After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian. The leads are a man on the run and the proprietor of a bookstore, but the cast also includes a grieving woman and her newborn and other tenants in the building. Be aware that grief plays a big part of the story.
— read Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter which is a contemporary romance featuring a grad student (who works part-time in a grocery store and as a house cleaner) and a millionaire businessman. The former stays overnight in the latter’s apartment while he’s away (they’ve never met) while her apartment is being fumigated. She is surprised by his parents the next morning, and they assume that she is his girlfriend. A fake relationship ensues. This was a pleasurable read even though it strained credulity.
— read a short fantasy novella, The Mark of Oblivion by Jasper Stone, which featured a young woman who for five years has been an apprentice for the very powerful Cartographers’ Guild. When the story begins, she is about to lose her apprenticeship as her maps consistently contain information that is not Guild approved.
— reread with pleasure the contemporary romance, Lucky by Gigi DeGraham. It featured three teens in their last year of high school who have a polyamorous romance. Two come from wealthy families while the third lives in a trailer park.
— My prior read by the same author had me happily rereading JFH: Justin F**king Halstead by GiGi DeGraham. It’s a contemporary romance featuring two college students who become friends and then more. Both are well known on campus — one is a talented football player; the other suffered a brutal attack the prior year. A lot of attention in the story is paid to dealing with trauma and recovery. [Just a note that I’m surprised this author isn’t more well known.]
— reread two more books by author Gigi DeGraham which I quite enjoyed. The first, Prisoner (Steele Pack Book 1), seems to be a contemporary novel until a revelation in the last chapter. The story is about a teenager found guilty of murdering a man who is raping his sister. He serves some years in a juvenile facility (where he befriends/falls in love with another inmate) before being transferred to a prison. When the story begins, he is escaping. I then read and enjoyed the sequel Fugitive (Steele Pack Book 2). One thing I found unusual is that the focal characters of the book changed at about the midpoint. I am curious if or when the next book in the series will be published.
— reread Bird Boy by GiGi DeGraham. (And this completes my reread of the author’s oeuvre.) This is a contemporary romance featuring a baker at a coffee shop and a man who owns an Italian restaurant with his Family (that is Family with a capital F).
Happy Mother’s Day to all who are celebrating this weekend. And sympathetic thoughts to all who are missing their mothers.
@Elaine I really love the audiobook of Lish McBride’s cozy fantasy romance A Little Too Familiar, and that also uses duet narration!
I read THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME by Ilona Andrews. And then I downloaded the audiobook and read it again. I’m a bit lost at sea now on what to follow it up with, so I’ve been reading knitting patterns.
Can confirm the excellence of Abby Jimenez The Night We Met. It goes on my re-read shelf. Best of all she’s announced that her next book will be Mike’s story. If you’ve read The Night We Met you’ll know how much I’m looking forward it.
I just finished Carley Fortune’s Our Perfect Storm. What a sweet book! A beautiful story of deep friendship, imperfect characters, personal growth plus the descriptions of Tofino and surroundings are incredible. Such a sense of place! I loved it!
Well, since last time…I think I started with Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison. She’s become one of my favorite horror authors over the last few years, and this one was a time loop in which our main character is caught in a time loop that imitates horror movies. Slasher, evil entities, the usual, and the loop only resets when she dies a horrible painful death. I liked the time loop of it all, and the different horror genres in the loop were creative. I also liked that the loop forces our main character to do some work on herself, since she initially thinks that the way out of the loop is some good ol’ fashioned self-actualization, a la Groundhog Day. Then I went into Beach Thriller by Jamie Day, in which a struggling author returns to her hometown to try to break through some writer’s block and solve the long-cold case of her sister’s mysterious death. There is A LOT going on this book, and while I appreciated how the author tied it up, that tying up depended a lot on some suspension of disbelief. Which is fine. It’s fiction. And now we’re here, in which I’m reading The Shippers by Katherine Center. I’ve really grown to appreciate her romances over the past few years, they’re often funny and heartfelt, and I almost always like the characters. I’m also listening to the audiobook of Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, because we know I like my non-fiction to float into my ears. I’m not super-far in yet, but man, you have to marvel at just how AWFUL some of these folks are. And yet, even in their awfulness, they’re also such weirdos. Ah, well. So until next time, apparently we’re getting UFOs. Fine, whatever, I welcome our alien overlords.
I missed the last WAYR so this includes some books read in April. I read an old Beverly Jenkins book THROUGH THE STORM. Although I have read a number of her historicals set in the Old West, this is the first one I’ve read that takes place during the Civil War. It weaves history into the story quite well, although parts of it felt more like a saga than a romance, with the heroine(an escapee from slavery) going from a Union Army encampment in Atlanta to Boston to New Orleans, where she reconnects with the hero, a Union Army officer. Anyway, I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with General Sherman’s exploits, so although the book leaves Atlanta before he takes off on his March to the Sea, it made me want to read more about it. So I picked up SOUTHERN STORM: SHERMAN’S MARCH TO THE SEA by Noah Andre Trudeau. It’s a real doorstop of a book, dense but not dry at all. The author incorporates lots of little humanizing details, gleaned from primary sources like soldiers’ diaries and letters home. And the logistics of moving an army of 60,000+ men on foot and horseback are mind boggling. I guess I am now a Civil War nerd. I am about 18% in, reading a chapter or 2 daily, but like General Sherman, I am fully committed. It’s too late to turn back now!
Speaking of war, back in April I also read THE NECKLACE by Carla Kelly, and hoo boy! It’s set during the Reconquista in 13th century Spain, written from the perspective of Spanish Catholics trying to take back Spain from its Muslim rulers. I almost DNF’d and did skim over a lot of it, including the most horrific violence and atrocities. I recommend avoiding this one, even if you are a big Kelly fan.
Since then, I’ve been reading lots of humorous lightweight stuff as a palate cleanser. That includes FOR DEADER OR WORSE by Sheri Cobb Smith; A FOOLISH FLIRTATION and A MUCH MALIGNED MISS, Victorians by Alice Coldbreath; HER BRIDEGROOM BOUGHT AND PAID FOR, a Coldbreath medieval; RAKE’S PROGRESS by M.C. BEATON, a closed door Regency rom-com. And I read my first Audra Richards book, HIS RELUCTANT LADY. Although I don’t like the trope of the bridegroom being angry at the heroine when they are trapped into marriage due to a compromising situation, this book got a lot better as it went along, and I will definitely read more of her work.
Lisa Oliver’s SOMETHING WORTH KEEPING is darker than most of her stories, but not as violent as other monster fiction I’ve read. It features an Eldritch guardian (shadow demon who feeds on corruption) and the human archivist who is his fated mate. They meet extremely-not-cute, but the archivist does not react with the expected terror (this guy is exceptionally pragmatic) and ends up agreeing to explore the fated mates thing. The guardians are at war with a very corrupt villain and the archivist joins the fight. So far, it’s entertaining.
The best of my recent reading was PLATFORM DECAY, which SB-Sarah reviewed very eloquently. The lines that hit me hardest started “In that voice…” I am currently reading HOW TO FAKE IT IN SOCIETY and I love Titus so much already.
I regret to say that I had to nope out of T. Kingfisher’s WOLF WORM. I thought I was prepared, after the Sworn Soldier series, and I got through the first waves of bugs and the havoc they wreak. But the underground screaming by the nasty shed in the woods was the first time I set the book down, and then going to the shed was where I gave up.
In non-fiction, I’ve been reading a biography of the American evangelical superstar Aimee Semple McPherson, SISTER, SINNER. She famously disappeared into the Pacific Ocean in 1925, turning up a month later in the desert near the Mexico-Arizona desert, claiming to escaped from kidnappers. Her rise to celebrity and power is a wild ride to read about – and I had no idea that the church she founded is still going strong. I know the story will only get wilder, as her story starts to fall apart and the accusations that she was off on a romantic escapade with a married man ramp up. Her manager/stage mother Minnie is a Force to be Reckoned With. I’m learning so much about the rise of Pentecostalism as well. Faith healing through the radio was a new one for me (ASM was the second woman in California to be granted a radio license).
@DonnaMaire thanks for articulating what I liked about Abby Jimenez’s THE NIGHT WE MET so well.
May in Seattle smells blissfully of lilacs and pinks. It’s cheering me out of a low-level but too-lengthy health slump.
F/M Romantic Fantasies
I’m also in the midst of Rachel Gillig’s dark Gothic fantasy duology, ONE DARK WINDOW and TWO TWISTED CROWNS. Damn, I’m loving it. It’s set in a small kingdom isolated by dark magic. There’s a magical system using cards but otherwise if you’re infected by magic you will be killed. Our heroine has been but her family has hidden it, and as a consequence of her infection an ancient monster lives in her mind. This is utterly enjoyable and I really love the characters and the romance.
I also read Andrea Eames’ fantasy A HARVEST OF HEARTS (a standalone), where magic is hoarded by the king and the children he creates and magic comes from using bits of hearts, so the (also isolated) kingdom is full of beautiful, enchanting princesses stealing people and/or bits or all of their hearts. The FMC is a plain-faced, stubborn butcher’s daughter who gets captivated (accidentally) by the prince. It compels her to him and she tracks him down and becomes his housekeeper, in a very HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE way. His house and cat are marvelous and so is she. The prince is so very Howl-like and louche. More dark and gory than HOWL, but I still enjoyed this one.
Also really liked Caty Rogan’s fantasy KISSED BY THE GODS (the first of a series). The FMC comes from a severely oppressed, starving populace. When she defeats a group of soldiers who have come to conscript her brother (she has already lost her fiancé and one brother to this), she finds herself training as a warrior and bonding with a winged horse. So far so usual in romantasy, but this is well-written and with strong characterization and an interesting world. And those horses!
F/M Contemporary Romances
I can see why some people don’t like these, but I did. The first 3 are the ones where I feel compelled to read more by these authors, though I’m sure I’ll read more by the others as well.
I continued my read of Chloe Walsh’s Boys of Tommen series with SAVING 6 and REDEEMING 6. These really are remarkable in making YA/New Adult traumatized characters’ romance work. Yeah, so angsty but also good. These centre on the life/relationship of the brother of the FMC from the previous duos so I knew a lot of the plot but still was utterly engrossed in the read.
Betty Corrello’s 32 DAYS IN MAY features a woman struggling with the dramatic change from a high-powered professional life to living with lupus and a mid-level actor struggling with alcohol and his failing career. They decide to have a month-long relationship. Very well-handled and actually believable to me. Really liked the characters.
I’ve really liked Peyton Corinne’s angsty college hockey players romances, this time the 1st in the Undone series (and the 3rd I’ve read) UNSTEADY. Here the team’s captain struggles with PTSD from a bad injury and falls for a woman who tries to balance care of her siblings (terrible parents), competition-level figure skating, and college. Also good, also believable. Again, really liked the characters.
Again, I liked the characters in Chloe Liese’s HAPPY ENDING. I wasn’t quite as bothered as Lara in the previous WAYR with the brief third person pieces because I like how Liese handles characters, though she’s never quite become a top favourite for me.
Also read and enjoyed Kandi Steiner’s LOVE OVERBOARD about a chef and a lead steward’s second-chance romance on a luxury yacht while being filmed for reality TV.
Ditto Elle Kennedy’s LOVE SONG about a romance between tow of the next generation of her Briar U series, a struggling musician and a college student trying to figure out what to do with her life.
Historicals
Read and enjoyed Vol. 2 of THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION
Have also started reading D.E. Stevenson, an author my mother really liked. Read ANNA AND HER DAUGHTERS and ROSABELLE SHAW. Interesting, gentle view of mid- and early-20th C characters and their world.
Mainstream
A lot has been said out there about Virginia Evan’s THE CORRESPONDENT. And I did enjoy it. I liked how the letters became a mosaic showing who Sybil was, and especially liked the 72-year-old protagonist was still figuring out her life and relationships.
Just finished A Cute Little Murder by Molly Harper and To Shoot a Sinner by Lydia Margett both highly recommended!
Currently reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which was sent to me in a “blind date with a book” exchange based on the genres I said I liked. I’m halfway in and, while the plot is twisty and strange, it’s addictive. I’m also working my way through the Harrisburg Railers series by RJ Scott & VL Locey (gay hockey players), and just got an ARC of Edging Coach by Gabby Grey & LA Witt (more gay hockey players). Lots of time to read in retirement!
@Neile, I’ve read a lot of D.E. Stevenson over the years, mostly picked up at church book sales and library discards. The Miss Buncle series is my favorite, starting with MISS BUNCLE’S BOOK. It’s quite funny.
Speaking of nun detectives, Dropped Like a Bad Habit
By Melissa Westemeier is 99c:
Sister Bernadette and her fellow residents at The Abbey: Senior Living are determined to thwart the redevelopment of quaint Chestnut Street… then local business owners start dying. (Contemporary mystery)
I’ve been reading Nora Roberts since her very first Silhouette romance, Irish Thoroughbred, was published back in 1981 (which definitely dates me). I won’t claim to have read everything she has written because I gave up on the JD Robb’s In Death series somewhere around the 30th book and her NR books moved off my buy list to my “if the library has them” list about 20 years ago. After finishing HIDDEN NATURE last week, her NR books may join her JDR books on my “not going to bother anymore, even if the library has them” list. Her most recent books have become books about endless home renovation projects interspersed with violent actions by the over-the-top villain(s) and a romance or two on the side. Sometimes this mixture in Roberts’ books has worked for me, but in this book the balance just felt off and deeply unsatisfying.
Sarah Morgan’s FIVE STAR ROMANCE (UK title is BRAVE NEW SUMMER) is an undemanding, pleasant beach read. I’ve been reading Morgan since her Boone/Harlequin Presents days and really enjoyed her first couple of single title romance series. But her more recent single title books have switched their focus more to what we in North America think of as “woman’s fiction” with romantic elements. As well her books instead of focussing on a single couple are now about three women, connected in some way (e.g., three sisters or a mother, daughter, and granddaughter); this means that each of three intermeshing storylines feel often underdeveloped and the romances thin. FIVE STAR ROMANCE suffers from exactly this problem – we have nice characters, some fun moments, and a potentially interesting twist in the story, but none of the characters, storylines or romances have much substance. I really wish that Morgan would go back to writing single-couple romances, rather than these slice of life stories with romantic aspects, she’s really shortchanging her characters.
I read the third book in the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett: EMILY WILDE’S COMPENDIUM OF LOST TALES. Emily and Wendell have really grown as a couple. In this book Emily grows more confident emotionally. She still is introverted and uncomfortable in complicated social situations; but she is now willing to trust Wendell and her small circle of friends. Wendell’s character arc is more subtle, but he also has matured. Most importantly because of Emily, Wendell is more open to considering alternative viewpoints; something that is difficult for fae to do. This third book is the most anthropological in its concerns, which meant, at times, the plot took a backseat to Emily’s musings about how the repeating patterns and motifs found in fairytales were actual ways of being for the fae. The ending had the feel of HFN than a HEA; so I wouldn’t be surprised Fawcett came back to Emily and Wendell some day.
Kate Clayborn’s THE PARIS MATCH: I’ve read Clayborn’s other books so I knew that she writes intensely introspective books, not light-hearted comedies – so the mismatch between cover and content was not a surprise. Clayborn’s best books for me are the ones where I think the action, interior reflections, and descriptions play together nicely. Her worse books for me are the ones where all those lush descriptions and long interior ruminations stop the story cold for or become too repetitive. And there were certainly places in this book where I found the balance off and felt that the descriptions of a place or the musings of the MCs were sabotaging the storyline. Also I’ve known people who have had kept in touch with their exes’ families (and even the actual exes) – but this has only worked in my experience when both people (the ex and whomever from the former partner’s family) have both agreed to keep in touch. But TPM starts off with Layla having pretty much ghosted all her ex’s family, including the ex-SIL for over two years. So, if I’d been the ex-SIL, I’m not sure that I would have sent Layla that wedding invite. The Paris cityscape as a “character” didn’t work quite as well as New York City did in Love Lettering (but better than the uninteresting generic Chicago found in Love at First). However, the referencing of Disney’s animated version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with its uplifting positive rewriting of Victor Hugo’s gothic tale, just didn’t work for me at all. I’ve seen that Disney film (which is a fascinating, hot mess); and I’ve also read Hugo’s novel, and I just couldn’t erase my knowledge of its tragic ending. In fact I feel that Clayborn, by consciously choosing the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame as her metaphor, also unintentionally created a secondary metaphor about the way many American tourists superficially romanticize Paris and overlook its actual complexity and reality.
STAR SHIPPED by Cat Sebastian: I have about three chapters left and I’m really, really enjoying this book. Only being inside Simon’s head at first was not easy since he starts off as an anxious emotional mess. I had to put the book down a couple of times, wander off for half a day and read something else and then come back to Simon’s intensity. But as the story goes on, you see more and more of Simon’s positive traits; his love for his dog Edie, his loyalty to his friends and family (even when he’s uncertain about why they care for him), his hard work to become a better and more emphatic person, and his willingness to admit when he is wrong. Charlie at first is a bit harder to see because the book is only from Simon’s POV, but as Simon begins to understand Charlie better and see all his complexities, the reader does too. Several of the secondary characters are also well-drawn (especially Jamie), they feel like people who exist beyond being supporting players in Simon and Charlie’s lives. I’ll be a little sad when this one is over, it has been so much fun.
It is HUGO AWARD VOTING SEASON and I am a Worldcon member with voting privileges this year and determined to be Informed. The Hugo Voters packet has arrived with free ebooks and/or download codes for most of the nominees so it is like nerd Christmas. I am currently working on The Incandescent by Emily Tesh. Fantasy in a contemporary setting, where the magic is not a secret hidden from the mundane world but an open and integrated part of the world, which I always love. We’ll see if it can overturn The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow, which I read earlier this year and is my current pick for top spot on my ballot. Next will be Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.
@Deborah – Thank you for knowing the name of this narration style! Fingers crossed that will help me more intentionally seek it out…
@C – AJ Sherwood also writes under the pen name Allie Brahms and is drafting a sci-fi romance series under the name Jamie Danners as well as high fantasy/romantasy books using the name Allie Hughes (according to her newsletter). That being said, you are correct that the Henri Davenforth series is under her Honor Raconteur pen name. Whoops!
@Stephanie Burgess – A Little Too Familiar was apparently already in my TBR so I moved it to the top of the list – thanks!!
I’m currently reading Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman, which is a prequel to Practical Magic. It has a lot of backstory and I have not had much uninterrupted reading time lately, so it has been slow going, because I have to keep going back to prior chapters. I am enjoying it and looking forward to the Practical Magic movie in the fall.
Speaking of adaptations, I reread several of Elle Kennedy’s college hockey books, starting with The Deal, when I learned that the books are being adapted for Prime Video and the series based on the first book will be released later this month. I enjoyed the reread and also the next gen books that she has written more recently (involving the children of the characters in the original series). I thought that Love Story was particularly good, although I suspect that I enjoyed the Dad chats sprinkled throughout, more that the target audience would have.
So I finally dove in and watched Heated Rivalry. Having read the books, I was like many a bit apprehensive at first, and also, with being in Europe, it took a bit longer for the series to even arrive here. Anyway, despite not all the characters looking as I’d imagined them or as they were described, I enjoyed it a lot. It is very well made, considering the limited budget they must have had had, even more so. The main actors are great, no question (Connor Storrie’s Russian/Russian accent is amazing) and I enjoyed it a lot.
I started DUKE OF SHADOWS by Meredith Duran, which has been recommended here on various occasions. I liked as far as I got, but when it got to the uprising, I just found I was in no frame of mind to read about that right now – that’s totally on me, not the author. I had not realised quite what the book would depict as the blurb does not directly reference the uprising (which I generally knew of before). I will continue this, but not right now.
Otherwise, I did a lot of rerading, not least Heated Rivalry (of course) and yes, I was amazed how much dialogue had been lifted right off the page!
Once it was out, I had to read KJ Charles’ HOW TO FAKE IT IN SOCIETY of course – and I loved it. It is so typically KJ Charles. There’s a morally grey hero, there are shenanigans, an unexpected marriage… and there is also a third act breakup, that had to happen. We know from the beginning that some kind of conflict is inevitable. I loved how Titus talked about colours, paint and art. It also delivers on all the feels and the burn is suitably slow enough. Also, there is a nice little easter egg in that Titus mentions a certain Mr. Raven, a “highly regarded painter of the Peaks” having been one of his customers. So far it’s always been “Mrs. Swann”‘s novels being mentioned in various books, so it’s nice to see John Raven from Band Sinister getting his due. If I was hard pressed to choose a favorite Charles novel, it would still be that one – but the margins are very narrow here!!!