Welcome back! It’s our first Whatcha Reading of the month, and that means only one more to go before 2026. Here’s what we’re reading:
Lara: I’m reading and enjoying Dom-Com by Adriana Anders. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m finding the growth of trust and intimacy in this book particularly great. There’s a lot of (hot) sex/scenes but each one pushes the characters development and evolution.
Elyse: I’m reading Audition by Katie Kitamura. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s not romance but I’ve heard multiple people say it’s wonderful and its shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
It’s also 200 pages which is right where my attention span is right now.
Amanda: I’ve been using my TBR game board and landed on “continue a series.” Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco ( A | BN | K | AB ) is book two in the Prince of Sin series and I really enjoyed book one. My only gripe is that it’s hardcover and lugging it around is less than ideal.
Carrie: I’m polishing off The Novel Life of Jane Austen: A Graphic Biography by Janine Barchas and Isabel Greenberg ( A | BN | K ) and it is delightful.
Sarah: I’m currently reading Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel, which I just started. I think I might have a thing for “magical hotel/boarding house” stories. I know I like innkeeping stories – one of my favorite Nora’s is Born in Ice, about a woman who runs a bed & breakfast, though magic isn’t a major plot point. I’m very curious about where this book is going.
Shana: So I’m currently hate reading Fascinating Womanhood, ( A ) an anti-feminist self help guide published in 1963. It is WILD.
Sarah: I’m both intrigued and alarmed.
Shana: I can’t really recommend it. The book feels a bit like if NXIVM and a religious cult had a baby, and that baby spoke with hyperbolic mania.
I’m at the point where the author explains that men’s ideal woman has the “charms of femininity, radiance, good health, and childlikeness.” Also domestic skills and inner happiness.
So a child in a frilly dress, who happily scrubs floors using her healthy body and knowledge of cleaning supplies.
Sarah: Yikes on trikes.
Whatcha reading right now? Tell us in the comments!
In no particular order recently I’ve really enjoyed:
– JOHN WILDER GETS SCHOOLED, the second in Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey’s Goose Run m/m series–love the characters and the small town, and loved the relationships between the friends as well as the MCs
– TODD, the fifth in Maryann Jordan’s Lighthouse Security Investigations Montana series–excellent romantic suspense
– CHRISTMAS LANE, GINGERBREAD MISTLETOE, and SWEET TO THE CORE, Amy Aislin’s Lighthouse Bay series–a fun small-town holiday series that ties into her other books (but can be read without having read the others)
– ‘TIS THE DANG SEASON: A CHRISTMAS SMALL TOWN ROMANCE by Taryn Quinn–a low-angst story set in the Taryn Quinn universe. Warm and entertaining
– And I’ve been rereading the multi-author CHRISTMAS FALLS series, seasons one and two. Love the idea of a Christmas themed town, where it’s warmly welcoming and kitchy and fun
Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading!
Mostly re-reading older books. A Sudden Wild Magic, an adult novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Stranger than I remembered. Bet Me, Jenny Crusie, which has dated a bit but still stands out for the quality of the writing. I like the hero’s sister-in-law with her owl face. Two of Nora Roberts’s Key trilogy – must dig out the final one. In new books, I read a Christian romance, Katie in Waiting, by Erynn Mangum, which was interesting for a change (I’m not a Christian). Interesting to see how the author played with the heroine’s thoughts around “I want a husband but the Lord hasn’t sent me one so what’s up”. One question for US readers (I’m in the UK) – the heroine has weekly meals at her grandmother’s. She lives in a retirement community where there is help if she wants it but she’s mostly independent. She cooks for her granddaughter, but they eat from paper plates – is that common in the US, or is it meant to show that the grandmother is making changes to her life to make things easier as she ages? And one other new book – Kerry Greenwood’s last (she died in March), Murder in the Cathedral, which was fine but a bit lacking in the Phryne spirit of her best books.
Oh and I’ve just started Nathan Lowell’s new The Wizard’s Cat, sequel to The Wizard’s Butler. The writing is a bit clunky, but I’m interested to see where it goes.
Very very excited about EH Lupton’s Dionysus in Wisconsin series. I’d read it before but somehow missed one so I get to reread them all in celebration. It’s historical fantasy detective queer romance, which is all my favorite things. Set in the 60s or 70s which is somewhere between hilarious and alarming for me to think of as historical personally. Only bad thing is they’re short, and I want them to go on forever.
Also have to recommend Natasha Pulley’s Hymn to Dionysus, both strongly and with a caveat. I really enjoy her books for the most part, in part because she tends towards bonkers choices. She juggles a lot of heavy stuff, not always well, especially when it comes towards the repeatedly misogynistic portrayal of villainous women in her m/m romances. If you are at all sensitive to that dynamic – I don’t think I am especially and it sets my teeth on edge – give her a miss. This one is a retelling of essentially The Bacchae and The Illiad, maybe a pinch of Golden Bough. Utter catnip for me. It’s centered around a ptsd suffering soldier who falls in love with a reincarnation of Dionysus. Lots and lots of pining, but also wallowing in dutiful misery in the pov, and although the point of the book is, y’know, don’t do that, it might be a struggle for people with ptsd, or who are really struggling to shed their own programming about what it means to be strong. Also slavery is (accurately but even so) very much the basis of ye Ancient Greek society, and some readers might not choose that particular escapism. I was far more interested in reading the book than I have been engaged with anything new of late.
I liked the Thousand Autumns series by Meng Xi Shi well enough, although I wish it were either a lot shorter or a lot longer – tons of side characters and plot points that need to either go or be fleshed out to justify their inclusion. Fun but forgettable.
Finally, thrillingly had my hold come in on The Green Bone Saga second audiobook, Jade War. Even though I have read them all, more than once, the wait on the audiobook was killing me. I love this series so much. Fonda Lee does a brilliant job, if you like fantasy novels even a tiny bit, and/or kung fu (I am admittedly a huge fan of both) – possibly if you don’t – these books are just a great time. Not romances per se, although great romantic elements. Cannot recommend sufficiently highly.
Lots of being stuck in the car without decent audiobooks lately, and we were mostly listening to terrible mystery thrillers that required us to pause every five minutes to discuss all the terrible the choices the author and characters are making, which is its own entertainment. There was one, Gone to Dust, in which the lingering unsolved mystery is absolutely killing me: what is bad about a man in Minneapolis wearing a red cashmere scarf??? This particular accessory gets so much disdain from the narrator and I just don’t understand what it is meant to signify? And the narrator himself wears a cashmere scarf – but it was a gift not an affectation. So he’s not jealous of the bad man’s scarf, it’s not that cashmere is too soft, it’s clearly practical, I am unaware of red as a color having any particularly negative or inappropriate implications… if anyone can unravel (heh) this mystery, I would be very interested!
Looking forward, most exciting for upcoming KJ Charles rereading binge that I anticipate indulging in because I imagine I’m getting some new copies for Hanukkah.
It feels like forever since I posted. Just a busy time trying to wrap up work and everything else for the end of the year. Also, how is it the end of the year already?!
Not a lot of time to read for fun, but I’m hoping to start DUST STORM by Maggie Gates and HOW THE HITMAN STOLE CHRISTMAS by Katie Reus. I also have a couple more holiday romances that I want to check out.
Hope everyone has a great holiday season! 🙂
I’ve been pretty remiss w/commenting on Whatcha Reading lately, but between the fact that this has been a lousy year for romance reading for me and my job requires me to work every other Saturday (thankfully, I really like this job), it just isn’t always able to happen. But! I am here to report that I read two enjoyable romances over my Thanksgiving trip. 8 hours in a car one way. Blessedly not driving, but staring out at a flat Midwestern landscape when not driving.
The first one that was fun and rom comish was BEGINNER’S GUIDE: LOVE AND OTHER CHEMICAL REACTIONS by Six De Los Reyes. I feel like I’m very late to this book which was getting buzzed about quite some time ago in Internet terms (aka pre-Covid). I think I bought it when it came out and it was just sitting on my Kindle waiting for me. Kaya is a grad student that wants to figure out dating life, so she is going to treat romance like a science experiment. Nero is the barista who is cynical about love and runs Kaya’s favorite coffee shop where many of the trial run dates will be held. We all know where this is going and it’s delightfully light and breezy and goes down easy.
The other thing I read was DADDY ISSUES by Kate Goldbeck. This is not a DD/lg book, just a heads up for all the curious and/or alarmed 😉 I loved this book, so so much but Kate Goldbeck is one of those authors who writes w/a strong voice and fairly messy female characters, so I think her books could bring out a big reaction, good or bad. 100% heroine POV in this. And 1st person present tense if I remember correctly. Also dealbreakers for some people and I get it.
Anyways, w/that out of the way. A failure-to-launch 26 year old gets entangled w/her neighbor, a divorced dad who is trying to be there for his daughter. Yes, there is an age gap, but I feel like a lot of this is about being at different life stages and how that could possibly work for two people who are feeling a little fragile. I could go on and on about this book b/c it has so many things I want from contemporary romance that I don’t often find. Strong voice and fully fleshed out sense of place (Columbus, Ohio! Go Bucks ;-)). Funny in a way that comes from character more than dumb situations. Emotional weight w/out being angsty. There’s lovely scenes for the heroine w/other people in her life (Including the hero’s child) that feel meaningful and earned. No one is a royal, a celebrity, or an influencer. Social media isn’t even important to the plot (please let me escape social media hellscapes in my fiction). The characters are just regular people with regular jobs and regular bodies trying to figure out their lives.
One of things I love about this book is when the hero and heroine meet, no one is immediately awestruck by how sexy and beautiful the other person is. I have occasionally seen it done well, but it doesn’t work most of the time for me. I know I’ve gone on and on about this, but it just immediately pulls me out of the story and makes me think “this writer either doesn’t trust their own ability to write chemistry between characters and/or they’re just lazy.” In this there’s this slowly building awareness between them that is delightful and made me kick my feet and giggle at times.
@kkw, that red scarf thing is a bit of head scratcher for me if the male narrator also wears a cashmere scarf. All I can think is that red is considered too showy and feminine? But that feels like a stretch. Maybe someone from Minnesota can weigh in w/more info.
Regarding paper plates:
It may be a practical way to reduce dishwashing after meals. There might be problems with dexterity memory.
Or a preference:
My late grandmother simply hated that chore, and besides paper plates, only kept cups, cutlery and cookware.
@kkw – the only thing I can think of is the narrator thinks the scarf is a symbol of communism – I remember older books where wearing a flowing red tie would mark a man as a socialist or communist.
@Jill Q @Laurel K I so appreciate your support as I obsess about this – the bad guy with the red cashmere scarf is a manly police commissioner, with, iirc a more traditional/conservative vibe than the narrator, who is meant to be sympathetic. Our hero is very brand judgmental in a way that I find mystifying – what does it *mean* that someone’s boots are or are not Sorel, is Jameson too fancy or insufficiently obscure, waitwaitwait is Room&Board mid I thought they were supposed to be quality maybe that was sarcasm? There is some base assumption of shared value and cultural knowledge that I am missing but can generally sort out from context clues. But the red cashmere scarf mystery is the most baffling of them all!
Finally got through Adriana Herrara and Ali Hazelwood’s AFTER THE END kickstarter novella series. It unfortunately turned out to mostly be not my jam, even though I’d liked other books by half the authors. I was very tired of bunkers/underground/underwater living by the end. I definitely want my post-apocalypse life to take place where the sun is visible. So here we go:
FIRST by Ali Hazelwood – I wish I could remember how to do spoiler tags, because the main thing I objected to in this one was the end. I liked the FMC and I enjoyed the world building. Living in an underwater colony was kind of interesting. But the end was just yikes. Hard no.
BAIT by Adriana Herrara – Again, good world building. But there was zero chemistry between the leads. None. Nada. Zip.
SKYN by Nikki Payne – New to me author. Did not finish because it wasn’t my jam. I was icked by the body mods and the vibe was not working for me.
M.A.Y.A. by Nina Saxena – New to me author. Technically, this started in an underground dystopia, but the author very quickly got the FMC out of that dimension and into a shifter dimension where everyone is outside. So this is a straight up shifter romance with a side of inter-dimensional sci-fi dystopian sugar. The shifter stuff was fun, the MCs had chemistry, would recommend.
BROOD by Claire Kent – New to me author. I was rather tired of bunkers by this point and breeder kink is not my thing, but the book kept me interested and I liked the MCs. So even though the premise was not really my jam, I finished it.
TAKEN by Elizabeth Stephens – New to me author. Did not finish because it wasn’t my jam. Not a monsters person. I also got a little tired of the FMC’s I’m-the-only-artist-who-was-saved thing. Yes. We get it. Artists are undervalued.
TRADE by Cate C. Wells – This is very much a Cate C. Wells book. The MMC is not the brightest, but he’s well-intentioned. I nearly abandoned this book because the bunker lottery for unmarried women was just awful. Then there’s the rape (check the CW). But things improve from here. And the FMC’s love for plants and all things botanical was great.
PRIMA by Sherry Thomas – Finally a story I genuinely liked! Although I am apparently in the minority, according to Goodreads. There were – and I cannot emphasize this enough – no bunkers in this story. The premise of this story is that most land has been taken over by mutant plants, so people are living on isolated islands that have been cleared of these plants. And because there isn’t much land, people spend a lot of time on water and have even developed aquatic senses. In the present, the MMC is meeting the FMC to advocate for his brother’s ascension to the thrown. The FMC is from a different nation whose leader can potentially influence the succession of his nation. In the past in flashback, we find out the MMC has actually met the FMC before, but doesn’t remember the meeting. The rest of the novella resolves this mystery with some politics and family intrigue. But really, read it for descriptions of boats and food. And the romance.
I’ve been trying to reorganize my Kindle Collections, since apparently books get deleted at random once the collection approaches a certain number. It’s been an enlightening process and also mildly irritating. I don’t mind limits; its the lack of transparency that bugs me. I can’t help wondering what other undisclosed limits I’ll discover. Just another facet of enshittification, I guess.
Also, I accidentally posted some of this to the Nov. 22 WAYR post last weekend, so if anything seems familiar, that’s why.
Suddenly You by Sarah Mayberry
I resurrected this book while sorting ebooks, dipped into it, and found myself hooked. Although this novel has never been a particular favorite, it does have one quality that exemplifies what I most like about Mayberry, and that is the grounded realness of her characters. Even her rich folks work. In this case, the MCs are an auto mechanic and a woman juggling school, work, and raising her infant daughter. One of the highlights of this story is watching Harry and Pippa struggle with long held assumptions about themselves and each other as they sort out their relationship. I’d call this an oldie but goodie.
Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston
Holidays are not undiluted bliss for me, so I’ve been hitting the comfort rereads–not to be confused with cozy reads. This is the eighth in the Pride series and the point where I first noticed the author really leaning into the beta support hero. It also holds up fairly well as a standalone. I enjoyed Toni and her herd of fractious self-absorbed prodigies (including Novikov), but I loved Ricky Lee with his philosophy of “if you wait long enough, the entertainment comes to you.” (Reminded me of my late Dad.)
Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck
It seems like I waited ages for this one to be released, and now I hardly know what I feel about it. You, Again was so masterful, edgy and like nothing I’d read before, but it cast a long and perhaps undeserved shadow. Daddy Issues is the story of Sam, who’s spent years suspended in the vacuum of her father’s absence and her mother’s unspoken disappointment. Change happens when Sam encounters Nick and his extreme extrovert nine year old daughter Kira. Sam’s journey is messy, complex, and necessary; full adulthood requires her to untangle herself from personal stagnation and the staticky input of friends, family, and her own head. Sometimes heart-wrenching and often funny, this romance might make you wince but never cringe. This novel is a treasure trove of deft characterization and intelligent writing about the interactions of parents and children, work and art, emotion and lust. Recommended.
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister
Thanks to those who’ve mentioned this in the WAYR posts and elsewhere. Turns out that this venture into into the vicious halls of higher learning was just what I needed. Fierce Sadie and fascinated Jonah are tested in the arena of academia during a fifteen year rivalry, until circumstances drive them into an unexpected alliance. The dual first person narrative does a great job presenting two distinct characters who have more in common than they are willing to admit. An Academic Affair is not just a gritty depiction of the cutthroat world of higher education but a convincing exploration of why its denizens cling to it anyway. Beautifully written, this novel is an exceptional slow burn romance as well as a story of family bonds damaged and renewed. I live in hope that this becomes a series. Recommended.
Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade
The title of this one says it all. The mature protagonists share both history and trust issues. Molly’s are due to a toxic seventeen year relationship with her narcissistic ex, while Karl has always had difficulty articulating his deepest feelings. Karl’s premature obit and their impending High school reunion provide the titular second chance. I loved the way that the citizens of Harlot’s Bay cheerfully celebrate the town’s raffish history in their daily life, but my favorite part of this story is big, brusque, foul-mouthed marshmallow Karl and his struggle to use his (polite) words, Serve with your favorote hot drink and baked goods of choice.
Rogues Lie by Jenny Schwartz
This is the third book in the Caldryn Parliament series, which should probably be read in order. These are fantasies that present as sci-fi, and take place in a magical world full of familiar elements, such as food, clothing, tech, even people’s names, yet there is no overt historical underpinning to link it to our world. The MC is Vanda who has stepped into a hereditary position as Warden and is dedicated to restoring the protective elements of her role. The writing is straightforward–no flourishes or drama–but not simplistic. Basically this series is for anyone who enjoys the maneuvers and machinations of a political novel leavened with a healthy dose of kindness and a strong moral compass. The romance arc is delicate not dominant. I wouldn’t necessarily call it comforting, but it is a comfortable read and I enjoyed it.
Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
This is the holiday novel I didn’t know I needed. Henry and Grace are a year into mourning their respective spouses, facing that first Christmas without. They get “mommed” by their worried parents into an awkward and incremental new friendship. Norman frames their relationship within a series of slightly offbeat holiday movies and sets it against a clearly beloved Baltimore backdrop, artfully avoiding excess sentimentality. There’s a stunning moment when Henry is startled by mice in Grace’s kitchen, and she confesses that she can’t just kill them because her two children “know what death is. They know what it means.” I read that and I was just gone. This novel is a tender, funny exploration of grief and love, as well as an excellent romance. Highly recommended.
Bed Me, Earl by Felicity Niven
Well, it looks like I’ll be reading this series backward since I started with the third book. Thanks are due to the Short Kings Rec League and to @Big K who talked this one up. I’m a sucker for what was once called a sex puppy hero; in fact, I kind of collect them. Open hearted, chatty Phineas Edge, Earl of Burchester, certainly fills the bill. What really makes this book soar, though, is smart, courageous Caro, the tall, willowy FMC who’s been isolated by speech issues and the loss of her mother. I especially liked the way this couple admired specific traits because they were a characteristic of their partner, rather than admiring their partner due to conventionally desirable qualities. These two are a truly exquisite match in every way. Also very very hot! Definitely a winner.
Good Spirits by B. K. Borison
DNF @26%
I’m batting one for three with this author so far. I wanted to like this book, but I think I may be ghost averse. I don’t like scary anything, and any “good” spirits better come in a bottle. The only haunts I have any time for are George and Marion Kerby. Anyway, this conventionally cozy holiday paranormal was literary Ambien for me. Also, I really dislike the cover because it’s so misleading; neither Irish people nor ghosts are known for their tanning abilities. To be clear, this is not a bad book; it’s just not my brand of cozy.
Latke’d and Loaded by Jessica Topper
I’ve read all of Topper’s entries in the Matzo Baller’s series about a group of Jewish friends who spent a year in Israel together in their youth and meet up for a lavish annual Hanukkah cruise around New York Harbor for charity. This year’s romance features accountant and improv comic Jonah accidentally masquerading as a bodyguard for Tzipi who is intentionally masquerading as her movie star twin. I enjoyed the romance, but felt a certain dissonance between the luxurious holiday celebration and current reality.
In a Second by Kate Canterbary
Teen lovers Audrey and Jude are reunited more than a decade after her snobbo parents tore them apart just before high school graduation. Seeing each other again ignites all kinds of angst and anger, which continues through a mishap filled road trip to convince Jude’s mom that they are happily (as opposed to fake) engaged. While I’ll cheerfully read anything written by Canterbary, this book is not my fave. Some of the plot elements are just a bit too much for me, stretching the bounds of probability to the breaking point yet touching all the tropey bases. I loved revisiting characters from earlier books–especially Audrey’s girl gang–and I liked Jude’s uncannily bright four year old son, but the MCs journey was just a mite too contrived for me.
Coming in First Place by Taylor Fitzpatrick
Thanks, @kkw, for mentioning this author in the comments following SB Candy’s excellent review of Heated Rivalry. After DNFing the first book in that series, I wanted to see if there were better written and more interesting entries in this subgenre. David’s story is fascinating, and Jake is adorably chaotic. I really appreciated the amount of personal growth in David’s arc, but I was even more impressed by the way this author changed my perceptions of David and Jake over the course of the book from unlikable and goofy to socially uncertain and casually kind, respectively. Written in an odd third person present tense, this novel is presented strictly from David’s viewpoint, and a cold, echoey POV it is. There’s some depth to the hockey descriptions, and the sex is needy and raw but not gratuitously raunchy. I actually finished this book at 4 am, so Bad Decisions Book Club for the win!
Head Over Wheels by Leonie Mack
If you love sports romance, but find yourself a little burnt out by the various ballers and puckers, this may be the book for you. Seb and Lori meet online on a training app getting in shape for bicycle racing. Seb is a mid-level competitor while Lori is an elite athlete recovering from a major injury. Much to their surprise, they find themselves on the same team once they return to the racing circuit, and the online friendship turns into something more intense and much more complicated. The racing scenes are gritty, and the romance is convincing, even given the time they spend apart. I loved the protagonists, and I loved learning about a sport of which I knew nothing. If the blood, sweat, and tears of sport is more important to you than luxury and lifestyle, this is an extremely satisfying read. Recommended.
Happy holidays to those who celebrate and a cozy Good Book Noise(™) to all!
@kkw — Maybe it means he’s a Wisconsin fan? Not up on my football rivalries.
@catscatscats Paper plates strike me as unusual, especially for Sunday dinner, but I’m sure some people do it. If she’s elderly and doesn’t have a lot of room for dishes or tolerance for cleaning it makes sense. If I had arthritis it’s what I’d do.
This has been a very B few weeks for me, with the exception of finishing BRIMSTONE, which was a B+ for me. Sarina Bowen’s THROWN FOR A LOOP was a B+/A- for me–it isn’t my favourite of hers, but something about the way she does characters and their connections always pleases me.
I didn’t like DADDY ISSUES as much as YOU, AGAIN, but did appreciate its richness and sense of reality. It’s hard not to appreciate that in a genre full of beautiful people falling instantaneously in love. Not that many of those don’t work for me.
I realized I had previously forgotten to mention reading Rebecca Ross’s WILD REVERENCE, which is definitely going to be on whatever list I do or don’t make of my favourites of the year. It’s deep and smart and wise and is right up there with Alex E. Harrow’s THE EVERLASTING as an inventive and emotive fantasy romance.
B+
– Ali Hazelwood’s audio-only BOUND–not my favourite of hers but she’s still one of my favourite authors
– R. Rasta’s fantasy duology about immortals and gods PEACHES & HONEY
B/B+
– Shaylin Gandhi’s LOVE LETTERS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. A slightly too unbelievable second-chance romance. I liked her WHEN WE HAD FOREVER more.
– Shaylin Gandhi’s charming short Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, SONG OF THE HUNDRED YEAR SUMMER
B
– Olivia Dade’s SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE–maybe it was me, but this just didn’t spark as much as AT FIRST SPITE.
– Katie Robert’s TENDER CRUELTY. I’m still in it to see how the overall arc plays out.
I also completed Melissa K. Roerich’s Legacy fantasy quartet which was loooooong but had some good parts and hey I stuck with it. However, male characters grabbing female character’s chins would have been a powerful drinking game.
It’s been a good couple of weeks for reading with lots of holiday romances to help get me ready for the seasonal gauntlet.
My Merry Mistake (Holidays With Hart Book 3) by Courtney Walsh (KU)
Hockey player + Christmas
This series has featured a hockey player, a sister, and holiday in each entry. This time it’s the uptight perfectionist eldest sister Raya’s turn to find love with laid back hockey player Finn. And I really wanted to like it, and it has a lot going for it, but there were some things that bugged me. And this is what the spoiler tag is for.
So, things that bugged me:
– Look, I recognize that the romance genre would be drastically different if all the guys took an initial “not interested” seriously. In this case, what bothered me was Finn decided she needed a friend to distract her from stressing out about all the things she wasn’t doing, which is likely true. But it just read a little weird since he was also trying to get out of the friend zone. Would he have wanted to be her friend if he didn’t have pants feelings?
– I get a little nervous about the long term stability of relationships that seem to be rooted in one party trying to save the other. And that is the vibe I got from Finn. When she has her health scare, he decides he’s going to help her learn to relax. It’s not something she asked for, it’s something he decided that she needed, which is obnoxious.
– At least part of her health issues are due to too much internal pressure to please her family. Her family spend a lot of time playing matchmaker between her and Finn, which by itself isn’t terrible, but considering what she’s going through, it seemed kind of poorly timed. Her family honestly means well and it all works out. But it was kind of stressful to me because I could see the real life version where they were wrong and he wasn’t the right guy and she felt pressured to get into a relationship to make them happy playing out in my head which took me out of the story. Which probably says more about me than it does about the book.
– Finn’s emotional growth subplot deals with whether he can forgive the woman who killed his sibling in a drunk driving incident which seemed a bit heavy for a romcom, but, again, may say more about me than the book.
Anyway, it all works out in the end and it was fine, but I kind of felt like it was in spite of everyone’s choices rather than because of them, you know?
Mistletoe Masquerade: A Moretti Men Holiday Novella (The Moretti Men) by Jill Ramsower (KU)
Mafia adjacent + Crashing a holiday masquerade ball
The setup was cute, but this is mafia adjacent so expect stalker behaviors. Plus, we get a brief cameo from the kick-ass grandmother from the previous book.
My Fake Christmas Fiance by Julie Kriss (KU)
See title
Accept that the setup is ridiculous, OK? Penny and Wes’s dads have decided to tie the merger of their Christmas themed companies to the two of them getting married by Christmas. The two of them are willing to play along, figuring that they will be able to convince their respective parents that this is a bad idea before the deadline. And that doesn’t work out for reasons. It’s a good thing that they are quite possibly falling in love. It was cute.
How the Hitman Stole Christmas: A Grumpy-Sunshine Romance (Holiday With a Hitman Book 1) by Katie Reus
Novella + Sunshine hitman + Christmas in Miami
This one was mentioned in a daily deals post a couple of weeks ago. So, she’s the grumpy explosives expert stalker and he’s a sunshiny hitman, and it all works out. I don’t know if it gets quite to farce territory, but it did amuse me.
Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs (library)
A novel in short stories + Technically Christmas
Several of these stories have been previously published in anthologies, but they were mostly new to me. For the holiday season, an anonymous friend has “gifted” werewolf Asil with a series of blind dates by signing him up on various dating sites and connecting him with five unsuspecting people. The dates do not go as planned, but that’s what we are here for. (It’s the wrong author, but Penric would recognize the hand of the Bastard God here. In universe, we can wonder if Coyote played a role in selecting the dates.) I really enjoyed it, and while I think it could work structurally as a standalone, it does contain spoilers for both the Mercy Thompson and the Alpha & Omega series. I think it takes place concurrently with Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson book 14) and after Wild Sign (Alpha and Omega book 7), which places it essentially in publication order.
Beautiful Vengeance (previously published as Forbidden Promises) (The O’Malleys Book 4) by Katee Robert (KU)
Hitman + Small Town
Sloan O’Malley is ready to start over far away from her mafia family. Jude MacNamarra’s focus is revenge for his family’s long ago murder. Their paths cross in a small town while Jude is waiting for his next target, who happens to be Sloan’s landlord. Their family’s history means that there is a lot to sort out before they will get to an HEA. The romance is standalone, but there’s enough plot threads from the previous books that I wouldn’t start here. I was entertained.
A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience: A Cozy-Spooky Historical Fantasy Rom-Com (The Unexpected Adventures of Lord and Lady Riven Book 1) by Stephanie Burgis
Novella
I read Wooing the Witch Queen by this author earlier this year, and I enjoyed it. Since a vampire and a scholar being coerced into a marriage of “inconvenience” is right up my alley, I picked this one up during the Black Friday sales. I didn’t enjoy it as much as WTWQ, but the scene where they confronted the bad guy did have me laughing out loud.
Thrown for a Loop: A New York Legends Hockey Romance by Sarina Bowen
Sports + Second chance + Dual timelines
I was so happy to grab this one during the Black Friday sales, and I really enjoyed it. We’ve got Zoe, a former figure skater, and Chase, a professional hockey player. They met years ago as the college aged counselors at a figure skating summer camp program. Things went wrong (exactly what unfolds in the second timeline), and they haven’t spoken since. Zoe just got hired by the New York Legends team as a skating coach, and for PR reasons, they will need to recreate their figure skating routine from their camp days. Will they be able to rediscover what they had all those years ago? And yes, the book inspired me to rewatch The Cutting Edge.
Finding Home (Rollin On Book 1) by Emilia Finn (KU)
MMA fighter + He falls first + Australia
The Australia setting isn’t critical, but it took me far too long to figure out why they were paying for chocolate biscuits in dollars. Overall, this one was fine. Mixed martial arts, so there’s lots of testosterone about, but we also get some good found family moments. As a bonus the author used to fight competitively, which gives the fighting and training scenes an authentic perspective. I didn’t immediately grab the next book in the series, but I may eventually pick it up.
The Elusive Earl (The Bad Heir Day Tales Book 3) by Grace Burrowes (library)
Regency-ish Scotland + Second Chance + a little mystery
Seven years ago, Graham and Morna were in love. Then, his Grandmother died under suspicious circumstances, and Graham pled guilty to accidentally causing her death (for reasons that will get explained eventually) leading to his transportation to Australia. Morna was royally pissed off at Graham for how he handled everything, particularly since he never explained his reasoning and didn’t bother to send her a letter or anything. Unfortunately, his older brother’s death has left him with the title and the responsibilities, so, now he’s back, he wants answers about his Grandmother’s death and to maybe see if there’s anyway Morna will forgive him. I enjoyed it.
Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by J.D. Robb
A little sci-fi + multiple murders
This book introduces detective Eve Dallas and mysterious billionaire Roarke as they hunt down a serial killer targeting “licensed companions” in a near future setting. (In the forward of this reprint, the author writes “in 1994, 2058 seemed pretty far off”.) Nora Roberts is generally reliable, though there are some elements that didn’t age terribly well. (For example, there’s a sex scene where Eve starts to have panic attack when Roarke pins her wrists, but he keeps going because he can see desire in her eyes.) I also had fun with seeing the author’s vision of the future, which clearly did not anticipate current events. But, coffee is expensive due to deforestation, and private gun ownership requires licensing.
I got sick as a little sad doggie, and then had a medication reaction to what I took to try to not be as sick, and what I am saying is that books were read because, well, I didn’t have the energy to do much else, and you can get a lot of reading done when in an ER for a few hours with an IV sticking out of your arm. Silver linings?
Anyhoo, since last time, we can start with that I read Holly by Stephen King. I mean, I’ve only had it for a couple business years, but I got around to it! Nice little twisty mystery, with some truly sick stuff in there (I’m talking watch what you’re eating while reading it). Then I read An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister. I’m not an academic (my youngest sister is, and I work with several), but I’m somewhat adjacent, since I work for a university and there is an educational component to my job. And given the current mollywhopping being felt by anyone that works in academia or adjacent to it (lolsob), there was some stuff in this one that felt excessively relatable. I am also excessively partial to books with footnotes, especially if they’re funny, and this book had a lot of that going on. Then I read The Marriage Method by Mimi Andrews. I liked the mystery side of things, and the fact that both leads were competent and sneaky. I also liked the inclusion of a heroine that deals with disability and chronic pain, and the fact that the hero still maintains to her that she is the most beautiful and awesome person on the planet. Then I yoinked out my library copy of Coded Justice by Stacey Abrams. I am somewhat fascinated at the moment with books that are addressing the myriad ways that AI is being embedded into our daily lives, for good and ill. It occasionally got a bit eye-glazing with the technobabble, but I could mostly follow, and was otherwise well-paced and interesting. Which brings us to now, in which I have my nose well into The Blonde Who Came In From the Cold by Ally Carter. So far, so clever, main character is a badass who is not afraid to use public perception of her as a floofy blondie to do cool spy stuff. So until next time, uh, have a nice holiday everyone. Eat some good food, read some good books, play some fun games.
Season’s Greetings to all who celebrate! Christmas crept up on me this year—right now my floor is strewn with gifts I have yet to wrap…and I still have a to-do list a mile long, but who can resist the siren call of reading? Not I…at least, not for very long. That being said, this month I wasn’t able to read as many books as I would have liked (as usual, I have a multitude of books, lined up like trains in a station, waiting to be read on my kindle), so I only have three to discuss.
I finished the last two books in Sasha Avice’s Perimeter series: THE COOK and FOX. The books are historical m/m romances set in and around Perth, Australia, in the late 1990s and early 2000s (add my voice to the chorus of readers finding it hard to accept that three decades ago is now considered “historical”). As in the previous two Perimeter books (THIS AIN’T NO GAY ROMANCE and AFTER THE SHOW), THE COOK and FOX are both set in the seedy world of low-level drug-dealing with MCs who seem to drift into criminal activity rather than intentionally set out to be part of that world. In THE COOK, Tim makes meth for a local biker gang (Tim excelled in chemistry in school—and there’s definitely a trace of “Breaking Bad” to Tim’s story); Jake is Tim’s roommate (and unrequited high school crush). Jake is a mechanic and owns a repair shop where he takes care of motorcycles belonging to members of the biker gang. Jake has had numerous meaningless hookups with women, but after a couple of three-ways between Tim, Jake, and one of Jake’s dates, things heat up between the two men. When Tim, with Jake’s help, tries to break away from the biker gang, both men have to face the consequences. One of the things I really liked about THE COOK was how Avice shows that that Tim & Jake have no real vocabulary for their feelings and they both sort of blunder around rather blindly on their way to acknowledging the depth of their feelings for each other. That “Historical” tag notwithstanding, I recommend THE COOK.
FOX is the final book in the Perimeter series—and I found it to be simultaneously the sexiest, the most romantic, and the most violent of the series. Fox is a restaurant dishwasher who also does some drug-dealing and distribution on the side. He lives at home with his siblings and his unpredictable mother (her condition is never named, but she appears to have some form of bi-polar disorder, exacerbated by drugs and alcohol). Unlike his siblings (who have developed their own coping mechanisms), Fox is unable to “handle” his mother, he loves and despises her in equal measure: “He was a stupid raw nerve to whichever mood was in play and his guilt over feeling hateful when she was a bitch was compounded when she was [kind].” When Fox is teamed up with Taylor to make some drug drops, he begins to understand some of the unspoken feelings he has had for men in the past. Taylor’s background and upbringing are even more dysfunctional than Fox’s, and their relationship develops against a backdrop of increasing menace and violence from their ramshackle kingpin boss. Because Fox and Taylor are minor characters in the previous Perimeter books, we know that something significantly bad involving them is going to happen—and it does, although possibly not in the way the reader might have imagined. Again, this is a book about men not having the context to truly understand or process their feelings—and I think the rather abrupt ending works as more of an HFN than a fully-fledged HEA. I’ve enjoyed all four Perimeter books, they are well-written and focus on working-class characters who, despite being caught up in criminal enterprises, are basically good people with earnest intentions. I recommend all of them.
[cw/tw: domestic abuse] SHOULD THE SKY FALL is an angsty amnesia romance by new-to-me author Amithia Raine. It will not be for everyone because one MC has been abused by the other MC (his spouse) physically, emotionally, and ultimately sexually. So please read with caution if these topics will be triggering for you. Dawson and Cal have been married for several years: Cal is older than Dawson, a successful businessman who has gradually reduced the younger man to an isolated, scared, and traumatized person with (what he believes to be) no avenue of escape. Raine is very good at showing how Dawson gradually changed from an outgoing young artist to someone afraid to say the wrong word or do the wrong thing. After a terrible assault from Cal, Dawson (with the help of his best friend) finally decides he’s had enough and prepares to leave and file for divorce (he has the papers drawn up—and those papers will pop up again like a Chekov pistol). But then Cal is in a terrible car accident that wipes away his memory—and also completely changes his personality, so Dawson reluctantly decides to temporarily stay when Cal is released from the hospital. To me, this was the best part of the book: Cal having absolutely no memory of his past, his disposition, his prior behavior, falling in love with Dawson and having no idea what has happened to make Dawson so skittish and standoffish. I should add that the book is marketed as a Paranormal and there is a paranormal explanation for Cal’s transformation. I thought it unnecessary—but I can hardly complain when the book clearly labels itself as what it is. Recommended—but take the trigger warnings seriously.
I read a bunch of mostly short, mostly holiday-themed stories during the past several weeks, and I might have reached my limit on Christmas themes… unless, of course, someone here recommends something that compels me to add to the list.
This year’s seasonal collection of short Amazon Original romances is the 4-part “Home Sweet Holidays” group. These KU stories are quick reads (50-75 pages each) and I was impressed by how rapidly and effectively I was pulled into caring about the characters in ALL WRAPPED UP IN YOU by Rosie Danan (an ER doctor and a stand-up comic learn they have numerous connections to each other) and YOU BETTER NOT POUT by Mia Sosa (a couple in process of breaking up fakes being together for Christmas). I also enjoyed MERRY AND BRIGHT by Ali Rosen (a couple meets on a plane and agrees to fake date for their family‘s respective Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations). SNOW PLACE LIKE HOME, by new-to-me author Laura Pavlov, was less satisfying. However, I discovered several longer works by the authors I liked best in my Kindle TBR stack– so yay!
Another seasonal KU offering, THE KILL CLAUSE, by Lisa Unger, is a short and suspenseful thriller (with a tiny touch of romance) about a paid assassin who’s experiencing regrets about her work. It’s a fast-paced, poignant read (70 pages) with some surprising holiday-themed ingredients. Recommended.
NOT IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAN (another KU option), by Etta Easton, had a lot of melancholy moments prior to the HEA. Eve, the FMC, expects to spend Christmas with her pregnant twin sister, Ivy, but Ivy’s newborns (also twins) come early, leaving Eve in charge of setting up the nursery and getting ready for the holiday. Eve has help from MMC Grant, her brother-in-law’s annoying but very attractive brother, but Eve would rather be with her sister, who doesn’t seem to want her help. Lots of Hallmark Christmas-y scenes in this story, but the characters– especially Eve– felt original.
BREAKUP BUDDIES (KU, too) is a longer F/F holiday-themed novel co-authored by J.J. Arias and Bryce Oakley. MCs Grace (a lawyer in Miami) and Alix (a hairdresser in LA) meet via an app that offers peer-to-peer support for dealing with a breakup. They quickly become friends through TMs and occasional phone calls, and then deepen the friendship with in-person visits– Miami for Thanksgiving, Alix’s childhood home in Colorado for Christmas, and LA for New Year’s. The story is a long, slow burn, with two women in their late 30s learning to overcome their self-doubts about relationships while falling deeply for each other. I’ve liked all of Oakley’s recent books that feature queer women in their 30s and this is another winner. Arias is a new-to-me author whose work shows up often in my “you would also like” lists, so I’ll try more of her books.
The Hanukkah-themed series about the “Matzo Ballers”– 8 friends who worked on the same Israeli kibbutz for a year, and share an annual tradition of a Hanukkah harbor cruse around Manhattan– has two new entries this month: LATKE’D AND LOADED by Jessica Topper and CHALLAH-DAY FLING by Amanda Usen. The first four books in the set are available on KU and the last two books won’t be released until winter of 2026. Along with intriguing characters, these books provide insights about Jewish religious and cultural traditions; each book includes a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish words and phrases that are used by the characters. As with the previous four parts of the series, I liked Topper’s book a little more than Usen’s, which seemed to repeat the FMCs “can I trust you?” dilemma too many times. I wish I didn’t have to wait a year for the series finales.
Jackie Lau’s MAGICALLY GENERATED: A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA mixes many familiar Lau components with an oddly specific magical element– the MMC is empowered with the ability to create incredibly elaborate snow sculptures in a very short time, leading to public fascination with the snow constructions that start showing up in public parks in Toronto. The FMC has trust issues but eventually gains comfort, support, and a new outlook from the MMC, not limited to finding out the secret of his magical seasonal contributions.
I also finished a not-holiday-themed short read, MEET ME AT MIDNIGHT, by Rachel Lacey (again, KU). The story is set in the same universe as Lacey’s F/F “Midnight in Manhattan” series that I’ve enjoyed, but the insta-attraction of these MCs didn’t work for me. The meet-cute was unique: a neurosurgeon performs on-street triage for a puppy hit by a car, which leads to an encounter with the veterinarian who treats the injured puppy. I don’t recall that juxtaposition used in other romances I’ve read that featured either people doctors or animal doctors as MCs.
After all of those short holiday offerings, I re-read MAKE THE SEASON BRIGHT by Ashley Herring Blake, a favorite of mine from a couple years ago. I know many readers have said the MCs in this F/F romance are selfish and/or immature and/or demonstrate infuriating “why don’t you just talk to each other” behaviors, but I enjoyed this angsty second chance romance immensely. All of the reasons Blake provides to explain the MCs’ actions and emotions made sense to me, and I greatly admire Blake’s elegant but completely accessible writing style.
Happy seasonal celebrations to all who celebrate!
PRINCE OF THE BARBARIANS, book 6 in Amy Padilla’s m/m NOT SO SAVAGE BARBARIANS series released earlier this month Every book features a different couple. Generally, the barbarian MC is sweet and honorable, and the non-barbarian MC has had a difficult life. In a few of them, including this one, the non-barbarian is a brat, which I find grating but I I’ve enjoyed the series as a break from reality. The society is so impossible – the barbarians can’t produce women so they accept 1 ‘tribute’ each year from the towns – that I don’t get too wrapped up in the obvious problems with human tributes. The book descriptions give you a good idea of what you’re in for.
If you’re open to a non-romance, I noticed that one of my favorite books of all time is a kindle daily deal – Andy Weir’s THE MARTIAN. I am a sci-fi lover and read it right after it came out. I don’t think you have to enjoy books about space exploration to like this because it’s really a story about humans overcoming monstrous odds, and Mark’s inner dialogue is hilarious:
“I tested the brackets by hitting them with rocks. This kind of sophistication is what we interplanetary scientists are known for.”
“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”
I am still recovering from how much of a letdown THE STRENGTH OF THE FEW was for me. I know some folks around here are familiar with THE WILL OF THE MANY (book 1) which I loved and I had such high hopes for STRENGTH given how much I adored book 1 (it was my best of 2024). But. It was really a let down and squandered so much of the good will (ha) from book 1. In short, the author made an ambitious choice to split the story into three separate story lines. I wasn’t here for the world building required for all three plot lines and I initially found them all very confusing. I got less confused when I realized there were differing tiny icons on the chapter pages and once I named the three different places Wales/Ireland, Egypt, and Rome, but even so. And please don’t get me started on how it veers into comic book world treatments of death and the sidelining of any interesting female characters. I get what Islington was trying to do and admire his ambition in massively widening his scope, but it really wasn’t the book I was hoping to read. Ugh! 700 pages and ugh!
I’m currently reading 27 ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF STORY by Daniel Rubin which I would recommend to anyone interested in the structure of storytelling. It’s really helpful.
I was finishing some online classes I was taking this semester, so that’s been using up lots of my time that would otherwise be spent reading.
I finished “After Hours at Dooryard Books” by Cat Sebastian last night. I’m not sure how she manages to write books where very little generally happens but I’m still glued to the page to the end.
I have a big pile of library books but will likely continue putting them off so I can keep rereading “Heated Rivalry”.
I very much enjoyed Laura Andersen’s The Forgotten Boy, a ghost story with a triple timeline (medieval/Great War/2018). The medieval section is set during the Wars of the Roses (and the Yorkists are the heroes and heroines). Reading that reminded me that I have been wanting to re-read the first book in Dorothy Dunnett’s House of Niccolo series, Niccolo Rising. I read straight through it and on to the second, I’m now on the third (Race of Scorpions). At this point I may just spend the next few weeks in the other five books of the series, which I have re-read fewer times and don’t remember as well. I’ve been craving space exploration and found family books, and I think these are giving me the same vibe, moving around 15th century Europe, Asia, and Africa. I used to be completely obsessed with her first series and its central character, Francis Crawford of Lymond. I may appreciate this series more when I’m not comparing it to Lymond.
Thanks for posting, everyone! I will be relying on your recs in the weeks to come! Enjoy/survive the holidays everyone! I wish you all happiness, health, and peace!
Over the past weeks ~
— quite enjoyed my reread of The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger, a science fiction romance. This is set on a space station; it features Tristol, a self exiled alien of the 5th gender of his kind, and a human detective. They are called upon to solve the mystery of the death of another of Tristol’s kind on a spaceship. There is quite a bit of humor in this book as Tristol attempts to understand humans and other species.
— read Ghost Writer by David Connor and E.F. Mulder which I’d describe as a contemporary romance (mostly) with a civil war era ghost. A man participating in a Civil War reenactment finds a diary at the venue; he later experiences (dream or time travel?) time in the past with that soldier. When he returns home, he takes the diary and is able to communicate with the spirit and learns of his interracial romance with another soldier. I wondered at first if the romance was between these characters, but another person plays a role as the story progresses. This was a pleasant read but not a book I’m likely to reread.
— read Alec by Kaje Harper. This was a contemporary romance with a bit of suspense between a man grieving the death of his son and a divorced man who has moved his son to avoid bullying. There is a lot of guilt in this story as the first man fears that his actions may have led to his son’s death.
— enjoyed Band Sinister by KJ Charles which is a historical romance. The sister of one man breaks her leg badly while riding on their neighbor’s estate. Said neighbor has no choice but to offer his hospitality until she is sufficiently healed to leave. This is an awkward situation because of prior scandalous behaviour by the siblings’ mother and the neighbor’s older brother. The two men slowly connect.
— also read “SAVED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN” by Adriana Anders and “HIS FOR THE HOLIDAY” by HelenKay Dimon in Reindeer Games, an out of print anthology. These
were both contemporary romances. I enjoyed them but doubt that I’ll reread them.
— enjoyed On The Bias by Celia Lake. This is set in the author’s world in the 1920s in which some have magic. It featured a woman who owns her own dress shop and a man who is a valet.
— enjoyed Celia Lake’s Winter’s Charms which is a collection of three fantasy novellas all set in the post- WWI era. I liked the first two more than the third, but all were good.
— also read a variety of Kindle samples
@HeatherS—Cat Sebastian is the master of plots I describe as “Nothing happens and it’s absolutely delightful.” I really don’t know how she does it so consistently.