A year ago we inherited two cats. The older of the two, Shadow, is cranky had has no qualms about letting you know it.
After one particularly amusing picture, I started taking pictures of Disapproving Shadow Kitty.
There are many; here are some of the “best”.
And the picture that started it all:
Started off with nice run of new and new-to-me books, then that kinda collapsed into audio books and rereads.
Of the new books, Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace, S.O. Callahan was fun. Regency romance, but queer and with fantasy. One characters was demi / gray-sexual and the other aromantic. The world building was very well done and I very much enjoyed the cultural differences between the fae and the humans.
I picked up the Shady Hollow by Juneau Black and finished all the books that have been published, including the two holiday novellas. The stories are fun, and even if I guess the miscreant, the mysteries are still enjoyable.
Alexis Hall has been reissuing his Spires, including my favorite of his stories, Waiting for the Flood., which includes the companion story he meant to write but hadn’t before, Chasing the Light.
This actually took me awhile to read, because Marius starts off being a jerk to Edwin, and I adore Edwin. But I eventually finished it, and even if it will never be my favorite, Chasing the Light is very good.
I’d fallen so far behind in the Sebastian St Cyr series I needed a complete reread, so I’ve been listening to the audio books. It’s not that the narrator isn’t good–she is–but her voice is a mismatch for what I want the story to sound like. Not so bad that I’m not enjoying the books, but I do wish the narration more closely matched what my brain expects.
Well, ok, it wasn’t all flowers that kept me from my books, but we’ll focus on the positives here.
However, every book here is a reread, so I think I’ll just leave this as is. I’ve already read some new (to me at least) books for May, so take from April that these are some comfort reads for me.
I wanted to start posting more regular content here, I really did. But that apparently remains a goal rather than an accomplishment.
And that’s ok.
So please enjoy some flower pr0n, taken this year at the Arboreturm, Canaan Valley SP, and Blackwater Falls SP
Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera)
Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla
Toadshade (Trillium sessile)
Canadian Wild Ginger Asarum canadense
Large White Trillium Trillium grandiflorum
Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum
Carolina Springbeauty Claytonia caroliniana
Wood Anemone Anemonoides quinquefolia
Flowering Bluets Genus Houstonia
Violets Genus Viola
Lowbush Blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium
FUTURE SNACKS!
I read two just-published books this month; both of them were part of historical mystery series I had pre-ordered and was eagerly awaiting.
Both were well-worth the wait.
Lady Ambition’s Dilemma by Jane Steen is the third book in the Scott-de Quincy / Lady Helena Investigates series.
I was a bit nervous about this, once I realized a queer character was involved. I was really pleased not to see (much) homophobia and that the subject was addressed in a way that was appropriate to the time AND appropriate to the characters.
This series has done a very good job with rep, having a neurodivergent secondary character who is as complex as Lady Helena.
Jennifer Ashley‘s Speculations in Sin was also good.
The author did something quite clever–two related novellas came out in the past several months, which put me back into Kat Holloway’s world and eager to read a new full-length book. I have series I love that I’ve fallen seriously behind on, as I’d forgotten details of previous books and hesitated to jump back in.
I read two more Shady Hollow books, which remain delightful, and then forced myself to stop. Sometimes when I read a series straight through, I get burned out, and these books are too delightful for me to let that happen.
Otherwise is was comfort rereads and audio books that would keep moving with tasks I wanted to complete.
It’s been a rough couple of years, and I’ve been crap at posting anything besides book roundups, but I’m going to try for a little more variety–no promises, because I’m still struggling, but I’m going to try.
We spent a long weekend at Canaan Valley (the first time we’d been hiking since November, which is a really long time for me) and although the weather was meh for part of the weekend, it was wonderful to be back in the woods.
By meh, I mean Saturday was either rain or this:
(Guess what Michael did.)
But we did hike, and of course we our first walk was along the Blackwater River Trail. It’s my favorite.
The beaver dam is starting to fall apart; not sure if the beavers have moved or it was just the ice melting. We’ll see in the coming months.
Since the ground was frozen Sunday morning, we decided to try to Abe Run and Mill Run trails.
Why that caveat?
Those trails are wet.
There are several boardwalks throughout that system.
Luckily the water was mostly frozen (or avoidable) so we get to enjoy this view.
And of course I sat by a creek for a bit.
February was apparently a month for mysteries, something about puzzles perhaps distracting me from the doldrums.
Lots of rereads (unexpectedly) but there were some new stories in there, including the delightful Mortal Follies, which I’d held off reading. It is an Alexis Hall romp with banter and mystery and (in this case) magic, with an unreliable narrator.
I am that knavish sprite that frights the maidens of the villagery. I am Oberon’s jester—was Oberon’s jester, that’s rather the issue. I am called hobgoblin by some and, contrary to what certain people might have told you, it is not a name I like and you shall not have good luck if you repeat it in my hearing.
I am also your narrator.
Another book I’d had on my TBR for ages and finally got around to reading was Shady Hollow by Juneau Black. Although it is a fantasy, it is really a cozy mystery whose characters just happen to be animals. Suspend your disbelief and dive into this delightful story.
Traditionally, woodland creatures are not big readers, but things changed when Lenore opened the bookshop. “Nevermore,” she said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “will the town have to do without quality entertainment.”
This month’s audio books were the Shadow Police series, which 1) blows me away every time I read it, 2) has all the trigger warnings for all kinds of terrible things, and 3) really deserved more books.
There are two new romances, one by Cathy Yardley and one by Chloe Liese. I’m discovering that I tend to love everything Chloe Liese writes, and although I want to love everything I read by Cathy Yardley, the stories are not quite as awesome as I want them to be. Likely because Cathy Yardley’s books have a fair amount of sex, which means I do a bit of skimming, which does throw me out of the flow of the story. (As always, this is a me thing, so take that into consideration.) Essentially, I think it’s that I can skim the boinking bits in Chloe Liese’s stories without losing the flow of what I’m reading, but the same doesn’t hold true for other authors.
“He probably thinks the police actually help people.”
“They do,” Vivian said, an edge of bitter humor to her words. “Just not people like us.”
Ridiculous. How is Jan 2024 OVER already?
The weather has been frequently crappy, and I’ve been unmotivated, so a fair amount of reading was done in January.
Just over 50% rereads, which, not really a surprise. And only three and a half books had new-to-me authors, so in that sense I had an idea of what I was getting.
There were two books I actively disliked. Once because it focused on characters I disliked the other because it was all about the boinking and didn’t have enough story to keep my interest.
But I did discover a couple new series, by authors I already liked!
I’d only read Lish McBride’s YA fantasies. Uncanny Romance is a boinking series, but I was easily able to skim those bits and enjoy the story.
I discovered Katharine Schellman’s Lily Adler series last fall and very much enjoyed it, so I decided to try this series, even though it was set in the US–historicals set in the US tend to make me skittish. I don’t like historicals that pretend slavery and segregation didn’t exist, but I have a hard time with stories that go into too much detail about sexism and racism. (I know. It’s ridiculous.)
Last Call at the Nightingale didn’t gloss over the racism and sexism and poverty of the Roaring 20s, but it didn’t dwell on it, hitting a good balance for me. (I know the world has been and continues to be awful for many people. Reading about it in detail puts me into a tailspin I have trouble escaping.) So I’ve got the next book lined up.
I ended up reading three ace romances, two of which had characters with ASD. And I ended up reading them one after another. My favorite of the lot was The Mistletoe Motive, despite the fact I generally dislike “enemies to lovers” as a trope.
Apropos only of books, I’ve been putting together two spreadsheets: one for books with queer rep, and the other for those with mental and physical health rep. I’ve moved the to google docs, so I may make them publicly available to view.
We’ll see.
Somewhat anti-climatic after my end-of-the-year roundup, but here it is anyway: the books I read in December.
Multiple new reads here–including two audio-first books. (I almost never listen to audio books I haven’t already read.) It most likely worked because I had a lot of organization and cleaning and sorting I needed to do.
So yay for T. Kingfisher! But it was weird hearing Khristine Hvam narrate something that wasn’t by Faith Hunter. Clocktaur War series by T. Kingfisher
Great entries into Richard Osman‘s Thursday Murder Club series and Stephen Spotswood‘s Pentecost & Parker series.
I was expecting to love The Last Devil to Die , but I’d put off reading Secrets Typed in Blood because I wasn’t certain I was in the mood for it.
There were also great continuations of fantasy series I’ve been reading. Morgan Stang’s books aren’t going to be for everyone, but I quite enjoyed them. And of course I read the latest Saint of Steel book as soon as it came out.
Now for all the bits and pieces and data!
I do so love a pretty book cover.
As has happened every year since I started reading the series, the cover from the latest Veronica Speedwell book was a favorite (The first book in the series initially had a different style cover–the designs they’re using now started with the second book). This one, like the rest, are utterly gorgeous.
A Sinister Revenge (2023) Deanna Raybourn
Cover design & illustration by Leo Nickolls. Published by Berkley (Penguin)
Veronica Speedwell: A Curious Beginning (2015), A Perilous Undertaking (2017), A Treacherous Curse (2018), A Dangerous Collaboration (2019), A Murderous Relation (2020), An Unexpected Peril (2021), An Impossible Impostor (2022)
Also making another appearance is Allie Therin‘s Magic in Manhattan series.
I really deeply love the monochrome covers and the art deco elements. They are clean and eye catching, and I find them very pretty.
Once a Rogue (2023) Allie Therin Published by Carina Press. Unfortunately, Carina Press doesn’t credit their cover artists which, as I have repeatedly noted, is a shame.
Magic in Manhattan: Spellbound (2019), Starcrossed (2020), Wonderstruck (2021)
Roaring Twenties Magic: Proper Scoundrels (2021), Once a Rogue (2023)
To the best of my memory, this is the first year Berkley hasn’t had the highest number of great covers. But pretty sure that’s because I only read four books published by Berkley this year.
Publishers with multiple covers I loved:
We’ve come a long way in self-published covers; I adore that authors of self-published books are giving us so many gorgeous covers.
My favorite covers of 2023:
Fantasy Mystery Romance Science Fiction
Aside from the audio book of Blitz (I read Blitz last December, so it didn’t seem quite fair to point it out as a ten for this year), I didn’t have any 9.5 or 10 reads that were new-to-me this year, but I did have several new (to me at least) books that had a 9/10 rating.
However.
I’m pretty sure that upon a reread, there are multiple books that will get a higher rating. They just weren’t what I needed to help get out of my brain when I read them, or I didn’t have enough spare processing power to really get everything. So take that into consideration if you peruse my reviews.
Publishers with multiple books I loved.
Obviously not enough numbers to be more than anecdata, but here are the publishers whose books I read most frequently this year (the number of books by that publisher) and the average rating for that publisher..
My favorite books of 2023:
Fantasy Mystery Romance Science Fiction Audio Books
I use two different tracking spreadsheets–one I created in 2003 and yearly spreadsheet from Book Riot. The Book Riot tracker only allows a single genre for a book. Mine allows books to have multiple genres, which is a bit more accurate, especially for my reading preferences (I do love a supernatural detective).
In both logs, mysteries were the genre I read most this year, however, the second chart makes it clear that romance was my second most-read genre–because many of the fantasies and mysteries were also romances, or had romance as a secondary element.
You can see how my reading mood shifts over time.
I don’t have fiction, or straight non-fiction on here, because I don’t read enough of either to do anything but make the chart even more confusing than it already is.
There should have been more comics on there, but I’ve been reading some web comics, and haven’t read the physical books I got myself. (I read Cursed Princess Club and The Doctors are Out weekly as they come out. Lore Olympus is constant cliffhangers, so I’m waiting for it to finish. I also have a pile of graphic novels to read, and am hoping to get to them over the holiday break.)
Here are this years favorite books by genre:
Fantasy Mystery Romance Science Fiction Audio Books
Ages and ages ago (back when I was reading mostly fantasy and mystery) I started to make an effort to read more female authors. Back then, an author publishing under their initials and last name was usually a woman who wrote in a male dominated market (sword & sorcery or police procedurals FREX). There were a few men who wrote under initials because their market or segment of the market was female dominated, but mostly not in genres I read.
You can see that shift, as well as the bigger jump when I read more romance.
I’ve continued to try and broaden my reading, looking for POC and Queer characters. It is harder to categorize authors here, because until someone’s bio states they are queer (ie, ” the author and her wife”) it’s not up to me or anyone else to say if someone is queer or not. Nor do I want to judge if someone is a POC just from looking at their picture (see: Tobias Buckell). So I mostly focus on the characters.
Secondary characters need to pass a version of the Bechdel Test to qualify as such.
While on the subject, I’d like to highlight something I’ve started seeing more frequently and really love.
a hefty-looking white woman with sharp blue eyes
He was a white man, looked to be in his fifties, with thinning brown hair cut short, regular features, pale gray eyes
Phillip was a young-looking forty-year-old white man with black hair and light brown eyes.
She was a tall, hippy white woman
It turned out to be a white woman in late middle age
typical London office jockeys, mostly white, mostly from affluent suburbs
The nervous young white man with floppy hair who served as receptionist
a small white woman in a gray zip-up hoody.
a teenaged white girl dressed incongruously in a blue knit twinset and pearls and a blond pageboy wig.
“Hallo, darling,” said a white person with an androgynous face, blue-black hair, and a raven perched on their shoulder.
Above are all descriptions from Ben Aarnonvitch‘s Amongst Our Weapons, but he does that throughout the Rivers of London series.
If a book is set in a metropolis or urban area–especially in the US or UK–white shouldn’t be the “default setting”. As I live in a rural, predominantly white, American state, I love regular reminders that the rest of the world doesn’t look like where I live, and love reading about people whose life experiences are not my own.
Once I got an eReader, paper books quickly became a thing of the past. Although I prefer paper for cookbooks and graphic novels, in almost every other category I prefer digital format.
And although I’ve listened to audio books since the late 1990s, having books on my phone instead of having to carry a walkman (cassette or CD type) makes audio books so much easier.
I’ll go back and forth between listening to podcasts and audio books, but it’s been audio books over podcasts for the past couple years.
Additionally, audio books and rereads are tied together, since I almost never listen to a fiction audio book I have not previously read.
You can also tell from a glance at that chart what years have been difficult, by the percent of rereads.
Why, yes, 2023 has been a particularly horrible year, how’d you guess?
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that one of the reasons I only listen to audio books I’ve previously read is because I only allow myself to listen to audio books while I am on my feet; exercising, cleaning, cooking: I have to be moving around.
That huge spike in November is when I was going through the boxes we brought from my parent’s house.
It was a very large and very difficult task, and the audio books allowed me to get through it, since they distracted my brain from why I was doing what I was doing so I could figure out what to do with the stuff and clear out the stacks of boxes crowding my basement.
As I already noted, I did a lot of re-reading this year.
Most of my mental processing power went to dealing with my mother’s death, being her executor, and selling my parent’s house. There were a lot of books I considered but didn’t even try to read, regardless of how much I wanted to.
So I thought it would be interesting to look at what I’ve read the most.
Because of the way my book log is set up, I don’t have the titles of the books I read prior to 2020 in a spreadsheet. I can get the read times for an individual title easily, but there is no way to dump that information into a spreadsheet. But starting 2020 when I began using the Book Riot Reading Log, I do have that information, so I compiled it and pulled out the following information.
Most read authors, 2020-2023
Every author on that list has at least one book I’ve re-read.
I also figured out the books I’ve re-read the most since 2020–the books I reached for when I couldn’t focus and was miserable & desperate for a distraction.
Romance, romance, romance, Murderbot.
I think that pretty much sums up my 2023 in reading.
The 221 is the correct number; I believe the Goodreads total has at least one DNF. But my spreadsheets work out (there are two DNFs in the Book Riot Spreadsheet, that I don’t count in my other spreadsheet) so it’s all fine.
Midyear was the same as last year, but I had a LOT going on this summer and fall, so it’s hardly a surprise I read fewer books in the second half of 2023.
Type of book and rereads. I’ve mentioned before that I almost never listen to a fiction book I haven’t previous read, so you can see how when I listen to a lot of audio books I have more rereads.
And finally, the spaghetti chart.
If you’d like to browse previous yearly roundups, here is the full list.
I backed off reading straight-up fantasy more than a decade ago; I got tired of series that never ended and chose more series with self-contained plots. Sure, there is continuity from book to book, and you should read them in order, but you don’t have to do a complete reread to remember what happened in the previous book, which came out two to five years earlier.
So mostly I’ve read urban and supernatural fantasy–and I do love a good paranormal mystery. But I do come across the occasional stand-alone fantasy, or one that is part of a series where each book has a complete story arc.
But these are stories that stand on their own–even when part of a series.
Queer, Historical, Supernatural, Romance, Boinking
Technically, by my own rules, this shouldn’t have made the list. But I think the slightly lower rating had far more to do with my state of mind than with the book itself.
The Proper Scoundrels series follows the Magic in Manhattan series an continues to build upon that world, but switching the main characters.
Wesley & Sebastian are far more broken than Rory & Arthur, so their stories are in some ways harder to read.
Men like Wesley and Langford wore their scars on the outside, where everyone could see and know to keep their distance. Sebastian kept his inside, where they couldn’t hurt anyone else.
But the fact I really want more stories with these characters and in this world is something in and of itself.
Published by Carina Press
Rating: 7/10
Magic in Manhattan: Spellbound (2019), Starcrossed (2020), Wonderstruck (2021)
Roaring Twenties Magic: Proper Scoundrels (2021), Once a Rogue (2023)
Supernatural, Mystery
This is a Rivers of London story, but instead of Peter Grant we’re in America with Kimberly of the FBI.
“There’s no mesocyclone!” shouted Bill. “That had better be down to magic, or otherwise we can kiss goodbye to the laws of thermodynamics.”
“They’ll have to rewrite all the textbooks,” I said, marveling at how calm I was given the circumstances.
“Nah,” said Bill. “The science has to be obsolete for at least twenty years before they do that. Forty years, if we’re talking about Texas.”
I read this story too quickly when I was distracted, so I really need to reread it, which might bump the rating up a hair.
Published by Subterranean Press
Rating: 8/10
Rivers of London: Midnight Riot (2011), Moon Over Soho (2011), Whispers Under Ground (2012), Broken Homes (2014), Foxglove Summer (2014), The Hanging Tree (2017), The Furthest Station (2017), Lies Sleeping (2018), The October Man (2019), False Value (2020), Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020), What Abigail Did That Summer (2021), Amongst Our Weapons (2022), Winter’s Gifts (2023)
Mystery, Supernatural
I do love a good supernatural mystery, and this series has been delightful.
Thick glass walls along both sides of the hall provided an unobstructed view into the labs. That way, if an experiment or subject got out of control, those windows let the folks across the hall know that all hell had broken loose and to please, when they had a minute, call for help.
A couple books back she switched to self-published, so I’m wondering if this is the last book in the series. A police procedural or private detective series is always easier to keep going than a cozy–at least if you want to keep the mysteries at least somewhat realistic, but I’ll be ok if this is the end.
Self-Published
Rating: 8/10
SPI Files: The Grendel Affair (2013), The Dragon Conspiracy (2015), The Brimstone Deception (2016), The Ghoul Vendetta (2017), The Myth Manifestation (2018), The Phoenix Illusion (2018), The Solstice Countdown (2021), The Gorgon Agenda (2023)
“Shane,” she said, turning to look at the paladin, “when a woman is lamenting that she doesn’t feel attractive, you’re supposed to tell her she’s beautiful. Not that you’re honored to kill people with her.”
He looked at her blankly, then said, “Oh.”
Published by Red Wombat Studio
Rating: 8/10
The Saint of Steel: Paladin’s Grace (2020), Paladin’s Strength (2021), Paladin’s Hope (2021), Paladin’s Faith (2023)
Queer, Romance
This story was completely unexpected and completely delightful.
After twenty-two years of adventuring, Viv had reached her limit of blood and mud and bullshit. An orc’s life was strength and violence and a sudden, sharp end— but she’d be damned if she’d let hers finish that way.
It’s a cozy low-stakes fantasy, and I could reread it right now and remain delighted.
Published by Tor
Rating: 8/10
Queer, Mystery, Steampunk/Gaslamp
This was another unexpected series. It’s steampunk/gaslamp mystery.
“You must notice what’s not present in addition to what is, Evie. What have we not found in this bedroom so far?”
Evie looked about and shrugged. “Happiness of any kind?”
Parts of the first mystery might have been a bit weak, but it was fun and a lovely escape, and the second book actually addressed my problem with the first book.
Self-Published
Lamplight Murder Mysteries: Murder at Spindle Manor (2022) 8/10, Murder on the Lamplight Express (2023) 8.5/10
Queer, Supernatural
This occurs during the events of The Hourglass Throne but gives us what happened to the teens during that time. Quinn is the main focus of the story, but we get to see all the teens coming into their own.
Self-Published
Rating: 8.5/10
The Tarot Sequence: The Last Sun (2018), The Hanged Man (2019), The Hourglass Throne (2022)
Magnus Academy: The Eidolon (2023)
Queer, Historical, Romance, Boinking
The conclusion to The Last Binding series.
Published by Tordotcom
Rating: 8.5/10
The Last Binding: A Marvellous Light (2021), A Restless Truth (2022), A Power Unbound (2023)
Queer, Mystery
This is another cozy low-stakes fantasy, and like Legends & Lattes was the perfect escape from reality.
Self-Published
Rating: 9/10
I love mysteries–this is one of the years where I read more mysteries than anything else (the last time was 2016). I’d say more than half of those were historical mysteries, however, you’ll want to note that my rereads of both Agatha Christie and Robert B Parker are categorized as historicals.
Why do I consider the Spenser books historicals? Because the world was a very different place in the 70s and 80s, as unrecognizable to today’s kids as the post WWII stories of Agatha Christie were to me as a kid.
Queer, Historical novella
This is a short story in which Kat Holloway makes an appearance; it features Bobby, a secondary character in the series.
“You’d be astounded how much people see only what they wish to see. And anyway, I look so much like a bloke, no one has ever tumbled to me no matter where I go.”
You should be able to read this if you have not read the rest of the series.
Self-Published
Rating: 7.5/10
Kat Holloway: A Soupçon of Poison (2015), Death Below Stairs (2018), Scandal Above Stairs (2018), Death in Kew Gardens (2019), Murder in the East End (2020), Death at the Crystal Palace (2021), The Secret of Bow Lane (2022), The Price of Lemon Cake (2023)
Historical
This is a fun series set at the end of the 1800s that is fun and generally cozy, with marvelous characters, and a heroine who does not purposefully do stupid / dangerous things.
This is one of the weaker entries in the series, but it was still enjoyable.
Published by Kensington Books
Rating: 7.5/10
Countess of Harleigh: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder (2018), A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (2019), A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (2020), A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder (2021), A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder (2022), A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder (2023)
I keep meaning to reread the Rebus series, but I don’t necessarily want to start with the first book, so while decided where I’d like to jump in, I keep reading something else.
This is NOT a Rebus story, in fact it doesn’t have a single character I recognize, so it is truly a stand-alone story.
It was extremely well done and I highly recommend it, although I expected as much from Ian Rankin.
Published by Amazon Original Stories
Rating: 8/10
Historical, Queer
This is another long-running historical mystery series.
This book immediately follows the events of the previous book, although you don’t need to have read that to follow and enjoy the mystery. I very much appreciate that although Kira and Sebastian are both happy in their marriage, it is clear that things aren’t always simple or easy, even in a happy marriage. It’s always growth and change.
“Just because you’re willing to forgive someone doesn’t mean you also have to give them leave to continue hurting you,”
The difficult parent-adult child relationship was somewhat difficult for me to read, but I appreciate that things haven’t been magically fixed between Sebastian and his father.
Published by Berkley
Rating: 8/10
Lady Darby: The Anatomist’s Wife (2012), Mortal Arts (2013), A Grave Matter (2014), A Study in Death (2015), A Pressing Engagement (2016), As Death Draws Near (2016), A Brush with Shadows (2018), An Artless Demise (2019), A Stroke of Malice (2020), A Wicked Conceit (2021), A Perilous Perspective (2022), A Fatal Illusion (2023)
Queer, Romance, Boinking
This is a returning home to a small town and finding the love you left behind story, only with multiple twists and murder.
Self-Published
Rating: 8/10
Historical, Queer
This is another book that I think will have a higher rating on a reread–I love the historical elements of this story set in post WWII NYC, and the characters.
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Pentecost & Parker: Fortune Favors the Dead (2020), Murder Under Her Skin (2021), Secrets Typed in Blood (2022)
Queer, Romance, Boinking
Nicole Kimberling’s books have all been several related shorter stories, and this follows that trend.
There are three intertwined novellas with a murder at the center of each story, plus a romance between the main character and the local law.
And some amazing secondary characters.
“What a perfect place to hold a wedding,” Julie remarked. Then, to Evelyn, “Darling! We should renew our vows.”
“As far as I know they haven’t expired,” was all Evelyn had to say on that subject.
There is something about Nicole Kimberling’s mysteries that really works for me, but I’m not sure precisely what it is.
Published by One Block Empire
Rating: 8.5/10
The Body in the Garden (2020) 8/10
Silence in the Library (2021) 9/10
Death at the Manor (2022) 8/10
Murder at Midnight (2023) 8.5/10
Historical, Queer
This is one of the most inclusive historical mystery series I’ve ever read. There are children of men who served in India and married while there, injured war veterans, neurodiversity, and queer characters, all presented in as historically accurate a manner as the author could make it.
“Plenty of Lascars in the navy, but precious few of them made post captain, eh!” The admiral chuckled. “And what was it the Indian fellows began calling you in response?”
“Captain English.” Jack grinned, though Lily noticed the lines of strain around his mouth. “Forever betwixt and between, I am.”
The mysteries are interesting, the characters are all strong and interesting, and I love that each story tries to fit a different mystery trope (locked room, trapped with a murderer, etc)
The only bad thing is I’ve already read all the books available.
Published by Crooked Lane Books
The Thursday Murder Club (2020) 9/10
The Man Who Died Twice (2021) 9/10
The Bullet That Missed (2022) 9/10
The Last Devil to Die (2023) 9/10
These stories are delightful. Truly. They are fun romps that don’t hesitate to go right over the top but aren’t ridiculous.
“Would you like the detailed answer, or the simple answer?” asks Ibrahim.
“The simple answer, please, Ibrahim,” says Elizabeth, without hesitation.
Ibrahim pauses. Perhaps he had phrased his question poorly? “But I have prepared a detailed answer, Elizabeth.”
Delightful.
Published by Viking
Especially since 2020 I’ve been turning to romance because I know it’s going to end with an HEA–that’s built into every story.
My preferences are for historical and queer romance, although my favorites for 2023 are all contemporaries, that’s mostly because I only read twelve new-to me romances; the other 70-some romances were rereads.
Boinking | TW: Grief, Post-partum depression
This story made my list for a couple of reasons. First, the character who obsessed about calories and body image was the male characters.
Second, grief is an important part of the story and is presented as complicated and something that is unique to each individual who experiences it.
Third, a secondary character has post-partum depression which I thought was thoughtful and kindly dealt with.
And finally: baking!
Published by Jove Books
Rating: 7.5/10
Only When It’s Us (2020) 8/10
Ever After Always (2021) 8.5/10
Boinking | TW: Death, Grief, Anxiety
Last year I picked up Always Only You because the female lead had ASD. I very much enjoyed it (despite a lot of boinking) and so picked up more of the books to read.
The first book does go to some dark places, including familial death and a struggle with grief, as well as hearing loss from illness and the struggle with adapting to that major change.
The third book has a marriage in trouble, and one character dealing with a serious mental health crisis.
All those difficult subjects with addressed with compassion and–more importantly–realistically. None of the things the characters go through have easy solutions, nor are those things seen as “fixes” but rather as part of the journey of life.
Self-Published
Bergman Brothers: Only When It’s Us (2020), Always Only You (2020), Ever After Always (2021)
Queer, Boinking
This story is a house swap double romance, where the characters need to just get away from their situations to start to deal with them.
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Rating: 8/10
Queer, Boinking
Not only does this story have a demi/ace character, both characters are middle aged and dealing with age appropriate issues, from an empty nest to parents with failing health.
When I saw the kind of relationship Aiden had with his mother I thought I was going to struggle with the story. Instead, I found it reaffirming, especially when there was no magic solution that made the relationship better.
Published by Montlake
Rating: 8/10
As previously noted, I don’t read much science fiction. I’ve got a decade without reading a single SF book. But I tore through Murderbot–more than once–and so I tried a couple other books.
Two, to be exact.
But I do have some others buried somewhere in my TBR pile.
Dystopia, Mystery, Queer
I generally only put books I rated 8/10 or higher in my yearly review, but the fact that I picked up and read a book that was an SF dystopia pretty much means it deserved a place here.
Janet Watson lost her arm in the war, and has been hoping for a high-end replacement so she can once again become a surgeon. Her roommate Sara is some sort of intelligence agent and never gives a straight answer as to what she’s involved in.
This is set in a dystopian future with another Civil War in the US.
I really don’t like dystopias, but I do like Janet, and I did want to know what happened to her.
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Rating: 7/10
The Janet Watson Chronicles: A Study in Honor (2018), The Hound of Justice (2019)
Compulsory (2023) 8.5/10 (novella)
System Collapse (2023) 8.5/10
Queer
This is set immediately following the events of Network Effect, so we get Murderbot AND ART and everyone else tying to sort out the giant mess.
But the best part is of course Murderbot and ART.
(According to Martyn, ART is of course capable of doing its own accounting, but it always ends up with extra numbers that no one can trace. So now Turi does it and has to keep a hardcopy ledger because otherwise ART would alter their data. No one knew if ART was making up numbers for the hell of it or if these numbers represented actual credit balances that ART was hiding somewhere.)
Although this is SF, and the Corporate Rim is its own kind of dystopia, the center of the stories is always Mruderbot dealing with its feelings and trying to figure out what it wants to do with itself.
Publisher: Subterranean Press, Tordotcom
The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red (2017), Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), Exit Strategy (2018), Network Effect (2020), Fugitive Telemetry (2021), Compulsory (2023), System Collapse (2023)
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