Surprise. It’s November.

Lots of re-reads this month, but plenty of new books as well, and some very good books that were not re-reads.

I loved Layla Reyne’s Agents Irish and Whiskey series, starting with Single Malt, despite the fact that it had tropes that I really dislike, including a romance between law enforcement partners, a secret off-the-books investigation, and one person committed to the romance and the other… not. Why did it work for me? First and foremost because of Aidan. It had been less than a year since his husband was killed, so he was still processing his grief and afraid to care for someone who might get killed in the line of duty. But also because Jamie was a delight. He was a thorough geek AND an amazing athlete and a good person. And the mysteries were good and there were repercussions for not following the rules. Excellent!

I finished the last (?) Snow & Winter book, The Mystery of the Bones by C.S. Poe which was an interesting mystery and the romance was good as well.

I’m re-reading Patricia Briggs‘s Alpha & Omega series, which has some of my favorite secondary characters in the Mercy-verse (Asil).

So what did I read? Quite a variety. (Note that the LGBT books are also boinking books.)

Mystery

At Your Service (2018) Sandra Antonelli (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Historical

Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon (Lord John) (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, LGBT

The Mystery of the Bones (2019) C.S. Poe (Rating: 8.5/10) (Snow & Winter)
Agents Irish and Whiskey
Single Malt (2017) Layla Reyne (Rating: 8.5/10)
Cask Strength (2017) Layla Reyne (Rating: 8.5/10)
Barrel Proof (2017) Layla Reyne (Rating: 9/10)
Holmes & Moriarity
Somebody Killed His Editor (2009) Josh Lanyon (Rating: 7/10)
All She Wrote (2010) Josh Lanyon (Rating: 7.5/10)

Romance, Historical

The Work of Art (2019) Mimi Matthews (Rating: 7.5/10)
A Convenient Fiction (2019) Mimi Matthews (Rating: 6/10) (Parish Orphans of Devon)

Romance, LGBT

Riven (2018) Roan Parrish (Rating: 7.5/10)
A Duke in Disguise (2019) Cat Sebastian (Rating: 5/10)

Fantasy, Historical

Gunpowder Alchemy (2014) Jeannie Lin (Rating: 6/10) (The Gunpowder Chronicles)

Fantasy, LGBT

Mainly by Moonlight (2019) Josh Lanyon (Rating: 6/10) (Bedknobs and Broomsticks)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Alpha & Omega
Alpha and Omega (2008) Patricia Briggs (Rating: 8/10)
Cry Wolf (2008) Patricia Briggs (Rating: 8/10)
Hunting Ground (2009) Patricia Briggs (Rating: 8.5/10)
Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs (Rating: 8.5/10)

And now THE STATS!

All ebooks this month. I’ve been listening to podcasts instead of audio books. And just under half the books were re-reads, because I finished a series I really liked and then was stumped for what to read next.

eBook: 18
Multiple Formats: 4
Re-read: 7

Mostly mystery and romance, and half of those were boinking books. But almost half were fantasies, so not that far off from normal.

Fantasy: 6
Mystery: 12
Romance: 16
Boinking: 7

No books written by guys this month. Male authors are at only 38% this year, so I don’t think they’re going to catch up.

Female: 14
Initials: 1
Male Pseudonym: 3

And the character breakdown. More than half the books had make protagonists (because M/M romances) and although almost all the books had one white main character, there were plenty of minorities as the other primary character and secondary characters.

Male: 9
Female: 8
Ensemble: 1
White: 17
Minority: 7
Minority 2ndary: 5
Straight: 8
LGBTQ: 10
LGBTQ 2ndary: 1

And that’s what I read in October. Did you read anything excellent recently?