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.

Fantasy

• Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms (2024) Sarah Wallace, S.O. Callahan (Fae & Human Relations: A Regency Fantasy Series) 7.5/10

Mystery

• Regency London by Michelle Diener: The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) 8.5/10, Banquet of Lies (2013) 9.5/10
• A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael) 8.5/10
• Shady Hollow by Juneau Black: Evergreen Chase (2021) 8.5/10, Phantom Pond (2023) 8.5/10, Twilight Falls (2023) 8/10
• Sebastian St. Cyr Audiobooks by C.S. Harris narrated by Davina Porter: What Angels Fear, Audio Book (2005/2014) 8/10, When Gods Die, Audio Book (2006/2015) 8/10, Why Mermaids Sing, Audio Book (2007/2015) 8/10, Where Serpents Sleep, Audio Book (2008/2015) 8/10
• Lindenshaw Mysteries by Charlie Cochrane: Lock, Stock and Peril (2022) 7/10, And Nothing But The Truth (2024) 7/10

Romance

• Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne 9.5/10
• Haverston Family by Alissa Johnson: Nearly a Lady (2011) 9.5/10, An Unexpected Gentleman (2011) 8.5/10
• Waiting for the Flood (2015/2024) Alexis Hall (Spires) 9/10