As I don’t much care for the kissing parts of romances, these are unsurprisingly non-traditional romance covers, even though they are boinking books. So keep in mind these are ALL boinking books.

Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances (2017) Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole

This is a trio of novellas set during the revolutionary war, and revolving around Alexander Hamilton, in that his wife is collecting stories of those times.

These are LGBTQ romances, just so you are aware.

What do I love about this cover? First, it’s simple–four major colors. Second, there is no clinch, but the heart coming out of the rifle makes it clear these are romances. Third, the simple cut-outs of the soldiers make it clear the time frame. Especially with the background of the soldiers being the Declaration of Independence (that is a GORGEOUS touch there).

Also, I think it’s pretty clear from the two figures that these are LGBTQ stories.

I just think it’s an extremely well-done cover, and quite lovely.

Spectred Isle (2017) K.J. Charles

This is a M/M romance, and it’s an historical, although one sent in the early 20th century, in this case between the two world wars.

It’s also a paranormal romance, with one of the characters a magician, and the other a skeptic who works for someone who believes in the supernatural.

I love the lines of this cover, as well as how the man and the font evoke the roaring twenties, while the Green Man represents the magic.

Plus it’s just a pretty cover.

Unfit to Print (2018) K.J. Charles

This is another M/M romance.

The historical aspect is shown in the background of the man’s silhouette, of the tenement houses, but the silhouette is what I liked best. It’s quite clearly a man of African descent even though we don’t really have any of the details about him.

The text is also another hint to the fact this is an historical.

Again, I love the lines of the cover, the layout, the font, the fact that it gets across so many aspects of the story with a relatively straight-forward design.

And the last thing I want to note is that NONE of these books came out of traditional publishing houses. They were all published by the authors.

Which makes the covers all the more impressive, since I think we all have come to expect self published books to be a nightmare of fonts, horrible photoshop, and general awfulness.

These covers are instead wonderful.

The Books of 2018

And now, for the 2018 reading wrap-up!

My posts for the year look like the following:
Terrible Covers (this post)
Great Covers: Romance
Great Covers: Fantasy
Great Covers: Mystery

My favorite YA books of 2018
My favorite audio books of 2018
My favorite paranormal romance books of 2018
My favorite romance books of 2018
My favorite fantasy books of 2018
My favorite mystery books of 2018

For the most part, I try to limit this lists to books published in the past 2 years, but I’ll also make note of some older books I hadn’t read for a decade or so, and want to draw your attention to if you haven’t read them before.

Since only ONE book made my terrible list this year, we’ll open with that.

MY SINGLE HATED COVER OF 2018

The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke (2017) Tessa Dare

This is NOT a terrible cover in and of itself. In fact it’s pretty inoffensive. Where it fails utterly is that it has literally nothing to do with the content and characters of the book.

“Only one act is required on your part. You must permit me to visit your bed. I’m well aware of my distasteful appearance. You need not fear any crude or lascivious attentions from my quarter. All encounters will be as dignified as possible. No lights, no kissing. And of course, once you are pregnant with my heir, we will be done.”

Ash was horribly scarred in the war, keeps the heavy drapes in his house closed, covers up as much as possible in front of everyone, and hates being seen in public.

That cover has absolutely NOTHING to do with the book, and in fact gives you no true impression of the characters AT ALL. Which is what makes the cover so terrible. Because Ash’s scarring is what makes him who he is–in fact it’s the reason he chooses Emma for his bride–because she desperately needs security, and he hopes granting her that will make up for having to be married to him.

Ash is angry and broody and self-loathing, and the book is as much about his coming to terms with Emma accepting him as he is as about the romance between the two (and to me, the far more interesting part of the story).

Also, Emma is awesome.

“I will not be your mistress. My body is not for let.”

“That can’t be entirely true. You’re a seamstress, aren’t you? Your fingers are for let.”

“If you don’t know the difference between a woman’s fingers and her womb, I would definitely not share a bed with you.”

Did I want to see scars and deformity? Of course not. But they could have at least tried to make the cover match the story.

And BTW, despite the boinking, it’s quite a good story, and I really liked seeing Ash’s growth and change. And I liked even more that there was no miracle solution–it was him coming to terms with his changed circumstances, and accepting himself.

As I was late in posting most of the individual reviews, it seems about right I’m late in posting the monthly wrap-up. Winter is a lovely time for reading. And even more reading is done when the weather is too crappy to go hiking.

I stumbled across a new series that I thoroughly enjoyed this month: Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes. The books are as silly as you’d expect from the title, but they’re also charming and sweet and quite a bit of fun. If you like supernatural fantasy, I highly recommend checking this out.

I also got the follow-up to The Gentleman’s Guide…The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, and it was FANTASTIC. It’s not romance (even though the first book was an LGBT romance), and unlike the first book, there are fantastic elements. It’s a story of friendship and being who you are. It’s marvelous.

I also enjoyed KJ Charles’ Band Sinister, which is an historical LGBT romance, and is a bit like Georgette Heyer’s Venetia, but also very much not.

Fantasy, Supernatural

Fred the Vampire Accountant
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (2014) Drew Hayes (8/10)
Undeath & Taxes (2015) Drew Hayes (8/10)
Bloody Acquisitions (2016) Drew Hayes (8/10)
The Fangs of Freelance (2017) Drew Hayes
Deadly Assessments (2018) Drew Hayes (8/10)
Very Important Corpses (2017) Simon R. Green (Ishmael Jones)
Diamond Fire (2018) Ilona Andrews (Hidden Legacy)

Fantasy, YA

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (2018) Mackenzi Lee (9/10)
Midnight Hour (2016) C. C. Hunter (Shadow Falls)

Mystery, Historical

Treacherous Is the Night (2018) Anna Lee Huber (8/10) (Verity Kent)
Inspector Hannasyde
Death in the Stocks (1935) Georgette Heyer
Behold, Here’s Poison (1936) Georgette Heyer
They Found Him Dead (1937) Georgette Heyer
The Raven in the Foregate (1986) Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael)
The Duke’s Gambit (2018) Tracy Grant (Melanie & Charles Rannoch)

Romance, Historical

Not Quite a Husband (2009) Sherry Thomas

Romance, LGBT

Band Sinister (2018) K.J. Charles (8/10)
Wanted, a Gentleman (2018) K.J. Charles
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (2018) Cat Sebastian

Audio Books

Rivers of London
Midnight Riot, Audio Edition (2011/2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (10/10)
Moon Over Soho, Audio Edition (2011/2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (9/10)
Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth, Audio Edition (2006/2008) Simon R. Green narrated by Marc Vietor (9/10) (Nightside)
Dead Men’s Boots, Audio Edition (2007/2009) Mike Carey narrated by Michael Kramer (8/10) (Felix Castor)

As usual, eBooks lead the day, but I finished four audio books.

eBook: 19
Audio: 4
Multiple Formats: 4
Re-read: 6

Pretty evenly split this month.

Fantasy: 12
Mystery: 10
Romance: 11
YA: 2

Women are still ahead as far as author gender. Including pseudonyms, I’ve read about 70% female authors this year. Not my highest percentage ever, but definitely up there.

Male: 10
Female: 10
Initials: 1
Male Pseudonym: 1
Joint: 1

And those are the books of November.

How is it November already?

I read some good books, and I also–for me–read a number of really awful books, including one DNF (did not finish). But let’s talk about the good ones!

Pyromantic by Lish McBride is a book I’d been holding off reading, because I tend to love her books, and so was saving it for unknown reasons. It’s a good book, and a good series, and now I want to go back and read the Necromancer series.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee surprised me. I initially had a very difficult time starting it, because the main character was kind of an annoying git. But then you discover more about him, and learn why he drinks so much, and suddenly I was halfway through the story and completely pulled in.

I’m also quite enjoying listening to Simon Green’s Nightside series. Marc Vietor is not an amazing narrator, but he’s solid and he does a good job with it. Plus, I’d forgotten how much I love this series.

So here’s what I read. You can see there were several books I REALLY did NOT like.

Mystery, Historical

An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters (Rating: 7.5/10) (Brother Cadfael)
Malcolm and Melanie Rannoch
Mission for a Queen (2016) Tracy Grant (Rating: 7.5/10)
Gilded Deceit (2017) Tracy Grant (Rating: 8/10)
Midwinter Intrigue (2017) Tracy Grant (Rating: 6/10)

Romance, Historical

His at Night (2010) Sherry Thomas (Rating: 7/10)
The Luckiest Lady in London (2013) Sherry Thomas (Rating: 7.5/10)
Lord of Scoundrels (1994) Loretta Chase (Rating: 8/10)
Captives of the Night (1994) Loretta Chase (Rating: 7.5/10)
Let Me Be The One (2002,2015) Jo Goodman (Rating: 7.5/10)
A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (2012) Jillian Stone (Rating: 4/10)
A Code of Love  (2014) Jacki Delecki (Rating: 1.25/10)
DNF: An Indecent Invitation by Laura Trentham

Romance, LGBT
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (2017) Mackenzi Lee (Rating: 8/10)
Unmasked by the Marquess (2018) Cat Sebastian (Rating: 5.5/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Pyromantic (2017) Lish McBride (Rating: 9/10) (Firebug)
Clean (2012) Alex Hughes (Rating: 5.5/10)

Audio Books
Nightside
Nightingale’s Lament, Audio Edition (2004/2008) Simon R Green narrated by Marc Vietor (Rating: 8/10)
Hex and the City, Audio Edition (2005/2008) Simon R Green narrated by Marc Vietor (Rating: 8/10)
Paths Not Taken, Audio Edition (2005/2008) Simon R Green narrated by Marc Vietor (Rating: 7/10)
Vicious Circle, Audio Edition (2006/2008) Mike Carey narrated by Michael Kramer (Rating: 8/10) (Felix Castor)

And the stats!

eBook: 15
Audio: 4
Multiple Formats: 4
Re-read: 6

Lots of ebooks, fewer audio books, mostly because of the stupid rain.

Fantasy: 6
Mystery: 13
Romance: 9

Majority mystery this month, but quite a few romances in there (that category had the books I REALLY disliked).

Male: 5
Female: 12
Male Pseudonym: 2

Males continue to fall behind in my reading material, and sadly, the romance that I finshed off by hate-reading, was written by a guy. The romance was terrible, but the mystery was ALSO terrible, so theoretically it doesn’t mean that guys can’t write romance. But it really was awful.

And those were the books of October!

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
— W. B. Yeats (1919)

Here we are! The books of September!

Most of the best books I read this month were LGBT historical Romances (with boinking), so take that into consideration.
Non-boinking-wise, I’m still re-reading the Brother Cadfael series, which I truly love and highly recommend, and I finally finished listening to the Raven Boys series, which I also love and highly recommend.

Audio Books

Agents Of Light And Darkness, Audio Edition (2003/2008) Simon R. Green narrated by Marc Vietor  : 8/10 (Nightside)
The Raven King, Audio Edition (2016) Maggie Stiefvater narrated by Will Thomas  : 10/10 (Raven Boys)

Romance, Historical

Cotillion (1953) Georgette Heyer  : 8.5/10
Venetia (1958) Georgette Heyer   : 8/10
The Reluctant Widow (1946) Georgette Heyer  : 8/10
A Week to Be Wicked (2012) Tessa Dare  : 7.5/10
Wicked Intentions (2010) Elizabeth Hoyt  : 7/10
The Richmond Thief (2017) Lisa Boero   : 6/10

Romance, LGBT

Spectred Isle (2017) K. J. Charles  : 8/10 (Green Men)
Unfit to Print (2018) K. J. Charles  : 8/10
Society of Gentleman
The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh (2015) K. J. Charles
A Fashionable Indulgence (2016) K. J. Charles  : 8/10
A Seditious Affair (2016) K. J. Charles  : 8.5/10
A Gentleman’s Position (2016) K. J. Charles  : 7/10

Mystery, Historical

A Treacherous Curse (2018) Deanna Raybourn   : 7.5/10 (Veronica Speedwell)
Brother Cadfael
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters  : 8/10
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984) Ellis Peters  : 8.5/10

No paper this month, and fewer audio books, as I spent far less time in the kitchen.

eBook: 15
Audio: 2
Multiple Formats: 5
Re-read: 6

Genere-wise, not much fantasy this month, and heavy on the romance, mostly because I can’t stomach anything depressing or too dark right now. With romance, at least I know I’ll get a HEA.

Fantasy: 3
Mystery: 5
Romance: 12
YA: 1

Simon R. Green was the only male author I read this month, but I read as many books where the author was hiding behind a male pseudonym or initials as I did by authors with straight-up female names. Take that as you will.

Male: 1
Female: 8
Initials: 6
Male Pseudonym: 2

And that’s the month of September in books!

It’s too hot to get excited, even though I do have some excellent books here. And some not so excellent books, as I had one DNF and two books I disliked.

I’m slowly re-reading Brother Cadfael, which is an historical mystery series set in the England – Wales border in the 1130s. I love these stories.

I finished Marie Brennan‘s Lady Trent series, which was utterly marvelous. You really need to check out these books–and give them to a fantasy-loving young person in your life.

Historical Fantasy

Within the Sanctuary of Wings (2017) Marie Brennan (9.5/10) (The Memoirs of Lady Trent)

I’m listening to the Raven Boys series, which I adore and which breaks my heart. I love this series, and Will Paton does a marvelous job with the narration. This is a YA series, but everyone should read it. Really.

I read one very good historical romance series, the Haverston Family series by Alissa Johnson. These are boinking books, but I do love her storytelling.

Historical Mystery

Brother Cadfael
Monk’s Hood (1980) Ellis Peters
Saint Peter’s Fair (1981) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Leper of Saint Giles (1981) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Virgin in the Ice (1982) Ellis Peters (8/10)
The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983) Ellis Peters (8.5/10)
The Devil’s Novice (1983) Ellis Peters (8.5/10)

Historical Romance

Haverston Family
Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (8.5/10)
An Unexpected Gentleman (2011) Alissa Johnson (8/10)
Practically Wicked (2016) Alissa Johnson (8.5/10)
The Duchess Deal: Girl Meets Duke (2017) Tessa Dare (7/10)
Widdershins (2012) Jordan L. Hawk (7/10)
Lord of Secrets (2013) Alyssa Everett (6.5/10)
The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter (2018) Mimi Matthews (6.5/10)
Dreaming of You (1994) Lisa Kleypas (5.5/10)
Silent Revenge (2012) Laura Landon (4/10)
Six Impossible Things: DNF (2017) Elizabeth Boyle

Audio Books

Raven Boys
The Raven Boys, Audio Edition (2012) Maggie Stiefvater narrated by Will Patton (9.5/10)
The Dream Thieves, Audio Edition (2013) Maggie Stiefvater narrated by Will Patton (10/10)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Audio Version (2014) Maggie Stiefvater narrated by Will Patton (10/10)
The Devil You Know, Audio Edition (2006/2007) Mike Carey narrated by Michael Kramer (8/10) (Felix Castor)
Something from the Nightside, Audio Book (2003/2008) Simon R. Green narrated by Marc Vietor (7.5/10) (Nightside)
A Deeper Sleep, Audio Version (2007) Dana Stabenow narrated by Bernadette Dunne (8.5/10) (Kate Shugak)
Silence Fallen, Audio Edition (2017) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King and George Newbern (7/10) (Mercy Thompson)

And now: the stats!

More reading time than expected, because it was hot, and because Michael’s work was crazy busy, so we didn’t get much hiking in this month.

Lots of ebooks this week, five of which I also own as e-books and/or paper books. And a lot of re-reads, partially due to the audio books, and partially because I needed something I knew I’d like to wind down at the end of the day.

eBook : 16
Audio : 7
Multiple Formats : 5
Re-read : 14

Genre-wise, this is an odd and oddly even split.

Fantasy : 8
Mystery : 8
Romance : 8
YA : 4

Sorry guys, women are still leading the pack of authors I’m in the mood to read.

Male : 2
Female : 14
Male Pseudonym : 6

And those are the books of August!

It’s that time! Although I got birthday books, I also have been listening to a lot of audio, so not as many new reads as I’d expect.

Some of my favorite books of the month were the next two entries in Marie Brennan’s Memoirs of Lady Trent series: Voyage of the Basilisk (Rating: 8.5/10) and In the Labyrinth of Drakes (Rating: 8.5/10). This series is fantastic. You really should check it out, and then give it to any aspiring natural historians or research scientists in your life.

Fantasy, Supernatural

Mercy Thompson
Night Broken (2014) Patricia Briggs
Fire Touched (2016) Patricia Briggs (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Historical

The Alienist (1994) Caleb Carr (Rating: 8.5/10)
Brother Cadfael
One Corpse Too Many (1979) Ellis Peters (Rating: 8.5/10)
A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters (Rating: 8/10)

Fantasy, Historical

Memoirs of Lady Trent
Voyage of the Basilisk (2015) Marie Brennan (Rating: 8.5/10)
In the Labyrinth of Drakes (2016) Marie Brennan (Rating: 8.5/10)

Audio Books

Mercy Thompson
Silver Borne, Audio Edition (2010) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King
River Marked, Audio Edition (2011) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King
Frost Burned, Audio Edition (2013) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King
Alpha & Omega
Dead Heat, Audio Version (2015) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham
Fair Game, Audio Edition (2012) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham (Rating: 8/10)
Burn Bright, Audio Version (2018) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham (Rating: 7.5/10)

The Stats! The Stats!

eBook: 7
Audio: 6
Multiple Formats: 2
Re-read: 11

As I said, a lot of audio books this month, all of which were re-reads. And for bedtime reading I started re-reading the Brother Cadfael series. It’s good and I can read it at any time, but it shouldn’t keep me awake reading when I need to sleep. And note about the multiple formats–those are books I own in multiple formats. I borrowed most of the audio books from the library, because I don’t like the narration enough to own them.

Fantasy: 10
Mystery: 3
Romance: 3
YA: 2

Mostly fantasy this month.

Male: 1
Female: 10
Male Pseudonym: 2

And male authors were all but missing this month. More than twice the number of female authors as male so far this year.

And those are the books of July!

It’s time for the books of June! We started repainting the (inside of the) house, so that ate up a fair amount of time. And then the month ended with hanging out with small people, so less reading than previous months (but still not shabby).

Some of the better books I read were Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint, which is the first Newford anthology. And I particularly liked The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian which is the sequel to The Lawrence Browne Affair and one of the heroes was a rather unlikable prig when he made his appearance in that book, so it gets kudos for changing my mind about him. (Cat Sebastian writes M/M historicals, so they’re NOT for everyone, but I quite like the twist that gives to the relationship, in that the men have to trust each other to some degree, and a long term relationship is never expected, since the relationship was illegal.)

Fantasy, Urban

Dreams Underfoot (1993) Charles de Lint Rating: 8.5/10

Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery

By the Sword (1991) Mercedes Lackey  Rating: 8/10

Historical Mystery

Lady Helena Investigates (2018) Jane Steen  Rating: 8/10
The Service of the Dead (2016) Candace Robb Rating: 7/10
DNF: A Lady in the Smoke (2016) Karen Odden DNF

Historical Romance

The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian Rating: 8/10
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian Rating: 8.5/10

Audio Books

Mercy Thompson
Blood Bound, Audio Edition (2007/2009) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King Rating: 7/10
Iron Kissed, Audio Version (2008) Patricia Briggs
Bone Crossed, Audible Edition (2009) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King Rating: 8/10
Alpha & Omega
Cry Wolf, Audible Edition (2008) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham  Rating: 8/10
Hunting Ground, Audible Edition (2009) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham Rating: 8/10

And now: THE STATS!!!!!

Of the 11 books I finished (no matter what percent I complete, a DNF doesn’t count) it was split pretty evenly between e books and audio books. Lots of listening while painting the house. And lots of re-reads (unsurprising with 5 audio books).

eBook: 6
Audio: 5
Multiple Formats: 2
Re-read: 7

Split mostly between fantasy and romance this month (remember, books can fall into multiple categories, so there were romances with fantasy elements)

Fantasy: 7
Mystery: 2
Romance: 6

Male authors fell way behind in June, dropping them to 31% for the year.

Male: 1
Female: 10

I read several new and new-to-me books this month–all the historical romances and supernatural fantasies were new-to-me and I even read the Jane Yellowrock new release almost immediately! Lots of hiking on the weekends, and being outside in the evenings, which cuts back on the reading, but I shan’t complain at all.

All of the historical romances had M/M elements, and all were boinking, but most of them were very good. I’d especially recommend the trio Hamilton’s Battalion which has three separate romances: a woman pretending to be a man to fight in the continental army, a M/M romance between an English Lord who deserted the British Army and an ex-slave fighting for the freedom of his brother-in-law, and a maid who works for Mrs Hamilton and the granddaughter of a revolutionary soldier.

If you’ve been reading the Jane Yellowrock books, you don’t need me to tell you to read the newest, but if you haven’t, this is a series that has managed to be very good over the course of a dozen books, and I could be content if the series ended here (it won’t). And the short story pair by Lish McBride made me want to re-read Hold Me Closer Necromancer, which is a YA I very much enjoyed at the time.

Historical Romance

Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances (2017) Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole (8/10)
Flight of Magpies (2014) K.J. Charles (8/10) (A Charm of Magpies)
Rag and Bone (2016) K.J. Charles (8/10)
It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (7/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Dark Queen (2018) Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock)
Freaks & Other Family (2016) Lish McBride (8/10) (Necromancer)

Fantasy

Discworld
Mort (1987) Terry Pratchett (8/10)
Guards! Guards! (1989) Terry Pratchett (9.5/10)

Mystery

The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin (8.5/10) (Rebus)

Audio Books

Mercy Thompson
Moon Called, Audible Version (2006) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King (7.5/10)
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson, Audio Version (2014) Patricia Briggs narrated by Alexander Cendese and Lorelei King (9/10)
Stiletto, Audible Edition (2016) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (9/10) (The Rook)
Voice of the Violin, Audible Version (1997/2003/2008) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli narrated by Grover Gardner (8/10) (Inspector Montalbano)

Now: The stats!

Thirteen books this one and a DNF. The DNF was one I quit with prejudice–it wasn’t even good enough to hate read, I had so many issues with it.

All my reading was ebooks, and I also managed four audio books this month (one was the travel book I listened to with Michael). Five of the books I own in multiple formats (ie paper and eBook or eBook and audio book) and seven were re-reads (I can only listen to audio books I’ve read before, so all audio books are re-reads.)

eBook : 9
Audio : 4
Multiple Formats : 5
Re-read : 7

Primarily fantasy and historical romance this month, with overlap between the two.

Fantasy : 9
Mystery : 2
Romance : 5
YA : 1

And male authors are falling behind this month, despite the effort of Terry Pratchett. I actually started a 3rd Terry Pratchett, but I might go onto the next, because the witches aren’t my favorite story arc.

Male : 5
Female : 8

And that’s the past month in books!

Here we are! The books of April!

One of my favorite books last month was actually a new release! Why Kill the Innocent by C.S. Harris is the latest entry in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and like the last several books, it’s dark in places. But it’s also good–and the darkness is very much a part of that time.  There were two audible books I really enjoyed, the first was The Rook, Audible Version by Daniel O’Malley which is just as good as an audible book as it was to read, and Cat o’ Nine Tales, Audible Version by Faith Hunter and narrated by Khristine Hvam. I really love her narration of Faith Hunter’s books, and since I’d finished listening all the Jane Yellowrock books, all I had left were this short-story collection.

I also very much enjoyed the K.J. Charles books I read, although they are definitely not for everyone.

Fantasy, Historical

Swordspoint (1987) Ellen Kushner (10/10)

Fantasy, Romantic

Dirk & Steele
Tiger Eye (2005) Marjorie Liu (6/10)
Shadow Touch (2006) Marjorie Liu (7/10)
The Red Heart of Jade (2006) Marjorie Liu (6/10)

Mystery, Historical

Why Kill the Innocent (2018) C.S. Harris (8.5/10) (Sebastian St Cyr)

Mystery

Death of a Hollow Man (1989) Caroline Graham (7/10) (Inspector Barnaby)

Romance, Historical

After the Wedding (2018) Courtney Milan (7/10) (Worth Saga)
Sins of the City
An Unnatural Vice (2017) K.J. Charles (8/10)
An Unsuitable Heir (2017) K.J. Charles (8/10)
Magpie Lord
The Magpie Lord (2013) K.J. Charles (8/10)
A Case of Possession (2014) K.J. Charles (7.5/10)
A Queer Trade (2015) K.J. Charles (7/10) (Rag & Bone)

Comics

Rivers of London: Cry Fox (2017-2018) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero, Steve White (5/10)

Audio

The Rook, Audible Version (2012) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Susan Duerden (9/10)
Cat o’ Nine Tales, Audible Version (2013) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (9/10)
The Snack Thief, Audible Version (1996/2003/2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli narrated by Grover Gardner (8.5/10)

Now, the stats!

Trade Paperback : 1
eBook : 12
Audio : 3

EBooks and audiobooks this month, with a single paperbook (the comic). Seven re-reads, which is also seven books I have in multiple formats (either paper and ebook or ebook and audio).

Fantasy : 10
Mystery : 8
Romance : 10
Comic : 1

Genre-wise, there was lots of overlap of genres, but still mostly fantasy and mystery, which are my primary favorite genres.

Male : 3
Female : 8
Initials : 5

And author-wise three male authors, and thirteen female authors, five books of which were written by women published under initials instead of a female name.

And those are the books of April! Yay reading!

I read (and listened to) a number of great books this month–and even a bunch of new releases!

I listened (again) to Sergei Lukyanenko‘s Night Watch series so I could read the final book in that series, Sixth Watch. I really love that series and highly recommend it. On our drives were listening to Andrea Camilleri‘s Inspector Montalbano series (I’d been trying to get Michael to read it for years) and although Michael gets thrown by all the names (it’s easier for me to read because of that) it is a fun series. Although the earliest books are the best, I never regret reading even an average Andrea Camilleri mystery.

I read two good historical romances, which were extremely different from each other. KJ Charles’ series is MM and full of boinking, but the main character in An Unseen Attraction made the whole book. He’s half Indian, is neurodivergent, and both of those things made the story excellent, allowing for atypical issues between the heroes, and the historical setting adds an extra layer to the whole thing, since homosexuality was a crime. C.E. Murphy‘s Bewitching Benedict is almost a polar opposite, with no boinking and barely any kissing, but like An Unseen Attraction, the characters made the book, and I look forward to more books about the other characters in the story.

Fantasy, Urban

Sixth Watch (2015/2016) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield 8/10 (Night Watch)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Burn Bright (2018) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega)

Mystery, Police

The Temptation of Forgiveness (2018) Donna Leon 7/10 (Commissario Guido Brunetti)
The Killings at Badger’s Drift (1987) Caroline Graham 7.5/10 (Chief Inspector Barnaby)

Mystery, Historical

A Brush with Shadows (2018) Anna Lee Huber 7.5/10
A Conspiracy in Belgravia (2017) Sherry Thomas 7/10 (Lady Sherlock)
Bess Crawford
A Bitter Truth (2011) Charles Todd 7/10
An Unmarked Grave (2012) Charles Todd 7.5/10
A Question of Honor (2013) Charles Todd 5/10
An Unwilling Accomplice (2014) Charles Todd 5/10
A Pattern of Lies (2015) Charles Todd 5/10

Romance, Historical

An Unseen Attraction (2017) KJ Charles 8/10 (Sins of the City)
Bewitching Benedict (2017) C.E. Murphy 8/10 (Lovelorn Lads)

Audio Book

The Terra Cotta Dog, Audio Edition (1996/2002/2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartaelli narrated by Grover Gardner 8/10 (Inspector Montalbano)
Night Watch
Day Watch, Audio Edition (1999/2006/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield and narrated by Paul Michael 9/10
Twilight Watch, Audible Version (2006/2007/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield narrated by Paul Michael 10/10
Last Watch, Audible Edition (2009/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield narrated by Paul Michael 9/10
New Watch, Audible Version (2012/2014) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield narrated by Paul Michael 8/10

Short Story

Opal (2018) Maggie Stiefvater 7/10

And now: The stats!

eBook : 14
Audio : 5
Multiple Formats : 5
Re-read : 8

Not as many re-reads this month–and more than half of those were audio books (I can’t listen to fiction unless I’ve already read the book. No patience. But I love audio books when I’m walking on we’re on long car rides.) No paper books this month.

Fantasy : 7
Mystery : 10
Romance : 2
YA : 1

I’ve been in a mood for mysteries. I mean, I frequently am, but right now a good mystery (or even a story arc that’s a good mystery) will draw me in more than anything else.

Male : 6
Female : 8
Joint : 6

Female authors pull slightly ahead this month, but not that far ahead for the year.

And that’s the past month in books!

Yay reading!

Here are some of my favorite books from last month:

This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber is a mystery set post WWI. There aren’t a lot of mysteries set in this time period, which is too bad, because it’s really the start of the modern era. The author also writes the Lady Darby (Anatomist’s Wife) series.  The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater is the conclusion to the Raven Boys series. I put this off for a very long time, because I was terrified it wouldn’t end well. How foolish of me. You really do need to read this series. The Myth Manifestation by Lisa Shearin may be the last SPI Files book, as it was self-published, but it was very well done, and I’ll keep hoping for another book. And I finished my re-read of Rising Stars with Visitations by J. Michael Straczynski. That really is a phenomenal series.

Mystery, Historical

This Side of Murder (2017) Anna Lee Huber 8/10 (Verity Kent)
Bess Crawford
A Duty to the Dead (2009) Charles Todd 7.5/10
An Impartial Witness (2010) Charles Todd 7.5/10

Romance, Historical

The Lescaut Quartet
Dark Angel (1994) Tracy Grant 8/10
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant 8.5/10
A Scot in the Dark (2016) Sarah MacLean 6/10
Dukes Prefer Blondes (2016) Loretta Chase 6/10
Forever Your Earl (2015) Eva Leigh 5/10

Fantasy, YA

The Raven King (2016) Maggie Stiefvater 9/10 (Raven Boys)

Fantasy, Supernatural

The Myth Manifestation (2018) Lisa Shearin 8.5/10 (SPI Files)

Fantasy, Historical

Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart 8.5/10

Comics

Rising Stars, Vol. 3: Fire And Ash (2005) J. Michael Straczynski, Keu Cha, Ken Lashley, Christian Zanier, Jason Gorder, John Livesay, Edwin Rosell, David Wohl, Dennis Heisler, Dreamer Design, Robin Spehar, Liquid!, Matt Nelson, John Starr, Tyson Wengler 9/10
Rising Stars: Visitations (2002) J. Michael Straczynski 8.5/10
Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead / Bright (2006) by Fiona Avery, Dan Jurgens, Staz Johnson, Al Rio 4/10

Audio

Night Watch, Audio Version (1998/2006/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield and narrated by Paul Michael 9/10
Cold Reign, Audio Edition (2017) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam 8/10 (Jane Yellowrock)
The Brimstone Deception, Audio Version (2016) Lisa Shearin narrated by Johanna Parker 7.5/10 (SPI Files)
Hugger Mugger (2000) Robert B Parker narrated by Joe Mantegna 7/10 (Spenser)

Short Story

From the Editorial Page of the Falchester Weekly Review (2016) Marie Brennan 7.5/10 (A Natural History of Dragons)

And now, the stats!

Trade Paperback: 3
eBook: 12
Audio: 4

I read comics this month, hence the three trade paperbacks. And four seems to be new normal for audio books.

Fantasy: 10
Mystery: 6
Romance: 5
YA: 1
Comic: 3
Multiple Formats: 4
Re-read: 12

Genre-wise I had a fair amount of variety last month, but I mostly had re-reads. This seems to be an era of needing comfort reading.

Male: 6
Female: 11
Joint: 2

And female authors take a strong lead in February, possibly because I stalled on the Spenser series, not caring to listen to the narrator for the rest of the series.

And that’s what I read last month. Lots of great books out there, so there has to be something for you!

So, I found this: Racial and Ethnic Categories and Definitions for NIH Diversity Programs and for Other Reporting Purposes.

American Indian or Alaska Native.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Black or African American.
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as “Haitian” or “Negro” can be used in addition to “Black or African American.”

Hispanic or Latino.
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term, “Spanish origin,” can be used in addition to “Hispanic or Latino.”

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

White.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

As categories for books go, the following seem to make the most sense, at least as far as my reading habits go:

Native or First Peoples
Asian
African or African American
Hispanic

But that still has problems. Is Arabic a category that should belong there? It’s culturally distinct from Europe and Africa. Should there be a difference between the Hindu and Islamic south Asian groups? They’re certainly very different from northern Asian groups. And what about Russians? Are they Asians or just white?

In my mind, if I’m going to split things into two categories, it’d be white and non-WASP, but that’s all kinds of problematic for a variety of reasons. Division by continents doesn’t work, because: colonization and slavery. Division by color is ridiculous because for the longest time as a kid and even teenager, I thought everyone with “tanned” skin and dark hair was Italian, so I’m completely incapable making that judgement.

So… I’m still stuck.