Lastly, some contemporary romances I’ve been re-reading for comfort. These are in increasing order of heat (ie amount of boinking) More than half are ace romances, though some of those do have some boinking.

His Quiet Agent (2017) by Ada Maria Soto is an ace romance that has few of the elements people think of when they hear romance. There is no boinking or even kissing. Just two people slowly (slowly) becoming friends and being there for each other.

I have read a lot of books by N.R. Walker recently, and I went back to reread Upside Down (2019) because it was the sweetest and cuddliest and most adorable thing. This is another ace romance, and there is some kissing—but that’s it. The two ride the same bus home every day, a romance develops, and the entire bus becomes invested in their romance. IT IS SO SWEET! I may need to go re-read it again. Just because it makes me so happy.

Another ace story, Play It Again (2019) by Aidan Wayne is a long distance romance where the two fall in love over text messages and phone calls. One character and his sister are YouTube stars—the other works in IT in Ireland and I almost want to see if the audio version gets their voices right.

How to Be a Normal Person (2014) by TJ Klune is yet another ace romance, and is also completely crazy. Gus is neuroatypical and runs the video store his father started and ran until his death. Gus has three friends, who are elderly biker ladies, and maybe the woman who runs the local coffee shop. When her nephew comes to town, Gus doesn’t know how to deal with this ace stoner hipster, except to try and maybe become a normal person so this ace stoner hipster who he is unsure about maybe will like him.

Although Blank Spaces (2016) by Cass Lennox is an ace story, the second character is very much NOT ace and although nothing is graphic, he has sexual encounters throughout the story (although not with the romantic interest). I spent most of the book worrying how things were going to work out between the two, because they were so incompatible on one level, even if they worked so well on all other levels. There is also a mystery element that was interesting.

For Better or Worse (2017) by R. Cooper has a demisexual main character who has fallen for his neighbor and co-worker, but because he is completely unable to read emotional cues, and because he doesn’t even know if his co-worker is gay or bi, he has no idea what he should do about how he feels. There is boinking here.

And the rest of the books all have explicit sex.

Work for It (2019) by Talia Hibbert is a novella that is part of her Just for Him series. I read it without having read the preceding books and it was good, but it was far better after having read his sister’s book. Olu was outed after his ex sold sex pictures to the tabloids. He was disinherited, but since he’d invested much of the money he’d received from his father, he’s fine financially, but completely lost and unsure what to do with himself (aside from worrying about his pregnant sister). This is rather angsty, but Olu is such a fascinating character, and you really want things to work out for him. And of course his love interest is a complete cinnamon roll who you want all the good things for.

And finishing up the comfort reads is C.S. Poe. I’ve liked everything of hers I’ve read, but I found her Lancaster series: Color of You (2017), Joy (2017), Kneading You (2019) to be especially comforting. They are novellas, and the issues and problems are all external. All the books are sweet and lovely. And then there is her short story Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) which is where she essentially took every single trope she could think of, and put them into a single story. So it’s a virgin, fated-mates, surprise baby, shifter story. With chase scenes. It. Is. Fantastic.

And that’s what I’ve been reading for comfort this year. Dog only knows I’ll need more in the coming days.

Time for more comfort reads–this round is historical romances.

I’ve loved historical genre fiction from my introduction to Sherlock Holmes (and then Agatha Christie). Which I recognize weren’t initially historical fiction, but they gave me a love of stories set in the past. When I discovered that some authors actually do tons of research on the periods in which their stories were set, I was hooked.

I’ll start with the only books without boinking, the Regency London series by Michelle Diener: The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012), Banquet of Lies (2013), A Dangerous Madness (2014). (She has also written a series about two actual historical individuals, Susanna Horenbout and John Parker, which is also good.)

But there is something about this mystery/romance series I find particularly comforting. The second book is my favorite—it features a young woman who is hiding from her father’s killer, and uses her hobby of cooking to hide in plain sight—as a young French chef just starting on her own. I love her trips to the market and the descriptions of the meals she makes—as well as her search for someone she can trust with the information her father gave her.

The first book is the least likely of the three, but once I got past the premise of an older woman being willing to adopt an orphan sweep stuck in her chimney, it’s quite good.

She does an excellent job with her characters, giving them distinct personalities and realistic motivations, which makes the whole thing enjoyable.

All the rest of the books have boinking. Just so you know.

I discovered Alissa Johnson when I picked up the first book in her Thief-Takers series: A Talent for Trickery (2015), A Gift for Guile (2016), A Dangerous Deceit (2017). These are mysteries as well as romances, and the first two stories deal with the daughters of a confidence man who, after his death, left London and changed their names to hide from the many people who might want to take revenge upon them. The thief-takers of the title worked with her father, and hope the man’s old journals might give them a clue in solving a series of thefts that ended in murder.

The third book is especially interesting as it has a young woman who has an auditory processing disorder as the heroine. I generally don’t care for stories where a lack of communication causes the problems between characters, but in this case she has excellent reasons for hiding her problems—especially since she doesn’t initially believe she is in danger.

Her other two series, The Providence Series: As Luck Would Have It (2008), Tempting Fate (2009), McAlistair’s Fortune (2009), Destined To Last (2010) and Haverston Family series: Nearly a Lady (2011), An Unexpected Gentleman (2011), Practically Wicked (2012) and thoroughly enjoyable historical romances, all of which have lots of witty banter (which is always a favorite of mine). They’re fun and very enjoyable.

Courtney Milan has written some excellent historical books, but my favorite is the Brothers Sinister series: The Duchess War (2012) A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) The Heiress Effect (2013) The Countess Conspiracy (2013). There is another book and novella, but I stopped here in my re-reading.

The Countess Conspiracy is my favorite of all her books, but the novella A Kiss for Midwinter comes in a close second. In the Countess Conspiracy, Sebastian presents Violet’s scientific work as his own, because no one will accept a woman as being capable of such work. Eventually, the lies get to Sebastian and their long friendship falls apart because of that, as well as the secrets Violet has been hiding.

A Kiss for Midwinter has a young doctor looking for a wife, and the young woman who believes the doctor is judging her for past mistakes. This story is set just as doctors were discovering germ theory, and the doctor is a proponent of both germ theory and of women not having babies until they wear themselves out and die. But all four of these stories are excellent and well-worth your time (as are the following two, I just don’t love them quite as well).

KJ Charles writes queer romances, primarily MM. And she also has diverse characters, which is something you don’t often find in historical romance. Sins of the Cities: An Unseen Attraction (2017), An Unnatural Vice (2017), An Unsuitable Heir (2017) has one main character who is the son of a noble and a nursemaid (CW: it’s made quite clear the nursemaid was raped, and then went back to India, leaving her bastard son behind. Which is a lot.) The rest of the series deals with the mysteries uncovered in the first book but has different main characters.

The Society of Gentlemen series: A Fashionable Indulgence (2015), A Seditious Affair (2015), A Gentleman’s Position (2016) has a lot of focus upon just how dangerous MM affairs could be, leading not just to social ruin, but possibly to jail and deportation.

Think of England (2015) is a stand-alone mystery and one of my favorites. A young man is trying to discover why a batch of guns exploded, killing and maiming so many of his men (he did not escape unscathed).

Band Sinister (2018) is her take on Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. It’s a delightful romp.

Cat Sebastian also write queer romance, and the best of the lot is A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (2018) (Seducing the Sedgwicks), which is The Sound of Music with a young rector instead of a nun. It is a LOT of fun.

Any suggestions for comfort reads? Here are some of my non-romance and romance-adjacent recommendations.

As I said yesterday, I was somewhat (but not wholly) surprised to see that a lot of my comfort reading was either romance or romance-adjacent.

The reason it isn’t a surprise is because romance has a guaranteed HEA (happily ever after), and right now, I need some kind of guarantee that things are going to be ok—even if those things are only fictional.

On the romance-adjacent front is the Trickster series by Rob Thurman: Trick of the Light (2009), The Grimrose Path (2010)

I love the Cal Leandros series—except that it ended badly and she apparently wrote what was supposed to be the final book in the series, so I never read the last book that was actually published in the series. That give me a sense of unease, plus Cal has a lot of angst (much of it justified) and that’s just a little more darkness than I can handle right now. So instead I read another duology set in the same world.

This story has some of the same feel as the Cal stories: Griff and Zeke are somewhat parallels to Cal & Nico, as well as the Korsak Brothers. But Trixa is female, and as a narrator–unreliable as hell. Which is fine.

As much as I hate them in real life, I adore fictional trickster figures. Plus, she’s more chaotic good, which is always a little easier to read. Chaotic evil tricksters tend to be villains—and generally paper thin ones at that.

I’m in the middle of re-reading the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs: Alpha and Omega: A Companion Novella to Cry Wolf (2007), Cry Wolf (2008), Hunting Ground (2009), Fair Game (2012)

This series is a little shorter than the Mercy Thompson series, and I’m saving Mercy for if things don’t get better (although I will totally skip Iron Kissed, because I just can’t read that right now.)

Although in this series Anna is badly damaged by her past, the series—especially the earlier books—are about her healing, as well as learning to save herself. It’s very cathartic to see Anna rebuild her life. And it’s also good to see the work that she and Charles put into their relationship—not just because of Anna’s past, but also because of who Charles had to become for his father, to keep the werewolves safe.

But this series may well not be for everyone since Anna’s abuse is referred to throughout the series, especially in the earlier books. And although most everything is off the page, there are harmed children in more than one book.

But the books do always end on a positive upbeat note, with Charles and Anna having a stronger relationship as the series goes on.

Everything I have read by Angel Martinez is MM or MF romance and quite explicit. Which is definitely not going to be for everyone. But her fantasy is extremely interesting and very well done.

Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists (2017) is a novella about a man trying to deal with a haunting. Also, Taro is ace, which is not a common characteristic in romance, so the story navigates the relationship he develops as well as trying to figure out how to deal with his suspected ghosts. It’s a very sweet story, and leaves me feeling ridiculously happy.

The Brandywine Investigations series Open for Business (2016), Family Matters (2018) has some wonderful world building, that works extremely well with the MM focus of her stories. The gods (from Greek mythology as well as all the other pantheons) exist in the world, and have to keep themselves hidden from people, while also keeping themselves busy.

Each book has three stories, and each story centers are two different characters, although Hades appears quite often throughout the books. My favorite stories are the first, where Hades decides to become a private detective after Persephone sues for divorce, needing to become her own woman, and the forth story, which involves Dionysus and a Minotaur.

These stories are definitely not for everyone, but they are delightful (as are all the stories of hers I have read.)

Then there is Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series: The Wolf at the Door (2018), The Wolf at Bay (2018), Thrown to the Wolves (2019), which is officer of the law agent dealing with the supernatural in a world where the supernatural is not supposed to exist.

The world building here is excellent, but I also really love the characters, and how throughout the story past injuries are not things lightly shaken off.

Cooper joined the BSI after a werewolf attack that led to some ugly scars as well as the loss of part of his intestines. He spends the series having to live around the problems and limitations that caused, while still managing to be a good agent.

There is a lot of boinking in these books, which makes it not for everyone, but the mysteries are quite good, and watching the relationship between the two grow over the course of the series is very lovely. Especially since both characters are flawed in their own ways and need to come to terms with those flaws in themselves and each other.

So those are the romance-adjacent books I’ve been comfort reading.

Got any good comfort reads for me?

This has been a rough year for everyone. A lot of people either can’t read at all, or are devouring comfort reads. I obviously fall into the latter category. 40% of the books I’ve read so far this year have been re-reads.

I decided to share what I’d been reading, in case you were searching for an escape from a world that isn’t getting any better.

With four exceptions, my rereads were romance or romance-adjacent. Those exceptions ended up being books/authors I’ve re-read countless times.

Start off with two of those exceptions, I re-read most of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series: The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), The Body in the Library (1942), Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985), The Moving Finger (1943), A Murder Is Announced (1950), They Do It With Mirrors (1952), A Pocket Full of Rye (1953), 4.50 from Paddington (1957), The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962), A Caribbean Mystery (1964).

I fell in love with the Miss Marple series in high school, and they were always the stories I reached for when I was sick. They also work well for sick-at-heart.

Miss Marple stories are the original cozies: no gore, no sex, the bad guy always gets their comeuppance in the end. What I had managed to forget is just how old the books are. The Murder at the Vicarage is 90 years old and set after the Great War.

Yet aside from the setting, it doesn’t feel dated—mostly because the solutions come from a little old lady who can’t easily get around. In fact, the first stories—written in 1927 and 1928 were riddles posed after dinner, to which one participant knew the result and the rest of the guests had to posit their answer to the solution.

There is no action or adventure, just an old lady with a strong sense of justice wanting to make sure wrongs are righted.

The other mystery I grabbed for comfort is the Small Vices, Audio Edition (1997). This is the first Robert B. Parker Spenser mystery I came across, and in a very rare occurrence, my first encounter was the audio book narrated by Burt Reynolds.

I fell in love, and read the Spenser books as I could find them at the used book store (so very much out of order. Even all these years later, I still think this is a nearly perfect book. Spenser is almost killed, and unlike every other action hero, has to spend months rehabilitating. It’s those scenes–Hawk and Spenser walking up the hill—that show you just how determined Spenser is to get better, but also how much Hawk and Susan love him, that they are willing to give up their lives for the endeavor. (Even if that is a word Hawk would never EVER use).

The other thing is that despite being a comfort read, there is a LOT of gray here. Spenser is hired to see if a murder conviction needs to be overturned, but the man who was convicted is in no way innocent, and the world probably is a better place with Alves behind bars.

But the whole story comes together so perfectly in all its complexity and is an amazing portrait of a man who does what is right—even if it isn’t seemingly what is good.

And like the Agatha Christie stories, aside from the rare mention of cell phones, this is another story that sits outside of time for me.

The only straight-up fantasy to make it as a comfort read is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series: Guards! Guards! (1989), Men at Arms (1993), Feet of Clay (1996), Jingo (1997), The Fifth Elephant (1999). Specifically, the guard story arc. However, I’ll note I got hung up on Night Watch because it’s time travel adjacent, and I really can’t stand anything time travel related. I really need to just put it down and go onto the next story.

Like the previous two comfort reads, much of this series focuses on justice. Vimes observes everything around him, and his internal commentary upon the world remains dead-on. And Men At Arms has four paragraphs that are some of the most biting social commentary I have read anywhere. Ever.

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of okay for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. These were the kinds of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years time, when a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socio-economic unfairness.

Why is this a comfort? Because Pratchett managed to do all this with incredible humor and even gentleness.

The last of the four is Sergei Lukyanenko‘s Night Watch series translated by Andrew Bromfield, narrated by Paul Michael : The Night Watch (1998/2006/2010), Day Watch (2000/2006/2010). I listen to podcasts or audio books while exercising and cooking and cleaning, and I was having difficulty finding something to motivate me, so I feel back upon the Night Watch series.

I truly have no idea how many times I’ve read this series. This is a Russian series, set primarily in Moscow, and remains unlike anything else I’ve read. The books follow Anton Gorodetsky, Other through his time in the Moscow Night Watch, but they are so much more than that.

I’ll admit that his female characters tend to be weak. Alissa is the only female character whose mind we really see—and she’s pretty awful. Yet she’s also complicated, and in some ways redeemed at the end of her story.

But why the series is a comfort read for me is because it is a complete escape from everything I know.

Got any good comfort reads for me?

Looking for somewhere close but also unlikely to be busy, we went back to Otter Creek Wilderness.

This time we drove in on the west side, through Fernow Experimental Forest.

Because my ankle is still a little iffy, we decided to hike to the top of the mountain and then go back down and wander to the bog.

Location: Otter Creek Wilderness
Trails: Moore Run, McGowan Mountain Trails (partial)
Distance: 4.3 miles
Elevation: 3443-3990 feet

Supposedly there had once been an overlook at the top of the mountain, but there was absolutely no view left.

Despite that, it was a very pretty hike, and for an up-the-mountain trail it was pretty easy.

Look! I found the bog!

I have hiked in a bog before, and it is not fun. So we turned around and headed back. Because I don’t enjoy stepping in muddy water up to my knees.

It was a lovely day and a beautiful hike, even if it was shorted then I’d wanted.

Assuming that everyone who could be, would be outdoors over the weekend, we decided for a scenic drive on Monday, with the hope that most people would be packing up and going home, so perhaps we could find some places that weren’t too crowded.

Our primary destination was Gaudineer Scenic Area, because it’s a place we hadn’t visited before. The secondary objective was a drive around Smoke Hole Canyon.

Location: Gaudineer Scenic Area
Trails: Gaudineer Knob; Old Growth Trail
Distance: 0.5 miles; 0.7 miles
Elevation: 4500 feet; 4093-4186 feet

Gaudineer Knob had a somewhat narrow overlook, but the forest itself was beautiful.

Also lots of adorable mushrooms.

A little bit down the mountain was the old growth forest.

Not very many large trees there, but it was still a very pretty short hike.

Then we headed north to Smoke Hole Canyon, where we stopped briefly at Eagle Rocks, which we hadn’t visited before.

Saturday, in our bid to Avoid Humans, we headed to the Cranberry Wilderness, where we rarely see people on our hikes.

Location: Cranberry Wilderness
Trail: Cow Pasture Trail (partial)
Distance: 5.5 miles
Elevation: 3409-3650 feet

We did see a couple people, but could easily keep our distance.

We also drove up the Highland Scenic Highway, and stopped at the overlooks.

Look how many people you don’t see!

We decided to take a long holiday weekend, and get into the woods for some much needed downtime.

Friday was mostly rain, so it was more a series of short walks than a hike, but we did do my favorite trail.

Location: Canaan Valley State Park
Trail: Blackwater River Trail
Distance: 0.9 miles
Elevation: 3208-3260 feet

Then we mostly drove around and took short walks when it wasn’t raining.

Of course we stopped by Blackwater Falls, where the river was running quite high

Here’s the stream crossing at Canaan Loop Road just past Lindy Point.

I’m not sure what kind of vehicle could have driven across on this day, but it was comforting to watch and listen to the water.

COVID-19

In Memoriam: Healthcare Workers Who Have Died of COVID-19

Almost half of COVID-19 workers’ comp claims filed by ‘essential workers’ have been denied by insurers (Aug 29, 2020)

Homeless essential workers face greater risk of COVID-19 (August 26, 2020)

In our database of 167 confirmed frontline worker deaths, 21 medical staff, or 13% of the total, were under 40, and eight (5%) fatalities were under 30.. (11 Aug 2020)

Assaulting a worker who’s enforcing masks is now a felony under a new Illinois law (August 10, 2020)

238 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union have now died of the virus, president Marc Perrone said on a Thursday press call. Nearly 29,000 have been exposed to the coronavirus, or are currently ill. That figure includes workers in the retail, meatpacking, health-care, and food-processing industries who make up UFCW’s 1.3 million members. (June 26, 2020)

Average Stock Clerk, Grocery Store Hourly Pay: $11.13/hour

Textile Mills

Factories

Fields

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

Chimney Sweeps

Mining

Come all of you good workers,
Good news to you I’ll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell.

My daddy was a miner
And I’m a miner’s son,
And I’ll stick with the union
‘Til every battle’s won.

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there;
You’ll either be a union man,
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.

Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can.
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?

Today

Just a reminder what we’re celebrating today.

I don’t even time anymore, really. Because it’s now September, but still March, and I am definitely feeling like Billy Pilgrim.

Good thing there are books.

Four new releases this month (ie books that came out in 20200 which is impressive, except I have far more new books sitting unread on my kindle.

I am not sure if it was just me, but there wasn’t a lot I loved this month, but there were some things. I read three Alissa Johnson books, including beginning a re-read of her Thief-Takers series, which starts with A Talent for Trickery.

R. Cooper‘s Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut was a sweet and lovely story about a man who has raised his siblings and helped raise his niece and now doesn’t know what to do with himself, and isn’t quite sure if he’s actually fallen in love or not.

And the other things I particularly liked was Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte by Joe Benitez et al. This story is set outside the timeline of the rest of the series AND is set during Dia de los Muertos. I really REALLY like this series.

Romance, Historical

A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) 8.5/10
A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson (The Thief Takers) 8.5/10
Practically Wicked (2012) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) 8.5/10

Mystery

Killing in C Sharp (2018) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) 7/10

Mystery, Historical

A Murderous Relation (2020) Deanna Raybourn (Veronica Speedwell) 6.5/10

Romance, LGBT

Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper 9/10
Think of England (2015) KJ Charles 8.5/10
Vincent’s Thanksgiving Date (2014) R. Cooper 8/10
Taxes and TARDIS (2012) N.R. Walker 7.5/10
The Sugared Game (2020) K.J. Charles (The Will Darling Adventures) 7.5/10
A Gentleman’s Position (2016) K.J. Charles (Society of Gentlemen) 7/10
Starstruck (2014) L.A. Witt (Bluewater Bay)
A Very Henry Christmas (2017) N.R. Walker (The Weight of It All)

Fantasy

The Fifth Elephant (1999) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) 7.5/10

Fantasy, LGBT

The Engineer (2020) C.S. Poe (Magic & Steam) 7/10

Non-Fiction

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics (2020) Bruce Goldfarb 5/10

Comics

Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte (2017) Joe Benitez, M. M. Chen, Peter Steigerwald, Beth Sotelo, Beth Sotelo 8/10

And the numbers!

I read a paper book this month! It was a comic, of course, but still! Paper! And only six re-reads, which is half as many as last month (though I also read fewer books this month).

Trade Paperback: 1
eBook: 16
Multiple Formats: 1
Re-read: 6

Lots of romance this month, mostly because I still need that HEA. I just can’t deal with a lot of angst, and I really can’t take anything that ends badly.

Fantasy: 3
Mystery: 6
Romance: 11
Boinking: 11
Historical: 8
Non-Fiction: 1

Three whole male authors this month!

Male: 3
Female: 4
Initials: 8

And as I’m still reading a lot of MM stories, I have a lot of male leads. And since I’ve read a lot of historical, lots of white people. But there was at least some minority rep.

Male: 9
Female: 5
Ensemble: 3
White: 12
Minority: 4
Minority 2ndary: 1
Straight: 8
LGBTQ: 9

And that’s what I read in August. Did you have any good escapes this month?