Family Man (2017) Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton “You can’t stay with a brand of shampoo, Vinnie. You have commitment issues that have commitment issues.” I worked over fifty hours most weeks. Thirty-four at the restaurant, the most they’d give me, because even one more would require them to give me benefits, and they were […]
Undone by the Ex-Con (2018) Talia Hibbert Just like that, her mind— and its thoughts— disappeared. She was only a body now. How beautiful that was. After testing and noting down her blood sugar, Lizzie undressed and took her insulin. She’d had a discreet word with the hotel manager yesterday afternoon; now her little fridge […]
Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) Stephen was a paladin for the Saint of Steel until that god died, and all his paladins went mad. The remaining seven paladins now serve the Rat, in gratitude for taking them in and giving them some purpose. The Rat’s priests fixed things that could be […]
Exit Strategy (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! (Possibly I was overthinking this. I do that; it’s the anxiety that comes with being a part-organic murderbot. The upside was paranoid attention to detail. The downside was also paranoid attention to detail.) After escaping mostly unscathed from the discovery that GrayCris had not been terraforming […]
Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper is mostly (but not completely) recovered from the events in the previous book, but not yet back to work, so when Oliver receives a call that his grandfather has died, Cooper heads north to Canada with him. Things go badly from the very start. […]
The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton played on a long career with the FBI, but an attack by a creature that sprouted claws changed everything, and he is now part of the BSI, investigating werewolf crime. This is a reread, because I wanted something I knew I was […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in May 1812, around the actual historical events of the assassination of the Prime Minister. I love this series so much! He bent his head and rested his forehead on hers. “I just wanted you to know, for me, there is no going back. […]
The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1811 Charlotte Raven is the ward of Lady Howe, and likely her heir. Despite that, she is almost a wall-flower in society, enjoying herself but never making splash. Emma tried to think if she had ever heard any whispers about Charlotte Raven, but […]
The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) T.J. Klune Linus works for DICOMA–the department that looks after the welfare of magical children. “It’s just that…” She stood from her desk, arms still folded. “Don’t you wonder?” “Never,” Linus said promptly. Then, “About what?” “What happens to a place like this after you file your final […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is three stories: One Man’s Treasure, Birds of a Feather, and Pentimento Blues. One Man’s Treasure (Set in 2011) Evangeline needs help with her food truck, and although she’d prefer Nick she gets both Nick and Peter. In addition to trying to solve a murder, […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three stories: Primal Red, Evergreen, Black Cat Ink “Primal Red” finds Peter Fontaine hoping to break a big story. He likes working for The Bellinghamseter, but he wants a story that will be noted, that will make his name. So he’s […]
What Abigail Did That Summer (2021) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) Set concurrently with Foxglove Summer. Abigail Kamara learned discovered what magic is, and now that she knows, she’ll do anything to learn it–including taking and mastering Latin. If you’ve read the Rivers of London books, you already know just how marvelous Abigail is. I […]
Sin Bin Series: Box Set (2020) Dahlia Donovan This is seven stories (and three short stories) around a group of former rugby players and friends and the men they fall in love with. The Wanderer (2017) The Caretaker (2017) The Botanist (2017) The Royal Marine (2017) The Unexpected Santa (2017) The Lion Tamer (2018) Haka […]
Grasmere Cottage Mystery (2018) Dahlia Donovan This is actually three novellas, but since I read it as one book, I’m going to review it as such also. Dead in the Garden Dead in the Pond Dead in the Shop Valor Scott and Bishan Tamboli have been best friends since their days at Harrow, and have […]
The Mystery of the Bones (2019) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) Sebastian is mostly recovered from the events of the previous book. “Life isn’t all about money, Seb.” “You can say that. You don’t have a hospital bill the length of a CVS receipt.” Physically, if not financially, anyway. But he has sworn off mysteries. […]
The Mystery of the Moving Image (2018) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) A lot has happened to Sebastian and Calvin, so they are ready for some calm and quiet. Of course they don’t get it. Someone sends Sebastian an old Kinetoscope–and some never-before-seen reels for it. “Hundred-twenty-year-old movie,” Max said with an astonished tone. “It’s […]
The Mystery of Nevermore (2016) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) Sebastian Snow’s relationship with his boyfriend has been circling the drain for years. But things come to a head and Sebastian is involved in a crime, and Neil’s only concern is to keep from being outed to his co-workers. “Where were you Sunday night?” Lancaster […]
The Hanged Man (2019) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) The world changed decades ago. The Atlantean World War was brief. The cost was high. Magically radioactive wastes in the Pacific Northwest and half of Poland; the near-extinction of dragonkind; a viral plague that decimated the Atlantean homeland. A hundred thousand headstones, trillions in damage. […]
Rogue Protocol (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! Murderbot is still trying to figure out what happened with GrayCis corporation their teams tried to kill the group Murderbot was working for. So off Murderbot goes to look for evidence. Purely for selfish reasons, of course. If Dr. Mensah had proof of that, the investigation […]
Best Laid Plans (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) Charlie Matheson cares for people. It’s what he’s done since his parents died and he became guardian for his brother and took over the family business. Rye Janssen has spent his time bouncing from place to place, never finding a home. So when he learns that his […]
Dine with Me (2019) Layla Reyne DINE WITH ME— THE CULINARY EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME Tour the country and experience the best meals in America with a Michelin-starred chef as your guide. Two weeks, eight incredible meals, coast-to-coast destinations. A once in a lifetime opportunity for food and travel enthusiasts. Singles or couples welcome. Please […]
It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) Set in England in 1817. Comfort reread. I felt so aggravated by the time I finished the 4th book of the Parasol Protectorate I needed something I knew I was going to love. Since I had just recommended this to someone, I decided it […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling “Cherries Worth Getting” from Irregulars (2012) “Cookie Jamboree” “The Little Golden Book of Goblin Stories” “Magically Delicious” from Charmed and Dangerous (2015) “The Most Important Meal of The Day” “Bring Out Your Best” Keith Curry is a supernatural food inspector. He works […]
Open for Business (2016) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) Gods are real. They’ve always been around. You just never guessed that mogul was actually the god of thieves or that an agent of chaos now runs the local funeral parlor. Hades has been sued for divorce. Persephone wants to be her own woman, live her own […]
The Last Sun (2018) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) Rune is the last member of his house, excluding his Companion, Brand, the man who has been his bodyguard and confidant and friend since he was a child. He is also a mercenary, using as much power and technology as they can afford, to do […]
The Husband Gambit (2018) L.A. Witt Marry me for 1 year. Payment: $ 1.2 million. I’m a man looking for a temporary husband. $ 100K per month. Cohabitation, legal marriage, and NDA are required. Sex is not. Contact for more info. The ad seems like either a joke, or something posted by a serial killer, […]
Artificial Condition (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Murderbot wants to go back to RaviHyral Mining Facility Q Station to see if it can figure out what caused it to go rogue and kill a bunch of humans. My memory of the incident was partially purged.” SecUnit memory purges are always partial, due to the […]
Come Unto These Yellow Sands (2017) Josh Lanyon Professor Sebastian Swift was raised to be a poet–and it almost destroyed him. Now he is content teaching. But when a students shows up at his office, beaten and desperate, Swift makes a choice that may well cause him his job–and his lover, the chief of police. […]
Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton is under significant pressure: His family wants all the details about his upcoming wedding to Oliver Park and Cooper has none to give them. Cooper groaned. “Who’s coming is the hardest part.” “Well, there’s us, of course. What about Oliver’s family? You’re going to invite […]
Let Your Heart Be Light (2019) J.R. Lawrie This is a collection of three short stories, two of which are about the same couple. Kind Of A Big Deal For Services Rendered The Farringdon Club This first story is “Kind Of A Big Deal” features Zack, who is a stand-up comedian, and Richard, who is […]
Getting It Right (2015) A.M. Arthur (Restoration) Nathan Wolf and James Taggart have been best friends for half their lives. “Thank God for Gina, or you’d never eat.” “Fuck you, Wolf. I can cook just fine.” “Only you don’t, because you’re lazy.” “True.” And James has been in love with Nate for most of that. […]
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (2018) Helene Tursten translated by Marlaine Delargy “An Elderly Lady Has Accommodation Problems” (2013) “An Elderly Lady on Her Travels” (2013) “An Elderly Lady Seeks Peace at Christmastime” (2007) “The Antique Dealer’s Death” (2018) “An Elderly Lady Is Faced with a Difficult Dilemma” (2018) Maud is 88 […]
A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (2019) Dianne Freeman (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in London in 1899. I have officially decided this series is delightful. I leaned toward her as we walked out. “Very well done, dear. But a ranch in Brooklyn? What were you thinking?” She released a merry laugh. “That […]
A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate (2015) R. Cooper (Beings in Love) Zeki Janowitz has returned to Wolf’s Paw while trying to figure out what to do with himself now he’s finally graduated college. If attending high school in one of the longest surviving werewolf refuges in the country had taught him anything, it […]
A Christmas Dance (2014) Alissa Johnson Set in London in an indeterminate time. William Renwick, Earl of Casslebury needs a wife. He knows his is disciplined, so he hopes to find a woman who smile and laugh. But he wasn’t in need of additional efficiency in his house. He was drowning in efficiency. He was […]
Blood Cross, Audio Edition (2010) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) The second book of the Jane Yellowrock series finds Jane still in New Orleans, taking a job for the Council of Mithrans–despite the fact that the Master of the City wants her dead for killing what he believed to be his son. […]
Tic-Tac-Mistletoe (2020) N.R. Walker Hamish Kenneally is moving to the US. His sister has been there for four years, and there is nothing for him in Australia, so he has a two year visa, is going to remote work, and see if a change will do him good. But he arrives in the US just […]
Valor: Swords (2015) edited by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton Fairy tales do not inform children that there is such things as monsters. Children already know that there are monsters. What fairy tales really teach is that monsters can be transformed or destroyed. “Prunella” By Isabelle Melançon And Megan Lavey-Heaton “Little Fish” By Emily Hann […]
And Everything Nice (2016) Ada Maria Soto This in adorable romance about baking as a way of saying I love you. Or at least, I’m interested in you. He held out the plate. He’d gone for his chocolate-chip cookies, always a good icebreaker. They weren’t too large, making them harder to justify refusing. He used […]
Kneading You (2016) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) Christopher Hughes desperately needs a job, and when the position of small town librarian opens up, he leaps at the opportunity. But the library is under threat, since a developer wants the land for a cell tower and shopping mall. “This library is not cost-effective. It’s really […]
Joy (2017) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) The pandemic is about to get worse. The election is Tuesday. We hit a deer on the interstate and our car is now in the shop. Nothing by comfort reading for me right now. This story is just so adorable, it’s precisely what I needed. I noticed over […]
Glitterland (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) I kept reading the synopsis of this story and thinking, “I don’t know if this is my kind of story.” But I utterly adored Boyfriend Material as well as Waiting for the Flood, so I decided to try it. It opens with a the aftermath of a one-night-stand and the […]
Death at La Fenice (1992) Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti) A famous conductor is found dead during the intermission of the opera he was conducting. The police are called, and so we are first introduced to Guido Brunetti, Comissario of the Venice police. What surprises me every time I re-read this is just how good it […]
Last Watch, Audio Edition (2009/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield narrated by Paul Michael As with the previous book, there are three intertwined stories. These stories take place over a relatively short period of time. Common Cause Anton is sent to Edinburgh, Scotland to look into the death of a Russian student who died […]
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker I know it’s only been a month since I read this the first time, but it came to mind for a recommendation request, and I went to look for a specific quote, and, well. I re-read the entire thing. Grief was like the great Southern Ocean; it moved in […]
Finders Keepers (2018) N.R. Walker After reading two Roan Parrish books–which are very angsty–I needed something super fluffy and happy. This is it. Griffin Burke has moved from Brisbane to Coolum Beach to take a new job–a promotion and a new place to explore. But when he finds a lost dog, he may be starting […]
Unappreciated Gifts (2014) Patricia Briggs from A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories I thought I’d finish up my read of the Alpha & Omega series with a re-read of the Asil short story, Unappreciated Gifts. Someone in the Pack has decided that Asil is lonely and needs some companionship. So they set him […]
Dead Heat (2015) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega) The Fae may have retreated to their reservations after the events of the past book, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t letting out monsters to show the humans just how much the Fae were keeping from humans. His glamour fell away, the illusion that truly represented the […]
Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega) Although this book lacks Asil (except for a few scenes at the beginning) it is still very good. Primarily because I still find the ending shocking, even though I’ve read it multiple times. This book is not going to be for everyone. Take the last line of […]
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker TW: This story opens with one of the main characters recovering from having been beaten by his boyfriend–for not the first time. Ethan Hosking walks out of his boyfriend’s second home and into the a chaos of a wildfire and comes out of the forest as Aubrey Hobbs, a […]