Making Love (2017) Aidan Wayne Carla wants to be cupid that finds and brings about True Love. But although her aim is perfect, her ability to figure out who to aim at… is much less so. “Oh,” Carla said, abashed. She’d seen the travel match in both of their profiles and hadn’t dug deeper to […]
White Trash Warlock (2020) David R. Slayton (Adam Binder) This… did not end as cleanly as I was hoping it would. Adam Binder has the sight. It hasn’t done him much good in his life, what with his brother helping to put him in an institution when he was a teen, and it not being […]
An Edible History of Humanity (2009) Tom Standage Forever ago I read a History of the World in 6 Glasses, and found it interesting, so I picked up this, let it languish for awhile, and then finally decided to settle down and read it. I found many of the historical bits interesting. It is only […]
Changing Colors (2018) Elyse Springer (Seasons of Love Book) I got 43% done and decided I just couldn’t finish it. 43% and then I just read the final two chapters. Which was just a little further than I got on the previous book in this series, Heat Wave, that I also DNFed. Which is bizarre, […]
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 […]
The Killings at Badger’s Drift (1987) Caroline Graham (Chief Inspector Barnaby) I’d initially forgotten just how messed up this story is. Then once we were introduced to all the characters, I clearly remembered who did the murdering and why. The opening is actually sweet. An 80-year-old woman and her best friend have a long running […]
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders (2019) Tessa Arlen (A Woman of WWII Mystery) Set in England 1942 Poppy Redfern trained to become ARP (Air Raid Precautions) Warden for the the village of Little Buffenden. She likes being able to help out and do her part for the war–especially now the Americans have entered 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. […]
Grumpy Jake (2019) Melissa Blue Bailey Thorne doesn’t have time for Jake the Rake. He may be a great dad, but she doesn’t need to be involved with a parent–and she needs to make sure all the kindergartners in her class are looked after. So, despite being a serial monogamist, Jake isn’t a bad guy. […]
Right after New Year I stumbled across Prolific Works Winter Giveaway and picked up a bunch of free ebooks. Since many were short stories, I decided to only do individual reviews if the ebook was a novel or novella and if I really liked it. I haven’t read all the stories yet, but I have […]
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 […]
The Gangster (2021) C.S. Poe (Magic & Steam) Set in Steampunk New York in 1882. Special Agent Gillian Hamilton of the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam is back in New York, and hoping to spend New Years Eve with Gunnar the Deadly–who he met in the first book, when he was out west. A […]
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (2020) Dianne Freeman (Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in England in 1899. Frances, Countess of Harleigh, was thinking she might be able to relax a bit, however her sister and her fiancee insist their wedding be moved up, so Frances is suddenly off to the country, to turn […]
Why Shoot a Butler? (1933) Georgette Heyer This story was all over the place. Barrister Frank Amberley gets lost taking a shortcut to visit his aunt and uncle, and comes upon a car alongside the road, and a young woman beside it. A closer look find a man dead in the drivers seat, and the […]
Mr. Right Now (2019) Annabeth Albert When Russ offered to make Thanksgiving dinner for his sister’s family (including her mother-in-law who is also Russ’ boss) his new boyfriend was going to help him. But when Soren dumps him the day before Thanksgiving, he decides to try it on his own, to show that he is […]
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 […]
A Midnight Clear (2020) Kaje Harper This was another pleasant surprise. This was another book from the Winter Wonderland giveaway of holiday stories, and after the first story I read, I didn’t have the highest expectations for the rest of the books. But this one was also quite good. Adric and Royce are roommates studying […]
Recipe for a Curse (2021) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) I downloaded this novella as part of a Winter Wonderland giveaway of holiday short stories and novellas. As the first story I read wasn’t good, I haven’t expected too much from the other stories I’ve read. Montana works as a chef for a retreat in […]
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. […]
So We Meet-Cute Again (2019) Geneva Vand Aiden and Jason keep seeing each other everywhere–at the coffee shop, and the local market, at the grocery store, on the street–so much that each feels like he’s stalking the other. There was nothing at all wrong with this story. My problem is that once the two had […]
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 […]
Little Wolf (2015) R. Cooper (Beings in Love) Tim Littlewolf ran to Wolf’s Paw to try and (at least briefly) find sanctuary on his run from his uncle and his uncle’s henchman. “Who meant well, Tim?” Nathaniel was right in front of him, larger than before, as if he’d straightened in response to a threat. […]
All Systems Red (2017) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Let me remind y’all: I generally don’t like science fiction. I just don’t. But everyone who has similar tastes to me has recommended this book so highly–and recommended it as a comfort read–I decided to see what I thought. After all, it’s a novella, not a […]
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 […]
The Unfinished Clue (1934) Georgette Heyer Sir Arthur Billingham-Smith and his wife Fay are throwing a house party. Except that the general didn’t want to have the party, doesn’t want to see his son and the woman he wants to marry, and is pretty much a complete bastard. He dislikes his son almost as much […]
Not So Cookie Cutter (2019) Aidan Wayne Jerrell is content being second baker, but he doesn’t mind taking over the kitchen when his co-worker is out sick. What he doesn’t expect is to be called out front so a customer can talk to him. He clasped his hands behind his back, at-ease stance so he […]
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder (2018) Dianne Freeman (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery) Set in England in 1899 Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, is finally done with her mourning and is more than ready to move on with her life. When her husband died a year ago, he managed to be an even […]
Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne Let me state first that the cover may be innocuous, but it also gives you completely the wrong idea about the book. There are no car chases are action scenes, it’s just that one character is a cab driver in the city. Jaxon may be a high school drop […]
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 […]
The Shattered Tree (2016) Charles Todd (Bess Crawford) Set in France in 1918. Bess Crawford is back towards the front when a soldier in a French uniform is brought in, suffering from blood loss, his feet torn up because someone stole his boots before he fled across no-man’s land. But when the soldier unconsciously yells […]
A Pattern of Lies (2015) Charles Todd (Bess Crawford) Set in England and France in 1918. Stuck in Canterbury waiting for a transport train to take her to London, Bess meets a soldier she had helped nurse back to health. Invited to spend the night with his family when the train is further delayed, she […]
Tales: Short Stories Featuring Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford (2015) Charles Todd This collection is four short stories with Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge. “The Kidnapping” “The Girl on the Beach” “Cold Comfort” “The Maharani’s Pearls” “The Kidnapping” – Ian Rutledge, London 1920 I actually have a copy of this short story, but it had […]
The Deserted Heart (2018) Mary Lancaster (Unmarriageable) Bringing her brothers home from school, a thick fog forces them to stop at an inn. But they enter to discover not a soul around, even though the doors were unlocked and everything inside looked normal. Since it is too dangerous to continue, they settled in, and are […]
Gay All Year (2020) Richard May These are twelve short stories–one for each month of the year–with a variety of men in a variety of situations, including age differences, second chances, friends to lovers, some supernatural elements and a BDSM story. Which is a lot. As with most anthologies, I didn’t love all the stories, […]
There Galapagos My Heart (2020) Philip William Stover (Love Beyond Boundaries) Mike Davis is perfectly content being an account manager. Of course he’d rather be an artist, but after his mother got sick he needed a job and it’s not a bad thing to be comfortable. I can never go back to not knowing where […]
Everything I Ever Wanted (2003/2015) Jo Goodman (The Compass Club Series) Set in England in 1818 Matthew Forrester, Viscount Southerton and his four friends created the Compass Club when they were in school together, based upon the titles it was possible they could (but were unlikely to) inherit. India Parr is a stage actress of […]
The Sicilian Method (2017/2020) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli There are only a few Montalbano books left. This one was quite disappointing, considering how few books there are left. We did have the typical banter between Montalbano and his men. As soon as he reached the landing, Augello and Fazio popped out of the […]
No Wind of Blame (1939) Georgette Heyer (Inspector Hemingway) Ermyntrude Carter married Wally Carter, but has come to regret doing so, as Wally isn’t a great human. Yet Ermyntrude and her daughter Vicki Fanshawe, and Wally and his ward (and cousin) Mary Cliffe lived together on the money Ermyntrude inherited from her fist husband. Although […]
Sergeant Delicious (2020) Annabeth Albert I shouldn’t have started off today with a Josh Lanyon short story. No other short story was going to measure up (unless it was another Josh Lanyon short story, which I don’t seem to have on my TBR pile.) Xavier is going to be discharged in just a few weeks. […]
New Game, Start (2017) C.S. Poe This is a perfectly fine story. I just feel like it needed to be a lot longer for what happened, because what did occur happened so fast it was almost out of left field. I mean, it took place over the course of a week–and during that week they […]
Requiem for Mr. Busybody (2020) Josh Lanyon Michael misses his days as a crime reporter. His life now consists mostly of his apartment building and his research. But when his elderly neighbor disappears, Michael reaches out to his ex, Detective Leonard Drake with his concerns. Here’s the thing about Josh Lanyon: She’s really good at […]
Angels Sing (2019) Eli Easton (Daddy Dearest) Jamie Bailey has been a single dad since he was eighteen. He still managed to go to college, but stayed in his small town to help his uncle run his bookstore (after all, his uncle gave him a job when he was an eighteen-year-old single father trying to […]
Kitty’s Mix-Tape (2020) Carrie Vaughn “Kitty Walks On By, Calls Your Name” (2020) “It’s Still the Same Old Story” (2011) Down These Strange Streets “The Island of Beasts” (2018) Nightmare, December 2018. “The Beaux Wilde” (2014) Urban Fantasy Magazine, December 2014. “Unternehmen Werwolf” (2013) Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre “Kitty and the Full Super […]
The Remaking of Corbin Wale (2017) Roan Parrish Alex Barrow broke up with his boyfriend and lost his job so he has headed back to Ann Arbor and taken over his parent’s coffee shop–turning it into his dream bakery. The best bakeries had a cohesive vision. You didn’t want a counter selling bran muffins next […]
The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley (The Checquy Files) I love this story so much. (T)he most effective psychics are the ones who never realize they’re psychic and instead manage to live excellent lives by consistently making the right decisions. Their powers effectively guide them through the shoals of life without their knowing. So very very […]
Iron & Velvet (2013/2019) Alexis Hall (Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator) Kate Kane is a paranormal private investigator, called when something goes wrong i the supernatural world. She’s called out to Velvet–an expensive nightclub–to investigate the exsanguiation of a werewolf in the back alley. It doesn’t look like he had been killed by a vampire, but […]
The Duke Who Didn’t (2020) Courtney Milan (Wedgeford Trials) Set in England in 1891. Chloe Fong may have spent time pining, but she is certainly not doing so any longer. She is going to help her father sell his sauce and get back at the men who stole his formula and left him with nothing. […]
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 […]
Best Laid Plaids (2020) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland in 1928. Well, I’ve now completely ruined my search history, trying to find when top and bottom were first used as gay slang. And the worst part is, I didn’t find the answer. Joachim Cockburn fought in WWI. He’s now trying to finish his […]