The Entanglement of Rival Wizards (2025) Sara Raasch (Magic and Romance #1) This is the book that precedes The Fake Divination Offense. I’d initially skipped it because although the world building sounded fascinating, I usually dislike enemies to lovers. Which this is. But much of it worked for my anyway, because it was academic rivals, […]

The Fake Divination Offense (2026) Sara Raasch (Magic and Romance #2) Orok Monroe just wants to celebrate the lawsuit he and his best friend Seb won against the “Camp” that tortured them, but almost none of his new teammates show up, so he’s left wondering if the Hellhounds feel about him the same way his […]

Til Death Do Us Bard (2025) Rose Black Logan and Pie have been blissfully married for six months. He hadn’t expected to retire – an uncommon outcome amongst adventurers. Logan had imagined his end in the form of slavering jaws in some gods-forsaken corner of nowhere. Now he had a cottage and a husband. But […]

[Never] Feed the Crows (2023) Jennifer Cody (Corvin’s Crows #1) It’s Amos’s second year on campus, and he has a great roommate and is doing well in his classes but hasn’t made many friends except for his roommate–and the crows. Honestly, I don’t even know how it happened, but one day I realized that I […]

Rift in the Soul (2024) Faith Hunter (Soulwood #6) Having read both Rift in the Soul and Final Heir now (and fairly recently after each other) my impression is that she just wanted to stop writing about Jane — and by extension any of the characters closely related to Jane, including Nell. In short, like […]

Tales from the Territory (2026) Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes) Goblins & Greatcoats There has been a terrible murder. Is the goblin going to be able to solve the case? Is that the Gatewarden? A goblin?” stage-whispered the young warden. Zyll’s long, pointed ears caught the murmuration of uncomfortable shrugs that followed. She didn’t bother […]

Spells for the Dead, Audio Book (2020) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood #5) For some reason, parts of this story really stuck with me, and I was surprised to realize this wasn’t a book I’d listened to repeatedly (one reading, one listen). “Which is why you’re down here with us,” T. Laine said […]

The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment: Twelve Magical Romantasy Tales (2026) edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan ’Tis Pity He’s an Elf by Jen Williams Silver Dahlia, Golden King by Chloe Neill Fool in Love Ghoul in Hate by Greer Stothers The Brocade Prince by A. Y. Chao Double Trouble by Kelley Armstrong Unearned […]

Lady Helena Investigates, Audio Book (2018) Jane Steen narrated by Elizabeth Klett (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #1) 1881, Sussex A recurring theme of my childhood memories was drawing or reading quietly while Michael embarked on his fifth or sixth tantrum of the day. And yet I, a year and a half older than Michael, was always […]

Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble (2023) Laurien Berenson (Senior Sleuths #2) It’s been a couple months since Peg and Rose have mended their relationship, and so Rose has decided the best way to maintain their budding friendship is–to get Peg on a dating site so she can find love and companionship again. The first […]

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder Laurien Berenson (2022) (Senior Sleuths #1) Peg and Rose haven’t really spoken for decades. Animosity had sizzled between the two women since Peg became engaged to her beloved, and now dearly departed husband, Max, more than four decades earlier. But Rose has decided it’s time to set aside past […]

Guilt and Ginataan (2024) Mia P. Manansala (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #5) There is so much to love about this series: food, queer rep, smart female character, mental health rep, and few white characters. Yet, the mysteries always fall a little flat for me. I don’t know why. (In the earlier books it was because […]

Something Extraordinary (2024) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #3) Set in England in ~1814 I’ll be honest–I put off reading this because in earlier books I found Bella annoying and frustrating and I didn’t want to spend time with her. But she was a little better in book two, as was Horley Comewithers, so I moved […]

The Ghost and Mrs. Holloway (2026) Jennifer Ashley (Below Stairs Mystery #9.5) Set in London in 1884 Set a few months after Murder in Blackfriars, Kat is working hard both to earn the money work for herself and to distract herself from Grace being so far away. So she isn’t opposed to looking into a […]

Best Laid Plans (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run #2) He looked at the situation and chose to acknowledge all the dimensions of it. Dimensions (as he thought of them) weren’t positive or negative. They were simply the truth of how he felt about things. “Jesus Christ,” he said, and scrubbed hands over his face. “Guess […]

Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run, #1) Every day had dilated to a month, every night to a year, and Jack found himself wishing for anything—anything—to break the monotony of lying on the couch all day long and in bed all night. This part was always the hardest. The moment when he could […]

Two Rogues Make a Right (2020) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks #3) Set in Sussex, England in 1818 Will had four shillings and a bottle of laudanum, and barely enough self-control not to drink it himself. It had been two years since he showed the first signs of consumption, which he had acquired in circumstances […]

Circle of the Moon, Audio Book (2019) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood #4) The farm had seemingly figured out that if I was a tree, there would be no one to work the soil and it liked me around. Now, as I worked, the leaves on my neck and hands broke off and […]

Mirage City (2025) Lev Ac Rosen (Evander Mills #4) Set in San Francisco in 1953 It’s been a year since Andy began working above the Ruby. I’ve been here over a year now, the matchmaking business, pairing up queer people in heterosexual-looking relationships to appease work or family, and crafting stories for them: how they […]

Murder by Lamplight (2024) Patrice McDonough (Dr. Julia Lewis #1) Set in London in 1866. Julia Lewis had to travel overseas to manage it, but she is now her grandfather’s partner in his medical practice. Women who had foreign degrees or had commenced their studies by 1858 had to be admitted to the medical roll, […]

Dead in the Shop (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #3) “I’d let it all fade away into history if I had my way.” “Our name? Our legacy?” Her lack of insight blew Valor’s mind. How did she not see their family had offered zero value to the world? Their name meant nothing; they had no […]

Dead in the Pond (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #2) Bishan found it very difficult to force himself to do anything without understanding the reason. “Would you rather stay?” Yes. “Yes, but if I do it’ll make leaving harder the next time.” Bishan enjoyed photography because it put distance between the world and himself. They […]

Dead in the Garden (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage #1) (T)hey’d always assumed Bishan’s traditionalist parents would be the disapproving ones. It seemed being gay and dating an Anglo-Indian had been one step too far for the son of an earl. … (H)is father, mother, and elder brother hadn’t spoken to him in over a […]

Flame in the Dark, Audio Book (2017) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood #3) Every branch of law enforcement wanted this case except the sheriff, who had too much political acumen to want anything to do with a United States senator, three rich dead VIPs, multiple wounded, and vampires. “Thank you for joining us, […]

The Railway Conspiracy (2025) SJ Rozan & John Shen Yen Nee (Dee & Lao #2) Set in London in 1924 Dee has returned to London and once again drawn Lao, Sergeant Hoong and Jimmy Fingers together. He peered over his glass. “Are you quite all right, Lao? I haven’t been here seventy-two hours and already […]

Paladin’s Faith (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #4) Apparently one of the problems they had solved was bribery. You couldn’t bribe a Rat-priest. (Well, you probably could, but only by offering to donate the money to the poor.) Stabbing a man in the kidneys was a remarkably good way to make him think […]

Curse on the Land, Audio Book (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood #2) “Nellie, you’un got big brass ones, that’s all I got to say.” I had learned what the saying meant at Spook School, and thought it was silly, as testicles were small, easy to remove, and easily injured. mortal sins were […]

Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #3) “Anything’s possible,” said Piper, in a tone that hopefully conveyed, “Not a chance in hell.” His thoughts were so jumbled that he hardly knew what to pray for, so he settled on a general, Do you see this whole mess, gods? Please just fix it! […]

Paladin’s Strength (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #2) Istvhan waved to them, thinking what a disgusting group of people they must be, to enjoy watching beasts and men be torn to shreds by the corpses of their countrymen. You know, in some countries, they just have oiled naked men wrestle each other and […]

Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel #1) After finishing The Vampire Gideon’s Suicide Hotline and Halfway House for Orphaned Girls I needed something to made my brain feel better, and since after reading Daggerbound I wanted to read more Kingfisher, this seems the perfect choice. He and Istvhan had exhausted the weapon […]

Blood of the Earth, Audio Book (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Soulwood #1) I set the shotgun on the table and got out three pottery mugs. I wasn’t using John’s maw-maw’s good china for outsiders whom I might have to shoot later. That seemed deceitful. ‘The end justifies the means.’ Niccolò Machiavelli espoused […]

Daggerbound (2026) T. Kingfisher (Swordheart #2) Not a decade, but long enough for the impatient, we have the follow-up to Swordheart! This is set about 7 years after the end of the Clocktaur War series, and a couple of years after Swordheart but before The Saint of Steel series. Learned Edmund (from the Clocktaur War […]

The Bell in the Fog (2023) Lev Ac Rosen (Evander Mills #2) Set in San Francisco in ~1952 The story takes place several months after the events of Lavender House. Evander Mills is trying to make his way as a queer private detective, but as he was once a copy, not many people seem to […]

A Murderous Business (2025) Cathy Pegau (Harriman & Mancini #1) Set in NYC in 1912 Margot Harriman has taken over her family business at B&H Foods after her father’s death, but it’s 1912 and people don’t believe a woman can truly run a company. Even her father’s second in command–a man who she has know […]

The Murder of Mr. Ma, Audio Book (2024) John Shen Yen Nee, S.J. Rozan narrated by Daniel York Loh (Dee & Lao #1) London, 1924 Dee stayed in the shadows of the horse stall for some minutes, until, as he told me later, the visions from the trenches had begun to fade. For this was […]

A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Catching a Killer (2026) F. H. Petford Set in Cornwall, England in 1915 Alma and Alan are excited to plan their wedding, but have things to work out, such as where they will get married (Alan wants a church wedding) and where they will live (Alma wants to live at […]

Lavender House (2022) Lev AC Rosen (Evander Mills #1) Set in San Francisco in 1952 Evan Mills has been dismissed from the SF police department after being caught in a raid at a queer club. Caught–quite literally–with his pants down. Now with no job, and no home (he was thrown out). Even he wouldn’t meet […]

The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #2) Set in Cornwall in 1947 “The letter from the solicitor said the uncle’s will stipulated that all legatees attend the reading at the family home in Cornwall or forfeit their bequest.” Leo’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Was it his uncle’s dying wish to reenact a […]

Murder in Blackfriars (2026) Jennifer Ashley (Below Stairs Mystery #9) Set in London in 1884 This series seems like its winding up. Daniel is disentangled from Mr. Monaghan and Kat and Daniel are settled into a relationship. Daniel and I had come to an agreement to wed, though we were waiting to iron out the […]

Final Heir, Audio Book (2022) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock #15) The final Jane Yellowrock book. Well, I finished it. And on audio no less. Did I enjoy it? I don’t really think I did. Most of the major deaths occurred in the last book (and there were some shockers there). There […]

Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #1) Set in England in 1946 Even Edith Pickering and Cora Delacourt, who had lived with Mrs. Hoggett, didn’t seem terribly moved, but then again they had a good deal of practice in losing people, having lived through the last time the world decided to kill off […]

The Muse of Maiden Lane (2024) Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #4) Hampshire, Derbyshire & London, England in 1863 This is the final book in the Belles of London series. Stella wants to marry to escape her older brother, but as she turned completely gray by 16, she doesn’t see how she’s going to manage […]

Steamy Espresso Secrets (2025) Tyora Moody (Joss Miller #4) Joss is starting the first Media Arts summer camp at the Rebecca Montgomery Art Center, and although overwhelmed, she is excited–and not just because she is teaching a day on podcasting. But the man who volunteered to teach a day of photography to the kids seems […]

True Dead, Audio Book (2021) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock #14) I fell off reading the Jane Yellowrock series after Dark Queen. It was too dark and too full of cliffhangers for my brain at the time. I eventually read Shattered Bonds, but it was also depressing so I didn’t read any […]

Pack of Lies (2022) Charlie Adhara (Monster Hunt #1) Not everything had to be about hope and love and trust to be worth doing. Sometimes it was just the desire to not feel so terribly alone. I don’t think anyone could ever see you as inept. Not at anything. You positively ooze…ept. It was something […]

Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #5) “Did you know the cat is being more cordial than either of you right now? And I know for a fact she was raised in an alley.” “Also, he said to tell you you’ve been demoted to fourth rank.” “We don’t do ranks,” Park protested. “We’re […]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #4) I couldn’t justify throwing out sixty years of data. It wasn’t the science that was bad. It was the way he used it. The reasons he used it. “I think I’m going to give therapy another try. You know, real therapy and not informal […]

Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #3) Just like any power-hungry man, deep down he was a coward. In her lap Boogie was curled up and purring so loudly the sound practically echoed through the barn. Helena couldn’t have looked more like an evil mastermind if she tried. He comforted himself […]

The Wolf at Bay (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #2) This book opens with possibly my favorite scene ever. “Birthday, anniversary, or apology?” … “You’ve been standing here staring at that flower shop for fifteen minutes. So is it for her birthday or anniversary, or are you making up for a fight? Because I’ve […]

The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf, #1) The old-fashioned investigative work Cooper had dreamed of doing when he got recruited to the FBI wasn’t really applicable these days. … After cases like Bethesda he felt like a glorified bounty hunter, and that wasn’t why he’d wanted to get into law […]