Play It Again (2019) Aidan Wayne Books were easier than people. talking on the phone gave him enough anxiety as it was. Never knowing whether a call might turn nasty made him dread it every time he was given a ring. People in general made Sam nervous, but he’d mentioned a few times how he […]
Family Man (2017) Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton Trey eventually went on. “I hate that you know.” That one threw Vince. “Why? Did you think I was going to be a dick about it? Didn’t you think I’d want to help you?” Trey’s cheeks colored as his rage simmered up to boiling. “I don’t want […]
Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run #1) I do adore the cover for this book. “I worked at a c-company before.” He shuddered. “It was awful. Cubicles and p-people and no one would leave me alone.” “What’d they do?” Jack asked, preemptively furious on Simon’s behalf. Simon turned to him, eyes wide with […]
Killer Pancake, Audiobook (1995) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #5) Poor Julian. He has the worst things happen to him. This time, it’s his girlfriend that is murdered. Which reminds me of something that really bothers me. 1. Marla never really seemed bothered by the death of her sister. […]
The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #2) Set in Cornwall in 1947 “One spends so much effort not thinking about a thing that it becomes a sort of obsession.” James was struck by the sudden thought, both ghastly and somehow reassuring, that this was not the first time Leo had been called […]
The Cereal Murders, Audiobook (1993) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #3) Characters: Goldy Bear, John Richard Korman, Archibald Korman, Julian Teller, Marla Korman, Tom Schulz Audrey Coopersmith, Headmaster Alfred Perkins, Miss Suzanne Ferrell, Keith Andrews, Stan Marensky, Rhoda Marensky, Heather Coopersmith, Hank Dawson, Greer Dawson, Caroline Dawson, Macguire Perkins, […]
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #1) Set in England in 1946 You can’t hold it against him. He had a bad war. He ought to have developed a callus over whatever part of his heart was meant for mourning, but instead, it was like a wound that never quite healed. “No, I […]
Dying for Chocolate, Audiobook Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #2) This one I hadn’t actually read before. Determined to take control of her life, Goldy moves her business and her son to ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club, where she accepts a job as a live-in cook. But just as […]
Catering to Nobody, Audiobook (1990) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #1) It’s been a long time since I read this series. Probably the late 90s and early 2000s. And I read them out of order back then, since I was picking them up used. I’m listening to this on […]
Rogue Community College (2024) David R. Slayton (Liberty House #1) Isaac Frost was raised by The Undertaker and the other boys the assassin has been training, but he has never been sent out to kill. Until now. Isaac had to find the school’s heart, its beating, living heart. He didn’t really understand it, but magic […]
Viscounts & Villainy (2025) Allie Therin (Roaring Twenties Magic #3) November 1925 Sebastian and Wesley are in New York after the events of the previous book, and Sebastian is trying to learn to live without magic. It’s not going well. He’s a pacifist who has relied upon his magic to get him out of fights […]
Stone and Sky (2025) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #10) Of course I loved it. And I can’t wait for the audiobook to come out. This story is split between Peter and Abigail, and I wonder how many people are going to take issue with that. Personally, not only did I like it, but I […]
A Tarnished Canvas (2025) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby #13) Set in Edinburgh in 1833 Kiera and Sebastian are getting ready to celebrate Emma’s first birthday, with Kiera’s sister, Alanna doing much of the planning while Kiera finishes up the series of paintings she has been working on. But when she receives a catalog for […]
The Thursday Murder Club, Audiobook (2020) Richard Osman narrated by Lesley Manville (Thursday Murder Club #1) Elizabeth admires suspicion above all else and invited Ron to flick through the file of a scoutmaster found burned to death in 1982 in woodland just off the A27. She soon spotted his key strength—namely, he never believes a […]
That Kind of Guy (2019) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #3) In truth, Zach was a messy fucker who resented his own compulsion to fill in other people’s gaps but couldn’t make himself stop. “I like being around you, Zach. Even when you’re not performing.” She’d been taught so thoroughly that standing up for herself was an […]
Untouchable (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood #2) If you want me to read all of this, it’ll take me a while. And I’ll need digital copies.” “You will?” He glanced up. “Oh, yeah. Turns out I’m dyslexic.” Zach: Want to get a drink? Hannah: No. Zach: Want to eat cookies and bitch about people? Hannah: Meet […]
Copper Script (2025) K.J. Charles Set in London in 1924 Aaron Fowler likes being a detective, likes working for the cause of justice. What he doesn’t much like is how the Met refuses to acknowledge the existence of bad coppers. He also doesn’t much care for his cousin, who expects him to fix his problems, […]
An Unnatural Vice (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the Cities #2) Set in London and Norfolk in 1873 He looked like the sin of angels, like the sweetest fruit at the goblin market, and Nathaniel despised everything about him. “Oh, for— What did you think I was doing?” “Didn’t have a clue.” “It might work,” […]
An Unseen Attraction (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the Cities, #1) Set in London in 1873 This is one of my favorite queer historicals. It’s the first book in a series, and I’ve read just this book, or just the first two, because I adore Clem and Rowley. Look me in the eyes, boy! had […]
A Scandal for Stratford (2022) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club #6) Set in England in 1818 James Lewis became Earl of Stratford after the unexpected death of his parents. It stood empty now except for the servants. Had done for years, ever since Lord and Lady Stratford had died, leaving […]
The Persephone Code (2024) Julia Golding (Regency Secrets #1) Set in England in 1812 I started out enjoying this story: a doctor with an opium addiction from his time at war, and a plucky heroine making her own way in the world. Vane was watching her with a supercilious smile. ‘Well done, Miss Fitz-Pennington. You […]
An Affair for Aumont (2022) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club #5) Louis-Charles Aumont was in love with Luke Winthrop, but turned down his offer of marriage, after which Luke joined the army and was killed at Waterloo. Since then Aumont worked as a spy for France, and avoided those who […]
A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #1.5) Leicester, England 1864 This is one my my favorite historical novellas. He hadn’t chosen to become a doctor so that he could foretell the death of children. He’d been seduced by the stories—the stories of John Snow saving hundreds of lives by careful observation, of […]
The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #3) Set in Cambridge in 1867 “…the chance that a male cat will show tortoiseshell coloring is so small we cannot calculate it—one in a thousand, perhaps. My theory provides no explanation for such smallness.” The woman’s voice was beginning to rise in pitch, something Violet would […]
The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #2) Set in Cambridgeshire, England, 1867 She asked Whitting about his studies, and when he made a wry comment about preferring to concentrate his efforts on the study of liquids, she stared at him. “How surprising.” Her eyes were very round. “I had not thought you to […]
The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan (Brothers Sinister #1) Set in Leicester, England in 1863 “Your Grace,” Stevens finally said, “your concern does you justice.” The man’s toad-eating did him none. Robert met Stevens’s eyes. “No, it doesn’t. It’s called basic human decency, and I deserve no credit for doing what every man should.” “You […]
Mortal Follies (2023) Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye (The Mortal Follies #1) Set in Bath in 1814 I am that knavish sprite that frights the maidens of the villagery. I am Oberon’s jester—was Oberon’s jester, that’s rather the issue. I am called hobgoblin by some and, contrary to what certain people might have told […]
Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in East Anglia in 1812 It was balm for my bruised pride to hear him apologize, but it did not change what had happened. The hurt did not miraculously vanish, nor did the discomfort his presence caused me. I knew what was coming, like following a […]
System Collapse, Audiobook (2023) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (Murderbot Diaries #7) I still felt radically off my game and I was hoping for reassurance rather than statistics that confirmed that I was correct in thinking that everything sucked right now. (According to Martyn, ART is of course capable of doing its own […]
A Sanctuary for Soulden (2021) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club #4) Set in alternate England during the Napoleanic Era he caught sight of Lord Christmas Gale, on his hands and knees, searching under a table in the near-empty Green Room. This was a bit unusual, even for Christmas. Soulden walked […]
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper “Hey.” Susanna’s voice was sharp. “You mean a lot to me. Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking.” Lincoln must have been snacking on frosting all day and gone without real, solid food. His eyes were very bright. The words in those books weren’t always meant for him, but they […]
A Power Unbound (2023) Freya Marske (The Last Binding Book 3) Set in England in 1909 Spinet House was a young thing, built by a master carpenter-thaumoluthier and his energetically creative wife. It was a fortress. It was a musical, magical puzzle box. It was a fucking headache. When Alan had written up his fawning, […]
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turners #3) Set in London in 1817 Radnor’s secretary sent Courtenay an infuriatingly proper letter suggesting that Courtenay take himself as far away from Simon as humanly possible until the scandal died down. It was heavily implied that the scandal would die down at some point […]
The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turners #2) Set in England in 1817 Georgie had too much practice deceiving others to be able to deceive himself. “I apologize,” he said in a normal tone of voice. “I had a valet, but he left.” “I daresay he did, if you insisted on dressing like […]
Think of England (2014) KJ Charles Set in England, 1904 It had been an extraordinarily modern creation at that time, equipped with the very latest innovations, with running water in all the bathrooms, heated by hot-water radiators and illuminated throughout by electricity from his own hydroelectric generator. This country is heading for a crash, mark […]
The Sugared Game (2020) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures, #2) Set in London in 1924 “Do you ever have the feeling the whole world changed while we were away and nobody bothered to mention it to us?” “I know you’ve thought about this,” Will said. “But there are men in the world who aren’t […]
A Case for Christmas (2021) J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club #2) Set in alternate England during the Napoleanic Era Chant was well versed in the difference between rudeness for rudeness’s sake and rudeness born from an anxiety that was rapidly becoming unmanageable. “What do you need from me?” Gale hesitated. […]
Lady Ambition’s Dilemma, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #3) Set in Sussex in 1883 “In any case, we’re not discussing me. Are you trying to tell me Dederick . . .” I searched for the right words, “prefers the company of other men?” “A little in love with him […]
The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #2) Set in Cornwall in 1947 “James has gone to Cornwall.” She said this as if announcing that James had taken up a life of crime and perversion. The more Leo thought about it, the less he liked it. Leo had read this detective story and […]
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #1) Set in England in 1946 What I love best about this book is she makes the time period (and much everything else) exactly like it does in the Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series. Only with some boinking. You can’t hold it against him. He had a […]
Lady Odelia’s Secret, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #2) Set in Sussex in 1882 I felt Michael—who hated to touch, or be touched by, other people—flinch as I rested my fingertips as lightly as possible on his arm. “I enjoy reading about people who are real to me for […]
Fugitive Telemetry, Audiobook (2021) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #6) Characters: Dr. Mensah, Pin-Lee, Lutran, Dr. Ratthi, Gurathin, Senior Officer Indah, Tech Tural, Officer Doran, Officer Aylen, PA Supervisor Gamila, Officer Farid, Officer Tifany, Tellus, Balin, JollyBaby, Soire, Mish, Matif, Fenn, Miro Publisher: Recorded Books Rating: 9.5/10
Network Effect, Audiobook (2020) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #5) Characters: Dr. Arada, Overse, Dr. Thiago, Dr. Mensah, Dr. Ratthi, Dr. Bharadwaj, Amena, Pin-Lee, Farai, Tano, Copilot Mihail, Specialist Rajpreet, Pilot Roa, Adjat, Remy, Hanifa, Kanti, Perihelion/ART, Eletra, Ras, Officer Tifany, Senior Officer Indah, Supervisor Leonide, Martyn, Karime, Turi, Seth, […]
Lady Helena Investigates, Audiobook (2018) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #1) Set in Sussex in 1881 “I can’t have you back, so I’m forced to move forward with my life. I let Daniel’s death reduce me to some kind of paralysis, but you rescued me from it in the end. Perhaps […]
The Murder of Mr. Ma (2024) John Shen Yen Nee & S.J. Rozan (A Dee and Lao Mystery #1) Set in London in 1924 Lao She is living in London, teaching English to aspiring businessmen and politicians when he is told Judge Dee was swept up during a Chinese protest and needs to get out […]
Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family #1) Set in England during the Napoleonic wars She pushed forward again, into the noise and smell and great wall of people. She’d never seen so many people. She felt as if she were on the verge of being trampled. Panic began to slither along her skin […]
The Siren of Sussex (2022) Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #1) Set in London in 1862 Ahmad Malik and his cousin Mira came to England after her mother died, and after her father died, Ahmad took whatever work he could to care for her. Now he is a tailor, hoping to make his marking designing […]
Mistletoe and Mishigas (2023) M.A. Wardell (Teachers in Love #2) Not only is Sheldon moving to a new school in the middle of the term, he has also discovered the wedding invitation from his ex. Who broke up with Sheldon last year. On Christmas Eve. Sheldon’s favorite time of the year. But Sheldon is nothing […]
Hunting Ground, Audiobook (2009) Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham (Alpha & Omega #2) To make great art, you had to expose your soul, and some things should be left safely in the dark. So often people got it wrong, treating their elders like children, people to be coddled and ignored. He knew better, and […]
Do Me a Favor (2024) Cathy Yardley Willa, still picking up the pieces after her husband’s long illness and death, moves out to the house she inherited from her great-aunt, in the hopes it will help her get back on her feet. What was it going to do to her? Her bank account was minuscule […]