Viscounts & Villainy (2015) Allie Therin (Roaring Twenties Magic #3) Set in 1925 in New York & England Yesterday’s cable from Geoffrey was checking whether I was returning to England for the Christmas social season or if I was dead and the title was his now. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sebastian […]

Once a Rogue (2023) Allie Therin (Roaring Twenties Magic #2) Set in 1925 in New York “Tomcat Lodge,” Sebastian read. “I’m not sure people come here to sleep.” “Not at all.” Wesley eyed it. “In fact, if I were going to imagine an inn where drunks could stagger from an illicit speakeasy and hire company […]

Proper Scoundrels (2021) Allie Therin (Roaring Twenties Magic #1) Set in 1925 in London & Paris “You’re his spitting image, you know.” Wesley’s brother had been too, all three of them over six feet tall with the same brown hair and gray eyes. Now only Wesley was left, and he couldn’t set foot in society […]

Wonderstruck (2021) Allie Therin (Magic in Manhattan #3) Set in New York, London, and Paris in 1925 Three tables had been pushed together in the middle to accommodate a big family, one toddler making an enormous mess as she gleefully ate spaghetti with her bare hands. “We don’t owe our hearts to people who hurt […]

Starcrossed (2020) Allie Therin (Magic in Manhattan #2) Set in 1925 in NYC “I’ve had my every minute scheduled by my family. Clearly this trip was a wonderful decision on my part. I might even have seen Rory for two whole minutes the other day.” “Speaking of children,” Arthur said dryly. “Yours are as well-mannered […]

Spellbound (2019) Allie Therin (Magic in Manhattan #1) Set in 1925 in NYC “Quality gin doesn’t run itself from Toronto.” Arthur scoffed. “Fifth Avenue deserves rotgut. Half those arseholes call for segregation during the day then have the nerve to slither into Harlem for culture at night. Be nice to bounce those hypocrites straight out […]

Agents of Winter (2022) Ada Maria Soto (The Agency #2) “I’m sorry, which one is B-837?” “Romantic or sexual involvement with another agency employee or contractor.” “I… um…” Arthur felt his cheeks flush and didn’t know what to say. It had never crossed his mind to fill out the “Fucking Form” as it was referred […]

Subtle Blood (2021) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures #3) Set in England in 1924 “I might have to buy one, actually, it was such fun. Shall we, Maisie? We can call her Suzy.” “Su— A Hispano-Suiza?” Kim demanded. “Do you know how fast those beasts go?” “We do now,” Maisie said. “I’d like a […]

The Sugared Game (2020) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures #2) Set in England in 1924 “You’re Welsh,” Will pointed out. “You’ve got no room to talk about spelling.” “Nothing wrong with Welsh spelling, thank you,” Maisie said, with an edge on her accent. “Come off it. You put two ‘l’s in everything and don’t […]

Slippery Creatures (2020) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures #1) Set in London in 1923 When Uncle William had died, Will remembered an ancient piece of lore about bees, and he’d cleared his throat and told the books, “He’s gone.” He’d been a working part in the State machine for years, a tool to be […]

Merlin in the Library (2018) Ada Maria Soto (The Agency #1.5) Martin wanted to reassure Arthur that he was fine and send him back to bed, except his therapist reminded him every session that there was nothing wrong in asking for help and he should do so whenever he felt the need. This advice was […]

His Quiet Agent (2017) Ada Maria Soto (The Agency #1) It was seven when he walked into Martin’s room and found him tying his tie. “Wes hAl,” he greeted him with one of the dozen phrases the children had managed to teach him. Martin’s face had yet to retreat fully back into the silent blankness […]

Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams (Detective Inspector Chen #3) Detective Inspector Chen and Zhu Irzh are taken from their current cases and sent to Hell to escort the Celestial, Miss Qi. “Miss Qi will be coming with us, then?” Chen asked, more to stave off yet another difficult discussion than out of any real attempt […]

System Collapse (2023) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #7) (According to Martyn, ART is of course capable of doing its own accounting, but it always ends up with extra numbers that no one can trace. So now Turi does it and has to keep a hardcopy ledger because otherwise ART would alter their data. No […]

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association (2025) Caitlin Rozakis Vivian discovered magic existed when her daughter was attacked and changed into a werewolf. Now they’ve moved to Veilport and Aria has a scholarship to The Grimoire Grammar School and Vivian is even more overwhelmed. She wasn’t weeping. That was appropriate. It meant the medicine […]

Fugitive Telemetry (2021) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #6) “What controlled circumstances?” I said, “Isolated work installations.” Her expression turned even more grim. “Corporate slave labor camps.” I said, “Yes, but if we call them that, Marketing and Branding gets angry and we get a power surge through our brains that fries little pieces of […]

Shifting Shadows (2014) Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson/Alpha & Omega) Silver Fairy Gifts (previously published in Naked City) Gray (previously published in Home Improvement: Undead Edition) Seeing Eye (previously published in Strange Brew) Alpha and Omega (previously published in On the Prowl) The Star of David (previously published in Wolfsbane and Mistletoe) Roses in Winter In […]

Network Effect (2020) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #5) “What is that thing?” Target Leader demanded. “What are you? You’re a bot?” Thiago said, “It’s a security unit. A bot/human construct.” Target Leader didn’t seem to believe him. “Why does it look like a person?” I said, “I ask myself that sometimes.” Over the comm […]

Exit Strategy (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #4) Listening to the SecSystem’s audio, I heard a crew member in the corridor say, “I’ve never seen one out of armor. They really do look human.” I made a gesture in that direction that I had only seen in the shows that were rated high on […]

Rogue Protocol (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #3) Pretending bad things aren’t happening is not a great survival strategy in the long run. I was getting an idea. It was probably a bad idea. (When most of your training in tactical thinking comes from adventure shows, that does tend to happen.) Or Miki was […]

Artificial Condition (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #2) I didn’t care what humans were doing to each other as long as I didn’t have to a) stop it or b) clean up after it. Constructs sometimes fall under the same category as bots, sometimes under the same category as deadly weapons. (FYI, that is […]

All Systems Red (2017) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #1) This is why I prefer wearing the armor, even inside the habitat where it’s unnecessary and can just get in the way. Human clients usually like to pretend I’m a robot and that’s much easier in the armor. But the company would access all those […]

Hudson River Homicides (2025) C.S. Poe (Memento Mori #4) The sender is still taunting Everett with corpses. Scrawled across the door in all caps with what was likely permanent black Sharpie was the message: PIN ME TO DETECTIVE LARKIN. And Larkin is struggling not just to stop the sender, but to deal with his own […]

Peter Cabot Gets Lost (2021) Cat Sebastian (The Cabots #2) Set across the US in 1960 I read Tommy Cabot Was Here in an anthology years ago, and enjoyed it, but for some reason kept putting off reading the other two books that followed. This is the second, set a couple years later, and following […]

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots (2022) Cat Sebastian (The Cabots #3) Set in 1973 in New York City Daniel returned from the war a bit lost. His mother used her influence to make sure he spent his time sitting at a desk, as safe as it was possible to be. So he’s living in a […]

Dominoes, Danzón, and Death, Audio Book (2025) Raquel V. Reyes narrated by Frankie Corzo (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery #4) My husband was a recent convert to Miami’s craft brewery scene. Our recycling bin had never been so colorful. The more Marjory talked, the looser she got. The museum that she (and Senior) had ‘paid for’ […]

Fortune Favors the Dead, Audio Book (2020) Stephen Spotswood narrated by Kirsten Potter (Pentecost and Parker Mystery #1) Set in NYC in 1945 “I trust you to use your best judgment. Don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable doing.” “You realize I used to dress up like a showgirl and have knives thrown at my face. […]

Think of England (2014) KJ Charles Set in England in 1904 A foreigner and a dandy, because while his shirt was impeccable and the tailcoat and tapering trousers cut to perfection, he was wearing a huge green glass ring and, Curtis saw with dawning horror, a bright green flower in his buttonhole. “The supply lines […]

Proper English (2019) KJ Charles Set in Shropshire England in 1902 “Er, are you thinking of moving to London?” “Absolutely not,” Pat assured him, and noted the tiny relaxation on his face. If she had been metropolis-minded, everyone would have expected her to set up household with her bachelor brother. They’d settled in Pat’s room, […]

Where Foxes Say Goodnight (2023) Sam Burns (Sleeping Foxes #1) Max has won awards and accolades for the semi-biographical story he wrote about his life with his grandmother, so it’s a bit of an unpleasant surprise to awakened the very next day by a lawyer on his doorstep with an NDA from the guy he […]

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, Audio Book (2019) Alexis Hall narrated by Nicholas Boulton I read this in 2020, and enjoyed it then, so when floundering for my next audiobook (I couldn’t think of a series I wanted to dive into), I went with this. First, the narrator has a marvelous voice, and did […]

In My Dreams (2020) Elin Annalise (Aces in Love #1) The problem with a lot of ace stories, is they spend a lot of time defining and explaining asexuality. If it’s not done well, it’s a lot of “well, Bob” and gets boring really quickly. Polly and her best friend Brooke work at a nature […]

Death in the Spires (2024) KJ Charles Set in Oxford in 1905 It’s been ten years, but the crime that caused Jeremy Kite to quit Oxford without finishing his degree continues to follow him. This time it’s a letter to his employer. Jeremy Kite is a murderer. He killed Toby Feynsham. Ask him why. Jem […]

Something Spectacular (2023) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #2) I was somewhat hesitant to read this book as I thought it was Arabella’s book, and I’m not sure I can handle an entire book with her as the main characters (Bonny was difficult enough and that book wasn’t from his point-of-view) but this is Peggy’s story […]

Something Fabulous (2022) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous #1) I struggled the first time I read this, partially because I was having a difficult time reading anything, and partially because I went into it thinking “historical romance” instead of “fantasy rom com”. This time I went in thinking fantasy rom com and I enjoyed it much […]

Soulstar (2021) C.L. Polk (The Kingston Cycle #3) This is the conclusion to the Kingston Cycle, and there is a lot going on here: Severin Mountrose is now king, witches are free, there is a search to replace aether, and Solidarity has decided to hold an open election–even if it doesn’t officially count. “Why doesn’t […]

Stormsong (2020) C.L. Polk (The Kingston Cycle) Grace has escaped with her brother after the destruction of the aethernet, but when she senses a terrible storm coming she knows she has to return to Aeland to protect her people. A storm spread out miles wide, spinning away from the Cauldron off the coast. It was […]

Blank Spaces (2016) Cass Lennox (Toronto Connections #1) “It’s not that I don’t like you. It’s more like I don’t know you.” “You’ve glared at me for most of lunch. That’s what I meant.” “Oh.” He went red again. “I thought you were being all pretentious and coming on to me or something, so I […]

Witchmark (2018) C.L. Polk (The Kingston Cycle #1) I reread this so I can finally finish the series. Mr. Elliot dragged in a tattered breath. “I got too close. They needed the souls. The war—” He gagged and rolled away from me, retching. I held him steady. “Don’t try to talk.” He dragged in ragged […]

Broadway Butchery (2023) C. S. Poe (Memento Mori #3) It hasn’t been that long since Everett resolved the issue of the subway killer, and his Cold Case Department is getting great press, but things are difficult, and someone with knowledge of the cases continues to send anonymous notes and evidence to Larkin. “Did you watch […]

Subway Slayings (2022) C.S. Poe (Memento Mori #2) Detective Everett Larkin is finally healed from the injuries incurred during his previous case. He is also now living with the detective be became friends at that time, Ira Doyle, as he’s in the process of getting divorced and wasn’t capable to living on his own until […]

The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #2) Set in Cornwall, England in 1947 Not knowing how to respond to that, as he could hardly accept a compliment bestowed on a version of himself that was twenty years out of date, he pasted on a smile. “The letter from the solicitor said the […]

The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series, #3) Set in London in 1817 “You ordered tea,” Courtenay said. “I like tea,” Julian responded. “You like sugary milk.” Courtenay, as if to demonstrate the point, poured about an inch of tea into Julian’s cup and then added a nearly equal amount of […]

The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series #2) Set in Cornwall, England in 1816 “Five servants quit,” Halliday said, tapping Lawrence’s desk in emphasis. Dust puffed up in tiny clouds around the vicar’s fingertips. “Five. And you were woefully understaffed even before then.” Five fewer servants? So that was why the house […]

Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers #1) Set in England in 1946. Do you know, James, this evening I thought to myself: I would like to put paper stars and glass balls on a tree.” “I see you’ve reached the heights of depravity.” “I’d suggest going easy on this fellow. He had a […]

The Mistletoe Motive (2021) Chloe Liese There is a lot I love about this story: the ace rep, the female lead with ASD, the single point-of-view. Jonathan glances up and meets my eyes, his gaze speaking some cryptic language that I don’t. I hate that feeling. It’s old and familiar, and it never fails to […]

Mystery on the Menu: A Three-Course Collection of Cozy Mysteries (2023) Nicole Kimberling “This is Andrew,” Evelyn announced, waving her hand back as though I were some stray dog that had followed her home. “He’s the chef at the murder restaurant.” I pivoted and strode briskly into the walk-in refrigerator all the way to the […]

We Could Be So Good (2023) Cat Sebastian (Midcentury NYC #1) Set in NYC in 1958 Nick is a reporter at the New York Chronicle, I job he worked hard to get, and loves doing. So he finds himself annoyed to be working with the boss’s kid, Andy Fleming, who is now on the city […]

Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue (2023) Cat Sebastian (The Cabots #3.5) Set in North Carolina in 1953 This is a story about being injured. Billy was no prince when he was hurting, either. He always felt, idiotically, that giving in to pain was some kind of character flaw. He knew it wasn’t, he […]

You Should Be So Lucky (2024) Cat Sebastian (Midcentury NYC #2) Set in NYC in 1960 Eddie O’Leary made a mess of things when he reacted badly to being traded. Now his teammates hate him, the fans hate him, as far as he can tell everyone in NYC hates him. And now he can’t hit […]