Dead in the Garden (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage Mystery) Cinnamon. What did I just read? No matter how many times Valor read it, the cause of death didn’t change. His old schoolmate had been killed by inhaling cinnamon. It had been good for him. Valor didn’t know if he’d have grown into the same […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1812 Phoebe’s betrothed’s forceful whisper was as loud as her soft-spoken question, but she bit her tongue. She wondered what her tongue would look like after they’d spent a lifetime together. Maybe one day she’d bite it in half. She ached to break […]
Joy (2017) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) “Are there, like… street signs or—” “He’s not from around here,” Nancy said to a guy at the counter who started laughing. “No, honey, just drive. The roads around here will bring you right through into the next town.” I put down the bin of dishes I’d been […]
The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1811. “Em.” Lord Durnham watched as his sister ushered her children out the door in front of her with disbelief. “I don’t understand . . .” He caught Charlotte’s eye as she waited for Ned to go through first, and Charlotte stared straight […]
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper He and Jerry had argued once, in their way, about the difference between Lincoln working for his dream and doing what he loved, and why Jerry might be tired at the end of each day. Mostly, Lincoln had gotten loud, Jerry had gotten quiet, then said, “I love […]
Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) Set in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. “What the devil would I do with a London season?” “Find a husband, I imagine,” was Gideon’s reply. It only served to mystify her further. “What the devil would I do with a husband?” “Obtain long-term financial stability,” Lilly told […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. After witnessing the murder of her father, Giselle Barrington flees back to London. She cannot give into her grief, for she has to find someone to take the information she holds. (H)e’d be looking for the document he had killed her father […]
Open for Business (2016) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) After reading a dystopia, I needed something more comforting to read. The first story is far and away my favorite. Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, alcoholism, violence Hades is served with divorce papers, and so moves to the human realm. Told to find something to do with himself, […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith had investigated orgy sites where there had been twenty or more witnesses all standing and watching some victim being dismembered just because a cameraman was filming it. The presence of a camera implied fiction and a sense that some authority was […]
A Matter of Magic (1994) Patricia C. Wrede An orphan living on the streets of London, breaks into a caravan and is discovered not just to be breaking and entering, but also a girl masquerading as a boy! Girl eventually becomes the ward of her rescuer and falls in love with him! Now we have […]
Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones (2020) Ngozi Ukazu SQUEE! It’s makes me so happy! Publisher: First Second Rating: 9.5/10
Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey (2018) Ngozi Ukazu It’s like a hug! Only with hockey and bad language and drinking. Art from the comic blog. Publisher: First Second Rating: 8/10
A Caribbean Mystery (1964) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The story that started my love of Miss Marple. I saw this (I was probably babysitting) and immediately went, “It’s AJ Simon! What is this?” And then I fell in love with Helen Hayes and Miss Marple. “As far as I can make out,” said Miss Marple, […]
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The first half of this edition is The Thirteen Problems / The Tuesday Club Murders, which I earlier. The second half has the following stories: From The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939) “Miss Marple Tells a Story” first in Home Journal (1935) [“Behind […]
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) One had to face the fact: St. Mary Mead was not the place it had been. In a sense, of course, nothing was what it had been. You could blame the war (both the wars) or the younger generation, or women going out […]
Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne Another mental hug for me. Jaxon was getting the feeling that was his default way of coping with the world. Blanking himself out when things got tough. Jaxon used to do the same thing but with anger, till he’d gotten better ways to cope. If he wanted to do […]
Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper I just needed the mental hug. Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble was rough on my mental well-being. He and Jerry had argued once, in their way, about the difference between Lincoln working for his dream and doing what he loved, and why Jerry might be tired at […]
A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This is one of the stories that has always stuck with me–probably because of the rye mentioned in the title. Rex Fortescue dies in his office, and the police immediately suspect murder. “I gather you don’t think it was natural death,” he said dryly. “Not […]
Murder Is Announced (1950) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6: 30 p.m. Friends please accept this, the only intimation. This is post WWII story, and there are so many bits regarding that I love. “You know the Fuel Office won’t […]
Thirteen Problems (1932) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The Tuesday Night Club (1927) The Idol House of Astarte (1928) Ingots of Gold (1928) The Blood-Stained Pavement (1928) Motive versus Opportunity (1928) The Thumb Mark of St. Peter (1928) The Blue Geranium (1929) A Christmas Tragedy (1930) The Companion (1930) The Herb of Death (1930) The Four […]
The Body in the Library (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The second Miss Marple book has both Miss Marple and Sir Henry Clithering. One of the things I always loved Agatha Christie books is how descriptive they can be. The gay, laughing expression on his face was wiped off as though by a sponge from […]
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This is the first Miss Marple novel. I’d somehow forgotten that it’s told from the point of view of the vicar, and Miss Marple is only a secondary character–even if she does solve the mystery. Miss Marple is a white-haired old lady with a gentle, […]
Can’t Escape Love (2019) Alyssa Cole (Reluctant Royals) I bought this book because I loved the cover. And I read it and really enjoyed it. But I still haven’t read the rest of the series–not because I dislike Alyssa Cole’s writing, but because I tend to dislike books with characters in the peerage. I want […]
Band Sinister (2018) K.J. Charles Why? Because I needed something I knew would take me out of my own head, and I do adore Guy. “Oh dear God,” Frisby whispered. “Please get better. Please. I can’t do without you and you’ve got so much more to do, and I know it’s been— not marvellous for […]
His Quiet Agent (2017) Ada Maria Soto Arthur Drams likes his job. But he doesn’t like that he is going nowhere with it. “Hi, Arthur Drams, level two analyst, trying, badly apparently, to make friends because I’m really tired of getting promoted sideways because my own supervisors forget I exist.” As he is already out […]
Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne I just needed to reread this is all. This is a romance, but it’s also about the huge difference that money and power can make. Jaxon: “Serves you right for being the smart one,” he said, shouldering his phone so he could clear away his dishes. “Shut up.” Tatyana […]
For Better or Worse (2017) R. Cooper I reread the previous book, so I had to reread this one. To this day he could remember the exact feeling of relief at discovering terms like demisexual and gray ace, and his immediate need to know more, and then still, always, that faint shame of not being […]
Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2016) R. Cooper Honestly, I’m not even sure what it is about this story, but it keeps catching at my mind. Part of it is how awful the women in the town are. Scott nodded, so weirdly nervous that his voice trembled. “It makes them want to read more. Maybe […]
After the Scrum (2016) Dahlia Donovan Although there are occasional issues with this series that could have been solved with stronger editing, this remains a series that has lodged itself in my brain and keeps popping up at random times. Francis is an interior designer who lives with his grandmother. He’d gone away to college […]
Color of You (2017) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) I think I finally figured out why this is my least favorite story in this series. Although it has a mystery (good!) and I adore the characters (good!) the dynamic between the couple isn’t standard (good!) and the misunderstandings are … understandable, something has always felt […]
Joy (2017) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) There is something about this book that just calms me. Makes me happy. It’s low-stakes, and funny. “Are there, like… street signs or—” “He’s not from around here,” Nancy said to a guy at the counter who started laughing. I noticed over his shoulder that several of the […]
Kneading You (2016) C.S. Poe (A Lancaster Story) Reread. Because I can’t settle down into anything. Rating: 8/10
Network Effect (2020) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Thiago: “You trust it that much?” Mensah: “With my life, literally. I know what it will do to protect her, and you, and the rest of the team. Of course, it has its faults. In fact, it’s probably listening to us right now. Are you listening, SecUnit?” […]
Exit Strategy (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) I love Murderbot, but I also love the other tech. Ship’s drones gathered to watch me, confused as to why I was going out the wrong door and beeping sadly about it. Ship’s feed and system codes were trashed, but bot pilot was already reasserting control. SecSystem […]
Rogue Protocol (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Being a SecUnit sucked. I couldn’t wait to get back to my wild rogue rampage of hitching rides on bot-piloted transports and watching my serials. Or Miki was a bot who had never been abused or lied to or treated with anything but indulgent kindness. It really […]
Artificial Condition (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Murderbot! Constructs sometimes fall under the same category as bots, sometimes under the same category as deadly weapons. (FYI, that is not a good category to be in.)) So they made us smarter. The anxiety and depression were side effects. I didn’t have any parts related to […]
All Systems Red (2017) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! We’ve been listening to Network Effect and so I needed to start rereading the Murderbot Diaries. After I secured the habitat, I went back to what was called the security ready room, which was where weapons, ammo, perimeter alarms, drones, and all the other supplies […]
An Unseen Attraction (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London in 1873 The first book in the Sins of the City series. they said the eyes were the windows to the soul, and Clem didn’t feel comfortable peering into people’s windows. “Most people,” Clem said carefully, “most people think that I shouldn’t […]
Come Unto These Yellow Sands (2011) Josh Lanyon Something about this book works perfectly to pull me out of my head. Part of it is that Swift is a reformed screw-up who knows how and why he messed up, but also how easy it could be for him to fall of the wagon. Physical violence […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This books is simply a delight. I mean, supernatural food inspector. What more could I want? Keith was momentarily too stunned by the idea that the vampire realm had a publishing industry to think of a follow-up question. Gunther saved him. I […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1819. Phoebe Hillier has always done everything she was supposed to, following all the rules. But when the man to whom she was betrothed (and her father’s insistence) breaks their engagement, she seemingly has little to lose any more. Impotent rage, her old […]
Emperor’s Conspiracy(2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I reread the second book, so then I had to go back and reread the first book. “Em.” Lord Durnham watched as his sister ushered her children out the door in front of her with disbelief. “I don’t understand . . .” He caught Charlotte’s eye as she waited […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I needed to reread this as well. For her, what people ate, and how they ate, was just as interesting as the stories they told. This one is also about food. Her voice was as bitter as burned coffee, and just as dark. But in addition to […]
Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) I got into another funk–nothing was working for me. Everything was meh and nothing drew me in. So I dove back into a favorite, and (as happens every single time I reread this) was shocked by how good and how beautiful it is. Edwin repairs and restores […]
And Everything Nice (2016) Ada Maria Soto This is another hug I treated myself to. This one is funny and silly. “He might not be gay, and he’s probably already got a boyfriend.” “Prescouted. Single, new in town, currently into Elder Scrolls online, and has a pride flag bumper sticker, so out and proud.” “Why […]
Nearly a Lady (2016) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) Set in Scotland and England during the Regency. Lord Gideon Haverston and his brother are discovering the full duplicity of their step-mother, as his brother–the new Marquess–tries to straighten out the family finances. Their most disturbing discovery is a young woman who was supposed to be the […]
A Christmas Dance (2014) Alissa Johnson Set in historical England. William Renwick, Earl of Casslebury, always has a plan for everything. He was four-and-thirty, and it was time he did his duty to the title by producing an heir. Never mind he hadn’t expected to outlive two cousins and an older brother to inherit the […]
Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones (2020) Ngozi Ukazu Jack has graduated and gone to the NHL. Bitty remains at Samwell, still playing hockey, and unable to talk about his relationship–both for fear or jeopardizing Jack’s career and because he still hasn’t come out to his own family. OMG IT IS SO SWEET! This […]
Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey (2018) Ngozi Ukazu Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! I love this comic […]
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker Apparently my brain things I need to be having feelings. Grief was like the great Southern Ocean; it moved in ebbs and flows, often turbulent and rough, or peaceful and settled, and even over time when I could navigate the waters, the tide never stopped. “(S)ometimes you have to […]