The Wanderer (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) This is a romance. With cancer. Graham languished in his bungalow on the water for two days. He never got sick, which made him the worst patient in the world. One of the things that makes this story so good is that it is unflinching in looking […]
Not So Cookie Cutter (2019) Aidan Wayne This is a sideways sequel to Making Love, in that Jerrell is Carla’s target at the end of that book. It’s also about a baker. Maybe he could try some for tomorrow. And it would take way less time than cheesecake. Pumpkin-cheesecake inspired mousse, though? Or trifle cups! […]
After the Scrum (2016) Dahlia Donovan Francis Keen is perfectly happy living in Looe with his grandmother. He doesn’t want to leave her alone, and if it helps his anxiety, that’s not a bad thing either. And since he is a somewhat successful interior designer, it’s pretty good. He hated leaving his small workspace in […]
Loud and Clear (2016) Aidan Wayne Jaxon is a cab drive–and a good one, despite the fact he can’t read. He turned on the light in his car and squinted. Those were letters, all right. Probably there was even a sentence. Caleb had written something on the receipt. Huh. Curious, Jaxon bent over the words, […]
Making Love (2017) Aidan Wayne Carla is a cupid, and she wants nothing more than to go out into the world and find True Love matches for humans. But as good as her aim is, Carla is terrible at seeing possible chemistry between people. A cupid’s arrow only held the Spark of Interest. It got […]
The Truth (2000) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) William de Worde spread the word around Discworld. (T)he rumor came to the ears of William de Worde, and in a sense it stopped there, because he dutifully wrote it down. It was his job. Lady Margolotta of Uberwald sent him five dollars a month to do it. The […]
Gilded Cage (2019) KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1895 Templeton Lane fell far from his noble birth to become a notorious jewel thief. A matched set of black opals, Jerry had said scathingly. Really. Was there also an advertisement placed in the paper for the attention of Templeton Lane? Susan Lazarus has […]
Mr. Winterbourne’s Christmas (2018) Joanna Chambers (Winterbourne) Set in England in 1823 Lysander and Adam have been content, living as a steward and landholder by day and lovers at night. Except neither has used that word: Love. When both are invited to Lysander’s family home for Christmas (Adam’s brother is married to Lysander’s sister) multiple […]
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks (2008) Josh Lanyon This is an interesting story in a lot of ways. First, I think this is one of her earlier books, and the writing isn’t quite as smooth as I’ve come to expect from her. Secondly, it’s set in that weird time where before DADT ended and before […]
Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) CS Poe I love this story. I mean, it’s like someone dared her to put every single trope she could think of into less than 40 pages, and she made it perfect. I was attending a singles’ convention for special people like me to find their forever penguin […]
The Remaking of Corbin Wale (2017) Roan Parrish After his life blew up around him, Alex headed back to his home town to take over (and reinvent) his parent’s coffee shop. Down a boyfriend and a job in forty-eight hours, Alex hadn’t been sure which had been the bigger blow. Everything about this story is […]
The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter (2019) KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in London in 1893. Christiana is in trouble. She got into debt, then her debt was purchased by Kammy Grizzard, and she failed to follow through on what he wanted. She is surprised when two strange men break into her dressing room before Bad Things start […]
Any Old Diamonds (2019) KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys) Set in England in 1895. Alex wants revenge upon his father and step-mother, and he is going to get it however he can. So he decides to seek out the Lilywhite Boys–some of the best jewel thieves in London. Consider me the antithesis of a Romish priest. […]
All the Wrong Places (2016) Ann Gallagher (Bluewater Bay) I needed to read an ace romance, and I feel like I’ve reread them all recently, so this one it was. Brennan is a semi-pro skater who has had terrible luck with all his girlfriends and doesn’t understand what’s wrong with him. Zafir is a single […]
The Fifth Elephant (1999) Terry Pratchett (Discworld #24) Sam Vimes is about to have something really terrible happen to him. He’s about to become an ambassador. “Let me see if I’ve got this right,” said Vimes. “Uberwald is like this big suet pudding that everyone’s suddenly noticed, and now with this coronation as an excuse […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man’s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues This book starts in 2011. Which is important since events changed quickly in the world (specifically the legality of gay marriage). “But,” Kjell continued, his brow still crumpled in confusion, “am I supposed to have card?” It […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling Primal Red Evergreen Black Cat Ink Like Grilled Cheese and Goblins, the story is fun and enjoyable. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of circulation, which meant that every Thursday morning he drove bundles of the free weekly to various locations in the […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This is such a fun book. I mean, supernatural food inspector! Keith could have epitomized the word “average.” Not good-looking or bad looking. Brown hair and eyes. Nothing beyond that to report. He was the kind of man nobody noticed for very […]
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers) Set in England in 1946. Leo Page works for a government agency that kept him going all over the continent–first to try and keep England from war, and then trying to help get them out of it faster. He has no illusions about what he does, and […]
Best Laid Plans (2021) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) This is another story where both characters have dealt with a lot, but we see they learned healthy ways to deal with their shit. He looked at the situation and chose to acknowledge all the dimensions of it. Dimensions (as he thought of them) weren’t positive or […]
Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) One of the things that resonated so strongly with me was the misery of being laid up after a bad break that requires you to stay off your feet. Every day had dilated to a month, every night to a year, and Jack found himself wishing for […]
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in London in 1817 All Courtenay really wants is to see his nephew. But his past (and other circumstances) have made it so Radnor is refusing to allow him any contact. Courtenay was effectively stranded in London, a city populated by people who […]
Rogue Protocol, Audio Edition (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free (Murderbot) Murderbot, Book 3 ART’s official designation was deep space research vessel. At various points in our relationship, ART had threatened to kill me, watched my favorite shows with me, given me a body configuration change, provided excellent tactical support, talked me into […]
Artificial Condition, Audio Edition (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free More Murderbot. 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 […]
All Systems Red, Audio Edition (2017) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free Murderbot. Audio version. I COULD HAVE BECOME a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or […]
Carpe Jugulum (1998) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) Verence and Magrat have invited everyone to the naming ceremony of their daughter. In Lancre, you named children at midnight, so that they started a day with a new name. Unfortunately, everyone means a priest of Om. “A lot of people don’t like me as soon as they’ve met […]
The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in England in 1816 Lawrence Browne is waiting to go mad. In the meantime, he’s trying to be useful, putting his efforts into various inventions, but refusing to let anyone get close to him, for fear of taking them down with him. Penkellis was […]
American Dreamer (2019) Adriana Herrera (Dreamers) This is a reread, and as with the first time through, I really liked everything except the boinking. Luckily, I could skim that–especially since this was a reread. Otherwise, there is much to love about this story, especially the friendships. “Oh my god, Jude Eugenio Maria Fuller! What did […]
Throne of Jade (2006) Naomi Novik (Temeraire) Set in an alternate timeline, 1805 After the Chinese discovered that their treasured dragon egg ended up with an English naval captain, they started insisting Temeraire be returned to China. However, Temeraire will not be separated from Lawrence. First, a major chunk of this book is the journey […]
Kneading You, Joy, The Color of You (2019, 2017) C.S. Poe The Haven Investigation series was excellent, but emotionally rough. So I decided to reread the Lancaster series, for some comfort. No one deserved to lose access to books simply because of where they lived. Kneading You All I did was give a guy tacos. […]
Lords and Ladies (1992) Terry Pratchett (Discworld: Witches) The witches are finally back in Lancre, and Magrat is getting married–much to her own surprise. But it isn’t actually that bad a deal. Verence II was the most amiable monarch in the history of Lancre. His subjects regarded him with the sort of good-natured contempt that […]
His Majesty’s Dragon (2006) Naomi Novik (Temeraire) Set during the Napoleonic Wars, but with dragons. Michael has been listening to the Aubrey–Maturin series, and I wasn’t quite up for that, but decide that a revisiting of Temeraire would fit the bill. Captain Will Laurence of the HMS Reliant does not expect his life to be […]
The Devil in Music (1997) Kate Ross (Julian Kestrel) Set in Italy in 1821 & 1825 I put it off for awhile, but finally read the last Julian Kestrel mystery. I don’t know for certain, but I feel like she knew this would be her final book, and so made sure to give us Julian’s […]
Witches Abroad (1991) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) This is the third book in the witches story arc. Magrat is left a magic wand and the responsibility of being a fairy godmother. Luckily, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg decide to help her out. “Look,” said Magrat desperately, “why don’t I go by myself?” “’Cos you ain’t experienced […]
The Hanged Man (2019) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) Occasionally, it takes time for me to realize how good a book is. Other times, I know it’s good, but don’t realize just how much the story is going to stick with me. The Atlantean World War was brief. The cost was high. Magically radioactive […]
The Last Sun (2018) K.D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) My name is Rune Saint John. I am, before anything else, a survivor: of a fallen House, of a brutal assault, of violent allies and complacent enemies, of life among a people who turned their back on me decades ago. KD Edwards recently published several short […]
Mercy Blade, Audio Edition (2011) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam I love Khristine Hvam’s narration of this series. Every time I reread this series, I like Rick even less. Which doesn’t get better until the Soulwood series, when he finally stops using his looks to get what he wants and grows up. Publisher: Audible […]
Moving Pictures (1991) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) Victor Tugelbend is doing his best to keep from becoming a full wizard–it actually takes far more work than fully passing his classes would be–so he doesn’t expect to be drawn to Holy Wood–the new moving pictures the alchemists have invented. “What’re you supposed to be?” he said at […]
Undeading Bells (2019) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Geez, Freddy, all those old movies you love, maybe work some classic action flicks in there occasionally. I’m more or less a parahuman secret agent and long-time loner on the verge of settling down with someone I really love, which means it feels like fate is […]
Deadly Assessments (2018) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Fear not, small people. Come forth and listen to the great works of Fred and his accounting firm!” Deborah’s voice caught me by surprise. I was so wrapped up in mentally planning for the work ahead that I’d nearly forgotten people often conversed while riding in […]
The Fangs of Freelance (2017) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) “Hold on, do you think I’ve been acting as the face of the company, only to shove the actual accounting onto someone else? How does that make sense, given my career in life? For that matter, who would choose me as the face of […]
Bloody Acquisitions (2016) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) Despite what film and television might have led to you believe, joining the undead does not inherently make one suave, cool, or even particularly more socially competent. Apparently, I need to become a vampire. While in life my reaction speed was always somewhere between “abysmal” and […]
Undeath and Taxes (2015) Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant) Learning about the parahuman world, through virtue of my own death, hadn’t been nearly as disturbing to me as learning there were whole sections of laws, tax codes, and deduction options for my kind. This meant that I’d been doing my job without all the […]
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (2014) Drew Hayes I really adore this book. Without being crass, let me simply say an undead body handles normal food as a human one handles gum. While not built for nourishment, it is capable of disposing of such materials. I was more than […]
Reaper Man (1991) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) DEATH has been let go from his job. SEE! I HAVE TIME. AT LAST, I HAVE TIME! Albert backed away nervously. “And now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?” he said. Death mounted his horse. I AM GOING TO SPEND IT. Unfortunately, the […]
An Unsuitable Heir (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London in 1873 “What does he do?” Pen paused. “He didn’t say, actually. We mostly talked about, well, me.” “No wonder you think he’s charming.” Pen blinked. “You’re an anarchist about the laws of nature?” “I’m not an anarchist at all, same as […]
An Unnatural Vice (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London in 1873 He looked like the sin of angels, like the sweetest fruit at the goblin market, and Nathaniel despised everything about him. Justin stayed upstairs until he heard the door shut. Some people would call it flagrant physical cowardice to leave […]
An Unseen Attraction (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London in 1873 (T)hey said the eyes were the windows to the soul, and Clem didn’t feel comfortable peering into people’s windows. Clem was not a man you could read like a book, or if you could, the book was in an unfamiliar […]
Cards & Caravans (2015) Cindy Spencer Pape (The Gaslight Chronicles) Set in Scotland in 1859 Connor–who had been certain he’d been in love with Wink for decades, has gone off to Scotland. And instantly falls in love. As does the woman he ends up rescuing from being burned at the stake as a witch. Yes, […]
Moonlight & Mechanicals (2012) Cindy Spencer Pape (The Gaslight Chronicles) Set in England in 1858 I have zero memory of reading this story. You’d think I’d have remembered, considering how pleased I am that she put in the many dangerous side effects of a coal-based steampunk society. Every day, Londoners too poor to employ air […]