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 […]

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, […]

A Restless Truth (2022) Freya Marske (The Last Binding, #2) Set in England and across the Atlantic Ocean in 1909 There was a parlour game: one stared at a tray of objects before it was taken away, adjusted, and placed back in front of one’s eyes. Some things added. Some things removed. Robin was excellent […]

A Marvellous Light (2021) Freya Marske (The Last Binding, #1) Set in London in 1908 They left Miss Morrissey in a halfway tidied office. At a certain point in the re-filing process, she’d given up all pretence that she wasn’t seizing the opportunity to impose order on what seemed to have previously been a rather […]

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 […]

Proper English (2019) KJ Charles Shropshire, 1902 The table was inevitably unbalanced, due to the odd number and informal make-up of the party, with two sets of brothers and sisters to be separated plus the married couple. “I’m so sorry. That’s wholly inadequate but I don’t know if there’s anything else one can say.” “Not […]

Subtle Blood (2021) KJ Charles (Will Darling Adventures #3) Set in England in 1924 Lord Arthur recently became notorious for the killing of man-about-town Johnnie Cheveley in shocking events at Lord Waring’s ancestral home. No blame was attached to Lord Arthur by the Coroner’s jury. “They commended him, you shits,” Will growled at the paper. […]

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 […]

Slippery Creatures (2020) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures, #1) Set in London in 1923 “My grateful nation wasn’t grateful enough to give me a job. I pawned my medals to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly, and I’ll tell you what, the Military Cross doesn’t fetch a great deal, […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling Lulu’s Flapjack Shack inhabited a space that had certainly been continuously used as a hospitality venue since linoleum had been invented. “Mass media doesn’t cover actual vampire deaths,” Keith remarked before he realized how callous his statement sounded. “Have you seen a […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 Cinnamon Bun Book Store (2024) Laurie Gilmore (Dream Harbor #2) Hazel Kelly is about to turn 30, and is starting to feel like she’s been wasting her life, doing nothing more than managing a bookstore in the small town where her family lives. She’s certain that the town flirt would never be interested in […]

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 […]

Bidding for the Bachelor (2021) Jackie Lau (Fong Brothers #2) Cedric Fong was a success with his first book, but hasn’t been able to get further than chapter 5 on anything he’s started since. Brian Poon is a party boy whose father cut him the previous year after learning he dated men as well as […]

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 […]

Paladin’s Faith, Audiobook (2023) T. Kingfisher narrated by Joel Richards (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.) Shane wondered if there was a term for feeling guilty […]

Paladin’s Hope, Audiobook (2020) T. Kingfisher narrated by Joel Richards (The Saint of Steel #3) I think I’ve finally figured out why I find this story so disappointing. It’s not that it’s a bad story, because it isn’t. The problem is that it doesn’t really match the rest of the series. For one, it’s significantly […]

Paladin’s Strength, Audiobook (2021) T. Kingfisher narrated by Joel Richards (The Saint of Steel #2) “Do you have a name?” he asked. “I do. Do you?” His lips twitched. “Yes?” “Excellent. We are both named beings.” “You will treat her well.” “Yes, ma’am.” “You will not beat her.” “No! Certainly not!” “You will not make […]

Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker 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. Sometimes you have to listen to the silences. When things aren’t said. That’s where […]

Paladin’s Grace, Audiobook (2020) T. Kingfisher narrated by Joel Richards (Saint of Steel #1) “What in the name of the little household gods is that?” “An abomination,” said Stephen. “I believe the cook called it gravy.” “Gravy is not that color.” “I did not say the cook was correct.” “Can we burn them at the […]

Swordheart, Audiobook (2018) T. Kingfisher narrated by Jesse Vilinsky “Begin asking unexpected questions until everyone in the conversation starts doubting their senses. It’s a talent. Like some strange form of diplomacy that goes so far in the wrong direction that it comes out the other side.” “I am the servant of the sword,” he said. […]

Hen Fever: A Sapphic Victorian Romance (2022) Olivia Waite Set in England in 1856 The Bickerton Christmas Poultry Show is the event of the year, but one that has driven apart the citizens of the town. They’d been fast friends once, until they’d caught the fancy. Now rumor was Miss Inch had trained her Pinwheel […]

Curio (2024) C.S. Poe Llewellyn and his aunt Julia run the Curio Cabinet Sunday between noon and six o’clock was basically when Curio made any money at all—lockets with broken chains, weathered vintage postcards, vinyl records sans sleeves, and creepy doll heads missing one eye were the bad decisions locals made after one too many […]

Where Serpents Sleep, Audiobook (2008/2015) C.S. Harris narrated by Davina Porter (Sebastian St. Cyr) Set in England in 1812. Oddly, on the same day, the book I was listening to and the book I read both had passages about the murder of Prime Minister Spenser Percival. I prefer the “solution” presented in the other book […]

An Unexpected Gentleman (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) Set in the early 1800s in Scotland All Adelaide Ward wants is to marry for the security of her family: her sister, her nephew, and (probably) her brother. And if doing that means marrying Baron Robert Maxwell, she is willing to do so. But Connor Brice wants […]

Nearly a Lady (2011) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) Set in England and Scotland during the regency, after the wars with Napoleon. Gideon Haverston has returned home from war with both physical scars and mental ones. Gideon shifted his weight to his good leg, pivoted, knocked the barrel of the rifle away with one hand, and […]

Waiting for the Flood (2015/2024) Alexis Hall (Spires) This is both a reissue and a revision, with Marius’ story–Chasing the Light–added, along with bonus material and an epilogue short story. I wanted (and this is straying perilously close to analysing my own work so please take this with a mine full of salt) to explore […]

What Angels Fear, Audio Book (2005/2014) C.S. Harris narrated by Davina Porter (Sebastian St. Cyr) Set in England in 1811 A young actress has been found horribly murdered, in St Matthews of the Fields’ Lady Chapel, and a deuling pistol with Viscount Devlin’s device on the trigger guard. I am so far behind on this […]

Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental. Though if you do know of a criminal plot involving werewolves that has taken place at any of these locales, that is a coincidence I would love to know about. I love that Cayla–and Coopers interactions with her […]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) It’s the random, unexpected passages that delight me. And then there were the days—not many, but memorable ones—Cooper had come home unexpectedly or woken up a little earlier than usual to find Park “in fur” sticking his considerably longer nose into those impossible-to-reach places while […]

Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper meets Oliver’s family. It goes worse than expected. And one was expecting it to go badly, what with it being a funeral. Cooper put the guidebook down and cleared his throat. This was getting ridiculous. “Did you tell them I was coming?” Park blinked […]

The Wolf at Bay (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) I love the beginning of the book so much. “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 been married for thirty-two years, and […]

The Wolf at the Door (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) “It’s a standing joke around the Trust that the real reason behind the coming-out was to combat the number of public indecency charges wolves rack up every year.” “You’ve got exactly twenty-seven hours and then I’m coming in there and trimming you down,” Park […]

Damaged Goods (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood) The worst thing about Samir’s parents—worse than the cruelty, the manipulation, the toxicity—was the fact that Samir had loved them. You would think, with the number of awful things she’d done in her life, that they’d all blur together. But she remembered every desperate, acidic moment. Those two words […]

A Girl Like Her (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood) Avoiding conflict was his mode of operation. They’d taught him that at basic training, once they’d figured out his hair-trigger temper. Always avoid conflict. “No,” she interrupted. “But you don’t need to cook for me.” “I do,” he said calmly, “because if you die of malnutrition just […]

Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) Galen is one of the broken paladins of the Saint of Steel. Like his brothers (and sisters) in arms, he works for the White Rat, and does his best to be helpful. He was one of the two paladins who survived Hollowbind, and the guilt sometimes […]

Paladin’s Strength (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) For some reason, every time Galen said”Boss” to Istvhan I kept thinking of Loiosh from Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. “What are you afraid of, Boss?” “Shut up, Loiosh.” “What if she kills you, Boss?” called Galen. “Then either avenge me or put her in charge. […]

Think of England (2014) K.J. Charles Set in England in 1904 (Peakholme) 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. “It was a damned business. My company […]

Proper English (2019) K.J. Charles Set in England in 1902 If Pat stayed, she would continue running Skirmidge House, and either she would resent Olivia for treating her as an upper servant, or Olivia would resent her for usurping her rights as head of the household Pat did not corset. She had had no mother […]

Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) The Rat’s priests fixed things that could be fixed, and when things were broken past all mending, they helped people pick up the pieces. “Gentlemen,” said Beartongue, “I forbid you to smash the Archon’s decor and try to duel with it.” “Yes, your holiness.” “I’ll have […]