Digger (2011) Ursula Vernon Published by Sofawolf Press Rating: 8.5/10

Family Man (2017) Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton “You can’t stay with a brand of shampoo, Vinnie. You have commitment issues that have commitment issues.” I worked over fifty hours most weeks. Thirty-four at the restaurant, the most they’d give me, because even one more would require them to give me benefits, and they were […]

A Broken Vessel (1994) Kate Ross (Julian Kestrel Mysteries) Set in England in 1824 “I know you think my life is somewhat lacking in purpose.” “I think you fritter away your time, if that’s what you mean.” “I liked the way I put it better.” “We require them to confess their sins, as the first […]

Cut to the Quick (1993) Kate Ross (Julian Kestrel Mysteries) Set in England in 1823. “If everyone who died with unpunished sins on his conscience came back as a ghost, the living would be crowded out of every home in England.” “You’re cynical. I thought you would be. Can you sneer?” “With terrifying effect.” “Oh, […]

The Unknown Ajax (1959) Georgette Heyer Set in England in 1817 Lord Darracott’s eldest son has died, and now he (and the family) must accept the Major Hugo Darracott, son of Lord Darracott’s next oldest son, who none of met because Hugo’s father was in disgrace. I collect that the weaver’s son is the offspring […]

Work for It (2019) Talia Hibbert (Just for Him) “Everyone said he was handsome, but this is just silly.” “He’s staring a hole into you, Griff. No, don’t look, you donkey. Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?” I finally take my shot and fluff it. “Year 2, you told me to pick up […]

And Everything Nice (2016) Ada Maria Soto “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 are you helping me?” “Because I’m your bro, and bros help bros get laid.” […]

Undone by the Ex-Con (2018) Talia Hibbert Just like that, her mind— and its thoughts— disappeared. She was only a body now. How beautiful that was. After testing and noting down her blood sugar, Lizzie undressed and took her insulin. She’d had a discreet word with the hotel manager yesterday afternoon; now her little fridge […]

Bad for the Boss (2017) Talia Hibbert He turned to his right and found a group of sober-ish women. “Excuse me; I don’t know this girl, but I think someone needs to look after her.” The women blinked at him, then at the girl, and then, as though choreographed, they smiled all at once. “Hey, […]

Upside Down (2019) N.R. Walker “If you do, I’ll be so embarrassed I’ll be forced to quit and move and join the witness protection program.” Merry stared at me. “Siri, what is an overreaction?” “How do you know? You can’t know. That’s an improbable equation, and you’re just guessing and that makes you a lying […]

Small Vices (1998) Robert B. Parker (Spenser) Since my name was anathema at Pemberton, I had to employ guile. I called the alumni office and said my name was Anathema and I was with the IRS. “We have an income tax refund for Ms. Glenda Baker, which has been returned by the postal service. Would […]

Swordheart (2018) T. Kingfisher Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder. “Begin asking unexpected questions until everyone in […]

Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) Stephen was a paladin for the Saint of Steel until that god died, and all his paladins went mad. The remaining seven paladins now serve the Rat, in gratitude for taking them in and giving them some purpose. The Rat’s priests fixed things that could be […]

Bringing Down the Duke (2019) Evie Dunmore (A League of Extraordinary Women) Set in England in 1879. Annabelle Archer has finally earned a place at Oxford. Only now, she has to convince her cousin she deserves to go–despite the fact her doing so will inconvenience him, as he’ll lose his free maid of all work. […]

Unacceptable Risk (2011) Kaje Harper (Hidden Wolves) I really enjoy the world-building around supernatural creatures–especially an individual authors choices when there is so much mythology to choose from. His wolf form was outsized, conserving the mass of his human body, but it would look canine, would X-ray canine. As with several other werewolf fantasies, wolves […]

Heart of the Forrest (2021) Morgan Mason When he was a teenager, Forrest found a wooden heart with the letters A+F carved in it. He didn’t know who it was for, but it made him feel better. So now he’s heading back to where he found the lost heart. Even though he never spoke to […]

Exit Strategy (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! (Possibly I was overthinking this. I do that; it’s the anxiety that comes with being a part-organic murderbot. The upside was paranoid attention to detail. The downside was also paranoid attention to detail.) After escaping mostly unscathed from the discovery that GrayCris had not been terraforming […]

A Haunting at Midwinter (2021) Kai Butler (San Amaro Investigations) Parker Ferro is a supernatural PI. His case seems simple enough–exorcise the ghost haunting a popular rental. But someone has called the cops, claiming a prowler had broken into the house, so now Paker has to deal with a homophobic cop, an alchemist cop who […]

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. Cooper and Park have bought and moved into […]

Interlude: Snow & Winter Collection Volume One (2021) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) This is what it says on the tin: A collection of Snow and Winter short stories. Dopamine: Take Only as Directed Lunch Date Credit Scores and Cohabitation The Ghost of Durango Interpersonal Relationship Studies on the Way to the Coffee House Someone’s […]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper and Oliver are house hunting. “So what do you think of this place?” Park asked. Cooper bit his lip. “What do you think?” Park tilted his head and regarded him. “I think your facial expression says you’d rather be drawn and quartered than put […]

The Ex Talk (2021) Rachel Lynn Solomon Shay Goldstein loves radio–especially public radio–and for the most part loves her job as a producer. What she doesn’t love is her co-worker, Dominic Yun, who constantly mentions his master’s degree in journalism. I’d read mixed reviews about this, so my expectations weren’t especially high. So I was […]

A Wicked Conceit (2021) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby Mystery #9) Set in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1832 Lady Darby is very pregnant at the start of this book, so it was clear she was going to the baby at the end of the book. “Let’s hope she doesn’t end up having the baby in some […]

The Toll-Gate (1954) Georgette Heyer Set in England in 1817. Captain John Staple is bit bored, back from the war, and his mother and sister are pushing him to get married and settle down. (E)veryone seemed to feel that it was time John settled down to a life of civilian respectability. He felt it himself, […]

Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper is mostly (but not completely) recovered from the events in the previous book, but not yet back to work, so when Oliver receives a call that his grandfather has died, Cooper heads north to Canada with him. Things go badly from the very start. […]