I appear to have broken my reading slump. In a pretty profound way. We’ll see if it lasts!
Books
Donut Fall In Love
Jackie Lau
Contemporary Romance M/F
An up-and coming movie star hires a baker to teach him how to bake before he goes on a baking reality show. This was a very sweet story about two Asian-Canadians with both similar (each has lost one parent) and different (immigrant v not) family experiences. Lau’s writing is very cerebral — there’s not a lot of sensory detail, which is what usually embeds me in a story — so I doubt I’ll reread it, but I enjoyed it.
Count Your Lucky Stars
Alexandria Bellefleur
Contemporary Romance F/F
Olivia and Margot were best friends growing up, but they drifted apart after one magical romantic week and a boatload of misunderstanding. Eleven years later, Olivia is planning a wedding Margot is in when her apartment floods, and they pick up where they left off — but they have to solve those misunderstandings. The third book in a series, this is delightful and funny and also hot.
Something to Hide
Elizabeth George
Contemporary Mystery
I’m always leery when a white person writes about something like FGM, because the temptations to white saviorism, voyeurism, and bigotry are legion. That being said, this book, the 21st in the Inspector Lynley series, handles it well and complexly. At the same time, I read series like this for the development of the through-line characters, and there wasn’t a lot of that here.
The Bastard’s Betrayal
Katee Robert
Contemporary Romance M/F
This is the first book of the 2nd generation of the O’Malley series. (Let’s not think too critically about how much this book seems to exist in the same technical world as the 1st generation.) Rose, the heir to the Romanov mafia family in New York, has been dating a sweet civilian, Dante, who turns out not to be a civilian at all. In fact, after her parents discover this fact, she’s promised in marriage to the head of a different crime family — except that Dante kidnaps her first. The book turns on how Rose can thread the needle of crime family politics, fight against the ingrained gender stereotypes that threaten to leave her out of things, and still have the boy she loves. Also? Sexy as hell.
Electric Idol
Katee Robert
Contemporary Romance M/F
The modern city of Olympus is ruled by The Thirteen. One of The Thirteen, Aphrodite, has dispatched her son Eros, who she’s raised to do her dirty work for her, to kill Psyche to get back at her mother Demeter. Only Eros can’t bring himself to do that, so he marries her, thinking that’s the only path to safety. Only the fake marriage turns real, and they still have to outwit Aphrodite. Like all of Robert’s books, it’s extremely hot.
This Side of Murder
Anna Lee Huber
Historical Mystery
Verity Kent is invited to a house party celebrating the engagement of her late husband’s friend. The other attendees are all survivors of the same fighting group her husband died in, and there are mysterious currents she doesn’t understand — that get even more mysterious when some of the attendees turn up dead. This was recommended to me because I love between-the-wars British cozies, but the first book didn’t grab me. I’m not sure I’ll venture further.
Goldie & the Bears
Hannah Murray
Contemporary Erotic Romance M/F
Lia rented a beach house for a week so she could film enough content to get her Only-Fans-like business off the ground. Unfortunately, Mac and his two married best friends — and sometimes fuck buddies — have also reserved the cabin. It turns into a delightful sex romp with M/M, M/F, M/M/F, and M/M/M/F pairings that still ends in a delightful HEA. Also? One of the best books I’ve read on consent.
The Paris Apartment
Lucy Foley
Contemporary Suspense
Jess shows up to her brother’s Paris apartment, only he’s not there to greet her, and the cat is covered in blood. The other residents of the building, which is an old maison turned into apartments, all seem to know something, but no one is telling. I’ve loved some of Foley’s other books, specifically The Guest List and The Book of Lost and Found, but this one didn’t grab me.
Feast of Sparks
Sierra Simone
Erotic Romance (?)
Prosperpine, Auden, St. Sebastian, Beckett, Rebecca, and Delphine once spent a magical summer running about Auden’s family’s country house while their parents laughed and drank and entertained one another. But when the summer was over, the families scattered. Years later, the six of them are gathering again, with all of the intervening history — and they’re reenacting the obsessions of their parents. Honestly, I have no idea how to characterize the genre of this book — it’s erotic, kinky, and romantic, yes, but it’s as much about religion, paganism, and mysticism as it is anything else. First of a four-book series, and the images stayed with me long after I hit the last page.
TV
The Gilded Age
HBO
I honestly can’t get over Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon playing old-money New York sisters. Other than the actress who plays Marian, I love all of the acting in this show, and it’s doing a great job of showing not only upstairs-downstairs drama a la Downton Abbey, but also highlighting some of the racial issues at a time when Brooklyn was an enclave for well-off Black New Yorkers.
Wheel of Time
Netflix
Yes, again. This time with subtitles, which helped us catch a lot more detail that had been obscured by accents, background noise, and general dim lighting in the camera work. (It’s always interesting to me how much not being able to see affects my ability to hear.) Still love it. Still looking forward to season 2, whenever that happens.
Rereads
The Language of Bees
Laurie R. King
Historical Mystery
Holmes’ lost son reappears with a missing wife and daughter. When the wife is found murdered, Russell and Holmes have to solve the case before the police mistakenly arrest Damian. The first of a two-part narrative that intertwines British mythology with bee husbandry, cults, and astronomical observations.
The God of the Hive
Laurie R. King
Historical Mystery
Russell and Holmes solved the mystery of who killed Damian’s wife — but they don’t yet have enough evidence to convince the police. When Holmes’ god-like brother Mycroft turns up dead, it seems like there’s a whole additional layer of the mystery they have to solve for. Second of the two-part narrative.
Garment of Shadows
Laurie R. King
Historical Mystery
Russell and Holmes are in Morocco, brought there separately by Mahmoud Hazr. Only Mahmoud is missing, so is Russell … and so is Russell’s memory. One of my favorite of the Russell/Holmes books for the evocation of Morocco and the return of the Hazr brothers, but the ending is more convoluted than most of the books in the series.
Trade Me
Courtney Milan
Contemporary Romance, M/F
A girl from a poor, immigrant background trades houses, work, and bank accounts with the son of the founder of a major hardware corporation. A lot of shenanigans — and a lot of swearing — ensue. This book is full of characters in the best sense of the term, from Tina and Blake themselves to Blake’s foul-mouthed father and Tina’s immigrant activist, outspoken mother.