What We're Reading—October

Anne here, hosting this month's What We're Reading post. As always there's a lovely range of books for all tastes. And just a reminder -- these are not promo posts; they're genuinely what we've read and enjoyed in the last month. 

We'll start with Pat, who says: I'm on a hunt for light-hearted, humorous, feel-good books these days, so I'm over the moon when I find one.

180 SECONDS by Jessica Park qualifies, even though I suspect it's probably called a New Adult romance since the protagonists are in college. But this isn’t about the normal trials and tribulations of overworked, under-loved students. The protagonist Allison has been in foster care all her life, until she was adopted by a gay dad when she was sixteen. She’s closed off, shut down, prepared to peel out of the life of anyone who gets close. She does her best to avoid people entirely. She wants to love her adopted dad, who is a real gem, but she can’t even open his care packages. And then in one freakish moment when she’s forced herself to go into town, she’s caught up in an internet video where she has to stare at a boy for 180 seconds. That scene alone is worth reading the book. Esben, the hero of this story, is almost too good to be true, but he has his major hidden flaws as well. The romance is a rollicking ride of self-discovery and interconnectedness of the internet and how it drives the lives of these kids. So, it’s almost fantasy, but it’s fun fantasy. For a feel good read, try this one. 

Mary Jo read and recommends  David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter Series & Dogtripping

David Rosenfelt is a humorous mystery/legal thriller writer who really, really loves dogs.  (He has also has a thriller series that looks a little dark for my tastes.)  The Andy Carpenter stories have a very specific template: Andy is a New Jersey defense attorney who inherited a lot of money so he doesn't have to work, which is good because he is dead lazy and really hates working.  He loves sports, his golden retriever Tara, and Laurie Collins, the love of his life, an ex-cop/private investigator who is way more dangerous than Andy. 

As I mentioned, he hates work, but every now and then he takes on a case, invariably because of some kind of personal connection to the accused.  Against almost impossible odds, Andy wins the case and celebrates with his teams in his favorite sports bar.  <G>  The stories are fast moving and fun, if you don't mind very efficient hit men killing off fairly anonymous characters before they can become witnesses for Andy's case.

But the most fun book of all is Dogtripping, Rosenfelt's non fiction account of how he and his wife Debbie moved from California to Maine.  They are both dog fanatics and they ran a rescue organization in Southern California, particularly oriented to golden retrievers.  They placed many dogs in good homes, and when dogs were unadoptable because of age or infirmity--they took those dogs home with them.

Which is how they ended up with 25 personal dogs that had to be transported to their new home in Maine.  Most were old, some were ill, some were blind or otherwise unlikely to be adopted by anyone else.  What all the dogs had in common were that they were large.  (One of them, Wanda, was an English mastiff the size of a Shetland pony.

Dogtripping is part Rosenfelt trying to figure out how to get All Those Dogs to Maine, interspersed with short chapters on how individual dogs came into their lives.  For example, Tessie was tied in front of a shelter with a note that said she was 14 and a great dog, but the owners were going on vacation and didn't want to pay to board her.  You can imagine how Rosenfelt reacted to that! He and his wife adopted Tessie and she lived four more happy years.  There are lots of lovely little stories like that. 

The book's tagline is "25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on our Canine Cross-Country Adventure," which is about how their odyssey played out.  Maine was chosen for their new home because no one else was within barking distance.  <G>  All the dogs made it safely, the volunteers had a wonderful time and thanked David and Debbie for the opportunity to have such fun--and David was a total nervous wreck. <G>  But he and his wife and his rescue dogs are now living happily ever after in Maine. 

If you like dog stories, have fun with this one!

Nicola says: A couple of weeks holiday this month gave me the opportunity to catch up on lots of different sorts of reading. I had a definite yen for psychological thrillers so picked up The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, which was a twisty page-turner with an unreliable heroine. I followed this up with JD Robb Apprentice in Death which I found compelling but very stark.

One of my favourite reads was Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It’s a bittersweet love story about Arthur Less, whose younger male partner has walked out on him to marry someone closer in age. Arthur’s adventures, as he tries to run away from his midlife crisis, are funny and sweet and I derived a lot of entertainment from the fact that Arthur is also a less-than-successful literary novelist. I really enjoyed this one.

I’ve also been re-organising my bookshelves and re-reading some of my keepers. I came across The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts and thought it had stood the test of time pretty well (it was written in the mid-1990s). I’d forgotten it had some spooky overtones as well, which made it perfect for a Halloween time of year. I loved the renovation of the haunted house and learning about the Battle of Antietam – as well as the hot romance!

Andrea says:  I’ve been combining mystery with romance in my reading this month, and was delighted to glom up the latest books by two of my “auto-read” authors!

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Robert Galbraith’s newest Cormoran Strike mystery novel. It’s been a long time coming (J.K. Rowling was busy with screenplays—pout, pout!) However Lethal White proved well worth the wait. I love how she writes such richly complex characters, full of vulnerabilities but also elemental strengths that they don’t always recognize themselves. The twisty plot weaves together questions about family, love, betrayal, memory, and to what lengths one is willing to go to protect one’s public persona. Both Strike and his partner Robin Ellicott, are dealing with troubles in their personal relationships, as well as the challenges of their expanded PI agency. They take on a case for a very high profile politician and then, well, things get complicated. What I particularly liked was the way she developed the bonds of friendship between Strike and Robin, who has a lot of self-confidence issues. It’s lovely, and the resolution of the layers-within-layers mystery is really gripping. It’s a “softer" books than the others in the series—at heart I think Rowlings is a real romantic . . . and this shines through. Plus the resolution of what the title means is a wonderful end twist! I highly recommend it (but it’s best if you’ve read the others in the series to appreciate the character development.)

I also raced through Susanna’s new book Bellewether! I always love her settings and the way she weaves in the dual time stories, but this one was particulaly fascinating as it’s set in my neck of the woods. (I live right on Long Island Sound so look across at Long Island on my daily walks.) The French and Indian Wars, which is the time slip era, is also really interesting. I’ve always wondered why Colonial America isn’t more of a popular era—it has so much rich history and challenges for characters. The modern part features a museum and the heroine is a curator, so I was doubly hooked! This, too, is a book about families . . . and how they deal with loss, and with the complexities of love. It’s a wonderful read, weaving together history and fun inside look at the workings of a small museum. And as always with Susanna’s books, there’s unexpected twist at the end!

Susan says: A little old, a little new this month in my reading pile, starting with Rhys Bowen's Twelve Clues of Christmas, the sixth installment in her Royal Spyness mystery series featuring Lady Georgianna, a delightfully curious and gently impoverished member of the royal family in 1930s Britain. This time, Georgie is part of a house party at Christmas time as murders start to pile up in the village with an eerie holiday theme. I'm a big fan of this clever series, with its wonderfully evocative atmosphere of England in the '30s, and in this one, the Christmasy detail and solid characters, along with the growing romance between Georgie and a yummy Irish lord, make for a jolly read indeed. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the late Katherine Kellgren. Just wonderful. 

I'm as likely to pick up an older read as a newer one sometimes, particularly when life gets very distracting and there's little time to focus on reading. Recently I returned to Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile on the Sandbank--my ultimate plan being to read the first couple of these again for a jump start to reading the later books in the series that I still haven't gotten to yet. The brilliant and straight-backed Amelia Peabody and big, blustery, equally brilliant Emerson are some of the best characters in historical mystery, and I find details of 19th c. Egyptian archaeology, and ancient Egypt, endlessly fascinating. Reacquainting myself with this series is not just pure enjoyment, it also rates as a comfort read just when needed! 

Like Andrea, I'm reading Robert Galbraith's Lethal White, but have only just started it I'm a big fan of this extremely intelligent and beautifully crafted series (Rowling is amazing!). I'm an equally huge fan of the BBC production, C.B. Strike, of the same books. Well worth it, if you feel inclined.   

Joanna here: I'm always on the lookout for cozy mysteries that carry me away from the worry and turmoil of the real world. I have found a series that's warm and light and clever. I'm so happy. Best of all, this new-to-me author has a splendid backlist that will keep me curled up happy in my chair for who knows how long. 

Donna Andrews writes almost local to me. Her mysteries are set in various spots in southern Virginia. I keep recognizing places. The amateur-detective protagonist, Meg Longslow, is an iron worker. A blacksmith. A wielder of hammer and tongs. We are treated to her small-town-and-most-of-these-weirdos-are-related-to-me life.  

Probably a lot of you already read Andrews. If not, why not start with Murder with Peacocks, which seems to be the first in the series. Meg copes with three weddings, peacocks, and a murder. What's not to like?

And lastly it's me, Anne. I've been reading Christina Lauren, a new-to-me author duo who writes fun contemporary romances set in the USA. So far I've read Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, and Roomies.

In Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, Hazel has been smitten with her best friend's brother for years. She's an outspoken chaotic klutz, he's incredibly smooth, so she knows it will never work. Hazel's answer is to keep Josh very firmly in "friend" territory.

Roomies is a green card/marriage of convenience story. The heroine has a crush on a brilliant busker. When her uncle needs a new musician for his smash hit Broadway show, she takes him to hear the busker. But he's an Irishman whose green card has expired. 

Several of the wenches (Pat, Susan) have recommended these books, and I'm joining them. And I'm glad to note that Christina Lauren has a nice long backlist.

I've also been rereading some of my comfort reads, in this case Eva Ibbotson — Magic Flutes, A Countess Below Stairs (sold as A Secret Countess in some places) and The Morning Gift. These books never get old. Their new covers have been designed to appeal to young people, but believe me, these are books for adult, and lovely ones too.
 

So, over to you, O wenchly readers — what books have you read and enjoyed in the last month?

And, also . . . HAPPY HALLOWE'EN.

Boo!

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Janice]

The most interesting books I read this month weren't romances - they were The Fire Came By, an old account of the Tunguska explosion and investigation that reads like a novel, and Live Long and ... by William Shatner, which is not an autobiography (he's done that) but a book about what he's learned about life and himself.

For Halloween I reread Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer, this time with an eye to recent criticism from modern day readers about the depiction of mental illness. It's Heyer's only gothic and has some of her most delightful secondary characters in Sarah Nidd and her father in law (a knowing old gentleman).

The chatter about The Death of Lyndon Wilder and the Consequences Thereof by E. A. Dineley and its linked book Castle Orchard intrigued me. She apparently had novels in the trunk, and I wish she'd publish more; she gets the 18th century mindset that is missing from so many Georgian/regencies done today. I like her style.

[Sue McCormick]

I haven't done much reading this month. I'm still deeply into unsnarling the HOE TOs of genealogical DNA. So I'm re-reading selected Nora Robert's books (even earlier than the McKade story mentioned above) and most recently Susan Squires' Children of Merlin series.

And I'm making notes (thorough notes) on Blaine Bettinger's "The Family Tree Guide to DNA and Genetic Genealogy." I'm now ready to type up and print out the notes on the first five chapters, so I can have them in reach as I tackler my 84 pages of genetic matches.

[Mary T]

I have already started doing my Christmas reads. So that means that I am revisiting some of my favorites. Grace Burrowes' LADY SOPHIE'S CHRISTMAS WISH, some short stories by Mary Balogh and Barbara Metzger. THE CHRISTMAS WISH by Emily March is a new read of a recent release - her latest in the Eternity Springs series.

My only other new read lately is ONE PERFECT ROSE by Mary Jo Putney. Not quite finished with it yet. It's one of those books that is so good you don't want it to end. It will be joining my comfort reads.

Thanks to Susan for the suggestion of THE TWELVE CLUES OF CHRISMAS by Rhys Bowen. It's been a while since I've read one of her books. I'll check it out on Amazon.

[Beverly Abney]

I have enjoyed reading David Rosenfelt ever since the first "Andy" book and have even met him. I hope Pat's recommendation will introduce him to many new readers.

I have read Donna Andrews and enjoyed her mysteries and am happy to be reminded. I will have to check if she has some new ones I haven't read. I mostly read by author and sometimes I need reminding.

[Kareni]

Read in October:

— Laura Spinella’s Echo Moon: this book had a decidedly ominous vibe but was not too frightening for me to read. (I definitely avoid horror as I like to sleep peacefully at night.) It’s the third in a series, and I recommend reading these in order.
— The Plastic Magician (A Paper Magician Novel) by Charlie N. Holmberg: while the story stands alone in the sense that it introduces new characters, I think one really needs to read the previous books in the series in order to best understand the world.
— browsed through Jessica Pigza’s BiblioCraft: A Modern Crafter’s Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects which was a rather meaty book. 
— RR Haywood’s Extracted (Extracted Trilogy, volume 1): The premise of the book was interesting (time travel has made the world go awry, so use time travel to retrieve heroes at the moment of their deaths so that they can go forth and save the day); however, …. There were parts of the book that I think were meant to be amusing but struck me as silly. Also, the book ended with a huge cliffhanger. That said, I read the whole book, so it was somewhat compelling.
— Lights and Sirens by Lisa Henry: This was an enjoyable Australian set m/m contemporary romance featuring a police officer and a paramedic. It had more depth than many of the romances I’ve recently read; it also had some humor which is always appreciated and a lot of Australian-isms.
— The Bureau: Volume 1 by Kim Fielding which is a collection of three linked and separately published paranormal novellas, Corruption, Clay White, and Creature. I enjoyed all of the stories though Creature was my favorite.

— I enjoyed browsing through The Art of Creative Watercolor: Inspiration and Techniques for Imaginative Drawing and Painting by Danielle Donaldson for inspiration in advance of my monthly art gathering.
— read and enjoyed Mating the Huntress: An Interracial Romance by Talia Hibbert which is a contemporary paranormal romance with an amusing tone.
— finished Bones (Gothika Book 2) which is an anthology of works by Kim Fielding, Eli Easton, Jamie Fessenden and B.G. Thomas. All four stories deal with voodoo, and I actually feel like I learned a bit about a religion of which I knew little. That said, I don’t think I’ll be in a rush to re-read this.
— a memoir dealing with autism; it was a relatively easy read ~ Bad Animals: A Father’s Accidental Education in Autism by Joel Yanofsky.
— If you’re in the mood for a book about people doing kind things for strangers, I’ll recommend Jim DeFede’s The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland which was an enjoyable read.
— Not A Mistake (Hot Under Her Collar Book 1) by Amber Belldene is a contemporary romance that I enjoyed. What’s novel about this romance is that the heroine is a minister, and the author is herself a minister. 

— with my husband, listened to Sleeping Giants (The Themis Files Book 1) by Sylvain Neuvel which proved to be enjoyable. It did leave us with questions, and I see now that the book has two sequels. I might read on.
— listened also to Moriarty: A Novel by Anthony Horowitz and got about half way through the book. I don’t have a desire to hear more, but my husband continued on and enjoyed it. He was massively surprised to the point he said he considered re-reading. He’s more of a Sherlock Holmes fan than I am.
— enjoyed a re-read of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison which is a fantasy I recommend for adults and teens.
— read The Last Days of Night: A Novel by Graham Moore for my book group; it was an enjoyable historical novel.
— read Sheri Cobb South’s Peril by Post (John Pickett Mysteries) which is the most recent book in a pleasurable historical mystery series. This is a series that should definitely be read in order. [The first book in the series is In Milady’s Chamber.]
— also enjoyed the author’s free short story, Tales out of School, which precedes the novel above.
— read and enjoyed Heidi Cullinan’s historical male/male romance A Private Gentleman though there is one big issue that strains credulity. Trigger warning for sexual abuse of children.

— I quite enjoyed Idyll Fears: A Thomas Lynch Novel and Idyll Hands: A Thomas Lynch Novel which are the second and third books in a mystery series by Stephanie Gayle. These are set in 1997 Connecticut and feature a chief of police who happens to be gay.
— read Empire of Bones (Book 1 of The Empire of Bones Saga) by Terry Mixon. (If you happen to have Amazon Prime, this is in their library of books.) I’m a bit surprised to see that the rating on Amazon for this book is about 4.5 out of 5.0, as I was not overly impressed.
— re-read (yes, again) Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor and also S.K. Dunstall’s Linesman trilogy.
— Tessa Dare’s enjoyable historical romance The Governess Game was an entertaining read
— Outbreak: A Nightshades Novel by Melissa F. Olson; I enjoyed the book (the third and final book in the series), but this is another series that should be read in order.
— re-read (yet again) Anne Bishop’s Lake Silence. While this could stand alone, I’d recommend starting with the author’s other series which begins with Written in Red.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Janice -- some varied and interesting reading there. It's been years since I read Cousin Kate, and it was never one of my faves, but it might be interesting to go back and have a reread. I hadn't heard that talk about it, but it bugs me when modern readers expect authors of the past to have a modern understanding of some issues.

Thanks too for the E. A. Dineley recommendation. Sounds interesting.

[Anne Gracie]

Sue the whole genealogy thing boggles my mind. I have a good friend in the US who is DEEP into it and the stuff she digs out is amazing. And you, with your 84 pages of genetic matches -- wow, is all I can say!

There must be something in the air with the old Nora Roberts books — I've been rereading her Chesapeake Bay series.

[Anne Gracie]

Mary, I do love a Christmas story. I haven't started my Christmas reading yet, but you might have inspired me. I've already bought some of the wenchly recommendations this month, including Susan's Rhys Bowen recommendation, but I might delay the Christmas reading a little. It's been ages since I read Mary Jo's One Perfect Rose and it might be the perfect time for a reread. Thanks.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Donna, I think it was Mary Jo who recommended David Rosenfelt, and she's certainly enthused a few of us here. I've also bought the first Donna Andrews one and am hoping to become a fan.

[Anne Gracie]

Wow, Kareni, as always a long and comprehensive list of books you've read. Thanks so much. I've made a note of some that intrigue me.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Thank, Mary T! I think it's one of my strongest books. (But I'm probably biased. *G*)

[Karin]

I read "Untie My Heart" by Judith Ivory, and what an amazing writer she is! I can't believe I've missed her until now. Her powers of description are amazing, and the story is funny and sexy with fantastic characters. The plot involves a confidence games, and is very clever too. So basically, this book has everything.
On the opposite end of the spectrum(sweet vs. spicy) I read a Betty Neels book, "A Christmas Romance", which was a quick read, but just the escape I needed during the horrible events of this past week. Lots of lovely descriptions of food and rides in the countryside, and a hero who whisks the heroine away from all her problems, typical Betty!
I enjoyed my first Anne Cleeland book so much that I picked up another one, "Tainted Angel". Both the heroine and hero are career spies, and not necessarily always working for the same side, so I think it would appeal to Joanna Bourne fans. Very twisty plotting, lots of doublecrosses, a page-turner.

I read Nicola's 2nd book, "The Phantom Tree" and really enjoyed the melding of past and present, historical fact and fiction. I'm so glad that authors are delving more into the Tudor era which is so fascinating and full of great stories!
I have also been enjoying a trilogy by Sharon Cullen, set during the reign of Elizabeth I, called All The Queen's Spies.

And right now I am reading an older book of Mary Jo's, "Petals in the Storm". I don't know how I had skipped over it before, since I adore the Fallen Angels!

[Anne Gracie]

Karin, you've listed some lovely books there. I haven't read that particular Judith Ivory — thanks for the jogging of the memory. I think you've summed up the appeal of Betty Neels books perfectly, too -- they pretty much all follow the same pattern, but when that's the kind of escape you're after, they never fail.

[Michelle H]

I have a birthday in Oct., and some sweet people gave me Amazon gift cards so I felt 'flush' in the book budget dept. So I've been treating myself to some of my ginormous wish list/s. I read Mary Jo's 'Once a Rebel,' and wow did I ever love the hero and heroine of that book (not to mention the wonderful plot.)

I also read a Georgette Heyer, 'Bath Tangle' which I had not yet read, (yes, I amazed myself and went for a new one instead of a reread) (because when I'm in the mood for Heyer, I am in the mood for a comfortable old favorite.) I loved it by the way, even though I could see the ending from far off, but not how she was going to get the H&h there. Speaking of Heyer I have yet to read 'Cousin Kate' so I need to look at that one next.

I've been scoping out my collection of Christmas books with an eye to planning my attack, but haven't started yet. However, I have read or listened to a few mysterious/spooky reads this month. I'm a bit behind since here it is Nov. 1. But I read Joana Starnes, 'The Darcy Legacy' which has some ghosts that provide a number of alternately quite touching and quite hilarious scenes and a near-death poisoning mystery as well. Joana is right up there in my top 5 JAFF authors. I've also listened to a couple of Regina Jeffers mysteries from some years back, still have one to go, both of which are grim and gritty surprising because they too are Austen fan fic. The series starts with 'The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy.' I'm a fan of Jeffers' Regencies as well as her fan fic.

To finish up with the Halloween tie-in theme, as in ghosts, I am rereading for the (?)th time Karalynne Mackrory's 'Haunting Mr. Darcy' which obviously I love. And if the Christmas book pull isn't too strong yet I may get to rereading Anna Campbell's 'These Haunted Hearts' a wonderfully spooky very short story. And M.C. Beaton's 'The Ghost and Lady Alice.' whose 'hero' isn't very heroic until the end, and I don't reread it every year but I still have a great fondness for it.

Lastly, I started listening to the audio versions of Anne Gracie's Brides series, and I'm on 'The Spring Bride.' I'm loving this series, these heroes and these heroines, the sisters, the butler, and let's not forget Aunt Bea. What a great series.

[Kareni]

I'm curious, Michelle. What is a JAFF author?

[Janice]

Jane Austen Fan Fiction, I think.

[Kareni]

Thank you, Janice. My mind didn't go in that direction.