What We're Reading

Pat here with the Word Wenches monthly reads!

My contribution is Lizzie and Dante by Mary Bly (Eloisa James)

I imagine most of you recognize Eloisa James as a wonderful historical romance writer. This first contemporary under her real name is a romance, but also heartbreakingly uplifting, original women’s fiction. Lizzie is a Shakespeare professor with cancer who agrees to take an all-expenses paid trip to Elba with her gay best friend, a horror writer, and his still-in-the-closet famous superhero actor lover. I suppose everyone in the book needs to be rich and famous and talented to make up for the fact that the protagonist is dying. She is preparing for death throughout the story. What she isn’t prepared for is the rich life  she discovers dealing with her friend’s frustration, a twelve-year-old looking for a mother, a brash breast cancer survivor, and the man of Lizzie’s dreams, a brilliant cook who creates food she hates but who pours his joy into living. As this family of friends forms around her, Lizzie is faced with actual life-and-death decisions. And this is still the most romantic, tear-jerking, lovely story you may have ever read.

Anne here. I seem to have been on a crime binge, but it only looks like that because I've also been rereading a lot of old favorite books.

Jennifer Ashley/Ashley Gardner - A Soupçon of Poison:

I've been saving Jennifer Ashley's Victorian-era crime series — there are two — for ages, waiting until I ran out of things to read, and was ready for a crime glom. That time came. I'm a fan of her historicals and her contemporary shape-shifters, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed my first taste of her historical crime series. This is the novella that kicks off the series starring professional cook, Kat Holloway and the mysterious Daniel McAdam. There's also a Regency crime series — Capt. Lacey — but I haven't read any of those yet. I thoroughly enjoyed A Soupçon of Poison.

I also read Elly Griffiths. I'm a big fan of her series with the forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway and I thoroughly enjoyed her most recent book, The Locked Room, which is book #16 in the series. If you haven't read her, I recommend starting with the first book in the series, because though each book has a stand-alone mystery, the character development that occurs through the series is wonderful.

 

Pia:

The Helsingør Sewing Club (US title The Day the Germans Came) by Ella Gyland is a gripping story, based on true events that happened during World War II which are not widely known. I was fascinated to learn about the plight of the Jews in a Denmark under Nazi rule, and the enormous risks taken by ordinary Danish citizens to ferry them to safety across the sea to Sweden. They were incredibly brave and it’s fantastic that their efforts are highlighted in this way. This is a dual time novel, and although the main focus is on what happened in the past, I loved the story in the present as well. I was rooting for the heroines of both time lines and hoping that they would find happiness and fulfillment. The author had me turning the pages, on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how events would unfold. Not for the faint-hearted though!

For the past week or so I've been spending time in Alaska, namely in a little place called Lost Harbor where Jennifer Bernard has set a series of eleven books. Each story is a standalone romance, but it helps to read them in order as characters from previous books appear from time to time and the story arc continues. I've become fascinated by life in this out of the way place, seemingly on the edge of the world, where everyone pitches in to help any time danger threatens their citizens. The strong community spirit and the amazing scenery are appealing, and you can't but admire the intrepid spirit of people who live in such a remote location, sometimes snowed in for days on end. The first book in the series is called Mine Until Moonrise and I'm working my way through the rest.

 

Andrea: I’ve been in an Anglophile state of mind this month, and greatly enjoyed two very different books set in London (though one of them also has much action taking place in the rebellious American colonies.) 

On reading the blurb for The Right Sort of Man, the first book in a historical mystery series by Allison Montclair, I wasn’t sure that it would be my cup of tea—two ladies decide to start a matchmaking agency in 1946 London amidst the rubble of the war-weary city. Well, I am so glad I gave it a try because I absolutely loved it! The two heroines are wonderfully interesting. One is a former intelligence operative who enjoys thumbing her nose at every rule of society—she drinks, she swears, she’s having an affair with a married man. The other is an aristocratic war widow recently released from a sanatorium after having a breakdown over the death of her husband. Casual friends, they both find they need some sort of distraction from the their personal demons . . . and so the mismatched pair start their agency. Alas, one of their first clients ends up murdered, and it seems the person responsible was the man they matched with her. But they think the police have got it wrong and set out to find the real culprit. The dialogue is wonderfully sharp and funny, and the characters have rich depth and texture. I highly recommend it. (I am already glomming book two.)

The Howe Dynasty, by Julie Flavell, also features strong and interesting women. It’s a really fascinating, well-researched non-fiction history of the Howe family and how the women of the clan worked behind the scenes to further the careers of
their male relatives—General William Howe was one of the top commanders of the British Army in charge of quelling the American rebellion, and his brother Richard Howe was the top admiral in charge of the naval war. The story gives a wonderful peek into the highest circles of society, and how influence and politics worked on a very personal level. (One of the many great tidbits is learning that Caroline Howe invited Benjamin Franklin to play chess with her . . . which was a cover for arranging secret talks with allies of her brothers for how to prevent war between America and Britain. A very interesting book!

 

Mary Jo here. While I've always enjoyed fantasy novels, I've generally not been a fan of vampire books: the whole cold undead thing and drinking blood is so squicky. (At least werewolves are warm and furry!)

So it was a surprise to find myself enjoying Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series.  I found I really liked her voice when I read The Bright and Breaking Sea, which is a fantasy version of the Napoleonic era with a heroine is a magically Aligned royal navy sea captain.

Since I liked that novel, I cautiously decided to try Some Girls Bite, the first Chicagoland vampires novel, when it showed up on sale.  I liked that story, too.  This is not a doom and gloomy vampire world where the fanged go around ripping people's throats out.  It's more like a college frat house with gorgeous looking vampires who have terrific cheekbones. <G>  They are generally great dressers (black Armani is very popular) and they almost always take care of their need for blood with a refrigerated box delivered by a company called Blood4U.

The stories are narrated by Merit (which is her last name, since she dislikes her given name.) She was working on her PhD in English literature at the University of Chicago when she was attacked one night on the university quad.  She wakes from chaotic dreams three days later to find that she had been attacked by a rogue vampire and would have bled to death if vampire Master Ethan Sullivan hadn't been nearby.  

Ethan saved her life by turning her into a vampire, but it was done without her consent and she is ANNOYED when she wakes up and realizes how completely her life has changed.  She's kicked out of graduate school, has a fatal allergy to sunlight, and is now part of Cadogan House, since Ethan is master of that house.  He recognizes that she's unusually strong so he appoints her Sentinel of Cadogan House, and all of a sudden she's being trained in all kinds of martial arts, including the use of a Japanese katana sword.  

Plus her roommate and best friend, Mallory, turns out to be a sorceress, which is as upsetting to Mal as becoming fanged is for Merit.  The action is fast moving but not gruesome, there's plenty of humor, and we can follow along as Merit displays her passion for chocolate and traditional Chicago junk food.  (Merit's vampire metabolism means she can now eat whatever she wants without getting fat. A major plus for being changed!)  All this along with an intense and unwanted attraction between Merit and Ethan.

If you think you'll like a bookish vampire chick with a passion for her city, Chicago deep dish pizza, and hot beefs, this is the series for you. Best to start with book 1 since the characters, relationships, and story arcs all evolve as the series goes on.  

We've all been glomming each other's recommendations and several are free and discounted, so take a look. Then tell us what you've enjoyed recently!
 

Comments

[Ruchama Burrell]

Thank you for the great ideas for great reads. I found Lizzie and Dante at my local library and The Day the Germans Came for 99cents via US Kindle. I'm an addicted reader always looking for more. You are a great source.

[Deb Tait]

I’m really interested in The Right Sort of Man but unfortunately it’s $25 AUD for the Kindle version. This sometimes happens in Australia, something to do with geo pricing. It will probably come down in price one day.

[Mary M.]

My pick this month is an unusual coming-of-age novel, Mary Jane: A Novel by Jessica Anya Blau. The title character is a 14 year old girl, from a priggish Southern country-club family, who gets a summer nanny job that plops her in a (1970s or so)semi-hippy family the exact opposite of everything she's always known. Yet they (the precocious little Izzy, her psychiatrist father and amorphous mother, and a rock star addict patient and his movie star wife) turn out to be wacky, wonderful, and worthwhile human beings who learn as much from Mary Jane as she learns from them. At first I couldn't imagine myself finishing the book, but I ended up grateful to have joined the family on a bumpy but heartwarming ride through a magical summer. Highly recommended.

[Binnie Syril Braunstein]

I'm reading "The Dog I Loved." The author is Susan Wilson, who writes exquisitely about dogs and their sometime heart-rending interactions with their persons. I've long been a fan of Wilson and have read and own most of her books. Her novels usually have a romantic element, but the key relationship in each book is between dog and person. she's on my auto buy list. The book I just finished is Close Up, which is the fifth book in Amanda Quick's Burning Cove" series. She definitely "gets" the 1930's. It's easy to get lost in the lure of soignee long gowns and sexy speedsters, i.e., automobiles like Cords. I've already pre-ordered the next one, which may be the last in the series.

[Constance]

So happy to see Lizzie & Dante recognized here! Stories that make one weep (sob!) and smile at the same time have been thin on the ground for me lately, but this one got me through a thankfully mild bout of Covid. Also read Woodston the Biography of an English Farm by John Lewis-Stempel, a nature writer. It’s the story of the farmland that’s been in the author’s family for hundreds of years - but the “biography” begins in Paleolithic times and covers the climactic, mechanical, and human changes that have affected this patch of land up until now. It’s a fascinating and engaging read for any Anglophile or anyone with farming in their family history. I’m gifting it to several family members. Thanks, as always, for sharing your latest reads - and increasing my TBR list/pile!

[Lil]

I've started reading Anthony Trollope's Can You Forgive Her? and am relishing the slow pace of a book that I can dip into whenever I have time. It's lovely to sink into a slower world where nothing seems to be rushed. And since my copy has more than 800 pages, I can make it last as lone as I like.

[Lil]

That should be "as long as I like"
I need a copyeditor

[Constance]

Lil, I absolutely love Trollope and Can You Forgive Her? is my favorite. Many years ago I was commuting twice a week for three hours each way, and listened to all of Trollope (on cassettes!) during those years. You are absolutely right about the joy of the pacing. Few writers can build a sense of yearning as beautifully as he!

[Patricia Rice]

You're welcome! Being intense readers ourselves, we know the hunger for really good books and try to provide!

[Patricia Rice]

Sigh, yes, Anne has already screamed and bemoaned this fate. Although I think she discovered one of the other books mentioned was a lot cheaper there than here in the US. We'll never understand what publishers intend with this insanity!

[Vicki L]

My eye read it as you had meant to write it...Grin.

[Patricia Rice]

Oh yes, I remember that one! It was something lovely and different. Thank you for mentioning it!

[Patricia Rice]

Hi, Binnie! I've not heard of Wilson, so thanks for that. And yes, Quick has moved into a historical zone I can really get into these days!

[Patricia Rice]

Ah, a book to add to my TBR stack, thank you!

[Patricia Rice]

wow, 800 page! No one is allowed to do that these days. I remember trying Trollope long ago. Maybe it's time to try again, thank you!

[Patricia Rice]

ditto here. Our brains know what should be there!

[Vicki L]

I have a short list this month. I did read a bunch but...a lot of rereads and a few mehs and some I'm too tired to read. Grin.

Two more Anna Jacobs books - A Valley Dream and A Valley Secret #1 & 2 in a trilogy. I am very much enjoying this series. It is set in the mid 30's in the north of England. Each women has gone through struggles and has now inherited a house. More struggles and lots of personal growth, finding family and their own personal hero's. I'm waiting for the 3rd book to come out in May.

The rabbit hole the 2nd book sent me down was about Churchill's Underground Army and the resistance networks that were set up for invasion right after Dunkirk in WWII. That was extremely fascinating. Churchill and many other leaders in England were positive they would be invaded and wanted to be before hand and have their networks in place before the invasion took place.

The resistance units in many ways ended up being the precursor of the SAS. Training was done at Coleshill House (which burned down in 1956 or so). However there is a website that has lots of interesting information about the training and what was done there during the war.

All the Anna Jacobs books I've been reading over the last 6 months have made me really think about what England was like from 1900 to 1950. All the disruptions the depression, 2 wars, Spanish Flu created and how it impacted England's development. The personal losses and cost of the wars.

A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver was a Mary Jo recommendation from Jan. One of the book blurbs said "Filled w/wry humor, tight suspense and a delightful cast of characters'. Which says it all. Very enjoyable read and will read on when the next book comes out.

Revenge in Rubies - A.M. Stuart. 2nd book of her murder mystery series set in 1910 Singapore. Just as good as the 1st one. Enjoying the development of the main characters as well as the British community in Singapore. This time the mystery opened up the insular world of military units. Can't wait for the 3rd one.

[Jeanne Behnke]

Wow - What a great bunch of books this month! I feel like I need to print this column out so I can check them all out. I'm still in the middle of my Richard III immersion. Sharon Kay Penman books are hefty reads but so good. I'm about 30% of the way in.

[Patricia Rice]

nice well-rounded selection! People seemed to prepare better back then but nothing can really prepare us for that level of tragedy. Let us hope we won't see it again!

[Patricia Rice]

we haven't figured out any way of creating a printable list, sorry! But Penman is a worthy immersion, have fun!

[Patricia Franzino]

I just read "The Impossible Imposter" by Deanna Raybourn in her Veronica Speedwell series.

It's another great addition to what I hope continues for a long time.

I wanted to choke the character of Harry, who I also hope does not return in the future.

[Michelle H]

I've been a Jennifer Ashley fan for quite awhile but haven't started this series. I have read a Capt. Lacey book, loved it enough I wanted to acquire more before getting going again, and now need to go back and reread book #1 again. :) I am not familiar with any of the other authors, and some genres there I'd usually avoid but all sound quite inviting.

I (as usual) made a resolution to read a lot (no numbers, just a lot) from my TBR pile this year and I've been more successful this year so far, than others. I'm also trying to step out of my usual genre comfort zone, without as much success as I'd hoped yet. It's a beginning.

I'm still working on my beloved Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris. I tend to savor those, taking a break after each one and with a huge sigh of relief realizing I have plenty more to read yet.

I read Mimi Matthews' The Siren of Sussex in February, just recently, which I loved. Attacking my TBR, and enjoying some comforting rereads, I'm still really really drawn to read the new books coming out, especially by favorite authors. Two steps forward, two steps back.

[Patricia Rice]

I haven't read that one yet but I do love her books!

[Patricia Rice]

it really is difficult to step out of one's comfort zone, isn't it? I like downloading free books from Bookbub to check out new authors and possible genres. Of course, my TBR stack is unhealthy.

[Kareni]

Since last time ~

— The Lost Book of Adana Moreau: A Novel by Michael Zapata for my distant book group. This was an intriguing read that started like a fairy tale but then went all over the place; it bopped around from the 1920s to 2005 and then to the 1930s and back. It had a lot of sadness.
— Masquerade in Lodi (Penric & Desdemona) by Lois McMaster Bujold which I quite enjoyed. If you choose to read this fantasy series, you should begin with Penric’s Demon.
— the young adult science fiction Earth Girl by Janet Edwards which I quite enjoyed. This had an intriguing premise; it was set on Earth in 2788 at a time when most of the inhabitants are handicapped. They are considered handicapped because they cannot survive on the other planets that humanity has settled. I would like to read on in the series but my library has only this book…sigh.
— quite enjoyed the contemporary romance, All the Feels by Olivia Dade.

— enjoyed the contemporary male/male fantasy romance Blindspot (Daydream, Colorado Book 1) by A. M. Rose.
— very much enjoyed a reread of the science fiction m/m/+ romance Bone Rider by J. Fally; this book has a lot of violence but also tenderness.
— read Fireworks by Sarina Bowen; I enjoyed this but it is not amongst my favorites of the author’s works. The story is darker than one might expect from the description.
— enjoyed the historical romance novella The Threefold Tie by Aster Glenn Gray which featured a polyamorous relationship. I learned some information about the Oneida Community which the characters visited and discussed. It was a religious group that believed in communal property and practiced group marriage from 1848 to 1881; when it disbanded the community became a company that many know today for its silverware.
— enjoyed The Book of Firsts by Karan K Anders (a pen name of author Andrea K. Höst). This is explicit and very unlike Höst’s usual young adult novels thus the different name.

— Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which my local book group discussed. What an interesting story! Often I read my book group books as though they are assigned reading, but this proved to be quite gripping.
— quite enjoyed the fantasy Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher; T. Kingfisher is a pseudonym used by children’s book author Ursula Vernon for her books for adults. The author has a dry wit, and I laughed a lot while reading this.
— enjoyed the contemporary male/male romance Fair Isn’t Life by Kaje Harper.

— Paladin’s Hope (The Saint of Steel Book 3) by T. Kingfisher was a fun fantasy. While it could be read as a standalone, I think it works best to read the series in order.
— I was able to get some books via interlibrary loan so quite enjoyed Earth Star and Earth Flight by Janet Edwards. Be aware that the reader must be willing to suspend disbelief!
— a very short book, I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser. This had a variety of entries many of which were poignant.
— the contemporary romance Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen; I enjoyed it but it’s not amongst my favorites by the author.
— just finished The Dry: A Novel by Jane Harper which my distant book group will be discussing soon. A mystery is a very atypical book for my group; I found it a gripping read and finished it in two days. And, no, I didn’t guess the murderer.

[Janice]

I didn't read much of interest to this crew in January, but there were one or two.

I read Stranger at the Cottage by Mary Kingswood, the next to last book in her Strangers series. I like her writing very much; it is filled with little details of the characters' thoughts, and even when they're in love, they're not overcome by lust and they think about other aspects of their lives and events. Her writing is at once soothing and intriguing.

I'm halfway through Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron, the first in her Jane Austen Mystery series. I really dislike Jane Austen pastiches; the ones I've sampled before didn't (to my mind) understand her characters or replicate her style, and some took Austen's stories in directions she'd never go. But I am enjoying this one; Barron has caught Austen's style pretty well, and the footnotes are fun. I don't know if I can accept Jane Austen, Detective, but she does seem to have been a close student of human nature and maybe she really would have insights that might lead to a killer.

After that, I have the latest Jane Ashford waiting, and that should be fun.

[Christina Courtenay]

Have started Some Girls Bite and loving it so far, Mary Jo! Thank you for the recommendation :-)

[Patricia Rice]

As always, I enjoy the diversity of your reading but most of all... your organization in keeping track of it all! Thank you for these!

[Patricia Rice]

I'm with you on the Jane Austen copycats who just use the name to sell books and forget the reason she's so popular. I'll have to take a look at this one, thank you!

[Patricia Rice]

I'm holding mine until later but I've started The Right Sort of Man. Very snappy dialogue

[Karin]

I'm a bit late, but I can report I did a lot of reading last month.
I loved A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver! Looking forward to the next book.
I rarely read contemporaries, but somehow I have managed to read several of Annika Martin's books, and they are so entertaining. The latest was "The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl". Please note the hyphen placement in the title, it's a wake-up call service, not a call girl!
"The Vanishing" by Jayne Ann Krentz-another of her typical romantic suspense books, with a touch of the paranormal. I've been reading her for so long, her books are good comfort reads for me.
I did a reread of "My False Heart" by Liz Carlyle. A really meaty historical with complex characters, of the type that used to be written a couple of decades ago. I wish she hadn't retired, I loved her books.
I am currently reading "The Siren of Sussex". Simply beautiful writing and a sweet and satisfying love story by Mimi Matthews. I read everything she writes.
And I am also reading "City of Lies" by Victoria Thompson. I was in the middle of her previous Gaslight Mystery series, but my library didn't have the next one I wanted, so I started this new series. It's set in the U.S. in the early 1900's. The main female character is a con artist, and while on the run she falls in with a group of suffragists who get arrested while picketing in front of the White House. Anyone who enjoyed "A Familiar Combination" should love this, it's a fast moving story with lots of adventure, and I can't wait to see what happens next! Good historical details too, about the suffragists and what they suffered while hunger striking in prison.

[Patricia Rice]

Oh, you've hit on a lot of my favorite authors! I was wondering about Vicki's new series but hadn't got around to snagging it yet, so thanks for the reminder. My TBR is now nicely stacked again!