What’s the book you’ve read in the last six months that you simply couldn’t put down?
For me, it’s Ninth House. Smart, engrossing and entertaining as hell. What about for you?
Similar Posts
the ask@AAR: What was the last book you bought?
I don’t buy a lot of books–I am the romance reader version of Billy Mack: I became the Publisher of AAR and now they give them to me for free! But despite having thousands of unread books on my TBR, I continue to purchase new ones. Some are books I find on my daily Steals…
Twitter said AAR is the worst. Is it true?
Last Thursday, October 26th, was not a good day for AAR. By the day’s end, many on Twitter—romance authors among them—had tweeted and retweeted accusations that AAR and its readers are racist, sexist, and ablest.
the ask@AAR: What percent of your romance reading is re-reading?
I’m always slightly irked at the number of books Goodreads says I’ve read each year. In 2024, the app says, I’ve read 52 books but that’s incorrect. I’m sure I’ve read at least twenty-five more books but they’re all re-reads which don’t count. I love re-reading beloved books. I find them comforting. In the past…
the ask@AAR: What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?
As Covid, more or less, recedes in its every day impact, people are socializing. All over the place. This makes me happy–as an utter extrovert I love get togethers. I’ve so missed gatherings and parties. I was recently at a soiree in my building and we started talking about great parties we’d attended. I confess,…
PEN PAL by J. T. Geissinger, which is an incredibly good mashup of romance (hot guy arrives to fix the roof), psychological suspense (unreliable narrator who is very cagey about how her husband died), gothic horror (the leaky, creaky house with flickering lights and objects that move by themselves), and the completely unexplainable (what’s with these letters the heroine keeps getting from an inmate at the state penitentiary?). I gulped it down in a couple of days and resented anything that kept me getting back to it. PEN PAL is definitely more “romance adjacent” than a standard romance and the HEA is an extremely qualified one, but I couldn’t stop reading it, wondering how all the pieces fit together—and when I finished the book, I went back and reread certain parts again, seeing how Geissinger played fair but kept me guessing. I do recommend not to go looking for spoilers—part of the fun of reading a book like PEN PAL is trying to figure out where it’s going. Highly recommended—but it’s best to go in blind.
My most recent one was an audiobook – Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper. It’s the second book in her Life Lessons series, which is about a high-school teacher (Tony) and a closeted cop and single dad (Mac). The mystery and romance elements are perfectly balanced and are intricately linked when a murder victim turns out to be the mother of the little boy that Tony has been a dad in all but name to since he was born. There’s a lot more to it than that, but it’s a real gut-wrencher as they have to deal with the repercussions of being in a secret relationship (Mac is firmly in the closet and doesn’t want to come out) while Tony is fighting for custody. The narration by JF Harding is outstanding and I listened to the almost ten hours of it in one day, it was that gripping. (Books 1 and 3 are also great, and book 4 is on the way, but this particular one really grabbed me.)
In print – Nicky James’ Elusive Relations, The Doctor by C.S. Poe and whichever book in Cole McCade’s Criminal Intentions series, I happen to be on have been unputdownable.
Looks like you are getting through your backlist Caz! I’m a fan of Kaje Harper’s work and Life Lessons was the first series of hers I read. Glad you enjoyed it.
Audio is my preferred catch-up method as I rarely have time to get to backlist books in print. Life Lessons books 1-3 have recently come out in audio (with a fantastic narrator) and the fourth is on the way – I’ve been snapping them up!
Not surprisingly, Caz listed three books I would have picked, Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper, The Doctor by C.S. Poe, and Elusive Relations by Nicky James. All three are middle books within a series that should be read in order. All three authors have build believable relationships, detailed settings, and intricate plots, while successfully balancing the different aspects of the book.
One more book stands out for me: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James. her writing is beautiful. From my review: “In essence, this is a character-driven murder mystery with a paranormal backdrop and a romantic subplot, and the parts are extremely well balanced.” I listened to the audiobook narrated by the excellent Mary Jane Wells.
I can never do just one, so I’ll give you my best, most engrossing/entertaining novels in categories.
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller is my best historical romance read in a very long time. It’s set in 1870s Vienna and has a smart, capable heroine and a determined, but still kind of beta in the Biller way, hero and it charming and lovely and just every adjective. I feel a bit bad for mentioning it, as the book isn’t out until 2023, but I want to help build buzz for this wonderful book. So sorry, not too sorry.
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean is my YA pick. Think the Princess Diaries, but with a Japanese American teenager who finds out she’s the daughter of the Crown Prince of Japan. Witty and delightful. I zipped right through this one.
Poster Girl by Veronica Roth – My SF title. Described as a dystopian mystery, it is that. But it’s also a thoughtful and gripping exploration of surveillance culture and how it can go so wrong. The protagonist, Sonya, was a teenager whose family were participants in the ways in which the governmental power, The Delegation, ran things before the regime was toppled. So much so that Sonya’s image was used on their propaganda posters. When the government fell, collaborators were imprisoned, including Sonya. But now she’s been given a chance to make things right and perhaps earn her freedom. Moody and gripping and excellent.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – My fantasy title. If you haven’t read this cozy, heartwarming, fantasy novel about an orc who retires from the barbarian horde life to open a coffee shop, you must do so now. (oh and there is a f/f romance too).
The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz – This is my mystery best – though admittedly the mystery is not super mysterious. A young woman returns to her father’s hometown in Mississippi and starts to question what she knows about the day her father, a Black poet and a civil rights activist, died. I enjoyed this for the atmosphere and setting and exploration of the long-lasting wounds left by racism in the Mississippi Delta. This has a measured pace, but by using multiple points of view, Benz draws the reader into the world the characters inhabit.
In romance, The Last Eligible Billionaire by Pippa Grant.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, mentioned below.
The Henri Davenport series (fantasy/steampunk/detective) by Honor Raconteur:
Magic and the Shinigami Detective
Charms and Death and Explosions (oh my!)
Magic Outside the Box
Breaking and Entering 101
Three Charms for Murder
Grimoires and Where to Find Them
Death Over the Garden Wall
This Potion is da Bomb
In rereads, most of the SF Liaden Universe novels & stories by Lee & Miller.
In romance, there hasn’t been much I couldn’t put down. One title that fits that description is the SF romance Dark Class by Michelle Diener – but it is #5 in a series. The Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong is shelved as a thriller but contains an enemies/friends arc that some could consider romantic suspense. I did race through all eight (?) books. And an odd, short novel recently released by Katie Hafner called The Boys kept me engrossed. It has no romance but was entertaining.
This post certainly isn’t limited to romance!
I think I knew that but given 1) this is a romance site, and 2) I sometimes recommend things that others would not consider a romance, I thought it best to be clear. 😉
I should have been clearer initially!
I was really gripped by Pat Barker’s Regeneration Trilogy. I started the first thinking it might be a bit of a chore but read all three very quickly. WW1 poets and psychiatrists talk about shellshock is apparently very appealing to me!
I read this a few years ago and found it a compelling epic of the Great War. The first book especially, much of it about the issue of shell shock and its treatment, beautifully captured the time and place and how deeply the War affected all aspects of life. I think Barker’s interweaving of historical and fictional characters was extremely well done. She makes you care for them all, real or imaginary, gay, straight, or bi-, doctor or patient.
Yes, exactly! And she does it all in such restrained language. It’s extremely impressive writing.
I’ve had more free time than usual in the past 6 months. Memorable and outstanding reads I could not put down:
R.F. Kuang – Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution: Dark academia. Language in translation. Imperialism. Magic. Colonialism. Never read a book like this before. This story made me think and feel deeply. An important work which IMO should be included in various undergrad social sciences course syllabi.
Alicia Cameron – Katerina and the Reclusive Earl (Sisters of Castle Fortune #3): Although not explicit, Katerina could be considered on the autism spectrum. A completely wonderful story that I don’t want to spoil by explaining too much. If you love any Regency, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, etc. this story is a MUST READ. I look forward to reading again. This quote in the context of the story is hilarious and after finishing the book I found myself giggling a number of times remembering this line. ‘For now I am afraid she cannot be my companion wife. It seems inevitable,’ he said, somewhat sadly, ‘that there will be children.’ Read series out of order…which was fine.
Madeline Martin – The Librarian Spy: Pleasantly surprised by how well the story was interwoven between the two female MCs. Deftly handled.
Anne Renwick – The Iron Fin (The Elemental Web Chronicles #3): Worldbuilding and mythological elements were unique.
M. L. Wang – The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story. Riveting, stunning, cried buckets of tears.
Jan Ashton & Julie Cooper & Amy D’Orazio & Jessie Lewis: A Match Made at Matlock: A Sequel to Pride & Prejudice: Superb Jane Austen fan fiction P&P sequel. Focused on pairings in addition to ODC.
Michelle Diener – Rising Wave series. (Agree with @nblibgirl Dark Class series is very good.)
Becky Chambers – Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3)
Hailey Turner – The Prince’s Poisoned Vow (Infernal War Saga #1)
T. Kingfisher – Nettle & Bone
Freya Marske – A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding #1)
Jasmine Silvera – Death’s Dancer/Dancer’s Flame (Grace Bloods #1 and #2)
Rachel Reid – The Long Game (Game Changers #6)
Adriana Herrera – A Caribbean Heiress in Paris (Las Leonas #1)
Tracy Sumner – The Wicked Wallflower (Duchess Society #3)
Lauri Robinson – Marriage Or Ruin For The Heiress (Osterlund Saga #1)
I’ve had a year of pleasant but mostly unmemorable reads. The standout is Robert Goddard’s Painting the Darkness, which is old (1980s) and unfashionably descriptive for today’s tastes but it was a luscious audiobook experience (helped by Michael Kitchen’s exquisite performance). It’s historical mystery/suspense with a twisting plot, vividly drawn characters and a cinematic level of detail that brilliantly evoked 1880s London.
Daisy Jones and The Six, audio version. I know I’m late to the Taylor Jenkins Reid party, but holy cow, so good!
I LOVED that book on audio AND in print. I can’t wait for this!
I’ll go back a little farther than 6 months (8 months) to The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (which I saw as a #DIKlassic review and thought looked intriguing). It led me to pick up everything she wrote in her Oxford/Time Travel series in print – just absolutely fascinating, unable to put down science fiction books. So good, and so grateful that it was originally reviewed here or I’d never have heard of it!
Oh yes, she is a treasure!
Her Bellwhether, unconnected to any other books, is my benchmark of frantic office comedy (though very dated, nearly a historical by now).
And her short stories are masterworks.
Thanks! I’m sure I’ll read all of her works in the next few years
Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard.
Compelling story, amazing character descriptions, unique voice – a book where – in a certain way – very little happens, and yet, I could not put it down.
An Emperor and his Secretary, or Prime Minister, a look at their long careful cooperation and friendship, a crumbing Empire being rebuilt in a more equal way, succession planning, minorities and their place in society, so many wonderful aspects, family and position, recognition and misunderstanding, no romance, just a story of the Secretary and his life, and trajectory, beautifully told.