Finally, I finished Money. A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams. That it took me so long isn’t a reflection on the book. It’s an excellent overview of the history of money, of how currency facilitated trade, connection, and development. It also covers a bit about current and future issues (ahem, crypto).
Now, I’m reading Killing the Dead by John Blair. It’s all about vampires (and some other undead) across time and place. Different cultures, similar preoccupations. How do we handle fear, death, and otherness?
Speaking of (or to) the undead, I discovered Mercury Raine: Ghost Broker by Sarah M Eden and was beguiled by its ghostly premise. I need to read book 2!
I also enjoyed an older Mills & Boon romance, Hitched! by Jessica Hart with upper class characters, but genuine warmth and emotional growth. It felt more like a condensed chicklit novel than a category romance.
It felt like I had to wait for ages for Echoes of Insurrection by TA White. It wasn’t actually that long, but it felt like it because the Firebird Chronicles is such a great science fiction series (with magic!) and one I enjoy re-reading. It was wonderful catching up with the characters and encountering new mysteries and twists to the story. When’s Book 7? 😉
I also enjoyed Squib by Helen Harper which is a spin-off from her Cat Lady urban fantasy series. Really solid world-building and engaging characters. I liked the romance plot a lot, too.
Vanessa Nelson released the fifth book in her Fractured Conclave series. This is a fascinating world. The sense of the strangeness that creeps in with isolation weaves through the series. An Uneasy Peace (great title) was an excellent read.
As a special post-Christmas gift (and one that respects our empty wallets) today is Stuff Your Kindle Day! There are loads of free books.
I’m linking to Romance Bookworms for the complete list. I’m thrilled to be part of this event. My contribution is a free copy of Alien Haunts (free till Dec 28 on Amazon).
Merry Christmas! I hope you have a joyful, peaceful festive season – with lots of books!
I’ve had a good reading month this December.
It kicked off with Book 5 in the Beware of Chicken series by CasualFarmer. It wasn’t my favourite of the books. That remains Book 1. But it was enjoyable to return to this heartwarming fantasy world.
Still in the progression fantasy zone, I enjoyed the latest Iron Tyrant series novel by Seth Ring, Falling Gold. It was easy reading with some interesting developments.
Lauretta Hignett started a new series with A Little Bite. It was short and sassy with an opinionated young heroine.
I also had a re-read binge of Jamie Bennett’s contemporary romances. She does slow burn well and often reduces me to tears with her Cinderella heroines. You could start with any of her books. Defending the Rush is good if you like football, and if you like football romances, I picked up Penny Reid’s Homecoming King as a free book and found it one of the more enjoyable marriage of convenience novels I’ve read (and a bit sexier than Jamie Bennett’s books).
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey is the first book in a YA urban fantasy trilogy. I enjoyed it, but oddly, I’m satisfied with it as a standalone and don’t feel the need to read the next two. From their blurbs they take twists that don’t appeal to me. Great world building in this book.
I anticipated reading Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop for months, and while it deals with tough issues of domestic abuse and general nastiness, the Wyrd is fascinating and the twists and turns of the plot and how it weaves together is so good.
A Courtship of Dragons by Alanna Cole was pure cozy fantasy, and an enjoyable, imaginative read.
I re-read the Towerbound litrpg series ahead of the release of Book 4, and found that Book 4 lived up to the others. I like the compassion at the core of this gritty series, the compassion and found family and the sense of justice and hope.
Also, Rogues Lie (book 3 in my Caldryn Parliament series) is out on Saturday!!! I am so excited.
A whisper campaign threatens Vanda Kavanagh’s hard-won position as Warden of Caldryn Parliament, but are the malicious rumors a personal attack or do they mask an uglier plot?
As Vanda investigates, long-hidden truths are revealed leading her to question everything she believed about herself.
In a city steeped in magic and political intrigue who can Vanda trust?
Teaching Magic by Alanna Cole is a fantasy novel set in a magic academy, but focused on the faculty rather than the students. The world-building is immersive and the character-driven plot excellent. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I hadn’t even finished it when I pre-ordered her next release, A Courtship of Dragons.
It’s been a few years since I read Helen Harper’s Highland Magic series and I enjoyed revisiting it. You can find the boxset here.
I must have been on a bit of a British kick this month because I also read Celine Jeanjean’s London’s Edge urban fantasy series. Why aren’t there more hyenas in fiction? Plus, I listened to a couple of episodes from the British comedian Tom Allen’s new podcast/YouTube show, Pottering. Jo Brand is a delight, as always!
I think I can best describe the books I’ve read this month as “meh”. Some I finished. Many I DNF’d.
I can recommend Domination by Alice Roberts. I’m reading it slowly, enjoying both the history of the early Western Christianity church and its interweaving with political power and Professor Roberts’ style.
Since I don’t have any other books to recommend this month, I thought I’d mention a couple of podcasts.
If you’re interested in an author’s experience of publishing, with a focus on traditional publishing and the soul-sucking, disappointing reality, Dave Wragg is a guest on the SFF Addict podcast talking about the midlist death spiral. He’s a little bit sweary. It’s a good, honest account of the author experience.
For interesting science discussions enlivened by a guest comedian, the Infinite Monkey Cage hosted by Brian Cox and Robin Ince. Any episode! They’re all great.
I had a great reading month this August. Here are the highlights. Please, share yours!
Hedesa by Rachel Neumeier – the 10th book in her Tuyo series. The first book in this series and the ninth, Rihasa, are my favorites, but Hedesa has the same thoughtful, immersive quality to the storytelling.
The Ninth Element by Sara Hatami – the first book in the Legend of Nohvan series. I’m not actually a big fan of trial fantasies, but the world building is solid and the protagonist’s insecurity compelling.
Towerbound by Samson Chui is the second book in a regression LitRPG series. The current rash of books where the protagonist starts out by dying/failing but then gets a chance of a do-over while retaining all their knowledge from the first time around fascinate me. This series, which celebrates the underdogs, is one of my favorites. There’s a roughness to the storytelling that suits the Scrap Rats, but it’s the compassion in the story that appeals to me.
Ilona Andrews published The Inheritance, which they’d previously shared in instalments on their website. It hit number one in the Kindle Store, which is awesome. It proves there are multiple paths to market. It’s also, simply, a great read. It’s a dungeon crawl with a mom as the protagonist … and I’m not sharing any spoilers!
I discovered that some of Phyllis A Whitney’s modern (as in written a few decades ago) gothic romances are in Kindle Unlimited and I went on a bit of a reading binge. I don’t love all of them, but they’re worth checking out. Hunter’s Green has a young American woman struggling to rescue her marriage to an English aristocrat in the Swinging ’Sixties.
Alex Karne released a new isekai novel (a Marine transported to a new world) that promises to be a series. It’s a little bit sweary and violent, but also funny and with a core of kindness and respect for Marine values. Magic Murder Cube Marine.
In non-fiction I read Homo Criminalis: How Crime Organises the World by Mark Galeotti which was fascinating for exploring the very blurry line between legal and illegal activity in different times and places. I’d already read his book The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia and I thoroughly recommend it.
I also added a few things to the website. Most importantly, Ghosts Cry, the fourth book in the series is available for pre-order.
I have added three new character pages: Landry Alsop, Francesca Razon (manager of the Caldryn Parliament press office) and Acacia Morrison (CEO of a luxury concierge service and woman of mystery). And a new location: Toady’s.
A few weeks ago in a fantasy group someone asked for non-fantasy book recommendations and I immediately thought of To The Hilt by Dick Francis. It’s a mystery/thriller from 1996 (I’m not sure if his son, Felix, co-wrote it). It’s a relatively recent book, but I’m still going to include Dick Francis in my Golden Age mystery author list because he has that style. His heroes are confident in themselves and the rightness (even righteousness) of their actions. The stories are also immersive. You live and breathe the (generally) horsey world.
Phoebe Atwood Taylor (who also wrote as Alice Tilton) is an American Golden Age mystery author. I particularly enjoy her books from the 1940s. Written during the war, they convey a sense of the world then without losing any of her appreciation of the absurd. Check out File for Record.
Talking of insight into WWII, Margery Allingham (one of my all-time favorite Golden Age mystery authors for her beautiful writing) wrote The Oaken Heart to explain to American readers the nature of life in England in the early years of the war. Tiger in the Smoke was my introduction to Margery Allingham’s writing and it is an awesome book. This is post-war London; damaged, smoky, enduring, and glorious. The characters are superb.
Before anything else I have to say a HUGE thank you for reading, reviewing, and supporting me with your kind comments and messages during Hexes Fly’s release week. You are awesome!
I hit a few books that were just … almost worth finishing. I finished them, but I was underwhelmed. Some books I DNF’d. Hence my happy dive back into old favorites.
Fortunately, my non-fiction read was awesome. I thoroughly recommend Inventing the Renaissance: Myths of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer. It’s a long book, meticulously researched, and written with passion and humor. It’s setting me rethinking a lot of my historical assumptions—and some of my current day ones, too. Excellent book!
