March was one of those reading months when I had trouble deciding what to read and getting into books and then reading those I do pretty slowly. I started some books and put them aside and could not decide what I was in the mood for. I hate it when my brain decides to do that! (Anyone else have those issues?) But, I did do some reading this month:
Inheritance by Nora Roberts (M/F paranormal romance): This is the newest para-Nora book and the first in a new series. Sonya inherits a fortune, including an old house on the Maine coast from an uncle she never knew existed with the stipulation that she must live in the house for a certain period of time to inherit. She doesn't know—and then takes a while to believe—that the house is haunted and the family is cursed. I loved the paranormal aspects of the story, and the characters, especially love interest Trey and Sonya's best friend Cleo. I'm looking forward to the next. (And as an aside, if anyone wants to leave me a gorgeous Victorian house furnished with gorgeous antiques, and a trust for its upkeep, that I could live in with my best friend, I would be very open to that—I'll even take the friendly ghosts!)
A Death in Diamonds by SJ Bennett (historical mystery): A Death in Diamonds in the fourth book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series—a delightful mystery series that imagines Queen Elizabeth II solving mysteries behind the scenes with the help of her assistant private secretary. The first three books in the series are set in the 21st century, but this one takes us back to the 1950s and a younger queen early in her reign. The story moves on a couple of tracks—the queen's suspicions that one of her closest advisors is trying to sabotage her and the murder of two people, to which someone close to her unwillingly uses the queen as an alibi. The queen decides to rely on Joan McGraw, her new APA and an ex-Bletchley Park code breaker, to help her solve both problems. This trip into the past is just as fun and delightful as the earlier books in the series.
Grave Expectations by Alice Bell (paranormal mystery): Claire is sort of a medium—she makes her living at it, though she isn't very good. But she actually can see ghosts. This talent manifested when she was a teenager, and the ghost of her best friend, presumed missing, appeared to her. Sophie has been with her ever since, though no one else knows she's dead as her body has never been found. Claire and Sophie take what should be the easy job of providing the entertainment of a seance at an 80th birthday party in the English countryside. Once there, they're confronted by an angry, unrecognizable ghost, killed at last year's party. Claire and Sophie proceed to investigate with the help of ex-police officer Sebastian and sarcastic nonbinary teen Alex. The book doesn't shy away from how screwed up Claire is, but the story is also hilarious and fun the whole way through. I'm very much looking forward to the second in the series.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (fantasy/mystery): Apparently, I was in a mystery-reading mood in March! This one transports the reader to a fascinating fantasy world, one that is constantly awaiting disaster to strike. The sea walls barely hold back leviathans and contagion is a constant fear. In the midst of it, an imperial officer is found dead with a tree sprouting from his body, something unheard of even in this world. Investigator Ana Dolabra and her assistant Din are called in. Ana is eccentric and brilliant and something of a mystery to her assistant, who is tasked with being her eyes and ears as he has been magically altered to remember all he sees and hears. The mystery only deepens when they learn several others were killed the same way. The mystery is incredibly twisty, and the world is so intriguing. Plus the Holmes/Watson style dynamic is reimagined here wonderfully. I loved the book, and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson (nonfiction): I've received Richardson's Letters from an American newsletter for a while, so I pretty quickly put this book on my library hold list. The author, a historian, examines how the US has come to teeter at the edge of autocracy through a historical framework that takes us back to the founding, showing the tensions between those who believe in the ideals of America—that all people are created equal—and their desire to expand rights to include everyone and those who believe that some people are naturally better than others and that the US should never be a true multiracial liberal democracy. Though I knew a lot of the history, I enjoyed the presentation here and the connections made, the threads and legacies that we can find stretching back decades that have led to where we are today and where we could be headed.
The Prince's Dearest Guards by Beau Van Dalen (M/M/M fantasy romance): This steamy novella gives us Prince Hal, who is trans. He wants a boyfriend, but because he is so shy and uncomfortable with his body, he has never expressed interest in anyone. When he turns twenty-one, he is sent on a traditional hunt for a magic serpent with his two new bodyguards. The fantasy plot is really only given as a set up, and then pops back up at the end—I assume to set up the next in the series. Most of the novella is about Hal getting to know his guards and some steamy scenes between them. I liked all three characters, but I would have liked a little more world building. The novella could have also used a good copy edit—I kept getting pulled out of the story by grammar and punctuation mistakes, though I will admit I'm sensitive to those things. I'll still continue with the next in the series at some point.
What have you read lately?
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