Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles: I fell into this book immediately and read it straight through in a day (it felt so good to do that!). In KJ Charles's newest, Will Darling returns from the Great War with no idea what to do and ends up inheriting his great-uncle's used book shop just when he was running out of options. When several people begin showing up at the shop to demand information Will knows nothing about, he's thrown into some intrigue he never expected. It's a fun take on 1920s pulp adventure stories. With some romance thrown in, though there isn't a HEA here or even much of a HFN—but it's the first book in a trilogy and it ended in a good spot. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.
Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis: This novella has been sitting on my Kindle for a while, part of my mountainous digital TBR pile, and I decided to read it on a whim. I'd heard good things about it, and they were all right. This is a fantasy romance set in an alt-historical world in which the women govern and the men use magic—until Cassandra became the first lady magician. And then lost her ability to use magic. Now she's snowed in at a house party and a dangerous elf lord is threatening everything. The novella was light and quick and enjoyable. I'll definitely continue with the series.
The Selection and The Elite by Kiera Cass: I grabbed these YA books from the library, and I have mixed feelings. Obviously I'm enjoying them enough to keep reading the series (I have the next sitting on my Kindle waiting for me, and I should read it because the digital loan expires in a week), but I'm also kind of torn. I will not lie—the gorgeous dresses on the covers attracted me to the books (I want those dresses) in the first place. And I love a royalty romance. But I'm not a huge fan of love triangles (and I don't trust one of the guys in this one for some reason), and the dystopian setting wasn't something I expected. This is set in a future when the US no longer exists. After a war with and occupation by China, the US became a monarchy with a strict caste system. In this world, when a prince needs to marry, young women from all over and all castes are chosen to basically compete to be the country's next princess.
What have you been reading lately?