Happy October, everyone! I'm slightly conflicted about it being October—this is my favorite time of year, but I'm also kind of disturbed that it's October already. I am happy that it's fall, though, and spooky season, and I'm diving into some seasonally appropriate reading. But for now, here are some books I enjoyed in September:
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Fantasy/mystery with MM romance): I saw two brief descriptions of this book before I read it: one saying it would be what Agatha Christie would write if she wrote fantasy and the other calling it a gay magical mystery cruise. How could I resist? To celebrate a thousand years of peace in Concordia, the emperor's boat is setting sail to the Goddess's Mountain with the heirs to each of the twelve provinces of the empire on board. There's plenty of dissent and division among the heirs, each of whom has a secret magical ability, and then someone begins to kill them one by one. Ganymedes (Dee), outcast and looked down upon by all the others and his own father, decides to try to find the killer. He is an absolute disaster and a delight. There is a romance, but it's in the background to the mystery, and there is also so much queer representation.
Rise and Divine by Lana Harper (FF paranormal romance): This second chance witchy romance is the last book in the Thistle Grove series, and even though I really enjoyed the book, I am so upset that the series is over. It was a wonderful book to end the series on, drawing together threads from previous plot lines and characters from previous books, as well as giving us a new story and romance to escape into. I've loved the series since the first book, Payback's a Witch, and I absolutely recommend them. You could potentially read this as a standalone, but really start with the first book—it's a perfect read for autumn.
Secondhand Skin by Hailey Turner (Urban fantasy with MM romance): Secondhand Skin is another last book in a series, this one the last book in the Soulbound series. The first seven books of the series (which I ended up beginning an audio reread of after this book) focus on a single plot and romance while the final two books give us new stories and romances for a couple of wonderful supporting characters. In this book, we have a romance for Wade, a fledgling dragon and utter delight, and a supernatural plot involving selkies. You might be able to jump in here, but to really get the background, you need to read the whole series starting with A Ferry of Bones and Gold.
Mind Games by Nora Roberts (MF romantic suspense): Mind Games is Nora Roberts's latest standalone romantic suspense, though the romance doesn't really begin until the halfway point so I'm not sure if romantic suspense is the right category for it. That isn't a complaint—I very much enjoyed the book and the journey it gave us, following Thea and her family from the time of her parents murder when she was a child, highlighting bonds of family and friendship as much as romance. There's also a slight paranormal twist with both Thea and her grandmother having a psychic gift and Thea's tying her to her parents' murderer.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Historical fantasy): I loved Ireland's Rust in the Root, so I decided to give Dread Nation a try—it had been on my radar for a while, but I'm not big on zombie stories, so I'd given it a pass. I'm happy I finally read it, and I'm going to read the second in the series too because it's another excellent historical fantasy. During the Civil War, the dead suddenly started rising and armies turned to fighting the dead instead of each other. Now it's 1880, and Indigenous and Black children are required to go to combat schools to learn to fight the dead and keep white people safe. Jane is biracial, daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman, but that didn't save her and she's just trying to get through school so she can go home to Kentucky. Then families in the area begin to disappear, and she is drawn into the mystery.
What have you read and loved lately?
Rise and Divine by Lana Harper (FF paranormal romance): This second chance witchy romance is the last book in the Thistle Grove series, and even though I really enjoyed the book, I am so upset that the series is over. It was a wonderful book to end the series on, drawing together threads from previous plot lines and characters from previous books, as well as giving us a new story and romance to escape into. I've loved the series since the first book, Payback's a Witch, and I absolutely recommend them. You could potentially read this as a standalone, but really start with the first book—it's a perfect read for autumn.
Secondhand Skin by Hailey Turner (Urban fantasy with MM romance): Secondhand Skin is another last book in a series, this one the last book in the Soulbound series. The first seven books of the series (which I ended up beginning an audio reread of after this book) focus on a single plot and romance while the final two books give us new stories and romances for a couple of wonderful supporting characters. In this book, we have a romance for Wade, a fledgling dragon and utter delight, and a supernatural plot involving selkies. You might be able to jump in here, but to really get the background, you need to read the whole series starting with A Ferry of Bones and Gold.
Mind Games by Nora Roberts (MF romantic suspense): Mind Games is Nora Roberts's latest standalone romantic suspense, though the romance doesn't really begin until the halfway point so I'm not sure if romantic suspense is the right category for it. That isn't a complaint—I very much enjoyed the book and the journey it gave us, following Thea and her family from the time of her parents murder when she was a child, highlighting bonds of family and friendship as much as romance. There's also a slight paranormal twist with both Thea and her grandmother having a psychic gift and Thea's tying her to her parents' murderer.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Historical fantasy): I loved Ireland's Rust in the Root, so I decided to give Dread Nation a try—it had been on my radar for a while, but I'm not big on zombie stories, so I'd given it a pass. I'm happy I finally read it, and I'm going to read the second in the series too because it's another excellent historical fantasy. During the Civil War, the dead suddenly started rising and armies turned to fighting the dead instead of each other. Now it's 1880, and Indigenous and Black children are required to go to combat schools to learn to fight the dead and keep white people safe. Jane is biracial, daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman, but that didn't save her and she's just trying to get through school so she can go home to Kentucky. Then families in the area begin to disappear, and she is drawn into the mystery.
What have you read and loved lately?
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