Monthly Archives: May 2022

Let’s Talk About Romance Novels

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We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this: let’s talk about romance novels.

I owe you all a bunch of book reviews for new and upcoming releases, and I’m sorry the posting is getting a tad erratic the last few weeks. I am still doing my best to get a post out each week, but I’m not guaranteeing what day anything is going to post on… The fact of the matter is I’m having a rough time of it right now. I’m not going to get into details — I’ve talked about my cats situation (see several posts back), and of course the general state of the dumpster fire that is our world is adding to the stress, but there’s also lots of other, more personal kinds of issues going on, and suffice to say, I’m having…difficulties. I am frazzled and exhausted and stressed out and weepy and I would really like to just crawl under my bed and hide for a month or two.

“But Amanda, what does that have to do with talking about romance novels?”

I am so glad you’ve asked that.

This is about romance novels, because romance novels have been routinely saving my sanity and my life for about the last year or so.

I didn’t read much romance as a teen or college student. It wasn’t so much that I was uninterested, but I was reading a lot of massive epic fantasies and then reading a lot of classic literature and “literary” fiction as a grad student, and just never got around to it. I read plenty of fiction that was sort of romance-adjacent — urban fantasy with large romance subplots, some old-school romantic suspense (like Mary Stewart), mystery novels that always have a little time to thread a bit of romance in amongst all the murder-solving, etc. But I didn’t really read anything that was categorically romance, really, until 2021.

So what changed? Well, a few things sort of converged into a perfect storm to form a new obsession. First of all, between the pandemic, work stress, and my own brain-chemistry-fuckery, I have been increasingly unable to stand anything too dark and gritty (I am so SO sick of grimdark, but that’s a separate post), so I was actively searching for things that would be less emotionally oppressive. I could handle drama and angst so long as I felt certain there would be a happy ending, but really I just wanted soft, warm, fluff. Second, I picked up the audiobook of Charlie Homburg’s fantasy novel The Paper Magician. The Paper Magician (first of a trilogy) was technically classified as fantasy when I picked it, but it is very clear in that crossover genre sometimes affectionately called “romantasy.” And I really loved it. So I read/listened to the whole trilogy. There was drama, there was danger, there was an evil murderer to be fought and defeated, but at its heart, it was a really sweet love story.

When I finished the trilogy, Audible in its infinite wisdom said: “well hey! If you liked those, you might like these.” And it handed my The Charm of Magpies trilogy by KJ Charles on a silver platter.

The Paper Magician cracked the door open. The Magpie Lord (first of the Charm of Magpies trilogy) tackled me, threw me over its shoulder, and dragged me heart and soul into a full-blown romance obsession.

The Charm of Magpies trilogy is Victorian England-set historical fantasy romance (the absolute perfect mash-up of genres for me), and features all the magic, murderers, and mayhem you could want, but at its core it is a very steamy romance. While The Paper Magician was sweet and a very non-explicit 1 on the “spice scale,” The Charm of Magpies is a very-explicit 5. With BDSM (and no, this did not faze me, I read fanfic). And holy wow did I love these books.

I read the trilogy for the first time in mid-2021. Since then I have re-read the whole thing 4 or 5 times. I have also now read 13 books written by KJ Charles (out of the 29 She has written!). She tends to write in trilogies (though not always). My other favorite trilogy for KJ Charles is her Will Darling Adventures (1920s historical romance feature spies — another perfect storm of elements for me).

Having read a lot (though nowhere near all) of KJ Charles’ books, I moved on to a bunch of others. These have included a handful of Cat Sebastian books (she has written so many that it’s pretty intimidating, but I will no doubt pick up more of hers eventually), and Olivia Waite’s 3 lesbian historical romances: The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, and Hellion’s Waltz.

Then, last August when I was re-reading Charm of Magpies for the 2nd or 3rd time, Audible algorithms recommended that I might also like a book called Spellbound by Allie Therin. I routinely thank Christ for Audible’s recommendation algorithms; they have not often done me wrong. Spellbound, first of the Magic in Manhattan trilogy by Allie Therin, is now one of my all-time favorite books. The Magic in Manhattan trilogy is a 1920s historical fantasy romance, featuring magic, speakeasies, and a couple of the most charming MCs you have ever seen. Like Charm of Magpies, I have re-read this trilogy 5 or 6 times. In fact, I just finished a re-read this week. The trilogy has quickly become a very important weapon in my arsenal of “my brain is trying to murder me, help!” Weapons. When the depression and anxiety get really really bad (as they have been the last few weeks) I pick them up again and inhale them.

My other major favorite I have now is also thanks to KJ Charles, tangentially. I watched a zoom talk she did last year, in November I think, and one thing she did was recommend some other romance novels that she loved. The one that stuck out to me the most was a series called Whyborne & Griffin, by transmasc author Jordan L. Hawk. On  the strength of KJ Charles’ word, I ordered the first book as a Christmas present for myself. And read it in a single sitting. And then I couldn’t wait long enough for the next one to order the print copy, so I bought and downloaded the whole series in ebook-format in one go. I read the first five books in five days over Christmas break. And I had read all 11 books in the series by the end of January.

I am currently working my way through the series a second time, ordering the print copies of each book as I go. I’m on book five again.

One thing you will notice if you look up most of these titles is that quite a lot of these (most I think) are indie/self-published romance, not coming from the big publishers. The other thing you’ll notice is that almost all of them are queer romances. And the one kind of stems from the other. I mostly want queer romance, and most queer romance is indie/self-published, so… *shrug* I haven’t done an exact count but I would guess probably 90% of the romance novels I have read have all been queer romance — m/m, f/f, trans and nonbinary, etc. I have nothing against het-romance, but for the most part I’ve decided they just aren’t for me. Give me all the sweet, charming, sappy queer romances you can possibly find!

I really don’t think it is an overstatement to say these books have been keeping me sane about the last year or so. Between my own brain-fuckery, and the state of the world at large, I just can’t handle any more doom and gloom. I need happily-ever-afters. And, damn it, there is no shame in that.

Some people complain about romance tropes, and claim that romance novels are all the same, or they’re badly written, or they’re all carbon copies of each other. But here’s the thing. There are badly written romances, just like there are badly written books in any genre. And yes, they often share a collection of tropes and similar plot lines and such. But that is part of the appeal. That is part of what makes them so comforting and so popular. We know exactly what we signed up for, and that is what we want. That said, people who have not read or written a bunch of romance have no idea how much effort and skill it takes to work within a somewhat-narrow set of audience expectations and parameters and still make every story different and entertaining, every character interesting and charming. Romance authors are the kings and queens of building tension and suspense – of taking a plot where we all know going in that the MCs will end up together and still making us believe that the obstacles are difficult, the tensions are genuine.

Many romance novels are a masterclass in character motivations, relationship development, and tension. A good romance novel makes us BELIEVE. And that takes enormous skill.

And on the plus side: you get charming MCs, swoon-worthy love confessions, and (with certain writers) some really REALLY good sex scenes. What’s not to love, seriously? So I might be a fairly recent convert, but you can pry my romance novels from my cold dead hands. I dare you. 

I’m going to try to pull together some reviews of some of my favorites, but I doubt I will have the time or energy to write in-depth about all of the romance novels I’ve read. At the very least, I think I’ll try to pull together a full list of all the ones I’ve read so far (if I can remember them all) and share that, with relevant info such as sub-genre, main relationship (m/m, f/m, f/f, etc), and “spice” level. So you can look forward to that in the coming week or two (aren’t you all so lucky! lol), and in the meantime, yes I owe you folks so more new release reviews. Sorry!

Book Review: Last Call at the Nightingale

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(Apologies for the delay!)

I think I’ve said this before, but Katharine Schellman is an absolute delight on social media. She is so kind and generous with her fans. There is, of course, a certain amount of patience and politeness expected from authors when they interact with fans on social media, but that’s not what I mean. I mean she is genuine and kind and friendly and generous with her time. I have had a couple “conversations” with her on twitter, which mostly consisted of me raving about how much I loved her three Lily Adler books (reviews of which can be found here), and her telling me how much she appreciated the support.

Well, during one of these conversations she asked me if I would be interested in an ARC of her next new release book, Last Call at the Nightingale, which is not part of her Lily Adler series but the start of a new mystery series set in the 1920s. Reader, I’m sure you can imagine what my response was!

Of course I jumped at the chance! Mostly because I love absolutely everything she has written so far, and also because I am actually obsessed with the 1920s and love historical fiction set in the 20s. She asked for my mailing address, and I gave it to her, and then a couple weeks ago the ARC arrived in the mail. She even sent a nice little note with it, which I will treasure.

It took some effort to get the quiet time and space needed to sit down and read it. I knew I was going to need a whole free evening because, based on previous experience, a Katharine Schellman novel is a read-in-one-sitting novel. I did that with both books 2 and 3 of the Lily Adler series, and it is clearly going to be the standard for these. Finally, I did find the time, and true to my prediction, I read the entire book in one sitting.

So, here’s my review, lol!

Title: Last Call at the Nightingale
Author: Katharine Schellman
Release Date: 7 June 2022
How I Got It: gift from the author
Rating: 5 out of 5!

Last Call at the Nightingale is a new mystery set in New York in 1924, and follows the misadventures of Vivian Kelly as she stumbles into a murder mystery, gets in over her head, and flirts her way both in and out of trouble. Vivian Kelly and her older, prim-and-proper sister Florence, are both Irish-descent and orphans, and therefore poor, disdained, and in desperate need of any respectability they can muster. But Florence has enough respectability for the both of them, and Vivian much prefers to be the wild child quietly working as a seamstress during the day, while spending her nights dancing with abandon at the Nightingale, the speakeasy that feels more like her home than any other place she has ever been. During one of her many late nights at the Nightingale, Vivian and her best friend Bea, a waitress at the speakeasy, accidentally stumble across a dead body. And not just any dead body – judging from his expensive clothes and the secrecy around his death, this dead body was someone important.

At first, Vivian intends to stay well clear of the trouble. Then, she gets caught up in a raid at the speakeasy. Poor and unwilling to call her sister for help, she is bailed out by the owner of the Nightingale herself: the dangerously alluring Honor Huxley. Honor has a deal for Vivian: in exchange for the bail money, Honor would like Vivian to snoop for her, get in close with anyone who might know about the dead man, and find out who killed him. This will be especially easy for Vivian, Honor claims, because Vivian likes to make friends and knows everyone who frequents the speakeasy, and because Vivian was just that night dancing with one of the men Honor suspects was involved – the charming Leo Green, newly arrived from Chicago.

And so Vivian finds herself questioning maids, sneaking into the offices of wealthy women, being attacked and threatened by brutes, and flirting with the increasingly attractive Leo, all in the name of finding a killer and paying off a debt.

This book was SO MUCH FUN. The 20s New York setting is well executed and believable, details and ambience applied with a deft touch. The smoky speakeasy, the crooked cops, the realities of living as a poor woman in the middle of the glitz and glamor of the Jazz Age. The characters themselves were absolutely the highlight. I adored Vivian – the absolute definition of disaster bi who is constantly being pulled in different directions by her attractions to both Honor and Leo (you and me both, girl!), and her smart mouth that got her in and out of trouble on quite a few occasions. Vivian’s best friend, Bea, was also a highlight – a well-educated black woman working at a speakeasy to support her mother and keep her siblings in school. There was also Danny Chen, a Chinese immigrant who works as Honor’s bartender and second-in-command at the speakeasy.

And then, of course, there were Honor and Leo, the two equally attractive people pulling Vivian in different directions. Honor is dangerous and intelligent and more than a little manipulative and absolutely SEXY. Leo is gentle and charming and honorable, with an aura of safety about it. Like Vivian, I was pretty in love with them both by the end.

I was kind of in love with all of the characters actually. I was live-tweeting a bit while I read the book, and I think some of these tweets are pretty indicative:

On top of all that was the mystery itself. And BOY was it twisty! I thought I had it figured out about halfway through, but I realized I was wrong at about the ¾ mark. Then at about the 80% mark the CHARACTERS think they have it solved, but I KNEW they were wrong – both because it didn’t feel right, and because there were (of course) like 30 or 40 pages left… (lol). When the final pieces came together and Vivian had it all figured out I was shocked. Did not see it coming at all.

Here, my tweets are pretty good gauge there as well:

This novel was HIGHLY enjoyable. I really loved all the principal characters. And I really hope the book does well enough to guarantee a second installment (and hopefully many more of that *fingers crossed*). The book releases on June 7th. The supply chain being what it is, I highly recommend pre-ordering, but alas, I know that is not always possible. In any case, if you enjoy a good twisty mystery novel and historical fiction set in the Jazz Age, you should definitely pick this one up!

What I’m Currently Reading!

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Hello folks, and sorry for the minor delay! Busy days, busy days. I have a couple book reviews I need to get written soon, and should have one for you next weekend. For today, here’s some of the books I’ve been reading lately. Plus a couple book playlists, because anyone who knows me knows I love a fun book-themed playlist!

So without further ado, what Amanda is currently reading:

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings – this book is releasing in June, and I’m reading the arc right now. This book is EXCELLENT! It features a magical New Orleans where magic is performed through music, ghosts haunt the city, and graffiti has come to life and wanders the streets driving people mad if they walk through the paint. I have no idea how it’s going to end! You can definitely expect a review when I finish this book.

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh – this is the last book that came out before Thich Nhat Hanh’s death in January, though it actually a collection of some previous talks, writings, interviews, etc that had been compiled by his students following his stroke a few years ago. I have a hardcover copy of this book, but I am  also listening to the audiobook right now, particularly while I work.

Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne – this is also an arc I’m reading, and the book will be out in July. It’s a feminist, semi-historically-grounded take on the Rapunzel fairytale. I’m not very far into yet, but it is very good so far and I’m curious to see how the author will twist the traditional elements of the tale.

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather – I read and reviewed the first novella, Sisters of the Vast Black, last year and loved it. This novella is a direct continuation so, of course, I had to grab it! I haven’t actually started this one yet, it’s next on the pile as soon as I finish one of the above, lol.

Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman – I actually JUST finished this one (another arc for a book releasing in June) and this will likely by the review I get written up for next week!

So that’s what I’m currently reading. You can likely expect reviews for most, if not all, of these (time depending, of course). In the meantime, here’s a couple of the book playlists I’ve put together lately, just for the fun of it!

Playlist for Nettle & Bone – here’s the playlist I made to go with Nettle & Bone, which I just reviewed a couple weeks ago. This book officially released last Tuesday, so if you haven’t bought it yet, GET THEE HENCE!

Playlist for Spindle Splintered – I didn’t actually write a review of Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow because I read it last year when the blog was dead in the water. But the sequel is coming out soon, so I might read that and then review both together… possibly. In the meantime, have a playlist!

Playlist for King of Infinite Space – here’s another one for a book I read last year and didn’t review. King of Infinite Space by Lindsay Faye is a queer, modern-day, magical realist take on Hamlet, and it is EXCELLENT. I cried so bad at the end! I pulled this playlist together for it right after finishing the book. Enjoy!

Ok, that’s all from me for today! Expect a review next Saturday!