Tag Archives: romance

Reading Romance Through the Apocalypse

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Not gonna lie, it really does feel like the world is ending these days. Globally, things look dire. Domestically, I am beginning to lose hope that the U.S. is even worth saving some days. It feels like everything is burn down around us. I don’t want to turn this blog into a political soap box, but as a queer, Asian-American woman with queer, trans, and POC family and friends, I should hope it’s obvious where I stand. I am angry, exhausted, afraid, and grieving for my communities, for my country, and for the millions and millions around the world negatively impacted by this government’s policies.

It becomes a little more difficult every day to do the things I need to do. To work, to write, to take of myself and others. Even reading, my best refuge, sometimes feels too difficult and draining. Dredging up the energy to do anything is hard when the apocalypse is raging around you. My brain and nervous system retreat to a few different hobbies in moments like this. But one of my significant resting places is romance novels. In an average year, I read a pretty good chunk of romance novels (some spicy, some not), but in the last year and half or so, I’ve probably read more romance and erotica than I had in my entire life up to this point. I am basically burning through them. I still read other things as well, but there is a lot of romance happening.

And that’s ok! In difficult times like this, when we are under constant attack, emotionally and mentally, sometimes even physically, we deserve whatever comforts and resting places we can find. That is one of the things romance novels exist for! Generally speaking, you go into a romance novel knowing exactly what to expect. That’s not to say that all romance novels are exactly the same. There is variety and surprise aplenty in romance novels. But romance novels do follow certain genre conventions without which they would not qualify as romances, and that is part of the point. They are intended to be familiar and comforting. I should be able to settle into the story knowing that no matter how dramatic or awkward or angsty the plot gets, I can rest assured that love will prevail and the heroes/heroines will get their happily-ever-after. I need that right now, when happily-ever-afters seem so scarce on the ground for real people.

So! Romance novels it is, then! I refuse to apologize for that.

Generally speaking, I do not believe in “guilty pleasures.” I advocate for loving what you love without embarrassment. And yet, I’ll confess that some of the things I’ve been reading lately, I would not confess to on my death bed. Some romance novels I read are very good quality, with or without spicy scenes. I’ve been leaning heavily into straight-up erotica lately (and, again, there is nothing wrong with that!) A lot of it is very smutty, plot-light, and silly. But I’ll admit that some of it isn’t even very good, it just scratches some itch in my brain. Not to mention, some of them say just a little more about my personal tastes than I really feel like airing publicly (lol).

That said, I thought I might be brave enough to offer a small sampling of a few titles I’ve read that I particularly loved. I should probably add that I tend prefer historical romances and cozy fantasy romances, but I read a handful of contemporary romances as well. I read very little that would lean more into dark romance, but I do have a slightly unhealthy obsession with monster romances.

SOME ROMANCE TITLES:

Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor Series:
This series includes The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, The Christmas Tree Farm, and The Strawberry Patch Pancake House. I’ve read the first three, but haven’t picked up Strawberry Patch Pancake House yet. And there’s a fifth book coming out in September. This contemporary romance series are set in the fictional ideal New England town of Dream Harbor. They are unbearably sweet, happy, and adorable in a way that I find both incredibly comforting and just a tiny bit depressing in a “I will never have this and am I painfully jealous” kind of way. So I have to be careful of my mood when I pick one of these up, lol. They usually have a handful of spicy scenes. My biggest complaint is they are unrelentingly heterosexual and I would really love some more sappy queer couples.

On the Same Page and The Next Chapter by Haley Cass
Speaking of sappy queer couples in contemporary romance, I also really enjoyed On the Same Page by Haley Cass. Haley Cass is beloved for her sapphic romances and this one was great. It is pretty spicy, featuring a lingerie model/fashion influencer, and a great friends-to-lovers plot. I am a sucker for friends-to-lovers and much prefer it to enemies-to-lovers (which may account for my reluctance to read a lot of current romantasy?). I will say a few scenes in On the Same Page really triggered my painfully-sensitive secondhand embarrassment. Just FYI for anyone who suffers from that the way I do. The Next Chapter is a sequel to this one, but I haven’t read it yet.

Travis Baldree’s Novels:
In the realm of cozy fantasy romance, I read a lot. I imagine at this point most people have at least heard of Legends & Lattes, and its sequel Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree by now. Those are both great. So cozy and wonderful and happy, even when the fantasy plot elements get serious for a bit. And they’re sapphic, which makes me extra happy. I am so excited for the third book, Brigands & Breadknives, coming out later this year!

Megan Bannen’s Hart & Mercy Series:
I also highly recommend The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen, and its sequels The Undermining of Twyla and Frank, and The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam. These are fantasy romance set in a fictional world with some absolutely incredible world-building details! And the romances themselves are wonderful. As I mentioned above, I don’t generally care for enemies-to-lovers, but the relationship in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy really makes it work and I loved it. While the main couple of each book is straight, there are some background relationships that are queer. I haven’t read the third book in this series yet, but its on the TBR list.

The Belles of London by Mimi Matthews:
For historical romances, my recent favorite has been Mimi Matthews’ series The Belles of London. There are four books in this series set in Victorian England, following the romances of four women who become friends and bond over their shared love of horseback riding. The four books are: The Siren of Sussex, The Belle of Belgrave Square, The Lily of Ludgate Hill, and The Muse of Maiden Lane. These books speak to my soul and I love all four of the friends. It’s really difficult to choose one, but I think Lily of Ludgate Hill might be my favorite (maybe?). I am devastated that this series is now complete though. Historical romances set in either Regency or Victorian England are my faves.

Haven Ever After Series by Hazel Mack:
I’m not going to share too much of the monster romance I’ve been reading, because let’s be real… these are mostly straight-up erotica and the specific ones I gravitate to cut just a little too close to the bone. I will, however, mention one of the series I’ve been reading pretty consistently: Haven Ever After by Hazel Mack, the first of which is Getting It On with Gargoyles. There’s 7 or 8 in this series now, and I think the author is still going. In addition to being very spicy, these books are also just really sweet and fun. They mostly feature straight couples (my biggest complaint with basically all monster romances in general), but there is one poly pairing that was f/m/m (Slaying with Sylphs) that was really good. I’m hopeful that Hazel Mack will branch out into more queer couples if she keeps going. But, yeah… monster romances generally skew pretty heavily straight. (The selection of queer monster erotica is pretty slim, and I’ve probably already read it if it’s out there, but if you know of any good titles, PLEASE DO DROP ME A LINE. I need my fix.)

My Month of Victorian Romances

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Sometimes I get in these moods, where I read one particular kind of book and just CANNOT STOP reading that particular kind of book. I go through cycles where I absolutely devour certain genres or sub-genres. Back in 2020 I went through a huge space opera phase. In mid-2021 there was a big period of murder mysteries. My romance reading in general tends to happen in big chunks.

Starting around the beginning of December, and going through Christmas and New Years, and the first couple weeks of January, I’ve been voraciously consuming historical romance novels set in the Victorian time period. Within that there have been a few variations: a few straight romances, a few mystery types, a few fantasy types. But all of them have been Victorian historical fiction.

In order, I have now read:
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk (a re-read by still in the same Victorian-set genre)
Changeless by Gail Carriger (started by didn’t finish)
Jackaby by William Ritter
Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Soulless and Changeless are the first two books of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series (paranormal romance/steampunk set in Victorian England). I read Carriger’s YA The Finishing School series last year. I didn’t realize until after the fact that the Parasol Protectorate series was an adult series, and written first, and the Finishing School series is a prequel. But I enjoyed the YA books enough to try out the adult series. I wouldn’t say I loved the Finishing School books, but I enjoyed them. They were silly and frothy and adventurous and fun. I found Soulless for cheap at the used bookstore and enjoyed it enough, and then I grabbed the sequel, Changeless, at the library. I won’t say it’s a DNF. I think I might come back to it eventually, probably. But some of the characters that I knew from the Finishing School series appear in ways I really didn’t like (again, I realize the Parasol books came first, so it’s my own fault, but however it happened, I am far more attached to the version of the characters from the prequel series and I was pretty upset about some things in Changeless, which I won’t specify as they are spoilery). Changeless, also frankly was not scratching the particular ITCH I had when I jumped into these Victorian books. So I returned it to the library early.

The Belles of London series encompasses the books The Siren of Sussex and The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews (and a third one is coming out in 2024). These were straight Victorian romance – no magic or murder mysteries in these, just lots of Victorian-period melodrama, which I loved. I loved them so much that The Siren of Sussex made it onto my favorite books of the year list! They are swoony and fun and filled with smart, interesting, complex women and honorable men trying to do the right thing under difficult circumstances, and all the kinds of societal roadblocks and miscommunication issues one might expect from the genre. They are not out to defy the genre expectations, but rather play them up to great effect. I am really looking forward to the third one.

In what appears to be very much a pattern in these kinds of novels, the two books by Manda Collins, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, and An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire are also linked books, with at least one more book to be released in the series this year in March. These are historical romance/mystery hybrids (one of my favorite combos!), with each book featuring a woman MC solving a crime while also following in love with the charming man helping them investigate. They are both really great mysteries (I had the first one figured out about ⅔ of the way through but the second one kept me guessing until right near the end). And the romances are both sweet and swoony. The first one is a rivals-to-lovers pairing (a police detective and a woman who’s doing her own investigating and keeps messing with his career). The second book is a second-chance romance with a pair of lovers who broke off their engagement years ago, mixed with a marriage of convenience (it’s complicated!). I really loved both and I cannot wait for the third one!

Finally, I have an already completed series of four books by William Ritter that are Victorian-age historical paranormal mysteries. They are not romance, strictly-speaking, though there is a romantic subplot threaded through all the books. They are about a woman from England who comes to America and finds employment with a paranormal investigator. The books are written in first person with the woman, Abigail, narrating her adventures with the investigator, Jackaby, in a way similar to Watson’s narration of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I have finished the first two books, and already have the third one checked out from the library and ready to go. These books are BLAST. Fun mystery writing, lots of period-appropriate set dressing and some really fun paranormal monsters including the usuals such as werewolves, vampires, ghosts, as well as some things you would not expect. I can’t wait to see where these go next!

So that’s what my reading has looked like the last month or so (about a month and a half now, actually, I guess). I think I’m going to finish the William Ritter series now, and then I’m thinking I might jump into something different. I’m thinking about getting back into big epic fantasy tomes. I used to read them almost exclusively in high school. Big giant 800-page types. But I fell out of the habit in college and then grad school killed my reading altogether (as I’ve talked about on this blog before), and since I’ve gotten back into the swing of things I haven’t really returned to my roots yet. I think it’s about time. But we’ll see…

My Fave Reads of the Year, 2022 Edition

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Hello all and welcome to the last Friday of the year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday week last week, and that you are excited for the new year and all the possibilities that might bring. The last year, or two years really, have been pretty rough, and I am really hoping that 2023 will be a bit kinder to us all. But I am… skeptical, let’s say. Still, I am trying to approach the new year with a feeling of cautious optimism. We shall see how it goes.

Before I jump into my fave reads list, I have several things in the works I want to mention. I have officially started my work as a freelance editor. And I am preparing to launch an etsy shop to sell the fluid paintings I’ve been making off-and-on for the last couple months. The first handful were all gifts to various family and friends, but I have a bunch now that are piling up in my office, so I’m hoping to sell them for just a bit – enough to clear out the space in my office and buy supplies so I can make some more. I’ll have the shop linked here probably in the first week of January for the curious.

I am also considering changing the name of the blog… though, I am still on the fence about that. As I mentioned in my About page ages ago, I chose the name “Night Forest Books” as the name of my hypothetical future bookstore. I’ve had the name in mind since AT LEAST 2016. It’s a reference to my favorite book, The Neverending Story, and the location called “Perilin, the Night Forest.” When I first chose the name I did a lot of research to make sure no other bookstore or related business had claimed the name already. I bought the .com domain for future use, and I claimed the IG name (@night.forest.books) and this blog title. However, I was nowhere near ready to actually register a business or LLC name as I knew it would be probably years before I was financially ready to start the bookstore.

Well, apparently in mid-2020 a brand new micro-press started in CANADA, and they named themselves Night Forest Press. Obviously, even if they did research on the name, they did not consider my teeny-tiny blog a problem, whether it had essentially the same name or not, and since I didn’t have an actual business registered under that name it was legally up for grabs. I could probably still get away with naming a bookstore Night Forest Books if I really wanted to (maybe, I’m not certain), but googling “Night Forest Books” right now just brings up the press website. And I had vague ambitions of maybe someday starting a press associated with the hypothetical bookstore, which would no longer be a viable option under the current name. So, I will need to find a new name for the hypothetical bookstore…

Of course, the blog name is still fine right now. However, as I said, googling for “Night Forest Books” right now does not remotely lead to my blog, which is really disheartening. Besides which, my initial thought was that the blog would be a good way to establish some recognition among readership in advance of opening the bookstore, and if the bookstore has an entirely different name from the blog that kind of defeats the purpose…

So… yeah… I’m on the fence about changing the blog name, or just letting it be and worrying about the bookstore name later. Maybe I’ll just go back to using my actual name for the blog for the time being. That might at least make it obvious in search engines again… maybe. *shrug* If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to share.

OKAY! And now the thing I’m supposed to actually be writing about today. My Favorite Reads of 2022 List!

I had a really difficult time narrowing the list down this year. (Well, ok, every year). What I have ended up with is a list of 10 books. My top 5 favorite new release fiction books, released in the calendar year of 2022, plus my top 5 favorite nonfiction books, none of which were new releases for 2022 but which were all new reads for me.

My Top 5 Fiction New Releases:

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: This book by the masterful T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) is a beautiful dark fairy tale with prose that makes me weep with awe and jealousy. I wrote a full review for Nettle & Bone way back at the beginning of the year, where I predicted that it might end up being my favorite book of the year when it was all said and done, though I conceded that Nona the Ninth might easily change my mind when it was released. But lo and behold! I stand by my initial statement! I absolutely adored this book and it remains my favorite book of the year.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske: you can find the full review of this one and the first book in the trilogy just a few weeks back. This one is a historical romance fantasy set in Edwardian England, featuring a murder mystery, lots of magic, and some very steamy sex. I loved it (and the first one, A Marvellous Light), and I’ve already re-read it once since finishing it.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: I know I still owe you all an actual review of this one, oops… For those still in the dark (how?) this book (and series) is a mind-bending, genre-busting, space opera mixed with necromantic magic, and one of the most complex examinations of love in all its forms (including toxic and self-destructive) that I have ever read. I’ll admit that I fully expected this one to overtake Nettle & Bone as my favorite, but though I loved it immensely, it ended up slipping down to third place. Nona the Ninth, the third of the Locked Tomb series, was excellent, and mind-boggling, but of the three it is my least favorite. Nona was a delight of a character, but the first book is still by far the most FUN. So far I love them in order, lol (Gideon, then Harrow, then Nona).

Last Call at the Nightingale by Katherine Schellman: here’s another one I read and reviewed pretty early in the year! It’s a historical murder mystery novel set in the 1920s, which is of course a good portion of what I love about it. And it features a disaster bi protagonist that I relate to rather strongly, lol! I read the whole thing in one sitting, just absolutely DEVOURED it. I fervently await the sequel!

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews: I have not written a full review for this one yet, but I might try to put one together for it and its sequel later. This one is straight romance novel material, historical (Victorian setting), and absolutely lovely! I read it about a month ago and I am currently in a big Victorian-set historical romance brainrot mode. I also read the sequel to this one, The Belle of Belgrave Square. There will be a third one apparently sometime next year, so maybe I’ll do a double review for books 1 and 2 in time for the 3rd release. This book just really made me happy, with a headstrong intelligent female lead and a Indian-immigrant working-class love interest, and lots of witty banter.

My Top 5 Nonfiction Books:

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 2021. If you are unfamiliar with him, he was a very famous well-respected Buddhist monk who wrote many books on Buddhist, meditation, and finding peace in your own life. He gave lectures, met with world leaders, ran retreats, and generally just made the world a better place by his existence. He was/is one of the greatest heroes in my life, and I was absolutely DISTRAUGHT when he died last year. (And, shit, I am genuinely getting choked up just typing this.) This book is kind of exactly what the title suggests: a way of approaching the crises of our planet (ecological, political, systemic, personal) from a Buddhist perspective but also from a largely non-denominational place of deeply human spirituality and compassion. It made me cry at least three or four times, and the minute I finished it I threatened to buy a copy for every person I know to make them read it (if I’d had the funds, I really probably would have).

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens: I have a soft-spot for self-improvement books, but more specifically I really love self-improvement books about living an authentic and creative life. For instance, I also liked Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (though I do find Gilbert a little too woo-woo and mystical hand-wavy at times). This book by Beth Pickens is about living life as an artist — and she defines “artist” very broadly — and offers real concrete advice on how to live that life to the best of your ability and with the most fulfillment you can manage, whether you are a full-time professional artist or someone trying to eke out a practice around a day job and family and other responsibilities. I found it incredibly insightful, down-to-earth, actionable, and really inspiring.

The Dragon Behind the Glass by Emily Voigt: I really love nonfiction books about history or science, and this one is kind of both. I picked it up on a whim and found it absolutely fascinating. It’s about the exotic fish trade, of all things! Specifically about a rare exotic fish called an arawona, which is allegedly the most expensive kind of collector/live fish in the world (most expensive fish of any kind in the world are, I think, some of the giant tuna caught/killed in Asia and sold by auction to high-end restaurants for sometimes millions of dollars). This book, and the exotic fish trade, includes: trips into the deepest barely-explored jungles of Asia and South America, run-ins with the black market and the mob, and devolves into fraud, betrayal, and even murder. It’s absolutely shocking and enormously fascinating!

1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar by Eric Burns: I think I’ve mentioned before I am a bit obsessed with the 1920s Jazz Age era? So I assume no one is surprised that I picked up this book. It is pretty much exactly what it says it is: its a history book that focused on JUST the single year of 1920, and makes an argument that the events of that single year was the catalyst and predictor for everything that came after it. One of the major events the book focuses on is the 1920 Wall Street bombing, which remained the most destructive incident of domestic terrorism until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. (I found that section SO interesting that the Wall Street bombing eventually became the instigating event for the plot in my 1920s historical fiction work-in-progress). The whole book was really enlightening and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American history.

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier: the subtitle for this book is “The triumphant, turbulent stories behind how video games are made.” It’s a really well-researched account written by a games journalist about the game industry, using an enormous amount of first-persons accounts and interviews. Each chapter focuses on the story of a different game, including (but not limited to) Witcher 3, Uncharted 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Stardew Valley. I’m not even a big gamer (just a dabbler), so I’m not 100% sure why I decided to pick this one to begin with, but I’m so glad I did! It was so cool to learn about how these games are developed and the kind of crazy sheningans that happen behind the scenes. (The dude who made Stardew Valley continues to blow my mind.) It’s also really fun now to watch the comedy tv show Mythic Quest on Apple+ and constantly go “that’s not how that works! That’s not how any of that works!” Lol…

So, that’s my list, for whatever it’s worth. I’d love to hear what books you read and loved this year! Please feel free to share in the comments!

Two-For-One Book Review: A Marvellous Light, and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

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Titles: A Marvellous Light & A Restless Truth
Author: Freya Marske
Release Dates: 26 Oct 2021 and 1 Nov 2022 
How I Got It: received the first book as an ARC through work, bought the second one
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

It’s a two-for-one sale, folks! Not literally, of course. But I am doing a double review of the first two books in Freya Marske’s historical romance fantasy Last Binding trilogy: A Marvellous Light and its sequel, A Restless Truth. I read A Marvellous Light last year as an ARC, when I was curating for my job at Fox & Wit (and did end up choosing the book for that month’s release), and I always meant to write a full review for it. But alas, as so often happens, it slipped my mind and I never got it.

Fast forward a year later, and the sequel, A Restless Truth, released in September. I bought it immediately on audio (I have the first book in both print and audio, and I really enjoyed the audio so I figured ‘why not?’), and finished it in a day and a half. And again, I have been meaning to write up a review since I finished. So, here we go! I’ll do both of them together, and then I will hopefully review the last book in the trilogy whenever it releases.

The series is set in the early 1900s, Edwardian England, one of my favorite time periods for historical romance, when William Morris was all the rage and Art Nouveau was beginning to emerge (I’m a HUGE Art Nouveau fan). Of course, this is a version of England with magic, but other than that the series adheres very closely to its time period, displaying an impressive amount of research not only into the history but also the aesthetics and attitudes.

A Marvellous Light focuses on the main character of Sir Robin Blythe and Edwin Courcey. Following the death of his parents — famous philanthropists and secret backbiting devious social manipulators — Robin is placed in a seemingly dull low-level government job by an old enemy of his parents. However, when Edwin Courcey, gentleman magician, waltzes into his office fully expecting someone in the know, Robin discovers that magic is real, he has accidentally been placed in a job of liaison to the secret magical community, and his predecessor Reggie has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. It’s a lot to absorb on the first day. To make matters worse, a trio of magicians hiding their identities attack Robin that night, believing he must know more than he does, and placed a painful cursed tattoo on his arm. The only one with any hope of helping him remove the curse and find out what happened to his predecessor is Edwin Courcey.

For his part, Edwin Courcey just wants this whole mess dealt with and out of his hair. He had considered Reggie a friend, and is distraught over his disappearance, and he doesn’t have the time or the energy to help guide a brand new “civilian” learn about the magical community. Still, it is quickly apparent that he will have to deal with it, so he takes Robin to his family’s country estate to research the curse and try to remove it. Unfortunately, among his family Edwin feels he is instantly revealed to be a weakling and failure: weakest of all his family in magic, though by far the most brilliant and learned in his study of the field. And his family, including his abusive older father and his glittery empty-headed sister, seemed determined to make him miserable and embarrass his guest. And to make matters even more complicated, Robin starts having visions.

As Robin and Edwin research the curse, and try to find out what happened to Reggie, they find themselves caught in the middle of a tangled conspiracy or murder, magic, and fantastical objects of great power that may or may not exist, and which could change the lives of every magician in England. Along the way, they also discover their similarities in taste and attitude, and grow closer, something almost like friends (a novel concept for Edwin), and then possibly more. As their attraction increases, and Robin begins to contemplate the possibility of a future together, Edwin tries desperately to keep control of the situation, even as danger closes in on them with deadly urgency.

The sequel, A Restless Truth, focuses on Robin’s sister, Maud, previously introduced in the first book. With the main conflicts of the first book resolved but new and dangerous threats established for the rest of the trilogy, Robin has sent Maud to collect an older woman magician from America who may hold the key to the whole problem. However, on the return voyage from America to England on a White Star ocean liner, the woman magician is murdered within hours of heading out to sea and an important magical artifact is stolen. Now, Maud must find out who killed her and stole the artifact, find out what they know about the business her brother Robin has gotten involved in, and not get killed herself in the process.

To help her in this endeavor she recruits the charming and beautiful Miss Violet Debenham, a British transplant to the U.S. who is returning home to England, now an actress and a huge walking scandal (of her own making), and the disdainful, perpetually-annoyed Lord Hawthorne (also briefly introduced in the first book), who would really rather not have anything to do with any of this nonsense, thank you very much.

As they work together, Maud finds herself growing more and more attracted to Violet, a previously-unrealized romantic inclination now awakening in her with sudden passion. Violet, meanwhile, is happy to be a dalliance while aboard ship but is desperate to keep her secrets and her heart as detached and distant as possible. As the two women try to work out what they desire and what they are willing to sacrifice to get it, they must contend with at least one murderer, a jewel thief, an obnoxious parrot, and a whole menagerie of animals in the cargo hold. And, just to make matters worse, Maud discovers she may or may not be a medium. In the face of all these problems, Maud is determined not to fail at this mission her brother has given her, conscious more than ever that Robin is the only person in her life she has ever been able to rely on.

These books are UTTERLY DELIGHTFUL. When I first read the arc for A Marvellous Light, I had it in ebook format, and I devoured it. As soon as the book was released I got the hardcover AND the audiobook version immediately, and re-read it by audio. I have since re-read it in one format or another 3 or 4 times. And A Restless Truth is just as delightful and re-readable.

Both stories feature an exciting, tense, action-packed plot full of murder, mystery, and magical artifacts of importance to all the magicians of England. In classic mystery fashion, the artifacts in these first two books function as macguffins – an item that everyone is after, and which propels the actions of the plot, but which seem to have little-to-no actual influence on what finally happens. I am very curious/excited to see how these artifacts come together in the final book of the trilogy and prove as powerful (or not) as they are believed to be.

True to their billing as romance fantasies, both books also give heavy importance to the romantic subplots between Robin and Edwin, and Maud and Violet. They follow the traditional romance series formula of each book focusing on a different couple who are connected in some way or another through one or more repeating characters (think of the Bridgerton series in which each book focuses on a different Bridgerton sibling finding their happily-ever-after). In this case, obviously, the books are connected through the Blyth siblings Robin and Maud, as well as by the overarching external plot. There is not another Blyth sibling for the third book, but I suspect Lord Hawthorne will be the focus for the romantic subplot of the final installment. However, in that case, the main plot will also have to combine all the previous characters in order to reach its conclusion.

One thing I found enormously amusing about both A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth is the ways that both Blyth siblings are friendly, cheerful, high-energy puppy characters who both fall in love with introverted, cynical, suspicious and paranoid cat people. It’s hilarious. However, where Robin was long aware of his own proclivities for men, and indulged them in secret (as more men than some might suspect did in boarding school and in gentlemen’s clubs), Maud enters her romantic situation completely unaware of her own interests. Violet sparks a sudden sexual awakening for her, and its amusing to watch as Maud throws herself enthusiastically into the discovery.

Speaking of sexual awakening: be aware that these books are NOT shy about the sexual content. Steamy isn’t a sufficient enough word. They are explicit, and sexy, and creative. So if that’s not your thing, reader beware. I, personally, love that shit. The steamier the better.

bonus! look at this fan art of Edwin and Robin by Ellie Bailey (@efpbailey on twitter)

As much as I loved both books, and both couples, I will say that my heart belongs to Robin and Edwin first and foremost. Robin was just so wonderful: cheerful, honest, optimistic. And Edwin was… well, Edwin was me. I identified so strongly with Edwin it was kind of pathetic: shy, introverted, nerdy, the weakest/least successful member of his family and looked down on by his siblings, with a disastrous love life, whose happy place is always in a library and buried in a book. Like Edwin, I could not help but love Robin, who saw him for who he really was, believed in him even when everyone else was laughing at him, and dragged him gently out of his shell. Yep, I am absolutely an Edwin Courcey still searching for my own Robin Blyth.

Long story short (too late, I know): if you enjoy historical fantasy and/or queer romance novels, plus a large helping of murder mystery, these books are for you. The magical murderous plots are exciting and adventurous, the romances are swoony and sexy, and the characters are all wonderfully complex and charming and relatable. You should totally pick them up now so you’re ready when the final book in the trilogy releases! (There’s no solid date on that yet, but I would guess sometime late next year… *fingers crossed*)

It’s that Time of Year Again, Folks: NaNoWriMo!

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We are reaching the end of October. It is therefore that time of year again! It’s NaNoWriMo season, my friends!

I think at this point most bookish types are at least vaguely familiar with Nano, but for the uninitiated NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Nano takes place in November (Novel, November, get it?). It started in 1999 and is run by a nonprofit group at the website www.nanowrimo.org

It’s a challenge, essentially, to write 50,000 words (of the first draft of a novel) over the course of just 30 days in November — 50,000 was chosen as the official word count goal because it is the rough average length of a published novel. (Sort of, the technical definition of a novel is a piece of fiction writing that is 40,000 words or longer. The average length has gone up in recent years and is probably more like 70-80k words at this point, but 50k is a good goal post for the challenge.) You sign up to join the challenge on the website, and keep track of your word count, follow other writers as “buddies,” and generally try to have fun. If you succeed in writing 50k words by Nov 30th, you officially “win” and get a printable certificate, some cool discounts from various participating business partnerships, and bragging rights. 

I’ve been participating (or trying to, anyway) most years since 2010. The ONLY time I’ve “won” was in my first year in 2010, when I actually wrote 70k words towards the first draft of my novel Midnight’s Knife (currently at 160,000 words total, in the 2nd draft). That year, I was unemployed and taking a year break between the end of my MA degree and the beginning of my PhD, which was the ONLY reason I actually managed to succeed. Every other year, as I try to write while also working/studying, I have failed miserably. I have never made it past 25k words since then, and some years don’t even break 15k.

But I try most years (I’ve skipped a few), and will again this year. I am currently unemployed again, which might give me a better chance at winning. BUT I am actively looking for/interviewing for jobs, and will hopefully have a new position soon, which will no doubt kill my chances at hitting 50k. But that’s all right. I need the work. And any writing progress is good progress.

This year, I will be starting a new project I’ve had rattling around in the back of my brain for a few months now. I’ve been telling my brain to wait, to put that back where it came from, and so on, for ages. And I decided that now was the time to let my brain pick up the idea and run with it for a while. I’ve been embracing the “Pantser” method of late, so beyond the basic premise and main characters, I have very little idea of where I’m going with this, but its going to have ALL THE VIBES.

It’s a secondary world setting, loosely inspired by Victorian England, featuring period-appropriate imperialism, and an immigrant family from a conquered/“annexed” country vaguely inspired by Japan. I’m stealing from everywhere for this story (including the Victorian England setting, and the Japanese immigrant experience). This stealing also includes: 1) a main character inspired by Ann Elliott from Jane Austen’s Persuasion, 2) the MC’s immigrant mother based on my Japanese-immigrant grandmother, 3) a main Love Interest loosely based on a combination of Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack) and Julie D’Aubigny, and 4) an undead warlock I stole pretty much wholesale from a rural Ohioan legend a Ohioan friend told me about.

I don’t have a title yet so I’m just calling it the “Wesmaris Project” for the moment (Wesmaris being the name of the imperialist country that is the main setting).

Tags include:
Victorian aesthetic, imperialist bullshit, immigrant family trauma, wlw, mutual pining, femme/butch, introvert/extrovert, magical beings, shady deals with fay in creepy forests, found family, undead warlock, thread magic, stitch-witchery, downtrodden women getting power and getting revenge, soundtrack by Florence + the Machine and Amazing Devil

And here’s the mood board I spent far too much time on:

Mood board made using Canva and images from Pinterest

Book Review: Imperfect Illusions

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Title: Imperfect Illusions
Author: Vanora Lawless
Release Date: 4 October 2022
How I Got It: ARC from the author
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Let me start this review with a little backstory. I follow the fantasy romance author Allie Therin on Twitter, whose work I adore and have raved about to all and sundry. A few months ago she started talking about her next project (Liar City, coming out next year) which will feature an empath. Another indie romance author, Vanora Lawless commented that she was also writing a story that featured an empath. Her story was a historical fantasy romance, about an empath drafted to fight during WW1. At that, I piped up that I was ALSO working on a story that features an empath, who was ALSO a soldier during WW1, though my story takes place in the 20s after the MC has survived the war and come home with serious PTSD. The three of us made a lot of jokes about being the empath squad (and several other writers joined in the merriment).

Fast forward a couple months, and Vanora Lawless (who I have since followed on Twitter and chatted with here and there) asked if I would be interested in an e-arc of her empath book, Imperfect Illusions, which she would be releasing (self-pub) in October. Of course, I jumped at the chance! Historical romance fantasy is one of my main obsessions. And I wanted to see how she interpreted the “empath soldier” character (and feared mine, which is nowhere near ready for publication, would be too similar).

I’d meant to read Imperfect Illusions right after I finished Nona the Ninth. But then Nona the Ninth knocked me on my ass and I spent over two weeks in a total book hangover/coma (and I know I still owe you all a review of that one). So, I finally sat down to read Imperfect Illusions on Monday (a day before officially release, lol).

And, reader, I read the whole thing in one sitting on Monday night, finishing at about 1:30am. Lol.

Imperfect Illusions, as I mentioned, is a historical fantasy romance. Sully is an empath working as a private detective in Chicago, when he is forcefully recruited by the military to join a special group of “Skilled” (magical) soldiers to go fight in France during WW1. He is blackmailed into joining because the military knows he sleeps with men and has no compunction exposing him and causing scandal for his teenage cousin (that he is raising) and possible arrest. On his last night before leaving for training, he goes for a night on the town and picks up a handsome man in a club. Much to his surprise, the handsome man, Elliot, is also “skilled” and is also being blackmailed into military service.

The two men have a single beautiful, emotional night together, and then go their separate ways, believing they will never see each other again.

Fast-forward to the war: Elliot’s skill is that he can dream-walk into anyone’s mind with enough effort, but mostly with people he has an emotional connection with (such as family and lovers). He accidentally finds himself in Sully’s dreams, and ends up protecting Sully from debilitating nightmares caused by Sully’s inability to block out the pain and fear and trauma of every other soldier around him on the frontlines. The problem is, like many people, Sully doesn’t generally remember his dreams, and therefore has no conscious knowledge of the fact that he is spending months’ worth of nights keeping company with Elliot as the two fall in love.

When Elliot and Sully end up working together on a covert mission, these two incongruent versions of their relationship come head to head, and it all goes to hell from there.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. Both of the MCs are charming and complex and given lots of personality on the page. Elliot’s wealthy background made for an interesting contrast of personalities to Sully’s working-class orphan background. I was highly amused by the detail that Elliot majored in English and writes (self-professed bad) poetry. I know the feeling, Elliot. The magic system is interesting and entertaining. People with magic are called “skilled” and usually have one, or perhaps two related, magical abilities: Sully is an empath but can also create illusions to distract or deflect attention; Elliot is a dream-walker but also has the ability to push the sensation of elation or horror into a person he touches, etc. Going into the story, I wasn’t sure how much the magic would matter to the plot, outside the inciting issue of Elliot dream-walking without Sully’s knowledge. I was happy to see that, in fact, the magic (of the MCs and a number of supporting characters) was all highly important and effectively used to further the plot. Without giving too much away, let me just say: I was not prepared for the zombies!

Speaking of the plot, besides the romance plot, there is a rather intense plot centered around WW1 in general, and on a dangerous covert operation specifically. It was exciting, and creepy (see the aforementioned zombies), and well-executed.

The general setting of the war in France is painted with a light touch. Enough specificity and detail to ground the story, but not so much as to get lost in the historical weeds. Just on a subjective, personal taste level, I would appreciate a bit more attention to the historical setting. There were a few points where I was sitting there thinking: “I’m not entirely sure this is accurate…” or “this is kind of vague every-war-is-like-this stuff, rather than specific WW1 history.” But again, that is purely a matter of personal taste, because I am a history nerd, and I get caught up in my own historical research when I’m writing a lot (like, to the point of trying to find accurate tram service line maps for 1922 Cleveland, and making sure any song I mentioned was definitely already released on the radio before Sept 1922… I’m just like that). In any case, this was a very minor complaint. Not even really a complaint, actually. Just a noted difference in writing styles.

The book was highly entertaining. Both MCs were charming as fuck. The romance was beautiful and intense and entirely swoon-worthy (a handful of very steamy sex scenes). And the zombies were creepy. And I am absolutely delighted to know that a sequel is expected some time next year. Thank goodness!

As I mentioned, this book JUST released this week. I highly recommend it for any of my fellow historical romance fans. You can find links to any of your preferred book-buying locations on the Imperfect Illusions books2read page (by the by, books2read.com is my new favorite place for compiling of the book buying links).

Queer Romances Redux: Whyborne & Griffin Series

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Back at the beginning of June, I planned on doing several posts about queer romances I loved in the spirit of Pride Month. I made one post on the topic, and then (in typical Amanda fashion) disappeared again. I won’t spend several posts on the subject now, so far after the fact, but I wanted to at least talk about the one really big romance series that I’ve been obsessing over. I’ve mentioned in a couple previous posts, but wanted to dedicate a full post to it here.

I’m talking about the Whyborne & Griffin series by Jordan L. Hawk.

Jordan L. Hawk is a transmasc author with a long resume of writing queer romances, of which the Whyborne & Griffin series is just one option. While I plan to read his other books eventually, this series will probably remain my favorite. I love these books so much. I picked up the first book on Dec 23rd 2021. I remember the date specifically because I had spent days finishing a huge house-cleaning sweep in preparation for my grandmother coming to visit for the holidays. I finished cleaning on the afternoon of the 23rd, and my grandmother would be arriving in the evening, so I might a cup of hot tea and downloaded the first book, Widdershins.

I finished that first book that night. And downloaded the rest of the ENTIRE ELEVEN BOOK SERIES immediately. And proceeded to read the first five books in five days, while playing host to my grandmother over Christmas. The reading slowed down a bit after that because I had to go back to work, but I had still managed to finish reading the whole series by the end of January. I devoured them.

Then, I decided I wanted print copies, not just ebooks, so I bought a couple at a time and did a re-read as they arrived, finishing the series for a second time at the end of June. And now I’m already thinking about re-reading the first few again. That’s how much I love this series.

So here’s the basic premise: the series is set in late-Victorian New England, in a city called Widdershins. But this is not our New England, because this series is deeply rooted in the Lovecraftian universe. You do not have to be familiar with Lovecraft Lore to understand and enjoy the series (all the creeps and ghouls and eldritch gods are fully explained and fleshed out with the context of the series), but if you are already familiar with Lovecraft it is endlessly amusing to suddenly recognize a name or reference from the Lovecraft mythos. The main setting of the series, Widdershins, is a city of Hawk’s devising, but with references to Lovecraft lore. And in keeping with that mythos, the main character, Dr. Percival Whyborne (who goes only be Whyborne thank you very much), is a linguistics scholar who works at a museum and went to college at Miskatonic University.

Whyborne is a tall, perpetually-awkward, shy and repressed scholarly man who works in the basement of the museum. He comes from a wealthy family but despises his father and has renounced his claim to the family money or power. He is routinely harassed and bullied by other scholars at the museum, and has a single friend: archeologist Dr. Christine Putnam (who, being the only woman in a field of men, is likewise often harassed and bullied, but unlike timid Whyborne, has a mouth that NEVER STOPS SNARKING. And god I love her for it.) Whyborne is also gay, but he has never allowed himself to act on that knowledge.

Enter Mr. Griffin Flaherty: an ex-Pinkerton, turned private detective, and the most attractive man Whyborne has ever seen. Griffin is on a case to solve the mysterious death of a rich man’s son, and needs the assistance of a linguist to decipher a coded journal that belonged to the dead man. He also has several secrets to keep under wraps, not the least of which is that he has recently been released from an asylum.

Whyborne reluctantly agrees to help the enormously charming Griffin, and before long the two are on a fast-track to becoming friends and quite possibly more. Along the way, they discover that magic is real. In fact, it’s not only real, it’s deadly and it’s coming for the city.

I’m trying my best here not to give too much away, which leaves me speaking in vague phrases and doing lots of hand-waving. There is dark magic, eldritch terrors, necromancy, angst, and romantic drama. And that’s just the first book!

Each book ratchets up the drama, the dark magic, the danger, and the deadly horrors, building toward an overarching plot that is intricate and enormously satisfying. There’s also some of the best, steamiest sex scenes ever put to paper. And a few love confessions/speeches to make even the most hard-hearted swoon.

Perhaps what I love most about these books is that they deeply explore what it means to be an outsider, from many different perspectives. As a queer man, as a woman, as a person of color, as well as from the more genre-specific angles of being magical or non-human, perhaps even a “monster.” And that take on the monstrous is another thing I love about these books. Hawk’s takes the horrors of Lovecraft lore and examines them, dissects them, reimagines them until the characters and the readers are forced to reconsider what makes someone or something a “monster,” or whether the word has any real meaning at all.

These are also books about acceptance and love and family. Found family, mostly, which is one of my all-time favorite tropes. The characters throughout the series are often rejected by their actual families, their “people,” and so they come together in beautiful ways to make their own family (a family I would give my right arm to be a part of, lol).

The whole series is, to me, the perfect blend of queer erotic romance and dark paranormal fantasy adventure. I know some readers prefer more of one or the other, but I love the balancing act between the two genres played out here. It’s a style of writing and plot that would probably not have sold well twenty or thirty years ago, but in recent decades this kind of cross-genre/genre-bending work has become more and more popular (thanks at least in part to the post fanfic-internet-world, lol). And I, for one, am very grateful for it.

I guarantee you will love these characters — Whyborne and Griffin and Christine and the whole cast of people that come as the story progresses. You might even see yourself in one or more of them (I am entirely too much like Whyborne, it’s slightly embarrassing actually). If you love romance novels but are squeamish about some pretty gross-out-worthy horror elements; or, if you love dark fantasy/horror novels but are squeamish about some pretty graphic sex scenes, than these are NOT for you. But if you enjoy the mix of both in any capacity, I pretty much guarantee you will love these books!

Here’s a link to the first book on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AHH0YF2?tag=jolha-20

Here’s a link to Jordan L. Hawk’s author page: http://www.jordanlhawk.com

If you’ve read these before and love them, sound off in the comments below! If you pick them up later, I’d love to hear your thoughts as well!

Queer Romances for Pride (Pt 1)

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“chaotic” pride flags courtesy of @WhyTheEnn on Twitter

Happy Pride Month, friends!

We have now entered June, a month in which the queer community defiantly celebrates our joy and diversity while corporations that ignore us the rest of the year (or actively legislate against us) try to throw a bunch of tasteless tone-deaf pride merch at us in an effort to grab that sweet, sweet queer cash. Yay!  (For the record, I am bisexual – disaster bi for life, fam!).

It is strangely fitting that last week I wrote a post about my current obsession with (mostly queer) romance novels, so I thought in honor of Pride Month I would share a few of my favorite queer romances. Every single one of these romances features queer MCs, but I cannot promise that every single author is themselves queer.

I do look for and read novels from out-queer authors, but it is a recorded fact that an outsized percentage of queer romances are written by straight cis woman. Or at least women who by all accounts seem to be straight and cis. Part of the confusion is that some of these romance writers maybe bi or nonbinary, but most do not divulge their orientations or identities at all. (There are a couple authors I am specifically thinking of that I pretty much assume are bi/pan but have not explicitly said so in their bios or social media, so… who knows?) Partly this is because it is safer marketing-wise not to divulge, but mostly this is because authors have every right to keep that information private if they so desire. So, to be clear, I am not out here demanding to know the sexual orientation of every romance novelist I read. Authors do not automatically owe us that (this is part of a larger issue with the Own Voices movement, which was well-intentioned when started but became weaponized very quickly and is now losing favor).

I admit that I do wish the publishing community in general would prioritize more genuinely queer authors writing these kinds of stories. However, that is NOT to say that I believe straight women (or straight men for that matter) are not allowed to write these, nor that a straight person is incapable of writing a very good, very well-researched, sensitive, and absolutely enjoyable queer romance. Some of my faves have come from KJ Charles, for instance, who is a straight woman and acknowledges the amount of research and sensitivity that is required when she writes queer characters.

In any case, let’s talk books!

For queer romance novels by queer writers, my brain does (of course) immediately jump to T.J. Klune, who I’ve mentioned before, as I wrote a review of his novel House in the Cerulean Sea last year. Klune has, in fact, written quite a large number of absolutely excellent fantasy romances. Two of his standalone novels, House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door are my personal favorites. But he has also written two YA novels about teenage superheroes in which much hilarity ensues amidst the romance called The Extraordinaries and Flash Fire (the third book, Heat Wave, is coming soon). And he’s written many many others, including his Green Creek series (Werewolf romance) and his immensely popular Verania series (high fantasy with all the gayness and drama). I haven’t read these yet, though they are definitely on my list of books to get to. But his beautiful, gentle, hopeful novel House in the Cerulean Sea will almost certainly remain my eternal favorite. I could rhapsodize about that book for ages, but it would probably be easier to just link to my original review here.

Cat Sebastian, author of many many queer (mostly m/m) romances is an out bi woman. She has a new release, The Perfect Crime of Marion Hayes, featuring an f/m pairing in which both characters are bi. I love that because bi men and women are so often accused of not being queer enough, and of no longer “counting” if they end up a relationship with a person of the opposite (or seemingly-opposite) gender. So I really appreciate that both characters are portrayed as still retaining their identities, as still bi, no matter who they end up with. 

As I said, Cat Sebastian has a very long (frankly intimidating) bibliography, and I have only just started to tackle her backlist, but I absolutely adored a pair of novels about a doctor and a spy in post-WW2 England: Hither, Page and The Missing Page. Hither, Page opens with a doctor, James Sommers who has moved back to his small English village following WW2. He was a promising surgeon, but the war left him scarred and suffering from PTSD he can no longer handle the sight of blood and death. When a house-cleaner, known for snooping on people, dies under suspicious circumstances, spy Leo Page is sent in to find out what really happened. James and Leo end up working together to solve the murder, as they grow increasingly attracted to each. But as Leo starts to put all the pieces together, he fears that solving the murder will destroy any chance of he has of being with James.

This book was both a great murder mystery and an absolutely charming romance, with two main characters with complicated pasts and motivations, a whole cast of fascinating eccentric villagers, and loads of sexual tension. The conclusion is earned and satisfying. And the sequel, The Missing Page adds so much to the characters and their relationship (and another fantastic murder mystery). I’m really hoping Cat Sebastian writes another one, but I’m not holding my breath. It looks like she’s moved on to other projects now. Alas.

A few other queer authors of queer romance include (but is certainly not limited to):

Casey McQuiston: the non-binary writer of the extremely popular Red, White, and Royal Blue (m/m) and One Last Stop (f/f)

E.E. Ottoman: transmasc author of several romances including The Doctor’s Discretion (m/m, also featuring trans characters), The Companion (f/f/m poly romance), and A Matter of Disagreement (m/m)

Alexis Hall: queer (unspecified but definitely queer) male author of quite a few great queer books including Boyfriend Material (m/m), Something Fabulous (m/m), and most recently A Lady for a Duke (transfemme/cis-man) which I haven’t read yet but I’m really hyped for!

One of my current faves is Jordan L. Hawk, author of the Whyborne & Griffin series (and others), but he gets his own post later so I can rant and rave properly!

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!