#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed the dated charm of Across the Counter by Mary Burchell, where the up-and-coming shopgirl gets promoted and gets to eat in the assistant buyers dining room! Which begs the question, how many separate dining rooms did they have?! No huge fireworks, just a nice, slightly angsty fake engagement romance.
#WhatchaReading ? I finished Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly, which would be an excellent choice for this month's "Bananapants" #TBRChallenge . (Alas, I already read a truly terrible Harlequin Presents.) This is very fun smut if you can get past the premise (not everyone can.) The strong characters and sharp writing also make it work as romance.
#WhatchaReading ? I'm halfway through Behind These Doors, a queer historical (with some polyamory) involving class issues and women's suffrage. One main character is a "nob," the other a reporter who was raised "above his station" and feels like neither fish nor fowl. It was edited by K.J. Charles so you know it's good. :-)
On KU, supposed to be part of a series but I think there's only the one so far.
#WhatchaReading ? I'm buddy-reading A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo, which isn't really grabbing me the way Last Night at the Telegraph Club did. I'm probably not the audience for it.
Read oldie Reluctant Relation by Mary Burchell (on KU) which is not one of her more interesting books, but a pleasant time passer. I like it when she writes an Other Woman and you can actually see what the appeal is instead of wondering WTH is wrong with the dude.
#WhatchaReading ? I found Level Up by Cathy Yardley a bit of a slog. She's reworked some of the same themes (career vs love, introversion vs isolation) in later books more successfully, and the geeky elements feel more authentic in her later books too, IMO. (Though perhaps that's just because game design isn't my thing.) Also needed some editing. Not sure I'll continue this series.
#WhatchaReading ? I read The Wedding Dress by Mary Burchell, one of the follow-ups to Under the Stars of Paris and inevitably a bit meh in comparison. The great design house setting is fun but the romantic relationship seems largely based on Daddy Issues.
#WhatchaReading ? #AmReading Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh which is very intriguing so far. Lots and lots of undercurrents, clueless main character.
#WhatchaReading ? I very much enjoyed The Wonder Engine, the sequel to Clockwork Boys. Suspense, romance, humor, redemption!
I actually followed Ursula Vernon on the bird site because of her gardening posts long before I thought to read any of her books. Might be a lesson there... 😇
#WhatchaReading ? I was up all night 🥱 finishing You Should Be So Lucky. Amazingly, it's somehow not a letdown after the gorgeousness of We Could Be So Good.
The themes are around living an authentic life in a highly closeted time, and it's complex and believable. There are tropes too but not obnoxiously or pointlessly. And really well drawn, relatable characters. And pretty swoony romance too. 😂
#WhatchaReading ? Wow, the bleak moment in The Breakup Lists was even worse than I expected, though actually worked really well with the story arc. I found it overall a good read, though too repetitious and with a bit of a deus ex machina ending; I would've like to see the main character really pursue what he wanted.
Has what seems like very good #deaf representation, is very #queer , and very geeky about high school theater. And a sweet romance.
#WhatchaReading ? I #AmReading The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram (YA, theater kid, narrator is deaf) and have reached the part where I know exactly what is going to happen to screw up the romance and the anticipation is so painful I can barely read on.
#WhatchaReading ? I haven't been posting about books much, been kind of in a meh mood. Still slowly reading Demon Copperhead, which is amazing but a LOT. Listened to Carrie Soto is Back, which was a bit of a hard sell because of the unlikable narrator but very enjoyable in the end. And just finished The Prisoner's Throne which I enjoyed but kind of forgot about as soon as I'd finished it.