willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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.

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willaful , to Romance Books
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? I finished Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly, which would be an excellent choice for this month's "Bananapants" . (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.

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willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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.

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wendypalmer ,
@wendypalmer@mastodon.au avatar

@willaful @romancelandia @romancebooks “the good book hangover” - yes! That’s exactly what it is, I’ll have to remember that phrase 😊

I adored The Mars House but—assuming you’ve not read Natasha Pulley before—might be better to start with one of her earlier books. She’s previously written literary historicals with a mild fantastic element and understated gay pining, whereas the Mars House is science-fiction, also with the understated gay pining, but also all in on her tendency to zigzag all over moral grey areas. I love her, she’s my favourite author, but she’s not traditional romance genre as such 🤷‍♀️

willaful OP ,
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

@wendypalmer Good to know, thanks!

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willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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.

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pretensesoup ,
@pretensesoup@romancelandia.club avatar

@willaful I am listening to the audiobook of On the Move by Oliver Sacks and reading Good-Bye to All That by Robert Graves, so I guess it's a memoir-heavy week for me. @romancebooks

antoniaaquilante ,
@antoniaaquilante@romancelandia.club avatar

@willaful @romancebooks I just started The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen in audio. I enjoyed the first in the series so I have high hopes for this one. I keep starting and putting down books lately because I just can’t figure out what I’m in the mood for.

willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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.

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notTheAudience ,
@notTheAudience@romancelandia.club avatar

@willaful I'm listening to Rebecca Yarros's "The Things We Leave Unfinished" which has an interesting dual timeline structure, 1940 and present day, but I'm still not sure I care about the present-day characters very much. Reading Tarah DeWitt's "Savor It" in which not much is happening but I could read the characters (especially the FMC) bantering all day. I like the style. @romancelandia @romancebooks

willaful , to Romance Books
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willaful , to bookstodon group
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? Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh which is very intriguing so far. Lots and lots of undercurrents, clueless main character.

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nnschiller ,
@nnschiller@glammr.us avatar
willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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. 😂

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lenoreo ,
@lenoreo@romancelandia.club avatar

@willaful @romancelandia @romancebooks sounds cute! I'm listening to Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood and so far it's keeping my attention, which is not easy these days!

willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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 representation, is very , and very geeky about high school theater. And a sweet romance.

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willaful , to bookstodon group
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? 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.

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wendypalmer ,
@wendypalmer@mastodon.au avatar

@willaful @bookstodon I should finish City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky today…I don’t normally read very long books with ensemble casts but he won me over with the set-up and his sense of humour.

I am looking forward to finally finishing though, and this weekend will be Connie Willis’s The Road to Roswell — longtime fan, looking forward to it

willaful OP ,
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

@wendypalmer I have trouble getting started on those chunksters too, but they can be very rewarding. I'll put that one on my list.

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willaful , to Romancelandia group
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? 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.

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willaful , to Romance Books
@willaful@romancelandia.club avatar

? 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... 😇

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willaful , to bookstodon group
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? I 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.


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