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awanderingbardI've mentioned I've been reading like a mad thing this year, and I started logging on goodreads to keep track of what I've read so I can feel accomplished about it. I thought I'd share my favourites so far in case anyone else is looking for a book they might enjoy.
Head's up: most of what I've read this year is romance novels. They're easy on my brain and make me happy. I'll tag the level of spiciness in the reviews so you can read at your comfort level. I'll also put content warnings under spoiler tags so you can see them if you need/want and avoid them if you don't!
These books revolve around a Christmas tree farm in a small town. They're sweet and cozy and fun. The first book is about Stella, who owns the farm, and the others follow various characters introduced in the first book as they have their own love stories. The characters all know each other beforehand, each love story follows established friends' relationships as they start to develop feelings for each other rather than 'we meet and fall in love' stories.
Highlights: lots of quirky side characters, neurodivergent coded characters that don't feel cliche, some diverse ethnicities in the leads, friends-to-lovers themes, healthy and supportive romances without toxicity
Spice level: fairly graphic sex scenes, consent is well-written, I'd put it somewhere between M-E in rating
The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
I could not put this one down for most of the time I was reading it. It's a 'groundhog day' type story of a woman going home for Christmas and reliving the same series of unfortunate events that ensue over and over again as she tries to figure out why and how to stop it. It's fun and silly, very absurd British humour in the style of Bridget Jones' Diary or Sophie Kinsella. It does have romance, but it's more about family and friendship.
Highlights: POC love interest, fun characters that change and grow nicely, absolutely madcap nonsense throughout that's super funny and enjoyable
Spice: Near none, I'd rate this a solid PG.
Come Back by Melissa Maygrove
This is one of the romance novels I got for free during the free romance novel thing that I saw on tumblr. It's self-published, I think, and there were a few minor formatting errors and typos in it, at least in the e-book version I had, but not nearly as bad as some of the other books I downloaded. It follows Rebecca, a young woman who is travelling to California during the Westward Expansion era, who gets left behind by her wagon train and has to survive until they return, eventually meeting a young man named Seth who tries to help her find her family again. It's compelling and well-written, the characters are flawed, but understandably so, and learn and grow together. I really enjoyed the survival aspect, of the resourcefulness of it. Obviously Westward Expansion has been overly romanticized and there are a lot of problematic aspects to colonization and the effect it had on the native peoples of the lands. This book doesn't really address those issues, it's just telling a story of two settlers without making a statement on it. Your mileage may vary on whether you feel that's a problem or not.
Highlights: interesting, complex characters, a compelling plot, a good build to a love story
Spice: there's a couple of love scenes, both of them fairly well described. I'd say an M rating.
CW:
These ones are books 6 and 7, so, obviously you might not want to jump in here, but you can consider this an overall rec for the series. The series follows Veronica, a lepidopterist in the Victorian era who was raised by her maiden aunts and suddenly finds herself in a world of danger and intrigue after their deaths, when she is nearly abducted and finds her origins are more complicated that she thought. She meets Stoker, a mysterious reclusive naturalist, who reluctantly agrees to help protect her, and ultimately forms a strong connection with her that leads them on another adventures together. The plots are compelling and fun, Veronica's narration is full of wit, and the books are full of ridiculous characters and situations. Both Veronica and Stoker are flawed, but enjoyable, and their dynamic together is cute. I love anything Deanna Raybourn writes, I would also recommend the Lady Julia Grey series, too.
In particular these two books were a lot of fun, an Unexpected Peril a bit weaker than some of the others in the series, but An Impossible Imposter brought it back up again.
Highlights: clever heroine and hero, themes of healing and growth, mysteries that are fun and compelling, celebration of knowledge and science, female characters who are brave and smart
Spice: general sauciness throughout, but Veronica usually coyly skims over it in her narration. One of the books involves a sex club (and I think one of the others also might, but I missed that one and haven't read it yet).
CW:
I've never seen Bridgerton the show because I don't have Netflix and find watching television in general overwhelming at times, but I do love me a Regency romance and so when the books starting appearing in stores due to the popularity of the show, I picked them up, and now I grab what Julia Quinn books I can find at the thrift stores because I like them. They are very silly, pure confection, and all kind of follow the same plot of 'mildly to severely assholeish man is transformed by his love for a heroine who believes he's only marrying her by necessity and has to be convinced otherwise'. I usually find them a fun, quick read, and I think Quinn does a fairly good job of sprinkling larger issues in around the sexy times.
Brief opinions of each book:
My favourite of these three was 10 Things, but the others were also good. All books are easily read standalone, there will be characters from other books with mild spoilers, but you don't need to have read them to follow.
Highlights: silly Regency fun, brooding heros who adore their heroines, some social issues scattered through that are handled pretty well
Spice: Quinn's books are spicy, but not necessarily graphic spicy. Probably M or so.
CW:
I picked up a few of London's books at the thrift store and they are really trashy romance stuff, I admit, but they're fun. The stories are varied and the plots are relatively complex. I feel like each one I've read is a slightly different style of romance novel which is a testament to her writing, since some romance authors can feel like they're just writing the same book over and over again.
These ones were all part of series, too, and they link a little more together than Quinn's books do. I got confused during Earl when the action suddenly shifted to characters we've never met or mentioned before who were narrating the story. Still managed to follow though.
Highlights: good plots in addition to the romance, heroines who take initiative, good descriptive writing
Spice: lots of sex, but relatively abstract in descriptions. M rating.
CW:
That's all for now! Book recs welcome if you them. I love anything light-hearted and romance-ish, especially historical stuff.
Head's up: most of what I've read this year is romance novels. They're easy on my brain and make me happy. I'll tag the level of spiciness in the reviews so you can read at your comfort level. I'll also put content warnings under spoiler tags so you can see them if you need/want and avoid them if you don't!
The Lovelight Farms Series by BK Borison
Lovelight Farms
In the Weeds
Mixed Signals
Business Casual
These books revolve around a Christmas tree farm in a small town. They're sweet and cozy and fun. The first book is about Stella, who owns the farm, and the others follow various characters introduced in the first book as they have their own love stories. The characters all know each other beforehand, each love story follows established friends' relationships as they start to develop feelings for each other rather than 'we meet and fall in love' stories.
Highlights: lots of quirky side characters, neurodivergent coded characters that don't feel cliche, some diverse ethnicities in the leads, friends-to-lovers themes, healthy and supportive romances without toxicity
Spice level: fairly graphic sex scenes, consent is well-written, I'd put it somewhere between M-E in rating
The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
I could not put this one down for most of the time I was reading it. It's a 'groundhog day' type story of a woman going home for Christmas and reliving the same series of unfortunate events that ensue over and over again as she tries to figure out why and how to stop it. It's fun and silly, very absurd British humour in the style of Bridget Jones' Diary or Sophie Kinsella. It does have romance, but it's more about family and friendship.
Highlights: POC love interest, fun characters that change and grow nicely, absolutely madcap nonsense throughout that's super funny and enjoyable
Spice: Near none, I'd rate this a solid PG.
Come Back by Melissa Maygrove
This is one of the romance novels I got for free during the free romance novel thing that I saw on tumblr. It's self-published, I think, and there were a few minor formatting errors and typos in it, at least in the e-book version I had, but not nearly as bad as some of the other books I downloaded. It follows Rebecca, a young woman who is travelling to California during the Westward Expansion era, who gets left behind by her wagon train and has to survive until they return, eventually meeting a young man named Seth who tries to help her find her family again. It's compelling and well-written, the characters are flawed, but understandably so, and learn and grow together. I really enjoyed the survival aspect, of the resourcefulness of it. Obviously Westward Expansion has been overly romanticized and there are a lot of problematic aspects to colonization and the effect it had on the native peoples of the lands. This book doesn't really address those issues, it's just telling a story of two settlers without making a statement on it. Your mileage may vary on whether you feel that's a problem or not.
Highlights: interesting, complex characters, a compelling plot, a good build to a love story
Spice: there's a couple of love scenes, both of them fairly well described. I'd say an M rating.
CW:
click for warnings
There's a near SA scene and a character describes a past SA scene they witnessed. A semi-dub con scene due to a misunderstanding, I don't really know how to tag it exactly. Also some offscreen violence, and some mental health related themes.Two books by Deanna Raybourn:
An Unexpected Peril (Veronica Speedwell 6)
An Impossible Imposter (Veronica Speedwell 7)
These ones are books 6 and 7, so, obviously you might not want to jump in here, but you can consider this an overall rec for the series. The series follows Veronica, a lepidopterist in the Victorian era who was raised by her maiden aunts and suddenly finds herself in a world of danger and intrigue after their deaths, when she is nearly abducted and finds her origins are more complicated that she thought. She meets Stoker, a mysterious reclusive naturalist, who reluctantly agrees to help protect her, and ultimately forms a strong connection with her that leads them on another adventures together. The plots are compelling and fun, Veronica's narration is full of wit, and the books are full of ridiculous characters and situations. Both Veronica and Stoker are flawed, but enjoyable, and their dynamic together is cute. I love anything Deanna Raybourn writes, I would also recommend the Lady Julia Grey series, too.
In particular these two books were a lot of fun, an Unexpected Peril a bit weaker than some of the others in the series, but An Impossible Imposter brought it back up again.
Highlights: clever heroine and hero, themes of healing and growth, mysteries that are fun and compelling, celebration of knowledge and science, female characters who are brave and smart
Spice: general sauciness throughout, but Veronica usually coyly skims over it in her narration. One of the books involves a sex club (and I think one of the others also might, but I missed that one and haven't read it yet).
CW:
click for warnings
violence throughout, nothing terribly graphic as far as I can recall, typical for a mystery seriesA trio of books by Julia Quinn:
Romancing Mr Bridgerton (Bridgerton 4)
10 Things I Love About You (Bevelstoke 3)
The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy (Smythe-Smith Quartet #4)
I've never seen Bridgerton the show because I don't have Netflix and find watching television in general overwhelming at times, but I do love me a Regency romance and so when the books starting appearing in stores due to the popularity of the show, I picked them up, and now I grab what Julia Quinn books I can find at the thrift stores because I like them. They are very silly, pure confection, and all kind of follow the same plot of 'mildly to severely assholeish man is transformed by his love for a heroine who believes he's only marrying her by necessity and has to be convinced otherwise'. I usually find them a fun, quick read, and I think Quinn does a fairly good job of sprinkling larger issues in around the sexy times.
Brief opinions of each book:
Romancing Mr Bridgerton (heroine is likeable, hero is kind of jerk but with well-explained if lacking motivations. Romance felt a bit rushed, but overall enjoyable)
10 Things (very fun, hero quite likeable with some depth to him, heroine less inclined to be morose about things. Lots of silliness abounds)
Secrets (very assholeish hero with good motivations. Heroine has a good sense of self. Romance is a bit weak)
My favourite of these three was 10 Things, but the others were also good. All books are easily read standalone, there will be characters from other books with mild spoilers, but you don't need to have read them to follow.
Highlights: silly Regency fun, brooding heros who adore their heroines, some social issues scattered through that are handled pretty well
Spice: Quinn's books are spicy, but not necessarily graphic spicy. Probably M or so.
CW:
click for warnings
10 Things has a hero with PTSD from war service and two scenes of near SAThree books by Julia London:
An Inconvenient Earl (Royal Match 4)
The Perils of Pursuing a Prince (Desperate Debutantes 2)
Wild Wicked Scot (Highland Grooms 1)
I picked up a few of London's books at the thrift store and they are really trashy romance stuff, I admit, but they're fun. The stories are varied and the plots are relatively complex. I feel like each one I've read is a slightly different style of romance novel which is a testament to her writing, since some romance authors can feel like they're just writing the same book over and over again.
Brief reviews of each:
Inconvenient Earl (light-hearted Victorian stuff, quite silly and fun, liked the heroine's dilemma a lot, and the hero is just along for the ride)
Pursuing a Prince (this one's kind of Gothic, reminded me of a Victoria Holt novel, on the darker side but not grim, good read, but not exactly fluffy)
Wild Wicked Scot (surprisingly not as trashy as the title would suggest, liked that the hero and heroine both had character development to do, and the plot kept me guessing)
These ones were all part of series, too, and they link a little more together than Quinn's books do. I got confused during Earl when the action suddenly shifted to characters we've never met or mentioned before who were narrating the story. Still managed to follow though.
Highlights: good plots in addition to the romance, heroines who take initiative, good descriptive writing
Spice: lots of sex, but relatively abstract in descriptions. M rating.
CW:
click for warnings
Pursuing a prince has very dub-con scenes throughout it, with hero menacing sexily a lot. Along the lines of 'propriety says I musn't, but you're so hot, I cannot help it' kind of stuff on the heroine's partThat's all for now! Book recs welcome if you them. I love anything light-hearted and romance-ish, especially historical stuff.
