bluesalamanders 2024

Hi! I'm Blue, I live in New England in the USA, and I generally read science fiction, fantasy, and now (still a little to my surprise, I admit), romance. I usually finish around 150 books per year, although the last few years have varied wildly from 130 to 250, so who even knows.

Favorite new reads of 2023:
The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto by Sam Starbuck
The Doomsday Books (The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen and A Noblemen's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel) by KJ Charles
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Once a Rogue by Allie Therin
System Collapse by Martha Wells

Previous challenges:
50 Book Challenge lists: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
75 Book Challenge lists: 2011, 2011.2, 2012.1, 2012.2, 2013.1, 2013.2, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Here's to a better and brighter 2024.

Welcome back, Blue!

Happy New Year!

>2 drneutron: Thanks, Newt!

>3 SilverWolf28: Happy new year!

Finished Book 1: The Silver Sea by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, patreon short story
New read, adult, fantasy, ebook, 47p

This is a short story that takes place after Sleep No More/The Innocent Sleep. It’s very sweet.

Finished Book 2: The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf, book 1
New read, adult, romance (fantasy, mystery), audiobook, 8h 17m
Content warnings: open-door sex, fantasy racism, police abuse of power, kidnapping

I did not enjoy this book particularly. The main character is annoying, rude, racist (fantasy racist, against werewolves), and kind of dumb. I honestly don’t know why the love interest is interested in him. Maybe if this had had alternating POVs and I could have seen him from the other guy’s perspective, it would have made more sense.

In addition, the narrator read the audiobook like he was in a race to the end. I have never heard an audiobook read so quickly. Consistently, through the whole book! It was frankly stressful. I’ve listened to other books narrated by the same person that didn’t have this issue, so I don’t know what was going on.

The only reason I pushed through to the end despite the multiple reasons I didn’t especially care for this book is because my friend who recommended it said that the rest of the series is really good, so here’s hoping that it’s worth it.

Happy reading in 2024, Blue!

Happy New Year, Blue!

Happy New Year and happy new thread!

Happy new year, Blue!

Happy new year!! I really want to get to The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen this year.

Happy new year FAM, nora, foggi, Micky, and curious!

I hope you enjoy Secret Lives, curious! It and Nobleman's Guide are definitely some of my favorite KJ Charles books.

Finished Book 3: The Wolf at Bay by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf, book 2
New read, adult, romance (fantasy, mystery), ebook, 240p
Content warnings: open door sex, bad/lacking aftercare, discussions of infidelity, discussions of drug addiction and overdose, blackmail, self-harm, suicide

And we have character growth! It’s still a little rough, but Cooper is gaining a little emotional awareness and is more entertaining to read about. The plot was a lot of Surprise Twists that were mostly not all that surprising, but it was not bad. Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first one and I’m actually looking forward to reading the next one.

Happy New Year, Blue!

>13 ronincats: Happy new year, roni!

Happy new year, Blue!

>15 PaulCranswick: Happy new year, Paul!

Finished Book 4: Thrown to the Wolves by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf, book 3
New read, adult, romance (fantasy, mystery), ebook, 241p
Content warnings: open door sex, kidnapping, murder, betrayal, lying, discussion of child abandonment

This book was fine. Personally I think this series as a whole is fairly mediocre, but not everything has to be the Best Thing Ever and I am enjoying them enough to keep going. I did not, I admit, enjoy spending most of this book annoyed with Park, the love interest or non-POV main character or whatever you want to call him, who had seemed like the more intelligent of the two in the previous books, but I guess family can make fools of us all. And I was disappointed (but not surprised) with who the bad guy turned out to be, but it all pretty much made sense with the overall story.

Finished Book 5: The Human Division by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 5
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 14h 53m

I like this series, and I really like this book. It’s the same universe and the same types of characters as the other OMW books, but these stories are about diplomacy and the events surrounding diplomacy and as much as I like John and Jane in the first trilogy, I actually find these stories more interesting.

Finished Book 6: The End of all Things by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 6
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 11h 24m

Finished Book 7: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children, book 1
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 4h 44m
Content warnings: brief transphobia, major character death, mutilation of bodies/corpses, discussion of emotionally/psychologically abusive parents, moderate gore

Finished Book 8: If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 4h 38m

This is an excellent novella that a friend recommended to me. It’s about someone who works at One Wizard, a call center for people with magic-related problems to ask for help. Yes, really.

Finished Book 9: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children, book 2
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 4h 4m
Content warnings: neglectful/controlling parents, death, moderate gore, brief fatphobia

Finished Book 10: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children, book 3
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 4h 11m
Content warnings: fatphobia, discussion of dieting and other controlling behaviors, discussion of racism, mild gore/body horror, mentions of suicide, drowning

Finished Book 11: Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children, book 5
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook, 3h 52m
Content warnings: possession, drowning, major character death, panic attacks, moderate gore

I'd planned to reread the whole series before reading the new one, but I finished this one, and realized I didn't want to reread any of the others just now.

Finished Book 12: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children, book 9
New read, young adult, fantasy, audiobook, 4h 40m

Really liked this! It was definitely heartbreaking at times and made me tear up at least twice. As glad as I am that she found her door, I'm going to miss Cora most of all; she is absolutely my favorite character, even more than Nancy.

Finished Book 13: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty
The Midsolar Murders, book 2
New read, adult, science fiction (mystery), audiobook (audible), 11h 47m
Content warnings: there are a few other minor things, but the big one is bugs, pretty much constant swarms of wasp-like aliens throughout the whole book

I think I liked this one better than the first one, which is probably because of the issue I have with the end of the first book. This one I thought was a little more cohesive, plot-wise.

Finished Book 14: Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook, 8h 39m

Finished Book 15: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
Fuzzies, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (librivox), 5h 36m

Finished Book 16: Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher
The Saint of Steel, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (high fantasy), audiobook (hoopla), 12h 31m

I read this before, but I didn’t remember much of anything about it. I don’t think it was the right time, anyway, because I didn’t go on and read the following books, which I am absolutely going to do now.

Finished Book 17: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
Wayfarers, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 11h 29m

I really like this one, possibly more than the first one but it deals with a lot heavier and more intense topics, so I can’t reread it quite as often.

Finished Book 18: For Never and Always by Helena Greer
New read, adult, romance (contemporary, queer), ebook (library), 369p

I may have been skeptical about the first book in this series, but now I’m a definitely fan and I’m really looking forward to the next one.

Currently Reading:
All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows (ebook, sister’s kindle)
Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher (audiobook, hoopla)

Finished Book 19: Paladin's strength by T Kingfisher
Saint of steel, book 2
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 15h 38m

Finished Book 20: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Wayfarers, book 4
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 9h 55m

I really love this book. My dad read this series recently and he was surprised at how much he liked this one in particular, because nothing much really happens? An eclectic group of people sit around various places and talk for most of it. But the characters are so compelling and just wonderful to spend time with.

Finished Book 21: Paladin's hope by T Kingfisher
Saint of Steel, book 3
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 9h 7m

These books are really great, as are the audiobooks, though I’m probably going to read the newest book on ebook because the audio isn’t going to be out for several months.

Finished Book 22: First Test by Tamora Pierce
Protector of the Small, book 1
Reread, Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook (audible), 5h46m

Finished Book 23: Page by Tamora Pierce
Protector of the Small, book 2
Reread, Young Adult, Fantasy ,Audiobook (audible), 6h28m

Hi Blue! My names Owl or Lily. How are you?

Finished Book 24: The librarian of crooked lane by CJ Archer
The Glass Library, book 1
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 8h 9m
Content warnings: fatphobia (from the main characters, I think), misogyny (not from the main characters), discussions of war, ptsd/trauma

Aside from several instances of fatphobia, which I found distasteful and unnecessary, I really liked this book.

Finished Book 25: Squire by Tamora Pierce
Protector of the Small, book 3
Reread, Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook (audible), 10h48m

Finished Book 26: The Medici manuscript by CJ Archer
The Glass Library, book 2
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 7h 59m
Content warnings: discussions of war, ptsd/trauma

I'm enjoying this series but the one thing I find kind of irritating is how pretty much every new male character who appears on page starts blatantly flirting with Sylvia. It’s edging into a Bella Swan-esque “oh she’s so shy and doesn’t have any experience with men, but all the men she meets are falling at her feet” sort of thing, which is not helped by how she keeps making a big deal about how she gets nervous talking to men (although rarely seems to actually get nervous talking to men).

That sounds like a big obnoxious thing, and it really isn’t, it’s really just a minor annoyance from several different incidents. And it’s definitely not stopping me from continuing to read the series; I’m on to book three already!

Currently Reading:
All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows (ebook, sister’s kindle)
The Untitled Books by CJ Archer (audiobook, hoopla)
Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce (audiobook, audible)

>22 Owltherian: Hi, Owl! I'm good, thanks. What's up?

>24 bluesalamanders: Nothin' much, just wanted to say hai.

>1 bluesalamanders: I love The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto, really enjoyed the recently released The Royals and the Ramblers (includes cameo of Caleb and Buck) and excited about the upcoming book featuring the World Cup and accompanying new lead character. I also really enjoyed the audiobook version of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen and liked the follow-up A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel but not so well as the first book.

>8 foggidawn: If Found, Return to Hell sounds fun! And clearly popular based on the wait time in Libby. Same with For Never & Always.

You're reading lots of good stuff! I love the Saint of Steel books (I devoured the new one when it came out in December) and the Protector of the Small books are some of my comfort reads :) I'm slowly discovering KJ Charles -- loved the first Will Darling book and have The Sugared Game out from the library to read next. I also bought a paper copy of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, but it will probably take me a bit longer to get to it.

>27 curioussquared: I love the Will Darling Adventures! I'm rereading them now! I definitely recommend the audiobook version of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen because the narrator is awesome.

>26 justchris: The Royals and the Ramblers was not my favorite of the Shivadh books, but it's nice to talk to someone here who's heard of them! I do love Twelve Points and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

>27 curioussquared: yeah, I'm really enjoying the Saint of Steel books! I'm looking forward to the next one, when my turn comes up on the library or if I get impatient and just buy a copy. POTS has always been one of my comfort reads and I've been having trouble sleeping recently, so I've been laying awake in the middle of the night listening to it recently.

Unlike justchris, I do not recommend the audiobook of Secret Lives. There's an issue with - I don't know if it's the reading or the editing, but there are frequent pauses in very weird places that makes it really hard to listen to. Which is too bad, because the voices and accents the narrator does are great! But I actually returned my audiobook and bought a paper copy.

The book is great, though. I love Secret Lives and the sequel both.

The Royals and the Ramblers wasn't my favorite either, and the new romance was pretty meh for me, but there were a few fun scenes I really enjoyed. I've gotten a friend hooked on the series. So much love for these charming romances.

>30 bluesalamanders: Good to know re: the Secret Lives audiobook! Good thing I have a paper copy already :)

>30 bluesalamanders: Huh. I didn't notice the pauses, so they didn't detract from my experience. Maybe because I have a tendency to listen while focused on various tasks? But I can see how that would be a barrier to enjoying the story.

>31 justchris: There definitely were some scenes that I loved, too. Eli and Noah's scenes, as I recall, were particularly cute, although they felt out of place in the book (to me).

I've tried to get some friends into the books, but haven't quite managed it, unfortunately.

Finished Book 27: Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce
Protector of the Small, book 4
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 11h 13m

This series has been a comfort read for me for years.

Finished Book 28: Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
Incryptid, book 1
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 11h 20m

Finished Book 29: Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
Incryptid, book 2
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 59m

Finished Book 30: Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire
Incryptid, book 3
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook, 10h 17m

I got to this point in my reread of the incryptid series and not for the first time stalled there. The first three books are reasonably light and fluffy and book 4 takes a sharp turn. It’s a lot darker and a lot more horror than the previous three, and horror is not a genre I read by choice. I may go back and try to reread some more of the series later, skipping 4 and going on from there.

Finished Book 31: The Untitled Books by CJ Archer
The Glass Library, book 3
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 7h 59m

Finished Book 32: An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook 7h 38m
Content warnings: open door sex, murder, torture, ableism, classism, racism, alcohol abuse, abusive family, homophobia, suicide, major character death

Finished Book 33: Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 13h 45m

I liked it a lot better than the previous couple of books in this series, that’s for sure.

In notes I wrote immediately after reading this book, I said it was the most upsetting Incryptid book, but I don’t think that’s actually true. It’s the most sad, certainly, but the one where Artie’s mind was wiped was the one that made me angriest. I also thought, right when I finished it, that I would never want to read this one again, but now I don’t think that’s true, either.

I really liked Mary as a narrator. She was an interesting character to learn about and from, I enjoyed seeing the world from her perspective, and it was nice seeing the variety of characters she was in touch with.

There are two main down sides to the audiobook. One is that the novella included at the end of the print edition isn't included in the audiobook. The other is that the narrator of this audiobook is, hm, not fantastic at accents.

Finished Book 34: An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 2
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook, 7h 54m
Content Warnings: open door sex, murder, torture, abusive family, homophobia, cults, discussion of implied rape, classism, racism, major character death

Currently Reading:
All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows (ebook, sister’s kindle)
The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto by Sam Starbuck (ebook, free)
An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles (audiobook, audible)
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (audiobook, hoopla)

>35 bluesalamanders: I stumbled into the InCryptid series last year via a short story meetup between Verity Price and Elena Michaels from the Women of the Otherworld series that I was binging. I really liked Verity and then Antimony, so I read their parts of the series and then circled back to books 3 and 4 featuring Alex. All of the other characters in the series are fine, but I didn't feel driven to keep reading beyond That Ain't Witchcraft. What was the novella at the end of Aftermarket Afterlife?

>36 bluesalamanders: I think An Unsuitable Heir is about my favorite of the historical KJ Charles books, followed closely by A Seditious Affair and Band Sinister. At this point, I think I've worked through everything except the Magpie Lord books.

>37 justchris: It's something with Verity, I think? I haven't read it, because I listened to the audiobook and those aren't included with the audiobooks, unfortunately.

As much as I like Sarah, I don't love the books between That Ain't Witchcraft and Aftermarket Afterlife, so honestly? I think stopping there is a solid choice.

I don't love the Society of Gentlemen series, but Unsuitable Heir (really the whole trilogy) and Band Sinister are definitely two of my favorite KJC also! I also really love Any Old Diamonds the Doomsday Books. You know, she's got some upcoming books I'm really looking forward to.

>38 bluesalamanders: I love Any Old Diamonds! I have a soft spot for Society of Gentleman mostly because it's a favorite time period. And I think the lovers tiff over waistcoat color is hilarious. Mostly I like the secondary characters running the molly house, and a relationship built on kink & books and do names even matter? Until they do. Didn't like the third book at all. I really liked The Secret Life of Country Gentlemen but was pretty meh about A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. I haven't looked ahead to future books. Thanks for the heads up.

I recently binged A Useful Woman series by Darcie Wilde, and it's interesting to see how different authors incorporate key historical events like Peterloo and the Cato Street conspiracy into their storylines and character development viz. A Seditious Affair and The Secret of the Lady's Maid.

I like the idea of Seditious Affair, but honestly the sex squicks me out. No judgment to people who like it! I just do not. I liked the first book, but I can't reread it either, because I really dislike one of the main characters from book 3 (guess which, lol) and he's such a large part of the series, he even taints the first one.

I haven't heard of Darcie Wilde, were they good books? Do you recommend them?

>40 bluesalamanders: yeah, I don't really like that asshole either. No worries about what works or doesn't for each reader. I've enjoyed the Darcie Wilde books. Murder mysteries with a very slow burning straight romance, strong female protagonist.

Happy new thread Blue! Well, newish, sort of.

Finished Book 35: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla),
Content warnings: fantasy racism, suicide, classism, probably other stuff I forgot to note down

So, I liked this book, but I didn’t love it.

The two main problems I had with it were, firstly, the character names were very complicated and similar and I had a really hard time remembering who was who and, secondly, I found it extremely, almost painfully slow to get started. It’s not that I hated the beginning or anything, it was just so slow for the first half or maybe two-thirds of the book. The rest of it was really enjoyable, with a lot of action, dramatic events, and payoff for earlier setup. Not that I necessarily need a lot of action and drama in the books I read, but, well. You get the picture.

I’m not sure if the name thing was an audiobook problem or if I would have had just as much trouble if I’d read it in text, but either way, it contributed to the other issue, because not knowing who anyone was made every scene much more confusing than it should have been.

Finished Book 36: Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 3
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook, 7h 28m
Content warnings: open-door sex, cults, body dysphoria, murder, torture, homophobia, ableism, classism, racism, major character death

Finished Book 37: Android’s Dream by John Scalzi
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 10h 34m

Finished Book 38: Redshirts by John Scalzi
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 7h 41m

Finished Book 39: Death in the Spires by KJ Charles
New read, adult, mystery (NOT romance), ebook (netgalley), 273p
Content warnings: closed-door sex, racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, alcohol use/abuse, discussion of rape, discussion of abortion

A letter is arrives at Jem's work, accusing him of committing an unsolved murder that happened a decade earlier, and he decides that the only way to deal with it is to discover once and for all who the real murderer was.

I really liked this! The beginning is pretty stressful but I love the second half and the resolution makes everything worth it.

>42 humouress: Hi, humouress!

Finished Book 40: Lock In by John Scalzi
Lock in, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 10h 56m

Finished Book 41: Head On by John Scalzi
Lock In, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audible (audible), 7h 36m

Finished Book 42: Yeti for Love by Neva Post
Alaska Yeti Series, book 3
New read, adult, romance (paranormal), ebook (hoopla), 232p

This is a silly book and while it’s not exactly my most preferred genre of romance, it’s both cute and short enough that I’m going to go ahead and read some more of the series.

Finished Book 43: Ready for Her Yeti by Neva Post
Alaska Yeti Series, book 1
New read, adult, romance (paranormal), ebook (hoopla), 178p

Finished Book 44: The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
Reread, adult, science fiction (mystery), audiobook (audible), 11h 24m

Finished Book 45: Fake Dating Her Yeti by Neva Post
Alaska Yeti Series, book 2
New read, adult, romance (paranormal), ebook (hoopla), 226p

Finished Book 46: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
The Athena Club, book 1
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 13h 39m

Finished Book 47: Allowing the Night by T S Winterway
New read, adult, fantasy (romance), ebook (early reviewer), 154p

The best I can say about this book is that it was ok. It was interesting enough (and short enough) that I read it all in one sitting, but it just seemed like it lacked depth. There were a lot of pieces of worldbuilding, but they didn’t quite fit together to make a cohesive whole. The most obvious example is that the book started off with a detailed description of magically-powered machines - and then they had no impact on the story and were never mentioned again. That happened several times; something new would pop up, either sound important or almost impact the characters, and then never be mentioned again.

The description says the book is a “character-based romance” and I will say that the characters were the reason that I continued reading, since I found the worldbuilding lacking and the plot kind of weak.

Finished Book 48: European travel for the monstrous gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, book 2
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook, 24h 27m

Finished Book 49: Unbury the Bones by Coyote JM Edwards
Ember Bones, book 1
New read, adult, mystery (fantasy), ebook (kobo), 79p

Vampire PI Grim and their werewolf partner investigate a series of strange coincidences.

I liked this! There were some things I think could have been a little more developed. But unlike some other things I’ve read recently, this was still an enjoyable book and I’m looking forward to the sequel.

Finished Book 50: Boneless by Coyote JM Edwards
Ember Bones, book 1
New read, adult, mystery (fantasy), ebook (early reviewers), 62p

Grim’s werewolf partner has been kidnapped, but how do they even begin to search when captives steal themselves away?

I also liked this one! It’s a direct sequel to Unbury the Bones, so I’m glad I read that first. As with the first one, I could wish it was a little longer, but overall I enjoyed it and I hope there will be more Ember Bones books.

Finished Book 51: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 9h 58m

Finished Book 52: Forest Bride by Jane Buehler
Sylvania, book 1
New read, adult, romance (fantasy), ebook (hoopla), 286p

Princess Rose longs to escape the bond (which means marriage, I think?) her father is arranging for her.

I checked this book out because I got books 3 and 4 in the series from Early Reviewers. It hasn’t turned me off reading the other books, but I’m not going out of my way to recommend it, either.

To be honest, aside from the sex, it reads more like a YA fantasy than Adult romance. The protagonist seems like a sheltered 18-year-old (I’m not sure what age she’s supposed to be), and there are a lot of things that remind me of why I don’t read much YA anymore, because I’m just not the intended audience. For example, there are half a dozen major plotlines that bump up against each other, each only lightly explored and most wrapped up quickly and with little tension, which is something that I’m sure happens in Adult fantasy but is much more common in YA.

Finished Book 53: The Last Colony by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 3
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 9h 51m

Finished Book 54: The Ghost and Mrs Muir by R. A. Dick
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (hoopla), 5h 37m

A young widow leaves her overbearing in-laws and moves with her children into Gull Cottage, a lovely house near the sea that has very affordable rent because, as it turns out, it’s haunted by the disagreeable sea captain who built it.

My sister and I watched the movie of the same name recently and really enjoyed it, and when I mentioned that to a friend, they recommended the book. I didn’t know it was based on a book, so I figured it was worth checking out. It turns out the movie is a surprisingly faithful adaptation; a few events are shuffled around in the chronology and some events and characters are removed to compress the timeline a bit, but overall the story is pretty similar.

What I found frustrating in the book was that Mrs. Muir never really comes into her own. She goes from being bullied and controlled by her in-laws to being bullied and controlled by the Captain and while most of his “for your own good” is actually for her own good (unlike her in-laws and her children), it’s still a lot of shouting and ordering her around, which is what she wanted to get away from. And every time she tries to stand up to someone, he interferes, so she never really manages to do it herself. In the movie, there was definitely some of that, but she made more choices of her own without his interference and learned to stand up for herself, too.

The book was okay, but honestly I preferred the movie.

Finished Book 55: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Wayfarers, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 14h 23m
Content warnings: misgendering, fantasy bigotry, involuntary medical procedure, major character death

Pearl’d: Ocean Girl by Jane Buehler
Early Reviewer

A mermaid goes to land for the first time to try and find the missing king. On her way to beach, she sees a fisherman and becomes obsessed with his beauty. But she’s heard all the terrible rumors about humans and fae...

Like Forest Bride, this feels more like a YA fantasy than an Adult romance. I was particularly thrown when two characters in this pseudo-medieval setting started talking about the patriarchy. I certainly don’t have an issue with books discussing the patriarchy, but it felt awfully anachronistic, and also, both characters were from messed up feudal societies. I don’t think “the patriarchy” was the biggest issue there.

Happy birthday blue!

>50 humouress: Thank you!

Happy Birthday!

>52 SilverWolf28: Thanks!

Finished Book 56: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Midcentury NYC, book 2
New read, adult, romance (historical), audiobook (library), 11h 59m
Content warnings: past partner death, mourning, depression, secondary character death, discussions of homophobia, discussions of racism

This book is so tooth-achingly sweet - but in a good way! I really enjoyed it a lot.

Pearl’d: Grimm Machinations: More Steampunk Faerie Tales by Danielle Ackley-McPhail (ed) and Greg Schauer (ed)
Early Reviewer

As with most anthologies, there's a range in the quality of the stories. There's also a range in how well the steampunk trappings are worked into each world. That said, I shouldn’t have requested this book. While I like the steampunk aesthetic, I forgot that I've only liked a very few steampunk books.

Finished Book 57: Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 15h 22m

I really love this book. The audiobook narrator is just ok, but I’ve read the book a million times already, so it didn’t bother me much.

Finished Book 58: Finder by Suzanne Palmer
The Finder Chronicles, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 11h 45m

Finished Book 59: Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer
The Finder Chronicles, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 12h 18m

The fourth book in the series just came out, so I’m rereading the other three, and they're just as good as I remember.

Finished Book 60: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
The Memoirs of Lady Trent, book 1
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 17m

Finished Book 61: Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
The Memoirs of Lady Trent, book 2
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 39m

Finished Book 62: The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer
The Finder Chronicles, book 3
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 14h 48m

I truly love this series, and I’ve started the fourth book and I’m really enjoying that one, too.

Finished Book 63: Ghostdrift by Suzanne Palmer
The Finder Chronicles, book 4
New read, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 13h 37m

Absolutely fantastic addition to the series, loved it. I assumed this was going to be the final book, but the end really opens it up for more books, so I’m looking forward that.

Finished Book 64: Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman
Once Upon the East End, book 1
New read, adult, romance (historical), ebook (kobo), 400p

I actually started listening to the audiobook, then switched to ebook in hopes that it would mitigate the things I wasn’t liking, which sometimes happens, but unfortunately that did not work. I pushed through anyway, because how often do you see Jewish main characters in historical romance? But I really didn’t care for this book. I thought the main characters consistently acted stupidly, which was especially nonsensical since the woman is supposed to be exceptionally intelligent and both characters are supposed to be worried about social backlash. There was a lot of other stuff that just didn’t work for me, too.

>54 bluesalamanders: Maybe I should give Sunshine a go, since lots of people love it. I loved her Damar books and was wary about trying something of hers outside that universe but I did read Dragonhaven and really enjoyed it. I'm also a bit cautious about retellings of fairytales because they don't always work for me. But feel free to count it as a BB - I just have to go out and get it now!

>56 humouress: I really enjoy Sunshine, it's probably my favorite of her books. My second favorite would be Shadows though they can switch back and forth.

>56 humouress: If you like Dragonhaven, I think there's a good chance you'll like Sunshine. Sunshine has a similar voice but more mature, since the main character is an adult woman, not a teenage boy. And if it helps, it isn't a fairy tale retelling at all. I hope you enjoy it!

>57 SilverWolf28: >58 bluesalamanders: Good to know, thanks.

Finished Book 65: Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
Memoirs of Lady Trent, book 3
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 11 hrs and 52 mins

Finished Book 66: Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
Arasht, book 2
New read, adult, romance (fantasy, historical), audiobook (audible), 14h 49m

I liked this book a lot, but I had two issues with it. One is that the main character is pretty irritating. And he’s supposed to be, and I liked him anyway! But I would have preferred him slightly less irritating. Also, I wish the audiobook narrator had not picked such an irritating voice for him. Because now we’ve got an irritating character, with an irritating voice, and it was just. A lot.

The other issue I have is kind of spoilery, so I’m putting it behind a cut. Usually I am happy to go along with whatever decision an author makes about sex; closed door, open door, fade to black, no sex, whatever. But this book actually feels incomplete without a sex scene between the three main characters. The whole book was teasing how attracted they all were to each other, how much they all come to care for each other, how big a deal it would be if Julien broke his vows to be with them. And then it just…stopped. Like I said, I usually am happy to go with whatever an author chooses on this score. But in this case, it just felt wrong.

Despite that, I enjoyed it and I think it’s a really good book. The setting is great, it’s absolutely hilarious (possibly a little funnier to terminally online people like me, but I think most of it should be understandable to other people too), it’s an interesting story with clever plotting and character growth.

Finished Book 67: In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan
Memoirs of Lady Trent, book 4
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 31m

Finished Book 68: The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles
The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune, book 2
New read, adult, romance (historical), ebook (kobo), 336
Content warnings: open door sex, past sexual assault, past parental death, financual abuse by a guardian, mention of animal abuse, gambling, mention of homophobia, accident and injuries, alcohol abuse, lying

Interestingly, as with KJ Charles’ other recent book, Death in the Spires, I thought The Duke at Hazard was a little slow to get started, but the I really liked the characters and the end was fantastic. Both main characters were great, and in fact I ended up liking several more secondary characters a lot more than I expected. And I was absolutely delighted when characters from the first book showed up.

(It is not necessary to read the previous book and novella in order to understand this one, but it definitely makes those cameos more fun.)

Finished Book 69: Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan
Memoirs of Lady Trent, book 5
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h59m

Finished Book 70: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
New read, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 12h 21m

A robot valet ends up wandering through a post-apocalyptic world.

I liked this book a lot. Or, I liked, hm, 90% of this book and then I found the end a little bit iffy. It didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the rest of the book, though, and I definitely recommend it. I’ve heard “if you like Murderbot, you’ll like this” and I think that’s probably true, but don’t expect Murderbot’s sarcasm or attitude. This robot has a very different outlook.

Finished Book 71: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
Reread, adult, fantasy (historical, romance), audiobook, 18h 20m
Content warnings: moderate sexual content, death, animal death, chronic anxiety, panic attacks, depression, self harm, involuntary drugging, kidnapping

Finished Book 72: Paladin’s Faith by T. Kingfisher
Saint of Steel, book 4
New read, adult, fantasy, ebook, 422p

Delightful as the rest of them, the whole series is definitely recommended.

Finished Book 73: An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook (audible), 7h 38m
Content warnings: open door sex, murder, torture, ableism, classism, racism, alcohol abuse, abusive family, homophobia, suicide, major character death

Finished Book 74: Saint Death’s Daughter by CSE Cooney
New read, adult, fantasy, dead tree (owned), 656p

So, a few weeks ago I went to Readercon 33 with a friend, and CSE Cooney was one of the guests. After my friend had me read the beginning of her copy of Saint Death’s Daughter, I picked up this to read (and get signed, of course). It's kind of a lot, but it's really good.

Pearl’d: Mystic Pieces by Ada Bell
I downloaded a bunch of free ebooks awhile ago, so I decided to go through some of them on my ereader and see if they seemed interesting. It took some time to find any that did, but this one started off well - the first page made me laugh instead of roll my eyes like several others I’d tried. Unfortunately, it totally lost my interest about a third of the way in. I like a cozy mystery, but a college student who is unfamiliar with the murder victim, the accused murderer, the small town where the murder has happened, and also investigation is not the sort of mystery protagonist I enjoy reading about.

Other books I skipped: A Fallen Star by A. M. Kusi, Drop Zone by A. R. Knight, Fatalaties and Folios by ACF Bookens, Midnight Prince by Aisha Urooj, and Jack of Thorns by AK Faulkner. Some of these got a “why did I download that in the first place?” when I read the description, some I tried to read and didn’t get past the first couple pages.

Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine is the next one to catch my interest and I’m about halfway through now.

Finished Book 75: An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 2
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook (audible), 7h 54m
Content Warnings: open door sex, murder, torture, abusive family, homophobia, cults, discussion of implied rape, classism, racism, major character death

Finished Book 76: An Unsuitable Heir by KJ Charles
Sins of the cities, book 3
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mystery), Audiobook (audible), 7h 28m
Content warnings: open door sex, cults, body dysphoria, murder, torture, homophobia, ableism, classism, racism, major character death

Finished Book 77: The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 1
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 15h 7m

Congrats on hitting 75!

>63 drneutron: Thanks!

Congratulations on passing the 75 book mark!

>65 ronincats: Thanks, roni!

Congratulations on 75!

Felicitations on reaching the magic number!

Thanks, humouress, thanks, Micky!

Finished Book 78: The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 2
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook 14h 8m

Finished Book 79: Band Sinister by KJ Charles
Reread, adult, romance (historical), audiobook (hoopla), 7h 59m

Finished Book 80: The cat who read backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 1
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 191p

This is actually a surprisingly...not great book for the start of such a beloved series. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nostalgically fond of it, but the main character is kind of a misogynist, his friends are worse, and the plot borders on nonsensical. One of the murderers isn’t even a character in the book until after Qwill figures out he did it. It’s like Braun suddenly realized she needed Qwill to adopt Koko and tacked that final chunk on to an already completed story.

As I recall, this is a series that middles well - as in, the books at the beginning and end of the series are not great, it’s the ones in the middle that are the best. It’s been a while since I read any of them, so let’s see if that holds up.

Finished Book 81:The Siren Depths by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 3
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook, 15h 47m

Finished Book 82: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilan Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 2
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 192p

To his chagrin, Qwill is reassigned to write for the paper’s new weekly interior design section. It gets off to a rough start, with a robbery and a death right after the first issue comes out.

The mystery is still a little iffy, since there’s no indication early on that Tait hates the Fluxion, therefore no way to figure out that he’s responsible, or even to tell how he’s responsible, for anything except his own staged theft. But we do meet Yum Yum for the first time, which is certainly a plus.

Finished Book 83: The cat who turned on and off by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 3
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 186p

Reassigned again, Qwill starts a series of articles about the local antiquing contingent and ends up investigating a new murder, finding a new apartment, and making new friends, some of who will become long-term side characters.

This one was a little more fun, with an interesting cast of characters and Qwill using his natural charm and curiosity to get to know them and learn about antiquing.

Finished Book 84: The cat who saw red by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 4
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 183p

This one was a real slog. Just really unpleasant characters, not a fun plot, and not especially cozy. Frankly, if you’re reading this series, I’d straight up skip this one.

Finished Book 85: The cat who played Brahms by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 5
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 245p

Qwill decides to take a vacation! He packs up the cats and his typewriter and heads north to Pickax, where Aunt Fanny, his deceased mother’s best friend, lives. He rents her lakeside cottage and then has to deal with visiting wildlife, visiting neighbors, and his visiting girlfriend from down below.

This one is fine. This is the first we hear about Aunt Fanny, but that’s ok, Qwill doesn’t talk that much about his family in previous books. It is interesting to reread it having read later books and recognize so many of the characters as they appear.

>70 bluesalamanders: I agree about The Cat Who series -- it doesn't really take off until he gets his inheritance and moves to Moose County. Of the early books, The Cat Who Turned On and Off is my favorite.

>71 foggidawn: I agree, The cat who turned on and off is a little better, or at least more enjoyable, than the rest. Thankfully I've finally gotten to The cat who played post office, which is the first one where he actually lives in Moose County and the real Cat Who series vibes are starting to appear.

>72 bluesalamanders: Are you going to reread the whole series? A few years ago I did a series reread to decide at which point it jumps the shark. I'll be interested in your opinion -- I definitely saw a decline in quality over the last several books of the series, and I like to pretend that the last one doesn't exist.

>73 foggidawn: I don't really have a plan, to be honest. I'll read as far as I feel like, and if I get distracted and stop, that's fine, and if I keep reading to the end...well, I also remember the last few being not great, so maybe I'll skip the last few either way.

Finished Book 86: Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Beka Cooper, book 1
Reread, Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook (audible), 15h 3m

Finished Book 87: Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles
Lilywhite Boys, book 1
Reread, adult, romance, ebook, 265p

Absolutely one of Charles’ best books, with fantastic character work and a skillfully plotted story. It’s also intertwined neatly with several of her other series, but that’s more of an Easter egg and it’s not necessary to read them (Sins of the Cities, Society of Gentlemen) to appreciate this book.

Finished Book 88: The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter by KJ Charles
Lilywhite Boys, book 0.5
Reread, adult, romance, ebook, 61p

Finished Book 89: Gilded Cage by KJ Charles
Lilywhite Boys, book 2
Reread, adult, romance, ebook, 247p

Finished Book 90: Masters in this Hall by KJ Charles
Lilywhite Boys, book 3
Reread, adult, romance (historical), ebook, 119p

Finished Book 91: (Lily) White Wedding by KJ Charles
Lilywhite Boys, 3.5 (free short story)
Reread, adult, romance (historical), ebook, 9p

Finished Book 92: The cat who played post office by Lilian Jackson Braun
The cat who, book 6
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 368p
Content warnings: era-expected misogyny and classism, suicide, brief discussion of alcohol abuse, amnesia, implied incestuous feelings

This is the first one that really feels like a Cat Who book to me. A lot of Moose County regulars show up, and a lot of familiar locations, and, there’s also a lot of groundwork laid for events in future books, too.

I think there’s probably enough explanation in each book that they can be read in any order, but if you want to read them in order and skip the weak early books, I’d suggest starting somewhere in books 5-7.

Finished Book 93: The Edge of Worlds by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 4
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook 17h

Finished Book 94: The Harbors of the Sun by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 5
Reread, adult, fantasy, Audiobook 15h 46m

Raksura is such a great series. One thing I find particularly interesting is that it took me a while to realize, the first time I read it, that there are no human characters, just a variety of races that live on the ground, in the air, in the sea, etc.

Finished Book 95: Secret lives of country gentlemen by KJ Charles
Doomsday, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (historical), dead tree, 352p

I love this book so much, I forgot how much I love this book, it’s really just such a good book.

Wow I hadn't realized that KJ Charles had written so many books!

Oh, yeah, she's written a bunch!

Finished Book 96: Nobleman’s guide to seducing a scoundrel by KJ Charles
Doomsday, book 2
Reread, adult, romance (historical), dead tree, 336p

I like this book a lot too, not quite as much as the first one, but still really a lot.

Finished Book 97: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Beka Cooper, book 2
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 18h 6m

Finished Book 98: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce
Beka Cooper, book 2
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 20h 26m

One of the things that’s always irked me a little about this series is the titles and how they do and don’t make sense. Terrier, for example? Absolutely makes sense. People start calling Beka Terrier during the book, and it’s pretty well cemented as her nickname by the end.

The other two, though, go from weaker to meaningless. Bloodhound actually could be just as good, if it referred to Achoo. I mean, it’s right there! She’s the tracker! Beka already has a nickname, I think it would be funnier to make jokes about the Terrier and the Bloodhound than to give her a new one, which doesn’t really make sense.

And Mastiff just…comes out of nowhere and doesn’t relate to anything. Maybe the title could have been something about the lapdogs that the ladies had? Or maybe instead of Beka getting yet another new nickname, Gareth could have gotten a one. Anything to make it actually relevant.

It’s a minor annoyance, though, really.

Finished Book 99: The cat who knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun
The cat who, book 7
Reread, adult, cozy mystery, dead tree, 208p

So many great characters in this one! I love Iris Cobb and Hixie Rice, Junior and Judy, the introduction of the Oldtimers. And with a total of five, I think this one has the highest death toll so far in the series, though only one was a murder.

I find the whole storyline with Iris falling in love with Herb interesting. Like, they seem to have nothing in common! What does she see in him? And what’s clearly Qwill’s perspective, too! But he’s such a compassionate and polite person that he doesn’t say anything about it, because it’s her choice. All he does is gently suggest that she doesn’t need to rush into anything, and be there for her when she needs a friend.

Finished Book 100: We could be so good by Cat Sebastian
Midcentury NYC, book 1
Reread, romance (historical), audiobook (library), 11h 46m
Content warnings: open-door sex, homophobia, anxiety/trauma, some secondhand embarrassment (not a lot, but these guys just really suck at communicating), adhd-like mental health issues, lots of alcohol use and smoking

I really like about 95% of this book. There’s one awkward, uncomfortable scene in the middle that I decided to just skip past this time - it’s not bad, and it’s important for the story, but I already knew what happened so I decided to skip it - and then there’s a part in the epilogue that just does not make sense at all. When Emily’s ex reappears for no reason, and she takes him back for even less. Don’t get it, don’t like it. But that’s all a very brief part of an otherwise really sweet book.

Finished Book 101: Tommy Cabot was here by Cat Sebastian
The Cabots, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (historical), ebook (hoopla), 110p
Content warnings: open-door sex, divorce, discussion of: homophobia, neglectful parents

Finished Book 102: Stories of the Raksura, vol 1 by Martha Wells
Raksura, book 6
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 9h 42m

Finished Book 103: Peter Cabot gets lost Cat Sebastian
The Cabots, book 2
Reread, adult, romance (historical, mid-19th century), ebook, 199p
Content warnings: open-door sex, discussions of homophobia, brief panic attack, neglectful family

These books are just so delightful.

Finished Book 104: Yield under great persuasion by Alexandra Rowland
New read, adult, romance (historical, fantasy), ebook (hoopla), 254p

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Not quite as much as Taste of gold and iron, but more than Running close to the wind.

Finished Book 105: The blue sword by Robin McKinley
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 12h 15m

The really weird thing was that at the end of this audiobook, there’s a recommendation for Hero and the Crown, but it specifically says that it’s about Aerin’s mother, which it absolutely is not. Aerin’s mother died years before Hero starts.

Finished Book 106: Constituent services by John Scalzi
New read, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 2h 30m

I found this amusing but not amazing. My main reactions were: for one, wow, he really likes going for the gross stuff sometimes, doesn’t he? And for two, in the epilogue, I simply can’t relate to a character who would turn down the offer to have her rent paid for a year. A no-strings-attached thank-you-gift to a newly-hired government employee, for doing something so far above and beyond “just doing her job” that her coworkers and her boss tried to talk her out of it. Truly a baffling writing choice on Scalzi’s part.

Finished Book 107: The clockwork boys by T. Kingfisher
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (audible), 7h 40m

Finished Book 108: The wonder engine by T. Kingfisher
New read, adult fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 14m

I really liked these, which is not at all surprising, since I really enjoyed the Saint of steel series. I think the last book in this universe that I have to read is Swordheart.

Finished Book 109: Anne of Green Gables: a graphic novel
New read, young adult, fiction, graphic novel (free on prime), 232p

I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels and I didn’t love the art style of this - I don’t think it’s bad, it’s just not to my taste - but I do love Anne of Green Gables, and this compressed version of the story was a quick, sweet read.

Finished Book 110: Fire Season by KD Casey
Unwritten Rules, book 2
New read, adult, romance (sports), ebook (hoopla), 357p
Content warnings: open-door sex, anxiety, brief depictions of anxiety/panic attacks, references to drinking, alcoholism, and drug use/abuse (there’s a more detailed list including some things I didn’t actually notice at the beginning of the book)

I liked this. I liked it better than the first book in the series, in fact.

Finished Book 111: The Blue Castle by L M Montgomery
New read, young adult, fiction, ebook (hoopla), 265p
Content warnings: major character death, bullying, gaslighting

Valancy is a mousey young woman who as lived her whole life under the thoughless and controlling whims of her family, her only escapes being the imaginary Blue Castle she visits in her daydreams and the books that she occasionally is allowed to get from the library. Then one day, she gets a piece of news that changes her outlook so dramatically that she loses her fear of her family and takes steps to get out from under their control once and for all.

I found the beginning slow and overdone and the end (unintentionally) hilarious, but I enjoyed the middle, as Valancy figured out how to stand up to her family and created her own life away from them.

Finished Book 112: Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook, audible, 12h 2m

Finished Book 113: Blind Tiger by Jordan Hawk
The Pride, book 1
Reread, adult, romance (fantasy, historical), audiobook (audible),
Content warnings: there’s a list of content warnings at the beginning of the book

If you like Allie Therin’s Magic in Manhattan series, you’ll probably like this one, too. There are a lot of things that are similar, from the era it’s set in to the backgrounds of the characters.

Finished Book 114: Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch
New read, adult, non-fiction, dead tree, 326p

This is a really interesting book about how the internet is impacting the English language. I participated in a read-a-thon where one of the challenges was to read a book you’ve been meaning to read for a long time and haven’t, and I picked this book because I read half of it a few years ago and it’s been sitting on my nightstand ever since, waiting for me to get around to finish it.

Finished Book 115: A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
New read, adult, horror, audiobook (hoopla), 6h 53m
Content warnings: bugs, oh god, so many bugs, gaslighting, controlling family, fatphobia, racism, blood

Sam goes to stay with her mom when her dig is put on hold, only to find her mom acting very strangely.

Another challenge for the read-a-thon was a spooky book, because it’s near Halloween, and I figured T. Kingfisher would fit nicely. And yup. This was real creepy, y’all.

I got a little behind on my posting because I started a new temp job - and they've just invited me to hire on permanently!

Luckily I can read at work - audiobooks while I'm working, ebooks during breaks - so I have quite a bit of catch-up posting to do.

Finished Book 116: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Reread, young adult, fantasy, audiobook, 12h 20m

Finished Book 117: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 9h 58m

So I was rereading Old Man’s War, and I still like it a lot, but as I read the beginning chapters, when the main character and his new friends get transferred from their 75-year-old bodies into their new, young, fit bodies, and get acquainted with the computers in their brains, and so on, I suddenly wondered what the story would be like from the perspective of a trans person, or an actual fat person, not the idealized “body issues are foolish” slightly chubby character (I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I was suddenly in a thin body, it would change literally everything about how I interact with the world), or people with any number of physical or mental disabilities that would be drastically impacted by suddenly being in a perfect body or having another voice in their head. Also, what would it be like for a sex-neutral or sex-repulsed person in those first few days when everyone is going at it like crazy?

I’m not upset at who Scalzi’s main character is and that this isn’t the story he’s telling. But I do think there are a lot of stories that could be explored in this world, or a world like it.

Finished Book 118: The Ghost Brigade by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 10h 25m

This is my least favorite book of the series, not because I think it’s bad but because I find the beginning uncomfortable. I decided to reread it anyway and just skip the part I don’t like reading, and that worked pretty well.

Finished Book 119: The Last Colony by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 3
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 9h 51m

The reason I reread all of these is because I started a new job recently and that is very stressful and I haven’t had the brain for anything except rereads. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I finish Scalzi’s books.

Finished Book 120: The Human Division by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 5
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 14h 53m

Finished Book 121: The End of All Things by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 6
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 11h 24m

Honestly, as much as I enjoy the original trilogy (or at least the first and third books), I think these two are my favorite books in the series.

Finished Book 122: Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War, book 4
Reread, young adult, science fiction, audiobook, 10h

Finished Book 123: Lock In by John Scalzi
Lock in, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 10h 56m

Finished Book 124: Head On by John Scalzi
Lock In, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audible, 7h 36m

Finished Book 125: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
The Murderbot Diaries, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, ebook, 160p

I’m rereading Murderbot during lunches and breaks at work and it’s great.

Finished Book 126: Android’s Dream by John Scalzi
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 10h 34m

Finished Book 127: Redshirts by John Scalzi
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook, 7h 41m

Finished Book 128: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Murderbot Diaries, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, ebook (sister’s kindle), 160p

Finished Book 129: The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
The Interdependency, book 1
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 9h 24m

Finished Book 130: Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine
New read, adult, science fiction, ebook (kobo), 256p

I realized I was very close to the end of this, so I read the last ten or twenty pages before I went to sleep. I had kind of mixed feelings about this book. I liked the way it was written, the feel of it, it had a very folk tale sort of feel, which was what the author intended. But I had a little trouble keeping some of the characters straight and I didn’t really understand the end.

All that said, it's definitely several steps above most ebooks I've gotten free, so I will give it that.

Finished Book 131: The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
The Interdependency, book 2
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 8h 19m

Finished Book 132: The Last Emperox by John Scalzi
The Interdependency, book 3
Reread, adult, science fiction, audiobook (audible), 8h 7m

With the stress of a new job, I really needed to listen to comforting old favorites, so I went through basically all of my collection of Scalzi audiobooks.

Finished Book 133: Lion’s Tail by Jordan L. Hawk
Pride, book 2
New read, adult, romance (historical), audiobook (audible), 6h 31m

I’m so glad Hawk finally wrote a second Pride book. When I first read Blind Tiger, I was so disappointed that there wasn’t a sequel, but now there is!

Finished Book 134: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Murderbot Diaries, book 4
Reread, adult, science fiction, Ebook (sister’s kindle), 133p

Finished Book 135: Playing with Fire by R J Blain
New read, adult, romance (paranormal), audiobook (hoopla), 9h 32m

Extremely silly paranormal romance.

Finished Book 136: Rumor has it by Cat Rambo
You Sexy Thing, book 3
New read, adult, science fiction, audiobook (library), 8h 8m

This isn’t, like, my favorite series ever, but I like it enough to read the new books eventually.

Finished Book 137: Soulless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 1
Reread, Adult, Fantasy, audiobook (audible), 10h 48m

Finished Book 138: Changeless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 2
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook, 10h 33m

Finished Book 139: Blameless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 3
Reread, fantasy: steampunk, audiobook: 11h 59m

Finished Book 140: Heartless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 4
Reread, adult, fantasy, audiobook, 11h 19m

Finished Book 141: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
New read, adult, science fiction (thriller), audiobook (hoopla), 8h 26m

Content warnings: multiple flashbacks to a childhood in an abusive household, multiple murders, dehumanization/treating people as disposable objects, suicide, discussion of pregnancy, corpses, body horror incl brief eye stuff, blood, broken bones, descriptions of medical-type stuff

This book was incredibly intense. I got to the end and I really wanted to just sit and stare at a blank wall and think about it for a while. Unfortunately, I was at work, so I couldn’t. But I really wanted to.

Congrats on the job going permanent!

>83 bluesalamanders: Wow - lots of reading. Congratulations on the job!

Thanks, newt! Thanks, humoress!

>83 bluesalamanders: Well done Blue.

Thanks, Paul!

Congrats on your new job!

>86 bluesalamanders: I totally agree about the Cat Rambo series being very fine. Good enough to catch up eventually, but I'm not scrambling to get the newest book.

Thanks, nora!

Right? They're fine. That's about it.

Congratulations on the new job!

Thanks, foggi!

Finished Book 142: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Librarians of Alyssium, book 1
New read, adult, fantasy, audiobook (library), 12h 11m

I really enjoyed this, especially the sentient spider plant library assistant and all the other magical creatures. I’m so excited that there’s a sequel coming out next summer!

Finished Book 143: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf, book 4
New read, adult, romance (paranormal/shifter), audiobook, 11h 17m

This series had a pretty rough start, in my opinion, but I found this book definitely the best one so far. Worldbuilding! Character growth! Good times.