This was a good reading week! Lots of things I happily encourage everyone to read. (And buy direct if you can.)
1. ‘The Fox Wife’ by Yangsze Choo. Folklore-based literature gifted by my sibling. Two interwoven storylines, each bending toward a happy ending/reunion, and huzzah, I was not betrayed. First plot featuring the titular fox, second features an aging investigator. Very good.
2. ‘Say You’ll Remember Me’ by Abby Jimenez. This is my favorite of hers to date. F/M featuring a Minnesota veterinarian and a social media manager who has to relocate to Los Angeles to help care for her mother, who has early-onset dementia. There’s a lot of tough stuff in this book. Funny, sad, sweet, emotionally honest. Author site HERE.
3. ‘Driven Together’ by Neil S. Plakcy, my favorite of his to date. Second-chance MM featuring a Formula 1 driver and a journalist. I mostly hate sports, but I was gripped. Author site HERE.
4. ‘Charming as a Verb’ by Ben Philippe, a very good YA F/M romance starring Black classmates at a highly competitive Upper Manhattan private school; the FMC is the daughter of a Columbia dean; the MMC is the son of his building’s superintendant, a Haitian immigrant. Author site HERE.
5. ‘Leeward’ by Katie Daysh. A remarkable novel set mostly in 1800. POV character is a Royal Navy captain barely recovered from near-blinding injuries at the Battle of the Nile. He’s a case study in anxiety, depression, grief, PTSD, internalized homophobia, and other psychologies hardly recognized at the time, especially not when occurring in military men. It’s a slooooooooow burn love story between the captain and his 1st Lieutenant, growing as they track down a mutiny ship. Violence, death, action, suspense, rapprochement from bad beginnings and then growing affection, all unspoken until near the end, where occurs a remarkable love (not sex) scene. Instantly bought the two follow-ups. Author site HERE.
Also, a DNF. ‘Tune in Tomorrow,’ by Randee Dawn, kind of cute but I couldn’t tell if it was a mystery, a romance, or satire. At 30%, it should have been clear.
And finally, two sweet shorts by Jax Calder: ‘Feeding the Grump,’ MM novelette featuring neighboring farmers; ‘It Started with a Text,’ MM novelette featuring a marketing student and a pop star; plus re-read my own M/NB novelette ‘It’s In The Heel.’