Did I read this week? Uh … yes.
1. ‘Rocky Road’ by Bob Mayer, a novella-length sequel to his “Rocky Start” trilogy with Jenny Crusie; I really liked it. The character development was great and the folding-in of various small side plots (both resolved-in-story and not) kept it from being just a Man In The Woods. Well paced, and I found the resolution to the core mystery very satisfying. I will say, with love, that the proofreading could have been tighter.
2. ‘Cousin Kate’ by Georgette Heyer, because I keep giving her another chance. I finished this one but consider KJ Charles’ ‘All of Us Murderers,’ for which this Heyer is an obvious inspiration, far superior. The love story was okay but this book was mostly not about that.
3. ‘The Talisman Ring’ by Georgette Heyer, DNF at 15% because I didn’t like either of the two MCs as introduced and didn’t care what they were going to do. I looked up the book and discovered that these two characters actually become paired with other characters later on, but … see above re didn’t care.
4. ‘Holiday SOS: the life-saving adventures of a travelling doctor’ by Dr. Ben MacFarlane, an English MD who worked several years repatriating British citizens who’d been injured or fallen seriously ill abroad. Having enjoyed the Canada-set series ‘Air Med’ and now likewise enjoying the Australia-set series ‘Royal Flying Doctors Service,’ I can tell you this book makes those series look quite accurate. Engaging and fascinating.
5. ‘Cruise Ship SOS: the life-saving adventures of a doctor at sea’ by Dr. Ben MacFarlane, set on a 4-month world cruise after he’s left the travel insurance company. This one makes the series ‘Doctor Odyssey’ look accurate. A bit sketchier on the editing but equally absorbing. These books are episodic, and I got the feeling they were fleshed out from journals. He puts in just enough about his personal life and teammates to show why he does this kind of work, what he values, and what kind of friend he would be (i.e. a good one). Each book contains a good bit of humor, some truly gross stuff, some scarifying/suspenseful scenes, and a heart-wrenching loss.
6. ‘Within These County Lines’ by Brian Zepka. YA MM feat. a small-town, rural Pennsylvania 18 yr old, a breakup with his longtime boyfriend, friction with his longtime female BFF, worries about how he’s going to get to college (money & financial aid woes are a major stressor), and a confusing experience near a legendary old tree … this has a paranormal/fantasy element which reminded me of a book I read, not too long ago, in which the MC develops a relationship with someone living in what seems to be an alternate timeline. In this one, the love interest, who only the MC can see, has been missing and presumed dead for ten years, and it takes till the end of the book to solve the mystery and restore him to the real world. Good execution of the Solving Existential Problems Along With Ordinary Ones complexities inherent in coming of age stories. Author site HERE.
7. ‘Redesigning Landry Bishop’ by Kim Fielding, a 2019 Dreamspinner book that I hope she got paid for. I liked this a lot. Title character is a gay version of Martha Stewart, love interest is his new personal assistant. Lots of competence porn as both are very good at what they do and we get to see them doing it. Also both kind, well-meaning people who use their words and don’t play games. Some really effective emotional work here, a warm cuddle of a book.
8. ‘Drawing the Prince’ by Kim Fielding, same publisher and same loosely-linked multi-author series, published earlier, set later. It’s as if the Bishop character, mentioned in this one, got hold of her and she needed to write his story. The MCs here are a young, up-and-coming fine-art painter from the same small town as Bishop, and a jet-setting prince from a small (fictional) European country. Competence porn again, a nice comforting story, not quite as strong but definitely worth reading if you like the royal + commoner trope. The happy ending does NOT involve the commoner swept away to a Cinderella life, it’s much more grounded and credible. Author site HERE.