Read(ing)

This is an ongoing project and will be updated periodically with current and past books read. Since I tend to sometimes include more than one book in a review, I will note review next to the books in question. This page includes 2021 Books Read, 2020 Books Read, and Reviews. This info is based off my Goodreads account. Find the complete list there while this project is ongoing.

All About Books and Reviews

Book Review: The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe (Amazon Link) Just after midnight on Tuesday last as I was finishing up Lorraine Heath’s Waking Up With the Duke and London’s Greatest Lovers series (review forthcoming), my Kindle synced and BOOM—a new…

Book Review: The Devil’s Delilah by Loretta Chase

Book Review: The Devil’s Delilah by Loretta Chase (Amazon Link) I would like to continue writing about the Chase regency books because I don’t feel that I gave them enough reverence in the previous review.  In order to fully appreciate…

Book Review: The English Witch by Loretta Chase

The English Witch by Loretta Chase (Amazon Link) I haven’t loved a book so much and yet been more irritated with it.  This is one of Chase’s first books and you can tell right off that she’s a brilliant, charismatic,…

Book Review: Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard

Amazon Kindle Book Review: Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard I’m on a roll so I’ll write another.  The pandemic’s (among other historically relevant current events) impact on me has been anything but positive—what a shocker. My writing ceased;…

Book Review: A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid

Amazon Kindle Book Review: A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid I know! It’s been a while. I hopped onto Twitter this morning and the place was a mess, raging over someone drinking coffee with their husband, so, I backed…

Pandemic Diary—Shame (update)

ADDENDUM—Here (below) is my short review of Bridgerton Season two (longer review here): The Ezra Klein podcast has several great shows on Ukraine, Russia, and Putin that are a wealth of information—Fareed Zakaria, Fiona Hill, Masha Gessen, Timothy Snyder, Emma…

Misc Book Reviews

A repost in case you missed it ↓ Romance Authors that I’ve found and favorited over the last several months: Joanna Shupe, Leigh Bardugo, Tessa Dare, Jennifer Ashley, Courtney Milan, Amalie Howard, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Loretta Chase, and Mary…

Book Review: Uptown Girls by Joanna Shupe

Uptown Girls by Joanna ShupeThe Rogue of Fifth AvenueThe Prince of BroadwayThe Devil of Downtown Oh, Bravo, Madam, Bravo. This series crashed into my wild-girl world and center and sent tingles twisting into my gut wrapping around my heart like…

Pandemic Diary – Romantic Themes, War, Being Dumb

Someone needs to close that damn Hellmouth—who volunteers? Come on, don’t be shy or cowardly. Were all those superhero movies for naught?  Putin is deranged, cunning, old & probably getting ready to shuffle off this mortal coil thus his psychopathic…

Pandemic Diary — Escapism

What makes a great romance novel? This is a personal preference, and everyone has one. My reading preferences are all over the place merely because, as I previously stated, I am purposely eclectic, unbiased, and permissive in art and literature;…

Intermission II – The Mirror of Me

It occurred to me the other day that it has been almost two years since I posted an update to this story. I am working on it. It’s taking a lot longer than what I anticipated or wanted, but, so…

Book Review: Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom. The first week this book came out, I drove to the nearest bookstore—a Barnes and Noble twenty minutes and fifteen miles away in Huntersville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte—to purchase a copy. Normally I…

2021 Books Read

This list can be found on Goodreads here. The Duke is Mine by Eloisa JamesWhen Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa JamesA Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa JamesThe Mad Earl’s Bride by Loretta ChaseThe Last Hellion by Loretta ChaseLord of…

2020 Books Read

Ransom by Julie Garwood (Review)The Bride by Julie Garwood (Review)Heart of a Warrior by Johanna Lindsey The Heir by Johanna LindseyThe Dark Lady by Maire ClaremontGentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey (Review)Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It…

Book Review: Spindle Cove Series by Tessa Dare

Spindle Cove Series by Tessa Dare There is something so deliciously alluring and seductive about a writer that can narrate an intriguing plot with the right amount of snark and humor around such hot, passionate romance and sex scenes, including…

Book Review: The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan Courtney Milan’s The Brothers Sinister Series nourished my spirit and fed my revolutionary & anarchist romantic energy so completely and utterly, I was left ruminating for weeks over each story and character and the…

Book Review: Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh

Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh I did something I rarely do and read this series out of order. I read Slightly Married first. That book, and the series, are more subdued—stoic and British than what I anticipated, but…different. I looked…

Book Review: The Searcher by Tana French

The Searcher by Tana French Claire Messud said something once that resonated with me and still does. “If you’re reading to find friends, you’re in deep trouble. We read to find life, in all its possibilities. The relevant question isn’t…

Book Review: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Wild by Cheryl Strayed I’m going to stay with the grieving theme since it still needs a somewhat broader brushstroke than what When He Was Wicked provided; and, while it is an entertaining romance that examines grief briefly, Ms. Strayed’s…

Book Review: The Bride by Julie Garwood

The Bride by Julie Garwood I don’t think I’ve ever read Julie Garwood till this book. When I was younger, I usually stayed away from books where there was an attempt to write heavy dialect, especially Scottish, because many tries…

Book Review: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold While I’m finishing other books and forcing myself back into my daily writing habits, I wanted to comment on one of my favorite books in the interim—a book I loved long before it…

Book Review: Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey

Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey I’ve read the first five of the Malory-Anderson Family series books. While I like Love Only Once, Tender Rebel and Say You Love Me, my favorites so far are Gentle Rogue and The Magic of…

Book Review: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Book Review: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson When I heard about Breonna Taylor’s murderers evading justice with a minor charge of endangering white people, I was reading about 23-year-old Claude Neal: “…perhaps the single worst act of…

Book Review: Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey

Book Review: Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey Oy, speaking of rape/non-con…I took one glance at the Goodreads reviews and decided to not even bother. I even unfollowed a celeb reviewer after reading their review of this book that…

Book Review: Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey

Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey If you’re squeamish about slavery and chains, you may as well take a pass on this entire Haardrad Family series. If you do though you’ll be missing out on some great characters. Set during the…

Book Review: A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught This book includes knights and castles and jousts—so much fun. I most relate to Jennifer Merrick’s stubbornness. Although, I cannot relate to her continued family loyalty—that aggravates the hell out of me. Another…

Book Review: Miracles by Judith McNaught

Miracles by Judith McNaught I had no idea this book even existed. I was completely and utterly thrilled to find out one of my favorite characters was getting his own book and with such an interesting romantic equal. I purchased…

Book Review: Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught

Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught In honor of the forthcoming Bridgerton series on Netflix, I hereby submit the McNaught historical romance novels for a delicious and provocative Shondaland interpretative creative touch—especially this book; most especially this book. If anyone could…

Book Review: Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught

Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught Of all the McNaught historical romance novels, this is probably my favorite and Alexandra is my favorite protagonist. I love that she saves his life—as a Knight no less—and that she’s witty and independent and…

Book Review: Once and Always by Judith McNaught

Once and Always by Judith McNaught Rereading and reviewing these books critically now that I’m older and at this point in history has left me with some complicated emotions. The romantic in me continues to love them; the pragmatist recognizes…

Book Review: Until You by Judith McNaught

Book Review: Until You by Judith McNaught Book number three in the Westmoreland Saga focuses on the younger Westmoreland brother, Stephen—yet another aristocratic asshole, but one a tad less intense on that spectrum—and Sheridan, a feisty American governess stricken with…

Book Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Prepare to feel discomfort and all manner of emotions reading this book, and it is for that reason I urge you to read it unaware of any of its many stunning attributes—stop reading this now…

Book Review: Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh Categorized in many reviews as ‘unlikable’ and ‘unstable’ and all naysaying things ‘un’, Eileen is a vivid and compelling character study in contradictions, discomfort, and authenticity. I found her deeply raw and real, and endlessly fascinating—I…

Book Review: Warrior’s Woman by Johanna Lindsey

Warrior’s Woman by Johanna Lindsey I wanted to do a quick reread and review of this book since I brought it up here as an inspiration for writing science and speculative fiction. This book was first released in 1990 and…

Book Review: Salt by Nayyirah Waheed (Poetry)

Salt by Nayyirah Waheed Last month, I found some of my old poetry from the early 2000’s and started posting it here on this site. This poetry was written at an illusive indecisive moment for me. It was mostly an…

Intermission I – The Mirror of Me

I’m working on new chapters now slowly churning away in front of the screen and beyond doing all that thinking and scrambling around one does prior to writing another chapter—you know, the hard work. Those chapters are forthcoming—eventually. I’ll post…

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe by Madeline Miller I’ll be completely upfront: I never read The Iliad or The Odyssey and had no clue about any of the ancient gods or Greek and Roman religions. I was completely and totally ignorant about it all…

Book Review: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Jesmyn Ward is an artist of words. She wields her visions into searing stories of the Black contemporary south. Complex, heartbreaking and bleak narrations that seduce and sway you into the Black bodies born…

Book Review: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky The world-building in this book features a multi-generational spider and ant society evolutionized with a nanotech virus, created and delivered to them by a marooned and cocooned human scientist in a semi-sentient pod, suspended…

Book Review: The Dream Hunter by Laura Kinsale

I love historical romance novels. If you come at me with any type of literary or cultural snobbery whatsoever (music, movie, TV, etc.), I will laugh you off as a pedestrian rube. And if you are a man and not…

Book Review: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King I am the product of an abusive alcoholic father and family. This book and The Shining speak to me on an entirely other level. One with the puking, the violence, the rage, melancholy and moodiness,…

Audio Book Review: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Narrated by Joe Morton aka Papa Pope, this audiobook is probably one of my favorites if not the favorite. Joe Morton’s intensity and glorious acting skills succeed in making this a fantastic, riveting listen. Morton’s read is made all that…

Book Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. David Mitchell is a god of words. A brilliant, utterly divine artist that pushes creative boundaries beyond akin to Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, Mary Shelley, and their more modern equivalents (to which I’ll go…

Book Review: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Thrilling. Philosophically and aesthetically deliberate—as is every Tartt novel. Privilege illustrated to an engrossing degree—glaringly elevating rich white entitlement and classism within the hallowed halls of even the most revered American educational institutions. How…

Book Review: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life: A Novel Kindle Edition by Hanya Yanagihara. I inhaled this book—it consumed me. This book left me raw, exposed, alive, shattered, and…human—so extraordinarily human. It lived and grew within me for weeks afterward and transformed me into…

Book Review: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal is an alluring and infuriating must-read. From the sociopolitical themes to the catastrophic extinction-level event that requires immediate action—all currently, highly relevant and related—the plot focuses on the main character’s quest to become…

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