Three weeks into 2023 already? Gah. Anyway, it was a good reading week for me. Yay. Okay, part of that was being sick on Tuesday, so I had almost a whole day to sit in a chair, reading. I'm 4 books ahead on my reading goal. Woohoo.
New books? I got my first new ebook of the year! It's a suspense. Big surprise there, I know. LOL
Books Read:
6) Three Men Out (Nero Wolfe) by Rex Stout (1/20/23) - Crime - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated. Picked up for 50c at St. Vinnys.
Review: "Rex Stout never disappoints."
5) Domino by Phyllis A. Whitney (1/17/23) - Romantic Suspense - 5 stars. Super not new to me - I started reading and collecting Phyllis in high school. Snagged this at St. Vinnys for 75c.
Review: "Another excellent novel by Ms. Whitney."
4) Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh (1/14/23) - Mystery - 5 stars. Not new to me, but I haven't read nearly as many of her novels as I'd like. And she's got plenty of lovin' for this one. Also a St. Vinny's find for only 75c.
Review: "This one started out a little weirder than I was expecting, but it turned into a good mystery with plenty of thrills."
No DNFs.
Currently reading... I didn't start anything new after I finished that Nero Wolfe last night. I might go with Anne Rice next or dive into that one suspense ebook I picked up. Either way, good times ahead.
What was on your reading list this week?
It was a kinda slow week for me--only 4 books--but that's okay. I've read 14 books which puts me 6 books ahead of schedule. All four were by Ilona Andrews, all are UF/ParaRom/SciFi, and all but the last (first on the list)were repeats. Most current is the new release from last week, hence the marathone of previous books. Basic premise: MC is an "Innkeeper." She has magic, lives in a sentient Inn that caters to extraterrestrials under an intergalactic pack made with Earth hundreds of years ago because Earsh is an easy crossroads. The ETs can't reveal their existence and the Innkeepers are charged with keeping the knowledge away from normal humans.
ReplyDelete14 - Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5) - 5 uproarious stars. The Bachelor meets Survivor. I swear the authors and their crew sat around drinking margaritas and coming up with outrageous stuff that all works hilariously well--along with some serious tugging of emotions. I give one spoiler--the name of one of the possible mates translates into English as Special Snowflake. I rest my cast. LOVED this book!
13 - Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles, #4) - 5 stars. This story focuses on Dina's sister Maud and her courtship with Arland, the vampire marshal of his House. A lot of readers weren't that thrilled. Maud and Helen (her 5 yo half vampire daughter) are all kinds of awesome. The backstory there is worth the page space.
12 - Sweep with Me (Innkeeper Chronicles, #4.5) - 5 stars. An interesting little story that cements Dina's relationship with the Alpha-strain werewolf (extraterrestrial, even though he was born on earth and appears very human until he warps out).
11 - One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, #3) - 5 stars. A personal favorite in the series Gertrude Hunt B&B (the Inn) is hosting a peace conference to work out a treaty between 3 factions that have been slaughtering each other on a basically bare planet but for a VIM (Very Important Mineral). Sean is involved but Dina has no clue until the Merchants bring him to the party. The vampires are on one side and the Hope-crushing Horde on the other (think of the Mongols). In addition, there are "space chickens" there to debate which founder of their society was the most important. They are all about the clucking. Mix in George Cameroon from the authors' The Edge series and you get mayhem. George is an Arbitrator. With a captal A.
I highly recommend this series. There are sexy bits but they aren't blatant and mostly behind closed doors. The action is crazy, the space critters are insane, and it's pure fun with emotional impact. I tried reading the first book 3 times before I actually got hooked. Now the stupid series is a favorite. Go figure. Anyway...good stuff! I'm sorry it's over for now and I can't wait until the next installment.
Current reading: I actually have two books listed. THE LIBRIAN OF CROOKED LANE is set just after WWI, set in London. There's supposed to be a bit of magic involved. It's borrowed from Hoopla and I have like 19 more days. It may take me that long. It hasn't grabbed my attention so far even though the blurb was interesting. The other is WOLF by Rebecca Zanetti. I got it cheap (I had a $10 coupon that had to be spent) and I've liked previous books by this author. Also, if I listen at least 20 minutes a day for 5 days, I'll get a $5 coupon. She's a disgraced FBI profiler hired by her former mentor who is now the sheriff of a "family-controlled" town in Washington state to help solve a murder. He's the adopted scion of the "ruling" family. It's okay but I don't feel compelled to listen every moment of the day. This is good. That means I'm actually getting my own writing done.
Happy reading, all!