Happy Saturday! We’re speedily approaching the end of August. Here’s how we’re capping off the month:
Lara: I’ve torn myself away from Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series to try new-to-me authors. I’m reviewing Cynthia St. Aubin’s Love Bites ( A | BN | K | AB ) and Love Sucks. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I enjoyed both (ridiculous) books with some caveats. At the moment I am reading Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi. I usually don’t enjoy books with twee cosy witches. I like my paranormals to have bite. This is a BDSM romance with ghosts though. The witch factor is secondary, so I’m sticking with it. Will report back!
Sarah: I was asked to blurb a book which is a rare request for me, so I am very excited.
It’s called Inequalities of Platform Publishing: The Promise and Peril of Self-Publishing in the Digital Book Era by Claire Parnell. ( A | BN )It’s going to be out later this year – I think October – from the University of Massachusetts Press.
From the book (which I am highlighting the heck out of) “This book investigates the contours of how platforms can act as gatekeepers, creating barriers to entry and equitable participation for historically marginalized authors through their technological, economic, social, and cultural structures.”
Plus I turn a page and think, “Oh! I know them!” Which I love, honestly.
Elyse: I’m reading Briefly Perfectly Human by Alua Arthur. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I have a family member in hospice, and Arthur is a death doula. It’s really helping me navigate the end of life process as it feels like something I’ve never really learned about.
Susan: I’m reading Twittering Birds Never Fly, ( A ) and having fun with it for the mystery/obsessively loyal yakuza BDSM, but also there have been three sex scenes in this volume. That is exactly as many sex scenes as there are bullet holes in one of the participants.
Sarah: It’s important to have balance.
Susan: Need to make sure the blood is still flowing correctly.
Shana: I’m reading Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski. I started it ages ago but wasn’t in the right space to read it. But it’s perfect for me now, I love the mix of science, self help, and feminist rage.
Amanda: I’m going through a manga/webtoon phase. Most of them have been eh, but I’m caught up on Suite Room de Amayakashi Yakuza to Futari Kiri. It’s a romance between a high-ranking yakuza and a hotel concierge. The characters fall in love pretty quickly and it’s a bit smutty (fair warning), but the hero surprisingly isn’t a domineering asshole and is just a sweet, cinnamon roll. It’s very much a “he falls first” scenario.
I’m also reading Butcher and Blackbird. ( A | BN | K ) I have some minor gripes about the age of the heroine, but otherwise I’m enjoying the blend of romance, dark humor, and body horror.
Susan: Oh, I started Suite Room and meant to go back to it! The female lead doing her best to be Unflappable is great.
Amanda: There are only six chapters out so far so it’s a quick catch up.
Kiki: I went to Lovestruck Books with some coworkers this week and picked up the translated version of The Cook of Castamar. I had started the Netflix series and was really taken with the setting and time period and wanted to read the book but when I looked a year or two ago it hadn’t been translated to English—but it has now!
Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!