Urban Fantasy & Paranormal
Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey
Siren's Song by Ella Summers
Soulless by Gail Carriger
I read Dark Currents as I'm going through the backlist of Vaginal Fantasy book picks and reading them, as I only joined the book club a year or so ago (VF is Felicia Day's Goodreads and YouTube based book club that reads female-centric fantasy/sci-fi/romance/genre fiction). Dark Currents is an urban fantasy about a town in Michigan where supernatural creatures are known and live side by side with humans. The town itself is somewhat of a tourist attraction, and the heroine is an agent of the Norse goddess Hel, making her responsible for keeping the supernatural population in check and assisting local law enforcement with solving supernatural crimes. I thought the world building was really good and it was a fun book over all. Siren's Song, meanwhile, is the third book in a series about Angels and Demons having a war on Earth, and is one of those random Kindle Unlimited series that I downloaded and fell in love with. These books are really fun, have good pacing and action, and a well-developed bit of romantic tension. Gail Carriger's Soulless, the first in the Parasol Protectorate series, is a book I started awhile ago and just picked back up. It started slow for me, but I tore through it at the end. It's about a spinster named Alexia who has no soul and therefore can neutralize vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures, who live in Victorian London. It's funny and very British.
Historical Romance
Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare
Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare
I've got quite a bit catching up to do for my Historical Romance Challenge that I'm attempting! I'm aiming for 50 books and I've only read 6 so far. This month I went for two Tessa Dare books, as I love Tessa Dare and how her books are historicals that have a modern edge and funny, quippy dialog. These books are kind of related, as the hero of Say Yes to the Marquess is the brother of the hero in Do You Want to Start a Scandal, and he shows up in both books. Of the two, I enjoyed Do You Want to Start a Scandal slightly more, mostly because the hero is more my style and I liked that the heroine was willing to try anything and just seemed like a good friend/person. I have a few more Tessa Dare books on my list for the Historical Romance Challenge, which I can't wait to read.
Historical Fiction
Between Two Fires by Mark Noce
I struggled with fitting this book in to a particular category. It wasn't quite a romance, although romantic relationships played a big role in the story, and it wasn't particularly historical, as it takes place at a time in Welsh history of which little is written about, and the characters in the story are mostly all imagined. For now I'll call it historical fiction, but it is hard to pin down. I enjoyed the first half of this book, but for me it started to drag a bit and I didn't think that the heroine's voice was very realistic. I think this is a debut from this author, though, so I'm sure he'll improve with the second book, because the world was fun to read about. I'm not sure if I'll read the second book, we'll see.
Classics
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Two classic books that I've (gasp) never read! I have seen the Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca, and love it, so I was really excited to read the book as part of my Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge. Although I understand how this book might not be for everyone, I gave Rebecca five stars. Daphne du Maurier's writing style is hypnotic, and it's hard to look away from the horrible things that her characters do or say. The characters have so much depth and history to them, and the setting plays a huge role in setting the creepy, uneasy atmosphere of the book. This is the kind of book I will probably go back and re-read to catch things that I missed the first time. Pride and Prejudice was also a selection for my reading challenge; I've never read Jane Austen as the classics I enjoy are usually more on the gothic side rather than the polite society side, but I figured I should challenge myself and finally pick up this well-loved book. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but I did think the characters were well done and the book is definitely funny. I just don't need to read this much about British people getting married, and it was a three star read for me.
Looking back, this is the whitest reading month I've ever had! I've never read this many books about or by white people. It's kind of freaking me out. I don't mean this to be a jerk, I just usually enjoy reading about people from different backgrounds or reading authors from a more diverse experience than I read this month. I'm inspired to do the opposite for April, and to read some of the books I meant to read in March.
April TBR List
This is a long list but I have a few I meant to read last month, and then a bunch of my holds came in at the library so I've got to get on it! A few are pretty short, so I think I should be able to get to all o them. The book I'm most excited to read in April is probably Binti: Home, as I loved the first novella and it will pair nicely with my binge-playing of Mass Effect: Andromeda. I'm also really excited that my copy of Difficult Women by Roxane Gay finally came in at the library after a long wait! Looking over this list, my April reading is going to be pretty awesome, and I'm going to try and balance my time better to squeeze in more reading time.
Happy reading!
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