books, books, books: 2018 mar-may

[meiface]

I read a lot and probably should've put up a post after April, but oh well. Here's a huge dump of the last three months. Trying to keep up reading a lot this year, a whole mix of books!

1. The Peasant King by Dominique Martin - A historical fantasy m/m story that read almost like a fairy tale. I would've liked it to be longer with more worldbuilding and political intrigue, but it was a brief and sweet read. Relatively slow burn, which I enjoyed because the king and the peasant got to know each other, but definitely could've been more deliciously slow with pining if it were as long as I'd prefer! A semi-realistic (given the fantasy setting and ongoing politics backdrop) happy ending.


2. Monkey King, Faerie Queen by Zen Cho - A short story that I loved, with Eastern mythology meeting Western mythology. Monkey King/Sun Wukong is so dear to my heart, and to see him leave the fae at a loss in his usual way -- it was nice to see him disturb a different kingdom for a change.


3. The Disastrous Debut of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis - Regency f/f short story wth magic! Too short! This was adorable and definitely could've been a full-length book. Everyone was charming albeit closer to character sketches/archetypes than fully developed, given the length, but I liked all bits of it. The "reveal", such as it was, was not terribly shocking.


4. First and First by Santino Hassell - Book 3 of the Five Boroughs series (basically contemporary m/m erotica romance set in NYC) and I was seriously concerned if Caleb could be made likeable, given what an ass he'd been as David's ex in the previous book. But he and Oli were sort of alpha-type assholes who kind of deserved each other, so I was kind of rooting for them? They did manage to be sympathetic, strangely; I kinda get Caleb's instinct for following the rules and wanting to play it safe, and then having more adventurous fantasies than he's ready to face irl. Only one POV here so Oli was a little more of a mystery, but his jealousy and own insecurities were telegraphed well and I ate it up with a spoon. Not my favorite like the Rodriguez brothers, but rereadable and enjoyable.


5. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner - I heard it was many people's least favorite book in the series but I really did end up loving it. Maybe it helped knowing, going in, that it would focus on Sophos rather than Gen. But I really did love Sophos's own journey and struggle, from sort of allowing life to happen to him, to actually becoming stronger (in more ways than one). The politics continue to be delightful, and ahhh Eddis. She is so great and her relationship with Sophos is so great, and it is always nice to have an outsider POV on Gen and Attolia.


6. Interborough by Santino Hassell - Book 4 of the Five Boroughs series, and sequel to Sunset Boulevard, established relationship between Raymond and David and ALL OF THE ANGST. Honestly, delicious emotional h/c that got stuck on the "hurt" part for a while because they really were so bad at communicating, and you get both POVs so you understand their stupid motivations but it's still so frustrating to see them at cross purposes. And then the good times and the sex are still good, but then things fall apart. Anyway, painful but I love it. I'm glad they worked through it. It was nice to see other characters reappear in this world but I really do just love Michale/Nunzio the best, even though they are way too happy and healthy together to spend much more time with narratively. (The epilogue was cheesy as fuck and wrapped up a lot of ongoing threads in a half second, but whatever, it's sappy and happy after a long book of angst, so I'll take it.)


7. Third Rail by Santino Hassell - Book 4.5 maybe of Five Boroughs? It's a novella and focuses on a poly m/m/m ship! An established m/m couple who are open to sleeping with others, until they both accidentally develop feelings for Chris and he's just...not ready to handle his own feelings or Aidan and Jace's open lifestyle. Ends without relationship/emotional resolution, but includes hot porn.


8. Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie - Small village murder! I always enjoy these cozy little places where Poirot basically meets and judges every single person as a possible suspect; how tiny they must have been. In any case, a little microcosm of the world, reveal that the mystery is tied to more than it appeared (naturally), and the appearance of Ariadne Oliver. Fun, fast read.


9. Citywide by Santino Hassell - Book 5 of Five Boroughs, maybe? A series of three novellas: the first one wraps up the m/m/m story of Chris/Jace/Aiden and addresses Chris's insecurities and whether the threeway relationship will work. More hot sex. Not sure if I found it emotionally satisfying for closure but eh, mostly I'm here for the Raymond cameos. Second story was f/f and really hot and tropey (angry kinda FWB sex turns to more!) but kinda lust-to-love, and we didn't really get to see the development of feelings (or at least understand where the fuck they came from aside from being told). Last story was m/f and surprisingly sweet as it followed childhood sweethearts both afraid to commit for their own reasons. Anyway, also hot. Good job.


10. Fake Out by Eden Finley - Original contemporary m/m with a pretend boyfriend set-up -- how could I resist? Not bad, but missing the emotional depth and fleshed out world/relationships as the Five Boroughs series. The characters were almost too reasonable despite their personal hang-ups. Straight boy who hired a fake boyfriend should've had waaaay more angst and doubt and pining for my tastes, thanks. Anyway, the pretend dating bit was very brief and only at the beginning, but otherwise the two dudes are friends and don't hook up til later, with some additional family/outside melodrama. Happy ending of course, and a set-up for the sequel whch will feature a different couple pretend dating.


11. The Quarterback by Mackenzie Blair - Original contemporary m/m featuring a closeted small-town college quarterback who goes to a massage parlor and sorta gets a happy ending from a dude masseuse who normally doesn't but happens to have a crush on the quarterback... Anyway, the masseuse is Korean, so yay, interracial relationship? Lots of angst about being closeted and family/football issues, of course. Unfortunately I don't think I was ever super invested in these characters and their sex was only okay, imo. Maybe I read it at a bad time? IDK. It was decently written for this kind of storyline!


12. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie - Archaelogical dig in Iraq leads to murder! Poirot saves the day! Some racism, surprise! But it was pretty evocative in describing the setting, at least. And teh story was, almost as always, more about the human relationships than the murder. I figured out who did it before the reveal, but not how.


13. Concourse by Santino Hassell - Book 6 and probably last book of the Five Boroughs series, starring Ashton, who has previously appeared, and his BFF Val. I liked Val but he was also a dumbass. Ashton and his codepenedent relationship was made for me to eat up with a spoon, but overall the story was also just so stressful and unhappy that it was hard to enjoy. They didn't really spend much time happy indivdually, so even the good times together didn't feel as fun. Tbh my favorite part of this were the Nunzio cameo scenes. He's the best, I love him and Michael.


14. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner - YA fantasy. OK, so I get why everyone ships Kamet and Costis now, and I love that if you go in unspoiled, you don't get confirmation that it's Costis until about halfway in. I love getting only Kamet's POV for most of this and his slow reaiizations about Costis and Gen as things progress. War is about to happen! How long do I have to wait until the next book, and how many will there be in total? I have needs.


15. If the Duke Demands by Anna Harrington - Regency romance. Heroine is in love with Brother #2, he's about to try to get married, she decides to seduce him at a masquerade and accidentally seduces his older brother, the duke, whoops. But they'll totally help each other out setting the other up with their desired partner! Except for all the sexiness between them and how they discover they genuinely like and respect each other, etc. Anyway, they were mostly likeable at first but I guess for the sake of drama they both eventually started acting stupid and more annoying. And their characterization seemed to suffer for the sake of the drama. But overall sweet and a happy ending.


16. Omega Required by Dessa Lux - I wanted to read an original a/b/o story and this was recced. Plus it had marriage of convenience and promised lots of h/c! Alas, my kind of h/c and this brand did not align, because everything was so careful and sweet and thoughtful and respectful here. Too nice! And there was mutual pining, but I guess I just didn't buy that the obstacles between them as real. And then alpha dude is a True Idiot and has to be punished by losing his omega, who is the ultimate woobie and justified emotionally in everything, and alpha has to basically crawl back and earn his trust. It's well written! It's just...not my id. I guess I like the more problematic alphas and unhealthy codependency and jealousy, or whatever. Maybe I'll try again with a different a/b/o story...just gotta figure out how to circumvent the ones with mpreg, sigh.


17. Public Display of Everything by Cara Dee - Original m/m contemporary. There was really, really not enoough exhibition kink in this book. The characters were likable enough but very flat/static, with sort of pasted on issues. I was mainly trying to read for the exhibition/voyeurism! It was not what I wanted! Maybe because it's hotter to me when I like and am invested in the characters? Anyway, they were very sweet together and I super didn't care.


18. Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna Chambers - Regency m/m novella that should have been a full length book, because mm, delicious antagonism and UST. Touches briefly on class and hidden sexualities. Anyway, lots of delicious chemistry. Too short.


19. Angel's Devil by Suzanne Enoch - A "clean" regency romance from the author's earlier days, where the heroine is flirting with a known rake in order to scandalize her family and make them more open to the idea of her marrying her current (secret) fiance. Who was okay and slowly became a tool, because obviously the heroine needed a reason to fall in love with the rake, who is actually a good guy. Same old story. Very light and fluffy, with a family cast of characters. Not my favorite regency but far from the worst I've read.


20. The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell - A retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses story, this book is supposedly middle-grade but honestly skirts some darker themes. It is SO GOOD. Honestly, I love a good fairy tale retelling and this was just really enjoyable. Reveka is a great narrator and it's lovely that her practical skills are actually relevant and useful to the retelling. The book actually weaves in two other fairy tales/myths, but those would be spoilers. Honestly, pretty much as soon as you finish this, you realize you absolutely need a sequel, even if it needs to be YA or even adult. It reminds me a bit of Uprooted with its Eastern Europe mythos/setting, featuring dragons and forests and darkness in prominent roles, except honestly more enjoyable.


21. One Night with Rhodes by Eden Finley - Contemporary m/m romance where a bi dude hooks up with his best friend's older brother, who's closeted, and years of drama and angst and friendship and angst and sex and angst result. Yet I was weirdly invested in these two manchildren's love story through the years? I dunno, I'm glad they worked their shit out, but their friend group (of m/f couples who are featured in their own dramatic stories in the series, but this one is fine as a standalone) was kind of hard to keep track of or care about. Both dudes keep making dumb decisions, and even when trying to make better decisions they are still kind of crap at it. But I guess they get their happy ending. Some readers apparently had issues with the alternating first person POV but I felt like they were pretty distinct mostly due to their different issues projected all over the damn place when it was their turn to narrate.


22. Boy Princess by Kim Seyoung - Reread this whoooole melodramatic manhwa (vols 1-9) and it was as ridiculous and delightful as I remember and I cried so much. Everyone is so/too pretty with their long hair and lushly-lashed eyes. That one mystical forest tribe can change genders once in their lives! People in love with the wrong people, for generations! Murder plots and war! Whatever, I love Jed and Nicole and still enjoy how fucked up (poor, poor) Shahi and Derek (and spoiler) are. But upon this reread I basically quivered with my love and feelings for Princess Reiny and her growth and cunning, and then her eventual relationship with Prince Glewhin. My heaaaaart. They are so it for each other.


23. Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang - Oh boy. A connected series of seven short stories (more character pieces) each featuring a Chinese-American girl in NYC dealing with her fucked-up family. I half-hated this until I finished it, then the end made me cry. There are so many bits and pieces that are too familiar, whether family stuff or immigrant stuff. The epilogue is really what hurts the most though, that sense of connection to/isolation from the extended family and wider motherland. It shaped us and yet feels so distant and foreign at the same time. I don't know. I'm not sure I enjoyed reading it, but I'm glad I did, and I kind of want to make some people I know experience it too.

I also read a novel-length Dresden Files fic that basically read like original to me (okay...barring the m/m brothercest), and I wanna argue that it should count. But I guess I'll leave this for now.