cyphomandra

I was surprised when SE Harmon's name didn't autopopulate in the tags of the last entry, as I remembered writing it up, and then I found it featured in the first half of a monthly booklog I hadn't finished. Here they all are. Of the new books I liked Venezia best, but all the re-reads this month are books I'm very fond of.

A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson (re-read)
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden
The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
Blueprint, SE Harmon
The Heartless Troll, Øyvind Torseter, translator Kari Dickson
This Wicked Gift, Proof by Seduction, Trial by Desire (Carhart series), Courtney Milan
Heels over Head, Elyse Springer
My Little Brony, Natalie Whipple/KM Hayes
Diana Takes a Chance, Catherine Christian
We Can Make a Life: a memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry
El Deafo, Cece Bell
Venezia, Jiro Taniguchi
Into the Dream, William Sleator (re-read)
The Twelfth Day of July, Joan Lingard
Monica Muddles Through
Katy, Jacqueline Wilson
Binti, Nnedi Okarofor
Arabel’s Raven, Joan Aiken
Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, Alyssa Cole.
( Reviews under cut. )

Elyse Springer, Thaw and Heat Wave.

Books 2&3 of the Seasons of Love quartet (yes, that is a Rent reference) featuring queer romances between a loose group of friends in New York. In Thaw Abby is a biromantic asexual librarian whose library branch is threatened by government cuts; she makes an unexpected connection at a charity fundraiser with Gabrielle Levesque, a hot new supermodel nicknamed the Ice Queen who is known for her personal ruthlessness, and the two of them then have to navigate their own emotions as well as the threats of Gabrielle’s manager (and ex-lover) and Abby’s disclosure of her asexuality. It’s quite sweet and I do actually buy that Gabrielle’s previous transactional approach to sex makes her a good partner for Abby, but I would have liked a bit more about them working through their respective issues together and somewhat fewer miscommunications. Also, given that Gabrielle and Abby are bonding over sf/f books, I would have liked more titles and fewer vague references to second books in trilogies.

In Heat Wave Sara feels stuck in her work and her personal life when Laura, the woman her boyfriend left her for (who he’s also now dumped) phones her up and suggests a drink. Laura is cheerfully bisexual and that drink rapidly becomes a friends with benefit situation - but Sara, who’s previously thought of herself as straight, is also becoming aware that she wants more than that. Again, some of the inability to talk to each other got annoying, and there’s a scene where Laura walks in on Sara getting a sports massage and misconstrues the situation that was more than a little clichéd. The sex scenes are hot, though (as the title promises!) and it’s nice to see two bisexual women in a romance.

( More discussion, some spoilers. )