Friday Reads 1.5.24

It’s the first Friday of 2024(!) and you know what that means. Let’s talk about what we’re reading!

I was trying and failing to find a quick and dirty solution to offload my Goodreads reading list, and the thought occurred to me… A photo would count, right? So here they are, minus DIVINE RIVALS, because it messed up the grid (LOL, hello, OCD). It looks like 72 books read for 2023; 78 if you include the books that I worked on/wrote. None so bad, but alas, short of my goal of 80.

It’s copyedits week for A VERY BAD THING. It’s a lot of fun to get back into this book, especially seeing it for the first time from an outside perspective. I am a bit in love with my CE, too. She’s smart, and she gets what I’m trying to do. Huzzah!

I am deep into a few “work” books this week, which I refer to the books I’m either interviewing the artist or blurbing. Such a terrible job I have, having to read.

Allison Brennan has a new PI series that you are going to love, the first being YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME. And Jayne Ann Krentz has a new book out Tuesday called THE NIGHT ISLAND, which is the second in her The Lost Night Files series. We’re going to be chatting on Tuesday night live at the Poisoned Pen, too!

I started my slow read of Wolf Hall, and I was admittedly surprised—it’s in present tense! I don’t know of many historical done this way, it engaged me immediately.

I also devoured the most delightful Bridgerton-adjacent Queen Charlotte this week. I must say, this show was, for me, perfect. The treatment of mental illness was incredibly touching, showing the sacrifices of true love. Even the back and forth time switches, which I normally find a bit hectic, worked. The acting, and the costuming, and the entire plot—everything was just great. And Brimsley made me smile, every time he came on the screen. Really great show. I recommend you watch with the audio closed captioning on. It adds an extra layer to the story, as if the screenplay is being read aloud whilst the show plays out.

In case you missed it, my 2023 Annual Review is up.

That’s it from me this week. How about you? What’s on your reading plate this weekend?