March Reading Recap

Mostly here for the necromancers

March was a busy month, bordering on frenetic. I traveled for a wedding, was in a community theater production of The Crucible, and traveled again to Boston at the end of the month. I spent a whole lot of time backstage, on the subway late at night, and on Amtrak. But somehow I managed to squeeze in fifteen books, including one my best friend has been telling me to read for eons. (Spoiler alert: she was right.) I’ve found myself gravitating a lot towards fantasy recently and to books that create rich, immersive worlds, whether that’s 16th-century France or a haunted gothic palace in space.

My March reading categories were:

• Two romances published at least twenty years ago: This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart, Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase

• A past Women’s Prize winner: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

• An anticipated release from the first two months of this year: Back After This by Linda Holmes

• One nonfiction book: All Things Are Too Small by Becca Rothfeld

My April reading categories are:

• Two books from the Women’s Prize longlist

• A backlist romance from a legendary author

• Two books published before 2000

• An anticipated 2024 release that I still haven’t read

Favorites of the month

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long (The Palace of Rogues #8)

An estranged married couple meet again and agree to fake a loving relationship for the sake of social standing...and then part ways forever. Julie Anne Long writes longing and pining and feeling with such precision and power and the way she captures the growing affection and attraction between Magnus and Alexandra sings with tension. I'm a little obsessed with the flashback to their first meeting and the stunning glimpses we get of Magnus falling for Alexandra in the most desperate way. I also adored Alexandra, whose social grace is her strength and who can be both deeply kind and deeply fierce on the behalf of those she loves. If you’re even the tiniest bit historical romance curious, give this series and Long’s writing a try. (Open door, medium steam.)

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The blurb on the front of this wildly inventive sci-fi fantasy says “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!” and I really can’t do much better than that. Completely unlike anything else I've ever read before, this was original, funny, gripping, and devastating. I read it over the course of a four and a half hour train ride and was enthralled the entire time. From the very first sentence, the narrative voice feels fresh, unique, and deeply compelling. Muir’s writing is so assured and distinctly hers and I loved it. I also loved the blend of sci-fi and fantasy, the fascinating magic system, and the rich character development, right down to even the most minor secondary character.

Really liked

Wildfire and Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews (Hidden Legacy #3 and #4)

I continue to devour this paranormal romance series set in a world where powerful Houses of magic users vie for power and influence. Wildfire wraps up private detective Nevada and powerful mage Rogan’s story while Sapphire Flames takes place three years later and shifts its focus to Nevada’s younger sister Catalina and her love interest, mysterious Italian count Alessandro. I quite enjoyed Nevada and Rogan but I’m extremely into Catalina and Alessandro’s dynamic and Catalina as our somewhat reluctant but determined heroine. I’d recommend the series if you like smart, capable heroines growing into their powers over the course of a series, well-written action scenes with a cinematic flair, and justice being served in dramatic fashion. Note that you do have to read in order. (Open door, medium steam.)

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

On the borders of an empire threatened annually by leviathans, an imperial officer lies dead with a tree sprouting from his body. Assigned to investigate is the equally brilliant and eccentric detective Ana Dolabra and her new assistant Din. This is essentially a Holmes-and-Watson-type murder mystery set in a fantasy world and as a longtime lover of classic murder mysteries in unconventional settings, I was extremely into it. The world building is incredibly creative and although Bennett drops the reader right into the story, he also provides everything you need to understand it and weaves detail in effortlessly. Twisty, clever, and endlessly engrossing.

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase

Sparks fly between a strong-willed bluestocking and mildly rakish war hero when they clash over the building of a canal. Historical romance can sometimes trade in stock types but Mirabel and Alistair feel so wonderfully specific and real, from their initial moment of staggering attraction to their HEA. I especially liked how sensitively Chase writes about Alistair’s PTSD and parallels Mirabel and Alistair’s healing process. The character dynamics are finely observed and I found Mirabel’s relationship with her father especially moving. Her prose is witty, full of feeling, and extremely well constructed and I’m absolutely going to read more of her backlist this year. (Open door, medium steam.)

Isola by Allegra Goodman

Based on a true story, this novel about a young noblewoman abandoned on a remote island is a sweepingly immersive piece of historical fiction, written in richly descriptive prose that transported me to Marguerite's world. The descriptions of everything from a richly embroidered sleeve to a rocky cliff are meant to be savored. It's definitely slower paced but I enjoyed how deliberate this felt and the way that Goodman builds tension throughout the book--this is a book that feels carefully crafted, never dashed off. I also was compelled by Marguerite's evolving relationship with her faith, her ferocity, and the role that female friendship and mother-daughter relationships play in her life.

Back After This by Linda Holmes

Podcast producer Cecily finally gets the chance to host her own show…but it involves her going on twenty blind dates, shepherded by lifestyle influencer and dating coach Eliza Cassidy. This was a smart, fun read that I would especially recommend to people who don't necessarily read a lot of romance but crave some rom-com energy in their lives. I really liked Cecily and was charmed by her love interest, photographer Will, and their delightful meet-cute involving a Great Dane. The supporting characters are equally great--Holmes has a real talent for making her secondary characters seem like people with full lives outside of the events of the book--and all the behind-the-scenes audio details are juicy and fascinating. (Open door, just barely.)

All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess by Becca Rothfeld

A challenging, sharp-tongued essay collection that requires the reader's full attention and rewards it with thought-provoking conversations, rigorous writing, and a full-throated rejection of modern minimalism and restraint. As a fan of sprawling, ambitious novels, I particularly enjoyed the essays focused on literary criticism, especially her analysis of Sally Rooney. The final essay on romance as conversation is also wonderful. There's an essay or two that goes into the details of her love life, so be prepared, but overall this was the kind of reading experience that stretched my brain in the best way.

The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel

An unconventional historical romance between a grieving widow and a Jewish doctor written in a vivid, deeply poetic style that brings 1660's London to life. I especially liked how Siegel shines a light on lesser known aspects of Jewish history, like the Portuguese Jews who were forced to convert but still practiced their religion in secret, and centers characters we don't often see in historical romance. It's not quite structured like a traditional historical romance--David and Cecilia fall for each other hard and fast and the obstacles they face sometimes seem insurmountable--but I was riveted by the deep, reckless connection they build and how they help each other heal over the course of the novel. (Open door, low steam.)

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

An interracial family living in the Boston suburbs find themselves caught up in academic, political, and personal turmoil. This social satire, family story, and sharp-eyed look at academia has the engrossing feel of a 19th-century novel while also perfectly capturing a moment in time. Smith has an amazing ear for dialogue and equally amazing eye for the tiniest nuances of interactions between people--Howard and Kiki's 30-year marriage and its decline is especially well portrayed. It's a carefully observed portrait of both a family and the larger mid-2000's cultural context that surrounds them, a pleasingly chunky novel, and also a remarkably accurate depiction of the Boston suburbs.

This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart

On holiday visiting her sister in Corfu, actress Lucy Waring finds herself swept up in intrigue, danger, and romance when a body mysteriously washes up on the beach. Stewart helped develop the romantic suspense genre and this was my first title by her as part of my romance history reading project, but definitely not my last. The descriptions of the Corfu setting are downright lush and wonderfully transporting, the twists and turns clever and satisfying, and Lucy strikes the right balance between bravery and recklessness, ultimately emerging as a pleasingly intrepid heroine. I also really loved all the Shakespeare references and was deeply charmed by two especially appealing supporting characters: a retired Shakespearean actor and a dolphin. (Kissing only.)

Liked with minor quibbles

One on One by Jamie Harrow

Videographer Annie reluctantly returns to her alma mater to work for the basketball team, only to find that her college coworker Ben is still there and still irritatingly handsome. I very much enjoyed that this was a sports romance focused on the people behind the scenes, and how it both loves and acknowledges the complexities of college sports. It's a grounded, sincere book with an appealing heroine trying to rebuild her relationship to a thing she once loved and an intriguing cast of supporting characters. But although I believed in Annie and Ben's attraction to each other and their transition from friendship into flirtation, I don't know if I got enough of the deepening of their relationship to feel invested in their final declarations of love. (Open door, low steam.)

Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee

When a prestigious wine festival announces it’s coming to her small Georgia town, Zoe Brennan leaps at the chance to showcase her family’s vineyard…only to find that she’ll have to work with Laine Woods: snobby Napa-trained vintner, Zoe’s formative teenage crush, and also the woman she just had a blindfolded threesome with. This sapphic romance is both funny and moving, with some fun details about wine-making and a lovably quirky small-town setting. I enjoyed Zoe and Laine's undeniable chemistry, Zoe's snappy narrative voice, and her loving, rowdy group of friends. I did want some of the emotional beats to linger a tad longer, especially when it came to Zoe's relationships with her marooned-in-grief dad and former friend Rachel, but would read more from Piper Lee. (Open door, high steam.)

Interesting themes, mixed execution

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

Three generations of women in a once illustrious Iranian family fight to restore the family name after an Aspen vacation gone wrong. I found the insights into Iranian culture and history very interesting, as well as the portrayal of a family split in two by geopolitics, but I struggled deeply to get invested in any of the characters. The narrative voices of the five women started to blur together to the point where I sometimes had to check whose perspective a chapter was from. The plot also runs out of steam towards the end, with a lot left unresolved. There's some engaging exploration of the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, the weight of history and legacy, and the ways that the patriarchy traps women in both the US and Iran...but for me, the ideas were more interesting than the characters themselves.

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Currently reading: Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns, because I’ll read anything put out by Virago Modern Classics.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• The new Lady Gaga album, which I’ve now listened to enough to decide that I thoroughly enjoy. “How Bad Do U Want Me” is my current favorite.

• Making a full pot of tea in the mornings in a jade green Fiestaware teapot. I restocked on some of my favorites from Mem Tea while I was in Boston, including a delicious ginger peach black tea blend.

• I switched from BOTM to Aardvark around the end of last year and I’ve really been liking their blend of literary and genre fiction, including some very good romance and fantasy picks.