November Reading Recap

In search of a new reading rhythm

November was a month. I moved in early November and was drowning in boxes for about a week and then…gestures vaguely in the direction of the election. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I only read thirteen books this month and feel like I’m still trying to settle back into my reading rhythm. I also wound up DNF’ing Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, because the stream-of-consciousness style and sentence fragments she employed for one POV just drove me up the wall. I thought that there were better ways to convey that particular character’s state of mind than sentence fragments and those chapters felt overworked instead of free-flowing. I was intrigued by the other half of the story but not enough to commit to 450 pages, especially at a time of year when I was still feeling scatted and woeful. Let me know if you think I need to give Intermezzo another chance!

My November reading categories were:

• A cozy romance: My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long (at least I think it’s cozy)

• Another book that’s over 500 pages long: Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard

• One of my most anticipated 2024 releases that I haven’t read yet: The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava

• And, of course, a book by Louise Erdrich or Maggie O’Farrell (I only have one Maggie O’Farrell left before I become a completionist!): After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell

In December, I’m trying to keep it very simple and focus on two reading categories I want to prioritize:

• Four anticipated 2024 releases that I still haven’t read yet

• Two holiday romances

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Favorite of the month

My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long (The Palace of Rogues # 7)

We return to the Grand Palace on the Thames, my very favorite fictional boardinghouse, for a romance between a firebrand member of Parliament and a witty country girl who has one chance at finding a husband in the casually cruel environment of the London Season. If you’ve been here for a while, you might already know how much I adore Julie Anne Long but I maintain that she’s writing some of the best historical romance out there. This is heartfelt, funny, gorgeously written, and gloriously messy, as Catherine and Kirke try to stay away from each other and utterly fail at it. Long is so good at writing intellectual, emotional, and physical attraction and the connection between her characters is just undeniable. I loved being back in the cozy world and found family of the Grand Palace on the Thames and with this cast of characters, as well as getting to fall for a new central couple. (Open door, medium steam.)

Really liked

White Hot by Ilona Andrews (Hidden Legacy #2)

Private investigator Nevada Baylor and powerful magic user Connor Rogan return, this time to investigate a murder that threatens to take them to the heart of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving Houston’s elite. This is the book I reached for when I wanted a distraction that still feels like it has serious stakes. The Hidden Legacy series is really well-paced, with compelling main characters and well-written action scenes, and deeply appeals to the part of me that wants to see justice being definitively served. I also really like the Baylor family's deep loyalty to each other, Nevada's strong sense of herself and principles and the fact that although she's obviously a badass, she's still learning to use her powers and having to work hard at it. This just feels fun and sleek and snappy and I bought the third installment as soon as I finished this one. (Open door, medium steam.)

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

A legendary essay collection that captures the cultural changes sweeping 1960’s America, the places that shaped Didion, and her own razor-sharp opinions. This is an astringent, diamond-bright, perfectly observed time capsule of a place and time and I found myself wishing that I was reading this with page flags or a pencil in hand. Some of her sentences are just flat out send-a-shiver-down-your spine perfection. The way she writes about California and the mythology of California is spot-on and captivating, from the insular society of the Central Valley to the lost youth of the Haight-Ashbury. I wouldn’t say that I’ve totally bought in to the cult of Didion but her talent is blazingly undeniable in this collection.

Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Cazalet Chronicles #4)

The fourth installment in the Cazelet Chronicles finds the sprawling Cazalet family reckoning with the aftermath of World War II and the rapidly changing landscape of post-war Britain. It also might be my favorite of the series so far, mostly because it delivers a whole lot of deeply satisfying emotional beats, made all the richer by the fact that I've spent hundreds and hundreds of pages with these characters. Zoe's character arc, from the spoiled young wife of the first book to the wiser woman of the fourth, is one I find especially fascinating. I continue to be so impressed by Howard's mastery of third person POV and her ability to depict a huge, vivid cast of characters. This series succeeds as both a portrait of 20th century English life and as a juicy family saga and I find it endlessly absorbing.

After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell

Hours after abruptly taking a train to Edinburgh and leaving just as abruptly, Alice Raikes steps into traffic on a busy London road. As she drifts through consciousness, the novel moves through her past and her memories of a love affair cut short. Probably my favorite of O'Farrell's early novels, this exploration of complex family dynamics, loss, and romantic obsession is taut, emotional, and surprising. There's an amazing clarity to O'Farrell's prose even at the very beginning of her career and it's so interesting to see the beginning of some of her thematic preoccupations. She's very good at capturing intense emotions in stripped-down prose without it ever feeling too sparse. This is also probably one of her best takes on star-crossed lovers and, I would argue, a key part of her canon. (After You’d Gone, The Hand That First Held Mine, This Must Be the Place, I Am I Am I Am, and Hamnet are the core five, in my opinion.)

The Bell in the Fog by Lev A.C. Rosen (Evander Mills #2)

Kicked off the police force for being gay, Andy Mills has started a new life as a private detective but when an old flame walks into his office, he’s drawn back into his past in the Navy and out into the world of the gay bars of 1950’s San Francisco. This noir-ish historical mystery series is becoming a new favorite of mine. It's incredibly well-researched with an amazing sense of atmosphere and a compelling protagonist finally beginning to live and love openly, whose past Rosen cleverly weaves in throughout this installment. I was captivated by the glimpse into the queer history of San Francisco and the exploration of what justice looks like for a community that can't get it through traditional means, as well as the budding romance between Andy and bartender Gene. This book is relatively short but thematically rich. And I could read Rosen's descriptions of fog all day.

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

Guarded folklorist Lorelei Kaskel finds herself on a dangerous expedition with her academic rival, the almost irritatingly enchanting Sylvia von Wolff. This is a slow burn, both in terms of the romance and of the overarching plot, but I really enjoyed how the story takes its time. Saft's writing has a lovely shimmery quality that lends the story a fairy-tale atmosphere and strikes the right balance between enchantment and danger. I loved prickly Lorelei as our heroine and was just as enthralled by Sylvia, her dashing love interest, as she is. Sylvia is the kind of swashbuckling, idealistic character that I love to see in fantasy and I savored her and Lorelei's opposites-attract dynamic. The ending might be a tad abrupt but I enjoyed the rest of this so much that it didn't really bother me. (Although would I be opposed to a sequel novella? No, I would not.)

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

In the post-war Netherlands, Isabel’s tightly controlled life is upended when her brother’s girlfriend Eva comes to stay. I would recommend going into this one blind and letting its twists and turns, and the intensity of the story that eventually emerges, surprise you. This is a meditation on desire, possession, and history that has a wonderful sensuality and tension to it. The descriptions of the Dutch summer are especially ominous and lush and van der Wouden uses a pared back prose style to great effect. This has been popping up on a bunch of year-end lists and I think could be a great quick but satisfying end-of-year read on the more literary side.

Quite liked, with minor caveats

Bad Reputation by Emma Barry

A Hollywood actor trying to shed his himbo reputation and an intimacy coordinator trying to forge a new career after getting fired for directing a controversial play fall in love on the set of a Bridgerton-esque steamy historical drama. I wanted this to be a tad longer, maybe with 25 or 30 more pages of the delicious tension of Cole and Maggie falling for each other, as they go from first meeting to declarations of love in a relatively short span of time. Overall, though, I found this to be thoughtful, smart, and soothing. I really liked all the behind-the-scenes details and Barry's portrayal of a hero trying to make up for his past and do the right thing, as well as the book's reflections on creativity, fame, and what it means to lead a purposeful life. (Open door, medium steam.)

Once More From the Top by Emily Layden

An uber-famous pop star known for her diaristic songwriting returns to her hometown after the body of her teenage best friend, who disappeared years ago, is finally found. The caveat here is that the main character Dylan is extremely Taylor Swift-coded, from her career arc to the fans obsessed with analyzing her every lyric to the spotlight-averse boyfriend from across the pond, that I sometimes found it difficult to be invested in Dylan as her own character. However, the music business stuff feels deliciously insider-y and gossipy, there's some incisive writing, and the friendship between Dylan and Kelsey is genuinely moving and messy. (It was in the flashbacks to her friendship with Kelsey that Dylan felt the most distinctive to me.) Dylan's ambition and guilt sizzle on the page and there's also some sharp commentary on the way the media frames women's narratives.

The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava

A Chickasaw woman's little white lies begin to spiral out of control as she fights to make her way up the job ladder and falls for Danuwoa, the handsome, thoughtful IT guy at her new job...in spite of the company's no dating policy. This is funny, messy, and grounded with a distinctive, chatty narrative voice. Nava captures toxic workplace dynamics in razor-sharp detail and skewers startup culture adeptly. I also found it so refreshing to read a romance about someone who's struggling to get by and doesn't get rescued by a billionaire. (Highly recommend reading the author's note, which gave even more resonance to the story.) Ember's lies did stress me out a lot and I wanted a little more of her complicated relationship and reconciliation with her brother, as well as more sentence-level flow in the writing, but I have a soft spot for a flawed heroine and appreciated her growth by the end of the book. Very excited to see what Nava writes next. (Open door, high steam.)

It might be the format?

Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff

This romance novella follows Maya, a political consultant trying to get back in the game after her ex-husband’s scandalous affair, and Charlie, the former boy-bander whose music shaped her teenage years and who wants her to help with his new music launch. This was a fun quick read that I couldn’t help wishing was longer, richer, and more complicated. Maybe due to the length, it felt like the edges had been sanded off a little and I know from her YA that Romanoff can do messy with the best of them. (Here is where I tell you to go read Grace and the Fever, one of my favorite fictional depictions of fandom culture.) Charlie is very dreamy, Maya is satisfyingly good at what she does, and I really enjoyed the nods to the power (and double-edged sword of that power) of fandom. But I finished this concluding that I might just not be a romance novella reader. If you are, this could be a good place to start. (Open door, medium steam.)

Not my favorite from this author

Love Story by Lindsey Kelk

Sophie, a teacher hiding the secret that she’s the author of a wildly popular romance novel, finds herself stuck in a cottage all weekend with Joe, the cocky creative director who happens to know her secret identity. I've enjoyed Kelk's other books but this one fell a little flat. The romance is heavy on the insta-love and I struggled to track its emotional beats and how exactly Sophie was feeling about Joe throughout the novel, especially whenever she swung from hating him to lusting after him and back again. Although I enjoyed Sophie's relationship with her parents and brother, I also found her younger sister pretty annoying and didn't need quite so many references to other contemporary romance novels. I did like the funny, zippy energy and the book's impassioned defense of the romance genre but considering how much I liked Kelk's previous books, was a little disappointed by this one. (Open door, low steam.)

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Currently reading: Business Casual by B.K. Borison. If you like a hero who’s down bad for the heroine from page one—I do!—this might be very much for you.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• I’ve probably mentioned it here before, but the Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook might be my very favorite bookstore in the Hudson River Valley. We stopped there on our way back from Thanksgiving and had the best time perusing their selections and marveling at how the owner knew almost every person coming in.

• Silly Netflix Christmas movies and listening to podcasts about said silly Christmas movies. (Claire and Emma’s recaps at Rich Text are a particular favorite.)

• The vintage footstool I bought on Etsy to upgrade my reading chair situation. Sometimes endless Etsy scrolling pays off.