#whatchareading — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #whatchareading, aggregated by home.social.
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I'm still endlessly amused by "As we landed, [my mother] noticed a camel. Although expecting a camel, she was rendered temporarily silent [...]."
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#WhatchaReading ? I read Love Notes by Lisa Henry, a pleasantly low-key romance that made for a nice palette cleanser. Dyslexic woodworker Ryan and mystery writer Adam meet in Ryan's charming -- but not completely implausible -- small town and just feel really comfortable together right away.
It's the fourth in a multi-author series but you don't need to have read the others. ((I tried the first, wasn't my cuppa.)
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#WhatchaReading ? I skimmed Speechless by Lindsey Lanza... some really interesting themes --- chronic illness, selective mutism, infertility -- but the tone was a bit twee for me.
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"Holy shit, I've never seen a bona fide god before."
"God. Bag of dicks. Tomato, To-mah-to."
😂
#WhatchaReading ? I'm in the middle of The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam, a het paranormal romance featuring the rare and elusive huge heroine, small hero combo! The plot is kind of stressful for me but I'm enjoying the humor and slow burn. Both characters seem ND but I think there may be something else going on with him...
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#WhatchaReading ? I'm enjoying Alicia Thompson's latest, Never Been Shipped, which is about former best friends who were in a band that busted up dramatically. They're reunited for a fan cruise They both have seeeecrets...
It's loosely linked to With Love, From Cold World.
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At the family camp we go to, there's a very large, boisterous, religious family that always sings together at meals, kind of like if Ned Flanders' family had 30 members. I've often wondered what an introvert or autistic member of that family would feel like.
The hero of the romance I'm reading, It's a Love Story, seems to be that introverted member. My first book by Annabel Monaghan... took me a minute to get into it but I'm liking it now.
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#WhatchaReading ? I read the Testimony by "Laura London" which I somehow missed when they were digitized. I might have liked it more then, but I found it mostly vibes and the vibes were dated and a bit overly purple. There is some relevant political commentary though--MMC is a reporter and child of immigrants who goes to jail for refusing to reveal a source.
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#WhatchaReading ? I read The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren, a sunshiney poor girl/poor little rich boy romance which was a fairly decent effort to address the grossness of income inequality for a beach read, but unfortunately fell down at the end and tried to have things both ways. Other than that, and some plot holes, I enjoyed it more than I have any of their books in years.
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Magician by K.L. Noone was pretty much my catnip. Gorgeous prose, gorgeous magical system, gorgeous world-weary hero who thinks he's beyond redemption but just needs another gorgeous hero to show him how to be loved. 🙂
Heavy on the steam for my tastes -- though magical steam is always extra fun! -- and could be considered a bit wangsty, but overall, wonderful.
Reading the short Sorcerer first is helpful but not essential.
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@antoniaaquilante Holly Black is always good! I'm reading Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora Goss, whom I've never read before. Kind of a similar theme going for us!
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#WhatchaReading ? I very much enjoyed What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon. It's a trope based plot--reunited first loves, convenient marriage--but doesn't rely on the tropes to do all the work. The characters are believably real & flawed and they grow while falling in love. The descriptions of Amsterdam are so enticing, I want to go there yesterday. And I was a total sucker for playful scenes and romantic symbolism, which just *make* a romance for me.
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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed the audiobook of Swept Away by Beth O'Leary up to a point, and if you've read it, you probably can guess the point. ;-) The adventure part of the story was tense and exciting and gave both characters a chance to shine; I had no trouble believing they grew to know and love each other in such a short period of time. What happens after felt contrived and false, unworthy of what had gone before.
#RomanceBooks
@RomanceBooks -
#WhatchaReading ? I liked many parts of Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday, but not so much the romance.
https://willaful.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/into-the-woods-by-jenny-holiday/
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#WhatchaReading ? I wanted a formulaic Harlequin Presents for vacation reading and Girl Behind the Scandalous Reputation by Michelle Condor delivered exactly that. Unfortunately also delivered a touch of homophobia, so probably won't read her again.
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#WhatchaReading ? I had to read Aydra Richard's latest #HistoricalRomance, Mercy Fletcher Meets Her Match, before KU ran out and I'm glad I did. It's a Loretta Chase-esque starchy hero/headstrong heroine story, made especially affecting by how perfectly they match. He's responsible and careful, burdened by his late father's scorn, she's an artistic dreamer with a "busy brain" (ADHD) and they both help each other as they fall wonderfully in love.
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#WhatchaReading ? I Think They Love You by Julian Winters was a nice Valentine's Day read - a second chance/fake dating romance with a good growth arc for the lead. Lots of sweet pining and a big wacky cast of family and friends.. If you yearn for romcoms with black and queer characters, this was literally written for you.
@romancebooks
#RomanceBooks -
#WhatchaReading ? I started the follow-up to Out On a Limb (my review of that: https://willaful.wordpress.com/2023/09/19/out-on-a-limb-by-hannah-bonam-young/). It's supposed to stand on its own but OOaL is worth reading first anyway.
Also sampled The Next Best Fling by Garbiella Gamez and it looks really good. Moving it up on the TBR. Will I ever not be stressed about having too many books to read?!
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#WhatchaReading? I finished It Takes a Thief by Anne Stuart and even though it needed a good editing, -- far too much repetitious internal dialogue -- I still enjoy her storytelling. Some great pining.
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#WhatchaReading I'm currently reading Golden Terrace by Cang Wu Bin Bai, a book, that I had already started some time ago, but had then put aside because long books and the stupid Long Covid thing don't go all that well together (at least in my case).
A couple of days ago, I picked it up again and I'm charmed all over again by this novel with its slow-burn m/m romance and the slowly unfolding plot. The translation is superb - far superior to most Chinese to English translations of popular lit.
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#WhatchaReading ? I'm in another recent Anne Stuart, It Takes a Thief. Liking this historical much more than Return to Mariposa, but both have the same continuity issue. 🤔
Also listening to Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis, which is a bit of a downer but in awesome British accents. ;-) Really tired of contemporary romance characters who have no concept of personal responsibility though.
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#WhatchaReading ? It's damn hard to enjoy billionaire romance these days, but Most Eligible Billionaire by Annika Martin is so engaging, I got through. And he is a very good billionaire, who likes to craft and treats everyone like family and uses reclaimed wood, which I guess makes up for all the private jets? Anyway, in the realm of fantasy it was a fun read, with lively, sparkling characters and believable relationship development.
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#WhatchaReading? I DNF'd Return to Mariposa by Anne Stuart. It's highly implausible, there's a huge continuity error, and it just felt... disconnected from itself, like nothing flowed in a reasonable way. A lot of the reviews say the book gets really stupid in the *second* half, so I decided to cut my losses.
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#WhatchaReading ? I'm listening to Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane, which right now is not counting as romance but I hope might squeeze out a happy ending? We shall see. The cover definitely says "romance" but we all know how much that means. 🙄 I'm finding it a pretty tense story, in truth.
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#WhatchaReading ? I DNF'd The Book Proposal. It had some funny moments but a lot of the humor was crude and gross, there are *multiple*, very cliched Evil Other Women, and the hero is so shallow and dull, I just wanted him to fall into a manhole. Possibly he does, he's also kind of dim.
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#WhatchaReading ? I found Cruel Winter With You sweet, but with a constant edge of creepy. The MMC persists in sounding like a little boy -- when he talks about all he wants to give her, I'm imagining a Barbie dream house. The FMC has commitment issues deeply rooted in... almost nothing, as far as I can tell. Most of the main relationships in her life seem remarkably stable.
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#WhatchaReading ? I've managed to finish two very good contemporary romances: Canadian Boyfriend and Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry (YA.) Both had themes of betrayal, and were masterclasses in owning your mistakes and moving on from them. The kind of books that instead of making me say, "they don't write them like that any more," make me say, "I'm glad they write them like this now."
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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed The Forgotten Dead by Jordan Hawk in a terrified kind of way. 😂 Seriously scary! Also very casually queer, and with a delightful, light on steam m/m romance between a trans Professor of Paranormal Studies (or some such) and a paranormal investigator who's suppressing his own powers. Made me cry a lil once I was done shrieking. (I am extremely wimpy so YMMV.)
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#WhatchaReading ? I finished Haunted Ever After, which has a fun haunted town premise -- although the idyllic Florida beach town setting doesn't sit well right now. :-( I found the pacing off and the romance too by-the-numbers, but since I've liked this author before will probably read the next one.
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#WhatchaReading ? I'm finding My Roommate is a Vampire a fun, easy read, but am unconvinced by the romance. Not feeling the undead chemistry. 😂
Also in The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, which is rather funny -- Mr. Collins two children are named "Catherine" and "De Bourgh" 😂 -- and I hope we will finally get to a little romance for Miss Tilney and Mr. Darcy, who has taught himself to mask 🙁 in order to court her, silly autistic boy. She already likes you!
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#WhatchaReading ? I'm reading Stay by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy and liking it, except I am totally earwormed now.