July started out slow but I still managed to pick it up in the end and finish at eight books. I take no responsibility for the horrible cover of the first book I read.
The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian is a re-read. I think it may have been my first Cat Sebastian book actually. It’s the first in a series and looking back I read the whole series (three books) in quick succession in September/October 2017. Just as lovely this time around. Ms Sebastian does the best soft heroes and everyone is usually lovely to one another without being overly sweet. Also it has a distinct ”eat the rich”-streak and I am so here for that in 2020. Also – if the cover puts you off I don’t blame you. Ignore it and read the book anyway.
A Dangerous Kind of Lady – Mia Vincy, third book in a series. I loved the first one and while that couple was fun and adorable what really stood out in that book (A Wicked Kind of Husband) was the Marchioness Hardbury and I was so eager to read her book. The series is written ”out of order” and in A Wicked Kind of Husband she had already gotten her HEA so it was fun to come back in time and see characters from the other side. The first one is still my favourite though.
Unhallowed – Jordan L. Hawk. Oh my, we are back in Widdershins and it felt like we never left. 8 years after the climax of Deosil we return to Widdershins to meet the fabulous librarians of the Ladysmith museum. Misters Rath and Rune are new additions to the character gallery – although Rath may have been mentioned in Deosil, I’ll have to go back and check. It was truly a homecoming. Loved it so much and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment. It feels like there will be at least three more?
White Fragility – Robin Diangelo. Like many other white people I picked this up in early June when the BLM-protests first started. It took way too long for me to finish this book, but it’s not exactly something you just devour. I wanted to sit with the discomfort it made me feel to make sure I didn’t just skim over it to ”have it done”.
It Takes Two to Tumble – Cat Sebastian. Another re-read. When I read Two Rogues Make a Right in June I realised I had forgotten a lot about the other two books in the series. So it was time for a re-read. Still love it – same sentiment as the book above, really.
Network Effect – Martha Wells. Murderbot, how much do I love Murderbot? Let me count the ways. I have devoured the four Murderbot novellas and I was so eager for the novel. For various reasons it still took me well over two months to get through this – maybe not read it in a pandemic when the world is burning and everything is awful? I was a bit distracted so I will probably come back to this during the year.
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score – Cat Sebastian. More in the Sedgwick series. This was not a favourite when I first read it but I enjoyed it more this time around. It clarified a few bits of the last Sedgwick book (Two Rogues as mentioned above) that I had been confused about. Kind of makes me want to read the last one again – can I count it twice in one year?
The Last Kiss by Sally Malcolm is about soldiers Ash and Harry who fight and fall in love in Flanders during WWI and the aftermath of Ash being injured and sent home. The book focuses a bit much on all the reasons why they can’t be together – mainly it being illegal in early 20th century England. The solution is simple and feels a bit of a deus ex machina but it was cute and it passed the time. I would have liked to know more about Olive and her motivations. I know being sex-repulsed or whatever she is isn’t uncommon but it felt a bit too convenient and fleshing out female characters is always a good thing.