In this go-round:
1. THE TWO WEEK ROOMMATE IS UP FOR PREORDER!
2. Last chance for a free anthology
3. Backlist spotlight: Torch!
4. What I'll Be Up To In 2023
5. New releases
6. Free stuff!
Usually this is where I talk about things I enjoyed in the past month, but since it's mid-December and we've got almost a whole year behind us, it's time for my favorite books of the year!
Important: this isn't books released this year (though some were), this is books I read this year. It's not in order of favorite. (I don't have an order.) There are five slots on this list (by accident, that's just how many books I wanted to talk about) but twenty-something books, because I'll include an entire series if I want to. I make the rules here, after all.
My reviews are a very "If I loved this book less, I might be able to talk about it more" situation because inevitably, the more I love a book the more likely my review is to just be, like, emojis and all-caps swearing.
I'm probably leaving something off, because I didn't really track what I read and had to rely on memory, which is... not my greatest strength.
Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian
Cat Sebastian writes a lot of low-plot, low-angst, mostly-vibes books, and I adore them. I generally prefer lots of plot in my books, but she pulls it off somehow. This one's about two dudes in 1960 who go on a road trip and fall in love. The retro vibes are great and the smut is excellent. (Also, I went on almost this exact road trip after college myself--from New England to Los Angeles--about forty-five years later, so this was very fun for me.)
Whyborne & Griffin by Jordan L. Hawk
I discovered Jordan L. Hawk after going on a serious K.J. Charles binge at the end of 2021 (the Society of Gentlemen series is an all-time fave) and read thirteen books, two short stories and a novella in eight days. (I'm a fast reader who doesn't respect the power of sleep enough.) I've read an absolute shit-ton of queer paranormal historicals in the past eighteen months, and this series is my favorite by a mile. A dorky museum curator meets a charming private detective in 1890s Massachusetts; sparks fly; chaos ensues. I cried at the end.
Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid
Heated Rivalry is one of those rare books with MASSIVE hype that one hundred percent lives up to it. I fully admit that I didn't think a sports romance would do it for me (I've never watched a single hockey game in my life), but, well, consider my lesson learned. It's enemies-and-lovers, lust-to-love, third-act-crisis-that-isn't-a-breakup goodness that I devoured in about six hours and then re-read the next day. When the sequel The Long Game came out a few months after I read Heated Rivalry, I ill-advisedly stayed up until 4am to finish it. (See above re: disrespecting sleep.)
Season's Change by Cait Nary
More than almost anything, I'm a HUGE sucker for a really fun, distinctive, well-written voice and hoooooly shit does this book deliver. The two main characters are extremely lovable idiots and the group chaos in this book is actual perfection. Sometimes, when I need serotonin, I just re-read the part where Benji has to borrow pants. It's very good and very fun and if I found myself in an alternate dimension where Cait Nary narrated my life to me, I wouldn't be mad about it.
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Listen: I know Murderbot is a constructed being in a sci-fi future who's built almost exclusively for violence, but man, Murderbot gets me. A space adventure future where our host is a slightly grumpy, always-witty killing machine who wants to get this over with so it can go back to watching TV? Hell yeah. Also, the fifth book gave me a lot of feelings and almost made me cry, which I wasn't expecting. (It's probably a good idea to read them in order--the first is All Systems Red.)
Happy reading!
Love,
Roxie
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