It’s been a busy busy couple of weeks, with some good books thrown in to distract and keep me going. We’re talking about historical romance, space opera, corporate embezzlement, and scifi murder mystery today – and all of them thoroughly enjoyable!
A Comfortable Alliance by Catherine Kullman: This Regency romance came as a charming surprise. True, the writing is a bit on-the-nose, but the characters are so endearing that I didn’t mind much. This is a gentle story about two people who wed without expectations for love but find it anyway, and the writer understands that while external conflict adds some excitement, the real draw is watching the leads learn and grow together. Filled with likable characters and stakes that never get quite high enough to cause actual concern, A Comfortable Alliance turned out to be a comfortable, soothing read. I’m so glad I gave it a chance to pull me in. Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
A Memory Called Empire (“Teixcalaan” #1) by Arkady Martine: This book has been pretty hyped in my circles, and let me tell you: It. Lives. Up. to all of it! It has mystery, adventure, espionage – plus, a lot of musings on the nature of empire, the definition of self, and… well, most everything else you can think of, too. After each chapter, I wanted to put it down for a while and just meditate on the ideas it casually tossed out, but I also really wanted to find out happened! It’s one of those books you can savor or devour, as your mood fits. Highly recommended, even if science fiction isn’t ordinarily your thing.
The Assistants by Camillie Perri: One word: fun. A corporate assistant stumbles her way into becoming the head of an embezzlement scheme, and, well, shenanigans ensue. I enjoyed being in the heroine’s paranoid, freaking-out brain as things spun evermore out-of-control, and it was so delightful to watch her motley crew of assistants bond and become a found family (one of my favorite tropes). Everything pays off. Everything is delicious. Another solid recommendation.
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell: I went into this expecting fun and lots of romance, so I was surprised to find there was also a thoroughly enjoyable mystery plot! It’s scifi-lite – the world-building and descriptions of technology are just enough to orient you in the world and support the main focus, which is the mystery and the relationships. It took me a few chapters to really set into the author’s voice, but by the end, I was a satisfied customer and thoroughly in love with the main characters (my boys ♥️). Winter’s Orbit probably isn’t for everyone, but if you like old-fashioned mysteries and romance, you might consider giving this one a try. [Trigger Warning: domestic abuse from a previous partner]
If you’ve read any of these books, I’d love to hear your thoughts – there are so many interesting things to discuss about each!!
–b
Book It With Becca 