Reading Roundup #53: Solving for Love

Is there anything so satisfying as crossing off a book that’s been on your TBR for a long time? (Except for warm chocolate cake with a cold glass of milk, of course — nothing can beat that.) I did that this week! And while I was wrapping up the 800+ page brick that is The Priory of the Orange Tree, I also squeezed in some romantic drama and comedy to counterbalance the heavy fantasy.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon: Priory of the Orange Tree hasn’t been on my TBR forever, like some books (did I mention I also finished Dune last year? go me!), but it almost feels like the white whale of my book club. People would keep throwing it out as an option, only for us to pick something else. Finally, someone went dictator on us and just declared, “We’re reading the book!” So we did. There are some very good bones to this epic fantasy, and I really enjoyed the dense world-building and epic arcs. I do think Shannon needed to take it through at least one more draft — maybe step away for a few months and come back with a clear mind, so she could cut away the excess and give it all more focus — but there was enough to keep me interested, and we got a really great discussion out of it, so I can’t regret the hours and hours and hours I spent reading.

Exposed (VIP #4) by Kristen Callihan: After three books of worshiping at the throne of Brenna (who, it’s finally confirmed, is a bi queen! yes!), I had high expectations for Exposed to do right by her awesomeness — expectations so high that, of course, it would never fully meet them. But it did well enough, and I loved getting to spend time with her and to see beneath Rye’s giant puppy exterior. I especially loved that, as soon, as he saw a way into even a semblance of a relationship with Brenna, he was all in. Because he was also smart enough to know that Brenna’s the best. Watching them sort through their history and navigate a new dynamic was a lot of fun — and yes, very, very hot. *fans self*

A Perfect Equation (The Secret Scientists of London #2) by Elizabeth Everett: I’ll have a full review up for this book soon, but I couldn’t resist giving it an extra shout-out in the roundup because… any book that makes me laugh this much deserves an extra shout-out. Everett’s characters are zany and larger than life in a very enjoyable way, and this is a worthy follow-up to the bubbly fun of the first book. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

—b