It's only December 1, so you're not getting my Best Of list yet. Nope. No, sirree. You're just going to have to wait for the actual end-of-year posts. I'm sure you're crushed. I, however, am mighty pleased that I get to keep reading without having to make any decisions yet. Reading has probably been the one relaxing thing in my life this year, for which I am very grateful.
I was still really into horror and generally creepy books this past month, but I was glad to take a romance detour with some older historical favorites and a new one—Diana Biller. She has very gothic and ghost-y themes in her books, so I guess I didn't detour that far! Heh. And of course, Hotel of Secrets is excellent. Biller takes us to Vienna, a setting I'm not used to seeing in historical romance, where the starchiest investigator gets thoroughly unstarched by a bunch of eccentrics who live in the titular hotel. It's so delightful. Watching Eli fall for Maria and the found family at the Hotel Wallner is just as entertaining as the mysteries that bring them all together. I'm going to have to reread closer to the March 2023 release date so I can squee all over again.
The Reading Rundown
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews (paranormal romance)
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller (out 3/28/23, historical romance, historical mystery)
The Hacienda by Isabel CaƱas (gothic horror)
The River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty (fantasy, anthology/collection)
Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand (horror, suspense/thriller)
Backlists and Rereads: I finished my Brenda Joyce reread right at the beginning of November with Deadly Vows—which was kind of a bummer because the bulk of the characters stayed awful and my favorite couple was left hanging. Then, everybody was talking about Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas on Twitter, so I had to reread that—and I found so much more to love about it this time around! What a great book about marriage and love and not being able to recognize what you have right in front of you. I also returned to one of my go-tos, Eva Leigh, for some sharp-witted historical romance goodness via Forever Your Earl and Scandal Takes the Stage. She never disappoints!
Currently reading: An ARC of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles, which releases on March 7, 2023, and The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane.
The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis
"On the Shelf: November 2022 presents ||New Jersey Sex Crimes Attorney||Union County reckless driving lawyer a curated literary feast, featuring an eclectic array of compelling novels and thought-provoking non-fiction. With each carefully selected book, this collection promises to transport readers to diverse worlds and stimulate the mind throughout the autumn season."
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