scijessreads

I managed to finish 12 books this month (one at the wire). Not bad. There were a couple novellas, a couple books off my physical TBR, and a lot of eBooks. Those are my staple way to consume books these days. Three were in audiobook form, and one I started as an audio and finished as a physical book.

I decided to split up the books based on recommendation levels this time. I am still not really into posting star ratings beyond Goodreads/Storygraph. Because even books that get a 3-star from me aren’t necessarily bad books, they just didn’t hit all the spots I like books to hit in terms of story and character. But I still like them. I even reread three-star books from time to time. I consider them fun books, but maybe not as deep or meaningful.

My faves this month were mostly complex, emotional, and tackled deep issues. Fugitive Telemetry was the most recent Murderbot novella, and that world and character are still some of my favorites. The tone is exceptional, and it never wavers.

Godkiller, Legendborn, and Chain-Gang All-Stars were deep. They made me look at things in new ways, and feel deeply about how far people will go to reach their goals and find themselves, even in the face of evils and dangers that only want to shatter their progress.

And Saint Death’s Daughter is just a wild, weird, and completely unique fantasy world. There is death magic, a daughter of an assassin family that is literally allergic to violence, and all sorts of schemes and intrigues in the name of kingdom and family. I mean, the FMC is named Miscellaneous Stones. This book made me smile and laugh and feel all the feels. Loved it.

There were a few ARCs this month, too. A Short Walk Through a Wide World doesn’t come out for a few months, but it was a take on life that has threads of Addie LaRue, but is also it’s own thing. And Heartbreak Incorporated with gumshoe detective, paranormal activities, and office romance in one giant mash-up of humor and heart. Out on a Limb and Outdrawn were much more character-focused romances, and they were both very well done. Rogue is the latest entry into the Onley James world consisting of the Mulvaneys and their various associates. Still full of darkness, trauma, and murder. With snark and banter. Not my favorite of the books, but still good. I recently joined the author’s Patreon, and got an early copy from there a few days before release.

Cleo White has become a recent find in terms of taboo/age-gap romance, and her novellas have a surprising amount of emotional depth to the tropes that often tend toward flat and one-sided. I had fun with this one. And Kate Oliver is another author that I have read a lot of, but writes a very specific romance kink (daddy/little) that is not for everyone. But her books always hit the spot if that is your sort of thing.

Not sure what next month has in store, but I do have a few more ARCs to get through, and there are some books releasing soon/recently released from authors I love (Devyn Sinclair and Sara Cate) that will probably end up on the list.