11. Tantalize (Book 1)

By Cynthia Leitich Smith (336 pp, ebook)

I have been wanting to check this author out and grabbed this from the library. I think it's considered YA and it's a paranormal romance. The main character Quincie has lost her parents but inherited their restaurant and her family is trying to re-launch it as a vampire themed place -- which I love this set up. Her best friend is a hybrid werewolf and still learning the ropes of this. The problems of running a restaurant go side by side with murder and supernatural creatures at odds. Again, I'm not the best audience for YA -- at times I really enjoyed the book but I had trouble following the rules of the world-building and it was darker than I expected.

10. The Heart of Devin MacKade

By Nora Roberts (250 pp. ebook)

This was another Nora category romance (fron 1996) for book club that I already had. In this one the main character is Devin MacKade who is one of 4 super dreamy brothers -- 2 were already married in earlier books. Devin is the sheriff and has been carrying the torch for Cassie since they were kids. When she was young she unwisely married an abusive man and has been suffering in that relationship until shortly before the book begins. It's been 12 years and Devin is trying to support her as a friend while being wildly attracted to her. She's trying to reconstruct a life for herself and her 2 kids but also fancies Devin. I didn't enjoy this one as much. I thought Devin was a turd at times and the Cassie character was thinly characterized and not super interesting.

I didn't end up finishing a more recent Nora. The one I had on hold at the library was still weeks away and I switched to another and it didn't work for me at all so I DNFd.

9. Taming Natasha

By Nora Roberts (256 pp, ebook)

For book club we decided to read some older Nora and some newer Nora to discuss. This is a category that I already had and enjoyed it more than I expected. It was a standard romance -- sad widower moves to small town to raise his daughter and meets and is instantly attracted to a ravishing beauty with a hidden, painful past who resists him. This was from 1990 and there were things you wouldn't put in a romance now but it was satisfying bus reading.

8. The Tainted Cup

By Robert Jackson Bennett (432 pp/ebook)

Great book! It's a fantasy with a murder(s) mystery and political intrigue. But also lots of humor. Terrific world-building. Amazing characterization. Great plotting. I don't know how to do a thumbnail summary -- here's my best effort: The main character is Din and he is an engraver meaning he's had some bio-enhancements that give him a perfect memory and he works in service of a detective-investigator Ana -- who is a fun, cranky but sharp lady. They start with one murder but uncover all kinds of shenanigans while the empire is threatened by the leviathan season. High recommendation! Can't wait to read more by this author.

7. Our Souls At Night

by Kent Haruf (179pp, ebook)

Bob and I first read Kent Haruf when he wrote the book Plainsong. I vividly remember going to Powell's on Hawthorne to see him speak. It was small crowd and he was soft-spoken but immediately likeable.

This books was written as he was dealing with cancer and his last published novel. It's a very sweet story about two elderly people finding love and companionship late in life. I saw it's a movie with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and put it on my list.

6. Fan Service

By Rosie Danan (412 pp)

We picked this for romance book club. I love the set up: Devin is a guy who played a werewolf in a hit TV series years ago, finds himself turned into an actual werewolf when he's in his 40s and his acting career is in its last gasps. Not knowing what else to do, he tracks down Alex, the expert fan who managed the show's online forum. She is not much of a fan any longer because the actor was rude to her at a signing. It's super cute, funny, and clever.

5. The Goodbye Man (Tracker #2)

By Jeffrey Deaver (420 pp, ebook)

This was the Tracker book I read as part of my mission to finish my Reacher/Tracker fan fic that I still haven't finished because, as my friend Maggie said recently, life is life-ing.

In this story, Tracker is looking for a couple of young men accused of a hate crime and he ends up infiltrating this cult. Another fun, easy to read on the bus book.

4. Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe

By C.B. Lee (390 pp/ebook)

Sadly, I did not like this book as much as I wanted to. I don't read a lot of YA and am not the best audience for it.

The opening is fantastic: the main character is a high achieving student who is applying for an important scholarship on a deadline and then loses her Internet there is one obstacle after the other until she ends up in this coffee shop -- that is in an alternate universe. The lead characters were cute but the story lost momentum for long stretches and I found the world-building uneven and hard to follow at times.

3. The Enemy (Reacher #8)

By Lee Child (400 pp ebook)

I wrote a Reacher/Tracker fan fic that I still haven't finished. I read a book for each character thinking I would finish it but I still haven't.

(I'm dealing with some life stuff that takes up a lot of my cognitive energy. Creative stuff or self-care is sketchy at the moment.)

I loved this book. It was a fun, page-turning read and easy to read on the bus. This one is set in 1990 and Reacher is a military cop investigating a murder. I loved Lieutenant Summer and many of the side characters. There's a scene with his brother and dying mother in Paris. Really good.

2. The Correspondent

By Virginia Evans (281 pp)

This was a gift from Hannah the former librarian and it was excellent! There was a time when I was current on best selling books and authors and who was coming out with what when and who was winning awards. No longer. Other than Fated Mates who give me my romance fix, and anything that shows up in the New Yorker, I am woefully out of it. This was a wonderful surprise.

It's told through letters and the main character is a woman in her 70s who is dealing with some stuff that one might deal with at that late stage of life. It's funny and sad and a very satisfying read.

1. The Bone King and the Starling

by Elizabeth Stephens (247 pp)

I bought the Fated Mated holiday gift box (I can't find the actual link) but it was 9 or 10 books for $125 or something like that. I have a problem and I can't stop buying books. Seriously, it's really bad. But I am helping the economy!

This book is something else. It's a viking romance and it is very, very spicy. There is a spicy scene in the beginning that must be 30 pages. After reading this book my newly formed Bookclub titled our group chat: No Orifice Left Behind. It is also very brutal and violent. Take the content warnings seriously.

I still enjoyed it (?) I did. I liked the way the Bone King took care of our poor little Starling who was really trod upon when he stormed her village. And I liked the way she stood up for herself.