2020 Q4 Books!

 First quarter book list here. Second quarter here. Third quarter here.

10/2: Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (library)

10/3: The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux (library ebook) - 1980 was a long time ago and this book shows it.  The blatant abuse and rape makes the happily ever after a bit hard to stomach. 

10/7: Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Third book in a paranormal series. Great if you like alpha males and incomprehensible side storylines. I will be reading the next book in the series, of course.

10/8: Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey (library)

10/10: To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn (library)

10/11: It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas (library ebook)

10/12: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Fourth book in the series. The books don't have a wait time at the library, so I keep getting them. They're also getting richer and the messages about the importance of diversity are getting stronger.  The next book in the series is already loaded up onto my Kindle.

10/14: The Magpie Lord by K. J. Charles (library ebook) - Delightfully sexy and funny.  I highly recommend this if you like a great m/m romance.

10/17: In A Strange City by Laura Lippman (library)

10/17: You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria (library)

10/19: Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb (library)

10/21: Shadows in Death by JD Robb (Kindle purchase) - Robb used Vengeance in Death as an early title in the series and it would have been much more appropriate here. I keep reading these books and there are occasionally great scenes (when Eve is trying to bribe the cat!), but I'm convinced that Robb has run out of ideas since this just seems to be going back to the old well of topics.  Not a great showing.

10/23: Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Fifth book in the series.  I just really enjoy these books.  It's very heavy-handed in its pleas for love and diversity to solve problems in the world, but I need that right now.  

10/24: Once and For All by Sarah Dessen (library ebook) 

10/25: City of Dragons by Robin Hobb (library)

10/25: Don't Doubt by Tammy Falkner (Kindle purchase) - I reread this book when there were no books from the library left on my Kindle. Falkner has created this world of the Reed Brothers and it's beautiful and wonderful and felt great while I was reading it. This book had great scenes of communication between the leads, including scenes on consent.  Huge thumbs up. 

10/27: Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Sixth book in the series. I like that there's a relationship between the wolves and leopards, but the ending seemed to take the easy way out, as far as I was concerned.  I still really like the world that's being developed here.

10/31: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (library)

11/2: Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - All the wait times for Singh's books are long now (just a month ago, there was no wait time!), so when I saw this contemporary romance from her in the "skip the line" options, I grabbed it. It was bland.  The main characters are a bit too perfect for me and the conflict not particularly interesting.  

11/3: The Velvet Promise by Jude Deveraux (library) - Another Devereaux pick from my high school days. The hero is a rapist. That is not okay.  I am noticing a pattern with these Montgomery/Taggert books and am starting to see how high school me accepted sexual abuse as romantic.  *heavy sigh*

11/4: Saga Volume Six by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples (library) 

11/7: Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb (library)

11/7: Circe by Madeline Miller (library)

11/8: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (library)

11/8: The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout (library ebook)

11/8: Rock Hard by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Sequel to Cherish Hard. Much better entry than the first one, although there are some graphic scenes of violence, so if that's not for you in a romance novel, you might want to stay away.

11/9: Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (library ebook)

11/9: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh (free Kindle purchase) - Best friend of the heroine in Rock Hard. This is total wish fulfillment for a lady like me - tattooed bad ass who doesn't drink or do drugs and thinks the woman with the curvy body is preferable to the skinny models that surround him. I mean, it's not at all a realistic world, but I didn't mind being in it.

11/9: Shine with Me by Kristen Proby (Kindle purchase) - This is a novella in the ongoing With Me series from Proby. It's one of my favorite contemporary series. This was a perfectly acceptable entry into the series, although it might have been better if it had been novel-length.  

11/13: The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen (library)

11/14: Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Seventh book in this series. It took me a few days to read it because the male lead is a total dick, but I love the world, so I finished it and immediately read the next book.

11/14: Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Eighth book in this series. Read the whole thing one rainy Saturday on the couch.  I think this might be my favorite entry of the series so far. Sexy cop as a lead and a satisfying ending for the Psy heroine.  Thumbs up for Singh.  

11/18: Play of Passion by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Ninth book in this series. This one was a bit boring, but I'm still excited about the world and can't wait to read the next one.

11/21: A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (library)

11/25: Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb (library)

11/26: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Tenth book in this series.  Um. The age gap here was kind of disturbing to me and I don't enjoy couples bickering, so this was not my favorite in the series, despite its incredible Goodreads rating.

11/26: Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward (library ebook) - Fourth book in the series. It's kind of terrible and kind of great.  Again, I can't defend my choice to continue reading Ward, but continue on I shall.

11/27: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (library ebook)

12/4: Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward (library ebook) - Fifth book in the series. This series gets dumber and dumber as it goes by. Now there's a ghost.  And here's what gets me for real - this book has a 4.32 rating on Goodreads and Love Lettering has a 3.83 when Love Lettering is a million times better. 

12/5: Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb (library)

12/8: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (library)

12/8: Beach Read by Emily Henry (library ebook)

12/11: All Systems Red by Martha Wells (library)

12/11: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (library ebook)

12/12: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (library) - Hall is the reigning royal of queer romance and this book has it all - humor, feelings, and realistic life complications. I greatly enjoyed this book and immediately requested another Hall book from the library. Unfortunately, my library system doesn't have a lot of his books available, so I'll have to be a bit more creative about reading the rest of his novels.

12/14: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Eleventh book of the series. I care less and less about these characters, but I'm desperate for more information about the Psy war, who Ghost is, and if that one guy on the council is a good guy, bad guy, or chaotic neutral.  I've (obviously) already requested the next book in the series. 

12/17: Lord of the Fading Lands by C. L. Wilson (library ebook)

12/19: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Twelfth book of the series. It was SO good. Like amazingly good.  I don't think you could just jump into this book without reading the rest of the series, but it was worth the rest of the books to get here. Two traumatized individuals, each with huge amounts of power, come together in this outstanding read. Huge thumbs up from me.

12/20: The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante (library)

12/20: When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (library ebook)

12/20: George by Alex Gino (library ebook) - Sweet book by a trans author about a trans child.  

12/22: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce (library) 

12/23: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (library)

12/25: Vision in White by Nora Roberts (library ebook) - Just a lovely story about a clueless man trying to woo a woman.  Classic Roberts and brilliantly done. I will, of course, now read the entire Bride Quartet because I can't stop.

12/27: Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb (library)

12/29: Lover Enshrined by J. R. Ward (library ebook) - Sixth book in the series. I struggle with books about addiction and this was no different. It's not providing an interesting or unique take on the topic. I am very much interested in the main character for the next book, so I went ahead and put it on my hold list at the library.

12/30: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh (library ebook) - Thirteenth book in the series.  Interesting, although I sort of thought the female lead was a bit boring.  I liked the dog, though.

12/31: Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts (library ebook) - Second book of the Bride Quartet series. Probably the weakest of the books, but I spent all day reading on the couch, so it seemed great.

12/31: Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (inexplicably on my Kindle) - Third book of the Bride Quartet. Such good stuff in here - conflict brought on by class differences and a main character who is prickly and difficult and just a solid romance novel.  

Total: 60