TRB of Doom: My Brain is Pudding Edition (Patreon)

2023 continues to come in hot. I have been juggling all the things. BUT, I just sent off a new chapter of BTLN to the copy editor, so we're getting back on track on here! You've all been so amazingly patient. Thank you.

Despite all the stuff--teaching, drafting BTLN and Rough Around the Hedges (and now quickly editing it), and family stuff, I've still been reading. Not as much, because my brain has resembled a squishy pudding lately. Still, I want to share what I've inhaled! I will say it's been heavy on the mystery. I like to read mystery when I edit. No idea why. Maybe because I don't write in that genre? Who knows.

The Charming Man by CK McDonnell--I finished this audiobook. I tried to immediately get the third one, but it's not in either of the libraries I have cards for (yet--I put in a request) and Libro.FM doesn't have it yet. Could I get it from Audible? Yes, but I'm *trying* to be patient and avoid that.

The Texas Murder files by Laura Griffin--these are on the lighter side. Not cozy, but not particularly graphic. Each book has a romance arc. They're nice entertaining reads that I've been enjoying. I've read all of them now, even the one not out yet, and I'm moving on to her Tracers series.

Triptych by Karin Slaughter--I've become obsessed with the mystery show Will Trent. (Also, Pokerface.) The books are often wildly different than the shows, so i picked up the audio of the first one to see if I like it. And so far, yes, it's different. Grittier for sure. Will is described differently and some of the relationships shifted. The first one is fairly dark so far, just FYI. Doesn't quite have the "building of my found family" vibe yet, but it is early in the book and it's the first of the series.

My non-mystery reads:

The Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi (nonfiction, adult)--this is a source for writers that I just found. It's not new, just new to me.  But basically it discusses different emotions and then lists physical manifestations of said emotions. This is a thing writers google. How else can someone show they're mad? or What can my character do instead of shrug. My job is weird.

Deep Waters by Arden--(MG, horror) Smalls and I finished the second book in this quartet and we're barreling ahead on the third. If you have someone in your life who likes spooky stories for kids, written well, with great characters, actual chills and emotional development, this is your series.

Love, Theoretically--(Adult, romance) by Hazelwood--I got an ARC of this one. Hazelwood is really funny, and all her books take place in the sciences and/or academia. They are also reminding me very much why I chose *not* to go into academia. Ha!

Part of Your World--(Adult, romance) by Jimenez. Okay, so first, Jimenez's books are funny--this isn't the first one I've read. They're steeped in a lot of other emotions, too, and this one was hard for me to read. She did a good job! There's nothing wrong with the book. There are just some abusive characters that were, frankly, hitting too close to home for me. Which means she did a very good job conveying emotional/psychological abuse, as well as dealing with parents who have incredibly high demands and are classist. There's nothing terrible or awful to read, I would happily recommend the book to others, it just hit me a bit hard.

Codename Charming (adult, romance) by Parker--I guess I've been on a bit of a contemporary romance kick, too? I've needed funny. These books are funny. I've been looking forward to this book since I read Battle Royal. This book was funny and lived up to the premise. Also, I totally want to attend a wand-style paintball fight now.

Okay, friends, that's it for now. Anyone have a good mystery series to recommend? I like them with a bit of romance if I can. I've read the Sebastian St. Cyr series, Veronica Speedwell, Julia-Spencer Fleming's books, Lady Sherlock, The Rockton series, The Agency series by Lee, and Maureen Johnson's stuff. Hit me with your recommendations!

--Lish

PS If you're on Discord or TikTok, Stella Hunter has been popping onto her channels there and doing live feeds of her recording her half of A Little Too Familiar. It's been fun to watch!