One of the things that really irritates me about Kindle Unlimited is that it doesn't seem to keep track of what I have read and returned.

One of the lovely things about my job is I get to complain about this sort of thing to people who might actually fix it, eventually. (KU does keep track of what you've previously borrowed and returned, but the recommendations are only based on what's actively in your library. So annoying.)

I don't know if I can make any helpful KU recommendations because my brain has more or less been stuck on "low-angst gay sports romance" for basically the entire pandemic. (Like, RIDICULOUSLY low angst, books where the 3rd act crisis is the MCs having a minor misunderstanding and then talking it out an hour later.)

Nifty, Jess! I’m glad to know how it actually works.

The Hidden Palace is pretty good although I like the characters well enough that I really resent when they suffer through the conflicts and obstacles that drive the plot (which is to say, low angst sounds great!) so probably I should reread again in a few years when I will presumably be less fragile or whatever. I think I might consider this series more magical realism than fantasy, which I am mentioning mostly to doubt out loud that I actually know what the difference is

I am down for low angst gay sports romance for sure!! Am mostly reading trashy straight sports romance right now, and books from Sarina Bowen’s Hearteyes Press which are either “gay men in Vermont” or “hockey bros at school in vermont”

Add a little of someone’s rec of 20s magical romance except those aren’t on KU and when you read as fast as I do the $2.99 adds up quick.

Am mostly reading trashy straight sports romance right now, and books from Sarina Bowen’s Hearteyes Press which are either “gay men in Vermont” or “hockey bros at school in vermont”

Eden Finley's Fake Boyfriend and CU Hockey series are extremely readable (very similar to her Gay Hockey Player entry in the Sarina Bowenverse), and from there KU will probably point you to Lucy Lennox, who varies in quality and repeats herself a lot but is generally reliable as a fast comfortable read.

Great, I’m in! Just started reading some Helena Hunting (is there a name that sounds more like a fake name? I think not) and I can’t say I really understand why hockey romance is so big? I am not a hockey person but apparently it’s all I read!

My book club pick for July's meeting was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I had picked it this month as the newbie in the group because it was the #1 pick in category from Goodreads. It was a very good choice for book club! Particularly since our group leader is a retired teacher who really makes us discuss the book in depth and asks leading questions. There was a lot going on, and I only wish it was a few hundred pages more so that some of the characters could have been developed more.

Now, what is next? My TBR list is so long.

I loved that book, Laura. So well written and interesting. What genre are you looking at for your next rec?

Yes, I will absolutely read more from Brit Bennett in the future.

I looked at my TBR list and decided to take a hard left to Sci-Fi since I am still swirling a bit from the reality of The Vanishing Half. Queued up The Kif Strike Back, the 3rd in the Chaunur series from CJ Cherryh. Familiar characters, adventure, space stuff.

I do like the variety in my fiction!

Hello book Buffistas! I am doing my once-in-a-great-while pop-in to the mother site to share news for those who may have missed it on the Facespace and the Twitterbooks. I have launched a Patreon and I'm posting weekly installments in a serial that will run until December of this year. It concerns a magical bookstore, gender shenanigans, and a shapeshifting wizard proprietor. If this sounds interesting, you can become a patron with full access for just $1. (More is permitted but not expected.)

You can check out the first part over here.

<3

^^^^^^ This is SO DELIGHTFUL and I'm loving it. Don't sleep on it.