I did not realize that a new Jasmine Guillory was out, but Flirting Lessons popped up on my radar and it is lovely. In general, my favorite tends to be whatever I read most recently since they are all so good, but I have a special fondness for these Napa books. I liked Avery well enough as Luke’s BFF in Drunk on Love but as a MC she’s wonderful
You never know if a girl's gonna say 'yes', or if she's gonna laugh in your face and pull out your still-beating heart and crush it into the ground with her heel.
Xander ,'Help'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
-t - Apr 12, 2025 3:34:10 pm PDT #28250 of 28261
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
DavidS - Apr 12, 2025 4:34:18 pm PDT #28251 of 28261
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I stopped by Borderland Books on my afternoon of errands and started reading the new book by Robert Jackson Bennett (A Drop of Corruption). It sucked me in immediately so I went and got the previous and first book in the series, The Tainted Cup.
Has anybody read his stuff? This is a fantasy world setting with a Sherlock/Watson detective duo.
Bennett really knows what he's doing - as he sets the scene, establishes the world, makes the characters breath and gets his narrative hooks into you.
Goodreads reviews: [link]
Dana - Apr 12, 2025 4:59:07 pm PDT #28252 of 28261
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
I have The Tainted Cup waiting on my Kindle after several people raved about it.
-t - Apr 12, 2025 6:39:14 pm PDT #28253 of 28261
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Same as Dana. Hugo finalist, yes?
bennett - Apr 12, 2025 6:48:57 pm PDT #28254 of 28261
I loved The Tainted Cup - the characters, the world building, the Sherlock/Watson riffs. And it is nominated for both an Edgar (which I associate with pretty traditional mysteries) as well as the Hugo. And deservedly so. I have not read his Founders trilogy but they're on my TBR pile.
-t - Apr 12, 2025 7:12:28 pm PDT #28255 of 28261
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Ooh, dual Edgar and Hugo is pretty cool!
I’ve had it sitting on the kindle for over a year, maybe I should bump it to the front of the queue
I think I’ve also heard good things about City of Stairs but I might be conflating titles
So many books, so little time
Kate P. - Apr 12, 2025 8:27:27 pm PDT #28256 of 28261
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
I read Foundryside a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Glad to see this one getting a lot of high praise! I just added it to my library wish list.
JenP - Apr 12, 2025 8:30:20 pm PDT #28257 of 28261
Consuela - Apr 13, 2025 12:26:29 pm PDT #28258 of 28261
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
I Loved RJB's Divine Cities trilogy, starting with City of Stairs. Really cool setting, felt very post-Soviet, with lots of politics and magic in the ruins of empire, when the oppressed classes gain power and what does that look like. Great great characters too. Recommended!
meara - Apr 14, 2025 10:02:07 am PDT #28259 of 28261
Hmm, will have to check out Tainted Cup and also the new Guillory!
Anyone else randomly have recs? Not that I don’t have a ton of books in my Libby that I haven’t finished, already, but…