twice in one week, maybe it's a trend? also, books & fic

[topaz119]

hi, hello! I got up super-early this morning (D was having muscle spasms (stroke related) and the last round was just late enough that there was no sense trying to go back to sleep) so I started drafting this as an alternative to cleaning the kitchen (which I have not been able to get ahead of since we all came crashing home in March of 2020.)

It's Wednesday, so reading meme day (which I haven't done in months--I'll spare you the full quarterly run-down and just link you to my goodreads for the whole list.



Death Comes to the Village and Death Comes to London, by Catherine Lloyd, yet another of my cozy mysteries, this one set in post-Waterloo England, mostly in the small village where our Heroine, the oldest daughter of the rector (a total, manipulative slackard) keeps tripping over dead bodies, as you do. She's very sensible and practical, and basically runs her world, which includes the local gentry, a grumpy cavalry officer badly injured at Waterloo. He's pretty level-headed, too, despite being in semi-dire straits from having his horse trample/fall on him during the battle, breaking his leg in multiple places. Together, they fight crime! I have the next book in the series from the library, so off I go.

The Heiress, by Molly Greeley, which is a mostly entertaining addition to the Pride & Prejudice cottage industry, and one that focuses on Anne de Bourgh. While I did do a lot of skimming, I was sufficiently intrigued enough to keep reading.

An Unexpected Peril, Deanna Raybourne, book #6 of her Veronica Speedwell series. Cozy Victorian murders for this and I was happy to see that all is relatively well in the land of Veronica and Stoker. There's a murder, of course, and some shenanigans related to V's natural family, and Stoker, as per usual, gets to stalk about in various forms of undress.

And since I'm dodging about with the Regency mysteries, here, have a few Regency AUs, both Jon/Sansa from Game of Thrones.

you're in my blood like holy wine, by magneticwave Game of Thrones, Jon/Sansa, ~73,000 words, Explicit === Sansa is very, very good at playing the part of the carefree young lady of the ton, but her game is much more serious and high-stakes than just ballrooms and gowns. Jon is still trying to navigate life now that he's not just a bastard cavalry officer. Mutual pining to the max. Also, Gendry and Arya are too much fun.

The Bastard's Wife, by hkafterdark, Game of Thrones, Jon/Sansa, ~26,000 words, Mature === There's always room for a good marriage-of-convenience plot, right? Especially in a Regency AU. Double-especially when it's less 'convenience' and more 'secretly-in-love-with-all-along', yeah?

Comments

[colls]

I really like the Veronica Speedwell series. I was just thinking last night that I should pick up the next one to read as new ones have been out for a while - I think I've read four?

[topaz119]

I still miss her Lady Julia series, but I have a lot of fun with Veronica & Stoker. Book #6 just came out in the last few weeks. If I remember correctly (all my series tend to blur together), the fourth book was semi-Gothic & had shenanigans with Stoker’s family for a change? I really enjoyed it, gruesome deaths aside. #5 had lots more to do with V’s family while this one kind of just grazed the extended family ties (given that she’s related to half of Europe.)

[colls]

Yes, I read up to #4 then. I recall the Stoker family (especially his brother).
I've not read the Lady Julia series, but I might pick it up at some point.

[topaz119]

Lady Julia and her inquiry-agent beau are fun, too. Same era, slightly different class issues. The first book starts with the best first line, eeeever.

[jenab]

The Catherine Lloyd and Veronica Speedwell books sound interesting. I'll have to check them out.

[topaz119]

I have a thing for cozy historical mysteries and these two series seem to be standing the test of time. It's nice to dip back into the same village or group of friends and see what's up now.

[topaz119]

Oh, and the first VS is trying a little too hard, I think? which is surprising since she's written a lot of books. But things smooth out in the subsequent books, imo.