The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (romance bookstore) • Historical Romance • 2023
Short synopsis: A prickly new baronet and the smuggler he once had a secret affair with become unwilling allies on the dangerous Romney Marsh when blackmail, family loyalty, and lingering desire force them back into each other’s lives.
I loved this queer historical romance! I picked it up as a “Blind Date with a Book” from a local romance bookstore, which is always risky, but this one was a wonderful surprise. The writing was sharp, the characters felt fully realized, and the story pulled me in right away. Gareth and Joss were so easy to root for, and I especially loved the tenderness between them. The way they cared for and protected each other was so beautiful! While this book was not a light, breezy historical romance (it could be quite tense at times), that made it feel fresh and compelling. I’m excited to read more from this author!
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Fiction • 2014
Short synopsis: When their marriage reaches a breaking point, Lauren and Ryan agree to spend a year apart with no contact—an experiment that forces Lauren to confront her beliefs about love, commitment, and what it truly means to stay married.
As a longtime fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid, After I Do is the last of her books I hadn’t read. Stories about marriages in peril aren’t usually my favorite, but I should have trusted that TJR would make me deeply care about these characters. Lauren and Ryan are wonderfully complex: likable and frustrating, flawed yet charming, and so fully realized that I genuinely didn’t know what I was hoping for by the end—reconciliation or a clean break. I especially appreciated that Lauren’s year of separation isn’t some dramatic, Eat, Pray, Love-style reinvention; instead, she continues living her ordinary life—going to work, spending time with friends and family, and slowly untangling what she believes about marriage, sex, and commitment. It’s a thoughtful, emotionally honest story about love after the spark fades, and it reminded me once again why Taylor Jenkins Reid is such an exceptional storyteller.
The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Hoopla • Contemporary Fiction • 2013
Synopsis: Two sisters secretly bury their parents in the backyard and spend the next year desperately maintaining the lie — until the questions start closing in.
What a strange little book! It’s not the sort of story I would normally pick up, but something about it pulled me in. Maybe it was the narrator’s terrific Scottish accent, which gave the audiobook such a strong voice and sense of place, or maybe it was simply Marnie and Nelly—two young girls trying to survive on their own after their parents die. The novel balances a surprising amount of dark humor (I laughed out loud several times) with some very heavy themes, including sexual abuse, teenage girls being preyed upon by much older men, hard drug use, and negligent parenting. Because of that, it’s a difficult book to recommend. You have to be willing to sit with some very dark material. But for me, it was a fascinating, unsettling, and ultimately very satisfying listening experience. (Recommendation source: Sarah’s Bookshelves Live.)
What are you reading?
Ooh, that last one sounds fascinating. I haven’t read any TJR! Should I? I’m not sure stories about a marriage in peril are my thing either.
Yes, you should absolutely read TJR! Her newer books are a lot different than her older books, so I’d start with something like Atmosphere or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
I don’t remember hearing about The Death of Bees on the SBL podcast! It sound intriguing so I might check it out. I haven’t read that TJR but it’s one I would like to read at some point as I’d like to be a TJR completionist!
I inhaled Nicole’s book, “Inhale Exhale” over the weekend. I read it in less than 24 hours! It was such a page turner for me. Then I started “This Book Made Me Think of You” which is about a young widow that finds out her husband left a book a bookstore for her for every month of the year. So much of it is set in a London Bookstore which is so delightful, and it’s very book-forward. I am loving it.
I believe it was Catherine who recommended The Death of Bees on one of the Double Booked episodes. It was such a weird but fascinating book!
I’m reading Inhale Exhale now! And This Book Made Me Think of You sounds deeply sad, but it’s delightful? I must know more!
We agree on After I Do. I hate a marriage in peril book, but this one suited me just fine. I mean, there is terrible domestic violence in it (she throws a vase at him! with the dog in the house!), but somehow TJR made it work. That’s some magic right there.
They don’t have The Death of Bees in audio at my library! I don’t want to read it, but I want a Scottish narrator to tell me the story. I’m whiny about this.
TJR did such a great job of showing how cracks in a relationship can grow and grow and grow, but that it’s possible to put it all back together!
I’m so bummed you can’t get The Death of Bees – is it available on Spotify? I think you have Premium, right?
Yikes, they buried their parents in the backyard? When we shared with family that the girls were moving in back in May ’23, my BIL told us a story about his work friend who adopted a couple kids who then tried to kill them. Or something twisted and disturbing. He’d had a few beers, and his wife was elbowing him like READ THE ROOM, but there we were. All that to say, I think I’ll skip the buried in the yard book.
I’m reading the Secret Book of Names – or the Lost Book of Names, something like that. I am enjoying it. I just started listening to Culpability. It’s good, but I think I know where it’s headed and I’m cringing.
I should mention that the girls in The Death of Bees did not murder their parents! I won’t get into the specifics, but they had to figure out what to do with their bodies when they found them dead, and wanted to keep everything a secret so they wouldn’t get split up.
I have Culpability on my TBR! Hoping to read it soon.
I don’t across-the-board love TJR but I am thrilled for her, in that she got a HUGE five book deal. I think it’s something like $80 million. Some of her books I’ve mildly enjoyed, she’s not a big author for me, but I am so happy she’s getting paid the way she deserves because wow, are her books ever hits! Good for her! *shakes pompoms* I did really like After I Do though. I like a marriage-in-peril story! I also like stories about affairs and infidelity, so in some way’s I’m Lisa’s opposite.
I read a couple of duds in a row. I guess they weren’t DUDS, but I didn’t love them and I found the writing really contrived and stiff. Never once did I lose track of time, I guess. But then! I picked up a holiday romance (in March, well, the hold came in, what can you do) and omg, it’s so good. It’s so funny and lovely and there is a dog named Harry Styles involved.
Isn’t it so relieving to break out of a reading rut? I’m always like, “Do I even like reading? Have I EVER liked reading?” And then I finally read a great story and it’s like the angels are singing again. I’m happy for you!
Oh, I really liked After I Do, maybe it was my first TJR? I’m not sure.
The third book you listed reminds me of a TV movie I remember from the 70s, The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane. Teenaged Jodie Foster is a young girl who lives in a country house, and her father has died. Did she bury him in the back yard? I don’t remember. Social workers keep coming to meet with him, and she has to make up stories. Creepy Martin Sheen (was it Martin Sheen? Or another actor that I confuse with him?) keeps coming around wanting to make time with her, even though he’s in his 30s and she is NOT interested. Classic ending.
Ooh, that movie does seem slightly reminiscent of this book, although there isn’t a creepy guy in this version! It’s a little more wholesome, but also not at all, if that makes any sense, HA.
I’m about 3/4 of the way through The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen right now and loving it as well. And there’s a sequel! It’s Luke’s story, all grown up! I’m excited for that too.
I’m also reading Crescent City, which my 14 year old recommended, but it is soooo long.
Yes, I’m excited to read the sequel! Luke was such a great character, so it will be fun to read his story.
I marked down the TJR book.
Also the last one sounds weird.