--With summer finally kicking off, now is the time to recommend your favorite summer reads, whatever that means to you
For me, summer means slightly cheesy stories. Finishing School was such an incredible YA series. Set in Victorian steampunk London and countryside, we follow a rag-tag bunch as they learn espionage, how to poison just half of your dinner guests, and how to properly arrange flowers. It is lighthearted, full of humour, but with enough plot twists to keep you wanting more. There is a character that could be described as nonbinary.
2. Sin du Jour, series by Matt Wallace
I suffer badly with hay fever, so I need short books. This series is incredible. I love urban fantasy anyway, but this series is made of novellas in an urban fantasy setting; we follow Darren and Lena as they take a new job cooking at Sin du Jour, which they soon discover to be a catering company for non-humans. Not just are non-humans served, they are also served. Intense and fast paced, I thoroughly recommend this series, and since the books are so short they are easy on hay fever eyes. There is representation in the form of multiple LGBTQ+ characters, and people of colour.
3. Doctor Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural, series by Lucy Banks
With so far just two books in this series, and a third coming out later this year, I have to recommend these books for summer reading. They are quintessentially British, with the English countryside as much a character of the books as Doctor Ribero himself. You can read my review for the first book here and the second book here. There's even a transgender character.
4. Freak House, trilogy of trilogies by CJ Archer
Sticking with the theme of slightly cheesy fantasy, the series is three trilogies that together create one long story. I loved this style. Set in Victorian England, we follow the residents of Freak House. I'm going to start by saying there are multiple disabled characters, and a charming LGBTQ+ relationship. If that doesn't want to make you read it immediately, there's a brilliant plot, twists and turns, characters with a tragic backstory that actually make sense, and so much more besides.
5. Welcome to Night Vale, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Although I link the podcast to autumn (and I have no idea why) I am going to recommend this as summer reading. One of the most mysterious characters in the Night Vale podcast is the Man with the Tan Jacket, and he is one of the central characters of this book. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it in terms of genre; it is a weird cross between fantasy, noir, mystery, horror, and comedy. Honestly, just give it a try for yourself.
Right, let's do the weekly wrap up.
Books Completed
Not quite. Other than A Prayer for the Necromancer I read for Fangirl Friday I've not finished a book this week.
Books in Progress
Several. I'm still on the fourth book of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, Empire of Ivory, although I'm pretty close to finishing it. I'm still making progress on The Mummy! by Jane Loudon on Serial Reader, and I'm close to finishing that too.
I've started The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, and I'm reading it with the Hyper RPG Book Club over the next fifteen weeks. Join us and read more about the readalong here, and share your progress using #HyperUdolpho.
Games
I've played even more Fallout 4 and Planet Coaster. I'm avoiding Sanctuary still, and with Dogmeat as my companion (naturally we are wearing matching bandannas) it's a lot different from Fallout New Vegas which I'm much more familiar with.
Crochet
You can see my finished cardigan here. I love it. It's so sparkly, and fits like a dream. I've started on my summer shawl, and I hope to share a finished picture of that next week.
Summary
This last week has had me sneezing and with itchy eyes because hay fever is an absolute nightmare, but I'm glad I'm still able to do the things I love. I'm still reading, crocheting, and playing games.
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