It seems fitting that I read The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner this year, as I went to Italy a few months ago. I have read a majority of Sarah Penner’s books, including her short novella The Conjurer’s Wife, which was meant to act as a link to The Amalfi Curse. Sarah Penner’s books are a combination of historical fiction and fantasy, and every time I read her books, I feel like I’m transported into whatever setting the book takes place in. The Amalfi Curse might be my favorite Sarah Penner book I have read thus far.

Haven Ambrose is a nautical archaeologist currently on site in Positano in Italy. She is investigating a ship wreck, and based on her father’s research, she believes there might be treasure there. Interwoven with Haven’s story, Mari DeLuca comes from a line of stregheria or sea witches. After a corrupt man kidnaps members of Mari’s family, Mari knows she has to use her powers to save and protect those she loves. Haven and Mari’s stories are connected as Haven reads about Mari’s story and what that means for her research in the present day.

When I read Haven’s story, it reminded me a lot of Lara Croft. The archaeological research Haven does and the relationship she has with her father were the first things I thought of when I read this book. Mari’s story was fascinating, and I liked reading about the relationship she has with her abilities and how it was different than that of her relatives and friends. Mari experiences more turbulence in her story than Haven does, but I feel like there are similarities between the two women’s struggles, even though their stories are two centuries apart.

The only thing I would have wished for is that this book had tied into The Conjurer’s Wife. If it did, it was subtle enough that I missed it. It would have been neat to see the two be related to each other in some way.

I liked The Amalfi Curse. The setting was pretty, and I liked the characters and reading their perspectives. I rated The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner four stars on Goodreads.

While August is still technically summer, I long for fall. I can’t wait to drink apple cider, go to a pumpkin patch or haunted house, and I love going on walks. During these months, I try to read darker thrillers, horror, fall-themed romances, or any other book that relates to the upcoming season. Instead of writing a TBR post for August, September, and October, I’m going to simply list which books I want to read for these months. On average, I read two physical books a month, so this list will have seven books spread out over three months. If I read more than that, good for me! I wanted to make this list manageable. Here is everything I want to read in the next few months.

• Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
• Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
• The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
• The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
• One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
• The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski

Lovecraft Country is the book I have had on my TBR shelf for the longest, so this is the book I’m starting with. The Lovecraft Country show is amazing, so I wanted to go back and read the source material. Haunted Ever After is a romance written by Jen DeLuca, who writes the Renaissance romance series I adore. Haunted Ever After is a romance set in a small town in Florida that prides itself on the ghost tourism the town attracts. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a historical fiction ghost story taking place in World War I. The Honey Witch, The Spellshop, and The Crescent Moon Tearoom are cozy fantasy books that I think will be a joy to read when fall arrives. Finally, One Dark Window is a gothic, dark fantasy book. I have seen everyone online raving about One Dark Window, so I’m intrigued to see what it’s about.

Normally, I don’t share which audiobooks I’m listening to, but I will make an exception in this case. I have five audiobooks on hold, with two of them fitting the theme for these months. The first is The Only One Left by Riley Sager. I have read two Riley Sager books and enjoyed them. I skipped past Riley Sager books due to reading some negative reviews, but I wanted to try to get back into his books. In The Only One Left, Kit McDeere is taking care of Lenora Hope in the 1980s. Lenora was accused of murdering her family in 1929. Lenora denies any involvement, and Kit is determined to figure out the truth. The second audiobook I have on hold is Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix. Grady Hendrix has been a hit or a miss for me. While I loved Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, I wasn’t a fan of We Sold Our Souls. Grady’s book premises always intrigue me, and this book is no exception. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls takes place in a house for girls who grew up too fast in the 1970s. One of the girls arrives at the house as she is pregnant. The girls discover that they may be able to perform witchcraft. This is the first Grady Hendrix novel I will read as an audiobook. My queue positions for both of these books are quite long, so, likely, I won’t read them in time, but with that said, I will listen to them eventually.

I am looking forward to reading or listening to these books! I think there’s enough variety to keep me interested throughout the months.

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent is a short novella that takes place in the Crown of Nyaxia / Obitraes world. Obitraes is the main setting of the Crown of Nyaxia series, which is a series that I love. It’s vampires with wings, what is there not to love? With the Crown of Nyaxia books and romantacy books in particular, they tend to be hundreds of pages. Six Scorched Roses is 187 pages and takes place between Serpent & The Wings of Night and The Ashes & The Star Cursed King. For being less than 200 pages, Six Scorched Roses has no business being as good as it is.

Lilith is dying. Her town of Adcova was stricken with a plague by Vitarus, the god of abundance and famine. Lilith is desperately trying to find a cure for the plague to save her sister, Mina. Lilith stumbles upon Vale, a vampire from the House of Night. He agrees to give her his blood, and Lilith provides him with roses in return. Vale is intrigued by Lilith and eventually agrees to loan her his research and other academic books. Lilith faces a challenging concept: she knows how dangerous Vale is, but she needs him, and Vale comes to terms with the fact that he needs her, too.

I flew through this book. I felt the pacing was fast, and everything was set up quick. Lilith and her disease, meeting Vale, asking for Vale’s help, moments where Lilith and Vale started to fall for each other, Lilith and Vale hooking up, and eventually, Lilith risking everything to save her sister. This book didn’t waste any time, and everything was succinct. For Lilith and Vale, I thought they had great chemistry together. I didn’t find the story to be rushed; instead, any extra scenes were cut, and it showed only what was needed to. I liked Lilith as a character. She’s a scientist by heart and dedicated to her cause. Vale was moody and lonely, and Lilith brought out things in Vale that he had long since buried. I wouldn’t mind reading other novellas starring Lilith and Vale throughout the moments of the Obitraes books.

I have no notes; this book was everything I needed it to be. I’d love to see more authors writing shorter novellas set in their fantasy worlds. Not everyone has the time to read hundreds of pages. I rated Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent five stars on Goodreads.

A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in the ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) book series. I read the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, in 2023 while I was in Europe. I liked it, but not enough where I wanted to rush into reading the second book. I was contemplating whether I wanted to continue the series, and shortly thereafter, I received the box set of the series from my father-in-law. If you’re wondering why my father-in-law reads a smutty fae series, his response would be, “None of the Amazon reviews told me this series was going to be so pornographic”. My father-in-law is not on BookTok / the book side of TikTok, so he was out of the loop. Anyway, he gave me the box set of the series that he bought, and here we are. I read A Court of Mist and Fury, and I feel like this book redeemed the series for me.

Feyre is trying to rebuild after what she endured under Amarantha’s wrath. She’s fae now, and she’s trying to understand what weight that carries. Tamlin has been pushing Feyre to get married, and her wedding date quickly approaches. Right away, she recognizes differences between herself and Tamlin, and when she walks down the aisle, all she wants is out. Sure enough, Rhysand hears this through their bond and whisks Feyre away from her wedding. In those weeks, Rhysand teaches her to read, and Feyre can take a breather. Through Rhysand, Feyre realizes that Tamlin has hidden so much from her and that a war is on the horizon.

A Court of Mist and Fury blows ACOTAR out of the water. This book was much more interesting. I liked reading about the Night Court and Velaris, this secret city that Rhysand protected. I liked hearing about Rhysand’s court, including Mor, Azriel, Cassian, and Amren. I would ride or die for Mor. Give Mor her own series! I found myself reading hundreds of pages in one sitting and getting completely lost in this portion of Prythian.

I liked Feyre more in this book than in ACOTAR. She seems to have matured, and I liked how she wanted to pursue knowledge. She saw through Tamlin, putting her in a box as a wife, and that’s it. Towards the end of the book, she knows what she must do and how she will try to fight back to save Prythian. Feyre grows a lot as a character throughout the book.

I can’t talk about this book without talking about Feyre and Rhysand. I don’t think I am as obsessed with them as other fans are. I think Feyre has been through so much, and it would be good for her not to be matched with someone else so quickly. I felt that throughout the book, it took away from their romance. I don’t mind them together. I wish Feyre had had moments on her own, and they would have gotten together in the third book.

With all that said, there were a few things I noticed that irked me. Can Sarah J. Maas, please stop using females and males in this series? I had to change this in my head to either lady, woman, or something else. I get it, fae aren’t human, so maybe woman or man isn’t correct, but female, really? There’s one quote where a character is describing losing the love of his life, and the quote says, “losing the female I love”. Am I the only one who doesn’t like this? I must be because I don’t see this mentioned in any other review I have read. Another thing I noticed was the description of Feyre being so skinny. Yes, her trauma is causing her to lose weight, and that’s accurate, but it was described enough where I’m like, okay, that’s enough.

The last thing I wanted to mention is the amount of sexual violence that is in these books. I have talked about including sexual violence in media before, specifically regarding Alan Moore. I can’t ignore this in Sarah J. Maas’s books. There’s one character who, in her backstory, is beaten because she was no longer a virgin. It’s not just this character; Feyre experiences her own abuse in ACOTAR. On top of that, it’s hinted at that in fae society, females (again, not my choice of words) are seen as lesser than and are there to provide pleasure to males. It gets to a point where this book and series teeters on the line of where this is a bit much. I felt this towards the end of ACOTAR with all of Amarantha’s trials and what Feyre has to go through. There are plenty of ways to build hardship into the women in your story without it being sexual violence. It seems like Sarah J. Maas relies on this as a plot device. I will be fully transparent in that I am sensitive towards sexual violence. If it’s in a book series, I tend to avoid that series altogether. I wonder if this is something that’s in every Sarah J. Maas series, or is it specifically in this one?

With all that said, this book was a page-turner. I am curious to see how this series plays out, especially with that cliffhanger at the end. I rated A Court of Mist and Fury three stars on Goodreads.

While in Florence, we found a bookstore that sold books in English along with books in Italian. I thought I had brought plenty to read while on vacation, but I was wrong. I bought two books to read, the first was Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose and the second was Funny Story by Emily Henry. I finished both while on vacation and on the flight back to the US. Home Is Where the Bodies Are is a predictable thriller, and I’m not even mad about it.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael are three siblings who reunite at their mother’s funeral. While going through her belongings, they find old VHS tapes. On one VHS tape, they see their parents covering a dead body. They are shocked, and while Beth and Michael may be okay to sweep this under the rug, Nicole goes digging. What were their parents trying to hide, and does that have to do with why their father left?

Listen, the plot was predictable, but you know what, I like to be smart some of the time. I actually don’t mind when I figure out the spoiler early on. I think it’s satisfying when what was revealed was what I thought this whole time. I get why some readers may not like that, for me, I’m all about it. There are times where books give me whip lash with the spoiler coming out of left field and I like how Home Is Where the Bodies Are was a standard thriller.

I love the fact that this book is short and succinct. It’s more often than not where I read a book that goes on forever. I appreciate how this book introduces the plot, the plot hook, and the twist in less than 300 pages. With shorter books, it’s difficult to get attached to the characters, but I think that’s the point. I don’t need a life story about Beth, Nicole or Michael. They are there, and I want to find out what happens in the end. I’m not expecting to get a feel for them as characters, I want just enough to form opinions about them.

Home Is Where the Bodies Are was exactly what I needed while on vacation. I needed a quick read that would captivate me and something shorter that I could finish quickly. I rated Home Is Where the Bodies Are five stars on Goodreads.

For my June TBR, I knew one book I immediately wanted to read. It has 624 pages. To compensate for reading a longer book, I picked two other books with page counts of less than 300 pages each. Each book in this month’s TBR is vastly different, so I think it will keep things interesting throughout the month. If I really commit, I can read all three books, but I have to focus. I will share what I read in May and which books I have picked out to read in June.

In May, I read seven books. They are as follows:

• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele, and a Foreward written by Angela Y. Davis. 5/5 stars
• Snotgirl Volume #3 Is This Real Life? by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung. 3/5 stars
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Unrated.
• Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose. 5/5 stars
• Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski Unrated.
• The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. 4.5/5 stars
• Funny Story by Emily Henry. 4/5 stars

Okay, so I sort of cheated. I started Come as You Are and The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King in April, but didn’t complete them in May. Both When They Call You a Terrorist and Just Mercy were the two hardest books I read this month. They both tackle similar topics, but in different ways. When They Call You a Terrorist focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, while Just Mercy focuses on Bryan Stevenson’s role as a lawyer in Alabama. If you haven’t read either book, you need to. There wasn’t a book I read this month that I didn’t enjoy. I’m working on writing more detailed reviews for both Home is Where the Bodies Are and Funny Story, so I hope to have those up later this month.

Now onto the books I want to read this month:

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I read A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in the series, back in 2023. I’ll be honest, I didn’t get the hype. I’ve heard many things about this series, one of which is that the first book is the weakest. I was gifted a box set of this series, which led me to read A Court of Mist and Fury this month. If I’m honest, I probably wouldn’t have read the rest of the series had I not received the set of books.

For those who are unfamiliar with this series, it centers on our protagonist, Feyre, as she deals with the aftermath of the first book. She’s brought back to life by the high fae from the various courts, which has consequences. Feyre feels trapped in her relationship with Tamlin as her wedding is expedited. Before the wedding happens, Feyre is sent to Rhysand in the Night Court per the deal she made with Rhysand in the last book.

I’m 150 pages into A Court of Mist and Fury, and I’m shocked. I’m enjoying this way more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. There are things that I’m reading that are cringy, like how Sarah J. Maas uses the words females and males. There’s one moment where Lucien talks about losing his sister, and the sentence is, “I was forced to watch as my father butchered the female I love”. Ew no, I hate it. Why not say “the lady, I love”? Same impact, but doesn’t make me grimace when I read it.

Roll for Love by M.K. England

Roll for Love is a book about Harper, who moves back to the small town where her grandparents live. She’s reunited with Ollie, a childhood friend she hasn’t seen in years. Ollie invites Harper to their Dungeons & Dragons game, where sparks between them fly. This is not the first TTRPG-themed romance I have read, and I can’t say it will be the last.

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

The final book I want to read this month is A Dowry of Blood. A Dowry of Blood focuses on the story of Constanta, one of the brides of Dracula. I know nothing else about this book, but I’m looking forward to reading it. Dracula is one of my favorite books in classic literature, so curious to see how the story develops.

This is a bit ambitious for a TBR, but I have a set plan about how I will finish all three of these books by the end of the month. I love how each of these books is from a different genre. I think it will keep me invested throughout the month.

Spoilers for both The Serpent & The Wings of Night and The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King

While in Italy, I finished a few books that I had been reading before the trip. With the two 9 1/2 hour flights and multiple trains that we took, I had plenty of time to read. One of the books I read was The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. This is the second book in the Crown of Nyaxia series starring Oraya and Raihn. I loved the first book when I read it last year and received the sequel as a gift, so I knew I wanted to continue the series. I loved The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King and can’t wait to read more books in Obitraes.

After the violent end to the Kejari, Oraya is a prisoner, and Raihn becomes the King of the House of Night. Raihn faces challenges as his background as a former slave doesn’t bode well with those who feel he doesn’t deserve nobility. Raihn offers Oraya a deal: help him deal with his betrayers, and he will let her walk, even if Oraya chooses to kill Raihn to avenge her father. Oraya is confronted with her past and faces her destiny as the chosen heir to the House of Night.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I love Obitraes and the world these books take place in. I like reading about the vampire houses and their history. In this book, we learn more about the House of Shadow, and this impacts Mische and her story. I like how the gods shape the world. In my first review of the book, I said it reminds me of the gods from Dungeons & Dragons, and how Nyaxia reminds me of The Raven Queen. I still find that to be the case in this book. Writing this review is going to be heavily biased. The story could have sucked and I’d still rate this book highly because I love this world so much.

This book truly feels like Oraya’s story. Raihn has a point of view in some of the chapters, but this story centers on Oraya. I liked reading about Oraya’s past (how she’s half-vampire, her abilities, and who her mother is!) Oraya’s mother has a strong bond to one of the other gods, and I thought that was interesting. I read other reviews for this book, and some readers were unhappy with the story and how Oraya united with Raihn, even though he killed her father. I can see why readers would feel that way, but I disagree. Oraya’s father, Vincent, is not a good person. It’s strongly emphasized that he sexually assaulted the previous queen of the House of Night and killed the king. He lied to Oraya about her past and about killing her mom. I don’t want this book to be a revenge story because Vincent’s past caught up to him. Instead, I liked how this book portrays Oraya’s relationship to power and what kind of queen she wants to be. Sure, Raihn is still in the picture, but I fully believe Oraya has the power to kill Raihn if he steps out of line.

The one grievance I have with this book is that the story felt rushed. Oraya learning about her past was told in 100 pages, and I think this could have been elongated into multiple books. I understand that this is a duology for Oraya and Raihn specifically, but I would have loved another book to dive into this more.

I was contemplating what to rate The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King. I ended up rating this four stars, but leaning towards 4.5 or five stars depending on the day. The next book in this series will focus on Mische, and I’m excited to read more about her! She was a standout character in this series, so the fact that she’s getting her own books, I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

When I was in Chicago, I stopped by a comic book store. I found several volumes of various comic series that I needed. I’m working my way through them now, and one of those volumes is Snotgirl Volume #3, written by Bryan Lee O’Malley with art by Leslie Hung. When I first started reading comics, I read the first issue of Snotgirl and did not like it. I returned to this series several years later, and I’m glad I did. Snotgirl has an interesting premise, but it’s the art that keeps me reading through the series.

Snotgirl follows fashion influencer Lottie Person as she lives her life in California. In the first volume, Lottie meets a mysterious woman named Caroline. Caroline becomes fast friends with Lottie and gets very quickly integrated into her life. There’s always been something about Caroline that seems off. In the third volume, secrets are revealed that Caroline hasn’t been aging since the 90s. Who is Caroline, and why did she seek out Lottie?

My biggest gripe with this series is how the story keeps getting dragged out. Each volume shows a shadier side of Caroline, but who is she? Is she a Vampire? a Demon? Did she sell her soul to a devil to remain ageless? Each volume seems to blend together with all the shady things Caroline has done without revealing what her goal is. I hope the next volume provides some much-needed answers.

Snotgirl is one of the few comic series I read solely for the art. Leslie Hung does an excellent job of bringing the world of Snotgirl to life. Lottie’s hair is this bright lime green, and that color is featured throughout the panels. Each page is an explosion of bright neon hues, and each of Lottie’s friends has their own distinct style. It makes the series memorable. Leslie can illustrate all the comics, and I’d buy every single one of them.

Snotgirl is a series that I enjoy reading. It’s not my favorite series, but I find it a page-turner nonetheless. I want to know what Caroline’s deal is and hopefully that’s answered in the next volume.

I decided not to write a TBR post for this month. I will be on vacation for most of the month and wasn’t sure how much time I would have to read. Instead, I wanted to write about a recent reading goal that I surpassed. For the first time ever, my TBR is less than 100 books. When I say TBR, I mean my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf has less than 100 books. This hasn’t happened ever. I was always the reader who consistently added books. At one point, this shelf had close to 600 books. I wanted to share how I got to this point, along with how I will approach reading in the future.

I started using Goodreads in 2014 when I got back into reading after a major reading slump. A few of my friends had Goodreads, and I liked using social media to keep track of what I had read. When I first started using Goodreads, I added any book that sounded interesting, which is why my shelf had 600 books. Several years ago, I condensed this down to 300 books because I knew there was no way I’d be able to read all 600 books on this shelf. Since then, I have focused on reducing this even further. Right now, I have 87 books on my TBR. I can’t believe I got this below 100. I’m proud of myself for prioritizing books that have been on my TBR for several years.

Besides reducing the books on my TBR, I have noticed that my reading habits have changed. I have been prioritizing reading from authors I have read before and finishing series. I used to have several books from different authors, and I’d read a book from a new author and think it was okay. That time could have been spent reading from an author I know that I will love. Lucy Foley, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry are a few of my favorite authors, and I’d love to read every book they write. I know that I will like their books, so why read a book written by an author I may not like? For series, I want to finish more book series. I read several first books in several series, and it takes me years to read the second book. I remember the days when I’d read Hunger Games or The Series of Unfortunate Events and read every book in the series. I want to get back to that.

The last thing I wanted to add, I would not have reached this point in my TBR without audiobooks. I did not think I’d be an audiobook person, but here we are. I downloaded Libby on a whim last year and started listening to books while I drove to and from work. When I listen to a book, I tend to only listen to romance or nonfiction. As much as I’d love to listen to fantasy, I’m afraid I’ll miss key details if I zone out for a second. If I zone out while listening to a romance, it’s fine because, oh well, if I missed the two main characters going on a date. Audiobooks will forever be a part of reading as a hobby for me, and I’m thrilled. I’m glad I can use the audiobooks my library has.

I don’t ever want my TBR to be more than 100 books again. There’s no way that I will read them all and I want to read what I want to read. I went through ten years of reading and on average I read about 56.7 books in a year. I figured this out by going through my past Goodreads challenges, adding up all the books I read and dividing by the years I participated. Math rules. Having this information, I don’t want my TBR to be more than 60 books. If I want to add books to my shelf, that’s fine, but I will re-review what’s on my TBR shelf to make room. I’d realistically want to have enough books on there that I can finish in a calendar year.

I’m excited that I have made substantial progress with reading. I feel confident that when I add a book to my shelf, I will actually read it. Reading is a life long hobby of mine and I always want to make reading a priority in the years to come.

While on the train coming home from Chicago, I finished reading A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn. This is the second book in the Veronica Speedwell series. I read the first book in this series while on my honeymoon to Europe a few years ago. I love the setting of this book and Veronica as a character. A Perilous Undertaking did not disappoint and solidified this series as a series I’d recommend to anyone and everyone.

Veronica Speedwell is summoned by Lady Sundridge, who is requesting her assistance. She asks Veronica to investigate the murder of Artemisia, an artist with many talents. Miles Ramsforth is set to hang for killing Artemisia, but Lady Sundridge isn’t convinced that he committed the crime. Miles refuses to provide an alibi, which adds an extra layer of mystery to the murder. Veronica and her associate and friend, Stoker, agree to help and find themselves at the beginning of unraveling a conspiracy.

It did not take me long to fly through this book. I was invested in the mystery, and part of that was due to how the mystery was set up. Miles refuses to talk about his alibi, Lady Sundridge’s true identity, and how she was connected to Miles. Each book in this series seems to center around a conspiracy, and I’m here for it. It adds an extra layer of drama to the book. While I wasn’t surprised by the killer’s reveal, it felt satisfying, especially to see how Veronica and Stoker eventually took down the killer.

This series focuses on Veronica and her expanding partnership and friendship with Stoker. These two have such a slow-burn relationship. They need to kiss already and be done with it. Their banter is flirty, snarky, and perfect between the two. At the core of their partnership is their friendship and mutual respect for each other. Veronica is labeled as a spinster, which is a term Veronica uses to describe herself. In the late 1800s, women were getting married and having children. Stoker is a man ahead of his time since he sees Veronica as an equal and her own person. It makes their friendship that much better because of the mutual respect they have for each other.

I like how each book in the series builds upon itself. In this book, we find out more about Stoker and his family. It’s hinted at in the first book that Stoker is the Black Sheep of his family, and we find out more as to why this is. I like how the book ends on a positive note, where Stoker may end up rekindling the relationship with his brothers. Part of that is due to Veronica’s influence, but I think Stoker, deep down, cares for his brothers even though he has a horrific relationship with his father.

This is a series I genuinely look forward to reading. If anyone needs a series recommendation, my first question to them will be, “Have you read the Veronica Speedwell series?” I rated A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn five stars on Goodreads.