The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch

The October Man

3/5. Rivers of London novella, except no London. There is a river, though. Set in Germany, starring the German equivalent to Peter, who has never met him and thus has hilarious notions of him. "Oh," he thinks, "Peter Grant would have thought to measure that. He'd take notes and have charts."

Me: Yes, yes he would. This is not always a virtue.

Fun, with some interesting tidbits about the war and exactly how it was that magic slid into obscurity after, though nothing I think we hadn't all filled in already. Mostly, I'm curious to see what this is setup for – a Peter field trip, presumably.

Oh, BTW, I should mention that the audio is not read by Holdbrook-Smith. Which apparently upset some people but makes perfect sense to me, as this is a different narrator and setting, and a different delivery is entirely appropriate.

Band Sinister by K.J. Charles

Band Sinister

3/5. Charming M/M historical about an oppressed and repressed brother and sister forced by circumstance to stay in the home of their scandalous neighbor and his more scandalous friends. Debauching and romance ensue.

Sweet, with some delightful banter regarding dirty Latin declensions. Not my favorite, though, as this book was concerned with the parts of this story – the family entanglements and money issues – that I only vaguely cared about, and entirely glossed over the far more interesting aspects of bringing a serious new romantic partner into a stable non-romantic but emotionally vital triad relationship. I would have read a whole book about negotiating that dynamic. Perhaps she intends to write it? There is certainly still room for it.