Victoria Janssen

Dreams of Distant Shores (2016) by Patricia A.

Nonfiction: A friend recommended Samantha Irby’s essays to me, so I obtained two of her collections from the library.

The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian has been on my TBR for…a very long time.

Fiction: The Maid by Nita Prose is a murder mystery set in a prestigious city hotel.

Fanfiction: Panem et Circenses by littleblackfox is a mashup/alternate universe putting Crowley and Aziraphale into the Great British Bakeoff, in one of the early BBC seasons.

The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry by Maryann Erigha Lawer is academic nonfiction.

I’ll be paneling at Readercon July 9 – 12, 2026 at the Boston Marriott Burlington in Burlington, MA.

Fiction: I started off the month of May with three DNF mystery novels; it might be me and not the books!

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff has been lingering on my TBR since it came out, but you really can’t go wrong with menopausal lesbian werewolves.

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond is first (I thought) in a cozy mystery series with the unusual aspect of body movers for the morgue.

Fiction: Nettle and Bone by T.

Fiction: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T.

Lady of Perdition by Barbara Hambly is seventeenth in the Benjamin January series of historical mysteries, this one beginning in April, 1840.

Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London hasn’t been on the TBR for that long (October 2024), but it seemed a perfect fit for this theme!

Fiction: Paladin’s Faith by T Kingfisher is fourth in the series, featuring Marguerite Florian and the paladin Shane, whom we met in the first book.

For this month’s “Vintage” theme, I went with a historical novel.

Fiction: Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn is first in the “Elemental Blessings” series, a secondary-world fantasy with magic and personality types associated with/linked to elements or combinations thereof.

I am behind on the Benjamin January series of historical mysteries on purpose, because I like to save them up for when I have extended time to read and appreciate.

Fiction: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is horror, a genre I read only rarely, but I was completely gripped by the 1930s rural setting.

TBR Challenge 2026 is a fun way to actually read all those books I’ve been accumulating over the years.

Fiction: When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb is about finding meaning and purpose in life, and discovering one’s identity.

The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey features several celebrations including a wedding, a royal visit, and Christmas in Singapore.

Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux was very sweet and satisfying, by which I mean there’s a happy ending (of course!

Fiction: Copper Script by K.J.

Leaves A frail and tenuous mist lingers on baffled and intricate branches; Little gilt leaves are still, for quietness holds every bough; Pools in the muddy road slumber, reflecting indifferent stars; Steeped in the loveliness of moonlight is earth, and t…

Fiction: Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree will be out in November.