Summer reading challenges

Summer reading challenges are a tradition a lot of places (and for my friends and readers in the Southern Hemisphere, well, lists of things that match challenges are probably useful at other times, right?)

As I’ve done in previous years, here are a few different challenges and notes on which of my books meet them. If you’re looking for help on this, drop me a note and I’m glad to add to this list. Sometimes it’s much easier for me to pull a list (for example, ages of main characters) than it is to figure it out from the book itself.

Cover of In The Cards displayed in a gleaming silver frame, with purple flowers on the right and a purple velvet high-heeled shoes.

Boston Public Library

Here’s the Boston Public Library bingo card (PDF) for the summer and their info about adult summer reading at the BPL that also links to lists of items in their collection.

Under 250 pages

My novellas are all under 250 pages! (plus Four Walls and a Heart, Nocturnal Quarry and Three Graces) Beyond that, you’ll need to check the individual books.

Learn a Boston fact

Nocturnal Quarry has a brief digression into Boston geology.

We are Pride picks

You can find all my LGBTQIA+ books over here (with links to more specific groups). Plus, Brave Truth will be coming out on August 7th.

Orange cover

Claiming the Tower (1854), Point by Point (1927) and the forthcoming Brave Truth (out in August, set in 1950) are all very orange!

Cover of Point By Point. A man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on a terra-cotta and deep red background, with a Mesopotamian lion with bright blue wings inset in the top left.

New release

Unknown Depths came out in May, and Brave Truth will be out in August.

Disabled, not unable

Take your pick from these lists!

ADHD main characters
Autistic main characters
Chronic health issues
Magical disabilities (or magically stigmatised abilities)
Mental health concerns (not directly related to wartime experiences)
Physical disabilities
War-related trauma (mental health concerns specific to wartime experience)

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Here’s the 2026 Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Summer Romance Bingo.

Historical but not regency

All my books! (That’s the list by era, so you can take your pick from Victorian, Edwardian, Great War, Between the Wars, and Post-War.)

Set in a place you’d like to vacation

I obviously don’t know where you’d like to vacation, but a few particular amusements:

Four Walls and a Heart spends a fair bit of time at the Brighton seaside.
The Fossil Door takes place in and around Glencoe, Scotland.
Facets of the Bench spends time in Whitby (and in Wales, though that city’s fictional).
Harmonic Pleasure is about a love of London and exploration of London lore.
Unknown Depths is all about Orkney and the northern coast of Scotland.

Scot

Unknown Depths has an exceedingly Scottish hero.

Published in the last 3 months

Unknown Depths was published in May, and Brave Truth will be out in August.

Latest in a series

Distilled Sunlight and Brave Truth are the most recent books in their respective series.

Read or re-read a book by a fav author

I can’t tell you if I’m a favourite author of yours, but here we are.

Shifter that isn’t a bear, wolf, or big cat

Magician’s Hoard
Illusion of a Boar

Heist or con

Fool’s Gold involves a con, and someone foiling it.

Artist or performer

The Mysterious Fields trilogy (talisman maker, stone carving)
Fool’s Gold (artist)
Harmonic Pleasure (singer)

The Carterhaugh Summer Reading Challenge

The challenge list post is open to everyone, but the discussion posts are for their patrons on Patreon (also how you enter to win the prize).

A book with a red cover

Four Walls and a Heart (1884), Wards of the Roses (1920), and Goblin Fruit (1924) all have red covers (well, values of red for the last one!)

The cover of Four Walls and a Heart has a bright red background with a blue door. Two men are silhouetted against the background, one of slighter build in a Victorian wheelchair, missing his lower left leg, the other standing and talking, one hand at his side. Both are wearing hats, and they are intently focused on each other.

Cover of Wards of the Roses. A man and woman in 1920s clothing silhouetted on a red background that shades to vivid orange-peach at the bottom. A rose is inset in the top right.

A book that features Tarot cards

In The Cards is here for you! It includes a Tarot reading, a game of Tarrochi, and the use of a Tarot deck to discuss some events.

(Albion uses the Howard Tarot by preference, which is not a deck that exists in our world. I’ve been working with an artist on art for the Major Arcana, and have started sharing the completed cards on my newsletter. They’ll be on my public wiki when we get a few more shared.)

A book about a haunted house

Mistress of Birds is my Gothic romance with an entirely spooky house. (More than that would be spoilers!)

Your Favourite Book

Can’t help you decide on this one either! I love all my books (and all my characters) but if you made me pick a favourite, Best Foot Forward is way up there. So is Apt to be Suspicious and Eclipse.

A book you already own but haven’t read yet

Again, I don’t know what you’ve read! My own TBR pile is staggering, so if yours is too, I’m right there with you.

Any other lists?

Drop me a note if you’re looking for books that match any other categories – a link to the list is great, or whatever the phrasing is.