Vacation Reads: PNW Road Trip Edition

Somehow a "vacation reads" post with only two books in it feels paltry, but I haven't finished my other two reads (Library Book and The Fifth Season) yet so here we are. Fortunately I'm the only person on earth who cares about the format of these book reviews.

Golden State (by Ben Winters)

I love the work of Ben Winters, even if his speculative fiction sometimes goes a bit off the rails, as it does here.  It's always interesting at the very least. This is about a near-future where truth is regulated and lying is punished by exile. A noirish detective story with a good twist and a strange ending. Didn't love it as much as Underground Airlines or the Last Policeman trilogy but I honestly will read whatever he writes.

An Extraordinary Union (by Alyssa Cole)

For the Read Harder Challenge category "historical romance by an author of color." This is about a free black woman posing as a slave to spy for the Union, and the man posing as a Confederate officer who becomes her ally. I'm not typically a romance reader but I really enjoyed this, found it well-researched and sexy. I loved the character of Elle and was thrilled to find she was loosely based on a real person. If you like historical romance you will probably enjoy this and bonus: it's the first book of a series!