Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

Recent reading, with summer reading bingo* notes:

Darkside Dare, by Lois McMaster Bujold: the most recent Penric and Desdemona novella. These are still fun, and this story looks back to the previous ones enough that I don't think it would work as a starting point. There's some conflict in the plot, but no bad guys (except offstage before the story starts), and where I was thinking "if you only talked to each other" it makes sense that the characters didn't. This works for the "multiple POV" and "under 250 pages" boxes.

Harmonic Pleasure, by Celia Lake: another of her fantasy romance stories. This one is set in London in 1928, with characters who are dealing with losses and injuries from the Great War, or worrying about the next war. More reading bingo card, "love story."

Green for Danger, by Christianna Brand: a British mystery novel from the early 1940s, set during the Blitz. This is part of a series of reissued Golden Age mysteries (British Library Crime Classics). I enjoyed this, in a mild sort of way, and may look for more. The mystery worked for me, though I could have done with a bit less of "the detective knows who committed the murders, but can't make an arrest until he knows how and why" (which is stated explicitly in those terms). Doesn't match any of the boxes on either card.

Shut Up and Read, by Jeannine A. Cook: This is a memoir, centered on starting and running a bookstore that focuses on books by women and Black authors, and somehow making that work starting in the winter of 2020, Cook seems to have a real talent for meeting and befriending people who can help with what she's trying to do, or give her ideas of what to do next. I think I found this on the BPL's website, in a list of new releases, and I'm not sure if I liked it, though I did finish it. Bingo card: new releases, author of color.

*I'm looking at both the Boston Public Library adult summer reading bingo cards.