A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances Wynn adored being a widow but she is still looking forward to marrying George Hazelton. Well, as long as he's not actually already married. But that is what a hysterical woman is trying to claim. She also says that she's the illegitimate daughter of one of the Russian royal family. It turns out her name is Irena and some of her stories seem to be true. At least true enough that she ends up dead. In Frances's garden no less. Can Frances figure out what is going on before she and George are ostracized from society completely?

Irena was really, really annoying. I often expect it when an old curmudgeon is killed off in a book but this was the first time I was actually relieved that a character was gone. Unfortunately, the rest of the story follows a lot of the zaniness that Irena introduced without the charm of previous books in the series (which I would highly recommend reading).

Three stars

Follows A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder

Followed by A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna

I am really enjoying this series in general. Each book takes its time without rushing anything. We don't get to see a LOT of Stella and Lyndy's relationship developing and the backstory on the mystery for this one was a little underdeveloped but it is just a light, cozy mystery that is perfect for beach reading. 

Stella and Lyndy are finally heading toward marriage, the random murders and her father's meddling notwithstanding. The invitations have been sent, the wedding is announced in all the papers, and everyone is starting to come over - even some uninvited guests. 

In the invited category is a family that Stella's father invited because they are influential in Kentucky. Stella was always set up to be the daughter's best friend but the girl didn't treat her very well and that continues to this day with backhanded compliments and little digs that no one else seems to notice. 

For the uninvited guest, there is one rather sinister young man with a pistol and murder on his mind but also Stella's father's brother and his children. It is looking like it will be an interesting gathering but Stella and Lyndy are just ready for one thing, to finally be married. Except that it looks like a murder is going to change their plans...

Four stars
This book comes out  June 29th, 2021
Follows Murder at Blackwater Bend

Followed by Murder at the Majestic Hotel

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Undercover Duke by Sabrina Jeffries

Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is asked by his half-brother, Grey, to start making into the death of his brother's father. The whole family is worried that it may have been a murder since their mother's second and third husbands died young as well with Sheridan's own father was poisoned. With his brother's wife in labor, Sheridan has been tasked with questioning Lady Cora Eustace who was at the party for Grey's christening the weekend his father died. She is also Grey's aunt who Sheridan barely knows. Besides, she has a daughter, Vanessa, who Sheridan is... well.. prickly about. Sheridan knows that he needs to marry an heiress and doesn't want to drag Vanessa into his quagmire. Besides, she's enamored of a poet, Juncker.

Vanessa has been using Juncker as a reason to make Sheridan jealous. He doesn't seem to realize that she is full grown and she'll use any means she can to make him realize that she is perfect for him.

The ending wrapped up rather quicker than I had hoped especially since it closed out an arc that has been going on for several books. I was at 80% done and it didn't seem like it was getting close. There was also sort of a rush to the "I love you"s that could have been a little longer to feel more like a real HEA, especially after there was so much deception (some of it from themselves) in the rest of the book. I really do like Jeffries' writing though and up to that end was a lovely story.

Three and a half stars
Follows Who Wants to Marry a Duke

This book comes out May 25th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Princess Knight by G. A. Aiken

The focus of this book is Brother Gemma. Although it's hard to call her "brother" at the beginning of the book because she feels abandoned by her god and is hardly worshiping him. In fact, everyone thinks that she's drinking like her cousin. However, when someone (not Beatrix!) starts attacking religious sects (starting by slaughtering almost all of the peace monks), Gemma is not especially excited about helping but she saddles up along with her squire Samuel, her sister Ainsley who Gemma and Keeley seem to always forget, and two of the Amichai Laila and Quinn. Quinn is a thorn in Gemma's side though he is definitely a good fighter.

First, they travel to Gemma's past to visit the place where she trained and the other War Monks. There, we learn a bit about why Gemma is the way she is as well as more about the politics of the War Monks. We also get to meet Ragna, another War Monk; one who is even more dedicated to the cause than Gemma. She is the one who ultimately gives Gemma a list of sects to pick up including temple virgins, witches, divine assassins, war priests, a truce monk, and a nun (the Abbess Butcher). Oh, she also gets back her horse Kriegszorn. The one she lost in battle and had to raise (battle monks tend to win battles by bringing the dead back to life.) So what if he's only half normal horse and half rotting corpse? It's her horse!

We do get to see Queen Keeley (who gained such love from me in the first book that I had trouble switching over any to Gemma) and how she's building her kingdom. There are glimpses of Beatrix and what her evil plan is ultimately going to be. And then, a brief glimpse at some special guests who are going to be in the next book.

Definitely start with the first book in this series. This is an Aiken book through and through with characters that go so far beyond zany that you have to love them because they are so well-definied in their own brands of crazy. The beginning was actually a little slower than some Aiken books but it picked up nicely.

Scarred Earth Saga #2

Four stars

This book comes out November 24, 2020

Follows The Blacksmith Queen

Followed by The Heretic Royal

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby February 2024

A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber

 A lot of good men were injured in the First World War in any number of ways. Verity Kent has her own issues that she is dealing with from being part of a spy network but she feels like she has it better than a lot of other people, including her own cousin. Reggie was blinded in the war and now his mother treats him like an invalid. Yes, he is a lord but that doesn’t mean that he was left any money.
And the estate is (according to his mother) falling down around the family’s ears. So Verity’s parents send her out to see what, exactly, is going on. 

Several mysteries overlap including the history of the estate, a modern day murder, and a matter that dates back to Verity’s time in the war. Another story, well-woven and well-written. I don’t think regular Verity Kent readers will be disappointed.

Three and a half stars

Follows Penny for Your Secrets

Followed by Murder Most Fair

This book came out October 6th

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings by Liz Ireland

 I love Christmas. I love sweet stories but this one was a little too much for me. If this had been a second or third book and we had seen April and Nick start to date, fall in love, and move to the North Pole, I think it would have set up the characters and the world and made this book much more enjoyable. 

The premise was interesting, Mrs. Claus solving crime in Santaland while trying to fit in with a new culture. And elf-slaying certainly isn’t something that you would expect. If you don’t mind that the mystery isn’t just fairly clued, it’s fairly obvious from the first introduction of the murderer or that mystery is more treacly than a treat By Hannah Swenson, this might be the book for you. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out September 29th

ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Who Wants to Marry a Duke Sabrina Jeffries

Miss Olivia Norley is happy being a wallflower. She loves chemistry and wants nothing more than to work with her great-uncle on his experiments. When she meets Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock at a ball, she is more bemused by him than anything else. They share a passionate kiss that gets interrupted. And though he doesn't want to actually marry Olivia, Thorn is affronted when she turns down his proposal.
Nine years later, Thorn has become a cynic (after one kiss? Really?) who is astonished to learn that Olivia is going to be the chemist who proves whether or not his half-brother's father was killed by arsenic. He decides that he is going tag along on this research. Even if he is behind on delivering his latest play, the sixth in a series whose most popular and comedic characters are based off of Olivia and her stepmother. Or at least the twisted version he created of them in his own mind.
As he gets to know more about Olivia, Thorn starts to realize that the story he created in his own mind might not actually have been the truth. And when someone starts targeting Olivia for death, Thorn realizes that she actually means quite a bit to him.
The action in this book was a little more dramatic than others in the series. And Thorn was sort of a jerk for a lot of the story but it was a book that most Jeffries readers will find incredibly enjoyable.

Three and a half stars
Follows The Bachelor

Followed by Undercover Duke
This book comes out August 25th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig

A guy and a gal shared a kiss. The guy went to the gal's house the next day to offer for her hand but her father denied having a daughter. Heartbroken, the guy 

went back to the army.

Seven years later, the guy, Thomas, has been called home. He is the last in line for an earldom. But there is a famous writer ensconced in his house. And the man's secretary (or, as she calls herself, amanuensis) is no one else but the gal, Jane. And her life is being threatened by anonymous letters.

I really liked that a lot of the potential misunderstandings were dealt with up front. Both the heroine and the hero were up front about their secrets (adulting!) The letter writer 

seemed more like a plot device than anything else but a nice opening to a series. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 18th

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances may have just gotten engaged but she doesn't want to announce it until her sister's wedding has occurred. But her sister, Lily, and Lily's fiance have news that puts the wedding in jeopardy. Frances's fiance (unknown to anyone but herself) steps in and offers his brother's country house. Having it at the estate means that the wedding can now be a full-on house party. Something that should satisfy even Lily and Frances's social-climbing mother.
But all is not well with the guests. There are accidents happening to everyone, both the guests and the staff. And Lily seems to be overly enamored of her fiance's friend rather than focusing on her fiance. When the friend ends up murdered, it's up to Frances to help save not only the wedding, but her sister as well.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out July 28th
Follows A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder

Followed by A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Murder at Blackwater Bend by Clara McKenna

If you can wade through the cavalcade of names and backgrounds thrown at you during the beginning of this book, it ends up being a decent read, even though the whirling mass of characters continues throughout the book. Even having read the first book didn't help untangle the crowd very much. The best part of this book is getting to see the relationship between Stella and Lyndy starting to unfold (and a little comeuppance for Lyndy's mother.)
Stella Kendrick and Viscount "Lyndy" Lyndhurst started with an arranged marriage but found that they actually might like each other very much. As they are starting to get to know each other, one of the things they do is go fly fishing. And it's on the river that Stella discovers the body of Lord Fairbrother. Fairbrother is your typical mystery victim; people want him dead for a wide variety of reasons. His wife, a former flame of Lyndy's, didn't especially like the man. His neighbors knew that he accepted bribes for any number of votes on various community issues. His pony won the local best in breed seven years in a row though it was patently obvious that it was not an exemplar of the breed. So, all in all a bad sort who nobody misses.

Three stars
This book comes out June 30th
Follows Murder at Morrington Hall

Followed by Murder at Keyhaven Castle
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Heiress for Hire by Madeline Hunter

Chase Radnor is an investigator and the perfect choice for his cousin to reach out to for help. His cousin has inherited a dukedom but the vast wealth that their uncle collected was not left to anyone in the family. Rather, it was parceled out to three women that no one knows. Finally, Chase has found the first one, though breaking into her house might not have been the best idea.
Minerva Hepplewhite had an abusive husband who died mysteriously. She took her friend, Betsy, and Betsy's son Jeremy, moved them all to London and changed her name. She thought she was safe. And yet, there's a man who has now broken into her house. But he's not there to rob her. Instead, he wants to help her claim a huge inheritance. He is shocked to find out that she is working toward becoming an investigator herself, especially since he suspects that she may have been involved in her husband's death (and maybe even his uncle's.)
A good start to the series. This book included a lot of set up so there could have been more about their relationship and I never really connected with either Chase or Minerva. I am looking forward to Kevin's story but even more so to Nicholas, the duke's.

Three stars
This book comes out April 28th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Badger to the Bone by Shelly Laurenston

Gah. This book gave me so many feelings. Mostly a lot of confusion. Because there are so many things about this book that usually annoy me and... they just didn't. They might on a re-read but not this time. The first and most egregious was not enough focus on Max and Zé even though this is supposed toe their book. And this may sound odd but I'm not even sure that this was a romance because it seemed like it was on the back burner. Great character development and in depth relationship development are my numbers one and two catnip and we just didn't get either in this book. Second thing that usually bothers me is the introduction (and focus on) characters who are clearly sequel bait. Max's teammates? The shifter team that tries to recruit them? All sequel bait. And their introduction (their are, what, like 7 or 8 people total for all of them so there's a LOT of introducing) takes up most of the book that would be used for relationship development.  Third, parts of people being introduced that weren't present in any other book in the series just to fit a plot point in this book.
And yet. And YET. Even though all of these things were present (or not), I still finished the book wanting more pages. Laurenston is the queen of the screwball shifter comedy and this book just continues in that vein. Max needs a group of friends who are her ride or die but we've never seen them before? Well, we'll just throw it into the story! Make it a fault of another character who never remembers them but scares the hell out of them.
Do you love Laurenston and the Honey Badger Chronicles? Pre-order this book. Right now. Haven't read them? Start from the beginning and just own them all. I fully plan on re-reading this book soon and will see if my feelings change.

Four stars
This book comes out March 31st, 2020
Follows In a Badger Way

Followed by Breaking Badger
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread May 2022, January 2024

The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries

Lady Gwyn Drake is the twin of a duke and the half-sister of two more (it's complicated) so, even at the ripe old age of thirty, she is considered a catch. So her family is taking her to London for the marriage mart even though she's not exactly excited about it. You see, she has a Secret Past. And while her twin knows part of it, he doesn't know everything. Too bad the Secret part of her Past is threatening to reveal the Super Secret part if Gwyn doesn't pay him off. She decides to threaten the man with a gun (that she doesn't know how to shoot) but ends up being saved by the brother of the woman marrying her twin (who is also her mother's third husband's nephew... it's still complicated).
Joshua Wolfe gives Gwyn all the feels and he feels the same. But he's "damaged" having been hurt in the war to the point that he has to walk with a cane and his injuries (and, tbh general disposition) make him super grumpy. He rescues her from the blackmailer and is asked to come to London to be Gwyn's bodyguard.
So forced proximity ensues as well as a touch continuation of the mystery from the first book (which you don't have to have read but it would make it a lot easier to understand what the heck is going on in this book.) Overall, an okay book with a lot of drama and misunderstandings. Gwyn was a little more "Woe is I" than I expected and the ending was a bit twee but I'm still excited to see the next book go on sale.

Three stars
This book came out February 25th
Follows Project Duchess
Followed by Who Wants to Marry a Duke
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier

Lucy Stone, reporter, has been invited to a private island. It is owned by a billionaire who is trying to take it completely off the grid. Even more than that, Scott Newman is trying to make it as eco-friendly as possible. He, along with his second wife (a former singer), his daughters from his first marriage and his sons from the second are practically going back to the early 1900s. At the launch party when Scott invites all of the people who worked on the island to check it out, he announces that one of his daughters is now going to be a partner in his firm. At the same party, Scott invites Lucy out for a few more days so she can really see what they're doing.
All seems well, even idyllic with a scattering of other people working on the island. But then, there's a death. And some of the small number of people disappear (which should be difficult on a small island.)
I am not sure that I've read a Lucy Stone mystery before. And I don't think it was good to jump in here. I'm sure that Lucy has more redeeming qualities in other books but I mostly saw her being super judgmental in this book. And, based on the cover and the description, I was expecting a strict cozy and I'm not sure this book fits entirely in that category. It was an interesting read but I'll probably stick with Ellery Adams or Lynn Cahoon.

Three stars
This book comes out November 26th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Penny for Your Secrets by Anna Lee Huber

Verity's friend Ada was not born into the aristocracy but she did marry into it. AT Ada's for a dinner, Verity is dismayed to find that the relationship, which had lasted for 5 years before their marriage is now, two years after marriage, in disarray. They can barely hide their animosity and most of the guests are ready for the show, including Ada's marked preference for another man.  At dinner, Ada plops a gun on the table and "jokes" that she might shoot her husband. The butler quickly removes it but Verity is shocked to find out that the gun was not put in the chair by Ada. This seems very suspicious but no one else is worried. However, when Lord Rockham is murdered, Ada immediately becomes suspect number one.
But Verity won't be able to work on just one murder. One of her friend's half-sister died and the friend is certain it was murder. The dead woman was one of the people who worked for the Royal Mail, redacting information from soldiers to home. It is very likely that she saw something that could have gotten her killed.
There is a lot of development between Verity and Sydney as they try to find their way through their marriage, both having made mistakes. They were only married for 3 days before he went to war. She thought he died and he thought she stayed home while the truth was, she went into the secret service.
A great addition to the series, even if it does end with Verity realizing she's found her very own Moriarty. Not a cliffhanger per se, but there are definitely things unresolved.

Four stars

Followed by A Pretty Deceit
This book came out October 29th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own