Murder at Everham Hall by Benedict Brown

Marius Quin is a bestselling author. He is now working on "Glimpse of a Blood Moon." Well, he's trying to work on it. The first chapter has been written but he's now struggling with a massive case of writer's block. His publisher won't advance him any more money (he has to be guaranteed of a product, after all) but has invited Marius to a Boxing Day party. 

Outside the office, Marius slips and falls. It is then that his childhood sweetheart, Lady Isabella "Bella" Montague shows up. He falls again - instantly back into love. It's been ten years since they've seen each other. In that time, Marius's father has gone missing, the war happened, and he has slipped into some financial distress. 

With some surprise, he accepts an invitation from her to a party at Everham Hall, where a friend of hers, Cecil Sinclair, a famous actor, is throwing a party on New Year's Eve. He goes and takes his basset hound, Percy, with him. 

Marius realizes almost instantly that this party will be as awkward as all heck. It seems that this Cecil is a diva of the first order becoming childish and petulant when drunk.  His paramour, Poppy, is someone that no one likes.  There is a film director, Anton, and his wife, an actress called Alma. There is also Bella's beau, Gilbert, whom Marius instantly dislikes. Cecil's father, Ross, and Edith, who Marius pegs as Ross's innamorata. 

Marius pulls Bella aside to ask why she invited him to this house. He had hoped to reignite their romance; she says that she wanted to help reignite his imagination. She is more successful than he is at the end. 

Of course, there is a murder and, since the police can't get there, Marius is elected to solve teh crime. As a mystery writer, he is (according to the other characters), the most likely to be able to solve the crime.

I haven't made it to that book yet but it appears that Marius has crossed paths with Lord Edgington, another of Brown's mystery series. If you like that series, I believe that this one will be enjoyable as well. 

Four stars

This book comes out November 3, 2023

Followed by The Hurtwood Village Murders

ARC kindly provided by Storm Publishing

Opinions are my own

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

A main reason I love these books is that Meg Langslow is just so darn pragmatic. Is she an amateur detective? Yes, she is. Does she share all of her information with the police chief? Does she actively hide evidence or mess up crime scenes? No she does not. She's smart, she solves crimes, and she does so without being an bumbling idiot. 

Even better, she's competent at any number of things (though she has her failings) and her blacksmithing, which sometimes takes a back seat, is out in full force during this book. There is a reality competition being filmed at Ragnar's estate and Meg is there as a general dogsbody. She has been asked to be in the show but prefers not to. However, when someone attacks her friend and mentor Faulk, Meg reluctantly joins so that he won't lose the investment money he and his husband put into the filming the show which was thought up by another one of Faulk's students. 

I got ARCs of both the ebook and audiobook. The ebook was not as good though I had some personal stuff going on which made it harder to concentrate. The audiobook, and Bernadette Dunn, were amazing as always. 

Meg Langslow #34

Four stars

This book comes out October 10, 2023

Follows Birder, She Write

Followed by Between a Flock and a Hard Place

ARC kindly provided by MacMillan and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews

You can try to read this book without having read the books before it but it will be much more helpful (and enjoyable) if you have read the other books first. There are a lot of people and a lot of species that are easier to follow if you know some of them already. I had a hard time following when I read this book as a serial on teh authors' webpage. It was easier to read it all at once and an amazing story as an audiobook. The narrator was perfect for this book. 

Sean and Dina just cannot get down time. The stories of Sean's prowess have spread throughout the werewolf community and now many of his kind are showing up to try and win his favor. One of them drops the news that Wilmos, an old werewolf, has disappeared. They are able to find out where he is but they are unable to get there without help. Which means that they will need to do a favor in return.

And what a favor. The only beings with a portal near Wilmos are the Dominion and what they require in return is a safe place to complete the selection for a mate for their king. Yes, this is a galactic Bachelor, a contest that touches everyone at the Gertrude Hunt, including Caldenia.

Four stars

This book came out December 13, 2022

Audiobook comes out January 13, 2023

Follows Sweep of the Blade

Boss Witch by Ann Aguirre

Clem knows there's a witch hunter in town. He's not exactly subtle about it. She wants to protect her friends and family because, if caught, the hunter will take away not only her magic, but her memories.

Gavin Rhys doesn't exactly enjoy being a witch hunter but he wants to make his father proud. He's okay with letting go of some of his responsibilities to spend more time with the gorgeous woman he's met at the bar. He is still looking for the witches in town but maybe he has something better to focus on. 

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the last because the two are inherently lying to each other the whole time they are in a relationship. I did like how Aguirre sort of dealt with that at the end though. 

Three stars

This book comes out April 5, 2022

Follows Witch Please

ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Letter to Three Witches by Elizabeth Bass

I do love reading a book about a close-knit family and Gwen Engle and her two cousins, Trudy and Milo, would certainly qualify. Their family is well-known in the witching community because of a great-great-grandfather who created a magical catastrophe that affected most of the United States. Because of his work, the whole family is forbidden from practicing magic for 150 years. Gwen's parents have always warned her and her cousin Tannith about the Watchers who might be keeping an eye on their family. Tannith was a distant cousin who was housed with Gwen's family since they were both young but she was never actually adopted. And my least favorite part of this book is the way that Gwen feels about Tannith, seemingly rejecting her for no reason. And that feeling was never really resolved for me. Other than that, I really enjoyed seeing Gwen and her family trying to NOT do magic but it keeps slipping out anyway. I have a feeling that, given another book in the series, the world-building will even out a bit as some things felt left undone but those were fairly minor but having some of the chapters being from the point of view of Tannith's familiar was really fun.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out January 25th, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

His for the Holidays by Samantha Chase

When you are in your mid-to-late-twenties in a romance novel, you are likely either going to be already successful or just about to get that Big Promotion. Hannah Christy is in the latter group. She is an interior designer who spent most of Thanksgiving and the last month getting ready for a big presentation that is going to guarantee her a new position according to her boss. The last thing she needs is to be trapped in an elevator. In her comfy traveling clothes. And especially with her Very Attractive neighbor. But she gets to know him, finds out he has an overly interfering family, and suggests he needs a fake relationship. Oh, not her! she is much too busy. Then she finds out that one of her scheming coworkers has secured the contract that she was supposed to get and her promotion is now off the table. Instead, she has a few weeks of paid (forced) vacation. She still isn't going to help but then she meets his mother and sister and impulsively steps in. 

Gage Lawson is immediately attracted to Hannah and he hopes for a longer relationship but he will take what he can get, especially if that means that Hannah will come with him to his family Christmas which they are having a few days before the calendar date. 

As the two are spending time together, getting to know each other, Gage falls more and more in love and Hannah becomes more despairing because she is guaranteed a move (either staying with her current company and taking a job in another state or finding another job completely which means she'll have to leave because there are no jobs in Raleigh). 

I didn't love that Hannah kept throwing up roadblocks. It seemed artificial in a woman who was otherwise shown as being mostly together. She has a Big Realization about herself at the end but... it's not something we've either seen or heard about anywhere else in the story. Gage was a nice guy with enough flaws that save him from being too perfect. A fast, fun, and fluffy book for the holiday season but not a lot of depth and from introduction to proposal is about two months.  Cottle, the narrator, really elevated the story and made it a fun listen.

Three and a half stars

This audiobook comes out January 11, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Nobody Does it Better by Samantha Chase narrated by Carly Robins

Oh man. I generally enjoy Chase but this book was basically a "no" for me though other regular readers may not mind it as much.  Carly Robins is a fantastic narrator though and I enjoyed her interpretation of the story. I will be looking for more books that she is involved in. 

There was so much about this book that was cringe-y. Yes, there is an age gap between Parker and Ryder. How do we know? It's brought up. A lot. And Ryder sure does treat Parker like she is a little girl even though she is in her mid-twenties and is running a successful business. the two have seen each other at her family's events but they haven't interacted until he buys a business that she's been saving up for for years. And then she throws a fit. Which, okay. That makes sense. You're going in to cross the line of a goal you've had for years and someone has swooped in and taken it. So she runs and yells and then somehow falls in love after a near-death experience which culminates in a night with one bed. And, boom, relationship. One where every single male in her family seems to feel like they need to issue a warning and Ryder feels like he needs to rebuff (Patriachal Ew) instead of... maybe all of these males trusting Parker to know her own mind and stand up for what she wants. 

Then Ryder reverted to treating her like a child which is very much at odds with how he is treating her otherwise. And Parker is acting more like a New Adult character than one in a Chase romance. 

Two stars

This audiobook comes out November 11, 2021

Followed by Since You've Been Gone

ARC kindly provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in the Magic Storm by Dana Simpson and Narrated by Thessaly Lerner, Cortney Wright, Maxwell Glick

This 45 minute story was a quick listen and an interesting new way to consume a Phoebe and Her Unicorn series book. I had read the graphic novel so I'm not sure whether this would have been more confusing if you didn't have that background. I am very sure that you will have want to read at least one of the comic collections so you can keep a hold on some of the names. The narrators were adorable and I really loved the interpretations of each of the characters. Especially the narration of the goblins. It was really fun to see how many different ways "blart!" could be interpreted. 
Phoebe and her unicorn are back (in what I believe is their first audio outing) and the story is as fun as the graphic novel. This time Phoebe and Marigold not only have to deal with Dakota and her goblins but with a serious cold spell and a sudden lack of magic. Marigold and the goblins are able to figure out most of the story but they still have work to do to clear everything up. Through their explorations, they manage to charm the reader as well as help facilitate another human/magical creature pairing. 

Four stars

The audio comes out June 15th, 2021

Borrowed as audiobook from NetGalley

Opinions are my own