A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper

Jessamine "Jess" Bricker specializes in personalized proposals. When the book opens, she's orchestrating one involving a shark whale and scuba diving. While that's happening, she gets several phone calls. It seems a girl (now woman) she went to school with was just proposed to. According to Diana, the effort was underwhelming. Now her maybe-to-be fiance is putting out a lot of money to pay for Jess to help with a new proposal. He's also paying for a wedding planner, Aubrey. Right now, the ladies, along with Diana's cousin Kiki are at a week-long resort retreat to start planning for the wdding. But it's not running smoothly. Diana is entitled, Aubrey seems to hate Jess for no reason and Kiki... well, actually Kiki seems like a delight. Plus, there's this man on property that Jess immediately feels drawn towards. But she's not really at that stage in her life. 

That's all bad enough but one of the other resort members dies and Jess stumbles over the body. There are some unexpected visitors but then, there's another body. (Jess stumbles over that one too.)

I really liked the character development in this one A couple of the characters were a little shallow but we mainly follow Jess around and she's got a little bit of depth to her which sometimes surprise some of the other characters. I really didn't like the ending for a couple of spoiler-y reasons but the rest was a good Harper novel and I generally enjoyed the book.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 8, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann and translated by Amy Bojang

Bernadette has won a trip. The rest of the house decide they're tired of the cold and the damp and they're going with her. All of them. Agnes isn't sure about it but she decides to go along. 

They end up at a remote health resort. It's... fine. But there are some odd things going on. And not just in Edwina's imagination. There's the young man that stows away in Edwina's clsoet and the boa constrictor that shows up (in Cornwall?). There's also a murder. And the hotel is cut off from civilization. So it's up to Agnes and the crew to figure out what's going on. As long as they're not chose as the most likely suspects first.

Four stars

Miss Sharp Investigates #2

Follows The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

The book came out September 3, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle

stars

This book comes out April 8, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

When the Crow's Away by Auralee Wallace

I've been enjoying the fact that this series isn't trying to match up the protagonist. She's still mourning the death of her husband and dealing with the fact that her powers have only recently returned. Brynn, the youngest in a family of witches, speaks to the dead. She's moved back to the family B&B and is currently enjoying the signs of spring. Although, she thinks her aunts may be enjoying it a bit too much as it is usually a time for love and Brynn just isn't ready.

So it's with mixed emotions that she notices a ghost. It's Mortimer Sweete, the co-owner of a local candy store. He's convinced that he's been murdered and he wants Brynn's help.

There's quite a bit going on in this story and the solution is fairly convoluted. The ending sets Brynn up with not only a new mentee but with a possible antagonist.

Three stars

Evenfall Witches B&B #2

This book came out April 5, 2022

Follows In the Company of Witches

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Author's Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

There has been a murder at the castle.

Three American authors, supposedly "best friends" (it's said A LOT) are visiting for a writing retreat. They have sold the idea of the three of them working on one book. Emma, Cassie, and Kat met at a conference and became friends. But don't seem to know each other very well. It's just too bad that there's been a murder in the castle. 

The chapters go back and forth between police interviews and third person omniscient as they rotate through the characters. There is also a lot of time jumping. It took me a LONG while to get into the book, but then I started enjoying it. However, the ending jumped the shark a little too much for me. 

Three stars

This book came out November 5, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

A

After solving her first murder, Vera Wong is riding high. She has her found family and her son is dating a detective. Vera's even calling the detective her daughter-in-law (but she doesn't need to know that.) However, she really could use some more excitement in her life. Falling for a scammer isn't exactly what she had in mind. 

stars

This book came out April 1, 2024

Vera Wong #2

Follows Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Gift of Gold by Jayne Ann Krentz

Jonas Quarrel doesn't expect to find the true love of his life in a slightly scary cantina in Mexico but sometimes life is funny. He ends up finding her and becoming the dishwasher at her upscale vegetarian restaurant. He knows they're fated to be and he's going to push and push until he gets his way.

He's also got a talent for touching an object, ones used for violence, and reliving the moment that the item was used.

This book is incredibly a sign of the time in which it was written. It did not age really well. I remember enjoying the book but winced through most of it in re-reads. 

Two and a half stars

This book came out in 1988

Gift #1

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are  my own

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh

Thrillers aren't my favorite but the blurb for this book intrigued me. I didn't realize it was part of a series which may have given me more pause. It was an okay book and people who read the genre more often may enjoy it more. There was a little too much going on in this story for me to fully enjoy it and my suspension of disbelief was burdened because of that.

Ruby used to be one of the wealthy elite but now is a nanny and maid for the same. One night, she witnesses a murder. Will this help catapult her back into the level she wants to be or will it lead to more death? 

Three stars

This book came out March 25, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose

One day, Pomona Afton is the toast of the town. Her wealthy family gives her entree into any number of soirees and parties and ensure that she never has to work. And hers is as disfunctional as any number of books have described wealthy families. Though they don't interact often, Pomona's grandmother rules the roost. Even so, Pomona does ignore her when she starts texting and leaving messages. She assumes she'll have time to find out what her grandmother wants. Too bad her grandmother is savagely murdered. Even worse, her grandmother recently updated her will so that, if she did die, all of the family assets were to be closed up immediately meaning Pomona has no home and no money with only 30 minutes to get out. 

For awhile, she's able to live with her brother and his girlfriend but soon realizes that is too small of an apartment. She decides to take her old nanny up on her offer to live with the woman's son. His apartment is even worse but at least she has the opportunity to work in the coffe shop he manages. And it's at his place that she decides she's going to solve her grandmother's murder.

Large parts of this story are improbable and some aren't even the zany stretches I so often enjoy but there is some real growth in Pomona's character (it seemed awfully fast though there were some hints she was ready to change before her life was turned upside down which helped.) It's fluff that wasn't fairly clued but provided me with some entertainment. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 18, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Library Game by Gigi Pandian

 stars

This book comes out March 18, 2025

Secret Staircase Mystery #4

Follows A Midnight Puzzle

ARC provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot

I love this book. A lot. It is a great thing to pick up and read when I need to go to sleep 'cause I know it so well that it doesn't make me want to stay awake but enough to hold my interest if I can't go to sleep.

By the same author as the "Princess Diaries," this book is about a screenwriter whose boyfriend left her right after she created a vehicle that shot him to instant stardom. The movie was the "Hindenberg," an obvious reference to Titanic that is pretty hilarious.
Well, the author, Lou, is doubly screwed because the actor on her latest show is Jack Townsend, the man who sets her teeth on edge and is the ex-boyfriend of the woman with whom her ex eloped. So she's having a bad day. One that only gets worse when the pilot of the plane that Jack and Lou are on points a gun at Jack's head and announces that he's going to die. Even though they overpower the pilot, it's too late and the plane is crashing. So now, Lou is in the frozen woods of Alaska with people trying to kill the man she's with and a major snowstorm coming in.
It seems like this would be a strange time for romance, but it works.

Five stars
This book came out December 3, 2002

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

In an unusual twist, Finlay and Vero are not the ones dealing with dead bodies. Well, not dead bodies they've created (as it were.) Instead, it's nosy neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty who is taken away in cuffs,  a body having been discovered in her backyard. Mrs. Haggerty is quickly released but her house is still a crime scene. So what does she do? She has her nephew bring her to Finlay's where she strongarms her way into Finlay's bedroom.

That's bad enough, but after Mrs. Haggerty is cleared, the police start looking at Steven, Finlay's ex. Now, the man may be an cheater but he is NOT a murderer. Evidence is mounting that he had an affair with the man's wife but Finlay isn't so sure. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 4, 2025

Follows Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo

The book starts with the furthering of the familiy trying to get in good with Damian's family. Yor knew the mother but Anya is really working on the son. It's not going well. Yuri visits and is still creepily obsessed with his sister.

Most of the book is based around a school trip that has gone terribly wrong when two of the buses are waylaid by dissidents. Anya and Damian are able to work together to get everyone home safely. 

Four stars

This book came out April 4, 2022

Follows Vol. 10

Followed by Vol. 12

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Sure 'Locked by Erik Henry Vick

Someone is dead from the bite of a Barghest. The rwo-headed demon dog rarely kills, usually being a potent of death rather than death itself. In Richard Brook's case, it becomes the murder weapon. 

A lot of forward movement in ancillary stories, especially Lerry's daughter who is wanting to become a vampire. He introduces her to Dru's father, one of the biggest baddies of the vampire community. Leery and Dru also solve a murder.

Three stars

This book came out October 2, 2020

Claw & Warder #7

Follows A Tail of Two Cities

Followed by 'Slay Fell Things

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon

I saw this book on NPR's list of Books We Love for 2024 and thought it looked good. I didn't realize exactly how much the main character relied on Sex and the City as a reference for how to live in New York. 

The book opens with Sylvia walking in on her husband of several decades having sex with a woman in their retirement community. It's a woman she doesn't particularly like which just makes it worse. Sylvia retreats to New York and her daughter. When her daughter scoffs at the idea that Sylvia will get a job, she calls her best friend and decides to prove her wrong. 
Sylvia and Evie soon figure out that they might have been a bit naive about how easy it would be to find housing and work. And they're going to learn some more life lessons but they'll come out alright in the end. 

Three stars

This book came out March 12, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, Ho-Ling Wong (Translator)

Flipping back and forth between a year ago and the present, the book also switches from a third person (selectively omniscient) to first person. The first and third chapters are mirrors of a particular day in both 1985 and 1986. The imagery drew me into the story and set the tone for the story going forward.

There is some casual misogyny around Fujinuma's young wife (who was previously his ward) and the bookshelf is otherwise mired in the mores of 1988 Japan but it is an interesting story. And I felt it was clued fairly.

As a native English speaker, it was sometimes difficult to keep the names straight but the overall story of a man who was horribly burned in a car accident and now lives behind a mask was enjoyable thoug a bit confusing. 

Three stars

This book came out in 1988

House Murders #2

Follows The Decagon House

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 10 by Tatsuya Endo

Oof. We get the story of Loid's early childhood  and it is bleak. We see the start of a war between East and West and how it decimates and grinds people down.

We also see the story of an opera singer whose trip to the West might begin to thaw tensions... as long as the bad press about him doesn't get out.
We also get the story of Yor rescuing the former first lady, Desmond's mother. She joins her for a rousing game of volleyball and then some tea. Meeting Melinda gives Yor a friend and some chance at normalcy.

Four stars

This book came out April 4, 2022

Follows Vol. 9

Followed by Vol. 11

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea by C.L. Miller

Carole and Freya had been invited to join a cruise as antiques experts. But the invitation was rescinded. Oh well. When asked to come to a local maritime museum where a picture donated by Freya's old mentor, Arthur, had been stolen, they are looking up information and discover that the cruise is, indeed, still on. And they'll be able to join. 

Once they get there, they recognize some old friends, some of whom are not using the names they had the last time Carole and Freya saw them. Also on the cruise? Supposedly a big bad who is getting ready to turn over his name and his business of obtaining certain objects and then selling them off to the highest bidder. And a number of his usual bidders are on the ship as well, all of them wanting to keep their secrets.

This book took me awhile to get into it and I didn't remember all of the side characters from the previous book but there were a number of hints as to why they were important so I think new people would be fine as well. I think the transitions from third person narrator to another narrator to first person kept me from really ever immersing myself in the book but it was a good read. 

Four stars

This book came out February 18, 2024

Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder #2

Follows Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Until It Was Love by Pippa Grant

Fletcher Huxley was unceremoniously released from his English rugby sportsball contract. The man who let him go was a mentor to him and he is still licking his wounds. Just because he's in his mid-thirties, doesn't mean that he's out of the game. Rugby is his life. 

Jessica "Goldie" Collins is a trust fund baby but she works as a life coach and influencer. She knows about having a sports career end suddenly. She doesn't like Fletcher very much, especially since he has an obnoxious mustache (that plays just a little too much of a role in this book). But he is great for driving her brother absolutely crazy. Fletch is Silas's teammate and we know how (most) romance-novel-brothers feel about teammates dating their sisters.

This is a good Grant book. Fast, fun, and fluffy. 

Four stars

This book came out April 11, 2024

Followed by The Roommate Mistake

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Snowed in with Mr. Heartbreaker by Pippa Grant

I'm not much for age gap nor for novellas but this one was fine. Fine-ish. I finished it. 

We've got a friend of a heroine from a previous books and the next-to-last member of Bro Code. 

Aspen and Cash were texting each other before she started living in the smaller house behind his house. Then they met in person and were instantly attracted but each have their own reasons for not wanting to make a move on the other. 

Now, it's Christmas and they're at a Christmas party. They are caught under the mistletoe but Aspen runs. Cash follows her to a small cabin but they are in the mountains, there's a storm, and a bear, and a tree. They have to spend some time alone but near enough to each other to share heat. 

There was the whole storyline of Aspen not liking Christmas but then it was resolved "off screen" and that annoyed me.

Two and a half stars

Copper Valley Bro Code #5

This book came out January 7th, 2021

Follows The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own