In Case You Didn't Know by Samantha Chase

Mason Bishop's mother has been more than a little overbearing in the first two books of this series. In this book, he's finally making his bid for freedom by moving out. What he doesn't expect to find is a woman who fascinates him.
Scarlett Jones knows all about Mason. He's the golden boy, the only son of the reigning family of Magnolia Sound. He was also her lab partner in middle school but their lives diverged quickly. She was the only daughter of a father who didn't know how to deal with her (which we are told A LOT in this fairly short story). Now she... I'm not actually sure. I think her main job is as a social media manager for several places in town but we mostly hear that she helps out at her father's garage and build houses for dogs that need to be adopted. Even though she's resentful of Mason's seemingly perfect life, she is attracted to him.
I wish there had been more about how the two start to build a relationship but there was a lot built into the story.

Three stars
Follows A Girl Like You
Followed by And Then One Day
This book came out June 23rd, 2019
Borrowed as ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

The Missing Diamond Murder by Diane Janes

I didn't read the first two books in the series but I really didn't feel like I had missed much. We know that there is a hit of romance between the main protagonist, Frances "Fran" Black" and Tom Dod but we don't see much of him or of the two interacting. A lot of that is because Fran is trying to get divorced from her husband and, because of a quirk in English law at the time, only one person in the divorce proceedings can have another love; there must be one sinner and one who is sinned against. An interesting plot point. Someone has sent the court an anonymous letter saying that Fran and Tom are involved so they need to stay apart. Besides, Tom is also married.
Tom has heard about a family mystery in Devon. He can't go himself so Fran goes instead. She meets the Edgerton family and learns about their grandfather's accidental (?) death and the disappearance o the family diamond some months before. Even though a lot of time has passed, the Edgertons are interested in finding the diamond. And, if it turns out that their grandfather's death wasn't so accidental, his murderer. I also like the slow burn of Black and Dod. I regret letting the book lapse when NetGalley gave me an ARC but look forward to the next book in the series.
I really liked Fran as a character. She is human, not a perfect woman or detective. We get to see some of her deductions.

Four stars
This book came out November 5th, 2019
ARC kindly provided by Severn House and NetGalley/eBook borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

A Girl Like You by Samantha Chase

If you grow up in a small town, there are pluses and minuses. One of the minuses can be the long collective history when your childhood, and even recent adulthood are sprinkled with stories that don't put you in the best light. And Sam Westbrook really doesn't want to be in Magnolia Sound to begin with but his great-grandfather's legacy of a landscaping business comes with the condition that Sam stay for a year or Mason, Sam's cousin, gets the business.

Shelby Abbott is the only child of the local pastor. In books, being a PK (pastor's kid) means that you either run completely wild or live blamelessly. Shelby is the latter. In fact, she won't even tell her parents that she got Lasik because they have told her that eye surgery is linked to pride. She only lives a little wildly one night when she goes to a club out of town and literally runs into Sam... who doesn't recognize her. They do eventually figure out the case of mistaken identity and begin a relationship. But then one of them decides to make decisions for both of them and, sigh, that's one of my least favorite plot devices. Luckily it is short.

I wish we had seen more with Shelby's parents as well. They loomed large in a lot of the story and then we never saw how the issue with them was solved, we were just told it was.

Three stars
Follows Remind Me
Followed by In Case You Didn't Know
This book came out June 11th, 2019
Borrowed as ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

Mercy is worried about her mate bond. Her husband Adam has been distant and she's not sure why. But that comes in second when Underhill, the magical land of the fae who can take a human form, comes to visit. And with that visit, a dangerous fae escapes. One who can assume the form of any one or anything. It has already killed some of Mercy's friends and now it is coming for her. Because it can't control Mercy and it wants to know why.
I'm not sure I connected with the monster story in this one but I'm sort of okay with that because of the way we got to see Adam and Mercy's relationship build on itself as well as getting better glimpses into some of the characters that have been firmly B or C level before. I'm really excited to see where Briggs takes Wulfe (I think we got some glimpses in this book) and also hope that we will see some friendships building between Mercy, Aurielle and Honey.

Three stars
This book came out March 17th, 2020
Follows Storm Cursed

Followed by Soul Taken
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

Sloan Monroe was introduced in "The Friend Zone." She was the best friend of the heroine and was engaged to be married. But at the end of the last book, her fiance was killed. Now, it is two years later and Sloan is still grieving the life, and the promise of a new life, that has been lost to her. She's on her way to the cemetery one day when a dog runs in front of her and then leaps into her car. The dog has a tag with a name and number. For two weeks, Sloan tries to get a hold of Tucker's owner but then decides to keep him.
Jason thought that the woman he was sort of seeing would take care of his dog. Mostly because she said she would. Instead, she took off for New York. Now Sloan has his dog. She isn't swayed that he is out of the country and won't tell him her address but she does reply back to his flirty texts.  And their conversations go back and forth with their alternating viewpoints on how the relationship is going.
Like The Friend Zone, this book starts off incredibly strong. Good relationship development is one of my catnips. Unfortunately, the slow build at the beginning of the book starts speeding up as we get to the back half. It's like going down a hill as they start moving faster and faster so, while we get to see some of the bumps in the relationship road, we miss more of the reasons that these two might make it to an HEA.

Three stars
Follows The Friend Zone
This book came out April 14th, 2020
Borrowed this as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Remind Me by Samantha Chase

Mallory Westbrook had a hot and heavy affair with her great-grandfather's next-door neighbor, Jake Summerford. But it ended and then she overheard and misunderstood a conversation Jake and her great-grandfather were having about her.
Years later, she is back in town after a hurricane destroyed her great-grandfather's house as well as for his funeral. Jake now owns the house next door and he wants to help Mallory get through her grief. As well as maybe convince her to stay.
This was an okay book but a lot happened in a short time because it is a shorter story. I was alternately irritated with Mallory and wondering why we didn't get to know more of her. I'm still looking forward to the next book in the series because light and fluffy is just what I need right now.

Three stars
Followed by A Girl Like You
This book came out March 12th, 2019
Borrowed as ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Kristin Petersen has just gotten some devastating news. But she's trying to keep it quiet so that she can continue to plan her best friend's wedding. Of course, driving her friend's fiance's brand new truck and then spilling coffee during a minor fender bender (maybe slightly before...) doesn't help the day. And the guy who bumps her ending up being the best man? That's just crap icing on the crap cake.
But as she gets to know Josh Copeland, she starts to fall a little bit more and more in love. Too bad she isn't really the perfect woman for her perfect man. And then a major emergency puts all wedding plans on hold.
The characters were well drawn and I generally liked the story except that it's one of those stories that could be easily solved by one conversation. And the ending just felt... wrong. Things like that can happen in real life but it didn't feel organic to the way the rest of this story was written.

Three stars
Followed by The Happy Ever After Playlist
This book came out June 11th, 2019
Borrowed this as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

The book starts off with a goblin hunt and leads into complete zombie fest. Mercy originally set out with Ben and Mary Jo (the latter of whom she is still trying to figure out; she saved the woman's life but she still hates Mercy) but ends up needing the help of powerful witch Elizaveta. But, for some reason, no one at her house is answering the phone. It seems that a witch consortium is building power and if Elizaveta's family isn't with them, they are against them. And Mercy's pack? They're automatically against them. And the cute little zombie goats that begin the story have nothing on the creatures that these witches will unleash in the search for power.
This story definitely move forward the stories of a lot of the main characters as a couple of the B characters in this series. A nice addition to the series that is making look forward to the next.

Four stars
This book came out May 7th, 2019
Follows Silence Fallen
Followed by Smoke Bitten
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

I wouldn't have read this book except that several blogs and podcasts kept singing this book's praises. And rightly so, the writing is beautiful and the story unique. I did not especially love the ending but am not sure how it could have been better except that a couple more chapters would have served. I was surprised that a book that seems like it could be complicated (and it is -- Oona of the head is a different age than Oona of the body) and still hold my attention right now.

Four stars
This book  came out February 25th, 2020
Borrowed this as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret

Lord Asher Holt lives under the shadow of his father, a man who patently has a gambling addiction so deep he's put not only himself into debt but is trading on Asher's name as well (is that even a thing? I decided to go with it.) If he can put together a thousand pounds, he can join his friends on a hunt for hidden treasure. But seeing his father one night and then being captured by two debutantes delays his plans. It's the third debutante, Winnifred Humphries, who really captures his interest. Partly because she is an heiress but it's mostly her attractive form. So when she barrels into his carriage the day she's supposed to be getting married, he starts by wanting to get some money but it turns into something more.
Lorret is a wonderful writer and I overall enjoyed the book but there were just SO MANY misunderstandings. About 3/4 of the way in it just got tedious.

Three stars
This book came out March 31st, 2020
Borrowed this as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

It's a night of pirates and gaming when Mercy discovers she needs more ingredients to bake cookies. She goes out but then wakes up battered and bruised in a cube with two vampires, her pack and mate bonds seemingly severed. She is on her own. Luckily, Mercy is underestimated once again and she manages to escape (because the pack was practicing their Jackie Chan moves, she knows how to run up the corner of a wall.) But now she's in Europe. Alone. With no known allies (and a lot of enemies), Mercy needs help more than ever but her pack doesn't know where she is.

This book is nice because Briggs introduces a third person omniscient that follows both Mercy and Adam at different points and that was really fun, to get more of a look at his side of the story.

Three stars
This book came out March 7th, 2017
Follows Fire Touched
Followed by Storm Cursed
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

The werewolves are out. Humans now know that they exist. They also know about the fae. And the humans are frightened. So when there is a troll on a bridge, the werewolves are on the list to help take care of it. And while dealing it, some old friends show up to help and they bring a small boy. Mercy  agrees to take care of the boy for 24 hours and accidentally declares that her wolf pack is in charge of the tri-cities (which is more than three, really.) But the small boy turns out to be both a blessing and a curse - he has spent a long time in Underhill and has been changed in ways that make the fae jealous. Mercy will have to protect him from the Grey Lords themselves.
A good story but I'm not sure about Aiden and what that will mean for Mercy in future books.

Three stars
This book came out March 8th, 2016
Follows Night Broken
Followed by Silence Fallen
Ebook from Library
Opinions are my own

A Death in Chelsea by Lynn Brittney

It's the first World War and most of the young men are off to war. That means that women are stepping into the roles traditionally held by men, even police work. There is a small group that has been authorized to work for the police. Their cases are assigned to them but so far, there's only been one and at least one person in the group is getting restless. Then, the daughter of a duchess is found dead, apparently suicide by hanging but her mother is convinced that that can't be the case. Indeed, though the woman was hated by many (she was a gossip columnist who reported on the upper classes and also stooped to blackmail), she was too self-involved to want to die.
As the group digs into the mystery, there are a lot of moving parts and they will need to pull in some outside help in order to figure out why this young woman died.
I would definitely begin this series with the first book. There is a large cast of characters in this book -- both the investigating group and the people who could have been the killers. The mystery was really involved with a lot of layers. If you are a person who likes guess the murderer, this book is not going to be the read for you; some of the clues are there but, in addition to the red herrings, some information is withheld until the end of the story.  Despite the confusing number of people and the occasional clunky sentence, this was a really fun read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Three stars
Follows Murder in Belgravia (which I haven't read)
Followed by ????
This book came out March 14th, 2019
Borrowed as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Would you want your husband's ex-wife living with you? A wife who is known for manipulating the people around her? I sure wouldn't. But Mercy Thompson is a kind person who wants to help everyone, especially her stepdaughter's mother. Even if that means that she's made to feel uncomfortable in her own house as the ex hides from a recent bad breakup. Like, he killed her last boyfriend bad breakup.  And... it might be that he's a slightly crazy fire-godlike-creature. Oops.
It will take the might of the full wolf-pack as well as Mercy's vampire friend Stefan to make sure that everyone makes it out alive.
This was a nice, fast read and a good addition to the series. I didn't love seeing Christy getting to walk all over Mercy but at least we're finally starting to see the pack rally behind her.

Three stars
This book came out March 5th, 2013
Follows Frost Burned
Followed by Fire Touched
Borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

Murder by Milkshake by Eve Lazarus

This book caught my interest when Book Riot talked about the method of killing - arsenic delivered by milkshake. And Lazarus does a deep dive into the story but it's very interesting that, as a biographer, she inserts her own opinions into the story. It is most obvious at the end but it is sort of a thread throughout the book.
I was also slow to wade through the vast amount of information at the beginning and the end. I get that Lazarus did a lot of research (and probably needed to pad the book length) but it was not really interesting to read nor did I really feel like it added anything to the overall story. And there may not have been the research material to learn more about Rene but I wish we had heard more about him in particular.

Three stars
Borrowed this book from the library
This book came out October 1st, 2018
Opinions are my own

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

The book opens on Black Friday with Jesse having talked Mercy into braving the midnight shopping options. While heading to the mall, she experiences a panic attack and plows into the car in front of her. And she has good reason to panic; the pack has been taken. The entire pack. Supposedly, the people that took them worked for the government but she has good reason to believe that is not the truth.
Her mate bond with Adam is tested and she learns more about who her allies are and what they can do. And it seems that there may be a Big Bad who is using the government for their own purposes.
And that link didn't quite make sense to me. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audiobook but I didn't quite get the link. Lots of action in this book, not as much character development.

Three stars
This book came out March 11th, 2014
Follows River Marked
Followed by Night Broken
Borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

Just like Family by Christophe Cazenove, William Maury

Wendy and Maureen are sisters so involved in their own world that we rarely even see their parents. They sometimes love each other, and sometimes they just don't agree. Wendy likes to read Maureen's diary, copy everything she does, and steal her clothes. Maureen likes to ditch Wendy when she can.

Three stars
This book came out June 14th, 2016
Borrowed as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Mercy has been dragging her feet on her marriage plans to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. Not because she doesn't want to marry him, but because the arrangements are getting so insanely out of hand. When her own hand is forced, it's not such a bad thing. At least she and Adam are getting to go on their honeymoon. Except that, even there, it seems that fate seems to intervene, making sure that their time together isn't going to go exactly as planned.
A nice addition to the series. More background on Mercy and her parentage is added which is nice but there is a lot of lore that can make it hard to follow.

Three stars
This book came out March 1st, 2011
Follows Silver Borne
Followed by Frost Burned
Borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Big Nate: Blow the Roof Off! by Lincoln Peirce

Big Nate has a girlfriend! And she's a seventh grader! I wish there had been a little more repercussions for Nate being a little gross about Trudy- or at least some more realization on Nate's part that she might not want to be talked about like she was around just for Nate's pleasure but there is little that pierces Nate's shield of obliviousness.
Overall a fun book.

Four stars
This book came out March 3
ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Also downloaded from library
Opinions are my own

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Anne Latham is still getting used to being a werewolf. Never mind throwing into the mix the fact that she's an Omega (outside the normal pack structure with powers of her own). And she just was mated to Charles Cornick who is the son of the most powerful werewolf in the Americas. And Charles, his father's enforcer, is no slouch. That's the reason why Charles, instead of his father, is the one to attend a meeting of Alphas from around the globe to discuss whether or not werewolves should make themselves known to the human population.
Also attending is a man known as "The Butcher," a long-loved werewolf from France who loves to kill. Innocents are his favorites and he may have set his eyes on Anne. Someone certainly has since she's set upon by six vampires while shopping. It all gets hairier when the wife of a werewolf who believes he's King Arthur reincarnated is attacked. Through in a fae who used to be Charles' lover and it all gets very, very complicated.

A fine story that does a lot to advance what's going on in the larger Mercy Thompson universe.

Three stars

Follows Cry Wolf

Followed by Fair Game
This book came out August 25th, 2009
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own