Some Like it Hot by Susan Andersen

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Four-fifths of this book was pretty good. The end... was a little muddled. But let's start at the beginning.
Harper Summerville is a wanderer. Has been her whole life. And she's ended up in Razor Bay working at Jenny Salazar's hotel as the activities coordinator. She's also volunteering at Cedar Village, a home for at-risk boys.
Max Bradshaw has a special connection with Cedar Village. It helped him out when he was a young, rebellious teen and now the deputy sheriff wants to give back. And now getting to see Harper every day is a real plus. Ever since he saw her, there's been an electric connection between them and it's becoming more than just physical.
It was a a good story and kept me involved. Until the end. Large portions of it just felt dated, like it was written in the nineties. And

WTF was the deal with Harper thinking that if she stopped wandering, she would die? That part just came out of left field and didn't really factor into the overall story. And then the back and forth with where they'd live... eh. The two things together really felt like Andersen needed to stretch out the book another twenty pages to meet a quota.

Two of a Kind by Susan Mallery

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Felicia Swift is an uber-genius whose super-smarts have always made her something of a freak. She's never had a real relationship with a man and the first man she was ever... with... got roughed up by two of her best friends the night after they were... together.
That man, Gidieon Boylan, is also in Fool's Gold. He knew that he had demons

which were not really dealt with

and he wanted to just live his quiet life with his radio station and little human contact.
It was a fun story about two people finding each other. If you've been following and enjoying this series, you'll enjoy this book as well.

So, why no five miler? Yeah... Felicia didn't really appear to be that much of a freak. We didn't really see her super-smarts a ton except that she seemed to relate to people

especially Gideon's grieving, unexpected son. And WTF was up with that anyway? Why throw a random kid in the mix?

. And, like all of the FG books, Mallery tries desperately to keep us updated with all of the previous eleven books. It's nice, in a way, but after so many books and so much time, it takes me out of the book every time she mentions a character and I have to stop and think about whether I can remember who he/she is, who they're married to, and what their story was. Add in all of the characters with upcoming books and Felicia/Gideon's story ends up almost being a novella.

It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis

Jill Shalvis is a must-read author for me. I LOVE her books. The humor, the writing, it all works for me. Usually.

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Luke Hanover is a cop who needs to get away for awhile. His renters have moved out so he's in Lucky Harbor to get away from the press of a case-gonewrong in San Francisco.
Ali Winters is not having a good week. Her boyfriend broke up with her in a text and canceled their rental agreement the same day. And now, there's a stranger in the kitchen and she's wearing nothing but her undies.
What's going to keep these two together? How about $50,000 missing from the ex's office? And Ali was the last one known to be in the office. Luke decides to stick around and help out.
Somehow, the story just didn't work for me as well as her other stories in this series. Honestly, it was her writing that even bumped it up to three stars. I was so disappointed by the "I-don't-have-a-condom-it's-okay-I'm-on-the-pill" conversation. He's flattered that she "trusts him" which I guess is maybe an acknowledgement of being clean but it's not a real conversation.

Hotshot by Julie Garwood

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When he was fourteen, Finn McBain was a troublemaker. At least until the day he looked next door and saw six-year-old Peyton Lockhart falling into her parents pool. It was a during a party an no one else noticed. Finn saved her life and she's remembered him ever since. Through his high school years while he was winning three Olympic gold medals and all through his training days at the FBI. On the other hand, Peyton has finished school. And discovered that she didn't want to do anything with her Journalism major or English Lit minor; instsead, she wanted to cook. Much to the dismay of her mother (who is amazingly like Mrs. Bennet, just thinking that her daughters have to be married.) When she gets accepted to a prestigious cooking program and then gets a job for a magazine right after, the world is a bright place. Unfortunately, her boss is a lech and, because his wife is the owner's daughter, the heir-apparent to taking over the magazine. He ends up scaring her right out of town. Before she leaves though, Peyton gets the evidence to take him down and he's not happy. He sends one of his thugs after her and Finn notices the damage to he vehicle. When he first sees Peyton at his brother's wedding, Finn only notices that she's a beautiful woman. Peyton captures his lust immediately and his concern rather belatedly. But he is somewhat reassured that she'll be safe because her Uncle Len has given her and her two sisters the chance to own his seaside resort if they can turn it around in the next year. I love Garwood's writing. Since I started reading romances nearly two decades ago, I've read every one of her books. So why did this book not get a five? And why did I almost give it a three? Twice. Not once, but twice, a character had the "it's okay not to use condoms, I'm on birth control pills" conversation. While I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for a number of things in Romancelandia, teaching that STDs aren't a concern isn't one of them. Also, the thing that annoys me about Garwood is that her heroines are so... dang... young. I think Peyton is being set up to be this strong woman who takes her destiny in her own hands but I'm not really getting that vibe. It's more like, she does one strong thing and then lets Finn and everyone else take over. And, for god's sake

she's a virgin? Really? Who still has a hymen in this day and age? And her magical virgin hoo-ha makes Finn, an inveterate bachelor, fall headfirst into love? Seriously reconsidering my three-and-a-half star rating...

Perfect Fling by Carly Phillips

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I've been curious about Erin Marsden since we read about her in earlier Serendipity novels. She's the good girl, the lawyer who never stepped out of line. Until the night she had a one-night-stand with Cole Sanders, the mysterious man who is rumored to be all manner of things from a drug dealer to a mob hitman, none of them wholesome. And then she comes up pregnant. Am I pissed about this trope? Normally I might be but Phillips takes a tack I haven't read before (I'm sure it's been done, it's just new to me) and has the birth control fail. Because it's not 100% effective. Subtle PSA Ms. Phillips. I liked it.
And Cole finds out about the baby when Erin is shot. I love that he doens't question whether the child is his. He's in it 100% as soon as he hear's the word "pregnant."
Cole's father was (and is) emotionally abusive and he's not sure he knows how to be a good father, but he knows he doesn't want to do to his kid what his father did to him. It's pulling him apart because he wants to be the perfect man for Cara but he knows deep down that it just isn't in him.
While this wasn't my favorite Carly Phillips, it was still enjoyable. I can't wait for the next one.

Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak

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Oh Brenda Novak, you just keep ripping out my heart with these fantastic characters with major, major flaws and just making me fall in love with them.
We know Noah Rackham from earlier Whiskey Creek novels. He's a handsome biker (mountain, not motor) whose best friend, Baxter, is completely in love with. Unforunately for Baxter (who, dear God in heaven, please let us read his story soon, he needs a good man), Noah is straight, a huge player in fact,... and about to meet his own match.
The story opens when he hears a voice coming from the same mine where his fraternal twin died in high school. It's Adelaide Davies who has been beaten, threatened, and tossed down a mine (I accidentally typed "well" twice. Which would have been a great story, but not this one). From the blurb on the back, you can probably figure out the secret that Addy is keeping but it might be considered a spoiler by some, so I'll hide it.

In high school, Addy was raped by five boys on the baseball team, including Noah's brother who died when Addy finally was able to fight back. Now she's involved with his brother? Whose parents don't want to believe anything bad about their beloved, long-dead son? Um, issues!

Suffice it to say, it's a secret that is long reaching and big enough to divide the town.
She didn't want to come back to this place, the place where her life changed overnight, but her grandmother is sick and Addy needs to be with her, even if it means stirring up sleeping dogs. But not if it means coming into contact with Noah, the boy who she obsessed over for years. But she can't seem to stay away...
Good condom use in this story. Love Novak for that and deserves a bump up to four-and-a-half stars.

A Little Night Mischief by Emily Greenwood

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When I saw the preview for this book on NetGalley, I thought, "This looks cute." When I got the approval to read, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great first book by a new author. There are definite fits and starts that are part of any first books but a solid start to a series I will continue to read.
Random thought: total props to creating what is a new (at least to me) description for boobs on page 361, "her delirium-inducing bosom." What a great use of a hyphen!
Felicity Wilcox is upset (to say the least) when her uncle loses her family home in a card game. She meets the new owner when he almost runs her down. He doesn't and light flirtation ensues.
James Collington doesn't realize that the girl he assumed  was a governess is actually part of the family he is kicking out. Actually, he doesn't even know he's displacing them as her uncle lied through his teeth saying no one lived there.
What's a girl to do? Pretend to be a ghost? Okay then.
There were other misunderstandings, maybe few too many, but the conclusion was satisfying. Three and a half stars.