'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick

There's a preface that states that this book is a little outside the normal Amanda Quick world. I didn't think it was that far (except that it's not Arcane) but that wasn't a disappointment. In fact, I quite enjoyed the book.
Calista Langley is being stalked. Little memento moris are being left in her house, on her bed. She's starting to get really frightened. And annoyed. Which is why she can't deal with her ex's ish when he shows up, begging her to take him back. And why would she? As soon as he (Nestor's the name by the way, obviously a tool (sorry if there are still any Nestors in the world)) found out that she hadn't inherited her money, she was earning it (gasp! the stain of trade!), he skedaddled right into the arms of another woman. One he's been married to for awhile now. What could make the encounter even worse? Her newest client, famous mystery author Trent Hastings, overhearing it? Yep. That would do it. Oh, and the fact that he's only checking her out because he thinks she's a con artist trying to steal his sister's money? Just icing on the cake.
But there is something more there. Something that brings Trent back right after Calista gets a message explicitly threatening her life. And, being a man not unlike his hero, he steps in to help. Actually, not in an entirely pushy way.
A story that regular Quick readers will adore and a nice glimpse into the Quick world for new readers. I wish there had been more relationship development but there was a nice look at both the characters and I generally liked both Trent and Calista, as well as their siblings.

Four stars

This book comes out April 19, 2016

Reread as ebook from Libby July 2024

The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

A really well-written book with a history of pizza that felt like it was explanatory and shallow (rather than a super-deep dive into the topic), but still gave a lot of information. Would have liked some more depth on some of the topics and it was a book only about pizza but an okay read.
Unfortunately, the ARC I got from NetGalley actually looked like a galley (had both pages of a book layout on one screen) which made it really hard to read because I had to keep switching pages and text. I didn't count it against my rating but if I had bought this book or gotten it from the library, it probably would have been a DNF because it was so difficult to read. It may be fine on a larger iPad but horrendous on my small Nook and impossible on my phone.

This book come out April 19
Three and a half stars

Built to Last by Aurora Rey

I've been trying to expand my reading habits so I requested this book from NetGalley. It was my first F/F book and I, for the most part, enjoyed it. Of course, there was a Big Misunderstanding at the end that threw everything off but generally I enjoyed Ms. Rey's writing. The situation with Gerard... didn't seem like it got resolved. And while I generally liked Joss, Olivia was okay but a bit self-involved and it didn't seem like she changed all that much.
Olivia Bennett has just bought a fixer-upper. But she's a professor at Cornell, not a carpenter. So she hires Joss Bauer to help with updates. But sparks start to fly and soon the two are living together.
I did like that Joss and Olivia's relationship problems were all because of relationship-type-things, not people having issues with their relationship. It was interesting watching them work through their issues.
Three stars
This book comes out April 12

Cooking Up Trouble by Judi Lynn

I honestly can’t remember why I asked for this book from NetGalley, I think I've been trying to branch out and try new authors. If I hadn’t wanted this review to be honest about the whole book, this would have been a DNF for me. The heroine is a definite Mary Sue. In fact, the whole book is. Tessa is supposed to be this sweet heroine who has locked her emotions away after her fiancé cheated on her. Even he can’t be a totally bad guy, stopping around to tell Tessa that she still deserves love. I think it’s supposed to be kind or something but comes off as smug and patronizing. And speaking of smug and patronizing, Tessa’s a romance writer. But she doesn’t write books with sex in them. She writes sweet romances and is aghast at the suggestion. (There is a sex scene in this book though).
Ian is from the “Big City” but has bought the land next to Tessa’s in order to start a vacation lodge. He fits the city slicker stereotype to a T, not being able to change a tire, buying the wrong kind of car, etc.
Everything is wrapped up so quickly and neatly, it’s eerie. Problem-solved, problem-solved. It’s like stack ‘em up and knock up down one at a time. And, good lord, we know Indiana is in the Midwest and that the people in this book have "Midwestern values," but repeating it 8 times in the first 80 pages is a bit overkill.
This book really reminded me of reading Trixie Belden. It was sort of blandly good. I know there are readers out there for whom this kind of romance is a nice read, but definitely not to my tastes.

Two Stars
This book comes out April 12

Murder on the Hour by Elizabeth J. Duncan

I hadn't read the other books in this series but I only felt a little lost. People were introduced smoothly without too much fanfare. The mystery was interesting and there were some parts of the story that I suspect regular series readers will enjoy.
Penny Brannigan is helping the Welsh version of Antiques Roadshow visit her small village. I have actually had the chance to go to bring some items to the American version when they were in my area and the description is very similar. Unfortunately, something happens during the show and a woman whose life was just starting to open up gets murdered.
A cute little story that was a fast read. There were some B plots that seemed superfluous to this particular book. Not having read the series, they may actually be an overarching story but having read only this book, I wasn't sure why they were there.

This book comes out April 12, 2016.
Three and a half stars

Obsession by Nora Roberts

Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. This. Is. An AWESOME book. I had a couple of issues (no use of condoms, and other spoiler-ish reasons) but this really is a four-and-a-half-star book for me. Even two days later.
When she was twelve, Naomi Bowers followed her father out to the woods and discovered a horrible secret. Setting the girl free led to her father's imprisonment and her own notoriety, something that affects her again and again in the story. (I also wish we had seen more of Ashley but that may have over-bloated the book).
She ends up becoming a photographer and traveling around the world but, for reasons she doesn't entirely understand, she's just bought a house. A huge house. A huge dilapidated house. A house that needs a lot of work. And it's a place for her to start putting down roots. Even meeting a great guy.
Xander Keaton (Buffy fans, unite!) owns a garage in Sunrise Cove. He's not school-educated but he loves books. And it's through his love that we get passages dedicated to the love of reading. Happy sigh. Oh. And he's in a band. A smokin' hot band.
The problem being that, of course, Naomi tends to wall off her own heart because of her past and Xander can't help chipping away at it. Also, there's a serial murderer who has started killing in their town. Small detail.
I just re-read Blue Smoke and can see a LOT Of parallels with this story, but I liked this one so much more. There is less time in the past and more on the present. I also liked Xander so much better.
Roberts fans will be in love. People new to Roberts will love this book as well.

The Debutante Is Mine by Vivienne Lorret

It's been awhile since I read a story with a dastardly cousin. And while Lilah's cousin mainly wanders into the periphery of this story, he's still there, all greasy and evil.

Yeah, so Ms. Lorret does a good job of explaining why Lilah has to be dictated by her father's will. Even though this is a trope we've seen often, there's at least some better explanation in this book other than just "Yep. This is the way it is." In order to fulfill her father's wishes, she has to marry a nobleman within three years or be forced to marry her cousin. The issue? This is her third season and  as a certified wallflower who most men don't remember, it's looking like marrying her cousin is a foregone conclusion. Then her eyes meet those of a dashing man on a large horse.
Jack Marlowe is the bastard (but acknowledged!) son of an earl who has had to fight for his opportunities in life, up to and including building his own massive personal fortune. At the end of the last book, his friend asked him to send flowers to Lilah in the hopes that it will help make her more popular and thus help her find a husband. Once Jack meets her though, he suspects that the duke, especially with his last warning away from Lilah, was really pushing them together. Especially since the duke is said to have developed a theorem to help people find their one true love.
There were some themes that I thought were underdeveloped in this book, like why Lilah felt so attached to the tenants on her family's land and what even happened to them. Also, what might keep Lilah and Jack together in the end. And the last Jack "twist" felt a little unnecessary. However, overall, the book built nicely on the first in the series and I'm looking forward to seeing what the backstory is for their friends' feud and how it's going to be resolved.