Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson

Goldie Vance is a teenager working in the hotel that her father manages. Right now she's a valet but has aspirations to be a detective. To that end, she helps the hotel's detective (whether he wants it or not) solve various cases like a disappearing necklace. But then the man who lost the necklace also disappears and the mysteries just build from there. What is the mysterious symbol on the necklace? Who is the woman romancing the hotel detective? Will Goldie and her father really be kicked out of the hotel because of her dubious methods of solving cases?
I didn't love everything about this story but it's some great world building, wonderful illustrations, and a main character who is a couple of steps left of norm.

Four stars
This book came out October 11, 2016

Death & the Gravedigger's Angel by Loretta Ross

Wren and Death are back, this time with Death's brother being included in the fun. The book opens with a dead, drunk man wearing an authentic Confederate coat. It seems that he stole a horse and died when his head hit a branch. Oh, and the coat has chemicals on it that make it obvious that it was recently buried on someone else. 
Death is asked to look into the murder of a bible-thumper's son. It seems that the man's church picketed a Muslim woman's death and now the son has turned up in the backseat of her husband. The supposed-murderer's friend asks Death to prove that the man committed the murder under the strain of PTSD.
Meanwhile, Wren is helping to clean out a house for auction and is running into some mysterious happenings there. And it's her handwriting that is found on a note in the drunk dead man's pocket.
I always feel like I'm missing something in these books. I have read both of the other books in this 
series and, while it seems like the information is all there... I just don't know if it's that the characters aren't quite fully developed or whether the story isn't quite finished, I don't know. I am frustrated that I can't put my finger on what it is that makes me feel like I'm only reading 90% of the story. I definitely know that I didn't feel like the stories in this book were tied together well. I'm also frustrated that we didn't get to see a lot of Wren in this story and we didn't get to know more about Randy.

Three stars
This book comes out February 8

Snowed In with Murder by Auralee Wallace

Erica Bloom is back. Back at Otter Lake and trying to get back with her ex. But her plans for a romantic weekend at what is supposed to be her mother's deserted cabin. Unfortunately, she walks into what is supposed to be the next big reality show being filmed. There's a trophy wife, her hunter daughter, a wealthy man who claims that he is the victim of attempted murder, and his grandson. Also there, is his illegitimate child, a fourteen-year-old who no one seems to like. Also on the way? The storm of the century. And during a power outage, the family patriarch is murdered with his own cyanide. And then, madness ensues.
I read the first book but skipped the second. I'll probably give the fourth a try but really hope that Erica is a little more competent, less madcap, and gets the love triangle figured out. The mystery itself was fine but Erica was just a wee bit too inept for the story to be really enjoyable.

Three stars
This book comes out February 7

One More Kiss by Samantha Chase

Two years ago Vivienne Forrester went to visit Matt Reed at the height of his fame and the height of his drinking. At first, he didn't even recognize the gorgeous woman standing in the door as his friend's sister all grown up but then he (having just been chugging from a Jack Daniels' bottle) immediately starts kissing her but it is broken up by the band's manager who thinks that Vivienne is just another groupie.
Time has since passed and Matt's vanity project, a Broadway play fronted by himself, failed miserably in three days and now public opinion is very, very against him. So he goes to hide in his best friend's brand new house. And who's living in the little garden house behind? Vivienne! And Aaron (the friend/brother) is about to head out of town so Vivienne and Matt are forced in to close proximity.
I didn't love this book because there was quite a bit of wallowing. Oh, I don't begrudge Matt's feelings toward his father, it's the more recent stuff. And I didn't really feel the two of them clicking in a forever-after sort of way. I think most regular Chase readers won't be disappointed in this story though.

Three stars
This book comes out February 7
Followed by One More Promise

Harley Quinn's Gang of Harleys by Jimmy Palmiotti; Frank Tieri

I'm assuming that the reissue of this book in ebook form is based on the popularity of Margot Robbie in the recent Suicide Squad movie. And this was an interesting book. A bit short on the story since there had to be some world and character  building and, well, it's a comic so generally rather short.
We meet Harley's new gang (almost all have some variation of her own name, picked by a round of tryouts) and find out that they will do good deeds... well, if they're paid enough. The problem is that it appears that Harley had been kidnapped. And, at first, it seems to be a set up by Harley herself to see if her gang can handle it. But then, she actually does get kidnapped and it's up the the Harleys and their friends to get her back.
Fast read and generally fun but will probably be better when it's part of the collected series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 7

The Art of Vinyasa by Richard Freeman; Mary Taylor

I would definitely skip over the "teaching" sections of this book and go straight to the "practice" sections. Because, whoa, I'm not sure who this book is aimed at but I definitely wouldn't steer newbies this way. Within the first 40 pages, there were what seemed like a dozen deep thoughts that were skimmed over. This is definitely for a more intermediate yoga practitioner.
I always feel bad for leaving a low rating on a book, especially when you can tell that an author has tried really hard to get everything just right.And that's the problem with what I'm calling the "teaching" sections, where Mr. Freeman is giving details on history or expounding on ideas, he is trying to get everything so perfect that you don't get a sense of his own voice. The yoga books that I resonate most deeply with are the ones where the teacher's own sense of style comes through and you can get a sense of their personality. Most of this book, especially in the beginning, were just myriad facts thrown at you in rapid succession. There is not a real sense of flow and there is a striving for perfection that makes me think of the yoga classes that make you tense up and send your thoughts into monkey-mode trying to get every molecule into perfect alignment rather than the classes that just let you relax into the moment and enjoy your practice.
And this was part of the big bummer for me because I actually really enjoyed the more practice-based sections of this book when we got to experience some of Mr. Freeman's teachings. 

Two and a half stars
This book came out December 27

The Wolves Return by Celia Godkin

A nice book about the return of the wolves and the ensuing trophic cascades. A little bit romantacizes it an definitely anthropomorphizes some of the animals. But the pictures are beautiful (almost pointillism) and look fairly accurate for body type/structures of the animals.

This book came out January 18
Three and a half stars