The Mesmerist by Ronald L. Smith

Jessamine Grace and her mother make their living as mediums. They have a slick trade but it's all a ruse. Jessamine is tiring of bilking people out of their money and is more and more scared about how much time her mother is spending at the bottom of an absinthe bottle.
One day, the trick goes wrong. The slate that is supposed to have a message to their client from "his daughter" instead contains a mysterious message that makes Jessamine's mother pack her up and move them both to London. There, Jessamine discovers that the man they go to meet is half-fairy and that he fought with her parents against the evil Mephisto and that she, Jessamine, has the power to speak to the dead. Her mother leaves her with Balthazar to be trained into the new League of Ravens, the protectors of England. So it's up to Jess, Emily, and Gabe to stand for the country. Why children? They apparently have more power and it lessens in adulthood so they have to be the ones to fight. Jess is only just settling in to London when she gets some horrible news... something that makes her determined to fight what is to come.
An interesting story, definitely some interesting political commentary in the current climate. A nice start (with a few starts and stops) to some world building on what could end up being a fun series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 7

Passion Favors the Bold by Theresa Romain

We met Georgette and Lord Hugo in the last book of this duo. She is the sister of Benedict Frost and has been living with her aunt and working in what used to be her parents' bookshop. At twenty-one, her aunt will no longer be obligated to keep Georgette around so she decides to take matters into her own hands and find the brother who has only recently returned to England after being in the Navy.
Though she is dressed as a boy, she is handily recognized by her brother's friend, the third son of a Duke, Hugo Starling. From there, she convinces him to try and search for the lost gold coins. Hugo is reluctant but ends up giving in when it seems like that will be the only way to get his hospital up and running. Through a series of events, they end up posing as a married couple in order to follow a Bow Street Runner who they believe to also be on the trail of the thieves. This includes pretending to be the niece and nephew of a Northumberland land owner, Sir Frederic Chapple.
A sweet story though there are parts that stretched even my willingness to suspend disbelief. Nothing earth-shaking but I think regular Theresa Romain readers will be happy with the story.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 28
Follows Fortune Favors the Wicked

The Nature Fix by Florence Williams

Why are so many people becoming near sighted? Why are depression levels up? How can we solve a myriad of problems including ways to become more creative? According to Florence Williams, we need to get out into nature. She travels all over the world looking at various studies, all of which seem to point at being in nature as being a vital part of a healthy life.
She starts with her own experience (which most readers will dismiss as being WAY too small a sample size) but uses that as a jumping off place to move to Japan where people are encouraged to take forest baths (shinrin). She looks at how nature is being used in South Korea and the national parks of the United States. She looks at the importance of silence, more specifically the silence of nature that is actually filled with sound. Then there are the many studies that have shown that recuperating patients heal faster and better when they have a room with a view. Williams looks at what other things are improved when people can look out at nature.
The subject is compelling and the writing is easy to follow. Williams includes large-ranging studies as well as her own personal experiences.

Four stars
This book comes out February 7

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