Wired by Julie Garwood

Allison Trent is a college student. No, she's a computer hacker. No, she works for the FBI. No, she's a model. Oh wait? She's all of these things? And also, she's under fire from an aunt and uncle who want her to make money to keep her cousin out of jail? Oh, but there's also an FBI agent who's angry at her. Well, someone's trying to kill her but it could be anyone really. Good thing Liam Scott is there to keep her out of danger. Or put her in danger. Or... something?
There was a lot going on in this story. Which is not unusual for a Julie Garwood book. And the heroine is young. Really young. Not unusual for a Julie Garwood book. And she's TSTL. Like, really. She's this hotshot computer hacker but can't figure out how to block her aunt and uncle on the phone? Again, not unusual for a Garwood. But sad that this book seems like such a cookie cutter version of every book in the Buchanan-Renard series.
I have a lot of fond reminiscences of Garwood but I feel like her more recent books are intermittently rewarding. Allison drove me nuts, I never felt like we knew that much about Liam, and there was so much going on in this book it was hard to keep up and it felt like nothing was really wrapped up satisfactorily. I don't think I can ever really quit reading Garwood because when she's good she's very, VERY good but this is NOT one of those times. The only reason this didn't get one star is because I save those for DNFs and I waded my way through this whole damn book.

Two stars
This book comes out July 4, 2017

Follows Grace Under Fire

The Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh

The beginning of this book started off so well. A feisty heroine set in amongst the dons of Prince's College, Cambridge -- catnip. And a good portion of the book is highly enjoyable. Ms. Austen-Leigh describes her characters and the setting very well. But then she introduces more characters. A lot of characters. And Prudence Pinsent turns out to be not as feisty as introduced (part of the times, I guess). The mystery was not at all fairly clued so if that is part of what you like in a mystery, this will not be the book for you. It was generally an okay book but not as good as the usual ones reproduced by the British Crime Classics.

Three stars
This book comes out July 4

Dog Night at the Story Zoo by Dan Bar-el

Argh. I feel so bad because somebody spent a lot of time on this book and I just didn't enjoy it. I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to be geared toward. It had fun pictures and a cute premise (animals coming out for open mike night) but the stories seemed like they were more geared toward adults. It was an interesting dichotomy what one that made the stories work a little less.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out

Scandalous Ever After by Theresa Romain

I really liked the first book in this series and was looking forward the second. In this book, Kate Whelan is visiting her father, hoping to borrow money to shore up the estate her late husband decimated with his gambling. While there, she sees that Evan Rhys is doing a lecture and decides to go  and see her husband's best friend. The three of them used to be great friends, but then came the steeplechase when her husband died and she hasn't seen Evan since.
Evan didn't feel like he could stay when he felt such guilt over the accident that took his best friend. But now that it's years later? He's ready to go after woman he's always loved. Of course it's never just that simple. Problems from both the past and the present rear up to make the course of Twu Lurv not so smooth.
And, while this was a nice story, there were a LOT of rocks on the path to HEA. Some of those rocks? Kate and Evan themselves. There's a lot of angst in this book. Will regular Romaine readers still enjoy it? Probably. But not as much as the first book.

Three stars
This comes out July 1

Down Home Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Both Alison and Cain are familiar to regular Copper Ridge readers but I don't think you'd need to have read the whole series to dive into this book.
Alison was introduced as having been helped out of an abusive relationship by some of our previous H/H in the series. In subsequent books, we learned about her opening a bakery and reaching out to help other women in similar circumstances. This time, she's helping out the daughter of one of the Donnelly brothers. Violet's mother left her and Cain without a word and Cain then moved his daughter from Texas to Oregon. She's been sullen and withdrawn (few teenagers aren't) but Cain is only just starting to realize how much she's acting out.
Even though Cain and Alison agreed to have a no-strings affair, Violet and their own emotions are getting in the way. Can they
I didn't love the ending and there were some other plot points that bothered me but I really appreciated the adult conversations (the main characters talked to each other? No way!)

Four stars
This book comes out June 27
Follows Slow Burn Cowboy

Yellowstone Country by David Skernick

A book full of beautiful pictures from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. The term "Yellowstone Country" is a bit of a stretch since many of the pictures come from way, way outside the Greater Yellowstone Area (yes, this is a defined area). I would suggest getting this book in print as it did not seem as impressive on an e-reader.

Three stars
This book comes out June 28

If the Haunting Fits, Wear It by Rose Pressey

Cookie Chanel is on the road helping a client, Danielle, dress for the Kentucky Derby. While attending one of the parties, she discovers the dead body of Danielle's jockey, Ramon. Of course, his ghost starts following her around. He joins regular ghost Charlotte and another woman who had joined earlier in the book, Maureen.
Cookie decides to stick around to see if she can help solve Ramon's murder. While there, both of her beaus (Love-triangle alert! Seriously?) follow her and try to help out. Not helping out? Heather, the woman who owns the B&B where Cookie is staying. Also not helping, the fact that Ramon doesn't seem to have been a nice guy. It makes it hard to find out who murdered you when there are a number of people lining up for the chance.
In comparison it to other books in the series, this book was just not as good. The love triangle with Cookie took up a lot of space (and didn't really add to the mystery), Maureen took up a lot of space (and definitely didn't add to the mystery), and there just wasn't enough room to develop the main mystery.
And don't even get me started on that horrible ending. I hope it gets changed before publication.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out June 27
Followed by A Passion for Haunted Fashion