An Earl by Any Other Name by Lauren Smith

I was excited to read a new-to-me author. And the blurb sounded pretty good. Leopold Graham, Lord Hampton, is saddled with a debt-ridden estate on the death of his father. The rather scandalous death of his father. He needs to marry well in order to save the family coffers. He has a woman in mind but his mother and Ivy Leighton think that she is the better choice. Of course, she's brash and loud, not what Leopold wants. Or so he thinks.
This could have been a nice book if it were only longer. At under 100 pages, we don't really get to know that much about Leopold or Ivy. I wish we had gotten to see more of Leopold's journey from rake to stolid family man. Or learned more about why Ivy was still so obsessed with Leopold years after they were children.

Two and a half stars.
This book comes out August 1

Gone Gull by Donna Andrews

The book opens with Meg Langslow helping her grandmother Cordelia run Cordelia's artist retreat. There have been several incidents of misbehavior as well as some out right sabotage. Both Meg and her grandmother suspect the work of another artist cooperative, one that is not as well run (because Meg's family does everything flawlessly).
However, when the mischief escalates to murder, Meg is not amused. Then a second body turns up.
Regular Andrews readers will probably be delighted. I was little bummed that we didn't get a little more character development but there isn't usually a ton in these books.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 1, 2017

Meg Langslow #21
Follows Die Like an Eagle
Followed by How the Finch Stole Christmas

Reread as audiobok from Hoopla August 2023, audiobook from Audible November 2024

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards

There's unfortunately not a lot to say about this book. Martin Edwards has put together several good anthologies of classic mysteries based on various themes: crimes on the continent, locked room mysteries, winter crimes. Here, he writes short descriptions of the 100 books that have helped to frame mysteries as we know them today. These are not the 100 best books by anyone's standards but it is a nice mix of names that I knew and names that were new to me.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 1

Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules for Spying by Amanda Hosch

Mabel Opal Pear is not your ordinary almost-11-year-old. For one thing, her parents are spies. For another, she's a spy-in-training. She knows immediately that something is wrong when her parents disappear and her Aunt Stella, Uncle Frank, and Cousin Victoria show up. Victoria is mean, Frank is clueless and Stella is something else. Normally Aunt Gertie takes care of Mabel but she's in jail. So it's up to Mabel to not only run the family spoon museum but also figure out the mystery.
I couldn't quite get into Mabel's world. I'm not sure where the connection was missing. It seemed like a serviceable story with some interesting world-building but... not for me.

Three stars
This book comes out August 1

My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Beauty and the Beast by Jerry Mahoney

I wasn't sure what this book would be and I think that helped me enjoy it a little bit more. It appears to be at least the second book in a series since our main characters, Maddie and Holden, get sucked into a fairy tale and quickly take it in stride.
Of course, the main lesson that Maddie learns is that beauty is on the inside and I'm not sure what the irrepressible Holden learns but I enjoyed that there was a twist on the Beauty and the Beast trope with Maddie hopping into Beauty but Holden becoming a whole new side character. One who doesn't speak French. In France.
A fun book and I look forward to reading another in the series.

This book comes out August 1
Four stars

All or Nothing at All by Jennifer Probst

When she was younger, Sydney Green loved Tristan Pierce fiercely. She didn't have a lot of love in her life and she was able to find a little with Tristan until he unceremoniously dumped her. Now they've been working together at the Pierce Brothers Construction. And he's the only one standing between her and what she wants, a giant promotion. Well, she's damn good at her job so he doesn't stand in her way for long. It seems like a lot of their old hurts are being mended. Tristan is even taking some interest in Sydney's daughter, something he didn't seem to be able to do for a long time. Now there's just one more secret left to be told...
I didn't love how they resolved this secret. It was a bit... contrived. This was not my favorite Probst series though this actually was the best book in the bunch.

Three books
This book  comes out July 25

Marry Me at Willoughby Close by Kate Hewitt

This book is a very sweet romance. A very sweet romance. With a heroine that is sweet. And a heroine whose hard outer shell hides his sweetness. It was... a lot of sweet.
Alice James has just aged out of the foster care system. She has nowhere to go. Until she's hired to be the companion for a dying woman, Lady Dorothy Stokely. Too bad her nephew isn't as charmed by Alice.
I didn't feel like I needed to have read another book in this series. There weren't giant swathes that I felt like I was missing. This book was just a little too ... sweet. There wasn't a lot of depth to either the story or any of the characters. I have a feeling this will be a book that will appear to readers who like stories with young heroines and treacly romance.

Three stars
This book came out July 18