The Fourth Ruby by James R. Hannibal

Since their last adventure a year ago, Jack and Gwen haven't been speaking too much. Jack has been working with another (more advanced) Quartermaster while also keeping another secret... he might be losing his power. It's no wonder Gwen hasn't been talking to him lately.
The book opens with Jack being in the middle of the Hunt (an annual game) and betraying the fact that he can spark. Keeping that secret causes him to get kicked out of the Hunt. Life doesn't get any better after he gets set up for the theft of the Royal Crown jewels. And just like that, Jack, Gwen and even his sister Sophie are off on a trip that will take them to exotic locales.
This book started off both slow and confusing. If you haven't read the first book, I would definitely suggest starting there. It did get better though and I am looking forward to the third book in the series.

Three stars
This book comes out October 1
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Thread the Halls by Lea Wait

The Mainely Needlepoint group is ready to celebrate Christmas but an unexpected guest shows up and brings even more people with her. Patrick's mother, the famous film star Skye, is going to spend Christmas in Maine. It seems that the actors on her latest film aren't getting along and there is some hope that a group vacation will do them some good. Too bad one of the actors gets killed the night they arrive. Especially disappointing after all of the hard work Angie and her friends put in trying to make the house festive.
I haven't read the other books in the series but felt fine jumping in at number 6. I liked the character development and most of the story but the end of the book was just... disappointing. The entire wrap up took something like, 10 pages? An okay dip into this series but one I won't continue.

Two an a half stars
This book comes out October 31
This book was provided as an ARC by NetGalley

Auction Action by Andrew Grey

For a 35 page novella, this was a surprisingly good story. It's two men who meet at an auction. One man wins a painting that the other wants. Then they meet again at a gay bar and enter into a... relationship? Maybe? It's an incredibly short story and I don't go for erotica but for the length, etc. ... not a bad way to spend 15 minutes.

Three and a half stars
This novella comes out November 2
Kindly provided as an ARC from NetGalley

MAD Librarian by Michael Guillebeau

In a tragic mirror of real life Serenity Hammer is a librarian who has to fight for every penny to keep her library open. But the Powers That Be won't oil just any squeaky wheel, just the ones that oil them back. So Serenity decides that she's going to take matters into her own hands, whether it's legal or not.
As a former librarian, this book really hit home. The story is a good one. The execution... (sigh). The writing is rather stilted; it makes the reading less than smooth. Characters are just a little too broad and stereotypical. This was obviously a labor of love and I like that some proceeds from the sale go to a library but I probably wouldn't generally recommend this book.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out December 1
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

Lord Alaric, third son of a duke, is known more popularly in England as Lord Wilde. His travel books have made him famous but the play written about him has made him notorious. When he returns home, he is stalked by women everywhere. He is set up as a teen heartthrob. Well, and older women as well. But he is not impressed. These women know a facsimile of him, not the man who misses his oldest brother, the man who might just be ready to come home.
Willa Ffynche is not one of the screaming hordes. She is more impressed by dead explorers than by one man who is more than likely exaggerating most of what he's written. Too bad the man is just as handsome as the rumors say. She'll have to get over her own fear of being in the spot light to grab the man she loves.
I didn't love the fact that the ending went on. And on. And on. There were THREE epilogues. Well, two were supposedly more chapters but... it just kept going.
I did love the world building. Alaric has many, many siblings. His oldest brother, now the heir to the dukedom, fell in love with a woman at first sight. He dressed in the high fashion of the day in order to impress her. But she still ran away. I'm assuming we'll get to read North and Diana's story at some point.
Also sequel-bait? Both Willa and Alaric's best friends. Lavinia and Parth can't stop fighting which, in Romancelandia means that they are perfect for each other.

Three stars

This book comes out October 31, 2017

The Wildes of Lindow Castle #1

Follows My Last Duchess

Followed by Too Wilde to Wed

Reread as copy I own May 2024

Totally His by Erin NIcholas

Sophie Birch grew up with a father who was a con man (what is the deal with romance heroine's named Sophie always having con men fathers?). Obviously, this has made her fairly wary of relationships in her adult life, even with her roommates (the heroines of the first two books in this series). Except... it's different with Angela. Sophie sees her as a sort of surrogate mother. And that's the reason she tries to run back into her burning theater; to save the only copy of Angela's play. Too bad some dude keeps trying to rescue her.
Finn Kelly is trying to keep a crazy lady from running into a building but can still take the time to appreciate how hot she looks in the lingerie she's wearing. He can tell she's not the sort of woman who's going to fit into his life but he is drawn to her anyway. Even after meeting her father (this cop can tell when he's being played), he wants to know more and more about her.
This was a typical Nicholas book that I think regular readers will enjoy. I got SO annoyed with both Sophie and Finn though. Finn seemed to have a hero complex that was unwarranted and Sophie was so wishy-washy.

Three stars
This book comes out October 31
Kindly provided as an ARC by NetGalley

Right Where We Belong by Brenda Novak

Savanna Gray didn't know her husband was a serial rapist. But once the town found out, she became a pariah. So she packed up her two kids and took them to the house she had inherited from her parents. She's never been there, it's barely livable, but she's going to go anyway. Thank goodness the guy next door is willing to help her out.
Gavin Turner just wants to work on his music and live his life. He'd rather his ex-girlfriend were a little farther away but she seems happy in her new relationship. The new neighbor is hot so he doesn't mind helping her out.
The two almost immediately start hooking up which then leads into True Love and Happily Ever After.
Novak does a great job of portraying people in hard circumstances. Savanna isn't the only one with emotional scars. I got a good idea of why she and Gavin got together but couldn't really see them working out longer than that. I didn't see the ties. And I really disliked the "crazy ex-girlfriend" storyline.

Three stars
This book comes out October 31