The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Alexa Monroe found love in Guillory's "The Wedding Date." In "The Wedding Party", she has asked her two best friends to stand up with her. The biggest problem for her friends,  and Theo? They don't really like each other. They started off on a bad foot at their first meeting years ago when Theo talked only about himself except to denigrate Maddie's job. Years later, they still aren't fond of each other... even the night that they have sex. Ten months later, it happens again. Realizing that they are probably going to end up in bed over and over again (despite not particularly liking each other), they decide to be Enemies With Benefits. And NOT to tell Alexa who is sure to go overboard about them being in a... well, they're sure not in a relationship.
Except, that life has ways of throwing people together in ways that could make them see each other in a different light. Maybe even love.
This was definitely a slow start kind of book. And there are some very odd time jumps that took me out of the romance a bit. But it ended strong and I enjoyed it a lot.

Four stars
This book came out July 16th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly

In the first book of the series, Kate Hamilton returned to Asheboro, Maryland at her friend's request. Asheboro is a dying town and Kate's friend thought she might be able to help. She got a boost when she and a visiting historian found letters from Clara Barton.
Now, she's trying to convince the town to go along with her plan to set it up similar to Williamsburg but more early 1900s. That's when the town was built and a lot of the stores on Main Street still have their fixtures underneath all of the updates.
Along with that, she and the history professor are working with an archivist to move all of the papers from the local manor into the town's library. The library that has been closed since the librarian was found to have been... well, not keeping it up correctly in the last book. A young man interrupts her work one day looking for his relatives. The next morning, he's discovered dead after having broken into the library. Suddenly, Kate is in the middle of another mystery.
Unfortunately, the mystery is a little thin. There is more about the set up for the town and papers than anything else which is good because that's more interesting than the killing. We don't get to know the victim at all, the reason for the killing isn't shown until the last quarter of the book, and the killer are barely involved in the story.

Three stars
This book came out July 9th
Follows Murder at the Mansion

Followed by The Secret Staircase 
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Rainbow Brite by Jeremy Whitley, Brittney Williams

Rainbow Brite was a major favorite of mine while growing up and I'm delighted that there's a new artist bringing her to life. The story is basically how a girl named Wisp becomes Rainbow Brite. Well, probably. We get to see Wisp and her friend, Willow, LARPing as a wizard and a warrior. That evening, Wisp sees some mysterious creature standing next to her mother's car which used to be blue. And that is her introduction to the minions of the Shadow King who is trying to suck all of the color out of his world, and now has moved on to Wisp's.
It may turn out that Wisp is Rainbow Brite, she has been able to use the scepter, but they haven't yet found the rainbow belt.
A nice story, the characters have shifted from my childhood memories but overall enjoyable reading.

Four stars
This book  came out July 2nd
ARC kindly provided by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Nina Hill likes herself just fine, thank you. She tracks her days down to the minute, including her time to do "Nothing" (aka reading time.) Her work at the bookstore and her trivia team satisfy her need to see people and she is pretty happy being the only child of a globe-trotting photographer mother.
But her life is about to change with the news that her father is dead. The father she never knew. The father who signed release paperwork releasing all claim to Nina even before she was born. Suddenly, her stress levels are skyrocketing- she has a sprawling family, a potential love interest from a rival trivia team, and her beloved bookstore is in danger of being closed forever.
The book started off a bit too twee but moved past it quickly. The ending also was sort of out of step with the middle which was frankly the best part of the book. I would recommend this book to readers who like characters breaking out of their shells and get to have a small dose of romance.

Three stars
This book comes out July 9th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Major trigger warnings for both spousal and child abuse.
Like many of Roberts' non-series contemporaries, this one opens slowly and then quickly ramps as Emily Bigelow admires her home and thinks about what a great life she has. We quickly learn that this is HER version of great. For her kids, not so much.
In the first seven chapters, we get great character sketches of each of the four people in her family as well as some of the people who will be players in the later story.
Chapter 8 opens with Darby McCray deciding to move to Lakeside after her mother's death. She is ready to start her landscaping business in a new place and this one fits her specifications. This coincides with Zane Walker's (the Bigelows' son) return. He's now a lawyer, apparently a good one since he buys a huge house and is ready for Darby to install spme pretty extensive landscaping.
The two kind of slide into a relationship based in mutual admiration (physical and mental) as well as an understanding of each other's histories. And the course of true love never can run smooth and we learn that it is good thing that both Darby and Zane are smart, neither try to play detective, and that Darby has that black belt in kung fu.
I liked this book a lot. Darby was her own heroine a lot of the time but Zane got to help as well, a true team. There were a couple of little things that I didn't love, the swiftness of the romance, so many villains, and then the lack of a talk about protection and how to stay healthy which Roberts has been able to skillfully add to other of her books.

Four stars
This book comes out July 9th
ARC kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston

One of the things I tend to do in terms of self-care is to re-read books. It doesn't really matter what books, it is just nice to know that I don't have to read every single word because I know the story pretty well already. And romances are a particular favorite because the definition for a book to be in this genre is that it will end happily. I have been big on audiobooks lately because it means that I can get other things done (a LOT of cleaning) while still enjoying the book


Sara Morrighan has had a rough life. She was attacked by a mountain lion when she was 8. The same attack killed her father. Then she was sent to live with a grandmother who was more strict than loving. She had to rely on her friends Mike and Angelina to find acceptance and love.
Well, until Zach Sheridan showed up in town. He knew at first glance that she was going to be for him. And when she finally discovers his secrets, one that includes her, it's going to be interesting to see if they end up being a perfect match.

I like Laureston's later books better but it was amazing to see how much world building she put in even this first book of her shifters series.

Three books
Followed by Go Fetch!
This book came out October 1st, 2006
Audiobook from my local library

Reread as Audible Plus book January 2024

Honeymoon with Death by Vivian Conroy

This story is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "Sleeping Murder." A newlywed comes to a faraway land and starts to recover memories of a long ago murder. And by reminiscent, this is very much a variation on the theme.
Damaris Ramsworth received a free play ticket in the mail which led to her meeting her handsome and connected husband. Hers is very much a Cinderella story and she is living it to the fullest. But then her husband chooses their honeymoon as a surprise and the more she's on this Greek island, the more she wonders what, exactly, is going on.
First are the things that she sees (skull in her room, beetles all over) that no one else seems to. Then, there's the sense that she's been to this place before. But how? And it doesn't help that her husband's friends have "accidentally" run into them in this remote place. Waking up to find herself standing over a dead body is the last straw.
At any other time, Damaris would probably immediately be indicted for murder. But, lucky for her, Inspector Jasper is vacationing on the same island and is willing to take up her cause...
This book starts with a LOT of frenetic energy. It is hard to follow the story and then becomes even worse when trying to follow the logic Jasper uses to solve the crime. An okay story but I probably won't follow the series.

Three stars
This book comes out July 1st
ARC kindly provided by Canelo and NetGalley
Opinions are my own