Venezia by Lewis Trondheim, Fabrice Parme

Two people are running to hire a boat. The man and the woman are in immediate dislike of each other and rather childish about it. The woman gets the boat but at a price. Then they discover they are renting rooms in the same house. What they don't realize? They are both masters of disguise, spying on the same meeting. When they run into each other as their alter egos, they are able to work together.
The artwork is fabulous and the storyline is fun. There is a little bit of gap in some of the story lines but I wonder if that is translation. Overall a fun book.

Four stars
This book came out November 20
ARC kindly provided by Europe Comics and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition but neither does anyone expect the Herdmans to want to get involved with the Second Presbyterian Christmas pageant. The Herdmans are a group of children that are known for running wild doing things like smoking cigars, blackmailing other kids, bringing their one-eyed cat to school, etc. Not exactly the students who you'd expect to volunteer to be the living nativity. Would it have happened if the regular director hadn't broken her leg? Maybe. But her insinuation that it wouldn't've is what sets the narrator's mother (the fill-in) to declare that this is going to be the best Christmas pageant ever.

With an adult's eye, you understand why the Herdmans run so wild and it might break  your heart just a little but at least one of them seems to have a heart by the end of the story.

Four stars

This book came out in 1972

Book from library

Opinions are my own

Spontaneous by Brenda Jackson

Kimani Cannon has been attracted to the brother of her best friend's fiancé for awhile. She was going

to act on it at the engagement party but he had to leave. At the wedding, she goes for it. And Duan Jeffries is not going to turn it down. But he also isn't sure that he wants it to be a one-time thing. When Kim gets a phone call that her mother is getting married for the fifth time, she's worried; none of the other husbands were particularly good and Kim's mom hasn't known this man for long.
Duan hears the man's name and is immediately on alert. He recognizes it from when he was in the Atlanta police department as being a man whose two wives disappeared under mysterious circumstances when he had an airtight alibi.
It was a fun and fluffy story. As a category romance, there's not a lot of room for development in the relationship but I did see how Kim and Duan fit together.

Three stars
This book came out April 27th, 2010
Borrowed as ebook from library
Opinions are my own

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty

Doughty hits it out of the park with another readable book that looks at death and makes it understandable.  This particular book answers all of your burning questions including the one from the title as well as what happens to bodies in space and whether people can be too tall for caskets.

Four Stars
This book came out September 10th 2019
Book from Library
Opinions are my own

His Until Midnight by Reese Ryan

The Texas Cattleman's Club is having a Bachelor Auction. But Tessa Noble's brother ate something dodgy and he's not able to go. So Tessa steps in to take his place. The organizers are ecstatic and give her a makeover to help her get more money.
Her best friend, Ryan Bateman, is astonished to see her up there. He doesn't think of her... that way. But that doesn't mean that he is going to let someone else win the bid. He can win and they can just let the date go. But when a scandal threatens the auction, the people in charge ask Ryan and Tessa to allow a reporter to follow them on their date. So, they have to make it look good. And that's when it all starts to appear as if they only people they've been fooling are themselves.
I heard about this on the Fated Mates Stump Jen and Sarah episode and enjoyed it completely. It is a Harlequin Desire so it is shorter but a fun read anyway.

Four stars
This book came out December 1st, 2018
Hard copy I ended up passing on to someone else
Opinions are my own

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon

Kitty Underhay's mother disappeared when she was five; her father was gone even before then. She grew up with her grandmother at the Dolphin Hotel. During the summer of 1933, Kitty's great-aunt is ill so her grandmother travels to be with her leaving Kitty and the regular staff to run the hotel. Also present will be the new security officer, Matthew Bryant.  He was a captain in the military and trained to help protect.
Why a new security officer? Kitty doesn't know this but her grandmother has been receiving threatening letters. They imply that there is something valuable at the hotel and the sender wants it back. And there's a mysterious death. Then another. It's up to Kitty to figure out what's going on.
I liked the character development and forgave a little bit of shallowness for this being a first book but I also felt like the story was well built out. There were people thrown in at the end that weren't even well-disguised red herrings. Connections between characters magically appeared. And while the book started off strong, there was some time in the middle that I had to force myself to pick up the book to keep going. I hope that some of these things (story, character building, pacing) will be worked out in the next book in the series.

Three stars
Followed by Murder at Enderly Hall
This book came out December 11th
ARC kindly provided by Bookouture and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Your Tempting Love by Layla Hagen

When Christopher Bennett's sisters recommend Victoria Hensley, he is quick to figure out that he is being set up. But he doesn't really care. Victoria is gorgeous and the young sister she has brought to their first meeting is adorable. He is astounded to learn that Victoria has taken on raising her three siblings after her parents' death. And anyone who's read the Bennett Family series knows that love of family is a major part of what makes them tick.
Victoria is balancing a grieving family along with a Social Services agent who doesn't seem to believe she can hack it and being fired by a boss who is now accusing her of stealing clients. She's got a lot going on. But that doesn't mean she can't spend a little time with a handsome man. But it's just a little time. At least, that's what she's planning. But the more time she spends with him, the more she wonders.
I was seriously concerned for Victoria's heart; it swelled, it grew, it swelled, it grew two sizes. She was on the road to serious health problems. And Christopher was set up as this prankster but... nothing about it struck me as endearing. An okay addition to the series but definitely not my favorite.

Three stars
Follows Your Inescapable Love
Followed by Your Alluring Love
This book came out February14th, 2017
Book borrowed from library
Opinions are my own