Poesy the Monster Slayer by Cory Doctorow

The pictures in this book are absolutely amazing. The story was a three (basically a hyperactive child keeps her parents awake -- I think it's trying to empower kids to take care of their own monsters but the story doesn't hang together well - would be better with maybe 5 more pages that show more about how Poesy preps) but the pictures are a 5. Brilliantly colored the pictures only enhance and lift the words to a better story.

This book comes out July 14th
ARC kindly provided by First Second Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Charming as Puck by Pippa Grant

Kami Oakley has loved Nick Murphy for a long time. But he's off limits, not just because he's her brother's friend but also because he's a player; he'll never settle down. And the latest incident has just proved it. His hockey team has a history of playing pranks on each other but they've started including animals. And Kami, as a softhearted veterinarian, is often the one cleaning up after their messes. Even though she's been hooking up with Nick for awhile now, she's just realized that he's never going to be serious about her.
Nick is startled when Kami leaves. Even more so that she left his teammate's prank cow behind. He gets that she's mad at him so he decides to make it up to her.
Not my favorite Pippa Grant. It was still fun but there was so much pranking that it got redundant. And I sort of get Kami's anger but... Nick never promised her anything. And she knows he's bad at things like remembering birthdays. Like, how much can you expect?

Three stars

This book came out February 1st, 2019

Copper Valley Thrusters #3

Follows Beauty and the Beefcake

Followed by I Pucking Love You
Borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Reread as Kindle Unlimited ebook October 2024

Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire by Pippa Grant

Tripp Wilson used to be in a boy band. He gave up a baseball career to help keep an eye on his brother. He fell in love, got married, and had two kids but his wife died. And now he's trying to figure out how to balance his fears about his kids getting sick with working but not finding the right nanny. When his local baseball team is having a crappy season, he sees his chance. He can finally own his own team. But the owner dies and the woman who inherits turns out to be someone that Tripp knows...
Lila Valentine is shocked to see that the man she had a hot interlude with in a club bathroom is in her boardroom. Unfortunately, he's not using the same name. Why would he lie to her? And why does he think that she'll be willing to give up her baseball team?
We've definitely seen Lila in previous books. She is smart, dedicated, but slightly standoffish. Her last job is ending and she figures rebuilding the baseball team that meant so much mother will be worth it.
I do love that Pippa Grant's books are a little crazypants but this one's back story was just a bit too much for me. Still can't wait for the next book in the series.

Three and a half stars

Bro Code #3

Follows America's Geekheart

Followed by Master Baker or Hot Mess and the Heartthrob
This book came out March 24th, 2020
Borrowed this as a Kindle Unlimited book
Opinions are my own

Reread as Kindle Unlimited book April 2021, October 2024

Lucky Stiff by Craig Rice

She was a side piece but Anna Marie St. Clair claimed to love Big Joe. Yes, she was found standing over him holding a gun,  but she is going to the electric chair claiming her innocence. There's a last minute phone call and Anna Marie is saved. But she doesn't want anyone to know. Instead, she decides that Anna Marie St. Clair will die. Her "ghost" will rise to haunt the living.  Her first stop? The bar John J. Malone is known to haunt. Her own lawyer had recommended him as a crooked lawyer but one who is only crooked in certain ways.
When John J. Malone sees Anna Marie in a dingy bar, he falls in instant love. And he makes it his mission to ensure that her life is going to be the best it can possibly be. Including getting her exonerated from murder. John's friends Helene and Jake Justus are worked but they are going to help their friend as much a possible. Even while Jake is dealing with problems relating to his casino.
If you like the Malone series, you will like this book.

I picked it up because of the Classic Mysteries podcast

Three stars
This book was published in 1945

Follows Having Wonderful Crime

Followed by The Fourth Postman
Ebook borrowed from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding by Erin Nicholas

It's been a year since Josh Landry and Victoria (Tori) Kramer hooked up at Mardi Gras. They had made a pact to meet again at the same bar. Josh is there but Tori... isn't. He goes back to Autre to work at his family's swamp tour business... where Tori shows up the next day. She had been at the bar but, when Josh didn't show up, she kissed the man that she thought was him. Only it was her best friend who is getting married this weekend. The same man whose fiancee hates Tori because she thinks Tori is trying to talk her best friend, Andrew out of the marriage. Which Tori totally is. But not because Tori is In Love with Andrew but because she thinks the fiancee is all wrong for him. So Tori invites Josh to the wedding. That way she can prove that she's trying to break up the wedding for all the right reasons. Plus, fun make out times with Josh.

Josh is all in. Tori is his woman. Yes, the folks back in Iowa think she's a little nuts but she fits right in with the Landry family. He's determined to take this weekend to prove to Tori that he is the one for her. 

This book was a fun twist on some familiar tropes. There was no fake relationship (there could have been) and the best friends didn't fall in love. I hope that Andrew gets his own book as well as Josh's siblings, the surly Sawyer and goth-ish Kennedy.

Four stars
Followed by Sweet Home Louisiana

This book came out April 9th, 2019

Got this as an exchange from Paperback Swap and exchanged it again

Opinions are my own

The Case of the Careless Kitten by Erle Stanley Gardner

Can the actions of a cat help solve a mystery? They will if the main character is lawyer Perry Mason. He's trying to figure out whether or not Helen Kendal's uncle, who has been missing for 10 years but her aunt refuses to declare him dead, is really.
Someone purporting to be her uncle has called Helen and asked her to meet him. But when she shows up, there's a dead body who isn't her uncle. In between the call and the discovery, her kitten is poisoned. And that's all in the beginning of the story.
I picked this up based on the Classic Mysteries podcast. But it took quite a bit to slog through this book. The dated attitudes are harder to take in some books than others and this story was also pretty convoluted.

Three stars
This book came out
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 It's time to attend a (minor) celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island. Alternating chapters build in depth characters show the tension that exists before the guests arrive. Many because of old friendships and school ties. The tensions build, culminating in a death.
This book drew me in. There were parts where I wanted to stop and check the ending to see if it would be worth finishing, but I didn't. I could definitely pinpoint who the murderer was but wobbled on who was going to get killed. I loved that the author only gradually revealed the information regarding both the killer and the victim and that it paralleled the history unraveling.

Four stars

This book came out June 2nd

Borrowed this as an ebook from the library

Opinions are my own