Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

 TW: Sibling death
Twice this week, I've started reading a book only to be unexpectedly hit with a sibling dying. Brosh handles it so much better than the other book I was reading. It is one of her shorter chapters but she is able to delve into the grief one feels as well as the unmooring it creates.
And it is a testament to her writing that she had me laughing (first the buildup of the story of her sneaking over to her neighbor's house as a young child and then following up with the story of horse poop mysteriously showing up in her family's home and detailing the suspects... I was in stitches) then sobbing, and then laughing again.
I highly recommend getting this book as a hard copy. I read Brosh's first book that way and enjoyed seeing the colors of each section and getting to see my progress. It was much less satisfying in the ebook form.

Five stars

This book came out September 22nd, 2020

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Tale of Two Dragons by G. A. Aiken

 When your father is a plotter and the rest of the family doesn't really want you, sometimes the best you can do is stay hidden. That is what Braith of the Darkness is trying to do. But now she's suddenly been asked to help escort a lady to her home and her crush is going along on the trip. The crush that seems to be very admiring of the lady who is the antithesis of Braith.
Addolgar the Cheerful is a Cadwaladr, a family of fighters. He's willing to help a lady. However, if that lady tries to poison him... well, all bets are off. It's a good thing that Braith not only saves him initially but then helps get him away from the people that were going to make sure he was really most sincerely dead.
This is a short story but we still get a sense of who both Braith and Addolgar are. We also get to see why they are attracted to each other and what it is that each admires about the other. All with a sense of fun that permeates the entire Dragon Kin series.

Four stars
Dragon Kin #0.2

This novella came out November 5th, 2013

Follows Can't Get Enough
Followed by Dragon on Top
Borrowed from OverDrive
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Audio Plus January 2024

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

 Ugh. Alyssa Cole. Why do you do this to me? I settle in for a few chapters before bed and then get pulled into the story of a woman who has been planning to be a queen for years. Her whole life, really. And she came awfully close in an earlier Cole book. But now, Shanti Mohapi is so close. Except, in the kingdome of Njazi, only the True Queen will stay married to the king. Everyone else is cut off after four months. Three months into her marriage, Shanti is beginning to lose hope. The new king seems dazed and uninterested. 
Sanyu was raised in a patriarchal society where men rule with an iron fist and the king can show no weakness. But he is mourning his father's death and unsure of whether he can step into the large shoes left by the former king. However, he's starting to wake up. And he's noticing that his wife is not only intelligent, she wants what is best for the kingdom. Plus, he's really attracted to her.
Shanti definitely could have been painted as too rigid in pursuing her dreams, but Cole has written a likable character who is just going after what she wants without tossing anyone else under the bus on the way. Sanyu was also believable. A kid growing up in a bad situation but one who is learning and growing from his situation. I did think the book dragged a little in the middle but the ending was incredibly satisfying and I loved seeing characters from previous books in the series.

Four stars

Followed by How to Find a Princess
This book came out December 1st, 2020
Borrowed the book from CloudLibrary
Opinions are my own

A Brit Complicated by Brenda St. John Brown

I'm not a huge fan of boss-employee romances, especially with the implied power struggle. St. John Brown did a good job with having the story be from the point of view of Scarlett so we know that she is the one taking the lead on moving their office relationship into a more romantic sphere. But it is sort of confusing because we see that, in her head, she is not a fan of Bradley, her boss. Really not a fan. She finds him arrogant and standoffish. Until she starts showing him HER London and realizes there might be more to Bradley than she thought.
Not my favorite story but St. John Brown has a nice writing style that kept me going through the whole book.

Three stars
Follows A Brit Unexpected
This book came out in 2018
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Natural Evil and Devil's Gate by Thea Harrison

Former military sniper Claudia Hunter is at loose ends. She is just over forty and only needed four more years until retirement but she wanted to get out. So now she's just traveling the United States, living as simply as possible. During a trip through a Nevada desert, she feels compelled to stop and walk out a little distance. That's where she discovers a dog that has obviously been beaten and then dragged behind a car. It is only just barely alive. She manages to get the oversize animal into her car using her telekinesis and then hits the highway at a rush. When a sheriff pulls her over, she is startled to realize that he is acting very strangely once he sees the dog. But he does help her get the dog to a vet. There, he continues to act strangely before eventually leaving. That is when the vet and Claudia share their suspicions that the dog is actually a Wyr shifter.

And he is. But for reasons of his own (and as he heals), Luis Alvarez doesn't want to let on what he is. Too bad Claudia immediately starts needling him and calling him "Precious." When he finally does speak, it's to reveal that Claudia is right, there is something bigger going on and he was targeted because of what he figured out.

The tarot deck mentioned in the first Elder Races novella plays a small role in this story as well.

This was a nice novella and I hope that we get to see more of Claudia and Luis. How will their relationship work when Luis is Wyr and it's implied that Claudia, a human, is his mate?

Four stars

Follows Oracle's Moon

Followed by Devil's Gate

This novella came out March 20th, 2012

Borrowed from CloudLibrary

 Seremela Telemar is as susceptible to helping family as the next person. Now her niece, Vetta, who swiped the magical tarot deck from Claudia in the last Elder Races novel, has run away from home and  toward Devil's Gate, a present day gold rush - though, in this case it's a silver that holds magic easily. 
When Duncan Turner, lawyer vampyre, hears that Seremela is going to the most lawless place in the United States, where nothing is being policed, he tells her he can't let her go alone. With a voice like Alan Rickman's, so smooth that other lawyers and judges will come just to hear him speak on the rare occasions he still tries a case, he convinces her to let him come along.
Short but sweet, this book is better read in the context of the full Elder Races series, at least the other novellas.

Three stars
Follows Natural Evil
Followed by Hunter's Season
This novella came out June 5th, 2012
Borrowed by ebook from Overdrive
Opinions are my own

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

 I usually shy away from New Adult books but I love Sarina Bowen and had read a good review of this book... somewhere. And it was worth the read. 
At 3 weeks shy of 18, Rachel's worth has gone a number of upheavals. First, her mother died from cacer. Then, her famous, rock star father shows up. The man has only sent money for Rachel's entire life, but now he's here. And she's not exactly sure that she wants him to be in her life. She's followed all of his exploits by combing magazines and online news articles, but she doesn't want him to know that.
At the same time, she's ready to leave her old life behind. Even her best friend, Haze, who has lately been pressuring her to take their relationship into the physical realm and she's just not ready. She's gotten a scholarship to a fancy prep school and is ready to leave. Maybe her father will follow.
Just a quietly good book. Even Rachel's "Big Outburst" isn't pitching a fit and screaming, it's just a breakdown of tears.

Four stars
This book came out July 10th, 2018
Ebook from Kindle
Opinions are my own

Better Luck Next Time by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

 Both Finn and Adalia are at crossroads in their lives. Finn has just sold a business (not a smooth process for many reasons including the fact that he almost lost his best friend because of it.) Adalia has pulled out of art school even though art is her life. Her mentor really did a number on her and now she's not sure she can continue to make art. Well, she's doing it part-time for her family's brewery as their marketing person. And also hiding out in a friend's shed painting but then ripping up her work. It's there that Finn starts to realize that Addy might be hiding secrets. Which is not good because Finn is horrible at keeping secrets. Like, really, really bad. But he realizes that he could use her expertise in getting together a fundraiser art show and maybe while she helps him, he could be helping her as well.

I liked this book better than the first in the series and am waiting with bated breath to see what the next book in the series will be. Hopefully Lee (Addy's brother) will finally get rid of his girlfriend and also get himself out from under his father's thumb.

Three stars
Follows Any Luck at All

Followed by Getting Lucky
This book came out November 17th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own