Well Met by Jen DeLuca

It's not like Emily WANTED to be a tavern wench in a small Ren faire in Maryland. But her niece won't be able to participate without an adult. And Emily is in town to help support her sister after she was in a car accident. So she steps in. She is doing a lot, keeping track of her niece's schedule and making sure her sister is getting to her appointments so really, the guy running the faire can just get off her back.
Simon just wants everything to run perfectly. His older brother started the faire and the family ties mean that he just wants to continue what his brother started. He can't understand why Emily can't seem to take anything seriously. She picks a faire name that is basically her own name. She jokes around about Shakespeare's legacy. She's on her phone almost every time they meet during prep time. They just can't stand to be around each other.
But then Emily's tavern wench character, Emma, gets an eyeful of Simon's pirate character and a different sort of sparks fly. Chemistry.
There was a Big Misunderstanding at the end but it was actually okay because at least they were talking to each other. Sometimes it took time for it to sink in but... they  were being adults. So nice.

Four stars

This book came out September 3rd, 2019

Followed by Well Played

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby September 2023

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Eve Brown is the youngest of three sisters. And, as so often happens with a youngest child, she is still trying to find her way long after her sisters have already figured out their lives. Now, her parents are threatening to cut her off.
Eve is distraught. She knows that she's been spinning her wheels but she's not sure what to do about it. She runs out into a rainstorm and impulsively interviews for a chef position at a B&B (that she's not even sure where she is.) Of the two men interviewing her, one seems open to her somewhat eclectic persona, the other is having trouble looking away from her chest. And that's the one who seems harder to impress. Too bad he's the one she runs over (not a spoiler, it happens early in the book.) Of course, that opens the door for Eve to stay at the inn and help the owner, Jacob Wayne, run it while he heals from his injuries.
There is quite a bit about this book that strains credulity but it is a fiction book and I'm willing to forgive a lot for good character development and this book has it in spades. The characters are both open to the parts of the other that sometimes throw people off and it was quite lovely to see the understanding and acceptance that they extend to each other. I'm also hoping for a book (well, a trilogy) about Jacob's friend and his sisters.

Three and a half stars
Follows Take a Hint, Dani Brown
This book comes out March 9th
ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Heart of Devin MacKade by Nora Roberts

Devin MacKade has loved Cassie Dolin since high school. She married her high school sweetheart; he became the sheriff. Then he stood silently by while her husband beat her. He wanted to help but he couldn't until she pressed charges. And she finally did, in one of the earlier books in the series. Now Cassie is steady, her children are happy, and Devin is ready to make his move.
This is very much a nineties story but it doesn't age as badly as the next book in the series though some of it - treating Cassie like a fragile bird even though she's proven her strength - might be handled differently today.

Three stars

Follows The Pride of Jared MacKade

Followed by The Fall of Shane MacKade

This book came out March 1st, 1996

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters

Vicki Bliss is a historian who has just had the find of a lifetime fall into her lap, proof that a shrine built by Remenschneider (I listened to the book so spelling may be suspect) actually existed. A race between herself and her lover, Tony Lawrence, as well as treasure hunter George Nolan, takes them all to Germany in an old, supposedly haunted castle.
In the setting of the book, the castle is now a hotel run by the final countess (who married into the family) and the last surviving Drachenstein, Irma. The Grauphin, the old countess, is an iron-fisted besom while her niece is a “perfect heroine” including to the point of being a fainting flower. There is also at the castle a Doctor Blankenhagen who may or may not also be looking for the shrine. The countess also has a séance-loving friend and there is an older gentleman, Schmidt, who round out the party.
Peters infused the book with a sense of humor about the whole gothic atmosphere, at one point, Vicki says something along the lines of, “A secret passage? That was all we needed.” Love those bits of self-awareness.

Four stars

Follows The Camelot Caper

Followed by Street of the Five Moons

This book came out in 1973

Borrowed as an ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn

When examining the effects of a lady mountaineer, recently deceased, Veronica is shocked to see that the rope holding the woman on her last climb looks to have been cut with a knife. The lady's death was not the accident everyone assumes. Veronica is anxious to investigate and gets her chance when the Princess Gisela of the Alpenwald disappears and, as an unexpected lookalike, Veronica is asked to step into her place. 

As usual, Raybourn has a lot going on in her book but she weaves it together seamlessly in a thoroughly enjoyable story. It did take me a little bit to get through the middle of the book but I enjoyed seeing the character growth in Veronica and Stoker. There was not much building about their relationship but I think there are some hints that there may be more in the next book.

Veronica Speedwell #6

Four stars

Follows A Murderous Relation

Followed by An Impossible Impostor
This book comes out March 2, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Berkley and Edelweiss Plus
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby January 2024

Cubicles That Make You Envy the Dead by Scott Adams

I hadn't read a Dilbert book in quite some time and had a chance to borrow this for free so I thought, "Why not?" 
Not much has changed. All of the characters are fairly one-dimensional. Nobody likes their job. Management is incompetent. Not much, other than the technology has changed.

Two and a half stars

This book came out November 6th, 2018

ebook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

February Rereads

As always, opinions are my own

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #1)

Three stars

Follows My Last Duchess

Followed by Too Wilde to Wed
This book came out October 31, 2017

Hard copy of mine

Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #2)

Four stars

Follows Wilde in Love

Followed by Born to be Wilde
This book came out May 29, 2018
ebook on my Kindle

Born to Be Wilde by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #3)
Three and a half stars
This book comes out July 31
Hard copy borrowed from library
Follows Too Wilde to Wed
Followed by Say No to the Duke

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #4)

Four stars
This book came out June 25th, 2019
Follows Born to Be Wilde
Followed by Say Yes to the Duke
ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #5)

Four stars

Follows Say No to the Duke

Followed by Wilde Child
This book came out May 19th, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary