Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey

Theodore "Teddy" Phillips is excited. She knows that her boyfriend is about to propose. but... he doesn't. In fact, he asks her to move out. Immediately. She moves in with two of her friends who she seems to have dumped in favor of said boyfriend. Now her only joy in life is watching Everett St. James and his puppet show. Yes, it's meant for children but it's uplifting. And he's hot.

Everett is at a crossroads. His show is about to take off but he's feeling like his life might be missing something. A letter from a not-so young audience member changes his life. And when he sees her singing karaoke one night, he is smitten (even not knowing who she is.)

I wish we had seen some more growth from Teddy who is a doormat. I also wish the chapters had been longer as the very short chapters sometimes made for choppy reading. And the last bump in their road is gotten over too quickly. However, this is a charming read with unexpected characters.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out June 15th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

Derek Gaunt is trying to figure out his life. He was The Face for the Pack but then his good looks and resonant voice were ruined by silver. He is a werewolf and silver is the one thing that can kill his kind. He's already had a hard life (his father went crazy and basically killed the family so Derek had to kill him) and this doesn't help.

Julie Lennart-Olsen hasn't exactly had an easy life either. Her crush on Derek wasn't changed because his face was ruined. But she's got more important things going on like learning from her adopted grandfather (who is more or less a god) and protecting her adopted mother. And yes, that might mean that she crosses paths with Derek when a madman starts searching for a fallen star, even killing people to get to it.

This was an interesting interstitial but I didn't think it was that great an addition to the Kate Daniels or Aurelia Ryder series.

Three stars

This novella came out December 8th, 2015

Ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews

I learned more about owls than I think I ever wanted to know.  However, setting up a murder in the midst of a yard sale? I can see it happening.  People are crazy.

Meg and Michael are organizing all of the junk in the house they recently bought. The Sprocket family let it go for a song because the aunt was a hoarder. But the Sprockets are sticking around to make sure they get their cut of the profit (10% of anything that they sell from the house goes back to the family). Then add the family members who have moved in so they can sell their own materials, or buy anything that's available, and the scads of early birds who can't understand why they can't go in early and you've got more people than Meg is really wanting around. She's just glad that two months of cleaning out the house is about to culminate in no more junk. Dreaming of a life of minimalism, she's not excited to find the body of a particularly nasty antiques dealer in a trunk. 

A fun mystery, very typical of the Andrews series. Meg is an incredibly competent, though reluctant sleuth. She is hesitant in this book to share with the police chief the things she learns though that changes in later books.

Four stars

This book came out March 7th, 2006

Follows We'll Always Have Parrots

Followed by No Nest for the Wicket

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread December 2022; September 2024 as Audible book

We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews

This is of my favorites in the Meg Langslow series. There is the right amount of crazy antics and we get out of Caerphilly for a bit. We also get to see more about Michael and especially the cult show that he is currently a character on, "Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle."

In this book, Meg is heading off to a convention based around her boyfriend's television series. During the convention, someone lets loose a bunch of parrots and monkeys ('cause the show is set in the jungle) and the QB (Queen, um, Bee) is murdered. Meg has to figure out who, in a seemingly unending list of characters, wanted to kill this aging B-list star since Michael seems like he could be one of the top suspects.

Four stars

Meg Langslow #5

This book came out September 6th, 2002

Follows Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

Followed by Owls Well that Ends Well

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread December 2022; September 2024 as Audible book

Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz

In the first book of the series, Judson Coppersmith's (biological) brother fell in love with Gwen Frazier's (found family) sister. When Gwen's mentor dies leaving a ghost alleging murder behind, Gwen knows who to call for help. Her sister. And of course her soon-to-be brother-in-law asks his own brother for help. 

Judson just experienced a burn out and isn't sure that he's really healed. But he really liked Gwen and figures, why not. He can at least provide some muscle for the woman who intrigued him until she started viewing him as one of her psychic counseling clients. But maybe that was a misunderstanding and he's going to have some time to figure that out.

It is quite swift that the two fall into bed and then love but Krentz is a good author. This may not be her best book but very few of her books aren't worth reading at all.

Three stars

Follows Copper Beach

This book came out January 9th, 2013

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Love for Beginners by Jill Shalvis

It's bad enough to be in a coma for two months. It gets worse if your whole body is broken and you're used to being an athlete (or at least being in training for a 5k). And it just heaps insult on injury to have your fiance now hooked up with your best friend. 

Emma Harris just wants to get away. Her PT isn't going well and now her former BFF and even more former fiance are treating her like she should stay with them. Not going to happen. It's just lucky that her physical therapist, Simon, knows of a place she can live. 

Simon has issues of his own. He wants to be a physical therapist full time but his father, who is recovering from a stroke, expects him to run the family business. Doing so is killing him by inches. Luckily, his new client is keeping him on his toes.

Yes, this is a romance that could potentially cause some squick because... patient and PT? Not really supposed to happen.

Three stars

This book comes out June 8th

(Loosely) Follows The Forever Girl

ARC kindly provided by William Morrow Paperbacks and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Pack Up the Moon by Kristan Higgins

This book absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. I wept through most of it even though it used a trope (time hopping) that I usually do not enjoy. It was just a little too woo for me and that brought it down but it was overall a highly enjoyable read. Higgins is usually a romance writer and, while I wouldn't put this book firmly in that category, regular readers won't be disappointed.

Joshua is on the autism spectrum and he knows that he will never find anyone who understands him as well as his wife Lauren. But Lauren is now dead having passed away from an incurable disease that slowly robbed her of her ability to breathe. It was a drawn-out process that hurt them both but also left Lauren enough time to leave Joshua a series of letters to be delivered roughly monthly. She knew that he would have time adapting and she wanted to make sure he had a life after her death. Some of the tasks are small, some are larger, but she hopes that they will help him recognize that there is life after death and that his next great love might have been in front of him all along.

Four stars

This book come out June 8th

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own