The Games Lovers Play by Stephanie Laurens

Lord Devlin Cader didn't think he needed love to be a part of his marriage. But five years after marrying Therese Cynster, he is thinking that that was a mistake. Especially mentioning to her that that was his intention.

Therese knows that her family is known for marrying for love. But that doesn't mean that the person is perforce going to love her. And she is fine with that. She is building a powerful partnership with Devlin and people are starting to notice that she is becoming a powerful political figure in her own right. But now Devlin seems to be... changing. If she didn't know better, she would believe that the man might actually be in love with her.

This was an okay story and I was delighted to get a glimpse at someone after their marriage. Even if they thought they had figured it out, they were still working on it. However, there was just a little too much focus on people who will have sequels: Devlin's friend who has returned to England and Therese's younger brother who disappeared when he was seventeen and is also recently returned.

Three stars

This book came out March 18th 2021

Follows The Inevitable Fall of Christopher Cynster

Followed by The Secrets of Lord Grayson Child

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters

A tip has been given to the authorities that some valuable items are going to be stolen from Egypt. And that Vicky Bliss somehow knows the culprit.  So she's strong-armed into joining a luxury tour as a guest lecturer even though ancient Egypt is nowhere near her area of expertise. But to make matters a living nightmare, she's confronted with the man she loves... married to another woman. 

So now, she's dealing with claustrophobia, mayhem, jealousy... and maybe even murder.

Barbara Rosenblat is, as always, amazing and this series continues to delight.

Four stars

This book came out in 1994

Follows Trojan Gold

Followed by The Laughter of Dead Kings

Audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch

I've been reading a string of amateur detective stories and most of them have been rather irritating in the way they stuck their noses in. But this series is literally called the Nosey Parker Mysteries and Jodie Parker is a former policewoman so she actually has some knowledge of solving crime. I had not read any of the other books in the series but didn't think I missed anything by not having that knowledge. Nor was there a massive info dump to try and get me caught up which was nice.

Josie, her mom, daughter, and friend are catering a charity event in a castle that is newly converted to a B&B. The event ends but Josie and her crew are stuck in the castle with an eccentric billionaire and his assistant and son, a group of Japanese tourists, the hotel staff, and two wandering people who might not be exactly who they say they are. Oh, and a VERY drunk Santa who actually ends up dead. 

With a sprinkling of secret passages and the obligatory local cops who don't like Josie investigating (but her boyfriend outranks them,) this was a charming book.

Four stars

This book comes out December 9th, 2021

Follows A Sprinkle of Sabotage

Followed by A Cornish Recipe for Murder 

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Hate to Date You by Monica Murphy

Another book where the best friend isn't a dick about their best friend and a sibling falling in love. It makes the story so much better. In this case, Stella Ricci's best friend has a brother. This is the man with whom Stella had one hot night and then he walked out never to be heard from again. 

Carter knows he was a dick, leaving early after his hot night with Stella. He knows that living with her (his sister's idea) isn't going to go over well but, well, he is trying to figure out his life. He just moved back to town after living the high life as a real estate agent. He made a lot of money but he spent a lot of money too so the cheaper rent will come in handy. 

Stella isn't at all delighted but she endures. Then, somehow, Carter starts to become wrapped up in her family, working on updating her grandmother's home and giving her father advice. They were just supposed to be having something light. What is going on?

Four stars

This book came out April 3rd 2020

Follows Holidate

Followed by Rate a Date

Borrowed as audiobook from Liby

Opinions are my own

Healthy Happy Sexy by Katie Silcox

If you want to read a white woman writing about an ancient practice from another culture, this will be the book for you. This book has some obvious and glaring errors ("eskimos" do not have over a hundred words for snow; women do not sync cycles) and definitely wouldn't be an effective tool for anyone who has even a basic knowledge of Ayurveda already. It does serve as a very surface-level exploration of what the Western world thinks Ayurveda means but doesn't provide anything new to the subject.

Three stars

This book came out January 13, 2015

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Murder at the House on the Hill by Victoria Walters

I didn't read this book in time before it archived in NetGalley but I was interested enough to buy it when it became available on Kindle. Overall, it was an okay read but I really couldn't get over the fact that Nancy (named after Drew) decided to investigate a death because of a bet. Yep. A woman dies and Nancy and her grandmother decide that they will try and beat the police to the answer because Nancy's best friend (who is probably desperately in love with her but leading other women on) thinks they can't. Ew. 

The Roths are a wealthy family that live in Dedly End. Around thirty years ago, they had a party that ended when the housekeeper was accused of stealing money. That was the last time the mansion was open to the public. Now, they are having a party again and Nancy and her grandmother, as  business owners (a mystery bookstore that is arranged according to Nancy's deceased father's whims). The party is to celebrate the granddaughter of the house's engagement. There are two other children, both sons, and the elder son is married to a woman that the rest of the family doesn't seem to approve of. And she is the one who ends up dead.

Three stars

This book came out September 23rd 2021

Followed by Murder at the Summer Fete

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Hot Pursuit by Christina Skye

I hadn't read books from this series in a while. Christina Skye is an interesting writer though I usually like her paranormals better than her contemporaries. This was... okay. 

Suspense writer Taylor O'Toole has just discovered that she was adopted and can't decide what to do about it. This seems to be a point about why she's in such emotional upheaval but doesn't really add anything to the story. The bigger problem of her life right now is that somebody seems to be trying to kill her. All she did was try to help a friend by spying on the friend's boyfriend. The guy turns out to be a despicable jerk who is creating poisons for a foreign power and he's spent their money but hasn't turned over the money. Her sister's husband is worried about her and has sent Izzy who in turn sent Jack Broussard to watch over her. Jack is a SEAL and is ready to help out, even before he falls in love with Taylor. A bit dated, after all, it was written in 2003 and some of the technology is different. Even women's attitudes would be different because, oh my god, Taylor is an idiot but she mostly didn't REALLY annoy me until the end so an okay book.

Three stars

This book came out July 27, 2004

Follows My Spy

Followed by Code Name: Nanny

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own