His for the Holidays by Samantha Chase

When you are in your mid-to-late-twenties in a romance novel, you are likely either going to be already successful or just about to get that Big Promotion. Hannah Christy is in the latter group. She is an interior designer who spent most of Thanksgiving and the last month getting ready for a big presentation that is going to guarantee her a new position according to her boss. The last thing she needs is to be trapped in an elevator. In her comfy traveling clothes. And especially with her Very Attractive neighbor. But she gets to know him, finds out he has an overly interfering family, and suggests he needs a fake relationship. Oh, not her! she is much too busy. Then she finds out that one of her scheming coworkers has secured the contract that she was supposed to get and her promotion is now off the table. Instead, she has a few weeks of paid (forced) vacation. She still isn't going to help but then she meets his mother and sister and impulsively steps in. 

Gage Lawson is immediately attracted to Hannah and he hopes for a longer relationship but he will take what he can get, especially if that means that Hannah will come with him to his family Christmas which they are having a few days before the calendar date. 

As the two are spending time together, getting to know each other, Gage falls more and more in love and Hannah becomes more despairing because she is guaranteed a move (either staying with her current company and taking a job in another state or finding another job completely which means she'll have to leave because there are no jobs in Raleigh). 

I didn't love that Hannah kept throwing up roadblocks. It seemed artificial in a woman who was otherwise shown as being mostly together. She has a Big Realization about herself at the end but... it's not something we've either seen or heard about anywhere else in the story. Gage was a nice guy with enough flaws that save him from being too perfect. A fast, fun, and fluffy book for the holiday season but not a lot of depth and from introduction to proposal is about two months.  Cottle, the narrator, really elevated the story and made it a fun listen.

Three and a half stars

This audiobook comes out January 11, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott, Barbara Rosenblat

Beryl and Edwina are at the end of their purse. They need to figure out a way to get more money in. When the gardener suggests they ride the success of their last mystery and start an inquiry agency. In fact, the vicar needs someone to investigate the disappearance of one of their pigeon racing club members. And also the club funds. Beryl is all in. Edwina does need some convincing but... well, the stack of bills aren't going to pay itself. 

So, the two are off. Once again, they are going to encounter murder. They will also travel to one of the local Kent mines where tensions are at an all time high between the owner who is slacking on safety measures and the miners who are having to go underground in order to work.

The murderer ended up being a bit out of left field as did the reason but I am reading this series more for Beryl and Edwina than the mysteries themselves. 

Four stars

This book came out September 25, 2018

Follows Murder in an English Village

Followed by Murder Cuts the Mustard

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Ghastly Spectacle by Lynn Messina

Beatrice Hyde-Clare is trying to figure out how to be a duchess. She is used to being in the shadows as a spinster, not put in front of the ton as the woman who snared a duke and has now solved several murders. She really doesn't think that her friend Lady Abercrombie's tack is the right one, but the woman has already invited a number of people to participate in a murder mystery dinner party so Beatrice feels obliged to attend. Of course, one of the attendees ends up dead (one of the hostess's paramours, in fact) and it is up to Beatrice to solve the crime. And she does, but there is still 40% left in the book.

I really loved seeing Bea's deductive reasoning to figure out who is going to be the faux murderer in the party and I did enjoy getting to see her relationship grow with the duke. The mystery was okay but after the 60% mark, I kept wondering why I was still reading until about the 70% mark. Some nice filler but I wanted the story to just get on with it already.

Four stars

This book came out May 14, 2021

Follows A Boldly Daring Scheme

Followed by A Malevolent Connection

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Wings and Broken Things by Trixie Silvertale

Sigh. I wasn't sure of this series but I've kept reading and I'll give it another shot but... Mitzy is an idiot. I'm not sure how she's actually solving these cases when she is an idiot. She literally pays off a character to suppress evidence. Really? And the author has many characters warning Mitzy away from Bombay and yet she still persists on the "well, he's always treated me okay" theory. This is not a valid theory if you have many different people telling you for different reasons. Yes, she's young but... ugh. I did round this up to three stars because it was an okay book outside of my disgust with the main character and I am going to give the next book a shot (mostly because I've already borrowed it so, what the heck) but this was really a two and a half star book for me. There are two mysteries -- a local thief and discovering who hit the local veterinarian -- but neither ends up being high stakes (or fairly clued) and the vet is ridiculously Pollyanna about the situation.

Three stars

This book came out December 13, 2019

Follows Tattoos and Clues

Followed by Sparks and Landmarks

Opinions are my own

Five Minutes: (That's a Lot of Time) (No, It's Not) (Yes, It Is) by Liz Garton Scanlon, Audrey Vernick, Olivier Tallec

Is five minutes a long time? Well, I guess it depends on what you are doing at the time. 

A cute book that is carried by the illustrations. I think the NPR Best Books description was maybe a little tempered by the author's love of the first book from this duo.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 17, 2019

Borrowed as a hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur T. Bradley, January LaVoy

The invitations went out for a weekend at the (rumored to be haunted) Barclay Hotel. One each, delivered by courier, to five people only: a  cowboy, a librarian, a CEO, an actress, and a detective on a Tuesday. From April 3rd to  April 5th, these guests will get to experience an all-expense paid weekend at the newly-renovated hotel. 

J.J. Jacobson works hard to convince his mom to go to the hotel. He loves ghost hunting but wishes that his CEO mother had a little more time for him. He convinces his parents to go but hopes without revealing his secret. In fact, almost everyone going has a secret. The only holdout is Detective Walker because even his granddaughter, Penny, has something she's not talk about. The other invitees include Buck who is a cowboy and a liar, Miss Chelsea who is a librarian and inveterate contest enterer, and Fiona Flemming who is an actress and medium. We also get to meet Emma, the chef's niece, who is excited because she rarely gets to hang out with other children.

All of them are entering a hotel but none of them will be leaving with their secrets in tact. 

I really enjoyed this book. I would take off a half star because there were a few too many zigs and zags but overall a fascinating listen and a large part of that was due to the narration of January LaVoy. NPR Best Books rarely steers me wrong.

Four and a half stars

This book came out August 25, 2020

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Breath by James Nestor

Elizabeth Baker's review on the NPR Book Concierge from 2020 made this book sound really interesting. And it was, to a point. I like a nonfiction book where the author is a nonbiased reporter and Nestor actually took place in a lot of the experiments himself. And I sometimes like that but the back and forth between the two was not well-woven together. A lot of the findings were things that I already knew about from yoga and I found myself racing to finish the book rather than really trying to read and retain it.

Three stars

This book came out May 26, 2020

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own