Called Out by Jen Doyle

Having completely trashed his reputation by sleeping with his best friend's fiancee, Jack "Ox" Oxford, now only has one way to fix it -- to ask for his (former) best friend's, Nate Hawkins, forgiveness. On the way into Nate's hometown, Jack stops to help fix a flat tire. Except that Lola Deacon McIntire (Nate's sister's sister-in-law) immediately recognizes him and is decidedly unhappy that he's in town. Too bad he's immediately attracted to her. And sort of entranced by her oldest son (you'd think her youngest three, the triplets, would be immediate plot-moppets but Doyle manages to avoid that completely).

Jack and Lola very slowly get to know each other but she has to figure out how to overcome the damage done by his parents.

Four stars

This book came out May 29, 2017

Follows Called up
Followed by Holiday House Call

Ebook I own

Opinions are my own

Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout

A woman wanders into the house and says that she is a Montenegran. She demands to talk to Wolfe, wanting help for her friend. Archie leaves her alone in the office for a bit and she hides a piece of paper in his office saying that the bearer is the wife of the current prince. Oh, and also, she says she's Wolfe's

daughter. And Wolfe doesn't deny that it's a possibility. 

However, what starts as an accusation of theft ends up with two murders. There are the usual twists and turns that come in a Wolfe case, including at the end.

Three stars

This book came out January 3, 1940

Follows Some Buried Caesar

Followed by Where There's a Will

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown

I really thought that I had read this book before. Maybe I did and didn't put it in Goodreads but some of this did sound new. Overall it was definitely a good read. I just came out of a job where I was uncertain of my skills but feel like I actually did implement a lot of the things that Brene mentions in this book.

Some of her ideas include:

Always assume that people are trying their best. It requires trust but, if it is true, you can open your heart and your eyes and lets you help them better

Being BIG-

Boundaries-these are across the board; if you talk about other people, they may not trust you not to talk about them

Integrity-keep your 

Generosity-(requires boundaries)

Four stars

This book came out October 11, 2018

Audiobook borrowed from Libby

Opinions are my own

Witchy Tales by Amanda M. Lee

Aunt Tillie needs to move a lot of homemade wine. However, her annoying nieces and at least one of their boyfriends (FBI agent Landon) need to be gotten out of the way. So what does she do? She traps them in a book of fairty tales. But not just any fairy tales, these are the stories Tillie used to tell Bay, Thistle, and Clove when they were young. There are morals to be learned but they are very specific to TIllie's own morals.

I had known there were some books in between the main series of the Wicked Witches of the Midwest but only stumbled across this one recently. This story was fine even if it was a bit heavy-handed. 

Three stars

This book came out June 7, 2015

Followed by Witch in Time

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Calling It by Jen Doyle

When she was younger, Dorie Donelli had a fairly large crush on baseball player Nate Hawkins. It was part of the reason she moved to his hometown. But she's over it. Well, until he shows up in her apartment. While she's in the shower. And without her glasses. So, not knowing who he is or why he's in her place, she tries to bean him with a handy baseball bat. 

Nate is back in town recovering from the fact that his (former) fiancee  is pregnant by his (former) best friend. He has three weeks before spring training and is trying to get his head on straight. It's just going to be a fling. They both know that. Except... that they both might be falling harder than they think...

A nice world-building start to the series.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 11, 2016

Followed by Called Up

Ebook I own

Opinions are my own

How to Be a Wallflower by Eloisa James

Cleopatra Lewis might be the granddaughter of a viscount but she had a very unusual upbringing. She's also been lucky enough to have inherited a fortune, one that she is using to help others in need (while also growing it larger). The book opens with Cleo buying a costume company out from underneath the nose of Jacob Astor Addison, an American. He wants to move the company to America and the current owner, Martha, really prefers that not to happen. 
Jake is fairly incensed that the company was stolen out from under him so he devises a plan to put it out of business. He denies an interest in Cleo; he wants a restful wife. Someone like practically-his-fiancee Frederica. So what if she seems overly interested in cows? 

Cleo isn't interested in being presented but her grandfather would like to acknowledge her. She does have fun with Lady Yasmin, another woman on the fringes of society but that doesn't mean that she wants to be a success. She strikes a bargain with Jake that they will order each other's wardrobes. She will get half-mourning and he will get outlandish colors. It's too bad that they are so attracted to each other otherwise this might be a great friendship.

This was an okay story but didn't feel like it had the depth that a James story usually has.

Three stars

This book comes out March 29, 2022

Followed by The Reluctant Countess

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Ghost of Marlow House by Bobbi Holmes

Danielle Boatman's husband died 6 months ago so the inheritance from her great-aunt comes as a pleasant surprise. She decides to convert the old Marlow House into a bed and breakfast. She is pleasantly surprised to discover that it is in good condition with furniture that is surprisingly well-kept for a house that has been vacant for 90 years. But, she learns that the house has secrets, including the ghost of Walter Marlow who died in the house 90 years ago. There may also be a hidden treasure that people today are still searching for and may even be willing to kill for.

A nice start to a new series that managed to create a world with some rules without any info dumps.\

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 30, 2014

Followed by The Ghost who loved Diamonds

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own