Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan

I had a friend recommend this book to me and I thought it sounded like me. Same first name, same nature? Yes, let's do this thing. It was an okay book but reminded me like The Year of Yes and several other books where the author steps out of their comfort for a year and chronicles the journey. Pan didn't end up with a husband like Rhimes (she already had one) but it was still an entertaining read about one introvert's search for how to be more extroverted including improv classes, hosting events (her point about introverts hosting really resonated, you don't have to interact when you are busy being a hostess), and going on a  surprise trip while trying to make friends.

Three stars

This book came out May 28, 2019

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Heartwishes Edilean by Jude Deveraux

Seriously, what is it with normally good romance authors deciding that it's perfectly okay to write sex scenes without condoms? Would have been a four star book if the characters had decided that they loved each other enough to protect each other rather than just fall into bed because Gemma is on the pill?

Otherwise, really liked her character (hiring a historian instead of an archivist to organize your family papers aside). Devereaux often writes about physically strong women and Gemma is one of them. She isn't necessarily beautiful but she certainly captures the attention of Colin Frazier, a descendant of one of the seven founding families of Edilean. He's super rich (like all good romance heroes?) but works as the local sheriff, and oh, he's a Pied Piper with children.

It might seem a little too good to be true but they'll have to deal with Colin's not-so-ex-girlfriend, many small emergencies, a magical wishing stone, and even an international thief.

Three stars

This book came out August 30, 2011

Follows Scent of Jasmine

Followed by Moonlight in the Morning

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family: Family Portrait by Aya Yajima

Okay, I did not realize that this was a novelization and got so thrown off. It took a while to get into the book but, once I did, I settled in to the familiar characters. I don't think there was enough character building for a person who hasn't read the comics to jump in but I could be wrong.

In the first story, Anya is going camping. The good news is that Damian, the boy her adopted father would like her to make friends with, is going too. And they are put on the same team. Of course, there is bad news and Anya gets the two of them lost during a storm.

The second story has Yor's brother Yuri finally taking a day off. He hopes to spend it with Yor but she has to work also. Instead, he ends up taking care of Anya for the day, taking her to a place where children can pretend to different jobs. Yuri has to get involved as well and maybe gets a little too invovled. 

Franky learns about love in the third story. He is beating himself up for not having a girlfriend and feeling jealous of Loid's good looks. Then he hears a young woman singing and meets a beautiful nineteen-year-old. She's blind but part of a musical family so is practicing her music. Franky spends time with her and begins to get even closer to Franky. When Franky hears she's about to have eye surgery, he reacts about how you'd expect. 

The final story has Loid and Yor playing in the park with Bond and Anya when a young man offers to paint them. While Loid is suspicious, he is backed into agreeing to the painting when the artist offers Anya his bag. The artist turns out to be Felix Curtis who is very well known. As a professional spy and an assassin, neither Loid nor Yor can have their faces anywhere in public in case they are recognized. But how can they get out of this painting without acting suspicious?

One final short story rounds out the bunch. Two servers are talking about their dating lives. Their discussion veers to the families they see in the restaurant. One happy family they admire is our very own Forgers. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out December 26, 2023

ARC kindly provided by VIZ Media and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Starlit Winter Nights by Nora Roberts

I hadn't read the Cordina series in awhile and this book reminded me of why. This series didn't age well and this book is definitely a product of its time with Hanna supposedly being a kickass secret undercover agent (we learn this pretty quickly) but she is helpless against Prince Bennett and his ... charms(?).

Bennett is worried about his family. An old enemy is about to be released from from prison and he knows that his family is going to be a target. He is even more worried about the fact that he seems to be falling for a woman who is not his normal type. He usually dates models and striking women but this one is... not. but she's captured his attention.

Lady Hannah Rothchild is drab and tends to be overlooked. That is because she has cultivated that personality. It allows her to melt into the background becoming the perfect bodyguard for people like Princess Eve. She has the background and she has the skills. Hannah is about to take down the Big Bad but is apparently distracted by Bennett and his forceful (emphasis on force...) ways.

Two stars

This book came out October 1, 1987

Follows Command Performance

Followed by Cordina's Crown Jewel

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp

I had read the second book in this series and for about forty percent of this book, I wondered whether I really needed to read this one (I didn't). But then, what made me enjoy the second book finally kicked in. I really like the narrator of this story, Daisy Ellery, who kills men but does so by a certain set of rules (usually.) 

We know that she makes pies and can imbue a little bit of magic. That magic, in a similar vein to "Like Water for Chocolate", can imbue different feelings in people. It can also kill. And she is trying to rid the world of men who don't treat women well. To that end, she has set up a business, "Pies before Guys," that works solely on referrals. Daisy will take care of the men in your life who you need not to be in your life. But she has someone who is not her normal client. It is someone who is closer to her than she ever would have guessed.

For as close as some people are to her in the second book, I don't see those relationships really building in this book but it was a good intro to a series.

Three stars

This book came out May 10, 2022

Followed by A Good Day to Pie

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

We finally get to meet the elusive Caroline, the woman who done Stoker wrong. And with his best friend. Whom she then married. Who is now missing. Who is accused of stealing a valuable diadem from an Egyptian dig site. And Stoker and Veronica have been asked to investigate. Of course, Veronica is ready to charge toward danger and drag Stoker behind with her.

A lovely addition to the series. We get a great peek into Stoker's past and a bit of an explanation as to how his character has been built.

Four stars

This book came out January 16, 2018

Follows A Perilous Undertaking

Followed by A Dangerous Collaboration

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

This Spells Love by Kate Robb

I would love more romance stories where a guy and a girl could just be friends. No love or romance or simmering feelings, just friends. This is not that book. And I knew that going in but was still somehow disappointed because Gemma was so happy to have Dax as her friend. Their story was a good one, with a spell from a book and some magical hand waving having Gemma going back in time to not having dated the man who just broke her heart (or at least bruised her pride.) But that means that she and Dax never met. And, while it seems perfect at first, Gemma finds out toward the end that pulling on one thread might change the tapestry. And she has to make some decisions about what is going to be best not only for her, but for Dax as well.

Three and a half stars

This book came out December 5, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own