Mischief by Amanda Quick

Imogen Waterstone needs help proving that her friend was murdered by her husband. And Imogen a has inherited a favor as part of her uncle's will. So she decides to call in that favor from Matthias Marshall, the Earl of Colchester, known around town as Cold-hearted Colchester. Imogen isn't worried about that sobriquet, she knows Colchester must be an amazing man, after all, he discovered the lost country (city?) of Zamar which has displaced Egypt in terms of its popularity. 

Colchester is bemused by this woman. She is intelligent, energetic, and blithely unconcerned with her reputation. Nothing at all like the other young woman of her age group. In fact, she seems more interested in translating a Zamarian tablet than finding a husband. And she also seems determined to rush into danger. 

Not only having to deal with a possibly murderous husband, the two have to deal with the rumors surrounding each as well as Colchester's half-sister showing up. Oh. And a murderer or two.

I remember this book fondly from my early days of reading romance and it is still a nice book. I think Quick's later books have more relationship development in them which is really nice to see.

Three stars

This book came out June 1, 1996

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my ow

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakias

Imagine you're an evil wizard. You've worked hard your whole life to be evil: set people on fire for fun, set people on fire for thwarting you.... done other things to people that aren't great. But, then you wake up one morning and all of your memories are gone. And maybe you decide... you don't want to be evil. In fact, you're going to stop it right now. But that just seems to confuse everyone around you. And then there's the problem that you seem to be in the middle of a Big Scheme. A Big Scheme that includes kidnapping a princess. Perhaps she's not quite as princess-y as you originally assumed. But then, as you are fumbling your way around, you discover that no one in your castle is quite as they appear.

I quite enjoyed this book and hope that it will be a series. 

Four stars

This book came out May 28, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from library

Opinions are my own

Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel

Formerly a child detective, twenty-five year-old Charlotte Illes is now trying to figure out what she wants to do as an adult. In addition to some detective jobs for a local (very attractive, but of course Charlotte doesn't view her that way...), her friend Lucy has gotten her a job as a substitute teacher. But was does Charlotte know about children? Although, we do get to see flashbacks of Charlotte working on cases in middle school.

Surprisingly, there are just as many mysteries in the school as there were when Charlotte was a kid (so it's a good thing at least one of her detective kits is still hidden around the school.) Of course, these mysteries are somewhat updated, involving bobbleheads and social media. And blackmail- at least that one is recognizable. In this case, threatening letters have been sent to one of the teachers as well as her aunt who is the president of the school board.

I did feel like the ending came a little bit out of nowhere but it was still a fun book and the children weren't just plot moppets, they had actual personalities. I hope we get to see some more of Nia (a budding child detective herself), in future books. 

Four stars

This book came out July 23, 2024

Charlotte Illes #2

Follow2 by Charlotte Illes is not a Detective

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan

There were a LOT of names in the beginning of this story and I felt dumped into a situation. I think the author was trying to avoid info-dumping but it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story. 

Bailey Briggs normally love Halloween but this year is particularly challenging. She's taken over the family bookstore and is hosting what she hopes will be the first of an annual literary festival. Also, there's a camera crew in town taping for a ghost hunting type show. Both have people who grew up in town and there seems to be something going on between them. One will end up dead. 

There's a lot going on in this book including Bailey finding out more about her family. A good start to what I assume will be a series. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 23, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns

I am generally quite enjoying this series. In this one, former influencer/socialite-turned-baker/bakeshop-owner, Madison, is forced to confront her own past when her former friend shows up in towner. Brandy Denton became "former" when she slept with Maddy's ex-fiancée, Elliot. Now that Maddy seems to be gaining a social media following and a new life, Brandy has shown up in New Bison, seemingly wanting to ruin Maddy's life again. 

I say I am "generally" enjoying this series because Maddy is (at least to my memory) suddenly very emotional. She's breaking down, running out of rooms, and generally being more helpless than I remember. I'm hoping that got edited in the print copy but really annoyed me in this book. Hopefully, that changes in the series going forward as I have enjoyed these books so far. 

Three stars

This book comes out 

Baker Street #3

Follows Murder is a Piece of Cake

Follows Icing on the Murder

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Viscount in Love by Eloisa James

Miss Victoria "Torie" Sutton isn't jealous of her sister. She really isn't. Yes, Leonora is engaged to Viscount Kelbourne, Dominic, and the man is handsome but he going to be her brother (in-law). His niece and nephew? Adorable. Awkward, not "normal," and absolutely adorable. So when her sister runs away with another peer, Torie is heartbroken that her tie to the twins has been severed. That doesn't mean that she will immediately become betrothed to the viscount herself, just to be his nanny. 

Dom thinks its the perfect solution though. He's not really trading one sister for another because Torie really is her own person and, if he's truthful, much more attractive than her sister. He doesn't even mind that she can't read or write.

The two do eventually marry (this is a romance, after all) and we get to watch them fall in love with each other even as they build their family.

I liked that both Torie and Dom were built out people with flaws that were both immediate and found later. I wish we had seen a bit more of the children. They weren't quite plot moppets but their personalities weren't developed much beyond that. 

Four stars

Accidental Brides #1

Followed by Hardly a Gentleman

This book comes out July 25, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick

Emma Greyson is not at a good time in her life. She sold her grandmother's cottage and invested the money in a ship that has not come in. Until it does, she's working as a lady's companion. But at the current house party, she is feeling rather pressured. One of the gentleman is chasing her and now he's ended up dead.

Edison Stokes is at the same house party. He's looking for a book that was stolen from a very powerful dead man. Once he sets eyes on Emma, he knows she can help. So he gives her an alibi for when the man was murdered. The two travel back to London together with Edison hiring Emma to help him m get ahold of the book. As they work together, their attraction grows stronger.

Three stars

This book came out April 6, 1999

Vanza #2

Follows With This Ring

Followed by Wicked Widow

Borrowed as audiobook from  Audible

Opinions are my own