Happy Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton

Anna Johnson is waking up to a life that she's not totally in love with. So, normal. She's hungover, her husband is oblivious, and her kids are temperamental. In fact, her husband lets her start the day with something... odiferous. She's lamenting her life with a house to clean up after a party and her husband's judgmental family showing up in 26 hours. And it's all gotten worse. Not only was her cat locked into the larder, but so was a dead Santa Claus. And the dead Santa Claus was her boss who no one really liked. 

I liked aspects of this story, it was quick, it take place over a day. Also, I enjoyed the fact that Anna and Oli seem to have a realistic marriage where they sometimes love each other and sometimes... eh. I didn't always get the comedy but I tried not to hold that against this book (that seems more like a me thing). I also didn't like how much Anna was actively interfering with the investigation. Note that this is not a "fairly clued" mystery as there is really only one hint as to who the killer is. 

Three stars

This book came out September 26, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer

Sylvia Ashe is all alone in the world. Her brother died in the war and her mother in the flu that followed after. She was lucky to get a job in a library, even if the boss is a raging misogynist. Most women have lost their jobs after the men returned from war. Now she only has her friend Daisy.
It’s Daisy reading a newspaper one day that sets them off on a grand adventure. There is a picture of an heir to a title, Gabe Glass. He has a connection to her brother and Sylvia would like to know what it is.
While she doesn’t find out all of the information in this book, she does get to help Gabe figure out who is creating forgeries of magic paintings. She also gets a job in a library on Crooked Lane, one that specializes in book on magic.

Four stars

This book came out September 6, 2022

The Glass Library #1

Followed by The Medici Manuscript

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Mummy Market by Nancy Brelis

Harry, Elizabeth, and Jenny live with The Gloom. Well, Mrs. Hinchley. She wants them to keep the house orderly and have everything in its place. And that might mean doing things like flushing Harry's tadpoles down the toilet. So they go to ask Mrs. Cavour what they might do. She suggests the Mummy Market. 
The Market is only open on Thursdays from three to five but it is possible for the children to get there. While Elizabeth is skeptical, Harry and Jenny decide to go the very next Thursday. When they get tehre, they discover a market full of women. Of course, the supply needs to be kept up. But how to get The Gloom to come there? Luckily, the information booth is very helpful and they give the children some forms akin to what the Internal Revenue Service uses. Housekeepers like Mrs. Hinchley will always follow the forms. 
The children are set. They see one mother who bakes and one who sings and one who looks pretty. They decide to start with The Home-Type Mummy. It... does not go well. They then try "Mom" who is a sporty type. Next comes Babs who says she understands children because she's read psychology books. Finally they talk to Mrs. Cavour who tells them they are under an enchantment, as is their mother, and the only way to break it is to find their actual mother. But will they find their Mummy and will she be as perfect as they hope?
I only vaguely remembered reading this book from when I was young. I feel like there was a LOT missing from the story and I don't remember thinking that before but I was, ahem, younger then. It's fine but not like the well-developed books we have for children these days. Which makes sense since it came out in 1966. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out in 1966

Borrowed as ebook from Internet Archive

Opinions are my own

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

I REALLY enjoyed this book. I don't like time jumps (which this had), some of the misunderstandings were a bit much, and Ethan was a bit TOO much (but only a bit.) However, I stayed up late to finish this book and fell asleep with a smile. Quite lovely.

Maggie Chase has had her confidence destroyed and is happier to stay home. But then an invitation comes and her publisher tells her it's one she doesn't want to turn down. So, she boards a plane to a mysterious location where there is to be a party hosted by she doesn't know who. Unfortunately, also on the plane is Ethan Wyatt, her nemesis in their publishing house. He can never remember her name and always seems to be laughing at her. So that's a great start to the vacation. 

They finally land and discover that they've been plonked right into a locked room mystery, complete with characters who disappear and characters who die. It even happens that Maggie has some close calls herself. Can she really trust the man she is getting to know?

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 24, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Jingle Bell Mingle A Novel by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone

This series is more explicit that I usually prefer to read (not yucking anyone's yum; it's just not MY thing) but Murphy and Simone write So Darn Well that I tend to just plow through the naughtier bits and enjoy the rest of the story.
In this case, we get Sunny and Isaac. Isaac is the last singleton of the former boy band, INK. His two bandmates fell in love in the previous books. Isaac is in the pits of dark despair because he lost the love of his life, his muse, when she was young. And now he is ruined for all others and isn’t sure that he even deserves to live. He will, however, occasionally have sex. The last time he did so was with Sunny, former part-time porn star, now working on a script for the Hope Channel.
Sunny has a pretty rich back story herself but we mostly see her trying to be an independent woman who takes care of her son… er, her cat, Mr. Tumnus. He’s the whole reason she agrees to move out of a crappy hotel and sleep at Isaac’s mansion, it’s so her cat doesn’t have to suffer.
The two obviously have the hots for each other and there is some sexy time, even as Sunny insists on trying to find Isaac’s next muse. But this is a romance so it may just be that his muse is right under both their noses.

Four stars

This book comes out September 23, 2024

Christmas Notch #2

Follows Holly Jolly Ever After

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

Imogen lives for her work. She lives for it so much that she’s made up a personal life just to avoid her coworkers’ questions and to hide her lack of a life.

Dorothy runs her own company and likes Imogen’s marketing so much that she moved her account when Imogen moved to a new company. Her daughter Sarah is concerned that Dorothy has picked up another stray (Dorothy has any number of animals that she’s adopted as well as people who Sarah is afraid will take advantage. But they both know something that Imogen doesn’t and it threatens to upend her life.
Luckily, handsome vet (and son of Dorothy’s best friend) Miles is there to help. And he has a golden retriever named Ralph who has decided that Imogen is his person.

A sweet story. Fans of Morgan will know what to expect.  

Four stars

This book come out September 24, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Canary Street Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C. M. Waggoner

Sherry lives in small town Winesap. She’s very proud of the help that she’s given to the sheriff’s department in solving various murders. While older, she’s not exactly elderly but she IS a librarian. A perfect cozy novel heroine. Or is she? It seems odd that there are so many deaths in her town. And it’s even odder that so many people come to her to solve the murders. It all starts to go off the rails when someone close to her dies. Is this really her life or is there something more… demonic going on?
While there isn’t as much demon hunting as you might think based on the title, this book is laugh out loud funny in several places and I really, really hope that there are going to be more in the series.

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 24, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own