Monday, January 6, 2025

Remember When by Mary Balogh

Balogh's Ravenswood series around the Ware family and it's matriarch Clarissa's turn to find love. 
Before she married the Earl of Stratton, Clarissa was a Greenfield and her best friend was Matthew Taylor. Matthew was the younger son of a nearby land owner so their friendship was a little over the line considering how wealthy her family was but nothing scandalous. Though they loved each other, Clarissa had a chance to marry the catch of the season and she loves him too. Was that a mistake? Now in her early fifties, she is wondering that fact. But she doesn't think so. Though she and her husband did not have a true love match, they did love each other. But he's gone and Matthew is still here. What could that mean for them?
Matthew was heartbroken when Clarissa married. He also married but his wife died in childbirth. He left to travel the world but returned to the place where he grew up. Now, he's the village carpenter, making beautiful furniture. That's the reason Clarissa stops by, to request a cradle for her coming grandchild. 

stars
This book comes out January 7, 2025
Ravenswood #4
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group
Opinions are my own

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle

The last of the Dreamlight Trilogy, the lines of Winters and Jones cross lines once more. Now, Adam Winters has become the Head of the Frequency City Ghost Hunter guild but he needs the help of the newly appointed Head of Jones and Jones. It appears that the Winters curse of becoming a Cerebrus (a crazy three-talent)has finally hit him and he needs a dreamlight reader, Marlowe Jones to help him. While they're meeting for the first time, someone takes a potshot at them, trying to chase them into the Underground Jungle. People can get lost and go crazy down there. Luckily, Winters is a full spectrum talent and is able to get them out of there. Now they just need to find the Dreamlight Lamp (before some rogue triplets do) and use it to stabilize the Underground Jungle in order to save their entire world.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 1, 2010
Ghost Hunters #6 
Dreamlight Trilogy #3
Arcane Society #9
Harmony #7
Follows Obsidian Prey
Followed by Canyon's Night
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys by Harper Lin

Franny is contending with another death when a local man is murdered outside a gym. She is bemused to discover that the man who owns the gym was the big man on campus from her high school, Todd. She's even more surprised to find that he's more handsome than ever. He also seems to be the prime suspect. And that, Franny decides, is a shame. So she's going to investigate. Because Todd's too hot to be a killer. 
This was a two and a half star book for me. Franny was ridiculous, Matty was being kind of a jerk, and the killer came out of nowhere. I would probably stop this series and concentrate on Harper Lin's others which I like better, except that I do have the third book already from the library. 

Two and a half stars
This book came out September 18, 2015
Cap Bay Cafe Mystery #2
Followed by Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Friday, January 3, 2025

Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz

Ever since she woke up from a night she didn't remember, Amelia's talents for seeing people auras has magnified. She can't see them during the day, but at night, she sees a fog of emotions that people have left behind them. This new sight has made it so that she fears going out at night. She's even seeing a therapist for it. But now, her life has gotten stranger since there seems to be a man stalking her. So she calls in some help. 
Gideon Sweetwater is a private investigator. He's wealthy enough to be able to pick his own cases. And he's interested in Amelia's. While he's not exactly sure she's actually seeing what she thinks she sees, he's willing to take a chance. And thank goodness he does, because there actually are some forces after Amelia and not everyone in her life is as they appear. 
You don't HAVE to have read the other books in this series to enjoy it but it would help. 

Four stars
This book comes out January 7th, 2025
The Lost Night Files #3
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own


Thursday, January 2, 2025

Flashpoint by Catherine Coulter

Characters from previous books return in this one. The first is Lady Elizabeth Palmer. She was caught in a plot that would have killed any number of people. Since then, she's been trying to live a simple life. But now, someone is trying to kill her. Could it be linked to the man who pulled her into his web last year?
The second character is Autumn. She's twelve and is watching a younger boy for the summer while his father goes on a belated honeymoon with his new, young wife. But while Tash's father is away, Autumn discovers that she and Tash share some abilities. And his are warning him that his father is in danger.
I still read this series even though it's a little off the wall for me.

Three and a half stars
This book came out July 2, 2024
FBI Thriller #27
Follows Reckoning
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Monday, December 30, 2024

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson

I had read one or two books by Dickson before and mostly enjoyed them. This one was a little confusing to follow and the plot was a bit melodramatic but I finished it. Two and a half stars rounded up for Goodreads.
This is essentially a locked room mystery. A group of people have gathered. One dies in a remote outbuilding. It can't be anything but murder but there are no footprints in the fresh snow around the building. The victim is an actress who is trying to raise her falling star. Tempestuous and aging, she is trying to reinvigorate her career by coming across the pond to star in a play. There is more than one attempt on her life. And one is finally successful.

Three stars
This book came out in 1934
Sir Henry Merrivale #2
Follows The Plague Court Murders
Followed by The Red Widow Murders
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own