Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

I definitely think that this book of entwined novellas is going to be compared to Love Actually. And this works just as well. The book opens with a southern girl who has just moved to New York to become a model and gets to wear THE dress of the season. It's a dress that touches the lives of many people whose stories are all told in the first person (not all of them women, despite the title of the book.) We get to meet the designer of THE dress, several people who work at Bloomingdale's, a Muslim girl visiting New York, a widower lawyer who is dating a much younger woman even though his loyal assistant has loved him for years, a private detective and a host of others.
Did we get to really learn about the characters? No. It's too hard to do in a book like this though I wish there had been a little more.
Overall, a fast, fun, and fluffy read that's perfect for the beach.

Four stars
This book comes out July 12

The Duke of Daring by Darcy Burke

This was a good book. Not exceptional and the story was a bit surface (even for me) but Darcy Burke fans will enjoy the story and I think new readers will as well. There is absolutely no need to have read the first book in this series.
Miss Lucinda Parnell had the misfortune to be born to a man who, mourning the lost of his wife, squandered all of his money, leaving her penniless. So now, she's decided to walk into a man's world, gambling to make enough money to support herself and her grandmother. Her grandmother is hoping that Lucy will get married but she's had four seasons and no one has looked at Lucy twice.
The Earl of Dartford is startled to realize that the young man who's been winning all evening is actually a woman. He's also intrigued. What could cause a woman to do something so unusual? And why has he never met her before?
I wish this book had been a little bit longer so we could have gotten to know Lucy and Andrew a bit better. Or to see more of their adventures. Also to see more of the interaction between Lucy and her friends. I often complain that too much time is spent on the sequel-bait but in this book we barely get to know chatterbox Aquilla and the icy Ivy.

Three stars
This book came out July 5
Followed by The Duke of Deception

Housebroken by Laurie Notaro

I picked this book because of the similarity of the author's name to Tig Notaro (who the author TOTALLY references). I loved Lauren's breezy style and her conversational writing didn't grate on me as much as another recent read. I especially loved "Frankly, if I walk into your house and you don't have two hundred books in there somewhere that you haven't read yet, I don't trust you. I don't want to know you as a human." (27-28).
Fast and fun, this is most definitely an author I want to read again.

Four Stars
This book comes out July 5

You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

So. I obviously skimmed the description on this one. I really thought it was either about coming out as gay or transitioning (I think I also got that from the title). And it made sense when the author started describing herself as a "tom man" but it got a little confusing from there until I finally figured out that the author is actually a straight woman. Yep. But she is a funny lady, evidenced by her bio at the end that enlightened me to the fact that she's the head writer on the Amy Schumer show. Finally got it figured out!
But this was a collection of essays she put together over the course of a couple of years. Reflections on her life, some about growing up, others about past loves. I liked it quite a bit. Not a ton of laugh out loud moments but some nice gentle humor that I enjoyed.

Four Stars
This book comes out July 5

Wrong Place, Right Time by Elle Casey

So, you know how annoying a plot moppet is? Well, this plot moppet had a lisp (lithp?) and he talks a lot. A LOT. I usually give ARCs a little more leeway otherwise this would have been a fast DNF for me.
Which I'm glad I did finish because this was mostly a pretty decent book. Yes, it was outlandish and there was way more sex than romance, but I generally liked the hero and heroine. The height differential seemed a little extreme but considering I know some similar couples, I've seen it work.
Jenny is a single mom with three kids and an ex who is pretty worthless (of course). Her sister (who has her own book) asks her to come do some computer work for the Bourbon Street Boys. While she's there, Jenny meets Dev and then gets to spend some extra time with him courtesy of the loud thump that sends them running (well, Jenny gets dragged, more or less) to the panic room. They're only there for a bit but it gives her a chance to spend some extra time with the super-tall, shaved head man. She starts working for the Bourbon Street Boys and spreading her wings.
This book reminded me of a Julie Ann Walker book but she does NOT usually throw in lisping, annoying plot moppets.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out July 5

A Gift for Guile by Alissa Johnson

After finishing "A Talent for Trickery," I was immediately ready for the story of Esther Walker-Bales. In the first book, she was portrayed as feisty and knowing her own worth but doubting some of her past. And Sir Samuel Brads seemed like a perfect foil, handsome but no-nonsense.
This book opens with Esther waiting on a train platform because of a mysterious note that had been sent to her. Samuel has followed her to London because... Well, he tells himself it's because her sister is married to his best friend. But the readers know it's all bunk.
This book wasn't quite as good as the first one in terms of the sense of fun but three and a half stars is still an enjoyable read.

This book comes out July 5
Three and a half stars

Devil and the Deep by Julie Ann Walker

Bran Palladino has been exchanging emails and sat phone calls with Maddy Powers since he kissed her on her father's yacht. Where he had just helped free her from kidnappers. Or pirates. Let's just say she was hijacked. Now she's back in the area (well, ish, she's close anyway) with three high school girls that her dad had her choose for a chance to become engineers in his company. The problem being that Bran doesn't seem to have shown up, even though she invited him. Well, that's not actually the biggest problem. Nope. It's the four men who have arrived on the island and are trying to kidnap her and possibly the girls.
From Bran's point of view, it's a cluster. Especially when he gets shot in the thigh. Actually, he takes that pretty well. It's when the high school girls start flirting with him that he starts to wig out a little.
I liked the first book in the series. It was sort of bat-shit crazy but in a "highly enjoyable read" way. This book was maybe a little too frenetic but about the same.

I am very much looking forward to the story of Alex (the very talkative researcher helping the men look for the Santa Cristina) and Mason (who doesn't talk very much at all) but I think we're actually going to see why Wolfe (who I can't remember at all, but must have been in the first book) and Chrissy (who is a leggy blond who runs an adventure travel company (?)) don't like each other first.

Book comes out July 5
Three and a half stars
Follows Hell or High Water

Followed by Ride the Tide