Matilda by Roald Dahl, Sarah Greene

I think that coming to this book later in life may make it difficult to overlook the nastiness of the adults but Roald Dahl generally has his tongue firmly in his cheek while writing and his books have to be taken in with that in mind.
But who can't love a tiny girl, only 4 years old, who toddles herself down to the library. And then, at 5, deciding to get revenge against her parents. And then uses her excess brain power to convince a real baddie that she needs to repent.
Okay, yes, this is spreading dissidence toward parents but even I could tell the difference between these parents and my own while reading this book.

Four and a half stars

This book came out October 1, 1988

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Lady Chosen by Stephanie Laurens

Miss Leonora Carling has lived a quiet life. She runs the house for her uncle and brother who work translating ancient languages.  Recently though, there have been some incidents that seem to ahve started from when someone was trying to buy the house next store. Now the sale has gone through and she is determined to meet the owner.

She meets one of them, Tristan Wemyss, Earl of Trentham. The house has actually been bought by a group of men who are recently retired from being spies and are all titled and hoping to have a quiet place to avoid the people who would like to marry off sisters, daughters, aunts. Tristan actually needs to marry before July or else he loses the money portion of his estate and he will be unable to support his fourteen aunts. Leonora is the perfect answer to who he could possibly find that he wants to live with for the rest of his life. And the two are ready to settle in but they need to clear up that pesky mystery of who keeps breaking in first.

A nice start to a new series built within the same time as Laurens' Cynster series. 

Four stars
This book came out August 26, 2003

Followed by A Gentleman's Honor

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Heretic Royal by G.A. Aiken

We are on the fourth of the three Smythe-Ferguson sisters (the third being a scheming bitch who is trying to build an empire), Ainsley, in this book. She feels like a forgotten sister. Keeley, the oldest, loved her brothers and sisters and the forge. Gemma was a fighter and then a war monk. And she was always Ainsley's main sparring partner and now the first to dismiss any of the contributions Ainsley is trying to make. But, now that the dragons have arrived (a crossover from Aiken's Dragon Kin series) and that might change the odds. 

There are SO MANY characters in this book. You will have a little bit of a chance if you've read either the Dragon Kin books or the Scarred Earth books so far but there are still a LOT of people to keep track of. Aiken is great at spinning off side characters and that happens again in this book but we also get a return of the rather large group of characters from the previous book in the series. So, a lot of page space is taken up with these characters. did I still enjoy this book? Mostly, yes. I really wish we had gotten to see more of Gruff, the centaur who doesn't usually talk, especially in the building of his relationship with Keeley. As it's own book, this is about three stars but as an addition to the overall series, four stars.

Scarred Earth Saga #3

Three and a half stars

Follows The Princess Knight

This book comes out November 24, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby February 2024

Full Bloom by Jayne Ann Krentz

In her late twenties, Emily Ravenscroft is finally feeling like she is coming into her own. She's been under her family's thumb for too long. But this is the last straw, chasing off a man she wasn't even seeing. If her parents or brother had bothered to ask, she would have let them know. Worst of all, they brought back their favorite enforcer, Jacob Stone, who Emily once had an unrequited crush on. 

Jacob Stone has left the Ravenscroft's employ but he came back to help out when he heard it was for Emily. Now a grown woman, Jacob is ready to be with the woman he's always adored. 

This is definitely an eighties book with a masterful man though the woman isn't quite so helpless. Lots of misunderstandings though that drove me nuts.

Two and a half stars

This book came out in 1988

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas

I read the first 30 or so pages of this book and then the last 30 or so pages and wasn't really sure that I wanted to read the middle. But I'm glad I did. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first but I did like seeing the process of Helen and Rhys falling in love. We saw them get engaged in Cold-Hearted Rake when Helen's family was penniless and she thought she'd get engaged to the uncouth but very wealthy Rhys Winterborne. But when Helen's family comes into money, her well-meaning sister-in-law tells Rhys the engagement is off. But Helen doesn't want that. So this book starts with her seducing Rhys so that they'll have to get married. So why is this book so long? Well, it turns out Helen has a secret. One that she doesn't realize until after the seduction might make Rhys call off the wedding.

I'm not sure why this book was so rocky for me. It's frustrating when you can't pinpoint exactly why a book isn't clicking, it just didn't. For regular Kleypas readers, that may not be the case.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 31, 2016

Follows Cold-Hearted Rake

Followed by Devil in Spring

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Witch Is Inn by Danielle Garrett

Holly and Adam have officially bought the Beechwood Inn but they are having problems with their liaison to the Haven Hospitality Committee. They need to do all of the things he says or they won't get rated by the HHC, the only way they can advertise to the magical community. No advertising, no guests. So they'll have to figure out how to work with Pierre Ancel. Too bad he ends up dead just outside of Holly's greenhouse. Even worse, someone saw a man who looked like Adam arguing with Pierre early the evening before.

The mystery ends up being a little thin with the end being way too quick. There was nice development of some of the side stories though with Holly going on a date with a human and Evangeline's baby shower being in the planning stages. We also get a nice set up to the next book which will feature Lacey's return. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 30, 2020

Follows Sassy Witch

Followed by Men Love Witches

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells

I don't remember which podcast I heard about this on and I'm not sure why I enjoyed this book so much but I did. If I had to guess, it was just waiting to see what happened next. I'm not sure I'll read other books in the series since they seem to focus on young/new adults and that's not my favorite but I am glad I read this one.

Una is one of the lowliest members of the her pack. She is unmarried, unmated, female, and has a bad leg resulting from a childhood injury. So why is she suddenly going into heat and telling the entire pack that her mate is the alpha. He tells everyone that she is wrong or maybe moon mad. Una runs and accepts the local healer's offer to break their bond. But Fate is tricky and Killian is stubborn. It may just end up that Una is his mate after all. And, if that's true, he's not letting her go.

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 12, 2021

Followed by The Heir Apparent's Rejected Mate

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own