Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle

So good until the end.

Lyra Dore made the find of an amber prospector's life and was ecstatic until her boyfriend at the time, Cruz Sweetwater, claimed the find for his family company, Amber, Inc. She was understandably upset. 

So now she can't believe that he's on her doorstep wanting help to get some of his men out of a trap that's been sprung, keeping them locked in the jungle. Even after she's done, he just won't seem to leave. His entire family claims that he loves her, but can she trust the man who left her taking not only her find but her heart?

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 25, 2009

Ghost Hunters #6 

Follows Dark Hunter

Followed by Midnight Crystal

Hard copy I own

Opinions are my own

The Mapmaker's Apprentice by C.J Archer

The commissioner that helped Matt out in the last book needs help now. A mapmaking apprentice has gone missing and the commissioner would like Matt and India to help him out. In order to do so, they pretend to be a married couple. 

While visiting the guilds, they discover that the mapmaker's guild is also trying to suppress the knowledge that magicians exist. That leads to a very desperate situation where the pair barely survive. They also discover that their enemies may be more numerous than they thought.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 25, 2016

Glass and Steele #2

Follows The Watchmaker's Daughter

Followed by The Apothecary's Apprentice

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Regency Christmas by Leslie Lynn, Joan Smith, Barbara Metzger, Jennie Gallant

Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger

The Earl of Montraven fires his secretary when he discovers the man has been sleeping with the earl's mistress. As a last act, the secretary decides to mix up the cards going with the gifts to the earl's all-but-engaged-fiancée, the mistress he's dismissing, the woman he had hoped to replace her with, his mother,  his sister, and their companion. Of course, this leads to him discovering that the woman he should marry may have been under his nose all along.

Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant

This short story is actually quite bemusing. A young woman, Elizabeth, is being pushed to marry an older, disreputable man, Baron Rathborne. He has sent her a necklace as a betrothal gift that is later stolen from her. Luckily, Lord Wyckholme is there to help her get out of that engagement and right into another. 

I originally read this book around the time it came out and her uncle infuriated me then... he still infuriates me now. I mean, I try to think the best of people but this man goes into willfully naive

Love a La Carte by Joan Smith

Cybele has put all of her money into a new restaurant, but it has been roundly panned by food critic, Monsieur Bongout. She is desperately trying to save her investment but is also trying to avoid the attentions of the man she may actually love, Lord Sinden. 

The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn

Persephone may not have the use of her legs but she has a bright mind. She knows that her sister Athena deserves love. It is Persephone who encourages Athena to attend a masked ball. And it is there that Lord Andrew Finchley falls in love with a mysterious woman.

Are these the best stories ever? Maybe not. And I may view them with a lot of nostalgia but they are quiet romances that hit a very sweet spot.

Four stars

This book came out October 1, 1994

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer

Down to her last penny, about to be thrown out of her lodgings, India Steele does the only thing she can think of. She goes to the shop of her former fiance (the one who dumped her after her father died) and tells the customers not to buy from him. While she makes a scene, it doesn't do much. Except that one man takes notice, Matthew Glass. He immediately hires her on to find a watchmaker known only to him as Kronos.

Matthew needs to find Kronos soon. We don't learn much about it in this book but it is a life-or-death situation tied to a watch that the man made for him. But is Matthew Glass all he seems to be? Or is he possibly the American fugitive known as the Dark Rider.

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 28, 2016

Glass and Steele #1

Followed by The Mapmaker's Apprentice

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Rich in Your Love by Pippa Grant

Octavia "Tavi" Lightly is a social media influencer. She's vegan, sugar-free, and exercises regularly. Except, she's a fake. Really, she's just trying to keep her head above water because she's spent her money on a cacao farm. And now that her grandmother has instructed her entire family to move to a tiny town called Tickled Pink, her entire house of cards might come tumbling down. 

Dylan Wright was a wild teen. Now he's the town's only plumber and Tavi's assigned project. Gigi wants her to help Dylan get onto social media to raise the town's profile.

There's some pull and push. It's over the top. Not my favorite Grant story but fine. 

Three stars

This book came out July 12, 2022

Tickled Pink #2

Follows The One who Loves You

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Secrets of the Lost Ledgers by C.J. Archer

Sylvia is starting to understand how to use her magic and that is making her more attuned to other magic. So she is startled to pick up a book and sense that there may be an invisible message. She consults her friend to find out what it says and discovers that it is a message from a relative of the man who the professor explored for so many years. And the author of the message was married to a paper magician. Could that person be her family? 

The investigation leads them into the world of horseracing and across the tracks of an old enemy. The ending was a bit more confusing than it needed to be but it does move the needle on Sylvia finding her family a little bit further.

Three  stars

This book came out September 3, 2024

Glass Library #5

Follows The Dead Letter Delivery

Followed by The Journal of a Thousand Years

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The One Who Loves You by Pippa Grant

Phoebe Lightly's life is turned upside down when her grandmother chokes on dinner and nearly dies. After a minute in hell, Gigi has decided that the whole family needs to turn their lives around. To do that, they're going to mimic an old move and move to a tiny town called Tickled Pink.

This... is not in Phoebe's life plan. She has been climbing the family's corporate ladder pretty steadily with the aim of one day running everything. She did make a recent misstep but she's still sure she can figure out how to make Gigi proud of her.

Teague is a local resident. His life turned upside down about twenty years ago when he ran away from his family. These days, he's living in a tiny house and coparenting his daughter with his ex-wife and her new wife. When the Lightlys come to town, he's not impressed. But there's something about Phoebe that is intriguing.

The two might have more in common than it seems at first sight but it will take some time for them to figure out what that is and how to be together. 

I'm not loving this new series but my joy in the Thrusters and Fireballs is more in the whole coterie rather than the single books so I'm hoping that will prove to be the case for these as well.

Three stars

This book came out July 12, 2022

Tickled Pink #1

Followed by Rich in Your Love

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own