True Love by Jude Deveraux

Oh, Jude Deveraux. I don't know why I still read your stories. They are so... twee. Alix is just TSTL and Jared... why the hell is he keeping all these secrets from her? He knows that she is the One For Him but still won't let her know all of the information she should be privvy to. These are the things that piss me off most in reading romance novels. Add to that the insistence that Jared has that he's too old for Alix (why spell it like that anyway?)
Well, part of the reason I still pick up your books is nostalgia because you, Ms. Deveraux, were one of my favorite authors  when I started reading romance and I can't get enough of the Montomery/Taggert family. We get to see Jilly again! She's one of my favorite characters that never got a story. So happy to see her HEA.
But the main reason is because even though I have all of these frustrations with the story, you absolutely pull me in to these people's lives. You even address Jared's secret keeping and how Alix deals with it! When she forgave him, I immediately did as well. What other author can make you do that?
Overall, this book is a wonderful addition to the Deveraux canon and I can guarantee that if you loved "Sweet Liar," "High Tide," or any of Deveraux's contemporary novels, you will LOVE this book as well.
Solid three and a half stars here.

New Dog

And now the running may be cut down further. I have... acquired a dog. She is a ten-year-old Golden Retriever who I inherited from my grandmother. While she is an older dog, she is still incredibly active and I'm walking her three times a day about .75-1 mile each walk. It takes up some of my time and, while lower impact than running, it is sapping some of my energy. Good thing she's so darn cute.

If You Give a Rake a Ruby by Shana Galen

Why, oh why, do I have a beer and then request books on NetGalley that I'm not sure I'll like? Obviously, because I have good taste.
I didn't read the first book in this series so I felt like I missed some of the byplay, but it wasn't absolutely necessary to have the full background.
Fallon No-Last-Name is one of three "Jewels of the Ton." Beautiful courtesans with mysterious pasts who were actually sponsored (not... quite... the right word, but the closest I can get) by an earl and his countess. But Fallon is now in the sights of Warren Fitzhugh. Not because he wants her for his mistress. No. He thinks she has information that will lead to the man who is threatening to kill his friends. He quickly discovers that, not only is she not one of the baddies, she's actually someone he could spend the rest of his life with.
Fast, fun read that took a little bit to get into but was something I fell into quickly.