Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. You've got a Southern matchmaker, Macy Frost, meeting a Northerner who just wants to have fun, Deacon Banks. Macy takes her matchmaking role very seriously. How could she not? She comes from a family of matchmakers who may or may not be descended from Cupid himself.
Deacon Banks is a confident tech entrepreneur (isn't that nice and vague?) who just wants to make his aunt happy this Christmas season by appearing to be searching for his true love. As long as the women know what the score is, why would it be a problem? Except that Macy seems to want him to concentrate on true love and Deacon's wondering why he can't be matched to the matchmaker.
I thought I knew Kramer's name and at the end of story, I finally remembered why. I have tried at least a couple of her books before but there is something about her writing that I just do not connect to. Not her fault or mine, it's just not a good match. I really liked the idea of this book and I think her regular readers will be more than satisfied.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3

Hello Again by Brenda Novak

Evelyn Talbot is still working in Alaska trying to decipher the secrets of some of the world's worst serial killers. In this story, she is concentrating on Lyman Bishop, a man who liked to lobotomize his victims. But was he wrongly convicted?
At the same time, she's trying to figure out whether the murder of a woman from her high school class was perpetrated by Evelyn's high school sweetheart, the one who murdered three of her friends and tried to murder Evelyn.
I liked the short story that started this book, the first book a little less, and this one even a little less. The overall arc for Evelyn is just so slow moving. She's more or less the same woman we met in the short story. You'd think that events would change her more. I think people who enjoyed the first book will like this one but this may be the end of the road on the series for me.

Three stars
This book comes out October 4
Follows Her Darkest Nightmare

The Human Workplace by Andy Swann

Nonfiction books, especially books about the workplace can get a little dry. This book was very readable and eminently pragmatic. Definitely a British book, I think there are still applications for those of us in America. My personal takeaway was that you need to have the right person in the right place doing the right actions to make a successful workplace. This is a little more touchy-feely than most of the work-related books I've read and a little bit more than I really wanted in a workplace book but overall a nice read.

Four stars
This book comes out October 3

A Talent for Temptation by Sabrina Jeffries

Meriel Vyse isn't sure about the way her life is going. She has been working for her husband's brother as a spy but she hates the work. And getting to know Quinn Raines has really made her long for a normal life.
Quinn Raines is also in love with Meriel which is why he fakes a kidnapping (really?) so that he can "rescue" her. Little does he know she's perfectly capable of rescuing herself. He finds out when she pulls a knife from her reticule and stabs him.
At under 50 pages, that really is pretty much the whole story. It's a nice story though short. Very, very short.

Three stars
This book comes out October 2

Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander

Every time I open a new Lady Emily book, I get nervous. This is such a wonderful series but outside of the cozies that I usually stick to. Will I like this book as much as the last one?
Following the pattern of the rest of the series, we get chapters following Lady Emily interspersed with chapters following a non-series character. In this case, it's a ballet dancer. More specifically, Katenka, the dancer who steps in to dance Swan Lake when the woman who was set to become the next big thing, Nemetseva, doesn't return. When she is found dead outside the theater, Lady Emily is the one who notices the Faberge egg near her body. Could it be that the notorious thief, Sebastian, is in Russia as well?
But who would want to kill a rising star? Nemetseva, like many ballerinas, has a lover who is part of the aristocracy. And she has other lovers she has left behind, but few enemies. Lady Emily is ostensibly in Russia to visit Camille but also to be near her husband as he works but she agrees to find the killer so that Nemetseva's lover can be at peace.
Oh, this was a wonderful story. I was on vacation in a beautiful place but could hardly put this book down to pay attention to the scenery. I didn't love the ending but it was an enjoyable read and I a very much looking forward to the next one.

Four stars
This book comes out October 10

Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander

The book opens with brewer Sloan Krause walking in on her husband in flagrante delicto with one of their new barmaids. She'd had a general sense that he might be cheating on her but now there's proof. So she leaves. Not only him but his family's brewery.
But her start at the new brewery in town (a destination town where beer is king) is more than a little rocky. Her ex seems determined to win her back, the supplier seems squirrelly, and Sloane discovers the body of a rival brewer in one of Nitro's beer tanks.
It's an interesting start to a new series but I'm a little trepidatious about whether it will be one that I will continue to enjoy. This book includes a LOT of set up so not as much story.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3

Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase

Finally the last Shaughnessy sibling gets her story. Darcy is the youngest as well as being the only girl. She's twenty-five and still working on figuring out what it is she wants to do with her life. She knows she's good at organizing and that's what gets her a week-long job helping woodworker Benjamin Tanner figure out his book. And it works well. Until she can't get home. And Ben is conscripted to come rescue her so she doesn't have to sleep at the airport.
Their relationship starts off with a misunderstanding and it just keeps going.
There's a lot of sexual tension in this book but I'm not sure that we get to see much else. Both  are sketched out but there's not an arc for either. An okay book but I was hoping for more for Darcy.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3
Follows A Sky Full of Stars 

Myths of Work by Adrian Furnham, Ian MacRae

Relatively short, this book was a really easy read. Some of the ideas seemed a little common sense to me (not every office should emulate Google) but there are some that I know aren't as common sense for others (listening to music at work? Horrors!). One I hadn't heard this specifically: We only use 10 per cent of our brain at work (I had heard the myth that we only use 10 percent of our brain, but ony at work). The chapters end with references and further reading that looks interesting.

Four stars
This book comes out October 3

Holiday House Call by Jen Doyle

Six years ago, neurosurgeon Dr. Karen Carmichael acted completely out of character and had a wild one-night stand with a man she met in a bar. She has an incredibly stressful job and is cruising down one of the back roads on a Tuesday night (the night she's allowed to cry) when she encounters that man again.
He may not remember her name, but Tuck sure remembers the encounter. When it turns out the car he pulls over for weaving is the woman he hasn't forgotten, Tuck is ecstatic to have a second chance. He's not thrilled that she's a doctor since he spent a LOT of his childhood in hospitals. He can see forever with this woman, if only she'd give them a chance.
This is the second book I've read in this series and I'm really enjoying it. The characters are somewhat undeveloped (we only get a glossing of why Karen and Tuck dislike each others professions) but the series seems to be a fast, fun, and fluffy series that works beautifully if your looking for an HEA without too much angst.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out October 1, 2017

Follows Called Out

Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey

Five years ago, Ava Wright and Jace Morrow were in love and trying to make it in the music scene. When Jace got the chance to make it big, but without Ava, he took it. He's regretted it ever since. With his father's death, Jace has a chance to go back to the small town where he and Ava grew up.
Ava is still in town. She's working for her parents in the same cafe she worked in in high school. And the music, for her, is gone. She's not happy that Jace is back in town but she's... fair? or something? Stacey tries to paint her as a caring person who just can't stand Jace's suffering but she comes off a little... door mat-ish. It's not a horrible story but would have been a lot better as a full story.

Three stars
This novella comes out October 1

Halloween at the Graff by Sinclair Jayne

Walker Wilder has retreated to Marietta, Montana, home of the cousins she's never met, to lick her wounds. Her boyfriend was schtupping an intern and her high-powered job fell apart so she felt lucky to get a job trying to boost the visitation to the historic Montana Graff Hotel. And, when she's spooked by a moving chair in the hotel's attic, she thinks she has the perfect hook.
Calum Quest is visiting his old friend Logan Wilder in Montana when he gets the message that there might be a haunted hotel in the area. He's not super stoked about it because he really would rather not be a ghost chaser any more. But Walker's hot and she has an interesting story. So, what the heck, he'll at least check it out.
The timing of this story was very odd. I couldn't figure out if the search for decorations, the chair, and Calum's arrival were all on one day? Her first day at work?
I also wish that we had gotten to see a little more of the characters' development. Their changes of heart were incredibly sudden. Calum's deep and understanding but then he gets pissed that Walker, who he's known for less than a week?, doesn't share one of her deepest secrets, but then he's okay.
It's a nice story but I wish there had been more.

Three stars
This book comes out September 25

Death Makes a Prophet John Bude

Some mysteries start with a murder and then build in the backstory of how the murder came to be. In this Inspector Meredith story, the story starts with a buildup of the cult known as the Coo (Children of Osiris). We meet the current leader, his controlling patron, and the man who would take his place. Tensions are built until the middle of the book when the murders (yes, more than one) finally occur.
Though firmly set contemporary to the time it was written (1947), the story could definitely be set in the current day. A fast read, it will delight any classic mystery reader.

Four stars
This book comes out January 3

Please Don't Do Coke in the Bathroom by Sami Christianson

This reminded me of Subversive Cross-stitch; taking a craft and then updating (?) it with bad language. In this case, it's with calligraphy. There are suggestions for signs that you can make yourself. They start with words starting with each letter of the alphabet then a few other suggestions. A nice novelty book.

Three stars
This book comes out September 26

Head over Heels by Jennifer Dawson

Sophie Kincaid is just the PR girl. At least, that's what she tries to tell the FBI when they come to arrest her bosses. But it's too late, her reputation is in tatters. She retreats to Revival, IL where her best friends have helped to get her a job and a rental. A rental that is owned by an uber-hot man. One that is tatted and dangerous. Sophie's catnip. The type of man she is trying to avoid.
Ryder Moore is looking for a woman to settle down with. Someone who will create a home and be a mother. Not a disgraced city girl who is only in his town biding her time. Too bad she's not only hot, but brainy, sassy, and the kind of sexy that calls to Ryder.
I didn't love the angst that was the last quarter of this book. It was just a little too much over the top for me. But I really enjoyed the book and liked that I could jump in without having (remembered reading?; while creating tags for my blog post, I discovered I had read the third book in this series but didn't remember it as the H/H from that book didn't figure prominently in this one) read the previous four books in the series.

Three stars
This book comes out September 26

Bad Boy's Bard by E.J. Russell

We've seen Gareth Kendrick in the last two Fae Out of Water books. The last true bard of Faerie, he's had kind of a crappy life. First his brother sent him to be trained by dead bards (since there weren't any live ones around to do the training. Then his human lover was killed by an Unseelie Fae. And not just any Unseelie, it was none other than the new king!
Niall O’Tierney's life hasn't been any better. He's the son of the last king, half-brother of the new king and he's spent the last two hundred years avoiding his one true love so that he wouldn't be forced to kill the man. Well, to kill Gareth. So when he sees Gareth's shock his first instinct is to fake amnesia. Uh huh. But that's not their biggest problem, there's a threat to all of Faerie that only Gareth and Niall can contain.
Probably my least favorite of the three books. Both Gareth and Niall were just a little too much in their own heads. That being said, I enjoyed this whole series overall and look forward to more from Russell.

Three stars
This book comes out September 11
Follows The Druid Next Door

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

Oh. This book started off so well. Holly White is back in her hometown, not because she wants to be there, but because she was dumped by her fiance two weeks before the wedding. Unlike other series, Holly is happy to be home. She loves Mistletoe, Maine, loves the quirky people who live there, and loves being in a place that embraces Christmas so  much. Rather than being resentful that she's forced to return home, it's nice to have a character who is happy to go back to a place that loves her.
Well, except for Margaret Fenwick, the president of the Mistletoe Historical Society. The woman is clearly unhappy and is pretty much trying to drag the rest of the town down to her level of misery. It's just too bad that she's murdered on Holly's family's farm right after a fight with Holly's father.
It's too bad the ending was a) just a little out there and b) so darn cheesy. I'll try the next book in the series but this may not be a series for me.

Three stars
This book comes out October 12

Second Chances -- Anthology

One of my favorite tropes for romance short stories and novellas is the second chance. It makes it infinitely more believable for two people to find their HEA. It clears up the need for a first-meet and makes more room for a good story. This is a really nice mix of stories. I didn't love all of them but I didn't need to, this was more an introduction to the authors and I think that most of these stories probably nice captured the author's tone and writing style.
With sixteen stories, I'm not going to review them all but there were some authors that I'm going to explore further. I definitely liked Cassandra Dean's "Scandalous," a historical story of a woman who was  ruined but then traveled the continent and returned to the man who finally realized he might be good enough for her. If this were a longer book, I think I would have liked it quite a bit.
Another one I would have liked the full-length version of (but enjoyed the story) was Lizzie Shane's "Something Old, Something New," the story of a couple who had been lovers, but then the man ghosted. Now they've met again at his best friend's wedding that she is the planner for.
Overall, a nice sprinkling of romance authors. Every romance reader will find at least one story to enjoy.

Four stars
This book comes out September 12

The Final Score by Jaci Burton

We've met both Mia and Nathan in previous series. He was the son of two previous protagonists while she is the sister of one. Since both those books, these two have become close friends and, one crazy night, lovers.
In this book, Mia is concentrating on starting up her business while Nathan is about to step into his father's shoes as the starting quarterback for the Sabers. Both are busy but still make time for each other... even as they're fighting off sexytime feelings for each other.
And most of the first part of the book is "we should have sex" "no we should just be friends," mostly on the part of a very wishy-washy seeming Mia. And it's her actions at the end of the book that knocked it down an entire star. It was great that Nathan called her on it, but based on her actions in most of this book, it made it hard for me to believe these two were going to get their HEA.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out September 2017
Followed by Shot on Gold 

Eye Candy -- anthology

Generally, I quite enjoy anthologies. Especially ones like this one that take a group of new-to-me authors that might help me expand my reading. I'm also a huge fan of a holiday anthology. 
This anthology, not so much a fan of. Why? Because these were all parts of series that I hadn't read, that I felt I needed to have read, and now won't read. This was not the book for me, neither the stories (which weren't exactly romance more spanning horror and erotica, both of which I enjoy but neither of which I was prepared for). I would recommend it to people who have read and enjoyed at least one of these authors before.

Two stars
This book comes out September 5

A Christmas Peril by J. A. Hennrikus

Before her current job as general manager for a theater company, Edwina "Sully" Sullivan was a police officer. That's the reason her cousins come to her for help when her .... uncle-ish person (her mother and his wife were first cousins). She doesn't want to help at first but then the police arrest her favorite cousin, Eric. Sully decides to step in, even if that does mean working with her former husband who is working as one of the lawyers for the family.
I was surprised to see that this was a new mystery. This felt more like something written in the 90s. It was still enjoyable but just felt a little dated. It was also surprising to me that this was the first book in the series. There were several points were I felt like there was some backstory that had already been told that we just weren't getting to see. The ending was incredibly convoluted but I would still read the next book in this series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 8