Undone By You by Kate Meader

Dante Moretti is an out gay man. That is generally hard enough but he's the GM of a a pro hockey team, specifically, the Chicago Rebels. So he's not about to make his life any harder by going after any of his players. Especially not Cade "Alamo" Burnett, a young player who's not even out. But then he sees Cade at a gay bar. And then Cade makes the moves on him. Soon, they're in a steamy relationship. But Dante just can't believe that love might be part of the equation. Maybe Cade can.

This is supposedly the third book in the series but, at just over a hundred pages, I thought this was a novella, not a whole book. And that was part of my problem with it. I was really hoping that the "#3" meant that Dante and Cade were going to have a fuller story. This was fine but not what I was hoping for.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 5th
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Woman Left Behind by Linda Howard

Jina Modell works in Communications. She's not a field agent... until Axel MacNamara decides that ten people from various deparments are going to be assigned to specific teams. Jina's team?  The one led by Levi "Ace" Butcher. She is not excited; that team usually gets the worst assignments. And that's before her training starts.  Jina is the only one who ends up training with her team -- all of the rest of the new "recruits" get to train together. She eventually considers herself lucky because she gets to bond with her group before they get out into the field. It's hard. The guys on her team aren't exactly excited to be working with a woman but Jina is stubborn and decides that she's going to make it, no matter what.
Ace really doesn't want a rookie on his team. Even worse, he's highly attracted to this person who is most definitely off-limits. But what is he supposed to do when they're on a mission and she gets left behind?
The title of this book was incredibly deceptive as was the description. Both make it sound like this is going to be the story of Jina fighting her way back to the teams but it is mainly about her journey joining the team. Less than 50 pages are about the mission where she gets "left behind." While I really liked the journey of Jina and Ace, I am confused by the ending.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 6
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss

One and Only by Jenny Holiday

Jane Denning is the responsible one in her friend group. It's probably the reason that she's been chosen to babysit the younger brother of her bridezilla friend's fiance. She's not thrilled by that assignment but at least it gets her out of the rest of her bridesmaid's duties.
Cameron MacKinnon is not surprised that his brother's fiancee wants to set Jane on him. He had a pretty wild reputation growing up. But it doesn't mean that he has to sit down and take it. Especially since his list of things to do after being dismissed from the army includes getting laid and Jane keeps preventing that from happening. So, maybe he should focus on her instead...
I liked the building of this relationship. Yes, there were some one dimensional aspects (especially with Cameron) but, overall, we got to know both Jane and Cameron pretty well. We got to see just enough of her friends that there might be more of them in later series (worker girl Wendy and super model Gia) but it wasn't overly heavy in trying to build them up.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by It Takes Two

Color Me Murder by Krista Davis

Florrie Fox loves her job at Color Me Read, a bookstore in Georgetown. It allows her to be around books and to help others find something to read as well. In her off time, she makes intricate drawings for her series of adult coloring books. She's not exactly happy to be living with her parents which is why she jumps at the chance to live in her boss's carriage house. He needs an occupant in order to make sure his sister's spoiled son doesn't move in. Florrie is slightly worried about the nephew, especially when the man shows up at the bookstore and threatens to fire her. But Professor Maxwell, her world-traveling boss says that he'll take care of his nephew that weekend. So when Florine finds the nephew dead in the book store, run through with a spear, she is not surprised that her quiet boss is a suspect but she is shocked when he's actually arrested as the murderer.
With Professor Maxwell depending on her, Florine works with a variety of people (his butler, his friends, and his ex-wife (who has some pretty big issues of her own) to solve the issue of what really happened to the professor's nephew.
I didn't love the ending. The solution to the story was a bit convoluted and came mostly out of left field and the absolute ending was just a little too twee. Florrie was an okay character but unless she develops some flaws (at least a little more depth) she's going to become annoying very quickly.

Three stars
This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Want You by Stacy Finz

Deb Bennett has loved TJ Garner since she was a child but she knew that she would never measure up to the Garner's golden boy so she settled for his brother, Win. The two of them got along quite well since Win is sort of the family black sheep, the one least likely to succeed (though that's not hard in a family of overachievers.) But Win isn't coming back to Deb and she knows that it's for the best. For TJ, that means it's an opportunity to win the woman he's always loved, first by wooing her with a marketing job.
And Deb ends up being amazing at the job even though she's only worked as a server and never went to college (or only went for a little while... I don't remember). While I'm sure there are many people who can do this, I didn't get any sense that Deb was going to be that person. And I have to admit that there was so little time between Deb and TJ on the slopes. We're told over and over that Deb is this amazing sports-woman but we never actually get to see it. And TJ's story of angst is... a little disappointing. I didn't love this story but am definitely still looking forward to the next.

Three stars
This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Love You

Deja Moo by Kirsten Weiss

San Benedetto has an interesting tradition, they build a thirty-foot star cow in the middle of the town square for Christmas. And for many years, the cow has gone down in a fire blaze. Maddie Kosloski would like to get to the cow to help her mother guard it, but her usually reliable truck has suddenly decided not to run. And that turns out to be a problem when one of the guards, a dairy farmer who has been pissing a number of people off, turns up dead, an arrow in his chest.
It's up to Maddie to find out what is going on. Mostly because her mother seems to be in danger even though she saw nothing the night of the murder.
I liked that Maddie doesn't seem to be one of those cozy-heroines who is perpetually caught up in a love triangle. There was a lot of wackiness in this book like Weiss felt like she had to make zanier and zanier characters. It was sort of overwhelming at points but I think this book would hit the spot for most contemporary mystery fans and all Kirsten Weiss readers.

Three stars
This books comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Chocolate a la Murder

Best Laid Plans by Brenda Jackson

Nolan Madaris is smarter than the average bear. He's prepared for his great-grandmother's matchmaking and he's not going to settle down with anyone, not even a gorgeous IT genius like Ivy Chapman. Sure, his foot-loose and fancy-free life might be wearing on him a bit but that doesn't mean he's ready to settle down.
Ivy has a terrible ex-boyfriend who has made her wary of all men. Even a smoking hot ladies man like Nolan. So when her grandmother starts working with his great-grandmother to try and hook them up, she knows it's time to do something drastic, something she would never normally do. She proposes a fake relationship.
As we know from most romance novels, this trick never works (at least in Romancelandia). While this is a perfectly fine book and I think regular Jackson readers won't be upset they bough the book, I never really connected with either Nolan or Ivy. They seemed like glossy, but rather shallow characters. A fast, fun, and fluffy read.

Three stars
This book comes out February 27th
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Who Moved My Goat Cheese? by Lynn Cahoon

I generally like both of Cahoon's other series so, when I saw she had a new series, I immediately requested it from NetGalley.
It's an interesting premise. Angie Turner is a chef who is returning, not to her own hometown, but to the place where she went through most of high school, her grandmother's house. She went there to live after her parents died. Now that she's inherited her grandmother's house, she's decided that it is a good place to return to, along with her best friend and co-owner, Felicia. They had owned a place in San Francisco with another chef, but it had closed (and there's definitely a story about Angie and Todd but we only got quick glimpses.) So Felicia and Angie decided to do a farm-to-fork (is this different than farm-to-table?) in Idaho.
This is fine but one of the people that Angie is hoping will supply them with local cheese is murdered. He was a grumpy old man who had wronged a lot of people so there is not a lack of suspects (is there ever?)
Angie just wants to open her restaurant but she's curious as to why the man was murdered. And why so many people seem to be looking her way.
It was a nice story but suffered from being a first book. There was a lot of extraneous information so that we could get to know people. And a lot of little twists that were introduced and just as suddenly untwisted.

Three stars
This book comes out March 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Smooth-Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates

We met Olivia in the last book of the Copper Ridge series and she helps to bridge over to the Gold Valley series. She is the prototypical "good twin." Her sister went deep into the dark side so Olivia did her best to always conform to expectations. When she didn't, her parents laid down the law. She's always done what's expected of her.  At least until she broke up with the perfect boyfriend. The impetus was not so much that he didn't propose as he didn't think he was going to do it any time soon. Frustrated, she ended things hoping that he'd see how much he missed her. So far that plan's not working and now she has a flat tire. And who is it that (reluctantly) stops to help her? Her ex's nearly-brother, Luke, the man with whom Olivia has such an antagonistic relationship.
Luke doesn't much like Olivia. She's a golden girl who has never known hardship and has always gotten everything she wanted. He grew up with an alcoholic mother and was more the parent than the child for most of their life together. He just doesn't see what they would have in common. Except that he wants to buy a piece of land her father listed but refuses to let go to just anyone. And Olivia needs some help prompting her ex. Fake relationship? Sure. Except it doesn't stay that way for long.
This was a good book except that Olivia was a little too good. Not good at what she does (wish we had gotten to see her more at work) but goody-two-shoes. And it causes a lot of angst. Like, a lot of angst. And Luke is patently unmovable... until he's not. A pretty good book and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 20
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Claim Me, Cowboy

Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

I requested this book from NetGalley because the title and cover reminded me of "Warren the 13th
and the All Seeing Eye." And most of the book reminded me of that, sort of a new story but mostly familiar tropes. Prime reality? Earth Prime?
Atticus 'Tick' Higgenbottom is one of many people to receive an envelope inviting him into danger. But he seems to be one of the few who answers the call. He is trying to solve the 12 clues that are very slowly being given to him while trying to make it through school alive.

Three stars
This book comes out February 8
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Shot on Gold by Jaci Burton

Love on the ice, a figure skater and a hockey player find true love at the Olympics. For Amber Sloane, this is her last chance at gold. She was at the Olympics twice before and is about to age out of the general age of figure skaters. Like many elite athletes, she's been sheltered in the past but, like many romance heroines, she's ready to break out of her shell. And the Olympic village is the perfect place to to do that. And Will "Mad Dog" Madigan is the perfect man to help her spread her wings.
For his part, Will is ready to win for the US and he's even more ready to spend some time with the gorgeous Amber. The question is, is this just a gold medal fling or the golden ring of true love?
Since this book doesn't overlap too much with other books in the series, I don't think you need to have read previous titles to get the story. There is a deep dive into both sports that was nice. I just didn't feel the connection between Amber and Will. This series has evolved over 14 books and several novellas and I miss the sparks that flew in the early books (more the relationships than the sex scenes.) Still a good book but not quite to the level of earlier books in the series.

Three stars
This book comes out February 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows The Final Score

The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton

Three students picked for a $10,000 scholarship. All three are given clues, all three are given phones,
all get cameras, and all of them have private drivers. What's the difference between this book and all the others in this genre? These aren't the smart kids. There's a nobody, a slacker, and a show-off. None of their middle-school teachers think that they'll ever amount to anything. But, not only do the three manage to solve their clues (albeit with some help), they manage the twist in the story as well...
A fun story - very Chicago-centric so I'm not sure how much other people will enjoy it but it's definitely a fun story for middle-schoolers.

Four stars
This book comes out February 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Giving Chase by Lauren Dane

This was an interesting premise with high school teacher Maggie Wright getting gussied up and attracting the attention of not one, but two men in town. One is a crazy stalker and the other is the brother of her hero. So that's new and interesting. She actually dates two people before getting together with the hero, Kyle. I liked that. She hadn't been out much, having been told by her mother and sister that beauty beat brains and therefore Maggie was worthless. But now, with cutie pie Alex interested and sheriff Shane Chase asking her out, Maggie's reveling in her new makeover.
Kyle Chase was interested in Maggie but she's off limits since his brother Shane asked her first. But Shane messes up, big time and leaves Kyle with an opening. One he's only too willing to walk into. Even though Maggie's gunshy after having been burned by Shane, Kyle convinces her that he's serious about wanting to be with her. Now they just have to work through Alex.
I didn't love the pacing or the writing but I kept with it and mostly enjoyed this story. I really wanted to read the second book since I was interested to see how Dane could transform him.

Three stars
This book came out February 1
ARC kindly provided by Net Galley

Amber by Elle Casey

Amber grew up on a communal farm with her two "sisters," Rose and Emerald, with each of their
three mothers taking turns raising them. She knows it's an idyllic existence which is why she's not super stoked that a hot lawyer-type is on her front porch with news that is going to change their entire lives. It seems they're actually the love children of the band Red Hot. Their mothers were groupies, and when they found themselves pregnant, they decided to leave. Hot lawyer wants to offer them 10 million dollars a piece to meet the band. Amber is the only sister who really wants to go. So she goes to New York and immediately gets accosted by a tattooed gentleman who seems to know her name.
Tyler Stanz is the newest member of Red Hot, replacing the lead guitarist. He's very "guyliner" in a band that is known for mullets. Neither the band nor their fans seem very accepting of him. Which is part of the reason he was so ready to help out by bringing Amber in from the airport, not that anyone has told him who she is.
As Amber and Ty start to figure out where each fits into the Red Hot family, they also start to discover just how their initial attraction can start to turn to love.
Elle Casey can be kind of uneven for me. The books I've read of hers have been rated from two to four stars. There were some definite sticking points in this book for me (how did Amber attend college and not know about smart phones or Snapchat; why did she start beating on some guy who definitely knew who she was) but I overall fell into the "like" category for this book. I liked the world-building and am ready to see Rose and Em get their own HEAs (and hopefully hot lawyer too, but preferably not with one of the sisters.)

Three stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

One More Promise by Samantha Chase

In the first book of this series, Dylan Anderson was going to rehab.  He took the "rocker lifestyle"

quite seriously, drinking, popping pills, and sleeping with a different woman every night. Now he's out of rehab but his band isn't going on tour for three more months. He has some time to kill (and some community service to do). When his manager leaves a pamphlet for a literacy program, Dylan isn't incredibly excited but he figures it's at least something to do.
Paige Walters works for her family marketing firm but she is definitely the under appreciated child. Her sister is the tall, beautiful blonde whom her father adores, even if Paige is the one who does all the work. She doesn't necessarily want praise and adulation but a little recognition would be nice. Instead, her sister is the one who likes to swoop in to take the credit after everyone else had put in the work. Her ego is a little fragile and that's why she can't understand why Dylan might be interested. Well, that and their first meeting wasn't exactly auspicious.
But they start to learn more about each other and start to fall a lot in love.
I generally liked both Paige and Dylan but the ending was over the top. We just hadn't seen much of Paige's father and all of a sudden he was a major player.

Four stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows One More Kiss
Followed by  One More Moment

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

Still reeling from the death of her father, Flavia de Luce and her sisters are hoping to be distracted by a float with Dodger down the river. She is certainly distracted by the dead body that they find floating
in the river. It is a young man dressed in Shakespearean garb. Apparently, his name was Orlando and he was a ballet dancer. It is through his death that she makes the acquaintance of Hob who is the local caretaker's son who becomes an ally in Flavia's search for the truth.
You can very much tell that this is a male voice writing a female child. The way he has Flavia plotting her moves (we get an overly detailed description of Flavia's every thought) is very much an example of how men think women (even those in their "tender" teen years) act.  It was a little off-putting but even more than that, it caused the story to drag in places. Overall, a nice addition to the Flavia canon.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Followed by The Golden Tresses of the Dead