A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

Spending the summer volunteering in the library is not how Jamie Bunn envisioned her vacation. But she made a Very Big Mistake and she ended up here. It's not bad. She really likes her coworkers and seeing the people in the library is really opening her up to the world around her.
This is definitely a This Is a Punishment That Will Change Your World In a Wonderful Way book but it is done deftly, with characters that come alive and keep the readers engaged.

Four stars
This book comes out May 7
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss; Opinions are my own

Stone Bridges by Carla Neggers

Adrienne Portale was introduced in one of the previous books in the series as the "surprise, I'm your daughter" character. She's back in Knightsbridge as the innkeeper for Maggie and Olivia's place. There was a cute conceit at the beginning of the book introducing her to all of the townspeople (and thus to the reader as well.) It was more than a little blatant but maybe slightly better than just throwing everyone in. And it makes sense since there are a lot of cast members that show up. Mainly because our hero, Adam Sloan, who is working on the stone wall at the inn has a lot of siblings who realistically will show up in the book.

This is a slow burn book. It makes it so that the ending was a bit rushed. A nice read but not much of a story.

Three stars
This book came out March 26
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Last Second by Catherine Coulter

After she came back from space, Dr. Nevaeh Patel was changed. She had made contact. But no one believed her. Grounded by NASA, she's now working for a private firm helmed by Jean-Pierre Broussard and they're about to launch a satellite. But this satellite has a hidden time bomb on it, one that could take out large swathes of communications.
Jean-Pierre is distracted. He is more concerned with unearthing the shipwreck thought to contain the Holy Grail than tracking what his staff is doing. Too bad Nevaeh wants the Grail for her own purposes.
Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine are dragged back into the thick of things in the hopes that they can stop this mad scientist before she starts WWIII.
This was generally better than the last few Brit in the FBI stories. I think the action was fine but wish we had gotten a bit more growth in our characters.

Three stars
This book came out March 26
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Big Nate Payback Time by Lincoln Peirce

Once again, Lincoln Pearce gives us a great book with Big Nate as the protagonist. All of our favorites are here, Mrs. Godfrey (is Nate really allergic? Or is there something else going on?), Gina, Teddy, and Francis. There's even a newbie to detention that Nate tries to take under his wing with somewhat... dubious... results.
Four stars
This book came out March 19
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

Nya Jerami  and Johan von Braustein are both characters we've met previously in this series. Nya Jerami is from Thesolo and is most known in her country for her father's attempt to poison the heroine in the first book. Johan is literally a red-headed stepchild, mostly known for being a party prince whose mother had a great romance with the king but then fell tragically ill. Both of them are scarred by their pasts. Nya spends almost as much time on dating games as she does in real life and Johan hides his kind heart behind a hard-partying exterior, mostly so he can protect his brother. But both their situations are coming to a head. And it ends with a fake engagement. Well, that's toward the first third of the book so there's really a lot that comes after including some huge revelations about Nya's father and the brother that Johan is trying to protect.
Yes, this book is about royals but there are themes that affect the larger population for sure. People who are judged by the sins of their parents, people who don't quite fit in with how they are supposed to behave, etc. and I think Cole does a pretty good job of handling them.

Four stars
This book comes out April 30th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and Edelweiss

Unicorn Bowling by Dana Simpson

We get to see our favorite characters in the Phoebe and Marigold series: Dakota, Max, and the others. This time Phoebe is signed up for her school's talent show and works on several songs. She also goes to Max's birthday. They also get to go... bowling.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out April 23rd
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

The Multiplying Mysteries of Mount Ten by Krista Van Dolzer

Esther and her stepdad are driving up a treacherous mountain road so that she can go to art camp. They end up off the road and walking to the camp. But the camp they end up at isn't an art camp; it's a math camp. Some of the kids are okay with them being there but one girl is really upset. Because of the storms, Esther is stuck. She doesn't want to make the best of the situation but she sort of has to.
This book started off really well but went downhill after the first 1/3. The puzzles were interesting but the story was overwrought and didn't flow well.

Three stars
This book comes out April 9
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Rogue Saints by Jerry Herships

I liked that this book talked about finding spirituality in different ways - horseback riding, fly fishing, painting, etc. This is definitely a different way at looking at Christianity but not entirely new - I've read other books about finding your spirituality outside of the church with sort of a sliding irreverence. This one definitely had more footnotes which I liked. I would have liked more scripture and I didn't ever see how the drinks were supposed to be connected.

Three stars
This book came out March 12
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinion is my own

The Mutts Summer Diaries by Patrick McDonnell

I got the 22 page sample from NetGalley but even that was enough to know that this is going to delight regular readers and those new to the series alike. Mooch and Earl are not very excited about summer starting so they're figuring out ways to exist whether being in the pool, enjoying a can of cool whip cream, or (somewhat accidentally) sleeping on a popsicle.

Four stars
This book will come out April 9
ARC sample kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

In a Badger Way by Shelly Laurenston

I just got the excerpt of this book where Stevie from Honey Badger Chronicles book 1 and Shen from the Pride books are set up as the romantic interests. Shen has been set up as a super laid-back, continuously bamboo eating panda shifter. Stevie is a highly strung tiger-badger hybrid who is also ridiculously smart. The beginning of the book has Stevie freaking out about the number of bears in her kitchen while her sisters (normally the only ones who can calm her down) are not in the area. It's going to be up to Shen to help figure it out.
I'm a little hesitant about this book but am pretty sure it's going to be the fun ride we can normally expect from Laurenston.
After reading the whole book, I am glad to have gotten a better story than I was expecting.  We get to explore the artist side of her nature. There is a story line with shifters experimenting on other shifters, trying to make them into normal humans but the ending was a bit over the top for me and I thought the romance between the two wasn't fully planned out. I am VERY much looking forward to Max's story.

Three and a half stars
This book came out March 26, 2019

Follows Hot and Badgered
Followed by Badger to the Bone
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread May 2022, January 2024

Lucy: Speak Out! by Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown: Do you know exactly what you're going to be when you grow up?

Lucy: Of course, a smart cookie!

That one interaction gives a pretty good glimpse into the character of Lucy Van Pelt. She is a hard headed young lady who knows who she is and what she wants out of life. Whether she's in the psychiatrist booth, writing a biography of Beethoven, or playing ball, she knows what she wants.

We also get to see Snoopy and his bird troop, a glimpse of the WWI flying ace, and other favorite characters like Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and, of course, Charlie Brown.

Four stars
This book book came out March 12
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
All opinions expressed are my own

The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery

Sunshine and Margot are twins who are both at pivotal moments in their lives. They were raised by a grandmother, a beauty pageant consultant, and neither were able to live up to her standards. Sunshine escaped into a series of unsuitable boyfriends while Margot made just one, very unfortunate choice. Now Sunshine is the nanny to an adorable little boy and his widower father while Margo is an etiquette expert. Margot's latest client is an eccentric actress who wants to learn how to navigate in her soon-to-be husband's world of being an ambassador. They're staying at the home of the actress's son, a scholar who specializes in old manuscripts.
This is a lovely story of two sisters. If you are looking for a romance novel, this isn't one. The HEA is sort of wedged in at the end and I felt like the book suffered for it.

Three stars
This book comes out June 11
ARC provided by publisher and Edelweiss
Opinions provided are my own

The Genius Habit by Laura Garnett

This is a wonderful book; using a series of homework examples that have you explore what parts of your personality fit what your "genius" is. We've believed for too long that people can learn to do any job; but the truth of the matter is that we all naturally excel at different things. And this book helps you find your own are in which you will find it easier to excel.
This would definitely be best as a physical book. Something you can fill out and look back on.

Four stars
This book came out February 5
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
All opinions are my own