December 2020 Rereads

As always -- Opinions are my own

About a Dragon by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #2 
Three stars
This book came out December 1st, 2008
Follows Dragon Actually
Followed by What a Dragon Should Know
Ebook from library

The Blacksmith Queen by G. A. Aiken

Scarred Earth Trilogy #1

This book came out August 27th, 2019

Followed by The Princes Knight

Audiobook from the CloudLibrary (even BETTER as an audiobook!)

My Kingdom for a Hearse by Craig Rice

 John J. Malone has been called in to a beauty company, Delora Deanne. He's not sure why, but when he finds out, he's not excited. First, he finds out that the Delora Deanne on the commercials is not exactly who she appears to be. The beautiful, dulcet-toned Delora who Malone adores is a mirage. While he's still wrestling with the disappointment, he finds out why he's been called in. Someone has sent an embalmed pair of hands to the owner of the company. And, with one of the employees missing, it seems that they might be hers. This sets up Malone on a case that will strain his mental processes to the breaking point. Especially since he's also trying to help his friend Jake Justus figure out a way to make his fledgling production company up and running. 
Malone is trying to solve the murder and he's getting help from both Helene and Jake but neither thinks the other is involved so he's having to keep that a secret as well while more and more body parts are showing up. 
A fun story. The end seemed to come a bit out of nowhere and was pretty convoluted but that is not unusual for a Malone story. 
Heard about this one on the Classic Mysteries podcast.

Three stars

Follows Knocked for a Loop

Followed by The Name is Malone

This book came out in 1957

Ebook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen

TW: casual racism
The latest play sensation includes the sounds of gunfire and a dip into the underworld of the mob. What it's not supposed to include is a dead body. But such is the world's introduction to Ellery Queen and his father. And it was a good mystery with the now famous "stop" that lets readers try and deduce for themselves who would want to kill a lawyer by poisoning him with gasoline. 
I vaguely knew about this story but it was really the Classic Mysteries podcast that sparked my interest. I wish there had been some warning about the Queen's houseboy Juno and some of the terms used to describe him that definitely wouldn't be used today.

Three stars
This book came out June 27th, 1929
Followed by The French Powder Mystery
Borrowed this audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton

I really wish that the added postscript on this story hadn't been included in the ebook version on Kindle. It is definitely dated and said some things that are seriously tone deaf in today's society (although I think it was added recently?). It would have been easy enough to leave out since it wasn't included in the original story anyway; it was a psychological interpretation of the mystery's ending added later.
Harriet Hall might be a generally unpleasant person but Amy Steer is delighted that a long-lost aunt has found her. After her mother died, Amy went to London with what little money she had left and the hopes of finding a job. But those hopes, like her bank account, are fading fast. She is delighted that her aunt has asked her up to live with her in the country and given her 100 pounds to go shopping with. On the train ride up, she meets a young man who is pleasing in every way until he finds out the name of her aunt. When he does, he flees.
Amy is disappointed to not see her aunt at the railway station and even more disappointed when she carries her suitcase all the way to her aunt's house only to find the woman gone. The next day, the pleasant young man, Tony Deene, comes over to apologize. But he discovers her aunt's body in the well and that sets off a mystery that isn't particularly fairly clued but was okay to follow. 
We really get to know Tony's family as they seem to be the most to gain by having Harriet Hall be dead. But then, something unexpected about Harriet is discovered that seems to turn the whole mystery on its head.
I honestly would have rounded this two and a half star book up to three stars if it hadn't been for the Afterword. I picked this up based on a review by the Classic Mysteries podcast.

Two and a half stars
This book came out in 1936
Ebook I own on Kindle
Opinions are my own

The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston

We know from the previous book that Mitch Shaw was an undercover policeman who witnessed an act that would put a bad guy away for a long, long time. So, said bad guy definitely wants to kill him. 

Sissy Mae Smith has been friends with Mitch for awhile. So she's sort of shocked when she wakes up in the lion-shifter's bed the morning after her brother's wedding. She's even more shocked when Mitch gets shot. 

Realizing that the only safe place for Mitch is going to be her hometown, Sissy Mae sweeps him away. There they have to contend not only with the killer but with a brother that hates her and a town full of wolf shifters who definitely hate felines. 

There was a little too much going on in this book but it was still a fun read.

Three stars
Follows The Beast in Him
Followed by The Mane Squeeze
This book came out November 1st, 2008
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

Christmas on Peach Tree Lane by Jules Bennett

 If you don't mind your heroines hyper-perky, this is going to be an okay book. Violet Calhoun is an event planner (with some sort of store front?) who is coordinating the fiftieth anniversary of the Tinsel Tour in her tiny town. With a photographer and journalist from Southern Homes. While planning her mother's wedding. What could possibly go wrong? Maybe the gentleman who owns the crown jewel of the tour (a plantation... with nary a discussion of the problems with plantation owning; just Violet being all moony over the big rooms) passes away in the summer. And his super-hot workaholic grandson won't respond to Violet's many, many, many, many attempts to get a hold of him. 
But it's okay. Brady is super annoyed by her until he notices that she's awfully cute. And she just wears him down. Not okay for a hero, not okay for a heroine. Seriously.
There wasn't even any competency-porn because we didn't even get to see Violet decorating for the tour or even planning the wedding (other than a dress shopping trip that gets interrupted.) I finished the book because I was so close to being done and I really liked Violet's friendships.

Two stars
This book came out November 30th, 2020
Borrowed from CloudLibrary
Opinions are my own

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

 TW: Sibling death
Twice this week, I've started reading a book only to be unexpectedly hit with a sibling dying. Brosh handles it so much better than the other book I was reading. It is one of her shorter chapters but she is able to delve into the grief one feels as well as the unmooring it creates.
And it is a testament to her writing that she had me laughing (first the buildup of the story of her sneaking over to her neighbor's house as a young child and then following up with the story of horse poop mysteriously showing up in her family's home and detailing the suspects... I was in stitches) then sobbing, and then laughing again.
I highly recommend getting this book as a hard copy. I read Brosh's first book that way and enjoyed seeing the colors of each section and getting to see my progress. It was much less satisfying in the ebook form.

Five stars

This book came out September 22nd, 2020

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Tale of Two Dragons by G. A. Aiken

 When your father is a plotter and the rest of the family doesn't really want you, sometimes the best you can do is stay hidden. That is what Braith of the Darkness is trying to do. But now she's suddenly been asked to help escort a lady to her home and her crush is going along on the trip. The crush that seems to be very admiring of the lady who is the antithesis of Braith.
Addolgar the Cheerful is a Cadwaladr, a family of fighters. He's willing to help a lady. However, if that lady tries to poison him... well, all bets are off. It's a good thing that Braith not only saves him initially but then helps get him away from the people that were going to make sure he was really most sincerely dead.
This is a short story but we still get a sense of who both Braith and Addolgar are. We also get to see why they are attracted to each other and what it is that each admires about the other. All with a sense of fun that permeates the entire Dragon Kin series.

Four stars
Dragon Kin #0.2

This novella came out November 5th, 2013

Follows Can't Get Enough
Followed by Dragon on Top
Borrowed from OverDrive
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Audio Plus January 2024

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

 Ugh. Alyssa Cole. Why do you do this to me? I settle in for a few chapters before bed and then get pulled into the story of a woman who has been planning to be a queen for years. Her whole life, really. And she came awfully close in an earlier Cole book. But now, Shanti Mohapi is so close. Except, in the kingdome of Njazi, only the True Queen will stay married to the king. Everyone else is cut off after four months. Three months into her marriage, Shanti is beginning to lose hope. The new king seems dazed and uninterested. 
Sanyu was raised in a patriarchal society where men rule with an iron fist and the king can show no weakness. But he is mourning his father's death and unsure of whether he can step into the large shoes left by the former king. However, he's starting to wake up. And he's noticing that his wife is not only intelligent, she wants what is best for the kingdom. Plus, he's really attracted to her.
Shanti definitely could have been painted as too rigid in pursuing her dreams, but Cole has written a likable character who is just going after what she wants without tossing anyone else under the bus on the way. Sanyu was also believable. A kid growing up in a bad situation but one who is learning and growing from his situation. I did think the book dragged a little in the middle but the ending was incredibly satisfying and I loved seeing characters from previous books in the series.

Four stars

Followed by How to Find a Princess
This book came out December 1st, 2020
Borrowed the book from CloudLibrary
Opinions are my own

A Brit Complicated by Brenda St. John Brown

I'm not a huge fan of boss-employee romances, especially with the implied power struggle. St. John Brown did a good job with having the story be from the point of view of Scarlett so we know that she is the one taking the lead on moving their office relationship into a more romantic sphere. But it is sort of confusing because we see that, in her head, she is not a fan of Bradley, her boss. Really not a fan. She finds him arrogant and standoffish. Until she starts showing him HER London and realizes there might be more to Bradley than she thought.
Not my favorite story but St. John Brown has a nice writing style that kept me going through the whole book.

Three stars
Follows A Brit Unexpected
This book came out in 2018
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Natural Evil and Devil's Gate by Thea Harrison

Former military sniper Claudia Hunter is at loose ends. She is just over forty and only needed four more years until retirement but she wanted to get out. So now she's just traveling the United States, living as simply as possible. During a trip through a Nevada desert, she feels compelled to stop and walk out a little distance. That's where she discovers a dog that has obviously been beaten and then dragged behind a car. It is only just barely alive. She manages to get the oversize animal into her car using her telekinesis and then hits the highway at a rush. When a sheriff pulls her over, she is startled to realize that he is acting very strangely once he sees the dog. But he does help her get the dog to a vet. There, he continues to act strangely before eventually leaving. That is when the vet and Claudia share their suspicions that the dog is actually a Wyr shifter.

And he is. But for reasons of his own (and as he heals), Luis Alvarez doesn't want to let on what he is. Too bad Claudia immediately starts needling him and calling him "Precious." When he finally does speak, it's to reveal that Claudia is right, there is something bigger going on and he was targeted because of what he figured out.

The tarot deck mentioned in the first Elder Races novella plays a small role in this story as well.

This was a nice novella and I hope that we get to see more of Claudia and Luis. How will their relationship work when Luis is Wyr and it's implied that Claudia, a human, is his mate?

Four stars

Follows Oracle's Moon

Followed by Devil's Gate

This novella came out March 20th, 2012

Borrowed from CloudLibrary

 Seremela Telemar is as susceptible to helping family as the next person. Now her niece, Vetta, who swiped the magical tarot deck from Claudia in the last Elder Races novel, has run away from home and  toward Devil's Gate, a present day gold rush - though, in this case it's a silver that holds magic easily. 
When Duncan Turner, lawyer vampyre, hears that Seremela is going to the most lawless place in the United States, where nothing is being policed, he tells her he can't let her go alone. With a voice like Alan Rickman's, so smooth that other lawyers and judges will come just to hear him speak on the rare occasions he still tries a case, he convinces her to let him come along.
Short but sweet, this book is better read in the context of the full Elder Races series, at least the other novellas.

Three stars
Follows Natural Evil
Followed by Hunter's Season
This novella came out June 5th, 2012
Borrowed by ebook from Overdrive
Opinions are my own

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

 I usually shy away from New Adult books but I love Sarina Bowen and had read a good review of this book... somewhere. And it was worth the read. 
At 3 weeks shy of 18, Rachel's worth has gone a number of upheavals. First, her mother died from cacer. Then, her famous, rock star father shows up. The man has only sent money for Rachel's entire life, but now he's here. And she's not exactly sure that she wants him to be in her life. She's followed all of his exploits by combing magazines and online news articles, but she doesn't want him to know that.
At the same time, she's ready to leave her old life behind. Even her best friend, Haze, who has lately been pressuring her to take their relationship into the physical realm and she's just not ready. She's gotten a scholarship to a fancy prep school and is ready to leave. Maybe her father will follow.
Just a quietly good book. Even Rachel's "Big Outburst" isn't pitching a fit and screaming, it's just a breakdown of tears.

Four stars
This book came out July 10th, 2018
Ebook from Kindle
Opinions are my own

Better Luck Next Time by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

 Both Finn and Adalia are at crossroads in their lives. Finn has just sold a business (not a smooth process for many reasons including the fact that he almost lost his best friend because of it.) Adalia has pulled out of art school even though art is her life. Her mentor really did a number on her and now she's not sure she can continue to make art. Well, she's doing it part-time for her family's brewery as their marketing person. And also hiding out in a friend's shed painting but then ripping up her work. It's there that Finn starts to realize that Addy might be hiding secrets. Which is not good because Finn is horrible at keeping secrets. Like, really, really bad. But he realizes that he could use her expertise in getting together a fundraiser art show and maybe while she helps him, he could be helping her as well.

I liked this book better than the first in the series and am waiting with bated breath to see what the next book in the series will be. Hopefully Lee (Addy's brother) will finally get rid of his girlfriend and also get himself out from under his father's thumb.

Three stars
Follows Any Luck at All

Followed by Getting Lucky
This book came out November 17th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston

When she was sixteen, Jessie Ann Ward was desperately in love with Bobby Ray Smith. Even though his sisters made her life hell, even though she was an orphan, even though she was a wild dog in a town full of wolves, Bobby Ray (now known as Smitty) was one of the few people who were kind to her.
But he left. And she went out and built her own pack, becoming the Alpha of a wild dog team that also does computer hacking to test security. When they meet again as adults, Jessica wants to put him in his place so she pretends not to know him. And that pisses Smitty off. Because he "knows" that she's faking so he's not going to take no for an answer (not romantic).
I had a lot of issues with the not taking no and Jessie being a little hyper but I did love her family and how they were so accepting of everyone. Except the Smiths; but there was history.

Three stars
This book came out April 1st, 2008

Follows The Mane Event
Followed by The Mane Attraction
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

A Brit Unexpected by Brenda St. John Brown

 What is a big-time Hollywood star to do when his ex-girlfriend claims to all the press that he is chasing after her shamelessly? Well, if his grandfather is dating a woman with a semi-presentable, eligible granddaughter, his grandfather might set up some staged photos between the star (Greyson Vaughn) and the narrator of our story, Claire. 
Neither actually knows that that's why they've been called to Castle Calder so when they first meet, it's as a star-struck fan and Hollywood heartthrob. Claire, especially, doesn't expect her grandmother to think this is a good idea. Not from the distant grandmother who raised her, the one who's all about propriety. And when Greyson finds out, he lashes out slightly at Claire which means she really doesn't want to get involved. But then Greyson offers her money... and so the deal is struck. They will pose for a few photos over the weekend to distract from Greyson's ex. Unless the heat that is bubbling up between them spills over into something real.
A cute story. The characters weren't super deep but a fluffy book was nice to read right now.

Three stars
Follows A Brit on the Side
Followed by A Brit Complicated
This book came out April 10th, 2017
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Any Luck at All by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

River Reeves' world has come crashing down. First his beloved mentor, Beau, died and now the man that he thought of as his business partner sold their company out from right under him. He's not sure where to go or what to do. But, when Beau's granddaughter offers River a job as a brewmaster in Beau's company, he's hesitant. Georgie is incredibly attractive and he's not sure that he can work with her.
Georgie's world isn't doing much better. She had only just reconnected with her grandfather when the man died. Now she's got a brewery that she co-owns with her siblings. All three of them. Even the one her father never acknowledged. They can all decide to sell but if even one wants to run the now failing brewery, they all have to be in. Her brother and sister immediately decide they want to sell. Her half-brother Jack is ready to go all in. Her only problem is that there is a teeny-tiny clause in the will which means that she is going to be lying by omission to River, a man she is not only getting to know, but to love.
A nice set up for the series. I am not a huge fan of clauses in wills creating the action for a book and this one was compounded by adding to the last Big Misunderstanding. I did like Georgie and Rive and especially liked that much of their relationship was conducted before she actually became his boss.

Three stars
Followed by Better Luck Next Time
This book came out September 22nd
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Witching on a Star by Amanda M. Lee

 Bay is back along with her cousins Thistle and Clove with a new mystery. This mystery in this book revolves around a little ghost girl named Erika who doesn't know why she is dead, she just wants to find her mother. At the same time, Bay is dealing with the fact that her boss has brought in a consultant, Sam, in an effort to expand their weekly newspaper into something more. But there is something more to learn about Sam, Bay suspects that he is not what he seems. Which is interesting, because he is not the only one close to the cousins who is hiding secrets and those secrets might help to lead Erika into finding her way to the Other Side.
This was an okay story. Lee has an interesting way of layering stories into each other far before they pay off. The mystery in this book actually started in the third book of the series.

Three stars
This book came out March17th, 2014
Follows Witching You Were Here
Followed by Something to Witch About
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston

 I've read a later book in this series several times and decided to start from the beginning. I was surprised to find there were actually two stories in this book. They're both sort of short but they are good setups for the Pride world - just the sheer crazy fun that Laurenston has built.
The first features Mace Llewelyn who is back in New York after a stint in the army. And he's ready to track down the woman he never forgot, Desiree MacDermot. While she's never forgotten him either, she's not exactly ready to jump into a relationship with him, especially when she finds out that he's a lion shifter (she's definitely more of a dog person). But their paths are crossing pretty hard when a shifter is killed and Desiree is the cop assigned (and then quickly taken off) the case.
The second story features another lion, Shaw. He's bred twice with a couple of Mace's sisters but hasn't exactly been tied down. It was the relationship to the Llewellyn that led to him very nearly being killed in the first story. He's in the hospital being watched over by Ronnie Lee Reed, a wolf shifter when two men come into his room with guns. Ronnie Lee gets him out of there alive. 
Ronnie Lee knows that she's led a wild life (she's not allowed in more than a few countries) but she doesn't know what she's done to have run into a lion that seems to want nothing more than to settle down with just her forever.

Three and a half stars
This book came out September 25th, 2007

Followed by The Beast in Him

Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible borrow January 2024

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy, John Jennings

Oh man was this a hard book to read. Dana time travels. She doesn't know why or how but she goes from the 1970s with her white husband to the antebellum South where she is considered a slave. Not an easy transition.But she meets Rufus Waylin. First as a young boy and then as he ages. The hope she has for him becoming a better sort of person than his father slowly drains every time she comes back.  And it is not made any easier by the fact that Rufus is her great-great-whatever grandfather.
I can see why "Kindred" is a classic. Octavia Butler is a powerful storyteller, making you care about the characters even when they are despicable.

Four stars
This version came out 
Borrowed as a hard copy from the library
Opinions are my own

Auld Lang Syne by Rebel Carter

 Delilah Solis decides that she's going to stop being a doormat for her family and she's going to run away. Literally. She decides to answer an ad for a bakery intern, flying from Texas to Scotland to get there the next day. 
It turns out that the bakery owner, Agnes, has a hot single nephew. She also believes in fairies. But... nephew. He is surly to begin with but eventually gets worn down and starts to appreciate Del and his aunt.
Oh. I rounded up from two and a half stars. I wanted to know more about Del's siblings and why they came to rely on her so much. I wanted to learn more about Del and why she allowed it. I wanted to see more of a relationship develop between Del and Callum. 

Two and a half stars

Followed by A Viscount for Valentine's
This novella came out December 27th, 2018
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Heard about this on Fated Mates

Witching You Were Here by Amanda M. Lee

The Winchesters are back in the thick of things. A mysteriously abandoned yacht is found on the river. Aunt Tillie is on the warpath because her nieces are trying to not only get rid of her recliner, they want to take over her wine cellar so they can replace the furnace. Bay, Thistle, and Clove's fathers are back in town and it's for a reason sure to infuriate Aunt Tillie even more. Also in town? Bay's love interest, Landon as well as a new handyman who seems interest in Clove and a couple of (stoner?) snowboarders. There is a bigger mystery than the deserted yacht and it might involve the mob...
This book was just as good as others in the series. It moved Bay and Landon's relationship along a little bit but not much else.

Three stars
This book came out November 18th, 2013
Follows Every Witch Way But Wicked
Followed by Witching on a Star
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant

I'm not sure what it was about this book that captured my attention so much but I stayed up way to late reading it. Actually, I think it was just the sheer zaniness of it. I didn't love the heroine, "Henri" Henrietta Bacon, as she was just a little too peripatetic in her thought process and the flips often threw me out of the story. However, her manic-pixie-dream-girl-ness is updated a little bit by showing what that kind of chaos can leave in it's wake (for her, five broken engagements) and how that can wear on a person. For Henri, she decides it's time to learn how not to fall in love. And, she decides that her latest fiance's childhood best friend is the perfect person to learn from.

Professional baseball player Luca Rossi just wants to play the game, hopefully in the same place for more than a year or two. He definitely doesn't want to fall in love but his Nona (who is famous on TikTok) shows up in his kitchen the morning after Henri shows up on his front steps. And she's making her ziti which, everyone in her family knows is a part of putting the Eye on someone and that person will then fall in love. And woe to those who try to avoid it. 

Luca did have some flaws but, on the whole, he did lean a little bit toward too-good-to-be-true.

Overall, a fun story that was just a bit fluffy but still really fun to read.

Four stars

Follows Jock Blocked

Followed by The Grumpy Player Next Door

This book came out September 3rd, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Reread as Kindle ebook October 2024

The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin

 I have a feeling that the hard copy or ebooks have more pictures that go along with the book but I didn't feel like I was missing anything by listening to the audio. I do like the Home Edit philosophy of "editing" your house rather than wholesale getting rid of everything (especially books - though, even as a bibliophile and former librarian, I do believe even those should be culled every 5 years or so). This was an okay book but after awhile, hearing about how Clea and Joanna organized for various (mostly celebrity) clients got a little old. The tips were very nice though!
The narrator was fantastic and did a wonderful job injecting tone and enthusiasm where appropriate.

Three stars

This book came out September 15th, 2020

Audiobook from Overdrive

Opinions are my own

Every Witch Way but Wicked by Amanda M. Lee

 Bay is caught up in another murder. She is also having to deal with a new boss since her ninety-year-old boss died and left the paper to his grandson, Bill, who seems rather slick and oily. Even the ghosts at the newspaper can't tell Bay what he's up to. Then the town drunk is found dead during what is supposed to be a murder mystery weekend; there just wasn't supposed to be a real murder. Her FBI agent love interest from the first book is back in town but he may not be around for long since Aunt Tillie decides to take matters into her own hands and it will change how Landon looks at her family.
The mystery in this one didn't make a ton of sense but we got to know all of the characters a little better which is good because with Bay, her two cousins, all of their mothers, a couple of guys who are hanging around, and Aunt Tillie, that's a lot of people to track.

Three stars
This book came out March 26th, 2013
Follows Any Witch Way You Can 
Followed by Witching You Were Here
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

This Can't Be Love by Maria Geraci

 When Luke Powers' girlfriend gives him an ultimatum, he chooses to break up. When, just months later, he's invited to her wedding, he realizes it's time for a vacation. He's an engineer who works with companies located on the water, helping them make sure that they are being environmentally safe and travels all over the United States. That means he hasn't been to see his family in Whispering Bay for almost a year. So he heads back to the house his grandfather left him. But there's already somebody in his bed...
Sarah Jamison just wants to earn another $5k so she can open her food truck. She didn't even finish college and her life has been peripatetic so she in no way can measure up to a man who is clearly the apple of his mother's eye. Plus, he's the pattern card of a man who doesn't want to get married. That's not exactly her dream either but that doesn't mean she'll just jump into bed with a guy just because he's hot.
I didn't read any of the other books in this series but didn't feel like I needed to to understand what was going on in this book. The story was a bit thin but the characters were fairly well developed.

Three stars
This book came out
Follows The Best for Last
Followed by Can't Stop the Feeling
Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Naughty Boss by Whitney G.

 Sometimes you work for an ass. Even if he is a hot ass. Mya London is stuck in just such a job. She's been in the position for almost a year but, if she can handle Michael Leighton, she can handle anyone. The man is rude, demanding, and, yes, very hot. Which is what she emails to her friend. Often. Until the day she accidentally emails Michael instead. 
This was an okay story. The timelines were a little muddy and I never could figure out how Mya ended up emailing the wrong person which was a small issue but still made me wonder.

Three stars
This book came out December 15th, 2016
Followed by Dirty Doctor
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G. A. Aiken

Éibhear has been attracted to his (not blood related) niece Izzy since her mother married his brother something like 15 years ago. He went absolutely nuts when he found out she was having sex with one of his cousins but still has never made a move toward her. At least, not until this book. After all these years, he is being summoned to go find her and take her home. Nobody knows quite why but they do make it home and he finally apologizes for his actions from ten years ago. Izzy is not impressed. But they do have to work together to help keep her sister and cousins safe.
There was so much going on in this book. Some series story arcs got wrapped up in this book which was nice but it was sometimes hard to follow.

 
Three and a half stars
This book came out September 4th, 2012
Follows Dragon Who Loved Me
Followed by Light My Fire
Opinions are my own
Audiobook from library

Any Witch Way You Can by Amanda M. Lee

 Life can be odd if you grow up in a small town. Especially if you happen to be a witch. Especially, especially if everyone knows it. Bay left Hemlock Cove for Detroit and the bigger newspapers but now she's back and the editor of a newspaper that comes out once a week. She's also discovering a dead body in the middle of a corn maze. And discovering the ghost. Then another body shows up and it looks like someone with witchy connections might be the killer. Which is not a good sign for Bay's family. She works with her two cousins, Thistle and Clove, to figure out who the true killers are.
All of the characters are a little over-the-top and it can get to be a little much if you read a lot of these in a row but they are fast, fun, and fluffy.

Three stars
This book came out December 12th, 2012
Followed by Every Witch Way but Wicked
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston

 There is a reason I have heard more than one person on the Smart Podcast, Trashy Books talk about their love for this book. The world building is amazing. The sisterhood of the women warriors in this book. Also amazing. There were some rough spots in the story but overall I tore through this book as fast as I could. 
The book opens with the startling realization that our heroine, Kera, is dead. Or... she was. She was killed by the pimp she confronted in an alley while he was shaking down his girlfriend. But somehow, she's still alive(?) in a place she doesn't recognize and surrounded by people who seem to want to kill her. When she starts to fight back (being former Marine and all), she suddenly realizes that she's much, much stronger than she used to be. But what the heck is going on? And who are these women claiming to be Crows, saying she's now one of them?
Vig knows what's going on. After all, he's the one who prayed to Skuld (a Norse goddess) to save Kera by making her a Crow. See, he knows about the Crows because he's from the Ravens, another of the nine Norse clans. And, while we're told that the Ravens and Crows are enemies from way back, we usually see them cooperating with each other. Which is good since Vig and Kera are setting up for a fine romance. Too bad there are some people trying to bring the Big Bad into this dimension and the Crows and Ravens are on point to help bring her down.

Three and a half stars
Followed by the Undoing
This book came out March 31st, 2015
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby August 2023

What If We Were... by Axelle Lenoir

Nathalie and Marie are typical teens with outsized imaginations and a wonderful friendship. Games of "What if we were.." are interspersed with pages where we get to know more about the each of them. Each girl gets her own, fully-developed personality and along the way there are some learning moments (such as what the Vikings really looked like.) There's also a touch of romance between Nathalie and her crush, Jane Doe.

Good premise, cute book. Probably better to read in paper format.

Four stars

This book comes out December 8th

ARC kindly provided by Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Restorative Yoga by Caren Baginski

I have taken a couple of restorative yoga classes and done one teacher training but figured you can never have too much information about ways to relax and restore my energy. In those classes, I had not always enjoyed holding poses for long periods but figured it was probably something that I needed as someone whose mind races pretty much nonstop. I requested this book at the beginning of the year little realizing how much new ways to relax would be needed.
This book has amazing pictures. It is just beautiful to look at which doesn't always happen with yoga books. The explanations of the poses are good. I'm not sure whether a novice would be able to interpret them but I could. I liked that there were warnings about which poses might provide difficulties for some learners.

Four stars
This book comes out tomorrow
ARC kindly provided by DK and Netgalley
Opinions are my own

The Dragon Who Loved Me by G. A. Aiken

 Rhona the Fearless has been fighting in the dragon war for five years along with everyone else in the series. And even after all this time, the Northern dragons still don't understand that females are just as capable as the males at fighting. And when Vigholf breaks her favorite spear... she is beyond peeved. So when she learns that she is going to be traveling with Vigholf to protect some of the royal family, she's not exactly ecstatic. But traveling together means that they're going to get to know each other better and she might discover that Vigholf doesn't want to protect all females so much as he wants to protect her.

This book does a lot to move the overall storyline forward (lots of battle descriptions and catching up with other characters) but there isn't a lot about Rhona and Vigholf.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 1st, 2011
Follows Last Dragon Standing
Followed by How to Drive a Dragon Crazy
Opinions are my own
Audiobook from library

November 2020 Rereads

 As always, opinions are my own

The Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz
Fogg Lake#1
Three and a half stars (bumped up a half star on reread)
Followed by All the Colors of the Night
This book came out January 7th, 2020
Audiobook from Overdrive

 Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #2

Three stars

Follows When All the Girls Have Gone

Followed by Untouchable
This book came out January 2nd, 2017

Audiobook from Overdrive

Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #3

Follows Promise Not to Tell

Three stars
This book came out January 8, 2018
Hard copy borrowed from library

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #4
Four stars
Followed by Emerald Blaze
This book came out August 27th, 2019
Audiobook from Overdrive

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3.5
Four stars
Followed by Sapphire Flames
This novella came out November 6th, 2018
Audiobook from Overdrive

What A Dragon Should Know

Three stars
This book came out September 1st, 2009
Follows About a Dragon
Followed by Last Dragon Standing
ebook from library

The Fatal Flying Affair by T. E. Kinsey

 Flo and Lady Hardcastle are once more pretending to be relaxing in the country but then they get the chance to learn to fly. Well, regular readers will know that Lady Hardcastle will foot the bill for the plane while Flo will become the pilot (which, by the way, she is very excited to do.) Except is the chance to fly the only reason they're checking out the Bristol Aviation and and Aeronautics Company? Of course not. Lady Hardcastle's brother has called on them to come to the aid of their nation once again. It seems that someone is leaking information about the Top Secret Project to the Germans. And, while no one is currently at war, it seems that Germany might be gearing up for it so they need to figure out what is going on and fast. All this while figuring out what they are going to do for the Littleton Village Show.
A wonderful addition to the series. You don't HAVE to have read the other books in the series but I highly recommend it. There were three words I had to look up in this book which meant that, not only was it entertaining, I was learning things as well.

Four stars
This book comes out December 3, 2020
Follows Death Beside the Seaside

Followed by Rotten to the Core
ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase

Outspoken Cassandra Pomfret has just arrived back in London and she's already gotten her father's back up. In fact, her latest stunt means that her sister Hyacinth, who absolutely loves the social whirl, can't go out until Cassandra is married. And that is completely antithetical to anything that Cassandra wants. So she runs away. Or tries to. But she's throw off track (and off her carriage) when the Duke of Ashmont discharges a gun as she is riding by.

Lucius (more often called Ashmont) is disgustingly drunk. He almost killed his best friend over pride. And frustration. Because Ashmont went to all the trouble of finding a woman, courting her for weeks, and then Ripley stole her. On their wedding day. I can see how that might be frustrating. But now there's this redhead and she's traveling with the famous Tom O'Keeffe. The same O'Keeffe who was almost trampled to death on the racetrack who is now struggling to breathe because Ashmont wasn't sober. Luckily, Ashmont and his two friends often raise hell in the town and they have a doctor more or less on retainer (in fact, the whole town tends to forgive them because they overpay for any mischief that they cause.) And that means that Ashmont has more time with Cassandra. But that doesn't mean that Cassandra wants more time with him.

I loved that Chase circumvented the obvious route of Cassandra being ruined by Ashmont. At least the first time. I didn't love Ashmont. I think it was true to character for him to be a little slow on the uptake (he had never really had to work for anything before) but he was a little annoying throughout most of the book. A nice addition to the series... now hopefully we'll finally figure out what's going on with Alice.

Three stars
Follows A Duke in Shining Armour
This book comes out December 1st

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

I often wonder why I don't love the rest of the series as much as I love this book (other people love ALL the books) but I think the crux of this one for me was the added "love story" between Amelia and Emerson. I mean, here's this thirty-two-year-old spinster who's got some money and some freedom for the first time in her life. She's more practical and headstrong than most of the women in her time period. Who else would pick up an obviously starving young woman off the streets and decide to keep her? Evelyn turns out to be a wonderful acquisition, fallen woman though she is, but it's still an unexpected event. For anyone other than Amelia Peabody. And then there's her love of Egypt. It's not just because the country is popular. No. Amelia is really interested in the past and her love of languages interests even the irascible Radcliffe Emerson. Yes, he yells at everyone, including her, but digging up the past is serious work and he believes that no one can do it like him. Throw in a mysterious mummy and you've really got some issues for him to deal with.

Great book, totally worth reading and re-reading. And listening to.

Four and a half stars

Followed by The Curse of the Pharoahs

This book came out in 1975

Borrowed as audiobook from Overdrive

Opinions are my own

Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score

 Divorced and single at 34, Riley Thorn just wants to be normal. But she's been cursed with psychic powers. She can hear the thoughts of others and now is apparently clairvoyant because she keeps seeing her next-door neighbor get killed. When he is actually killed, her world gets even more complicated with a hot spiritual trainer sent to her by her grandmother to develop her powers, a handsome detective who may or may not believe her, and a PI who insists that Riley be his fake fiancee.
There is a lot of craziness involved in this book and, while it wasn't quite the level of Aiken/Laurenston-crazy, it was still a three and a half star rating.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 27th, 2020

Followed by Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet
Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Last Dragon Standing by G. A. Aiken

Keita has been described in previous books as something of a "slag." Like, girl got around. But there have been shades that she is going to be something more, especially since her mother, the Dragon Queen, hates her so much. 

Ragnar has also been in previous books. He's a little full of himself and thinks very little of Keita. Well, he thinks about her a lot but doesn't actually think she's good for anything. Even so, he is really good at apologizing when he makes a mistake. Like, none of that, "I'm sorry your feelings were hurt" BS.

Together, the two will work to keep Keita's mother on the throne.

The story doesn't hang together well and doesn't make sense toward the end but is so fun it's hard to care.

Three stars
This book came out September 7th, 2010
Follows What a Dragon Should Know
Followed by The Dragon Who Loved Me
Audiobook from library
Opinions are my own

Ride the Tide by Julie Ann Walker

I've been enjoying the Deep Six stories and this is one is no different. We've seen glimpses of the romance between historian Alexandra "Alex" Merriweather and former SEAL Mason McCarthy. She's  a twenty-seven-year-old virgin who has made it plain that she'd like her first to be with Mason. Petite and red-headed, she fascinated Mason but his first marriage burned him to the point where he is not going to be good for any woman. Or so that is his overriding belief. But he also knows that, if he has even just one taste of Alex, he'll never be able to let her go.

And that is very similar to other romances but the Deep Six series also has the search for sunken treasure and baddies that persist in trying to kill one or all of the team. There was a b-plot romance as well that is set up to be the next book but it did take away some from Alex and Mason.

 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out November 24th

Follows Devil and the Deep

Followed by Deeper than the Ocean

ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Awakening by Nora Roberts

When Breen discovers that her mother has been hiding secrets about Breen's father (including a large amount of money that should have gone to Breen), she decides to wrest herself from under her mother's thumb and then grabs her bestie/roommate Marco and goes to Ireland. There, she hops to learn more about her absent father. And what she finds is beyond imagination. She's going to find inner stores of strength and power that she will need in order to help save her father's land and his legacy. This is La Nora so, of course, there will be romance on the way.

This book, like many of Roberts' lately, has a LOT of backstory and character building. The entire first of three parts is just Breen finding out that she doesn't know everything about herself and doing some exploration. The middle dragged a little for me but I am enjoying this dip back into fantasy.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out November 24th

ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own 

The Princess Knight by G. A. Aiken

The focus of this book is Brother Gemma. Although it's hard to call her "brother" at the beginning of the book because she feels abandoned by her god and is hardly worshiping him. In fact, everyone thinks that she's drinking like her cousin. However, when someone (not Beatrix!) starts attacking religious sects (starting by slaughtering almost all of the peace monks), Gemma is not especially excited about helping but she saddles up along with her squire Samuel, her sister Ainsley who Gemma and Keeley seem to always forget, and two of the Amichai Laila and Quinn. Quinn is a thorn in Gemma's side though he is definitely a good fighter.

First, they travel to Gemma's past to visit the place where she trained and the other War Monks. There, we learn a bit about why Gemma is the way she is as well as more about the politics of the War Monks. We also get to meet Ragna, another War Monk; one who is even more dedicated to the cause than Gemma. She is the one who ultimately gives Gemma a list of sects to pick up including temple virgins, witches, divine assassins, war priests, a truce monk, and a nun (the Abbess Butcher). Oh, she also gets back her horse Kriegszorn. The one she lost in battle and had to raise (battle monks tend to win battles by bringing the dead back to life.) So what if he's only half normal horse and half rotting corpse? It's her horse!

We do get to see Queen Keeley (who gained such love from me in the first book that I had trouble switching over any to Gemma) and how she's building her kingdom. There are glimpses of Beatrix and what her evil plan is ultimately going to be. And then, a brief glimpse at some special guests who are going to be in the next book.

Definitely start with the first book in this series. This is an Aiken book through and through with characters that go so far beyond zany that you have to love them because they are so well-definied in their own brands of crazy. The beginning was actually a little slower than some Aiken books but it picked up nicely.

Scarred Earth Saga #2

Four stars

This book comes out November 24, 2020

Follows The Blacksmith Queen

Followed by The Heretic Royal

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby February 2024

White Hot by Ilona Andrews

In the first book of this series, we learned that first-person narrator Nevada Baylor is keeping a secret. She has the type of magic that lets her know when people are lying. When this book opens, she is helping to solve the mystery of a missing girl by putting her own identity in danger. Also putting her in danger? Helping an animal mage she met in book 1 revenge the death of his wife. Nevada will be pulled back into the vicinity of Connor "Mad" Rogan who she was trying desperately hard to avoid. The man makes her burn but he just doesn't seem human.
A nice addition to the series but I find I really like the audiobook narrator. Will try to find book three that way.

Four stars
This book came out May 30, 2017
Follows Burn for Me
Followed by Wildfire
Audiobook from Overdrive
Opinions are my own

Reread July 2022, September 2023