The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

It's time to get out of town for the summer! Meg's grandmother is hosting a Ren Faire on her property. Of course, hyper-organized, super-solver Meg is involved, especially behind the scenes, and her professor/actor husband is in charge of the semi-improv actors one of whom, Terrence, has set himself up as the jerk of the troupe. Technically, that is his role in the fair but he tends to act that way both on the job and off. Thus it is no surprise to the reader that he is the one who gets bumped off.
The murderer was fairly easy to guess but does anyone really read to try and solve the mystery? Longtime readers will love this book as Andrews does what she does best. All of our favorite characters grow, even with the requisite time jumps (which are an awesome plot device; not only does she move the place around but adds in these breaks of, sometimes years, so that the sheer number of bodies Meg runs into seem a little more plausible. Okay, not a ton but a little.)
Could first time Meg Langslow readers start with this book? I think so but you'd miss some of the depth of the characters that regular readers have gotten to know and love. Plus, you'll just want to go back to the start anyway so why not just begin there?

Four stars
Follows Owl be Home for Christmas

Followed by The Gift of the Magpie
This book comes out August 4, 2020
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022

Want You to Want Me by Lorelei James

I would sort of classify this as a slow burn. There is a LOT of relationship building before the sexy times which means that the characters have a lot of time to get to know each other. Which is good since the book opens with Gabriella Welk being dumped by her boyfriend for her younger sister. And she, gasp!, doesn't hate her younger sister for it. But Nolan Lund does overhear the exchange. He's not particularly comfortable being there but he does offer to take the hockey star/coach out for drinks.  While at the dive bar, Gabi overhears him say something rather uncomplimentary. But then... he owns his mistake! No excuses, just is sorry and then builds his way back in to her good graces.
The bummer of this story is the awkwardness of how the rest of the books in this series are set up. For the first 3/4 (maybe a little less), we have a smooth-flowing story. Then there's a whole other story that's shoehorned in that might have made more sense if there were hints in the first book but I honestly don't remember there being any. It also might have made more sense if there was a build up to the next book but instead there's a story line just plopped like a rather large unwieldy stone.

Four stars
Follows I Want You Back
This book comes out August 4th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross

Evie Savoie is known as being a powerful hex breaker but the Savoie sisters don’t usually deal with werewolves. That’s why she’s Mateo Cruz’s last hope. He hasn’t been able to shift for months and now his wolf, Alpha, is making himself very well known, something that doesn’t usually happen. Someone has put a powerful hex on him that he hasn’t been able to break. But something about even just being around Evie makes his wolf quiet so Mateo asks her to spend several hours a day with him so that he can finish his metal sculptures. Evie uses the time to work on some art of her own though she is keeping it fairly quiet.
The actual story of the hex, I thought, ended up being a little thin but the overall fast and fun plot kept me reading.

Four stars
This book came out January 14th, 2020
Followed by Don't Hex and Drive
Opinions are my own

The Withdrawing Room by Charlotte MacLeod

Sarah Kelling is broke. Or pretty close to it. She is a recent widow and still rather young (at least that's what I am gathering; somehow I missed that this was the second book in the series and felt like I was missing a lot of information. Some slowly trickled in but it took awhile.) In an effort to keep her husband's family manor, she decides to take on boarders. When one of her boarders is killed in a subway accident, it is almost a relief as the man was decidedly unpleasant. But when another boarder dies, people start to believe there might be something more going on. Especially Max Bittersohn who worked with Sarah on a previous mystery.
A good story but I did feel lost for a lot of it. And Max doesn't even feature much in this book even though the series is Kelling and Bittersohn. He shows up halfway through and then is absent, apparently investigating, for quite a bit at the end.

Three stars
Followed by The Palace Guard
This book came out October 1st, 2002
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

Moonshine & Magic by Bella Falls

The book opens with Charli Goodwin barely pulling into town on her motorcycle when she encounters a couple whose car has broken down. She's tired, dirty, but not anxious to be home so she stops to help, using almost the last of her magic. It's a nice introduction to the series.
She's home and has one last interaction with her Uncle Tipper before she finds him dead. But his death, though he was old, was not natural. And Charli decides to try and figure out what is going on.
I don't always love amateur detectives but Charli generally has some common sense and travels with her brother who is a warden.

Three stars
Followed by Fried Chicken & Fangs
This book came out January 30th, 2018
Opinions are my own

Deadlock Catherine Coulter

An old foe rises from the shadows when Marsia Gay decides that she wants revenge on Savich for putting her in jail. She has an intricate plan that includes sending puzzle pieces to him at the FBI. One of the agents in another unit recognizes the puzzle pieces as a small town she used to live in and is immediately borrowed and sent to the town.
Also happening in this book, Rebekah Manvers, wife of a Congressman, is invited to a seance. There, the mystical Zoltan tries to convince her that her grandfather wants her to remember an old poem and dig up a treasure that Rebekah never believed was real.
The book was incredibly twisty and turny with plot points that are just nuts. However, if you've read other books in the FBI series, you know what to expect. You can possibly even predict a large portion of the ending just based on the way characters are described. But that doesn't mean that the book is any less fun.

Three and a half stars
Follows Labyrinth

Followed by Vortex
This book comes out July 28th
ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances may have just gotten engaged but she doesn't want to announce it until her sister's wedding has occurred. But her sister, Lily, and Lily's fiance have news that puts the wedding in jeopardy. Frances's fiance (unknown to anyone but herself) steps in and offers his brother's country house. Having it at the estate means that the wedding can now be a full-on house party. Something that should satisfy even Lily and Frances's social-climbing mother.
But all is not well with the guests. There are accidents happening to everyone, both the guests and the staff. And Lily seems to be overly enamored of her fiance's friend rather than focusing on her fiance. When the friend ends up murdered, it's up to Frances to help save not only the wedding, but her sister as well.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out July 28th
Follows A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder

Followed by A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Devil's Bones by Carolyn Haines

For regular Haines readers, I don't think you will be disappointed. The main mystery was really intriguing but fell apart a bit at the end when an old enemy (rather awkwardly added to the story) shows up again. Characters' story arcs are moved along and the writing is just as good as always.
Sarah Booth is visiting a new B&B in a nearby town to celebrate Tinkie's new pregnancy. The B&B is near the Palestinian Gardens, a 20-acre piece of property that is set up to be a miniature version of the Holy Lands and Tinkie wants to attend the sunrise Easter service. Too bad their exploration of the gardens is marred by the discovery of the local ambulance chaser. And, as can be expected from a mystery story, there is more than one person who wanted him dead with the lead suspect being the handsome bachelor of the town.

Three stars
This book comes out July 27th
Follows Game of Bones

Followed by A Garland of Bones
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

The Inheritor's Powder by Sandra Hempel

I can't remember where I heard about this book but it looked interesting. And it sort of was. It's a microhistory about arsenic and how forensic science was formed to determine whether someone had been poisoned. The whole story is framed around the poisonings of the Bodle family.
The beginning started off well with a narrative history of when the Bodle family became ill. The story was interesting and it was a nice introduction to the topic. But the middle got bogged down a bit as the science part was introduced and the pacing of the story changed and then the switching back and forth between the story of the family and the story of the science kept up the different pacing.

Three stars

This book came out November 3rd, 2014

Borrowed this from the library

Opinions are my own

Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday

Being a female doctor is tough. It's a hard world to break into and then there are all of the hours you have to work. That doesn't really make it conducive to having a relationship. Even if you're dating another doctor. Especially if you walk in the door and find said other doctor screwing a resident on your couch. Even more disheartening is realizing that the past few years of your life have been directed by your ex.

Dr. Nora Walsh is dealing with ALL of that. She sees a notice that there is an opening for a small town doctor in Paradise Cove and she decides to take the position but her plan is just to stay for two years, pay off her student debt and save for a house that she can share with her sister. She's not looking for a forever home or a forever love.

For his part, Jake Ramsey is barely even looking for someone to grunt in the general of. He lost his infant son to the flu and his marriage imploded soon after. He barely even wants to talk to the friends he's had since childhood. His life is all about helping out around town and that's what leads him to be one of the first people to meet Nora. They share a pretty intense experience and then... start hanging out. Nora gives him sympathy but not too much and not too little. She's the Baby Bear of sympathy. 

From the beginning, I was really hoping that a particular plot line wouldn't pop up. But it did. While Holiday is an entertaining writer and I am very much looking forward to Maya and Law's story, the end of this book was just a little to fraught to feel like there was a concrete resolution.

This book comes out July 28th

Follows Mermaid Inn

Followed by Sandcastle Beach

ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Witch Hunt by Cate Conte

When the book opens, Violet Mooney is having an ominous feeling, like this just isn't going to be a good day. But her yoga class goes well and the coffee shop visit with her best friend is helping until Carla Fernandez stalks in and accuses her of planning a seance. Violet feels blindsided. And an interaction with an unusual woman at her store doesn't help. The woman claims that she wants a reading but her aura doesn't match the statement. Her day goes sideways when she finds out that Carla has been murdered and Violet's own scarf was found nearby. At the police station, her life goes off the rails when her mother, missing for twenty-seven years, shows up with a sister, Zoe, that Violet knew nothing about.
This is a first book so there are some things that are a little thin like the development of Carla's character, the developing relationship with Carla and her mother as well as her sister, and all of the other people in town that are being set up to be in further books in the series. But overall, a cute book.

Three stars
This book came out June 30th, 2020

Followed by Witch Trial
Book borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Death Metal by Nova Nelson

Nora is still figuring out what it means to be a Fifth Wind witch. While hanging on the porch with her crush, a possible romantic moment is interrupted by a ghost who's death has been called a suicide but she knows she was murdered. And now Nora thinks so too. So she's off on another mystery.

It seemed like there was an equal amount of time spent on the mystery and the will they/won't they with Tanner and Nora. Dear God there was so much back and forth in Nora's mind about Tanner. I'm going to read the next book in the series but I'm really hoping that it's not going to be more of that because it just makes Nora seem supremely wishy-washy and that is not the character we're seeing in the rest of the book.

Three stars
Follows Crossing Over Easy
Followed by Third Knock the Charm

This book came out June 19th, 2018

Borrowed as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

Vultures in the Sky by Todd Downing

During a time of unrest in Mexico, there were a group of people on a train. They were all nervous because of the political issues as well as rumors of religious zealots. Then, there are also the vultures following the train... and someone is killed. Then another person. The remaining passengers become more and more nervous. But Hugh Rennert steps up to get to know the other passengers and tries to discover why a man should have been killed and why so many other passengers are lying.
Basically a locked room mystery, I heard about this book on the Classic Mysteries podcast. The mystery is described there as a fair play story (the readers should be able to guess who the murderer was) but I actually found it incredibly confusing. The book was published in 1935 and the attitudes and descriptions of the Mexicans and women are very much of the time and hard to read in the modern day.

Two stars
This book came out in 1935
Borrowed from the library
Opinions are my own

Winterset by Candace Camp

Anna Holcombe and her brother have a family secret which means that, even though she loved Reed Moreland, she turned down his marriage proposal. The reason Reed even met her, living out in the country, is that he bough her uncle's estate. Now, knowing that Anna rejected him. He wants to sell. Except that he keeps having dreams that she is in trouble. And he just wants to make sure that she is okay.
For now she is, but someone is killing the local townspeople. And an old legend is resurrected. One that could bring the Holcombe family's secret out into the open.
A fun book with interesting characters.

Four stars

Follows Beyond Compare

Followed by An Unexpected Pleasure
This book came out January 8th, 2018
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Hitched by Pippa Grant and Lili Valente

Blake and Hope were introduced in the previous book in this series. They obviously have good chemistry but Hope doesn't believe that to be enough. Her parents' marriage is proof that no one should ever get married. But her grandmother's will leaves a valuable alpaca to whichever of her grandchildren get married first. And Hope's cousin has already found a willing candidate off Tinder. Blake is not her first choice. Or her second or even her third. He's far down the list and she only calls him when her first option craps out and no one else interested. But Hope has something that Blake wants; she can help him get a liquor license for his winery ahead of opening which will make or break his work.
For his part, Blake is only too willing to play along. Except that he knows something that Hope doesn't, he still loves her and is ready to do whatever it takes to win her heart for good.
Not quite as good as the first two but still a fun book.

Three and a half stars
Follows Hammered

Followed by Humbugged
This book came out September 3rd, 2019
Borrowed book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

One Haunted Evening -- anthology

This was a really interesting conceit - instead of an anthology, three author's stories are intermixed as each is happening (at least, that's what I'm interpreting by the three names on the cover and the sheer number of characters). It was, unfortunately, not well executed but just the idea made me round up to three stars.
There is a LOT going on in this little book. There are three main heroes, three heroines, at least five secondary characters that I noticed set up for their own next books. Plus, the authors tend to flip between calling the men by their first names and last names/titles so it gets doubly confusing. Basically, a bunch of guys decide to have a Samhain party at a supposedly haunted castle that one of them has just inherited and they discover that it, indeed, haunted.

Three stars
This book came out
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

A Royal Christmas Cruise by Max Walker

A Spanish prince is not supposed to be gay. But Nick is tired of living a lie. Especially in this day and age. So he breaks up with his girlfriend and heads on a cruise. He doesn't expect to see a hot guy wearing nothing but some brief banana-printed underwear fall out of the security booth.
Shiro Brooks is traveling with a group of friends that he hasn't seen for four years. He hasn't yet told them that he and his boyfriend (another from the friend group) have broken up. But a hot makeout session in a bookstore gives him an idea. Maybe this man would like to pretend to be his boyfriend... Nick turns him down but they end up hanging out anyway. And close proximity in a romance novel usually leads to an HEA. If only they can figure out who is taking pictures of them, outing Nick before he's ready.
If you like Max Walker, you'll enjoy this book. As usual, the plot is not real deep and most of the joy of reading can be found in the relationship building (and the hot sex scenes.)

Three stars
This book came out November 23rd, 2019
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot

I'm really excited that Meg Cabot hit it rich with her young adult novels but I wish she would go back to her romances because she's so good at them. Told through journal articles, emails and texts, this story tells of two couples, Holly and Mark who are eloping to get married in Italy, and their friends Jane and Cal. Jane is a cartoonist who is about to hit it big while Cal is a reporter. The two have immediate animosity toward each other. Jane thinks he's uptight (which he is) while he dislikes her frivolity.
Love the well developed characters and the first-person narrative told by several of the characters. Fun, quick read that makes me smile. Can you ask for any more in a book?

Four stars
This book came out in 2005
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Royal Charmer (The Rourkes #4) by Kylie Gilmore

I don't like all of the books in the series but this one was fairly charming with a romance author who meets a prince. He helps her get her mojo back and she poses as his fiancee to help him look more stable. That... is about the crux of the story. I feel like a review of a book I liked should be longer but I just enjoyed getting to see Alice and Lucas's relationship grow.

Four stars
This book came out June 11th, 2019
Borrowed this as a library book
Opinions are my own

Enchanted Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sara Booth is startled to discover a young girl while she is on a horseback ride one day. The child is very young, has a birthmark that looks startlingly like a third eye, and also has note pinned to her back saying that she is cursed and that anyone who helps her will also be cursed.
There was a lot going on in this novella (lots of new-to-the-series history built in) but it was still an enjoyable read.

Three and a half stars
This novella came out June 16th, 2020
Borrowed this book from the library as an ebook
Opinions are my own

Hammered by Pippa Grant

Jace O'Dell has been in an on-again/off-again relationship with kindergarten teacher Ginger for a long time. We know from the first book that he has a history of picking women who chew him up and spit him out. Ginger is no different. And Jace is ready to be done with her. He's met a woman who is much more interesting, with whom he has more chemistry, and who actually seems to want him, Olivia Moonbeam. But Ginger has some news for him, she's pregnant and she wants to get married.
Look, I get that this is the south, but that doesn't mean that they have to get married, just because there's a kid involved. If Jace were doing it for any other reason than "that's what I'm supposed to do," I would have been more sympathetic when he is whining to himself about being with Ginger. Luckily, Olivia is much smarter than he is and realizes that he can choose a different path.
This book is bonkers. The plot barely holds together and I'm not sure that I actually liked Jace. But the fast-paced narrative of the story kept me involved and amused, even when they brought in the clowns.

Four stars
Follows Hosed
Followed by Hitched
This book came out May 28, 2019
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Poesy the Monster Slayer by Cory Doctorow

The pictures in this book are absolutely amazing. The story was a three (basically a hyperactive child keeps her parents awake -- I think it's trying to empower kids to take care of their own monsters but the story doesn't hang together well - would be better with maybe 5 more pages that show more about how Poesy preps) but the pictures are a 5. Brilliantly colored the pictures only enhance and lift the words to a better story.

This book comes out July 14th
ARC kindly provided by First Second Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Charming as Puck by Pippa Grant

Kami Oakley has loved Nick Murphy for a long time. But he's off limits, not just because he's her brother's friend but also because he's a player; he'll never settle down. And the latest incident has just proved it. His hockey team has a history of playing pranks on each other but they've started including animals. And Kami, as a softhearted veterinarian, is often the one cleaning up after their messes. Even though she's been hooking up with Nick for awhile now, she's just realized that he's never going to be serious about her.
Nick is startled when Kami leaves. Even more so that she left his teammate's prank cow behind. He gets that she's mad at him so he decides to make it up to her.
Not my favorite Pippa Grant. It was still fun but there was so much pranking that it got redundant. And I sort of get Kami's anger but... Nick never promised her anything. And she knows he's bad at things like remembering birthdays. Like, how much can you expect?

Three stars

This book came out February 1st, 2019

Copper Valley Thrusters #3

Follows Beauty and the Beefcake

Followed by I Pucking Love You
Borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Reread as Kindle Unlimited ebook October 2024

Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire by Pippa Grant

Tripp Wilson used to be in a boy band. He gave up a baseball career to help keep an eye on his brother. He fell in love, got married, and had two kids but his wife died. And now he's trying to figure out how to balance his fears about his kids getting sick with working but not finding the right nanny. When his local baseball team is having a crappy season, he sees his chance. He can finally own his own team. But the owner dies and the woman who inherits turns out to be someone that Tripp knows...
Lila Valentine is shocked to see that the man she had a hot interlude with in a club bathroom is in her boardroom. Unfortunately, he's not using the same name. Why would he lie to her? And why does he think that she'll be willing to give up her baseball team?
We've definitely seen Lila in previous books. She is smart, dedicated, but slightly standoffish. Her last job is ending and she figures rebuilding the baseball team that meant so much mother will be worth it.
I do love that Pippa Grant's books are a little crazypants but this one's back story was just a bit too much for me. Still can't wait for the next book in the series.

Three and a half stars

Bro Code #3

Follows America's Geekheart

Followed by Master Baker or Hot Mess and the Heartthrob
This book came out March 24th, 2020
Borrowed this as a Kindle Unlimited book
Opinions are my own

Reread as Kindle Unlimited book April 2021, October 2024

Lucky Stiff by Craig Rice

She was a side piece but Anna Marie St. Clair claimed to love Big Joe. Yes, she was found standing over him holding a gun,  but she is going to the electric chair claiming her innocence. There's a last minute phone call and Anna Marie is saved. But she doesn't want anyone to know. Instead, she decides that Anna Marie St. Clair will die. Her "ghost" will rise to haunt the living.  Her first stop? The bar John J. Malone is known to haunt. Her own lawyer had recommended him as a crooked lawyer but one who is only crooked in certain ways.
When John J. Malone sees Anna Marie in a dingy bar, he falls in instant love. And he makes it his mission to ensure that her life is going to be the best it can possibly be. Including getting her exonerated from murder. John's friends Helene and Jake Justus are worked but they are going to help their friend as much a possible. Even while Jake is dealing with problems relating to his casino.
If you like the Malone series, you will like this book.

I picked it up because of the Classic Mysteries podcast

Three stars
This book was published in 1945

Follows Having Wonderful Crime

Followed by The Fourth Postman
Ebook borrowed from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding by Erin Nicholas

It's been a year since Josh Landry and Victoria (Tori) Kramer hooked up at Mardi Gras. They had made a pact to meet again at the same bar. Josh is there but Tori... isn't. He goes back to Autre to work at his family's swamp tour business... where Tori shows up the next day. She had been at the bar but, when Josh didn't show up, she kissed the man that she thought was him. Only it was her best friend who is getting married this weekend. The same man whose fiancee hates Tori because she thinks Tori is trying to talk her best friend, Andrew out of the marriage. Which Tori totally is. But not because Tori is In Love with Andrew but because she thinks the fiancee is all wrong for him. So Tori invites Josh to the wedding. That way she can prove that she's trying to break up the wedding for all the right reasons. Plus, fun make out times with Josh.

Josh is all in. Tori is his woman. Yes, the folks back in Iowa think she's a little nuts but she fits right in with the Landry family. He's determined to take this weekend to prove to Tori that he is the one for her. 

This book was a fun twist on some familiar tropes. There was no fake relationship (there could have been) and the best friends didn't fall in love. I hope that Andrew gets his own book as well as Josh's siblings, the surly Sawyer and goth-ish Kennedy.

Four stars
Followed by Sweet Home Louisiana

This book came out April 9th, 2019

Got this as an exchange from Paperback Swap and exchanged it again

Opinions are my own

The Case of the Careless Kitten by Erle Stanley Gardner

Can the actions of a cat help solve a mystery? They will if the main character is lawyer Perry Mason. He's trying to figure out whether or not Helen Kendal's uncle, who has been missing for 10 years but her aunt refuses to declare him dead, is really.
Someone purporting to be her uncle has called Helen and asked her to meet him. But when she shows up, there's a dead body who isn't her uncle. In between the call and the discovery, her kitten is poisoned. And that's all in the beginning of the story.
I picked this up based on the Classic Mysteries podcast. But it took quite a bit to slog through this book. The dated attitudes are harder to take in some books than others and this story was also pretty convoluted.

Three stars
This book came out
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 It's time to attend a (minor) celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island. Alternating chapters build in depth characters show the tension that exists before the guests arrive. Many because of old friendships and school ties. The tensions build, culminating in a death.
This book drew me in. There were parts where I wanted to stop and check the ending to see if it would be worth finishing, but I didn't. I could definitely pinpoint who the murderer was but wobbled on who was going to get killed. I loved that the author only gradually revealed the information regarding both the killer and the victim and that it paralleled the history unraveling.

Four stars

This book came out June 2nd

Borrowed this as an ebook from the library

Opinions are my own

The Best Man Plan by Jaci Burton

Dumped by an email? Two days before her wedding? To a man she's known since they were kids? This is Erin Bellini's reality. And it sucks. But she pushes through and turns her wedding reception into a celebration for her family's winery. She also decides that she's going to get revenge on her fiance. The best way to do that? Sleep with his best friend (a friend of both of them since childhood,) Jason.

But Jason is having none of that. He's had a crush on Erin for forever and was just working up the courage to ask her out when Owen swooped in. So now that Erin is single again, he's going to make sure that she's coming after him for the right reasons. 

And I wish that there had been even a little bit more time in between Erin getting dumped and her hooking up with Jason. I get that he's her Twu Lurv and thus it is All Okay but it didn't really work for me. Yes, I knew this going into the book but Burton is an amazing author and made it so this wasn't a DNF book for me. I am looking forward to other books in the series.

Three stars

Followed by the Engagement Arrangement

This book comes out July 7th

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Hosed by Pippa Grant, Lili Valente

Cassie Sunderwell doesn't want to stay in Happy Cat, Georgia for long. Her job as a coder is in San Francisco and she is feeling overwhelmed by the nosiness of this small town. She wouldn't be here at all if her sister's husband hadn't decided that he liked a sheep better than her sister. Now her sister is in England leaving Cassie in charge of the sex toy factory that specializes in all-natural lube. Of course, not everyone in town is happy to have this particular factory there, even if it employs many people. But does that mean that someone is trying to sabotage the factory?
Yes. And it starts with explosions that bring firefighter Ryan O'Dell back into Cassie's orbit. They had worked on a project together in high school that left Cassie with a disgust of him. Even if he is mouth-wateringly hot.
This was just the sort of fun and fluffy book that I've come to expect from Pippa Grant. Lili Valente writes just as well. And a pet racoon? Okay, I'll bite.

Four stars
Followed by Hammered
This book came out January 15th, 2019
Borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own