Yours to Keep by Lauren Layne

In a loose crossover between two series, Carter Ramsey, an injured pro-baseballer, is tricked into coming home by his very pregnant twin sister. Well, not exactly tricked. More like an irresistible bribe is dangled in front of his nose; his high school sweetheart is coming to town. She was his first love, the one with whom he made a pact to get married if they were both single at their ten year reunion. And that's why his sister wants him to come home. He is a big star and having him at their reunion will guarantee her success as a co-chair.
The other co-chair, Olive Dunn, is not as excited that Carter is back. She prizes her solitude and he's moved in to the house next door. He recognizes her right away (they were lab partners in senior year chemistry after all) much to her chagrin. She was sort of hoping she had transformed into an amazing swan. But overall, Olive is very happy with who she is. And it's that confidence is part of what draws Carter into wondering whether the first love is the best love after all.
Light humor enmeshed with an unexpected romance made this a fun read. The epilogue didn't need to be there and there were some spots that made me cringe a bit but overall a fun read with a great heroine.

Three stars
Follows Yours in Scandal
This book comes out Sepember 1st
ARC kindly provided by Montlake Romance and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Southern Bred and Dead by Angie Fox

Verity and Ellis have hit a rough patch. Their romance has been pretty idyllic so far (his mother and the fact that Verity was engaged to his younger brother notwithstanding) so how they handle thsi figh will set the tenor of the rest of their relationship. Big doings.
The central mystery though is why Josie, a good friend of Verity's grandmother, died. It is the annual fundraiser for one of the local churches and Josie has fallen from the steeple. But did she really just fall?
We also get to learn more about Frankie's relationship with his brother and exactly why Frankie died.
This was overall a very nice addition to the series. I hate the "amateur detective does stupid things and almost dies" trope and Verity is very much skirting the line of intelligence that she has generally shown in earlier books in the series. I'm hoping that doesn't continue in future books since it mostly seems like a plot device specifically in this book.

Four stars
This book came out August 28th
Follows The Ghost of Christmas Past

Followed by The Haunted Homecoming 
ARC kindly provided by Moose Island Books
Opinions are my own

Big Nate: The Gerbil Ate My Homework by Lincoln Peirce

More fun stories from Big Nate. He breaks up with his seventh grade girlfriend in order to spend more time with his friends. And even though he's still in school, at least his favorite teacher is back. We get to see Nate make a film with Gina and Chad and there is more time spent with Dee Dee (who I am really enjoying as a character and am glad to see more of.)

Four stars

Followed by In Your Face
This book comes out September 1st
ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Also downloaded from library
Opinions are my own

Virtual Unicorn Experience by Dana Simpson

Marigold Heavenly Nostrils and Phoebe have been friends for a number of books but their adventures are still fun and fresh. In this book, Marigold gives Phoebe a little bit of unicorn magic to help prove that Phoebe is worth being a unicorn's friend. Phoebe also goes to a meaningless trial but is disappointed with the results. We get to learn more about unicorn traditions and get to see some of our favorite characters like Lord Splendid Humility and Dakota (but no Max or the goblins.)
As always, a book worth reading: fun, fluffy, and with unicorns! Can there be anything more magnificent?

Four and a half stars
This book comes out September 1st
Follows Camping with Unicorns

Followed by Virtual Unicorn Experience
ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Catalina and Alessandro are thrown together again when, once again, powerful Primes threaten to destroy the city. Her new job as a Warden of Texas earns her (and her family) some protection as a new house but that also means that she is being thrown into situations that would endanger the lives of anyone less powerful than herself. That also means that she sometimes needs to rely on others that she'd rather not, including Alessandro.
The Big Bad in this one just isn't as well developed as it has been in other stories. And the revelation of the power behind the big bad was sort of a deflation. I really hope that we get to learn more about Alessandro soon. He is still a little too much of a mystery to really care about. But you still have an amazing family and their stories do let them grow more and the epilogue definitely made me immediately want to jump right into the next book.

Four stars
This book came out August 25, 2020
Follows Sapphire Flames

Followed by Ruby Fever
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread July 2022 as an Audible book I own

Yoga Myths by Judith Lassater

If you've been in yoga for any length of time, you've heard of Judith Hanson Lasater. In a recent podcast I listened to, she mentioned that she will have been teaching for 50 years next year. So she should know what she's talking about. And this book is a definite exploration into what has changed in yoga and our understanding of the human body.  Of course, the biggest one is "tuck the tailbone." When I started practicing in 1999, I very much remember my teacher demonstrating how/why tucking the tailbone would serve you in your poses as well as in the rest of your life. But that has slowly evolved as have other ways we do poses. Well, depending on the type of yoga you practice. The book has lots of great pictures with variations for each pose and long descriptions of why each might serve better than a "traditional" pose.

Four stars
This book came out August 25th
ARC kindly provided by Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Opinions are my own

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

Another lovely story from the Author of "The Flatshare." And this is a different sort of lovely. Still with the great character building and the people with very real problems but still a happy ending. Yes, that includes some love interests but you just know that Elaine and Leena would be fine without them.  A little dramatic and definitely a trigger warning for sibling death (ufda -- if I had read this a year ago it would have been MUCH worse.)
Leena has an amazing job with an even better mentor. So good that her mentor tells her that she is NOT dealing well with her sister's death and that Leena now has a two month paid sabbatical. Of course, Leena does not believe she needs one. But when she talks to her grandmother, the original Elaine, they both discover that they could use a little vacation from their lives. And that the town mouse switching with the country mouse might mean they each appreciate their own lives a little more.
Also, major props for Elaine having a thriving sex life at seventy-nine.

Four stars
This book came out August 18th
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

On the Square by Brenda Murphy

Going home is rarely fun for people in romance novels but for Mai Li it is particularly sharp. She left at nineteen (or twenty, I can't remember now) after coming out to her mother meant that her mother no longer acknowledged her existence. Growing up she was mocked for not being white as well as for being gay. She wouldn't have come back if her relationship and her cooking show hadn't imploded. Now she has nowhere to live except her family's old house which is in more disrepair than she expected. And she can only get one contractor who is willing to meet her.
Dale is a single mom to three sons, only one still at home. She's been barely holding it together financially since one of her exes wiped her out. Getting Mai's job will definitely help keep the wolf away from the door. When the roof at Mai's place collapses, Dale invites Mai to move in. They are both fighting their feelings (for somewhat ridiculous reasons but people in real life are often ridiculous) but finally admit that they might have a chance at an HEA.
There was just a little too much sturm and drang in this story for me to really fall in love with either character but I have a feeling that Brenda Murphy will become an author I keep an eye out for because both Dale and Mai were fairly well-rounded and I did like much of their relationship building.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 17th
ARC kindly provided by NineStar Press, LLC and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Gay All Year by Richard May

I am trying to expand my reading horizons so, when I saw this book of short stories from NetGalley, I requested them. And, from a literary standpoint, most of these stories were good but some gaps in stories and things left unfinished. I am very much a reader who likes character development and relationship building (which is possible in short stories) but there wasn’t much of that in this volume. And one story also had a main character who sort of cheated on his partner who wasn’t technically his partner... But if you are one-true-pairing kind of reader, at least one story will not be your cup of tea.

Within the page constraints, these author did a fairly good job of giving an idea of how he could stretch his wings. I very much appreciated the range of characters and the celebration of holidays outside of Christmas and Valentine’s Day. I was surprised by the touches of Christianity added in the first couple of stories. If the author writes longer stories at some point, I would be tentatively interested.

Three stars

This book came out August 17th

ARC kindly provided by NineStar Press, LLC and NetGalley

Opnions are my own

Who Wants to Marry a Duke Sabrina Jeffries

Miss Olivia Norley is happy being a wallflower. She loves chemistry and wants nothing more than to work with her great-uncle on his experiments. When she meets Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock at a ball, she is more bemused by him than anything else. They share a passionate kiss that gets interrupted. And though he doesn't want to actually marry Olivia, Thorn is affronted when she turns down his proposal.
Nine years later, Thorn has become a cynic (after one kiss? Really?) who is astonished to learn that Olivia is going to be the chemist who proves whether or not his half-brother's father was killed by arsenic. He decides that he is going tag along on this research. Even if he is behind on delivering his latest play, the sixth in a series whose most popular and comedic characters are based off of Olivia and her stepmother. Or at least the twisted version he created of them in his own mind.
As he gets to know more about Olivia, Thorn starts to realize that the story he created in his own mind might not actually have been the truth. And when someone starts targeting Olivia for death, Thorn realizes that she actually means quite a bit to him.
The action in this book was a little more dramatic than others in the series. And Thorn was sort of a jerk for a lot of the story but it was a book that most Jeffries readers will find incredibly enjoyable.

Three and a half stars
Follows The Bachelor

Followed by Undercover Duke
This book comes out August 25th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Crazy Rich Cajuns by Erin Nicholas

The romance between Kennedy and Bennett has been slowly building in the last two books of this series. She's the former beauty pageant girl turned goth and he's the wickedly smart son of a politician who also has his own money. He's besotted; she's mostly in denial. But then he gets her to agree to attend his father's retirement and all bets are off.
I didn't love all of the dynamics between the two as much as I had hoped. Bennett was just too much of a flip flop between a cinnamon role and an alpha. He did sort of let Kennedy
find her wings but it felt sort of begrudging; I just wish we had seen more of him supporting her.


Three stars
Follows Beauty and the Bayou 
Followed by Must Love Alligators
This book came out September 30th, 2019
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Someone to Romance by Mary Balogh

Lady Jessica Archer is 25-years-old and on the verge of being on the shelf, even if she is a duke's sister. But when her family sees her talking to Rochford, the heir presumptive to the Earl of Lyndale, they immediately fly into romance mode. Of course she should end up with an earl. Too bad she is more taken with the mysterious Gabriel Thorne. He seems to be a wealthy merchant from Boston and he set his eyes on her when she kicked him out of a private sitting room. Well, her brother's secretary did, but in her name. Gabriel needs a powerful wife to help him reclaim his birthright and he figures that Jessica will do. Too bad Jessica wants to be wooed for herself. But maybe that wooing will lead to something they can both love with... for the rest of their lives.
Regular Balogh fans will love this book. Gentle as always, with great character development. There are a LOT of characters from previous books in the series but Balogh actually makes them fit in pretty well. At least for regular readers. The denouement was a little rushed and expected but did not detract much from the overall joy of the book.

Four stars
Follows Someone to Remember

Followed by Someone to Cherish
This book comes out August 25th
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Can't Help Falling by Cara Bastone

Tyler Leshuski likes his life. At least he mostly does. His life has shifted recently. His best friend found a girlfriend. Now Tyler, the one who picked him up and helped raise his kid is superfluous. And the new girlfriend, Via. Comes with a best friend/foster sister, Serafine "Fin" St. Romain, who is the most beautiful woman ever. And Ty should know, he's dated them all. Even at 42, he's not ready to settle down. But he will ask Fin out. Too bad she rejects him soundly. To the point that he changes his entire life. Which gets upended once again when the foster system Ohio calls; his 14-year-old sister has been left home alone and he is her only family.

Fin didn't mean to hurt Fin quite so badly. She's just used to men not taking "no" graciously. When his entire life shifts, she knows she needs to apologize. Her life isn't going smoothly either. Her entire life she's been wanting to be a foster parent but she's too young, too single, and her job as a psychic means that she has no guaranteed cash coming in so she's been rejected yet again. And Ty is sort of a double anyway. But when Kylie enters his life, Fin starts to see that her friend Mary might be right and she may have misjudged Fin.

A cute story but a little TOO cute at the end. Fin is set up as a psychic but we didn't to see much of her work other than how Tyler directly impacted it. It would've been nice to see a little more upfront.

This book comes out August 25th

ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Psych-Out (Eastwind Witches #5) by Nova Nelson

Nora is swearing to all and sundry that she is no longer in the mystery solving business. But, when witches start doing things completely outside their own nature, Nora can't help but get involved. She is trying to concentrate on her witch-y studies, especially now that she suspects that she might be a truly powerful witch. Past lives and nightmares might lead to even more about her current life.

Three stars
Follows Quesos de los Muertos
This book came out May 7th 2018
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Spell's Bells by Annabel Chase

When a dwarf is discovered in a glass coffin, Emma's friend is the one accused of putting him there. Emma is going to make sure that she isn't put in jail for a crime she didn't commit. Proving her friend's innocence is going to mean that Emma has to go on dates, attend speed dating, and even visit a matchmaker. At the same time, she's finding out more about her own past.
I do like that there is not a love triangle in this series but I am getting a little frustrated with Emma and Daniel's relationship. Talk about a slow burn. This is practically glacial.

Three stars
Follows Doom and Broom
Followed by Better than Hex
This book came out February 14th, 2017
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Beauty and the Bayou by Erin Nicholas

If there's one thing in life that Juliet Dawson doesn't want to have happen, it's to have her brother Chad turn out like her two entitled older brothers. So when he damages the dock at the Landry family air boat tour facility, instead of paying for repairs, she says that he will be rebuilding the dock. And she's going to help.
Sawyer Landry has been overly cautious since one of his partners was killed last year and his family is sick of him making sure that they are all safe ALL the time. He is very impressed by Juliet's overabundance of caution. So, while she's here building his dock, why not have a little fun?
Cute story. Not a lot of relationship building unfortunately and the last wrinkle to the HEA was a little much but at least it was cleared up quickly.

Three stars
Follows Sweet Home Louisiana
Followed by Crazy Rich Cajuns
This book came out August 13th, 2019
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Lucky Charm (Spellbound #4) by Annabel Chase

Emma is ready to talk to the town council about how harsh the current punishments for breaking laws are. But the day she shows up to talk them, they are all acting like children. They've all been put under a spell. While Emma works to discover who it is, she enlists the help of friends (since the centaur Sheriff doesn't seem interested.) The person who cast the spell knows that she's on the case and throws roadblocks in her way but that's not even as hard as the things that are happening in her less-than-existant love life.
I think regular readers will enjoy the story. Maybe not the best book to start with for new readers though.

Three stars
This book came out March 7th, 2017
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Queso de los Muertos by Nova Nelson

Eastwind, still reeling from the disappearance from the town gold, is still holding the annual Lunasa Fest. And Nora is ready. She plans on introducing chips and queso to the food contest. But something happens, right after the judges eat her food, a chill wind blows in leaving a host of ghosts behind. Was it something in her food?
Still struggling with her feelings for Tanner's best friend, Nora is conflicted. And, ugh. I really dislike romantic triangles and it seems like Nelson is going to draw that trope out throughout multiple books. Also, Nora is starting to be more reckless which is another trope I dislike. She purposely puts herself in dangerous situations that aren't really needed to further the story.

Three stars
Follows Third Knocks the Charm
Followed by Psych-Out
This book came out April 10th, 2018

Borrowed as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig

A guy and a gal shared a kiss. The guy went to the gal's house the next day to offer for her hand but her father denied having a daughter. Heartbroken, the guy 

went back to the army.

Seven years later, the guy, Thomas, has been called home. He is the last in line for an earldom. But there is a famous writer ensconced in his house. And the man's secretary (or, as she calls herself, amanuensis) is no one else but the gal, Jane. And her life is being threatened by anonymous letters.

I really liked that a lot of the potential misunderstandings were dealt with up front. Both the heroine and the hero were up front about their secrets (adulting!) The letter writer 

seemed more like a plot device than anything else but a nice opening to a series. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 18th

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Estate Sale by Lily Charles

Molly is a bookseller who finds books at places like the estate sale she is currently at. She is lightly flirting with a newcomer to the scene, Emma when Buck, an obnoxious bookseller who is known among the booksellers' group as a thief. When Molly later finds Emma in a cordoned off area standing over Buck who is dead from a blow to the head, she immediately believes Emma's innocence. She sees a piece of paper laying next to the body and instinctively grabs it and puts it in her own pocket. Together, the two start looking into why Buck was killed.
I really liked the description of this book. Booksellers? Awesome. Probably a budding relationship? My catnip. Between two females? That seems new.  But I have to admit that the author used one of my least favorite plot development devices, amateur detectives that put themselves into danger and that took away a lot of the enjoyment that I expected from this book. Emma and Molly hide evidence from the police, sneak into houses, and keep investigating a murder after they are in danger. I would have enjoyed this book so much more if they had already had some detective experience (i.e. some expertise in sneaking around) or had been more open with the police. And the fact that Molly just inherently trusts Emma because she's attracted to her doesn't make her seem any smarter. I'll probably give the series another try because I really do like the underlying premise and there was some realization of what they were doing at the end but I hope the author makes that carry over to the next book and the two ladies will have a little more common sense.

Three stars
This book comes out August 15th
ARC kindly provided by Black Opal Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

No Offense by Meg Cabot

There are a lot of tropes that I am not enjoying these days and one of them is definitely the bumbling amateur detective. I like amateurs well enough but not the ones who are hindering police investigations by trying to do their own sleuthing so I wish there had been a bit more in the blurb explaining that Molly was going to be one of those characters. This book has all of the trademark Cabot adult contemporaries though with a slightly dingy but professionally-proficient heroine and somewhat more long-suffering hero. However, the characters aren't as well defined as some of her other books (excepting the parts where Molly as a modern day librarian.) And what I loved about her "Boy" series (which did require a lot of suspension of belief) was the comedy. This book definitely did not have that. It was a pleasant read but more on the innocuous end than delightful.
I'm guessing the attorney general, John, who has never had a long-term relationship and the local news reporter, Michelle (sp? I listened to the audio), will be in future books. Perhaps with each other.

Three stars
This book came out August 11th, 2020

Follows No Judgments

Followed by No Words
Borrowed as an audiobook from Overdrive
Opinions are my own

Doom and Broom by Annabel Chase

Jolene, a werewolf, has been found dead. The immediate ruling is suicide but Daniel, the angel Emma adores, is also a suspect. She immediately helps him hide and starts investigating. All while taking classes to learn more about witchcraft.
The mystery is short but characters are starting to be fleshed out including Emma's classmates and a smattering of women who will be friends. We also get a bit more about the town's history as well as the mythology.

Three stars
Follows Curse the Day
Followed by Spell's Bells
This book came out January 21st, 2017
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Sweet Home Louisiana by Erin Nicholas

When they were teenagers, Madison "Maddie" Allain and Owen Landry got together and it ended in a fistfight and flames. Now, Maddie's brother has died and she's back in Autre for the first time in twelve years. And she doesn't want to be there. The heat, the humidity, and the memories all haunt her.
Owen doesn't want Maddie to come back either. But, according to the business charter of the shares she inherited from her brother, she has to spend 30 days helping out first. But Owen knows that if they get together at all, she will ruin him for all other women and he doesn't want that.
I didn't connect with Maddie or Owen as much as the first book. They were fine but there was so much emphasis on their original connection that the reason that they would work "today" sort of got lost.

Three stars
Follows My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding
Followed by Beauty and the Bayou
This book came out May 7th, 2019
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation by Momochi, Misaki, Sando

The book opens with Lizel in an alternate world. He recognizes it very quickly and assumes that his king has sent him there for a reason. He is not naive but appears so to the people around him. So he hires a B-level adventurer, Gil. Hanging out with Gill will help Lizel figure out the world more quickly as well as keeping him safe.
The story was absolutely adorable and I loved the idea of it. Lizel is so unfailingly optimistic and blithe but, when we see his skills, we realize that he has reason to be. Loved the references to MMORPGs. Not a ton of action but made me happy to read.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out August 11th
ARC kindly provided by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Third Knock the Charm by Nova Nelson

Nora is still working on becoming a trained witch. Well, at least working with Ruby. But it seems more and more like she might need to take classes at the local academy as well. Especially since there seems to be a demon loose in town. But figuring out how to solve the problem means doing something that Nora really, really would rather not do.
I was so charmed by this series for the lack of a love triangle. It seems like every witch-cozy-mystery series has one and they are one of my least favorite plot points. Now... sigh. I will keep reading the series for at least another book but I'm really hoping it will be cleared up quickly.

Three stars
Follows Death Metal
Followed by Queso de los Muertos

This book came out March 13th, 2018

Borrowed as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

The first in the Asey Mayo series, I picked up this book because I had heard about it on the Classic Mysteries podcast. I didn't find it quite the romp that had been described but still a good book.
 Miss Prudence Whitsby and her niece Betsey have once again taken a cottage at Cape Cod. Since it is a particularly hot summer, they have a number of friends who have written to ask if they can visit including a couple who are now divorced. They end up deciding on a friend of Betsey's named Dot and a clergyman's widow, Emma. Also hanging about it an automobile scion who is known to have a pretty big crush on Betsey. It's just too bad that there is a famous author who has also come to town. One that does not particularly impress Miss Whitsby, especially since she doesn't believe his characterizations even though the author is said to take his stories from real life. Basically, they are not nice stories. So, it's not particularly a surprise that he ends up dead. It's just too bad that some of the evidence is against the young scion and the sheriff doesn't seem inclined to look at anyone else.
It's up to the family factotum, Asey Mayo, to figure out what is going on. The young man's father has told him to leave no expense unpaid and he doles out fives liberally in trying to get to the bottom of the story.

Three stars
This book came out in 1931
Borrowed this book from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way

I kept seeing this as a series on Netflix and figured I might as well read it because I like quirky stories. This was a little TOO quirky for me. I love character development and this had none. We meet the characters. That's about it. We don't even get much information about what their powers are. It's definitely an interesting set up, seven children, born of a spontaneous birth, adopted by an alien, and raised to be heroes. Well, five of them were. Or maybe six? I, honestly can't think of six people other than the villain who is the seventh child. She apparently had no powers but someone in this present knows what she is and what she could potentially do and they get her on her side because... basically because she's still hurt that her siblings were treated better because they had powers. Or something.
There are a lot of holes in the beginning of this book but I'm going to at least read the next volume in the hopes that some information is filled in, the characters develop, and this turns into the hope of what I can see it maybe being.

Three stars
This book came out July 22nd, 2008
Borrowed this book from OverDrive
Opinions are my own

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant

The entire story is based on the heroine trying to cock block the hero because she is really, really, really superstitious about her team winning. I'm going to be honest, if it hadn't been Pippa Grant, I probably would have stopped reading. The heroine irritated me and there was a LOT of tell not show.
Mackenzie knows something that not a lot of people know, Brooks Elliot, famous baseball player, is a virgin at 30.  And she knows (yeah...) that that is what makes him a good baseball player. She's ecstatic that he's been traded to the Fireballs but when she hears that he wants to lose his V-card, she immediately decides that she is going to make sure he doesn't. While she's dressed as a meatball because she is stealing one of the costumes of the current options to replace her beloved Fiery the dragon as the Fireballs mascot. Which she then steals and sends on adventures.

Three stars

Followed by Real Fake Love
This book came out May 19th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Sweet Tea & Spells by Bella Falls

Ugh. I'm going to give this series one more book but I think I'm about to be over it. I rounded up from 2 and a half stars but it has two of the tropes that I dislike most in books - a love triangle and a clueless amateur detective. I don't mind an amateur that knows that they're not an expert but Charli not only runs head first into danger, she likes to lecture the sheriff on how to do his job. Really? REALLY?
The love triangle was less evident in this story since one of the men was not in the story for a lot of it but Charli still thinks about him a lot all while appearing to commit herself to the other man.
Charli's cousin is marrying Charli's ex. But it's actually bringing the cousins closer. Especially since the chef running the rehearsal dinner seems to be so utterly detestable. But that doesn't mean the man should end up dead.

Two and a half stars
Follows Fried Chicken & Fangs
Followed by Barbecue and Brooms
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Just Make Believe by Maggie Robinson

Addie is at a house party when her somewhat-less-gone-than-he-should-be husband, Rupert, appears. Luckily it is just as she's being thrown by a horse. Unluckily, it's because there is trouble heading her way.
The host and hostess, Hugh and Pamela, have a decent marriage, but his lungs were damaged in the war and he has a bullet lodged in his spine. Small wonder, then, that there are rumors flying about his wife having an affair with a much older man, a landscape designer, Simon Davies. Also present are three of Hugh's friends from the war and some young ladies.
Rupert's prediction comes true and there is a death, the lady of the house, Pamela. But then another body, that of a young soldier turns up in the garden.
The whole thing ends up being very convoluted but still a good story.

Three and a half stars
Follows Who's Sorry Now
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

Fried Chicken & Fangs by Bella Falls

A new, non-witch seat has been added to the Honeysuckle council and several people are running including three of Charli's friends and Ralph ("Rafe"), the local vampire leader. But there are strange things going on including a former teacher who stands up and starts ranting about why nothing should ever change. When the same teacher is found dead by one of the candidates, it starts off a series of mysteries that end up with Charli in the cross hairs once again.
This mystery wasn't as tight as the first one and I am not a fan of love triangles nor do I enjoy main characters who rush headlong into danger but I will stick with the series for at least a couple more books.

Three stars
Follows Moonshine & Magic
Followed by Sweet Tea & Spells
This book came out January 30th, 2018
Opinions are my own