Friday, December 31, 2021

December Rereads

As always, opinions are my own
Once a Soldier (Rogues Redeemed, #1)

Once a Soldier by Mary Jo Putney
Rogues Redeemed #1
Three and a half stars
This book came out June 28th, 2016
Followed by Once a Rebel
Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla



Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren



Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Three stars (bumped to three and a half on re-read)
This book came out September 4, 2018
Hard copy I didn't keep

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Passing Strange by Catherine Aird


It's a flower show that gets Inspector Sloan pulled down to Almstone. It seems that someone has been strangled. It is, in fact, the local and much beloved nurse, Joyce Cooper. She was running the fortune teller's tent but was discovered behind it.
This year has been very unusual for the show anyway because the tomato plants weren't judged at all correctly. And it is that point that, while Sloan does end up solving the murders, brings home the proof.
A nice addition to the series. I don't think you have to have read any of the books before it to really appreciate the story. Short and readable.

Three and a half stars
This book came November 1, 1980
Followed by Last Respects
Borrowed as hard copy from library

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Body on the Island by Victoria Dowd

I didn't particularly like the first book in this series but I had already borrowed the second and third from Kindle Unlimited and the premise for the third had looked interesting on NetGalley so I went ahead and started the second book. I still wasn't impressed but read the last chapter (sorry to the people that hate this but it's what caused me to not DNF this book.) Like the first book (which I don't think you have to have read but I would highly recommend it even though I didn't enjoy it) this is told from the perspective of the narrator who has fictionalized names in order to keep people protected. This time, our narrator Ursula Smart has signed up herself, and her aunt and mother for a survival course. Of course, her mother's friend Mirabelle ends up coming along as does Bridget who no one had talked to since the events of the last book but who reads about it on a group chat.
There is still a lot of quibbling and fighting among the group but we actually learn some things in this book that were only danced around and alluded to in the last book. Other characters are annoyed by the fighting and it actually causes them to get onto the wrong boat in the morning. But no one realizes it until they are already out at sea with a storm raging around them. And then the boat goes under and Ursula witnesses a murder. There are two others who don't make it to the nearby island alive and everyone else are left with no food and very little shelter. But then the body count starts piling up...

Three and a half stars
This book came out February 23, 2021
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Death Sends for the Doctor by George Bellairs


A letter comes to the newly promoted Superintendent Littlejohn, addressed to his now title. From the little town of Abbot's Caldicott, the letter asserts that a murder was committed there. When Littlejohn calls down to the the local Sergeant, a man named Plumtree, Littlejohn isn't impressed. Apparently, the only person who is out of town is the local doctor, Beharrell. And then it's discovered that the man is actually still in his house, in a hidden room, dead. 
Littlejohn comes down to investigate and discovers a web of gossip and deceit that has been going on for decades and it all seems to center around the doctor's wife who disappeared suddenly one night with her supposed lover.
A good book and fairly clued, it did take a bit to wade through.

Four stars
This book came out in 1957
Follows Death in High Provence
Followed by Corpse at the Carnival
Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Monday, December 27, 2021

Head Over Hooves by Erin Nicholas


Drew Ryan is the quintessential "good guy;" he even gives off vibes. That's why he's come down to Louisiana. The Landrys are a family that rush in to do good things so all he has to do is deliver some reindeer for their petting zoo and then spend the rest of the week doing wicked things with some good-time girl. But the first woman he meets is Rory Robins. She is trying to put down roots in Autre and is trying to prove herself by putting together Santa's village by herself. But it's not going so well. 
Rory just wants to find a home. But her no-good father is in town and, conman that he is, is probably going to ruin her life once again. And he certainly tries by stealing the load of toys meant for the children of Autre. 
There is quite the short timeline from meeting to Twu Lurv but at least we have one, ONE story in my recent streak where the guy is willing to move. I didn't feel like we got to know Drew more than his surface and Rory even less than that but it was a sweet holiday story.

Three stars
This book came out November 16, 2021
Follows Sealed with a Kiss
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Witch Trial by Cate Conte

Violet Mooney is still trying to figure out her new life. Her mother (and a half-sister!) are newly back in her life as is the knowledge that she is a hereditary witch. Part of that discovery is that Violet is taking over her grandmother's chair on the Magickal council. 
Since Violet is so new, her mother wants her to have an advisor. Enter Blake Alexander, new legal council for the Council. Also a major hottie. He wants to lead Violet through the ways and means of her new community but she isn't sure why she needs someone to do something she can figure out on her own. And is he really trustworthy with his family background?
The story of a reporter genied in the first book continues in this one. This book also ends rather abruptly. An interesting series but there is so much going on it is hard to keep track of everyone and everything. We learn a little bit more about the magical world this series is set in and a little bit more about the people but it is a slow drip. I have a feeling this series would be better if you could read the books all at once. 

Three and a half stars
This book comes out December 28th, 2021
Follows Witch Hunt
Followed by Witch Way Out
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Humbugged by Pippa Grant and Lili Valente

I think it is probably better to read all of the books in this series closer together. I've forgotten some of the names and it made it hard to keep track of everyone. Also, the nutiness of a Grant and Valente book is better when it's sustained, still enjoyable when broken up, but better as one book after another. I liked that Grant set up a way for the two to have an HEA but I'm on a string of woman-giving-up-her-life-for-her-man books and I just wish one, ONE, were different. 
Noelle is a Marine Corps brat who was also a traveling photographer but she never managed to break into the big leagues. So she settled down in Atlanta with a "young Santa" and thought she was living her HEA. But then, just days before a romantic trip, he ghosted her. And took her favorite coffee mug. So, even though she attracted to the younger man, Clint, she is trying to put down roots in her new hometown, Happy Cat, and open a bakery devoted to cupcakes. It's just too bad that msot of her creations seem to be going wrong.
Clint is a fun-loving, over-the-top, Marine who truly believes he is a hero. And he is for a lot of people and especially Noelle. He is pretty much halfway in love (or at least to this reader's eyes) with the woman and doesn't even mind the ribbing he gets from his brothers on that score. He knows that she's been burned before but he's already all in on trying to make her change her mind. And good for her for calling him on it. But they do eventually figure out their relationship and make it work. 

Three and a half stars
This book came out December 10, 2019
Follows Hitched
Opinions are my own

Friday, December 24, 2021

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot goes to a country mansion to solve the mystery of how an old, disreputable man was murdered in his own rooms. Only the family was in the house, including the prodigal son, the long-lost granddaughter and a former coworker's son. Everyone had a grudge against Simeon Lee, but who killed them? Can Hercule solve this locked room mystery and create the atmosphere of a Merry Christmas?

Four and a half stars
This book came out December 19, 1938
Follows Appointment with Death
Followed by One, Two, Buckle my Shoe
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb


It's Christmas time in New York, but that doesn't mean that murders are going to stop. In fact, it now seems that Santa's on a tear; getting into people's apartments, killing them, and then leaving a gift linked to the Twelve Days of Christmas and given to "My One True Love." All of the murdered victims were part of a dating service, Personally Yours, which is run by a brother/sister team, twins who seem a little bit closer than Eve would like to see.
A great addition to the Dallas/Roarke line. Peabody and McNab are butting heads. Both get to go undercover as Personally Yours clients. It's really fun to look back on their relationship now that we ar 40+ books later in the series. 
The killer is maybe a little unfairly clued but still an enjoyable story for the holidays.

Four stars
This book came out June 1, 1998
Follows Vengeance in Death
Followed by Conspiracy in Death
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells


Murderbot is going to find out about its own past. It wants to return to the site of a massacre that he had a part in to find out what actually happened. Is it repeating its own mistakes? 
In order to get to the place in question, it hops aboard a ship that is doing a run without humans. While on board, Murderbot discovers that the ship is sentient and decides to trust it to help make him look less like a SecUnit and more like an augmented human. The ship, ART, also helps him find a job that will get him on planet so it won't be as suspicious for him to show up.
The job is security for a group that wants their data back from a big corp. But said big corp is being shady (as per usual) and it turns out the job may not be routine after all.
This is an interesting series and the worldbuilding is pretty amazing. Some parts dragged just a bit and I'm not sure about the fact that a robot seems to be feeling emotions at various points but still a good series. 

Four stars
This book came out May 8, 2018
Followed by Rogue Protocol
Borrowed as hard copy from the library
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Fraudulently Ever After by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

Zach Littlefield, of the banking Littlefields, needs a date to his brother's engagement party and one night, while extremely drunk, decides to start interviewing women to be his fake date for dinner. 

Tina DiVirgilio needs money. Her third roommate moved out and she and Harry need someone else to move in so they can keep their place. While they both have friends and family who would be happy to help, neither is eager to rush in. Fake-dating Zach will kill two birds with one stone - it will also fulfill the terms of the Bad Luck Club's offshoot. See, she was cursed by an Italian grandmother when she was nineteen. She will be doomed to fulfill romance tropes but never find true love. And so far, that is proving true. Her "Greek Chorus" (three friends trying to help her out) want her to get out there and date someone with as many tropes as possible to try to get over her hurt and prove that the curse isn't real. Zach actually ticks off a number of tropes.
It's an interesting story that's really cute with the zaniness you'd expect from these writers and sets up a number of other possibilities (Tina's ex, the billionaire Rory who is probably going to be paired up with one of Willow's sisters who run a matchmaking agency, Willow, who is moving back to Asheville, the mysterious writer who was on Molly's book retreat who is now moving to Asheville to live with Bear, Zach's sister Kennedy who will have a great love but not any time soon etc. etc.
Tina is Dylan's little sister from Luck of the Draw.

Four stars
Follows Jingle Bell Hell
Related to Luck of the Draw
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Monday, December 20, 2021

A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, Barbara Rosenblat

Settling into her later life isn't something that Mrs. Pollifax wants to do. Yes, she's got full days with neighbors, learning judo and yoga, and attending her garden club. But it's all so distressingly... normal. So when she gets a letter and then shortly after a phone call, she is ready for an adventure. 
Mr.  Carstairs is sending her to Switzerland. To a health spa, no less. But why? Because somebody at that spa is connected to a rash of plutonium thefts. And they are close to enough plutonium to make an atom bomb and that would be a very bad thing for the world.
At the health spa are a number of interesting people including Robin Burke-Jones, a young man who dresses in the loud clothes of the day but seems to be at the spa for reasons of his own; Hafez, a boy who is just a little too anxious to make Emily his friend; a man in a wheelchair who is interested in the goings-on across the hall (Hafez's room); a young woman who has caught Robin's interest and goes hiking early every morning; Marcel, a waiter who might be more than he appears.
Even though Interpol is also on the scene, Emily is in more danger than she has been in many past books. 
A wonderful listen made even better by narrator Barbara Rosenblat. A little overwrought and maybe didn't age completely well but good for a day of data entry.

Four stars
This book came out in 1973
Follows The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood


During her interviews at Stanford, Olive Smith met someone when she was having a reaction to contacts that were expired. She then attends the school for three years and, in that third year, accosts the local bad/super smart professor Adam Carlsen in the hallway. She is trying to prove to her friend Anh that she doesn't want to date Jeremy. Jeremy and Anh are apparently perfect for one another but Anh won't date him because of the girl code (BTW - go Anh!). 
Adam Carlsen is surprised by Olive's kiss but he eventually agrees to a fake dating situation so that his funds will be released (approximately 1/3 of his grants are being withheld because the advisors believe he might be leaving Standford soon.) If he is seen as being in a stable relationship with someone who is staying at Stanford, they might release his funds.
I loved that Hazelwood immediately addressed the professor/student relationship and showed why it wouldn't be an issue for Adam and Olive (and for another relationship later in the story). It was interesting being in a third person omniscient narrator who focused on Olive. We never really got a glimpse of what Adam was thinking but readers are probably able to discern his motives sooner than Olive is. This is a super cute story that maybe suffers form not being able to see Adam's side but I can' wait to read the next book in the series. 

Four stars
This book came out September 24, 2021
Followed by Love on the Brain
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Rules of the Game by Nora Roberts

Brooke Gordon bounced around foster homes growing up and has finally found a sense of family with her team at Thorton Productions, working her way up to director. She's happy making commercials and uses her skills from every previous job to be the best director she can. But now, she's having to work with a baseball player who will be modeling high-end clothes. Brooke knows nothing about baseball but, she she watches third baseman Parks Jones, she feels something. 
Parks is immediately attracted to the redhead watching his game. He immediately wrangles a date but is then offended to find out that she was watching his game for more reasons than to just see him. Luckily, the two figure out how to work together and eventually fall into an HEA.
Since this book was originally published in the 80s, Parks is definitely an alphahole but could have been worse. And I did appreciate the glimpse of them together after the marriage had started; that we know that a wedding is not necessarily always the start to a perfect HEA.

Three and a half stars
First published October 1st 1984
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Friday, December 17, 2021

Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson

Phoebe Robinson is a phenomenal writer who is tackling the hard topics with grace and humor. Does all of it hit? Maybe not but it's all entertaining. And I've learned about things that I never knew before like 4C hair and outside clothes. I guess I knew about outside clothes before but this was an even deeper dive into that topic as well as things like racism, living duringba pandemic and a host of other topics.

Four stars
This book came out September 28th 2021
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 16, 2021

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet


Cat lives in anonymity. She joined a circus eight years ago when one of the performers discovered her at 15, near starvation with blisters on her feet. Her past is hidden and she has been in hiding ever since. But now, someone seems hyper-focused on her. She's got many magical tools including visibility and the ability to absorb and return power but will it be enough to save her?
Griffen, the man who helped overthrow the current monarchy and set his sister up as queen, knows that a person like Cat, a Kingmaker, only comes along once every two hundred or so years. She will help to cement his family as the rulers of Sinta. Except that she doesn't want to help him. To be fair, he kidnaps her from the circus and holds her as a captive by means of a magic rope from which she cannot escape. Does it become Stolkholm syndrome? Maybe. But Cat comes to realize that Griffen and his team and his family are nothing like the rulers she left in Fisa. 
However, Cat is a powerful tool and she is too valuable for her family to let her go and there are going to be many battles before she will ever be able to relax, no matter how good Griffen is at avoiding magic.
There is some interesting world-building in this story with a lot of name dropping from Greek mythology. I'm curious as to how the series will build off of this and continue the relationships as the main characters seem to have gotten together in this book. 

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 2, 2016
Followed by Breath of Fire
Borrowed from Libby
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich


This book did not age well (it's chock full of the types of romance tropes that you would see in the late 80s and early 90s) and it is very nonlinear but it was fun enough to at least finish.
Daisy Adams is a graduate student who is working several jobs and volunteering at a couple more. When the traffic reporter at her radio job (a five minute spot every day) breaks a leg, she's right there, ready to take on the role.
Steve Crow has his doubts but no one else wants to do it and this seems like an opportunity to get into Daisy's pants so, why not? Well, in the course of her reporting she manages to foil not one but two crimes and at least one of them is seeking revenge for being foiled so Steven moves Daisy, her 14-year-old brother, her 60-something bodyguard, and a sheepdog named Bob (bought just to have an excuse to see Daisy) into his house (also newly bought). Mayhem ensues, the job is basically forgotten, and we meet a ton of people who have little to nothing to do with the story.

Three stars
This book came out March 1, 1991
Follows Wife for Hire
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

It was nice to read a story about a character with a chronic illness. In the case of Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt, she has ME or "chronic fatigue." The description of her illness and the way that people treat her seemed very true-to-life. But that doesn't mean she can't fall in love. And she discovers that when she comes back in contact with her first love, Jacob Greenberg.
Jacob is happy to see his first love once again. He figures they can resume their relationship where they left off but Rachel is hiding too many secrets including the reason she wants a ticket to the Matzah Ball, the party his firm is throwing. 
Rachel is hiding not only her illness but the fact that she, daughter of the famous Rabbi Goldblatt, is a bestselling author of romances... Christmas romances. 
I liked this book overall but there was a lot of reiteration about the importance (or lack there of), really, in the Jewish faith and, while Rachel's fixing of the menorah seemed believable, fixing everything else was a stretch. 

Four stars
This book came out September 28th 2021
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Monday, December 13, 2021

Wrapped Up in You by Talia Hibbert

Oh, I hope that this book is the start of a new series. Hibbert is amazing and this book only underscores her talent. Best friend's sister? Of course the best friend is all in and doesn't even miss a beat. Grumpy/Sunshine? Let's gender-flip and make the sunshine a movie star who is maybe not the smartest cookie in the drawer but he knows his own limitations and maximizes his talents based on words by the heroine. And the heroine is grumpy because of a bad divorce? Of course she's in therapy and her mental illness is normalized and stabilized. 
I wish this had been a full-length book because there was just a little too much drama for a novella but the history these two had made their HEA believable.

Four and a half stars
This book came out November 18th 2020
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Humbug by Amanda Radley

Known as "Christmas Girl," in her company, Ellie Pearce is abruptly promoted demoted when CEO Rosalind Caldwell's personal assistant quits. The Caldwell & Atkinson Christmas party is really well-known and a parting remark by the last PA makes Rosalind think that she might need a miracle to make sure that this year's party goes off without a hitch. Is Ellie that miracle? Rosalind doesn't think so at first but she eventually begins to see how Ellie's understated charms and wicked smarts might just save Christmas after all.
This is definitely a quiet story but and enjoyable one all the same. There was a little too much focus on Ellie's issues and the fact that she worked miracles in spite of them but otherwise a nice story. 

Four stars
This book comes out December 14th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Opinions are my own

Saturday, December 11, 2021

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Hastings finally manages to surprise Poirot by showing up on his doorstep. Also there? A mysterious stranger who collapses more or less in the doorway while holding a slip of paper covered in the number four. From there, Poirot (and Hastings) are plunged into a mysterious world where four people are known to be running a large criminal organization. A series of small mysteries add up to one big showdown with the introduction of Poirot's twin brother, Aristotle.
Poor Hastings isn't treated very well in this book. He keeps thinking he is being so intelligent but he is just a pawn, not only of the Big 4 but of Poirot as well. 

Three stars
This book came out January 27, 1927
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Friday, December 10, 2021

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie


Jerry Burton has come to the supposedly quiet village of Lymstock to recover from a plane crash. Also with him is is sister Joanna. But it seems that this formerly sleepy village has been shaken up by a number of anonymous letters. And then one of the recipients commits suicide. She is the mother of one twenty-year old woman, Megan, who doesn't seem to have any goals in life and then two young sons with her current husband. 
All of the characters in this book are painted so vividly including the Burtons' landlady, Miss Emily Barton who is short on funds and the last of five sisters who grew up under their mother's thumb. Also pictured is Mrs. Caleb Dane Calthorp, the reverend's wife who is odd but wise. And then Owen and Aimee Griffith, the shy local doctor and his gossipy wife. 
The series Marple put Jane in more of the mystery than she was in the book but it captured the spirit of this book quite well.

Four stars
This book came out in July 1942
Followed by A Murder is Announced
Hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 9, 2021

The Games Lovers Play by Stephanie Laurens

Lord Devlin Cader didn't think he needed love to be a part of his marriage. But five years after marrying Therese Cynster, he is thinking that that was a mistake. Especially mentioning to her that that was his intention.
Therese knows that her family is known for marrying for love. But that doesn't mean that the person is perforce going to love her. And she is fine with that. She is building a powerful partnership with Devlin and people are starting to notice that she is becoming a powerful political figure in her own right. But now Devlin seems to be... changing. If she didn't know better, she would believe that the man might actually be in love with her.
This was an okay story and I was delighted to get a glimpse at someone after their marriage. Even if they thought they had figured it out, they were still working on it. However, there was just a little too much focus on people who will have sequels: Devlin's friend who has returned to England and Therese's younger brother who disappeared when he was seventeen and is also recently returned.

Three stars
This book came out March 18th 2021
Follows The Inevitable Fall of Christopher Cynster
Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters

A tip has been given to the authorities that some valuable items are going to be stolen from Egypt. And that Vicky Bliss somehow knows the culprit.  So she's strong-armed into joining a luxury tour as a guest lecturer even though ancient Egypt is nowhere near her area of expertise. But to make matters a living nightmare, she's confronted with the man she loves... married to another woman. 
So now, she's dealing with claustrophobia, mayhem, jealousy... and maybe even murder.
Barbara Rosenblat is, as always, amazing and this series continues to delight.

Four stars
This book came out in 1994
Follows Trojan Gold
Followed by The Laughter of Dead Kings
Audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

A Cornish Christmas Murder by Fiona Leitch

I've been reading a string of amateur detective stories and most of them have been rather irritating in the way they stuck their noses in. But this series is literally called the Nosey Parker Mysteries and Jodie Parker is a former policewoman so she actually has some knowledge of solving crime. I had not read any of the other books in the series but didn't think I missed anything by not having that knowledge. Nor was there a massive info dump to try and get me caught up which was nice.
Josie, her mom, daughter, and friend are catering a charity event in a castle that is newly converted to a B&B. The event ends but Josie and her crew are stuck in the castle with an eccentric billionaire and his assistant and son, a group of Japanese tourists, the hotel staff, and two wandering people who might not be exactly who they say they are. Oh, and a VERY drunk Santa who actually ends up dead. 
With a sprinkling of secret passages and the obligatory local cops who don't like Josie investigating (but her boyfriend outranks them,) this was a charming book.

Four stars
This book comes out December 9th, 2021
Follows A Sprinkle of Sabotage
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Monday, December 6, 2021

Hate to Date You by Monica Murphy

Another book where the best friend isn't a dick about their best friend and a sibling falling in love. It makes the story so much better. In this case, Stella Ricci's best friend has a brother. This is the man with whom Stella had one hot night and then he walked out never to be heard from again. 
Carter knows he was a dick, leaving early after his hot night with Stella. He knows that living with her (his sister's idea) isn't going to go over well but, well, he is trying to figure out his life. He just moved back to town after living the high life as a real estate agent. He made a lot of money but he spent a lot of money too so the cheaper rent will come in handy. 
Stella isn't at all delighted but she endures. Then, somehow, Carter starts to become wrapped up in her family, working on updating her grandmother's home and giving her father advice. They were just supposed to be having something light. What is going on?

Four stars
This book came out April 3rd 2020
Follows Holidate
Followed by Rate a Date
Borrowed as audiobook from Liby
Opinions are my own

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Healthy Happy Sexy by Katie Silcox

If you want to read a white woman writing about an ancient practice from another culture, this will be the book for you. This book has some obvious and glaring errors ("eskimos" do not have over a hundred words for snow; women do not sync cycles) and definitely wouldn't be an effective tool for anyone who has even a basic knowledge of Ayurveda already. It does serve as a very surface-level exploration of what the Western world thinks Ayurveda means but doesn't provide anything new to the subject.

Three stars
This book came out January 13, 2015
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Murder at the House on the Hill by Victoria Walters

I didn't read this book in time before it archived in NetGalley but I was interested enough to buy it when it became available on Kindle. Overall, it was an okay read but I really couldn't get over the fact that Nancy (named after Drew) decided to investigate a death because of a bet. Yep. A woman dies and Nancy and her grandmother decide that they will try and beat the police to the answer because Nancy's best friend (who is probably desperately in love with her but leading other women on) thinks they can't. Ew. 
The Roths are a wealthy family that live in Dedly End. Around thirty years ago, they had a party that ended when the housekeeper was accused of stealing money. That was the last time the mansion was open to the public. Now, they are having a party again and Nancy and her grandmother, as  business owners (a mystery bookstore that is arranged according to Nancy's deceased father's whims). The party is to celebrate the granddaughter of the house's engagement. There are two other children, both sons, and the elder son is married to a woman that the rest of the family doesn't seem to approve of. And she is the one who ends up dead.

Three stars
This book came out September 23rd 2021
Ebook from Kindle
Opinions are my own

Friday, December 3, 2021

Hot Pursuit by Christina Skye

I hadn't read books from this series in a while. Christina Skye is an interesting writer though I usually like her paranormals better than her contemporaries. This was... okay. 
Suspense writer Taylor O'Toole has just discovered that she was adopted and can't decide what to do about it. This seems to be a point about why she's in such emotional upheaval but doesn't really add anything to the story. The bigger problem of her life right now is that somebody seems to be trying to kill her. All she did was try to help a friend by spying on the friend's boyfriend. The guy turns out to be a despicable jerk who is creating poisons for a foreign power and he's spent their money but hasn't turned over the money. Her sister's husband is worried about her and has sent Izzy who in turn sent Jack Broussard to watch over her. Jack is a SEAL and is ready to help out, even before he falls in love with Taylor. A bit dated, after all, it was written in 2003 and some of the technology is different. Even women's attitudes would be different because, oh my god, Taylor is an idiot but she mostly didn't REALLY annoy me until the end so an okay book.

Three stars
This book came out July 27, 2004
Follows My Spy
Followed by Code Name: Nanny
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott, Barbara Rosenblat

Beryl Helliwell is surprised to recognize a name in the rooms for rent section of the newspaper; it is her friend from finishing school, Edwina Davenport. Presenting herself as a prospective lodger, Beryl finds out that her friend is close to financial ruin and offers to stay and help out. She also starts a rumor in the village that Edwina was just pretending to be poor and that they are both actually secret agents in town to unbury the secrets of the past, just a harmless rumor, right? Except then Edwina is attacked and nearly strangled to death in her own garden. And rumors about a Land Girl who disappeared in the war start swirling. Finally, one of the women who worked with the missing girl is murdered.
With a policewoman who doesn't think much of loose women (who are out after dark  and/or go to movie theaters) and a doctor who thinks that Edwina is making things up because she never married, this book certainly includes attitudes of the time. The mystery is a little overly littered with red herrings but Barbara Rosenblat makes this book worth a listen.

Four stars
This book came out October 31, 2017
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Trojan Gold by Elizabeth Peters

A mysterious photograph is sent to Vicky through the mail. With no name on the envelope, she is not certain who it came from. The envelope, removed by the overly efficient Gerta, may or may not have been covered in blood. Of course, Schmidt is not going to let this rest. He wants to know exactly who sent the letter and where the lost jewels depicted in the picture went to. Good it be that there is a lost stash of museum items stolen by the Nazis yet to be uncovered?
Vicky doesn't necessarily believe it to be so but she is willing to find out. And maybe that will bring her across the path of her on-again/off-again beau again. 
This book is better in the audio version. The narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, is one of my favorites and bumped it up an entire star. 

Four stars
This book came out in 1987
In my Audible library
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

The last in the trilogy, we are reading about the virgin queen and the vampire. There is a lot more sturm and drang than I enjoy in a romance but I did like that Moira knew her own mind and took her future into her own hands and I actually did enjoy the battle scenes even though I don't usually enjoy books about vampires.
It is time for the final stand down. If Moira can't win this battle, she will lose for not only her people, but humanity in all the other worlds as well. She knows that she owes it to her people to fight, to be their queen but she wants to take a moment for herself. Or several.

Three and a half stars
This book came out November 1, 2006
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

November Rereads

 As always, opinions are my own





Hotshot by Julie Garwood
Buchanan-Renard #11
Three and a half stars
This book came out August 6th, 2013
Follows Sweet Talk
Followed by Fast Track
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Deadlock Catherine Coulter
FBI Thriller #24
Three and a half stars
Follows Labyrinth
Followed by Vortex
This book came out July 28th, 2021
Hard copy borrowed from library




All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz
Fogg Lake #2
This book came out January 7th, 2021
Follows The Vanishing
Followed by Lightning in a Mirror
Hard copy from library

Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz






Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz
This book came out December 8th, 2015
Hard copy from library

Monday, November 29, 2021

The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John

While Belle isn't an unreliable narrator in the fact that she doesn't lie to the reader. she definitely withholds information as she flips back and forth from the beginning of a trip with her friend's megarich boyfriend and the beginning of their friendship. We go along with her as she is invited on and attends an all-inclusive trip with Summer. Another friend, Wendy as well as an acquaintance, Cindy, are along as are Summer's mother and sister and friend of the sister. The last is someone who was not approved by Summer and she is initially not going to let her come along but she is persuaded to allow her to come along.
The women fly across the ocean and get on the yacht where they immediately have to surrender their passports. Belle is nervous but does so. The trip only gets weirder from there and not everyone is going to make it back home.
Fast, fun, and uber-fluffy but still a nice diversion on an autumn evening.

Four stars
This book came out May 19th, 2020
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Someone Perfect by Mary Balogh

Bertrand and Estelle are the twin children of Marcel Lamarr, Marquess of Dorchester , the hero of Someone to Care. Their father, griefstricken when their mother died, left them in the care of their aunt and uncle for seventeen years. Their aunt and uncle were rather strict and pious but they loved Estelle and Bertrand and gave them a good life. She is enjoying a perfect summer day (and straying a bit out of the bounds of propriety by wading in a stream) when a dog comes leaping in her direction only belatedly called off by the owner who doesn't even acknowledge Estelle's fright.
It turns out the owner is the brother of Estelle's friend, Maria, and he ends up inviting them both to join Maria in London. He hasn't been in Maria's life for a long time but he seems to be trying to make amends for the past and up for lost time.
His back story is a little melodramatic but I did enjoy seeing he and Estelle fall in love and I look forward to Bertrand's story.

Four half stars
This book comes out November 30th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own


Saturday, November 27, 2021

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts

The second in a trilogy about <shudder> vampires, this book has the warrior (Blair) and the shapeshifter, Larkin, (two of the six destined to defeat Lilith) hooking up. Blair is a demon-hunter from modern day New York, trained to kill vampires. Larkin is part of the royal family of Geall, a not-as-mythical-as-thought realm that is to be the battleground between humans and vampires. An evil queen named Lilian is trying to take over the world and thought that Geall would be a grand place to start. The gods decided that they needed to put a team together to stop her and this book is the mid-point of their training, when they have to convince the people of Geall that vampires exist and that the people need to be prepared to fight. 
We also get Larkin, who grew up in a happy home and is still pretty heart-whole, falling for Blair, who was never loved by her father and then dumped by her fiancé because of her demon hunting. It will take some work to get the two of them together, especially while planning for war.
I remembered this as my least favorite book in the series but on re-read, actually came ahead of the third book (too much sturm and drang) whereas these two, for the most part, see what they want and take it.

Three and a half stars
This book came out October 3rd, 2006
Followed by Valley of Silence
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Friday, November 26, 2021

Death from a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson

I grabbed this book because it was first in a series and I had read two other books and figured, "Why not?" Well. It took me a LONG time to read this book. I can usually finish a book this long in a week and it took me over 5 months. It just didn't hold my interest. I like the series because Merlini is a detective who comes with the background of being a magician. This book had too MANY performers (also a medium, an escape artist, and a ventriloquist) and it ended up being very confusing with some misconceptions about hypnotism. If you want to read a locked room mystery involving a two different dead magicians, I'd highly recommend reading it in as few sittings as possible. 

Three stars
This book came out in 1938
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own



Thursday, November 25, 2021

Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts

Vampires. This series has vampires. Not my favorite Roberts series but still by her so they're pretty good. In this trilogy, a circle of six, the one who is dead, the witch, the sorcerer, the shapeshifter, the scholar and the warrior, must form in order to stop the evil Lilian from turning the world into vampires. Of course, since this is a Nora Roberts book, the six start pairing up. This book highlights the love of modern day witch, Glenna, and twelfth-century sorcerer, Hoyt. We learn the beginning of the circle when Hoyt watches his twin brother Cian be "turned" by Lilith. He is then instructed by the goddess Morrigan to go to modern day New York to begin gathering the circle. Hoyt finds his brother immediately. Cian has used the past 900 years to build an empire including a nightclub where Glenna is drawn to Hoyt. Once Glenna and Hoyt convince Cian that he is a necessary part of the group, they, along with Cian's friend King, fly to Ireland where they are joined by two more people, these from the thought-to-be-mythical land of Geall. The six must learn to fight, even through heartache, in order to even begin to learn how they might be able to take down Lilith.
This book didn't get too dated because much of the action is in another realm. With being the first book and having a LOT of world building to do, Hoyt and Glenna's romance takes a bit of a back seat but this is overall a nice enough story to start a series.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 29th, 2006
Followed by Dance of the Gods
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

The Plus One Pact by Portia MacIntosh

I live in a small town and have definitely hit the page on dating apps where they say, "Sorry, no men left." Cara is in the same place but she has also just discovered that her cousin, bride in The Wedding of the Century, has retaliated against Cara by inviting her ex to the wedding. Cara is now officially desperate. Luckily, her last match has actually answered her. Unluckily, he doesn't show up. Instead, Cara is sitting at a restaurant alone when a man approaches her. He is downright beautiful. And fit. But he seems to feel bad for her so she agrees to meet him at the local It place. From there, the two exchange commiserations. He, it seems, has a series of family events to attend and has been told he can't just bring his flavor-of-the-month. Bringing someone like Cara, an erudite woman with a real job (escape room designer) would get him off the family's black books.
Things do not go smoothly. In this book, both of the main characters are the klutzy but oh-so-sweet ones. And, yes, that is a little annoying and repetitive but I really liked that Millsy liked Cara even before her makeover and that Cara was actually upfront with Millsy about something that she did later in the book. A quick listen on a Sunday afternoon that I enjoyed quite a bit. 

Four stars
This book came out May 21st, 2020
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own


Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley

Stephen Munro has recently come down in the world. After the war, he came back to a small inheritance from his uncle. While it was enough for him to be a gentleman of leisure for some time, it has now run out. He has only enough money to pay off his manservant and get himself to a new position as a footman to Lady Susan Carey. She hasn't had one lately but would thinks that she would like to have one for her upcoming weekend party. It's just hard luck that Stephen is recognized by not one but two of Lady Susan's guests. Even harder luck that one, Pauline, of them is the fiancee of a prominent business man when earlier she was a particular friend of Stephens. 
There are many other people who are joining Lady Susan for the weekend and the sheer number of characters was more than a little confusing but one one disappears after a seance and another is killed, it does get a little easier to follow. 
I would call this a typical mystery of the time with a solution that was a little convoluted. A nice read on an autumnal afternoon.

Three and a half stars
This book came out 1921 (as Lady Cicely Disappears)
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Monday, November 22, 2021

The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery

This is a two-for-one romance which means that both relationships are a bit short-changed. In this book are two sister. Reggie Somerville got engaged last year on Friday, party on Saturday, dumped on Sunday. We read about it a lot. But she's back in Wishing Tree to help her parents plan their vow renewal (not enough time spent on this either.) Also back in town? Her high school boyfriend, Toby, who is now the father of an eight-year old. 
Said son is in Reggie's sister's class. Dena, at the ripe old age of 32 has given up on love and has gotten impregnated. She is also the owner of a B&B where Micah Ruiz, a famous musician is staying. He is in town to visit an old bandmate who now owns a Christmas tree farm. Micah is healing from the loss of his wife and unborn child just over a year ago. 
There is so much going on with everyone and their stories that, while this is a fine story, it's not one of Mallery's best since all of the story lines are crammed into one book.

Three stars
This book came out September 28th, 2021
Follows novella Say You'll Stay
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own


Sunday, November 21, 2021

A Secret Never Told by Shelley Noble

It's June of 1908 and Philomena Amesbery, Countess of Dunbridge, is enjoying the diversions of Coney Island. Well, she should be. But there's a distressing lack of murders or dangerous situations. She hasn't had anything like that since the previous year. But a phone call from the fabulously wealthy Godfrey Bennington recalls her to New York. At last! Adventure!
Except that Godfrey asks her to be his hostess at a party. Is there anything to be on the lookout for? Godfrey says no but he could literally ask any number of women to be his hostess and he has particularly asked her. At least Phil's return to the city reunites her with her butler Preswick and maid Lily. 
On the way to the dinner, two women who were not originally invited, join the group. Dr. Georgina Nash and Rose. While Georgina seems oddly belligerent toward other guests (a smattering of scientists and psychoanalysts with some of whom Georgina has an obvious history), delicate and beautiful Rose seems to not know what is going on.
It is a mystery that once again pulls in Detective Sergeant Atkins into Phil's sphere. And it is interesting to note that one of the doctors has a fill-in secretary who is none other than Phil's Mr. X. Just what exactly is going on?

Four stars 
This book comes out November 23rd, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley
Opinions are my own


Saturday, November 20, 2021

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Jane Ellsworth knows that she's plain, with an overlong nose and a gorgeous sister, and she is, indeed, a spinster but she still has quiet hopes about their neighbor who seems to be impressed by her talents with glamour, the magic that Kowal has introduced into this Austen-era England parallel universe. Unfortunately, it seems like the neighbor might be more interested in her sister. And, being a good Austen-era heroine, Jane is ready to step aside if she needs to, for the sake of her sister. 
But the big news in the neighborhood is that the glamural artist, David Vincent is in town. And Jane is delighted to have the chance to learn more about his craft, but manages to offend him almost immediately. 
I wish we had seen a little bit more of the love story but this book was a fantastic look about how world-building can be done right.

Four stars
This book came out August 3rd, 2010
Followed by Glamour in Glass
Borrowed as hard copy from the library
Opinions are my own

Reread September 2022 as audiobook from Libby

Friday, November 19, 2021

Some Die Eloquent by Catherine Aird

When a rich old lady dies in a mystery, there is often a rush to figure out how she was murdered and by whom. In the case of Miss Beatrice Wansdyke, it comes as surprise that the woman was actually rich. I mean, she was a chemistry teacher in a girls' school, where did the money come from? She had managed her diabetes for years but her autopsy shows that she is distinctly lacking insulin. Plus there's the weird thing that her dog has disappeared as well. 
Inspector Sloan is sort of distracted as his wife is about to give birth and we get a lot of details related to that miraculous happening. But that also takes up a lot of the book leaving less room for Aird to show on page how the mystery actually gets solved. 
An interesting story but maybe a little too short.

Three stars
This book came out in 1979
Follows Parting Breath
Followed by Passing Strange
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh, Wanda McCaddon

Agatha Troy is on site, painting a picture of Hilary Bill-Tasman ahead of the holiday season. His family and friends and the local villagers are getting ready for the upcoming Christmas season. There is an eccentric group of people joining them at the manor, Halberds, and that includes the servants who are all reformed murderers. There is Hilary's fiancee, a beautiful woman but maybe not much more than her elegance to add to the depth. Also attending are his (honorary) uncle Bert who likes to keep his low-origins accent on full display even though he has made his fortune as well as Hilary's aunt and uncle, Mrs. and Colonel Forrester, the latter of whom is very deaf and the former who has a tendency of not only talking loud but repeating herself. 
Troy is bemused by the servants and amused by the family. On the night of the big celebration, Forrester has a spell and is unable to play the druid around whom the festivities revolve. The Forrester's manservant, Moult, steps in but then disappears. Hilary works to make sure that Roderick Alleyn is the one called in to the case. What the heck, his wife is already on site.
I liked this one and a lot had to do with the narrator. There are a few red herrings but the clues are fairly obvious and the murderer is easy to guess. This is the best of the Troy/Alleyn relationship though the clues are a bit heavy-handed at points.

Four stars
This book came out in 1972
Follows When in Rome
Followed by Black as He's Painted
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Charms & Witchdemeanors by Amanda M. Lee

Once again, it's something in Aunt Tillie's past that is coming to haunt Bay Winchester. This time, Patty Grimes has been poisoned and Mrs. Little has called in the FBI. Normally, that would be fine because Bay would get to see her boyfriend, Landon, but this time a new FBI agent, Noah Grimes, is sent as well. And Noah seems bound and determined to put Tillie behind bars.
Unfortunately, that means that Bay and her cousins are going to have to prove Tillie's innocence. That becomes a problem when more of Mrs. Little's friends start dying.
An interesting story, this one involves Edith, the ghost from the newspaper office. Did all of the pieces fit together neatly? Maybe, maybe not but this is a fun series and they don't really need to in order to enjoy the books.

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