February Rereads

As always, opinions are my own

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #1)

Three stars

Follows My Last Duchess

Followed by Too Wilde to Wed
This book came out October 31, 2017

Hard copy of mine

Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #2)

Four stars

Follows Wilde in Love

Followed by Born to be Wilde
This book came out May 29, 2018
ebook on my Kindle

Born to Be Wilde by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #3)
Three and a half stars
This book comes out July 31
Hard copy borrowed from library
Follows Too Wilde to Wed
Followed by Say No to the Duke

Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #4)

Four stars
This book came out June 25th, 2019
Follows Born to Be Wilde
Followed by Say Yes to the Duke
ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James

(Wildes of Lindow Castle #5)

Four stars

Follows Say No to the Duke

Followed by Wilde Child
This book came out May 19th, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Big Nate: In Your Face by Lincoln Peirce

As always, Peirce delivers a series of strips wherein we get to see Nate interacting with his friends during sports and at school. We see his delusions of grandeur when it comes to all of the above. Of course, he spars with Gina and Mrs. Godfrey (even on the first day of school.) There are a series of strips related to his playing on the soccer team including wanting to get some music to play pre-game and how that quickly fizzles and also believing that he should be scouted (even in middle school) and figuring out that that will mean some extra training with someone he'd rather not spend time with.

It is also Nate's turn to take care of Sherman, the class hamster, and, being Nate, doesn't do it in quite the way one might expect. 

I am really enjoying the addition of Dee Dee. I can't remember when she was introduced but she's been appearing in more and more of the series. She is a great character and it's nice to see Nate actually relating to a female in a positive manner (not just as a despised teacher or sibling or, on the other hand, as a love interest.)

Four and a half stars

Follows The Gerbil Ate My Homework

Followed by Aloha

This book comes out March 2nd

ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam, Bill Mesler

I liked the idea of this book. When can self-delusion be helpful in our day-to-day life? Can it EVER be helpful? I have always believed that deluding myself works in wonderful ways and Vendatam and Mesler would agree.

I thought one of the most interesting studies was in wine tasting when people's brain scans actually showed that the pleasure center lit up more when tasting a wine they had been told was $90 even though it was the same as the $10 bottle. Does that mean the people who pay more for wine will always enjoy it more? Maybe. But price isn't the only thing that can "trick" our brain like that. It can also be the story behind  a product or brand.

There are several of these studies interwoven with the story of a letter writing scheme where lonely hearts would write to each other. However, it turned out most of the women in these exchanges were semi or wholly fictitious. Yet many of the men defended the fraudster.  Why? Well, the book explains. If you consider yourself a rationalist, this may not be a good book for you because it will change how you define "rational."

 
Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 2nd

ARC kindly provided by W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer

Jane Wunderly isn't sure why her Aunt Millie chose the Mena House as their place to stay in Egypt but she is grateful. It is a beautiful hotel and she is enjoying the company, especially a handsome man name Redvers. The young woman who seems to have captured the attention of all the young man, Anna Staten, she is not so impressed with. The young woman doesn't seem to like Jane (who, as a thirty-something-year-old widow is sure she isn't competition for a flapper) and spills a drink on her. But that doesn't mean that Jane is wishing death on the young woman. And Jane especially doesn't expect to be the one to find her.  When Jane becomes a main suspect, she is told to restrict herself to the main hotel. She cooperates (sort of) but she also starts to look into the murder herself. 
Meanwhile, her Aunt Millie seems to be hiding secrets of her own, spending time with a young woman golfer, Lillian, and Lillian's friend who is obsessed with Lillian, Marie.
This is definitely a story where regular mystery readers can figure out who the killer is but our heroine definitely doesn't until she is in the crosshairs herself. I'm willing to forgive that in one book, maybe two, but hopefully Jane smartens up by book three.

Three and a half stars
This book came out March 31st, 2020
Followed by Murder at Wedgefield Manor
Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby 
Opinions are my own

Friends Like Us by Sarah Mackenzie

The first part of the book, we hit the ground running. We meet Bree and Jill, friends since childhood. Bree is about to find out whether or not the lump in her breast is cancer. Jill is still reeling from the death of her husband three years ago. We get to see Bree making an anti-bucket list and jumping right in. She sings karaoke and has a one-night stand. Except that she sees him again when he comes to look at doing renovations on her house.
Jill is only just starting to process her own widowhood and I wish we had gotten to see more of her work, both in figuring out how to grieve and her path back to her mother. In some ways, it seemed rather fast but it does sometimes happen that way and this wasn't a long book. 
The ending was rather fast as well. I enjoyed the middle the best where the characters and the relationships were really developing.

Three stars

This book came out January 26th, 2021

eBook borrowed from Cloud Library

Opinions are my own

The Pride of Jared MacKade by Nora Roberts

Lawyer Jared MacKade is struck dumb by the sight of Savannah Morningstar. She's impressed with him as well but she has little use for men other than her son. After her son's father ran away and her own father kicked her out when she was 16 and pregnant, it's not hard to understand where she's coming from. Add to that that men often assumed she was for sale based on her looks and it's surprising she was willing to have any relationship with Jared at all. But the two are in a relationship and it might even be there for the long run.
Of the four books in this series, I think this one has always been my favorite. Jared is a little more flexible than his brothers and rolls (generally) with the things that pop up in his relationship with Savannah. And Seth, her son, has a personality and isn't just a plot moppet.

Three stars

Follows The Return of Rafe MacKade

Followed by The Heart of Devin MacKade

This book came out October 25th, 1995

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

It's been 8 weeks since Curran told Kate that he wanted to have a naked dinner with her. So, the fact that he didn't show up is causing her some consternation. When he won't even come to the phone, she's pissed.
Three weeks later, she's called to the Steel Horse, a bar on the border of the necromancer/shifter areas. A shapeshifter has been infected with disease. And more impossible things are happening. Including Kate picking up a dog and meeting family she didn't really know she had.
A good book that really moved a lot of storylines ahead quite a bit. I'm looking forward to listening to the next one.

Four stars

Follows Magic Strikes

Followed by Magic Bleeds

This book came out May 25th, 2010

Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Kate is working as a contractor for the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid. But she's distracted by the barely-legal Midnight Games that leave her beast friend Derek on the edge of death. She becomes the enemy of a team determined to win the games, the Reapers who are also determined to wipe out all half-breeds.
This is the book where we learn more about Kate's father as well.
I think this would be better read than listened too but that was my easiest option and the narrator is good so why mess with it?

Three stars

Follows Magic Burns

Followed by Magic Bleeds

This book came out March 31st, 2009

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg

Dropped right into the heart of a mysterious place in a historical time, the first named person is murdered by the end of the first chapter. And thus starts a new series.
The killing took place in the heart of the Inquirers, a place that is impenetrable. Marion is only an first year but she feels the oppressive atmosphere of suspicion as much as anyone. And then someone close to her is fingered for the murder but he leaves her a last clue. So it's up to Marion, her friend Bill, and the mysterious new Inquirer to figure out what is going on. But when anyone might be a friend or a foe, it is tough going. And then the grandmother who begrudgingly raised her sells their house and moves to Ohio while Marion is left behind. 

I didn't connect with the entire story but the author is certainly skilled and the world building is top shelf.

Three and a half stars

Followed by Marion Lane and the Inquirers

This book came out December 29th, 2020
Opinions are my own

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

When the book opens, Jessica Tregarth is on the run. From whom? She doesn't know. But her bag was almost stolen (thank goodness for that policeman) and someone has searched it. Now there's someone following her. Luck provides her with the amenable people on the bus she stumbles on to. They drop her at the Blue Boar where she is supposed to meet up with a local, but instead is picked up by David Randall, gothic novelist. While he doesn't believe her story at first, being roughed up by two gentlemen soon changes his mind. Suddenly the two of them are on the run together, being chased (and chasing) the men who seem bent on getting the familial ring away from Jess.
I've read a couple of Peters's books lately and I am enjoying the fact that she mocks the very types of books that she is writing. She does it so well, having her heroine deride the characters in Gothic novels right before they themselves are kidnapped and tossed into a trunk or some other popular plot.

This book is loosely connected to the Vicky Bliss series introducing her eventual love interest to readers as "Cousin John." 

Three and a half stars

Followed by Borrower of the Night

This book came out in 1969

Borrowed as an audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

M.Y.O.B. (Paperback) by Christophe Cazenove

 I had originally requested this book from NetGalley but didn't realize that the archive date was so soon so I missed the window to read it. But it intrigued me enough that I looked for it later and am glad I did. While older sister Wendy is getting ready to go to her first big dance with her boyfriend, younger sister Maureen is bouncing around... pretty much everyplace.
This whole series really focuses on the love between sisters, even when one is much older than the other. They annoy each other, try to outsmart each other, enjoy each other, and ultimately have each other's backs in a tight spot.

Four stars

This book came out December 29th, 2019

eBook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Will Work for Shoes by Susan J. Ashbrook

I had originally requested this book from NetGalley but didn't download it before it expired. I later bought the book on Kindle and it was interesting. Especially since I was reading it almost ten years after it came out and during a global pandemic so the red carpets have more or less disappeared. It is an interesting look behind the scenes of how much getting people dressed just to go to an awards show could become a big business. On the other hand, it actually could have been a little bit shorter with a lot of the padding coming from some name dropping and the author's actual experience in dealing with celebrities and tracing how particular trends were started by their red carpet wears.
Three stars
This book came out September 1st, 2011
Ebook from Kindle
Opinions are my own

Getting Lucky by A.R. Casella

Was this the greatest love story of all time? Maybe not. But I enjoyed reading about how Maisie (who we know from previous books is in love with one of our previous heroes) and Jack (burned by the relationships (existent or not) with his mother and father) finally figured out that they could be good for each other. For much of the book, Maisie wonders if Jack is just a stand-in for her previous love. He has similar coloring and his background is similarly tragic. Just as she's figuring out that he's not, he starts to wonder the same thing. 

And Jack has other things to worry about. He's finally wrested his sister, Iris, away from their mother but Iris seems continually pissed off that he's moved her from Chicago to Asheville. He's relieved when she finally starts engaging with Maisie at the dog rescue Maisie runs.

Casella has sort of been telegraphing that Maisie's friend Blue and Jack's half-brother Lee would be in the last book and it should be interesting to see since their first meeting involved Lee puking drunkenly on Blue's shoes.

Three and a half stars

Follows Better Luck Next Time

Followed by Bad Luck Club

This book came out January 12th, 2021

Ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

This is a great book that really holds up! (published in '93) I just have to point out that Crusie actually addressed the use of protection. It doesn't bother me when it's skipped over (I can suspend disbelief) but it really bothers me when the characters discuss and then dismiss it. 

Kate Svenson is a high-powered business woman who discovers true love while on vacation in Kentucky. This is not one of those "oh she changes her whole life to suit the hero. Kate is already not loving her high-powered job. She doesn't like the rat race and she thinks that getting married might help. She has a plan.

Jake Templeton doesn't fit that plan. He was a high powered accountant who moved back home and helped save the town. But he doesn't want any acknowledgement. Nor does he particularly want to do any work. He sees Kate as a danger. Not only does she take out several men who take her out on dates, she reminds him way too much of his ex-wife. Besides, they're buddies. 

Fun story. Fast read. Loved.

I apparently read this in 2012 and only have the vaguest memories of it in 2021 but I still agree with my assessment.

Four stars

This book came out January 1st, 1993

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Off the Record by Dolores Gordon-Smith

The mystery in this one felt very much rooted in character development which was fairly interesting. There was a lot going on in showing the many facets of each of the characters. The solution ended up being fairly complex and I didn't really understand one of the character's motivations and there were other loose ends but it was a good story and a nice addition to the series. I really liked and appreciated Gordon-Smith's note at the beginning explaining the history. 

Jack Haldean is at the center of a new mystery where a man whose invention could revolutionize the way music is played. But why would the professor seemingly murder the man who could make his ambition even bigger? Could it be that the entrepreneur had secrets of his own.

Three stars
This book came out March 1, 2011
Follows A Hundred Thousand Dragons
Followed by Trouble Brewing
Hard copy borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

Game On by Kelly Jamieson

Hockey player is resistant to love. Heiress has been burned before. His teammates bet him that he can't spend time with her and NOT fall in love (it's the end of the series so "everyone else" is coupled up.) Refreshingly, Cam tells Olivia about the bet. And she's willing to go along because she needs a boyfriend to bring home to what appears to be a somewhat dysfunctional family (that is sort of fixed at the end but it's glossed over and I love a good family figuring it out story.)
A nice, easy read, not particularly deep but I was able to dive in without having read any other book of the series.

Three stars

Follows Big Stick

This book came out January 15th, 2019

 Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

The Return of Rafe MacKade by Nora Roberts

This book was originally written in the nineties and doesn't wear very well but isn't as bad as the last book in the series in terms of where romance has come since then. This is a Harlequin romance so it reads quickly so it skips over some big details but is still kind of fun.
Regan Jones has enjoyed living in Antietam, opening her antiques store, and making friends. She's heard all of the rumors about the MacKade boys' pasts but one of them is the sheriff, one is her lawyer, and the other is a hardworking farmer. But then Rafe comes back. And he immediately sets his sights on her. Well, first on the old Barlow place and then on Regan. He hires her to decorate the house he is rehabbing into a B&B. And, of course, there's all that proximity that leads to lust and then love.
I really liked reading about Regan. She really is an early example of competence porn knowing her job well and kicking ass when she needs to. Rafe skims the outer edges of alphahole but manages to stay mainly on the side of a liberated 90s-kind of guy.

Three stars

Followed by The Pride of Jared MacKade

This book came out April 1st, 1995

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton, Robert K. Oermann

Dolly Parton is an acknowledged angel on earth and this is a fascinating look at how she comes up with her songs. Interspersed with the stories are snippets from the a. Not only a talented songwriter, Dolly is an acclaimed actress whose work spans decades. Her stories are fascinating, her spirit uplifting. I love hearing about her life in her own words. Is she unrelentingly nice about everyone she's ever worked with? Yes. Is it a breath of fresh air? Yes, it is.

Five stars

This book came out November 17th, 2020

Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters

I really enjoy this book every time I read it. The story of a young woman (Elizabeth Jones) who not only comes face-to-face with her author heroine, she gets to work for her after the woman's assistant has an unfortunate accident at the airport. But that accident seems to just be the first in a series of problems that come up before the author herself disappears and Elizabeth is left with the woman's surly son. 
This book just tickles me. It's not perfect but it is Peters at the height of her writing. 

Four stars
This book came out in 1982
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Reread May 2022

In the Spotlight by Ally Decker

I've had this book on my shelf for a REALLY long time. I finally started it and was surprised how readable it ended up being. After all, it is LIT-erature. Classics and readability don't always go together. And the out of order storytelling became a little hard to follow in places but overall, the story of Tomas and Tereza as well as some side characters including Tomas's side piece.

Three stars
This novella came out September 5th, 2017

Ebook from Kindle collection
Followed by By Your Rules
Opinions are my own

Temptation on Ocean Drive by Jennifer Probst

Bella Sunshine has been singularly slow on the uptake where Gabe Garcia is concerned. Yes, he's invaluable to the family company of wedding planning. But, first she assumed he was gay, then she believed the gossip about his dating habits. She's also made little remarks here and there that show that she doesn't think of him as anything but a playboy. Which is a shame because Gabe is in love not only with Bella but with her little girl Zoe as well. He's finally brave enough to make his move, but will Bella be able to make hers?
Like the first book, I felt like there could have been a little bit more introspection from one of the characters. I also wish we had seen more of Gabe -- he was just a little too perfect.

Three stars
Follows Love on Beach Avenue
Followed by Forever in Cape May
This book came out August 25th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

Jia Ahmed is on top of the world. Or at least her social media feed says so. In truth, she feels old. She was an early influencer and is now feeling like all of her best ideas are behind her. While recovering from a recent illness, she reconnected with a man she met online, a soap opera star who is part of a Bollywood dynasty. He's recently been put off meeting her but she knows that he's in the States and is going to a party as a part of the role he took on a US TV show. So, she decides to go. But the man, Dev Dixit, doesn't seem to want to acknowledge her at all.

Dev isn't sure who the beautiful woman is who approaches him at a party but she seems to know him. He is astonished when she runs away. But he ends up tracking her down (which, it's built into the story that he would leave her be if she had said so, but she doesn't, so not as creepy as it could have been - a sign of Rai's mastery.) Through an odd series of events, they end up pretending that they are in a relationship. 

I really, really liked watching the relationship between Jia and Dev develop. They are both so aware of each others feelings (sometimes the feelings are misinterpreted but they are at least aware) and both just want the other to be happy so each works toward finding that goal for the other.

Four stars
Follows Girl Gone Viral
This book comes out February 16th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss Plus
Opinions are my own

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

I've had this book on my shelf for a REALLY long time. I finally started it and was surprised how readable it ended up being. After all, it is LIT-erature. Classics and readability don't always go together. And the out of order storytelling became a little hard to follow in places but overall, the story of Tomas and Tereza as well as some side characters including Tomas's side piece.

Three stars
This book came out in 1984
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Samantha Chase

This book is a prime example of why I started tagging books fast, fun, and fluffy. Not a LOT of character development, and, when it happens, it's sort of in a rush at the end. But it's still a fun story and is perfect for escaping the world for awhile.
Hunter Jones has a little boy but the boy's mother has been pulling away more and more, taking less and less care of the child. Now she's disappeared completely and he's not sure what to do. He's definitely not prepared to have some unknown woman yelling at him.
Violet Drake grew up with an unreliable parent before being stuck into foster care. She has no use for people who have children but can't take care of them. Normally a travel writer, Violet is just in Magnolia Sound to help her super-pregnant friend until her husband comes back on leave. Violet is definitely not expecting to fall in love twice. Once with Hunter and once with his son.
There were definitely too many misunderstandings at the end of the story.

Three stars
Follows And Then One Day

Followed by Last Beautiful Girl
This book came out August 10th, 2020
Borrowed as ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

We Need to Talk by Celeste Headlee

Interweaving her own experiences with harder research, Headlee teaches us how to better communicate. Of course, a lot of it comes down to listening. But there is a lot that has to do with empathy for... well, everyone. Or mostly everyone. She is a radio host and did interviews for a living so the audiobook is quite delightful to listen to. However, I think that much of this information could be gleaned from the TedTalk that Headlee based the book off of. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty, I suggest finding that. If you like your information a little more filled out, this is going to be the place to come to.

Three stars

This book came out September 19th, 2017
Borrowed this as an audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

Considering Kate by Nora Roberts

Kate Kimball has been on the greatest stages of the world. But she is done with the world of ballet; she just wants to retire home in West Virginia and open up a school. First, she will need to have her building renovated. But Brody O'Connell, her contractor, is infuriating. And handsome. And a good dad to his son.
Brody doesn't want to deal with a stuck-up woman like Kate. His wife was a woman from that world and her family turned their backs on her when she married Brody. But she is different. Decisive as well as beautiful and she fits so perfectly into his life.
This book very much mirrors the first book in the series down to the misunderstandings that occur when our protagonists meet. The frills are different and Katie is much more forward than her mother was but quite a bit of overlap that some readers may not enjoy.

Three stars
This book came out February 1st, 2001
Follows Waiting for Nick
Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary
Opinions are my own

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

 If you looked at it from the outside, Mackenzie Dienes really does seem to have it all. A job she adores, a handsome husband, and a family that has welcomed this orphan into their ranks. But if you look a little harder, you'll see that there are cracks in the perfection. Yes, she has been working her ass off to develop the family's wines but there always seems to be something keeping her from truly becoming a part of the family legacy. Then there's the fact that she and her husband haven't really been together in years. And she is somewhat doubting whether it was ever truly a love match. 

When she has the chance to reach for her dreams, it threatens to upend her entire life.  

Like many of Mallery's non-series books of late, this book is a little lighter on the romance and more on the plot development. Even with the plot development, the book was a slooooooow build and I kept putting the book down and picking it up again trying to figure out why we needed exactly so much back story. I wish we could have learned more about some of the other characters - the main focus was on Mackenzie with a bit more about her best friend/sister-in-law Stephanie. It did eventually pay off with a satisfying ending.

Three stars
This book comes out February 9th

ARC kindly provided by HQN and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Lucky Ride by Deborah Coonts

Lucky is barely back from China when she is dumped into another mystery, one that is tied to her mother's past. Could it be that Mona had another child at some point? Too bad the girl that is claiming that relationship is under suspicion for murder. Without a rest, Lucky is thrown into the world of rodeo.
I keep going back and forth on finishing this series. There are only three more books after this one but the fluff is really starting to outweigh the parts that I enjoy. This is starting to feel like the same ol' same ol' with Lucky having a case, being stonewalled by her parents, and having to blunder around until a solution presents itself. I still enjoyed parts of the book, mostly Lucky herself who, excepting around her parent, is a shining example of a character who excels competency-porn in the confines of her work life.

Three stars
Follows Luck the Hard Way
Followed by Lucky Score
This book came out June 21st, 2017
Borrowed as an ebook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet by Todd Wilkinson

One of the ladies in my general book club recommended this book about 8 or 9 years ago and I'm sort of wishing I had read the book then; it would have resonated more deeply closer to the time it was written. 
I live near Bozeman (at least by Montana standards) and so knew that Ted Turner's ranch was nearby and was interested in learning more. Wilkinson certainly provided it. He is a very good writer who has written a lot about the Yellowstone area and honed his craft nicely. His talent shows through in the book even if the topic of Ted Turner gets a little stale after awhile.

Three stars

This book came out April 2nd, 2013
Hard copy from library
Opinions are my own

Love on Beach Avenue by Jennifer Probst

Avery Sunshine is delighted to help her best friend get married. As an in-demand wedding planner, she is wedging Ally in but she is happy to do it. She is not so happy that Ally's older brother has decided that he's going to take the summer off and "make sure" that Ally's day is perfect. Too bad he still believes Avery is the wild-child who led his sister astray in college. And two brides fighting on her doorstep the first day he sees her doesn't give the best impression. Then he completely takes over the planning for Ally's day and really could have shaken Avery's confidence if he hadn't owned up to what he was doing. I really wish we had seen him put a bit more in his place but it was nice to see him realize that he was being a jerk. 
While the two work together, they start to acknowledge that there is an attraction between them. Avery is wiling to work on a relationship but Carter is hesitant. He has A Past that makes him wary of love. They eventually work it out and I liked that there wasn't a Big Misunderstanding and, in fact, there was a rather pointed remark by one character that love can be lost through little misunderstandings as well.

Three stars
Followed by Temptation on Ocean Drive
This book came out May 1st, 2020
Ebook from Kindle
Opinions are my own

The Plain Old Man by Charlotte MacLeod

I didn't like the last book in the series very much because there was a decided lack of Sarah. This book balanced that with a decided lack of Max. It was an interesting premise but I have to admit, I missed the other person in each book. Though Sarah's family is always a nice mix that keeps the story moving. Overall, this was a fun book that, once you got through the beginning chapters, kept things moving right along.
In this book, her cousin Emma is the spearhead of the local community theater. Sarah has been called down to help out painting the scenes and doing other work. The regular players are all in attendance including the fresh-faced ingenue whose father is an aging roue and whose mother has mostly resigned herself to her lot in life. Then there is the slightly-older-than-the ingenue who is seemingly involved with the roue. There is also a plain old man who has been out with gout but has recently been able to rejoin the group. Too bad he dies in a bathroom fall shortly thereafter. But his childhood friend suspects that it wasn't quite the accident it seems. And since that friend is another of Sarah's relatives, she is pulled in to investigate that case as well as the disappearance of a family portrait worth a lot of money.

Three stars
Follows The Convivial Codfish
Followed by The Recycled Citizen
This book came out October 28th, 1986
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

Waiting for Nick by Nora Roberts

I think this book might have been a bit better in the nineties but it has always been the least favorite of the series. Freddie is fairly single-minded in chasing Nick denying that he might have a say in their relationship (consent goes both ways, people.) And the end that brings Nick's past in is overwrought. I read it to complete the series but am otherwise not searching it out.

Three stars
This book came out March 1st, 1997
Follows Convincing Alex
Followed by Convincing Kate
Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary
Opinions are my own