March Rereads

As always, opinions are my own

 

Dragon Actually by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #1

This book came out September 1st, 2008

Followed by About a Dragon

Hard copy of mine

About a Dragon by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #2

This book came out December 1st, 2008
Follows Dragon Actually
Followed by What a Dragon Should Know
Hard copy of mine

What a Dragon Should Know by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #3

This book came out September 1st, 2009
Follows About a Dragon
Followed by Last Dragon Standing
Hard copy of mine

Last Dragon Standing by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #4

Three stars

This book came out September 7th, 2010
Follows What a Dragon Should Know
Followed by The Dragon Who Loved Me

Hard copy of mine

The Dragon who Loved Me by G. A. Aiken

Dragon Kin #5

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 1st, 2011
Follows Last Dragon Standing
Followed by How to Drive a Dragon Crazy

Hard copy of mine

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

Dragon Kin #6

Three and a half stars
This book came out September 4th, 2012
Follows Dragon Who Loved Me
Followed by Light My Fire

Hard copy of mine

Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

I hadn't read other books in the series and I did feel like I missed parts of the romance between Maud Demille and Armand, the Marshal of House Krahr, but the story swept me up quickly anyway. (When I read the other books later, this book was even better). The world building is amazing and the look into made up politics is... beyond. I lapped it up.
Maud had been married to a vampire whose bid to take over his family's house was rejected and so were he, Maud, and their daughter. Maud wasn't as concerned for herself but she was shocked that her daughter had been kicked out as well. Of course, Helen is half-vampire, half-human but that shouldn't have mattered to a species that usually reveres its children. She is exiled to a planet where the living is hard and water is scarce. Her husband has been killed and Maud is working on avenging him in a slow and methodical manner. 
The book begins with Maud's sister, Dina, coming to rescue them, but then there are swaths of story missing because they are in other books. What we get to see here is Maud and Armand figure out their relationship when Maud travels to his family's stronghold and begins to see whether and how she can fit in with his life.

Four stars
Follows One Fell Sweep
Followed by Sweep of the Heart
This book came out December 2018
Ebook of my own on Kindle
Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022, July 2022 as Graphic Audiobook from Libby, September 2022 as Audible book, December 2022, August 2024

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews

The biggest Innkeeper holiday is coming up and it's a doozy. A celebration of the day that the innkeepers signed a treaty to start hosting alien beings on earth. It's a day that any creature may claim a room at any inn. 
One of her guests is from a race that rarely comes to Earth; an inkeeper might never see it in their time serving an inn. This particular Drifan is a liege, the leader of her group. And she has a meeting set up with a very rich, very shady developer.
Dina is also dealing with a natural hunter, a Medamouth, which would be fine if she didn't have a brace of Koo-Kos (very chicken and prey-like) also visiting. 
I wish this book had been longer but it was a nice little bite that expanded the world even if some of the storylines weren't necessarily needed. 

Four stars

Follows Sweep of the Blade

This book came out December 20th, 2016

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Opinions are my own

Reread in January 2022 as ebook, July 2022, December 2022 as ebook from Libby; August 2024 as Graphic Audio from Audible Premium Plus

One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Sean has returned and he and Dina are just getting settled into being Inkeepers when she gets an SOS from her sister. The one who married a space vampire but couldn't come back when their parents disappeared. But she's family. So Dina rounds up her her werewolf and asks for a favor from a friend and heads toward the furthest reaches of space to rescue her sister from a planet inhabited by exiles. She barely gets her sister and niece off planet and back to Earth when a being, one of the last of it's kind arrives at the inn. So, now, while getting her sister back to normal and teaching her niece about the Inn, she's also warding off a ruthless species that is intent on killing her guest.
A nice conclusion to the first part of the series while already setting up Dina's sister's stories. Definitely read this series in order but definitely read this series.

Four stars

Follows Sweep in Peace

Followed by Sweep with Me

This book came out November 13, 2015

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022, July 2022, December 2022 as Graphic Audio from Libby

Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews

I think that it is definitely worth investing in at least the first three books of the Innkeeper Chronicles. The fourth book is also amazing but the first three tell Dina and Sean's story. In this book, Dina has been asked to host a summit. Not just any summit, but one between warring factions of alien beings. There are familiar friends (and enemies). And we get to meet a group called the Hope-Crushing Horde. 

Of course, why would any of this be easy? Especially since Dina still isn't sure what has happened to Sean after he left at the end of the last book to explore the Universe. She's just trying to cope as best she can while keeping warring groups under control. But the Arbitrator, the one who set up the summit, may not have told her everything she will need to know in order to survive.

Four stars

Follows Clean Sweep

Followed by One Fell Sweep

This book came out November 13, 2015

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Opinions are my own

Reread January 2022, July 2022, December 2022 as Graphic Audio from Libby, August 2024 as Graphic Audio from Audible Plus

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

I read the fourth book in this series first and did feel like I missed some things. Plus, I love Ilona Andrews so I figured, why not read the whole series? And I'm so glad I did. I highly suggest getting at least the first three books at one time because the books, okay on their own, really shine as a trilogy.
This book is great with setting up the world building. We've got Dina Demille who is an innkeeper. Her parents disappeared and she's wondering where they are. Her sister married and moved away. Her brother is a wanderer. Maybe not a hard world to build until you realize that Dina is actually linked to her inn and that they people that stay at her inn are beings from other planets using Earth as a place to stop on their travels. 
From the opening chapter, we actually get a glimpse of this one Dina approaches one of her neighbors. Something has been killing dogs in the neighborhood and she wants Sean Evans to take care of it. At first, he denies responsibility (and the fact that he's a werewolf) but she finds him staking his territory on her apple trees later that night. It's a hilarious encounter that only gets better.

Three stars

Followed by Sweep in Peace

eBook of mine on Kindle

This book came out December 2nd, 2013

Opinions are my own

Reread July 4, 2023, August 2024 as GraphicBook audiobook -- Very Fun

Murder at Wedgefield Manor by Erica Ruth Neubauer

I very much appreciated that Jane got to expand as a detective. This definitely wasn't one of those "the detective only solves it when the murderer tries to kill them" stories. It was nice to see her grow as a detective. It was sort of interesting that more than one person actually looked to her to fix everything when a mechanic from the Wedgefield Manor is murdered. After the events of the last book, that does make some sense - she's part of the family (in a sense) so she can be trusted to keep a secret and she does have some experience.
Her experience isn't especially vast though so it helps that her beau from the last book, Mr. Redvers, also mysteriously appears on the scene and is able to stay long enough to help solve not only the murder but some other mysteries as well.

Maybe everything doesn't hang together perfectly but it was overall an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Four stars
This book comes out March 30th
Follows Murder at the Mena House

Followed by Danger on the Atlantic
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wilde Child by Eloisa James

Two sisters. Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, heir to a dukedom, has been interested in two sisters. But both have married other people. He certainly isn't interested in the third. Lady Joan Wilde is most certainly not a biological Wilde. She has the blond hair and features of the man her mother had a wild affair with (and eventually ran away with him.) Lady Joan is a living scandal. And that's even before she decides to don breeches and play Hamlet. Thaddeus can't believe that her father would allow it. Actually, no one in the family seems to have minded Joan's earlier brushes with scandal so maybe they won't care about this one. But Thaddeus will certainly make it his business to stop her.

And that is mostly covers the blurb on the cover. Quite frankly, I was trying to figure out how that would fill a whole book because an uptight man berating the woman he eventually falls in love with isn't a book that I particularly wanted to read. But, of course, there is more to the story and a lot if it has to do with why Thaddeus is so rigid and seeing him relax a bit. Also getting to see Joan, who starts off pretty awesome and sure of herself, really get to stretch her wings and then find her place. 

Four stars

Wildes of Lindow Castle #6
Follows Say Yes to the Duke
This book comes out March 30th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from the library June 2024

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

A body has turned up in the bathtub of a house that he didn't belong to. This is at the same time that a prominent financier has disappeared. Lord Peter Wimsey is called in to help when the man who owned the bathtub is accused of the murder. He is thrown into a mystery that comes down to the underpinnings of one man's ego.

Great instance of Peter having PTSD which, of course, wasn't talked about at the time so, I think, a wonderful addition to the story. Disappointingly casual racism in the book especially towards Jewish people.

Four stars

Followed by Clouds of Witness

This book came out in 1923

Audiobook from Audible Plus Catalog

Opinions are my own

Moonshadow by Thea Harrison

I had heard about this book on a podcast and was pleasantly surprised that it is as good as it was advertised to be. Yes, there were some issues with it (I was confused for some portions and Nikolas was often an asshat) but I really liked the world building and am really looking forward to the other books in this series.
Sophie Ross is a witch. Most recently she's been working for the LAPD. But she's surprised to hear that she might have an inheritance. This is surprising since Sophie was an orphan. But the man who placed her has left a rather interesting will. One wherein he has left money for the children he placed with supernatural families would have a chance to inherit a house if they can find a way inside. So Sophie  flies to the UK, figuring she'd at least have a chance to heal from the wounds that took her off the force.
First thing, she finds a stray dog that seems to have been abused horribly. Then she narrowly misses a man who has a great deal of magic. She runs into the man again at the same time werewolf-like creatures attack the inn she's staying at. It turns out he's a mystical warrior working to stop Isabeau, wake up Oberon, and return to his homeland. I didn't really get a ton of connection other than sexual between Sophie and Nikolas but I'm hoping there's more further into the series.

Four stars

Followed by Spellbinder

This book came out December 13th, 2016

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters

I love the cover description of this book. Accurate but misleading... in the best possible way. Not unlike Elizabeth Peters. Who created a fun book. Not necessarily haute literature but definitely worth a read nevertheless; it ages remarkably well and the narrator is fantastic.
Ellie is on her way up to house sit for her rich, eccentric aunt. Also in the car, her asshat fiance, Henry. The vivid description of Henry's thoughts perfectly describe his character. He starts out seeming like an all-American and, well, we also see the flip side of getting that dream. 
We get great descriptions of all of the characters but not as much insight as we get into both Henry and Ellie. We learn that Ellie's aunt is going on vacation and Ellie is staying to watch the many, many animals. Except that she also sees something else. Of the six prominent families in the area, Ellie sees ghosts related to five of them. And starts wondering why. Thankfully, the lawnboy, and a descendant of one of the families, Donald, is there  to help.

Three and a half stars
This book came out in 1977
Audible book
Opinions are my own

Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters

I have been ripping through audiobooks of Elizabeth Peters' standalones. Most of them hold up really well with humor and awesome, feminist heroines. This is not one of the better ones but it did have the rampant history involved and echoes of the other books that have held up better to the inevitable tramp of time.
We are following along with Susan, an archeological student who has gotten the lifelong opportunity of being able to go on a Pictish dig in Scotland. She's just arrived in the country when she meets a busker/doomsday prophet/revolutionary who gives her a coded note and then ends up dead. Luckily, she runs into Jamie Erskine, a laird who takes her under his wing. And it's a good thing they are together because someone is looking for a treasure and they are not above framing Susan and Jamie for murder in order to get what they want.
The sexism of the time that Peters usually avoids is pervasive in this book (though not as bad as the Jackal's Head which I couldn't even finish) I did enjoy Grace Conlin as the narrator. Two and a half stars rounded up.

Three stars

This book came out March 1st, 1976

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Slight Mourning by Catherine Aird

Usually the admonition is not to have thirteen people sit down to dinner because one will die. In this case, it was only twelve but one is still dead. In fact, the host was killed by a large overdose of drugs. Then another guest, the amiable but fat (like seriously, her weight is mentioned a LOT) Mrs. Marchmont is killed as well. It is up to Inspector Sloan to come in and figure out what is going on.  
There were a lot of characters and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who. And, to be honest, the solution seemed to come a little bit out of nowhere, even with the explanation at the end. But I still enjoyed the character development as well as the ride to get to the end.

Three stars

Follows His Burial Too

Followed by Parting Breath

This book came out in 1975

Ebook borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

Mystery at the Masquerade (, #3) by Josh Lanyon

Ellery Page is settling into his new home town and running the local bookstore. He might be a little disappointed that the romance he thought he had going with Police Chief Jack Carson seems to have cooled into a friendship but this small town has been welcoming. He's got a Scrabble night, a book club, and an invitation to the yearly Marauder's Masquerade. The party is thrown by a local founding family who still wield a lot of influence and money, the Bloodworths. There is mother, Marguerite, her younger (and philandering) husband Brett, and son Julian.
Not sure why he was invited, Ellery soon discovers that Julian has a massive crush on him, based on Ellery's past as a movie star. Ellery is bemused by his overtures but not as amused when the two stumble across a body in the family crypt. When Julian is arrested for the crime, Ellery is conscripted to help find the truth.
I hadn't read the other two books in this series but didn't feel like I had missed very much. The mystery in this story is given some short shrift with a B plot feeling a little underdeveloped. The flow of the story was also sometimes stilted but this was overall a light story with engaging characters (I was invested in Jellery (is that a thing?) from their first scene together.

Three stars

Follows Secret at Skull House

This book came out February 28th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by JustJoshin Publishing, Inc. and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death by Intermission by Alexis Morgan

I hadn't read any of the other books in this series but I didn't feel that I needed to. There was a lot of information in this book (some of it was said repeatedly) so we got a good idea of most things without needing to have read the rest of the series. Abby was maybe a little foolhardy but she did communicate with the police a lot so at least it wasn't that. The end was a little bit "I figured it out because now you're trying to kill me!" but overall a good book.
Abby is really starting to settle into her newly adopted town even being one of the organizers of the outdoor movie and picnic nights. Yes, she's stumbled over some dead bodies in the past but she's made it through and even has a good friendship (possibly more) with her tenant. Too bad there's another dead body found in the woods during the clean up. And it's really, really too bad that her mother's new boyfriend has been implicated.

Three stars

Follows Death by Auction

This book came out January 26th, 2021

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Blitzen's Fated Mate by R.E. Butler

I had heard about this book on the Smart Bitches Trashy books website. They gave it an F+ for just pure nutsiness and I loved the review. 
Honestly, I don't think Elyse's review can be beat so the TL;DR is that the shifter in the "Blitzen position" falls out of the sky and meets his fated mate who he more or less immediately starts boning.

Two and a half stars

Followed by Dasher's Fated Mate

This book came out February 29th, 2016

Kindle book

Opinions are my own

Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle

Sydney Ragsdale is grateful that she has her grandparents old house to retreat to after her divorce. It is cold and drafty but full of good memories. She has a job that will start in a few weeks and she hopes that her daughter, Ray Anne, will be happy there. Sydney is especially excited to have a part-time job at the local bookstore run by Bea. 
Kevin "Mac" MacAlea loves Hopewell. It's the reason he moved back here to be a teacher at the high school as well as a baseball coach. He's raising his son on his own after the boy's mother just walked out. So far, he's not feeling like he's missing anything. But he does see Sydney and figures he can always help a new neighbor learn to love his town too. 
There was a Big Incident at the end which seemed a little overwrought to me but otherwise was a good book. I also wished we had gotten to see a little bit more of Sydney and Mac's relationship since the book ended more or less at the beginning of a relationship.

Three stars

This book came out October 10th, 2017

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau

I only discovered Jackie Lau last year even though the Smart Bitches have talked about her for years. Her characters are captivating and her stories are generally pretty fun even if the last Big Misunderstanding in this one was a bit forced.
Victor Choi is still mourning the loss of his brother five years ago. And I did think the mourning was handled realistically (having lost my own brother just over 2 years ago, I connected with him.) He was always the more serious sibling but now he is downright dour. His new neighbor, Amy Sharpe, is exactly the opposite. 
Thirty years old and entering grad school, Amy inherited a house in Toronto from her great aunt and is delighted. She gets to try new foods, she gets to meet new people... like the hottie next door who tends to mow his grass with his shirt off (we hear about that a LOT). Sure, he's handsome and good in bed but he needs to step it up. Amy spent years in a relationship where she put in the majority of the work. But first he needs to pull his head out of his own ass.

Three and a half stars

Followed by His Grumpy Childhood Friend

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

This book came out September 8th, 2020

Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders

Josie Way used to work for the Library of Congress but, after entering the witness protection program, she moves to Oregon where she becomes the librarian of a small town. What she quickly discovers is that the library, the legacy of one of the town's now disgraced founding family, is soon to be demolished. But she is ready to fight for the library, especially when the books begin whispering to her. 
First books often have the heavy lifting of having to establish not only characters but the world in which they live. Josie is only just finding out that her family has magical powers so there is a lot of story before we even find out more about where her powers come from and how they manifest. IT was an okay book but I hope the witchy side is built out more in subsequent books.

Three stars

Followed by Seven-Year Witch

This book came out December 29, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Badass Habits by Jen Sincero

Benjamin Franklin had a theory that some people are abstainers and some people are moderators. Jen Sincero is definitely a moderator and seems to assume that everyone else is as well. If you know yourself to be an abstainer, this book is not going to be for you. Otherwise, if you know that you are a moderator and that you love Sincero's books, I think you will delight in this new addition.

Two and a half stars

This book came out December 1st, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

The Recycled Citizen by Charlotte MacLeod

Sarah is about eight months pregnant but she and Max are still out and about even visiting the Senior Center her cousins Dolph and Mary run. It is somewhat a charity but really allows homeless seniors a place to stay that is warm and dry. They can volunteer to earn things like stockings (most of them preferring not to get money) or they can bring in recycling that the center can then turn in for money. In a previous book, Dolph had inherited a house stuffed-full of ... well, stuff. In this book, our favorite characters decide to auction off all of that stuff in order to raise money for the center and the warehouse they are turning into housing. Unfortunately, one of the seniors has been found dead by an apparent mugging and it sends them all down a rabbit hole.
The storyline was engaging and character development lovely. The mystery itself was... well, just an odd solution but in line with the rest of the books in the series.

Three stars

This book came out in 1988

Follows The Plain Old Man

Followed by The Silver Ghost 

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Must Love Familiars by R.E. Butler

This book was a really interesting mix of super sweet and innocent (yucky, make out, etc.) and sort of dirty (the sex is open door.) It took me awhile to get into the story but I'm really glad that I got to the end where I read about the publishers. This particular book may not have really resonated with me but I love what they are trying to do. 
It took me awhile to get into the book because a lot of the beginning sentences were so simple so there were a lot of stoppers. And there was a LOT of world building in there. But it was an interesting story between a vampire and a witch. He's a sheriff and she is in charge of the local shelter. And this particular shelter is for familiars only. I wish we had seen more of the shelters and the adoption process; there were no successes only one failure though that failure was well explained.

Three stars

This book came out February 1st, 2021

eBook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Hopcross Jilly by Patricia Briggs

This book focuses a little bit more on Jesse Hauptman though parts still are told from Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson's point of view. It is a nice addition to the Mercy Thompson series but I wouldn't suggest reading it unless you've read other books in the series.
Mercy and a pack of wolves discover a skeleton one night while they are out hunting. It turns out that there are actually four skeletons, pointing in the four cardinal directions. And as the police come in and start looking, those aren't the only four.
At the same time, Jesse is being ostracized at school because of her relationship with the wolf pack. But there is one new girl, Jillian, who seems interested in being her friend.  But she's just a little odd herself and Jesse isn't sure she's a friend worth having.

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 10th, 2015

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

His Burial Too by Catherine Aird

Well. This was an odd one. We meet a young lady, just back from being a nanny in Italy, whose father was out all night. And he is discovered, somewhat incongruously, under a statute that was being moved in a nearby church. In comes Inspector Sloan.
As it seems is usual for Aird, the suspect ends up being someone who seems to be a secondary character but she starts to drop BIG clues as the story ends. If you can remember who everyone is. That can be hard to track in an audio book but I still enjoyed listening.

Three stars

Follows A Late Phoenix

Followed by Slight Mourning

This book came out 1969

Borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird

This was an interesting beginning, following a group of tourists as they tour a "stately home". We learn about the history of the house and the family that owns it. The tour ends when a precocious child discovers a body stuffed into a body of armor. 
It turns out to be the family archivist who was on the verge of proving that the current lord of the manner shouldn't be in there at ll. But was that the reason he was killed?
The solution on this one was a little unfairly clued until the very end but I love Aird's word choice. Short stories tightly told.

Three stars

Follows Henrietta Who

Followed A Late Phoenix

This book came out 1969

Borrowed from Audible

Opinions are my own

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

It took me a long time to warm to Lucy and Catherine. I almost DNF'd this book several times but finally made it through the first part of the story. There are so many blogs and podcasts that were singing the praises of this book that I guess I expected more from the beginning. But once we really started seeing the two fall in love and each getting to spread their wings in her own way. Did the last Big Misunderstanding need to happen? Not really. But the middle part of the book, seeing the Countess of Moth, an amazing embroidery artist, fall in love with a woman who looks at the stars, was finally the story that I had been expecting.

Three stars

Followed by The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows

This book came out

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh

When one of the most powerful men in the land dies on a surgical table, it shouldn't automatically be labeled as a murder. But when his wife insists on an autopsy... and he's found to have been poisoned, Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called in. There is, of course, no shortage of suspects. The man's wife was a chilly woman who didn't love him, his sister pushed patent medicines on him, there was the young woman he had seduced and her potential husband (both at the operating table), as well as at least one radical who disagreed with the man's politics.
The solution wasn't exactly fairly clued but it wasn't completely out of left field either. An interesting book with just a few too many red herrings.

Three stars

Follows Enter a Murderer

Followed by Death in Ecstasy

This book came out in 1935

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Murder at Mandeville Hall by Stephanie Laurens

Alaric, Lord Carradale, is finally ready to settle down. He doesn't want to spread the news because it means that he will be inundated with "help" from his three sisters. While he is a wolf of the ton, right now, no one knows the extent of his family fortune. God forbid the matchmaking mamas start to look into him if and, if he even hints that he might be looking at marriage, they will dig and they will start pushing their daughters at him.
He's at Mandeville Hall to show up at the house party his friend Percy throws every year but he's not ready to partake of the licentiousness as usual. Instead, he plans to retire to his own home at the end of every evening. But when he comes back after the first day, he discovers a body.
Miss Constance Whittaker has been sent by her grandfather to retrieve her cousin from a house party that is known to be rather... licentious. But she arrives too late; her cousin is dead. And Alaric is cradling her body. But she doesn't think that he is the one who killed her. Instead, she decides to team up with him to figure out what is going on. Unfortunately, there is another murder and Scotland Yard needs to be called in. As this is a titled group of people, of course, Inspector Stokes and Barnaby Adair are called in to help figure out what is going on.
This book mainly focuses on Constance and Alaric which is good for seeing their relationship grow but won't be good for the people used to seeing Barnaby and Penelope in the middle of the action. And the mystery wraps up early with a heavy romance on the romance for the rest of the book.

Three stars

Follows Confounding Case of the Carisbrook Emeralds

This book came out

Audiobook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Confounding Case of the Carisbrook Emeralds by Stephanie Laurens

I had thought of this as being Laurens' mystery series but, as usual, it is more about the relationships and the characters than the actual mystery. Which I am okay with. We have a very lovely romance between Hugo Adair and Cara Di Abaccio. 
We are dropped in when Cara's aunt accuses her of stealing the Carisbrook emeralds. Of course, she is innocent but no one is willing to go against her aunt. No one except Hugo that is. He immediately realizes someting is wrong when she doesn't come to church and finds her at Scotland Yard. Of course, Inspector Stokes immediately also realizes that she is innocent and sets out with Barnaby and Penelope to clear her name. 
The solution ends up being rather convoluted with many layers but I don't know if people are reading these for the mysteries.

Three stars

Follows Loving Rose

Followed by The Murder at Mandeville Hall

This book came out June 14th, 2018

Opinions are my own

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

I was really not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. The cover and the description drew me in. I hadn't read the first book and felt physically disappointed that I hadn't when I finished The Dating Plan. The characters were well drawn. I really felt like I knew Daisy and what made her tick. Would my family ambush me with a prospective date at a convention? No, but they have at church. It's embarrassing no matter how you cut it. But Daisy, who doesn't admit to having many social skills, handles it. Not with ease. Especially since she's just seen her ex-boyfriend making out with her ex-boss in the bathroom. And what's worse is that she was thrown off by seeing her brother's childhood best friend at the conference. The same guy who stood her up for her senior prom. But that was ten years ago, so she's not bitter. Really. Oh heck, she sure is.

Liam Murphy is delighted to see Daisy again. Her family was warm and welcoming to him when his own was not. Surely she must be over the whole prom thing... oops. Even better, because when he needs to be married for a year in order to inherit his grandfather's business, who better than someone who hates him?

Four stars

Follows The Marriage Game

Followed by The Singles Table

This book comes out March 16th

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

Layla Patel has become famous. And not for a good reason. Too bad her loss of anonymity also led to the loss of her boyfriend, her apartment, and her job. Now she is trying to get her own recruitment agency started up above her parents' restaurant while also trying to live up to the ideal image her parents have of her brother who died. It was, in fact, his idea to move the family business to this larger location. Now she's also trying to keep it together when her dad has a heart attack the day she returns. She doesn't need to deal with a guy claiming that her office space is his own.
Sam Mehta has a rough family history as well. He gave up a promising career to become a surgeon when his sister's husband through her down some stairs paralyzing her. But the hospital where both Sam and the husband worked refused to hold him responsible. So Sam is now a corporate downsizer, the man who comes in and fires people. He's not exactly happy but he has plans to get even. But Layla is distracting him. Apparently her father was trying to find her a husband and the ten candidates are nowhere near good enough.
A lovely book. I read the second book in the series and enjoyed it a little bit more but this one was good as well.

Four stars

Followed by The Dating Plan

This book came out June 9th, 2020

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Harriet "Hal" Westaway is at the end of her rope. Her mother died three years ago and she is barely hanging on to her apartment and her lease at the pier where she tells fortunes. There is a loan shark after her and she is frightened. When a letter comes from a lawyer telling her that she has an inheritance, she is delighted. And then defeated. The letter obviously isn't meant for her but for someone else. She decides to spend the last of her money anyway and go to the funeral for Mrs. Westaway. 
It is there she meets the Westaway clan. They have a past like any other family but theirs seems especially dark and Hal is going to have to think quick to make it out alive.
I didn't like this book at first; it was sort of slow going. But then I got sucked in and enjoyed the story.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 19th, 2019

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Willow Creek is fine for a small town but Stacey always thought she'd leave. But it's been years since her mother had a nearly fatal heart attack bringing Stacey back. The highlight of her summers has been the local Ren faire and even there, she hasn't changed much since she started in as a teen. That is really brought home to her when her friends Emily and Simon get engaged and start planning the wedding. They are moving forward but Stacey is not. 
One evening after a little too much wine, Stacey emails her summer hookup seeing if there might be something more. He responds and the two are soon in an epistolary relationship. We still see everything from a third person omniscient side of Stacey as she starts to slowly fall for the person on the other end of her screen.
I loved that the potential Big Misunderstanding was cleared up early but didn't love that it was twisted in the end. Still, a good book and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Three stars

This book came out September 22nd, 2020

Follows Well Met

Followed by Well Matched

Borrowed as an audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

 A great example of why I love this series even though it's ... 40 years old? Good Lord. So self-referential (you would never meet the villain at the end) and wry. Vicky Bliss is a fantabulous character. A blonde with a body like a centerfold, a mind like a steel trap, and the wit to keep you reading.
This time, there are replicas of famous items that are being put out into the world, including one from her very own university. So Vicky's off to Rome to figure out what's going on. Her adventures are fun and fascinating. As is John Smythe, the Englishman she meets along the way. 
The mystery is fairly clued with the reader able to guess the villain(s?) fairly easily. And all of the characters are painted so vividly including secondary characters like Herr Schmidt, the Italian principessa, Bruno, the Italian count as well as his son, his mother, and his mistress. Even Caesar the dog.

Three and a half stars

Follows Borrower of the Night

Followed by Silhouette in Scarlet

This book came out in 1978

Borrowed as an ebook from the CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

The Fall of Shane MacKade by Nora Roberts

Shane MacKade's brothers are dropping like flies. He loves women as much as the rest of them, but, only one for the rest of his life? Uh uh, no way. 
Then, Regan's younger friend comes to town. Dr. Rebecca Knight is interested in... well, everything. She's a nerd. It's only been the last few months that she's been able to come into her own, as a woman. Before that, she was your quintessential workaholic. Shaggy hair, no makeup, the whole nine yards. But she's put herself together and is on to her latest research, haunted houses. And, well, Shane has one of those. 
So, the fact that they're highly attracted to each other is somewhat inconvenient. Especially since Shane's not a settling down kind of man, but Regan is most definitely a marrying kind of woman.
I usually read this book when I read the rest of the series but probably wouldn't read it otherwise because Shane is definitely an alphahole womanizer who is changed by the love a magical, virginal vageen.

Two and a half stars

Follows The Heart of Devin MacKade

This book came out April 1st, 1996

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Feel the Burn by G.A. Aiken

Gaius Lucius Domitus lost an eye to his uncle when he was a child. Then his cousin (the uncle's daughter) kidnapped his sister and tortured her for years. So it's understandable that he's spending a lot of time hunting down the entire family and trying to kill them. But he is somewhat distracted by the cult of the eyeless human god. They are growing in numbers and very opposed to anything that is "unclean." In fact, the cult has been going through other temples and "purifying" the inhabitants. Mainly it is a lot of unnecessary killing. 

And that's what Kachka of the Steppes has been asked to do by the human queen Anwyll, get rid of the cultists. She is not generally impressed by men but this particular male dragon is... not horrible. And he's good in bed. As a descendant of women who keep men only for sex, breeding, and trash removal (more or less), this is pretty important. Plus, he's good in battle which is going to be important as the two band together to beat the eyeless god to what he is looking for.

Dragon Kin #8

Three stars

This book came out November 24th, 2015

Follows Light My Fire

Followed by Bring the Heat

Ebook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible plus audiobook January 2024

Sandcastle Beach by Jenny Holiday

Maya Mehta and Benjamin "Law" Lawson have been fighting for more years than anyone can remember. It started when they were teens (at least she was) and has carried on into their twenties. As any character in the book (or any reader of the other two books in this series) could fairly easily tell, these two were meant for each other. 

Maya Mehta needs the new grant that the town is offering. She has created a theater group that is just months away from failing. She's hooked a former boy band-er to come and be in her next play but the money would SO come in handy in renovating her falling-apart theater.

Law needs the grant the town is offering. He is third generation operating the family bar and he's ready to expand into a restaurant as well. But he doesn't want to mortgage (and possibly lose) the bar.)

Mirroring the play that Maya is putting on, <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i>, the two find that their squabbling might just be hiding a bigger attraction than either of them realize. The story does get a little hokey in places but previous readers of the series will be familiar with the level of sweetness and be prepared for it. This is my favorite book in the series so far and I am already ready to read the next one.

Three stars

This book comes out March 9th
Follows Paradise Cove
ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

 Hugh d'Ambry was the Big Bad in the Kate Daniels series. At least until around book 8 when he was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by the man he idolized, Roland, an old god. When the book begins, he has descended into alcoholism while his Iron Dogs (the men who followed him) are being decimated by another of Roland's men, Landon Nez. They need a place to call their own, where they can dig in and stay.
So they go looking for some people that need protecting and find a group known as The Departed. They live in a magic wood and have several groups trying to steal their land. That includes Nez. In order to cement the union, Hugh and the leader of The Departed, Elara, marry. Neither is very excited about it. They
I liked that we don't know everything about the background of Elara and her group. Obviously they had to do something desperate in order to survive, but what? and why? How is this series going to cross over with Kate Daniels again (and it will, as they will have to team up in order to defeat Roland -- it does in Magic Triumphs but there is definitely more than what we see in this one book that happens before then)? 

Four stars

Follows Magic Binds

Followed by Magic Triumphs

This book came out June 18, 2018

Ebook borrowed from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread March 2024

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

If you've read the Kate Daniels series (I don't think you have to have to enjoy this book but I'd highly recommend them anyway), you'll remember her adopted daughter, Julie. Well, Julie is back in Atlanta but she doesn't want anyone to know because there is a prophecy that, if she sees Kate, Kate will die. And Julie figures she's okay because she's got a new face and a new smell... no one should know who she is. Except that a lot of people seem to figure it out but that is not out of character for this world. 
Julie, now known as Aurelia, is up against a Big Bad who gets his power from his followers doing human sacrifice. She is powerful from her own magic but also from an infusion of blood that Kate gave her (and Kate is the daughter of a god.) Also, Aurelia has been studying with Kate's aunt (another god more or less) for a long time and is now her aunt's logical heir (assuming that her aunt will die.) 
So, not only does Katie have a big ol' target on her back, as her protector, Aurelia does as well. But she is back on her own turf so she's got some home field advantage.
This was a rather short book but there was a lot of packed into it and I am excited to read the rest of the series. I am currently rereading the Kate Daniels series which is really letting me see how many ties are woven in and storylines that are being continued in these books.

Four stars

This book came out January 12th, 2021

Ebook borrowed from Libby

Opinions are my own

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

It's not like Emily WANTED to be a tavern wench in a small Ren faire in Maryland. But her niece won't be able to participate without an adult. And Emily is in town to help support her sister after she was in a car accident. So she steps in. She is doing a lot, keeping track of her niece's schedule and making sure her sister is getting to her appointments so really, the guy running the faire can just get off her back.
Simon just wants everything to run perfectly. His older brother started the faire and the family ties mean that he just wants to continue what his brother started. He can't understand why Emily can't seem to take anything seriously. She picks a faire name that is basically her own name. She jokes around about Shakespeare's legacy. She's on her phone almost every time they meet during prep time. They just can't stand to be around each other.
But then Emily's tavern wench character, Emma, gets an eyeful of Simon's pirate character and a different sort of sparks fly. Chemistry.
There was a Big Misunderstanding at the end but it was actually okay because at least they were talking to each other. Sometimes it took time for it to sink in but... they  were being adults. So nice.

Four stars

This book came out September 3rd, 2019

Followed by Well Played

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby September 2023

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Eve Brown is the youngest of three sisters. And, as so often happens with a youngest child, she is still trying to find her way long after her sisters have already figured out their lives. Now, her parents are threatening to cut her off.
Eve is distraught. She knows that she's been spinning her wheels but she's not sure what to do about it. She runs out into a rainstorm and impulsively interviews for a chef position at a B&B (that she's not even sure where she is.) Of the two men interviewing her, one seems open to her somewhat eclectic persona, the other is having trouble looking away from her chest. And that's the one who seems harder to impress. Too bad he's the one she runs over (not a spoiler, it happens early in the book.) Of course, that opens the door for Eve to stay at the inn and help the owner, Jacob Wayne, run it while he heals from his injuries.
There is quite a bit about this book that strains credulity but it is a fiction book and I'm willing to forgive a lot for good character development and this book has it in spades. The characters are both open to the parts of the other that sometimes throw people off and it was quite lovely to see the understanding and acceptance that they extend to each other. I'm also hoping for a book (well, a trilogy) about Jacob's friend and his sisters.

Three and a half stars
Follows Take a Hint, Dani Brown
This book comes out March 9th
ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Heart of Devin MacKade by Nora Roberts

Devin MacKade has loved Cassie Dolin since high school. She married her high school sweetheart; he became the sheriff. Then he stood silently by while her husband beat her. He wanted to help but he couldn't until she pressed charges. And she finally did, in one of the earlier books in the series. Now Cassie is steady, her children are happy, and Devin is ready to make his move.
This is very much a nineties story but it doesn't age as badly as the next book in the series though some of it - treating Cassie like a fragile bird even though she's proven her strength - might be handled differently today.

Three stars

Follows The Pride of Jared MacKade

Followed by The Fall of Shane MacKade

This book came out March 1st, 1996

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own