April Rereads

As always, all opinions are my own.

The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux

Summer Hill 1

Four stars

This book came out May 3rd, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

True Love by Jude Deveraux

Nantucket #1

Three stars

This book came out July 9th, 2013

On a re-read, I did not forgive Jared as fast as I did the first time. And I made my brain go numb trying to do the math from previous books in M/T timeline. Believe me, it's better to let it go.

A Duke in Shining Armor by Loretta Chase

Difficult Dukes #1

Four stars

Followed by Ten Things I Hate about the Duke

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Ten Things I Hate about the Duke by Loretta Chase

Difficult Dukes #2

Four stars

Follows A Duke in Shining Armor

This book came out August 22nd, 2017

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Last Chance Christmas Ball -- Anthology

Three stars

This book came out September 29th, 2015

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson #1

Three stars
Followed by Blood Bound

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

This book came out January 31st, 2006

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson #3

Three stars
This book came out January 2nd, 2008
Follows Blood Bound
Followed by Bone Crossed
Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson #4

Four stars

This book came out February 3rd, 2009
Follows Iron Kissed
Followed by Silver Borne

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson #5

Three stars
This book came out March 30th, 2010
Follows Bone Crossed
Followed by River Marked
Borrowed from CloudLibrary

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Mercedes Thompson #6

Three stars
This book came out March 1st, 2011
Follows Silver Borne
Followed by Frost Burned
Borrowed from library

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Alpha & Omega #2

Four stars

Follows Cry Wolf

Followed by Fair Game

This book came out August 25th, 2009
Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

America's Geekheart by Pippa Grant

Bro Code #2

Four stars

Follows Flirting with the Frenemy
Followed by Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Liar Liar Hearts on Fire by Pippa Grant

Bro Code #3

Three stars

Follows America's Geekheart

Followed by Master Baker
This book came out March 24th, 2020
Borrowed this as a Kindle Unlimited book
Opinions are my own

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant

Copper Valley Fireballs #1

Three stars

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

Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant

Three and a half stars

Follows Jock Blocked

This book came out September 3rd, 2020

Opinions are my own

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Lila Macapagal has moved home to help out at her aunt's Filipino restaurant. Well, and to get over a bad breakup. Too bad another of her exes, Derek, is such a jerk. Not only does Derek come in and continually give her aunt's restaurant bad reviews, his stepfather, Edward Long, owns the building her aunt's restaurant is in and he seems to be trying to kick her out. It's just rotten luck that Derek falls over dead while eating there. And Edward is quick to point the finger at her family. So now Lila has a a shady ex, her family restaurant is under an aura of suspicion, and they can't even try to earn enough money to make the next rent because the police had shut them down

This was a really fun story immersed in the Filipino culture. We get a glimpse of Lila's past and know that she's picking herself back up which will be fun to watch. I'm really hoping that the potential love triangle is wrapped up quickly because most series pull it out for far too long.

Four stars

This book comes out May 4th, 2021

Followed by Homicide and Halo Halo

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Anna and Charles were introduced in a short story and it would definitely help to have read it to understand a lot of this book but I don't think it's entirely necessary (edited: I have since read the short story and it helps a little but not necessary). There is some world building in this book as well, setting up the same rules we read in that story (how werewolves function, their packs work, etc.)
Anna has only been a werewolf for three years but her previous pack kept much of the knowledge of being a werewolf from her. Charles, on the other hand, has been a werewolf for almost two hundred years and his father is the Alpha of all Alphas. The book opens when Charles, having determined that Anna is his mate, has brought her to Montana. She is immediately soaked in pack politics as they are dealing with the funeral of a beloved townsperson. Plus, there appears to be a rogue wolf killing people in the nearby wilderness and Charles is the person who is best suited to figuring out what is going on, even though he is healing from being shot with silver bullets.
I generally enjoyed this story and am liking where Charles and Anna are going (no love triangles! Woot!).

Four stars

Follows Alpha & Omega

Followed by Hunting Ground

This book came out July 29th, 2008

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

For three years, Anna Latham has been a part of a living nightmare. At the bottom of a werewolf pack in Chicago, she is a monster who is trapped by circumstance. But she works up the nerve to call the Marrok, the head of all werewolves, and tell him that things are wrong where she is. 

The Marrok, Bram, has known that there is something wrong in Chicago so he sends his enforcer, his son Charles, to figure out what is going on. Bram directs Anna to pick up Charles.

It's immediately up on seeing Anna that Charles realizes that she is his mate. He also realizes that she is not a submissive wolf as she has been told, rather, she is an Omega. Omegas are a rare type of wolf who can bring peace to other wolves. And that is exactly the reason Anna has been treated the way she has... something is rotten in the state of Denmark and it will take both Anna and Charles to solve it.

For a short story, this is really good at introducing two strong characters as well as building a complete world.

Four stars

Followed by Cry Wolf

Published in On the Prowl, August 7th, 2007

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Three Fates by Nora Roberts

I reread this book every so often and enjoy it every time. Some aspects haven't aged well as technology is changing but other parts, like the women kicking butt and taking names, have fared better. 

Malachi Sullivan is on a mission. A valuable heirloom has been stolen from him by the unscrupulous Anita and he believes that historian and author Tia Marsh can help him figure out how to get it back. She's quiet, shy, and sort of bland-looking so he figures he can seduce her into giving him information. Unfortunately, the person who wangled the heirloom, a small statue of one of the Fates, from him is keeping an eye on him because they trash Tia's hotel room causing her to retreat. Malachi goes back to Cobh, his hometown in Ireland, to retrench with his family. They decide to split up with his brother Gideon following the trail of a descendant of the man who owned another of the Fates. He ends up in a strip club in Prague trying to get Cleo Toliver to turn over the second Fate. She just wants a trip back to New York and is willing to use Gideon to get there. 

Meanwhile, Anita is working on security expert Jack Burdett, trying to get him on her side. He, being fairly canny, does some research and ends up in Cobh, meeting the Sullivan sister, Rebecca. And thus  several ties that started at the sinking of the Lusitania are closed. 

Four stars

This book came out 2002

Hard copy I own

Opinions are my own

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

Sometimes a move can be good for the soul. Ignatius "Nate" Burke is hoping that this will be true for him. After being shot, he's leaving most of his worldly means behind and moving from Boston to Alaska. He is weary and beaten down, not up for the no-nonsense attitude of Mayor Hopp much less the overt flirtation of Charlene Hidel, the owner of the local bar and his new landlord. The only thing he barely notices a red parka disappearing down the street as he is looking out the window.  
The red parka turns out to belong to bush pilot Meg Galloway, Charlene's daughter. Her quiet pragmatism is a balm to Nate's soul. He is also starting to get into the rhythm of living in a small town, both the good and the bad parts. Dealing with drunks and small thievery is right about what he wants to deal with right now. A mountain rescue is not something he is expecting. Nor is he expecting that the climbers will have taken refuge in a cave where a body had been hidden for decades.

Four stars

This book came out September 27th, 2005

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Ever After by Jude Deveraux

I'm pretty sure I had said that I would stop reading Deveraux's books but this one was available to borrow immediately, so I did. Of course, the characters are treacly sweet. Even the so-called evil step-sister wasn't as bad as she appeared. Was it a book I would read again? Maybe. It's mostly the time travel ones that drive me over the top. And the fact that this was Jamie, one of Cale's sons (one of my fave short story romances) made it a little easier to swallow.
So, Hallie finds out that her step-sister has been posing as Hallie and is about to claim her inheritance AND take over physical therapy on a wounded trustifarian. But Hallie finds out and jumps on the private jet instead of her sister and ends up falling in lust, then love, with wounded soldier/Doctor Jamie Montgomery.
I did end up reading it again and wonder why I didn't mention at all that there are two ghosts working to ensure the HEA. AND this is the first book that I think I know of Deveraux's that actually mentions condoms! It's a really stupid reason (OMG, the Taggert's are so fertile, you HAVE to use condoms... but don't worry about disease) but it's mentioned!

Three stars

Follows For All Time

Followed by The Girl from Summer Hill

This book came out June 23rd, 2015

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

For All Time by Jude Deveraux

I have such a hard time with Deveraux's time traveling books. They are just not as good as her other books. And this one was no different. 
Graydon is in town to watch his cousin get married. At least, that's why he's supposed to be in town. As the heir apparent to the Lanconian throne, he is most certainly not supposed to be ogling bridesmaid Toby. And yet... there's a draw. One more powerful than his mother's disapproval and even overriding his good sense to remember that he's supposed to be engaged. But he and Toby have a history. A long history. One that they're willing to go back time to make sure that at least one version of themselves can end in true love...
Oh. My. God. The push-me-pull-you lasted the whole damn book. No seriously. It only got resolved in the last... twenty pages? I mean, good God. Yes, most books have issues like this but the couple at least tries to do something. Not just sit around with an, "Oh woe is me" attitude the Entire. Freaking. Time.

Two stars

Follows True Love

Followed by Ever After

This book came out July 1st, 2014

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

I heard about this book on a couple of different podcasts and saw that it was available in NetGalley. I was attracted by the idea of a large and meddling family of women all working to help the youngest of them (and the only girl in her generation) after she accidentally kills a man. Also, a look at the intricacies of a now American family who came from Chinese-Indonesian roots. And those parts I really liked. I also liked the story of Meddy getting to reconnect with her college romance (which we see growing and exploding in flashback chapters; not my favorite plot device). However, my anxiety spiked just a little too high at seeing the body being moved around and the family nearly being discovered.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 27th, 2021

Followed by Four Aunties and a Wedding

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Treacherous Performance by Lynn Messina

One remark from an heiress, Miss Brougham, sent Beatrice Hyde-Clare's tentative hopes for a good (or even semi-decent) season into a tailspin. Years later, Beatrice is now engaged to a duke. And the former Miss Brougham has brought Beatrice a perfect reason not to concentrate on the fact that she will soon be a duchess. She wants Beatrice to find a long-lost family treasure.

Unfortunately, there is more to the story than just that and it sends Beatrice and her fiance off on another adventure, one that threatens their Happily Ever After.

A decent addition to the series. I highly suggest reading them in order as the sum of the total is more than just its parts.

Three Stars

Follows A Nefarious Engagement

Followed by A Sinister Establishment

This book came out November 15th, 2019

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Nefarious Engagement by Lynn Messina

 Beatrice Hyde-Clare never actually expected to make a match with the Duke of Kesgrave. And suddenly, she's gone from wallflower to the center of attention in the course of an evening. She needs to distract herself. But how? Maybe by solving the mystery of her parents' deaths. It was widely accepted that it was an accident but was it really? Or was it something more sinister?

Like the rest of the series, the mystery is a little thin and most of the joy of reading this book comes from the building romance.

Three Stars

Follows An Infamous Betrayal

Followed by A Treacherous Performance

This book came out April 9th, 2019

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Follow Your Heart by Brenda Jackson

Victoria Madaris is ready to be matched. Her great-grandmother has been matching people successfully for generations but Victoria is concerned. She knows that her grandmother is setting her up with her brother's friend, Tanner because they run into each other at a bakery, each having been given gift cards by her grandmother. It's just too bad that she has no sparks with him. Not like she does with a certain senator. 

Roman Malone knows that having a wife would make him more attractive to voters but he is not interested in the kind of political marriage that his ex-girlfriend is trying to force him into. Instead, he wants a marriage where he enjoys mutual loves... like fishing. 

Their romance is actually pretty straightforward except for Victoria thinking that she is supposed to be in love with someone else. We don't get as much of their story because Tanner has a story of his own and I frankly didn't like him as a character and couldn't understand why Lyric would fall in love with him.

Three stars
Follows Finding Home Again
This book comes out April 27th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Southern Sass and a Battered Bride by Kate Young

I hadn't read the previous books in this series and wish that I had. Young did a good job of filling in some back stories but I was really struggling with why Marygene Brown would have ever been involved with Alex Myers. 

In this book, he's marrying another woman, Lucy. And Lucy is... well, let's go with she's a jerk. And a bridezilla. When Lucy ends up dead after the wedding, Marygene becomes an obvious suspect but Alex also wildly accuses his own cousin, Betsy, who is Marygene's best friend. 

The book is a wild romp with some pretty outrageous exploits on the part of our heroine who is pulled into the mystery, not by her own curiosity, but because she seems to be part of some collateral damage.

I hope that future books don't fall into the love triangle that could result as a part of the end of this book but I think Young is sidestepping that possibility (thank goodness.) I did enjoy the fact that Marygene's ghostly mother was used lightly.

Three stars

Follows Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse

This book comes out April 27th

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin

I highly recommend listening to this book as Ruffin is an engaging narrator and we even get to hear from other people like her sister Lacey. This book reminds me strongly of Phoebe Robinson with stories about the Black experience in America that are comedically told but nonetheless somewhat mortifying that people in this day and age still might think some of these actions are perfectly normal. Not all of the stories are about Lacey and the do span several decades. They range from the fairly ridiculous (a woman patting Amber's hair, getting her hand stuck, and then hanging from Amber after tripping) to the horrifying (an old man waving a gun at young Amber and Lacey because they were walking on his sidewalk.

Four stars

This book came out January 12th, 2021

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

I went back and forth between listening to the book and reading it. I liked the audiobook better but both were very good. The bold at the beginning of each chapter helped let us know which family members the chapter would focus on. 
This book looks at the history of the study of schizophrenia, interweaving that with a deep dive into the Galvin family. 12 children (that poor woman!) where 6 of the boys ended up being diagnosed with schizophrenia. This studies of this family gave a lot of insight into the disease but that doesn't help them much as they struggled to deal with it while they were growing up and even into the current day.
Kolker's writing painted a very clear picture of not only the Galvin family but also the tolls this disease took on them. 

Four stars

This book came out February 1st, 2021

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Farewell My Herring by L C Tyler

I had never read a book in this series before but I a) didn't feel like I was missing anything and b) am now very intrigued about the rest of the series. The ending was a little mushy and sort of left open like there might be more to the story in later books and there some plot points were sort of glossed over but generally I liked the well-built characters and the descriptive creation of setting.

Though it is hard to believe, there are still places in the world where people cannot get wi-fi or cell service. I live near one of them so there was no suspension of disbelief for me when this mystery was set in a remote old house, Fell Hall. Ethelred and his agent Elsie have been invited to a conference where they will discuss writing mysteries and how to get your book noticed, respectively. There are only supposed to be the three authors (Elsie and Ethelred have had interactions with both of the other writers but I'm not sure if it was in other books or not.) They are there to confer with the woman, Wendy, who runs the writing seminars with one other person, Jenny who helps with the cleaning and cooking, in the building. However, two of the participants have shown up early. It is that evening that the snow begins to fall. This very much annoys Wendy who is the type of regimented person who wants things to not only run smoothly but to run her way. Even worse, one of the two participants seems to be causing consternation among the authors.

Added to the mix another participant shows up the next day, even with the deep snow, and he seems to have some sort of information about Wendy. Then one of their number dies. And one disappears. Elsie and Ethelred take it upon themselves to investigate the murder.

It was really interesting being in the head of both of these characters, especially since I didn't actually like either one all that much. But they are both fully formed, this being the 9th book in the series, and Tyler certainly has them so down pat that one book really gives the reader a full idea of who they each are.

Four stars

Follows The Maltese Herring

This book comes out on April 22nd, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Allison & Busby and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

This looked like a cute book and it definitely was. I have to admit that I was disappointed because the cover looks like this would be a comic book but it was a good story nonetheless. Lots of familiar romance tropes (enemies-to-lovers, fake relationship) that wove together nice in a book that is probably generally aimed at the high school crowd. It was great that Scottie, our narrator, had an incredibly supportive family and Irene, her love interest, did too, just in a different way.

Scottie is a basketball player whose ex broke her heart by breaking up with her and moving to the fancy, snooty school. When the story opens, her basketball team has just lost in an exhibition game against her ex’s new team. So Scottie is understandably upset. When she and Irene get in a fender-bender, the result is that Scottie is going to be driving Irene to school every morning. The resulting furor at school gives Scottie the idea that the two should fake date in a win-win situation to them both. But then pesky real feelings get involved.

The exploration of Scottie’s heartbreak as well as how she works through her feelings and deals with a bully in an appropriate manner showing the adult that she is becoming were the best parts of this story.

Four stars

This book comes out April 20th

ARC kindly provided by MacMillan and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Hugh Fraser, Hastings from the Poirot mystery series, reads this version of Agatha Christie's rule-breaking novel. I love his voice and think of the show fondly when I hear him reading the stories. He is an engaging reader; one one who intimately knows the works and one who makes it easy to listen to the story.
Told in the first person by a small-town doctor, this story paints a vivid picture of village life. The people, the movements, and, of course, the gossip. Dr. Sheppard leads us through what happens when the richest man in town is found murdered, shortly after he received a letter exposing the name of a blackmailer. We go through the entire investigation even as Hercule Poirot is brought in (even though he is self-proclaimed to have retired from solving mysteries.)
For the ending alone, the book is well-deserved to be on many lists of "Best Crime Books". I would not recommend the reread though because knowing the end takes some enjoyment out of the story.

Three stars

Follows Poirot Investigates

Followed by The Big Four

This book came out in 1926

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T E Kinsey

I've been quite enjoying the Lady Hardcastle mysteries and didn't quite realize that this is a new series with characters that we have seen before. Lady Hardcastle and Flo do make a brief appearance in this book both "in person" and through letters that Flo is exchanging with Skins' wife, Ellie.

Skins and Barty are part of a jazz ensemble who have been asked to been play for a specific group at the Aristippus club. It seems that this group is supposed to go up against another group in a dance off. But these boys will need a lot of help.

It is a routine job until an old friend, Superintendent Sunderland, asks them for a bit of help. Rumors have it that an army deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds is somehow related to the club. Skins and Barty agree to help and are eventually aided by the whole band as well as Ellie.

The mystery was very much secondary to the character development and I did not hate it. Bartholomew "Barty" Dunn is a footloose and fancy-free bachelor though he is starting to re-think his ways. He is shown to have a soft spot for his landlady who lost all three of her sons in the war. 

Skins and Ellie fell in love in an early Lady Hardcastle book and now have two children. Ellie is supposed to have an inheritance but her family didn't like Skins being a musician and are holding the money until they've been married for a set amount of time. It's all of the little touches that really start to make us care about reading more of the stories.

Four stars

This book came out March 1, 2021

Followed by A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball

ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The House Swap by Jo Lovett

Cassie is a children's book writer with writer's block. Her editor suggests that she come to live in London and see if new scenery can shake something loose. Cassie is hesitant because she's built her life in America for the last five years. Returning overseas might help her write her last few books but it also might bring up all of the feelings for the reasons she left. But it will be closer to an in vitro clinic and she wants a baby terribly. So she lists her house on a swap site.

James has been dating a woman for nine months but doesn't think it's very serious. She, however, does. And has created all sorts of expectations around that assumption. Expectations that, when not fulfilled at her birthday, cause her to become The Vengeful Ex. It's time for James to get out of town. So he lists his house on the same swap site and they come to an agreement for the course of several months.

During that time, they don't see each other in person very often but they do exchange emails and phone numbers and slowly grow closer together. However, there are large jumps in time that make it hard to really see any true connection between the two with most of the relationship being off-page.

I very much appreciated that the h/h were a little older (in their mid- to late-thirties.) It's more believable that they could be so successful in their jobs. I wish there had been more in the description about Cassie's search to have a baby. That is a HUGE plot point and takes over most of the back half of the book. There were also a number of smaller plot points that, had there been fewer, they could have been explored better making the book richer. Things like Jame's dead sibling and parent, his failing relationships with his only remaining family, Cassie's friendships on both sides of the ocean,  James's friendships (or lack there of), Cassie's struggles with her writing, the difference between James and Cassie on listmaking the man James had made redundant, his ex-girlfriend's apparent in ability to let go, etc. Each of these was brought up and I thought "This will be a fun plot point later" and then it was resolved in almost buried single sentences. Even James's aversion to children which was built up and built up was resolved really quickly. If plot moppets could be anything other than children, these were all plot moppets, introduced solely to show one aspect of a character or relationship then moved quickly off page.

Overall a fast read but so much concentration was put on having children (with most of the "interesting" plot points going to that) that any other development for characters, place, relationship, or literally any other plot point was left behind.

Three stars

This book comes out April 18th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Bookouture and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

An Infamous Betrayal by Lynn Messina

Two murders. Unassuming spinster Beatrice Hyde-Clare has now solved two murders. Both brought her into proximity with the Duke of Kesgreave for whom she is starting to develop a tendre. Which is ridiculous. He is in the upper echelon of peers and she is an orphan with a family that is acceptable at best. So when a person familiar with her problem solving on her first murder comes to her and asks for help with a second, Beatrice jumps at the chance. 

It seems the mother of the man's fiancee had a lover. That came out during the course of the first investigation. Now the man is dead, having expired in the mother's bed. Unfortunately, the duke seems determined to help her solve the mystery, even going with her when she once again dresses like a man. 

The mystery is definitely unfairly clued but the overarching storyline of the series moves quite nicely in this book and there are plotlines for subsequent books that are seeded here. 

Three Stars

Follows A Scandalous Deception 

Followed by A Nefarious Engagement

This book came out August 12th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Scandalous Deception by Lynn Messina

Lies can come back to bite you in the butt. Beatrice Hyde-Clare is learning that first hand. In the first book of this series, she made up a love interest in order to make a girl feel empathy and talk to her. It backfired when the girl immediately told Beatrice's family about the man. Now they are obsessed with finding him. What else can Beatrice do but put a notice of his death in the paper?

Too bad a man falls dead right in front of her as she is exiting the building, stabbed with a very ostentatious knife. She's already solved one murder, does this one need to be solved by her too? Probably not. But she recognized that knife... and looking for it does set her right back in the path of the Duke of Kesgreave. 

The joy of these stories really is in reading the whole series. The mystery is a little thin and so is the romance but the growing story is overall fun.

Three Stars

Follows A Brazen Curiosity

Followed by An Infamous Betrayal

This book came out August 9th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Roderick-Alleyn-regular Nigel Bathgate is bored one rainy night. His boredom and a neon sign lead him to the House of the Sacred Flame. There are guards at the door to the temple which Nigel does eventually sneak manage to sneak into. Unfortunately, one of the parishioners dies. But Nigel has a Detective Inspector of Homicides' number memorized and Roderick Alleyn is brought into the mystery.

The woman who died was incredibly wealthy and fairly young (in her thirties). She recently changed her will to leave her money to the House of the Sacred Flame. But is that a good enough motive? Or could their be others.

I actually made it through this book faster than some in this series. It was tightly written and engaging. You can start to see some of the drug mania of the time that Marsh will start to infuse her books with.

Three stars

Follows The Nursing Home Murder

Followed by Vintage Murder

This book came out in 1936

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Love Talker by Elizabeth Peters

Definitely not one of Ms. Peters' best books. It has the usual mysterious atmosphere and a heroine in danger, but the "romance" aspects of the book were just a little too ooky for me. Somehow, thought it was published in 1980, it felt more dated than many of her previous books.
Laurie Carlson is working on her dissertation in the bleak winter of Chicago when she gets a letter special delivery from her usually parsimonious aunt telling her she needs to come back to Pennsylvania. Her brother who she hasn't seen in a number of years calls and the two decide it is past time to go back and visit their family. There are three siblings left from their mother's mother, their aunts Lizzy and Ida and their brother Ned, now all in their 70 living together in the family mansion holding to their Spencerian ideals.  Aunt Lizzy is a fabulous cook and up-to-date with fashions but she has followed every out-there idea there is. The latest seems to be fairies and it has Aunt Ida, frankly quite worried. Uncle Ned is not very worried but, then, he is incredibly laid back and just takes the world as it comes. 
Unfortunately, it seems that someone is working very hard to make Aunt Lizzy believe that fairies are real, but for what purpose? And why does it seem so sinister?

Two stars

This book came out in 1980

Audiobook borrowed from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp

Constantine "Con" Moreland is a little sad. His twin is getting married. Of course, he is happy for Alex but he wants the same kind of bond. All he has is a slightly antagonistic relationship with his twin's new wife's best friend, Lilah Holcutt. 

Lilah is also sad. She has been raised by an aunt who is sort of old-fashioned and she really has enjoyed the connection to the Morelands she had through her friend Sabrina. But with Sabrina on her honeymoon, she has no reason to see the family. Racking her brain, she remembers that she promised to drop off a book for one of the sisters-in-law, Olivia. While there, sister Anna has a vision that the rest of the family have been kidnapped. This sets off a series of events that lead Con and Lilah heading to her ancestral home where strange doings are happening.

A little bit better than the previous book but not much (both were good). I definitely connected more with Lilah who was smart and sharp and, generally, knew her own mind. Con was a little irreverent but generally about himself and his teasing Lilah never crossed into mean or creepy.

Three stars

Follows His Sinful Touch

Followed by His Improper Lady

This book came out March 27th, 2018 

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

His Sinful Touch by Candace Camp

Alexander "Alex" Moreland is wondering whether his life is too staid (especially when compared to his investigator brother's) when a strange-looking gentleman arrives on the doorstep of his brother's offices. Except it's not a gentleman, she's a lady. But she can't tell him anything because she's completely lost her memory. She has a few things in her pockets which help because one has the name "Sabrina" (apparently her name) and Alex is actually psychometric, he can tell the history of inanimate object just by his touch.

Alex can tell that she is a lady and he immediately takes her home to his parents. Their family is known as the "Mad Morelands" and one more person who is not quite normal isn't going to make a difference.  He also feels drawn to this woman, not unlike the "twin feeling" that he has with his brother.

Sabrina is bewildered that this man is so willing to take her in. Even without her memory she's pretty sure this is not what she's used to. But Alex's family is warm and welcoming and their open-arms are a reason that I'm enjoying the series so much. I didn't love the insta-bond between Sabrina and Alex but it was still an okay story.

Three stars

Follows An Unexpected Pleasure

Followed by His Wicked Charm

This book came out January 20th, 2018

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Weekend Wife by Erin McCarthy

Grant Caldwell has been coming to the same diner for waffles (which he hates) for weeks just because he has a crush on one of the servers. But that time is coming to an end. He can't continue to torture himself so he leaves a large tip and prepares to exit her life.
Leah has been flirting with Grant since he started coming into the restaurant where she works as a singing server. When she finds a hundred dollar bill under his plate, she thinks he made a mistake and rushes after him. That turns out to be a mistake when she is injured. But that does get Grant up into her house for one delicious afternoon. And that's all it's going to be. Until Grant shows up again asking her to play his fake fiancee so that his father will turn over the reins of the family company. 
A little thin in places, the sex is pretty hot and the story is pretty decent for a free book.  

Three stars

Followed by Five First Dates

This book came out February 3rd, 2020

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Ufda. The casual racism in this book does NOT hold up well. The story is, as usual, quite funny but it is not a book that aged like a good wine.

Bertie has gotten hold of a banjo. If you've read previous books in the series, you realize that this is going to be a problem. In fact, it not only gets Bertie kicked out of his apartment, Jeeves leaves him as well. Big Problem. Except Bertie doesn't see it that way. He hires another valet and gets himself out of London since one of his previous fiancee's was seen in the company of two of his former antagonists. Well, it turns out that he might not have reason to worry since the former fiancee is now more interested in his friend Chuffy. But the course to true love never does run smoothly in fiction and it may be that Jeeves's intervention is needed after all.  

Two stars

Follows Very Good, Jeeves!

Followed by Right Ho, Jeeves!

This book came out in 1933

Audiobook borrowed from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

 The book opens with Bertie once again being engaged. Well, he's reminiscing about being engaged to a woman, Florence, who wants Bertie's help in stopping his uncle's memoirs from being printed. Jeeves appears to help but the manuscript making it to the publisher means that Florence has dropped the engagement. We also see Bertie almost get engaged but luckily Jeeves helps him out again. 

We also see more of Jeeves' family with his niece in one story and a cousin in another. And one story from Jeeves's point of view, how he is able to manipulate Bertie.

Wodehouse is just really good at weaving in stories and picking up threads from one book to another. If you haven't read previous books in the series, you are probably okay but if you have, there is so much more to enjoy in terms of humor because you get layers of the story.

Three stars

Follows The Inimitable Jeeves

Followed by Very Good Jeeves!

This book came out in 1925

Audiobook from Audible Premium plus

Opinions are my own

Three Witnesses by Rex Stout

Three stories all hinging on the clues provided by one significant witness. In "The Next Witness," a man bribes an answering service to listen in on his wife's phone calls. When one of the women at the service ends up dead, the man is put on trial. It is during the trial that Nero Wolfe (who seldom leaves his home), has an inkling towards the truth and actually joins Archie in the field, interviewing the other women of the answering service.
"When a Man Murders..." features a man who makes it back from the war, only to be murdered in a hotel. Was it the man's wife who has now married another man? She also used her rather large inheritance to purchase her new husband's business though they both claim to be ready to give back the money if only they can stay together. Of course, it could also be the man's aunt or her two children  who mutually inherited the other half of the man's estate.
The last story, "Die Like a Dog" relies on some rather interesting coincidences for Archie to end up with a black lab whose owner has just been murdered.
A fun read and nice to have short stories that are easy to get through.

Four stars

Follows Before Midnight

Followed by Might as Well Be Dead

This book came out March 10th, 1956

Hard copy I kept 

Opinions are my own

Bring the Heat by G.A. Aiken

Aidan the Devine and Branwen the Awful have fought together before. This time is definitely to help save a nation. But this time they are not on the front lines. Instead, Branwen, Aiden, and a group of others will have to work behind the scenes to make sure that the eyeless zealots don't kill off everyone. 

This book ends the arc that has been flowing through most of the series so there is a lot of wrapping up to do but we still do get to see Branwen and Aidan go from war buddies, to sex buddies, to something more. The world building of this series was so fun, I hope that the series is not entirely over but am satisfied with the ending if it is.

Dragon Kin #9

Three stars

This book came out August 27th, 2017

Follows Feel the Burn

Characters next found in The Princess Knight

Ebook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible plus audiobook January 2024

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Will Sterling isn't sure why his uncle left Will his apartment. The only memory he has of his Uncle Donny is of a day when Will was fifteen and his mother had gone to Donny for help. He had refused. So... not exactly good memories. But he can't sell the apartment for one year. His mentor, Dr. Gerald Abraham, suggests  that Will talk to Gerald's ex-wife who seems to be making a lot of money by doing Airbnb-type rentals. Will figures he might as well.
Eleanora "Nora" Clarke loves the apartment building in which she lives. Almost everyone has lived there for decades and they are pretty much an extended family at this point. She does not like the idea of having strangers in the building. So she does her best to thwart Will's plans. It's too bad that he's so good looking. And such a good guy. And so willing to help her break out of the stasis she's been in both in her home and her life.
This book was really enjoyable. We get to see Nora and Will at a point in their lives where both are growing up a little bit. We also get to see how they fall in love and why they work as a couple. It might take a little bit but each is willing to fight for the other and to compromise when they need to.

Four stars

This book came out February 23rd, 2021

Ebook borrowed from Libby

Opinions are my own

Styx & Stone by James W. Ziskin

Ellie Stone is a "girl reporter". Not in her own mind but that how she's thought of in the 1960s. However, now the story is about her, or at least, her father. He's been attacked in his own home so she goes back to her childhood home to figure out what is going on. It seems that her father's attack might be related to another death of one of his colleagues.
I didn't love the solution to the mystery because it was a little bit out there but I did like the character development of Ellie and the writing. Very Golden Age of Mystery with lots of references to classics and classical music. A bit noir with some darkness and the protagonist sleeping around.

Three stars

Followed by No Stone Unturned

This book came out October 15th, 2013

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Kate and Curran are worried about their Pack's children. Too many of them are going Loup. There is a cure in Europe but the Europeans aren't sharing. Well, unless the American Beasts come and protect a woman who is being used as a pawn by several European shifter factions. She's pregnant by two men (it happens) and which ever twin is born first will inherit a good chunk of land.

This is going to be a slog anyway but then it turns out that Kate's father's right hand, Hugh D'Ambry, is hosting the entire mess.

I liked this one, but it did make me sad in places,which is fine but I'm not a good place in my life to deal with the deaths of even fictional characters. (Even on re-read, this one hurts.)

Three and a half stars

Follows Magic Slays

Followed by Magic Breaks

This book came out July 30th, 2013

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own