January Rereads

As always, opinions are my own

Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

Hard Play #2

Four stars

This book came out September 18, 2018

Follows Cherish Hard

Followed by Love Hard

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Love Hard by Nalini Singh

Hard Play #3

Four stars

Follows Rebel Hard
This book came out March 10, 2020
Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews 

Innkeeper Chronicles #1

Three stars

Followed by Sweep in Peace

eBook of mine on Kindle

This book came out December 2, 2013

Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #2

Follows Clean Sweep

Followed by One Fell Sweep

This book came out November 13, 2015

Ebook of my own on Kindle

One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #3

Follows Sweep in Peace

Followed by Sweep of the Blade

This book came out November 13, 2015

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #4

Follows One Fell Sweep
Followed by Sweep with Me
This book came out December 2018
Ebook of my own on Kindle

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #4.5

Follows One Fell Sweep

Followed by Sweep of the Heart

This book came out December 20th, 2016

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #3

Four stars

This book came out October 12th, 2001

Follows Murder With Puffins 

Followed by Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

Audible book I own

The Falcon Always Wings Twice by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #27

This book came out August 4, 2020

Follows Owl be Home for Christmas

Followed by The Gift of the Magpie
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #28

This book came out October 20, 2020

Follows The Falcon Always Wings Twice

Followed by Murder Most Fowl

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #29

This book came out August 3, 2021

Follows The Gift of the Magpie

Followed by The Twelve Jays of Christmas

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Super Hot Wingman by Sarina Bowen, Lauren Blakely

For this novella, a prequel to The Best Men, we are seeing the viewpoint of Mark Banks. He is a bi male who is basically a single father of an adorable little girl. He is also the older sister of Hannah who may or may not be a character from another book. She is in fast lust with a man whose name is Flip. Well, his nickname but Mark isn't so sure about this man, especially since their relationship seems to be fast tracked. Also, Flip has a best friend, Asher St. James, who is beyond gorgeous.

This is a closer to a short story then a novella really so we don't get to see a lot of either man but now I can't wait to read the first book.

Three stars

This novella came out January 3, 2022

Followed by The Best Men

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews

This book is technically a standalone and you really don't need to have read the other two books in the series to have read it since it doesn't really reference either at all. It sort of plops you down in the world of the Kinsmen but there are some rather large gaps in the story anyway (it's typical in the series) so you don't necessarily notice the things that are unexplained.

The book starts with two people whose families are mortal enemies and have been for generations. Matias Baena is shocked to hear Romana Adler is in his boardroom. Their companies have been developing technology sort of parallel to each other and now their respective spouses have run away with the information and it seems that they are going to be selling it to space pirates. 

Yes, it's overdramatic and yes, I mentioned the gaps but it was still really fun and I plan on rereading the last 25% before I send it back to KU.

Three stars

This book came out November 23, 2021

Follows Silver Shark

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose by T.A. Willberg

Marion Lane is only just recovering from the events of the first story when there is a mysterious death caused by an assassin known only as The Florist. But there are also new inquirers coming to Miss Brickett's and someone has slipped Marion a note that one of them is not what they seem. This is on top of the fact that there are mysterious flyers being distributed around the company and a secret subgroup that is intent on changing the way Miss Brickett's fundamentally works. Unfortunately, one of Marion's cohort will not be alive by the end of the book.

Three stars

This book comes out February 1st, 2022

Follows Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder

ARC kindly provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh

Though only twenty-three years old, Sailor knows what he wants out of life. Right now, he's working on building a successful landscaping company. Unlike his brothers, rugby isn't his life. He likes it well enough but it's not going to be what he shoots for every day. So, when he finally sees the woman that has been haunting his dreams for the past seven years, he's excited to finally get his chance but worried he's not going to be able to make room for her in his life when he's got so much going on.

Isa knows what she wants in her life. She wants to teach. But both her mother and her father are trying to get her to take over as the Vice President of one of their companies (yes, they each have one.) In fact, Isa's mother has blackmailed her into working at her mother's company for the summer. Someone she's going to be working closely with? The five-years-younger Sailor. 

This was a nice story for Isa and Sailor but there was a lot of world building going on that pulled back from their love story.

Hard Play #1

Three stars

This book came out November 14, 2017

Connected to Rock Hard 

Followed by Rebel Hard

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby February 2024

Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews

Part of an elite group that works (and sometimes kills) by hopping onto a biological computer network and then romping around Hackers style, Claire Shannon knows that she is a powerful psycher. It surprises her that her side loses the war but doesn't surprise her that the man next in line above her kills her team and tries to kill her as well. Now she is part of the refugee group sent to a new planet that is vividly colorful and filled with kind people, she is understandably shaken to be sent to the company owned by Venturo Escana, the one place where her skill might be uncovered.

For his part, Venturo is delighted to have someone climb the ranks so quickly that she becomes an indispensable right-hand. Too bad she works for him. And that he is so intrigued by the woman that he's met online.

Like the first book in this series, there are great leaps in time and gaps in the story but it is still worth reading. We see a woman who knows her own worth but is just trying to survive but who grows to care about other people as well. 

Three stars

This book came out September 14, 2011

Follows Silent Blade

Followed by Fated Blades

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh

Sarah and Abe were married young. But he was still mourning the loss of his sister and then his father and couldn't explain that to Sarah. Instead, he buried his feelings in drugs and alcohol until the day he chased her off. 

It has been two years since then. Sarah has just gotten out of a bad relationship (that we read about in the last book) but she has also built up herself and her business. Now that she's available, Abe is ready to grab onto the chance to get her back with both hands. 

I like the (generally) good use of condoms in this series and how Singh covers a significant amount of time in each relationship. It's not like "Oops, we just met and now we're getting married." I liked both Abe and Sarah in this book. They both admitted their mistakes and have matured in a way that makes them truly compatible.

Rock Kiss #4

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 19, 2016

Follows Rock Redemption

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible audiobook February 2024

Partners by Nora Roberts

Matthew Bates and Laurel Armand work on the New Orleans Herald together. He's on the police beat and Laurel writes politics. The two sit across from each other and Matt enjoys antagonizing Laurel when he can. Even if they are at her family's house for dinner (since he is a good friend of her brother's). She isn't interested (or tells herself she isn't) but the two get pulled into the story of Anne Trulane, a woman who supposedly died of a copperhead bite but her sister is trying to get anyone to believe her that it couldn't be true.

This is very much a book of its time with a virginal heroine who succumbs to the unceasing attention of the alpha male who wants her. Early glimpses of a woman who is good at her profession and the competence porn that Roberts will give us with many of her later characters.

Three stars

This book came out in May 1985

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Letter to Three Witches by Elizabeth Bass

I do love reading a book about a close-knit family and Gwen Engle and her two cousins, Trudy and Milo, would certainly qualify. Their family is well-known in the witching community because of a great-great-grandfather who created a magical catastrophe that affected most of the United States. Because of his work, the whole family is forbidden from practicing magic for 150 years. Gwen's parents have always warned her and her cousin Tannith about the Watchers who might be keeping an eye on their family. Tannith was a distant cousin who was housed with Gwen's family since they were both young but she was never actually adopted. And my least favorite part of this book is the way that Gwen feels about Tannith, seemingly rejecting her for no reason. And that feeling was never really resolved for me. Other than that, I really enjoyed seeing Gwen and her family trying to NOT do magic but it keeps slipping out anyway. I have a feeling that, given another book in the series, the world-building will even out a bit as some things felt left undone but those were fairly minor but having some of the chapters being from the point of view of Tannith's familiar was really fun.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out January 25th, 2022

Cupcake Coven Romance #1

Followed by The Witch Hitch

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews

This is a very short story with a lot of gaping holes and yet the Andrews pair makes it work. I can see why other people say this is one of their weaker series but it's like the authors sort of decided to just leave out wide swathes of the story in these books. But it is Andrews and thus still worth reading.

Meli Glades is an assassin. On a planet, in a world, where there are people with enhanced powers, she is one of the very few that has innate powers. Except that Meli is doing one last job and then retiring. And that job is finished in the first chapter of the book. But her family has pulled her back in for another kill, one that would be more personal since it is the man she was once engaged to but who rejected her before they even truly met. 

Celino Carvana meets a mysterious woman who makes him fall in love over the course of a few days. But then she disappears and he discovers that she was closer than he ever knew...

Three stars

This novella came out June 2, 2009

Followed by Silver Shark

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Herring in the Library by L.C. Tyler

Elthelred has old college friends. Who knew? Well, at least one of them, Shagger Muntham, shows up in this book. Shagger seems to have a lot going on what with a new wife and a new estate. But he spends some of his days hanging out with Elthelred. And invites him to dinner. Of course, Elsie is going to come along with him. 

Friend? Literary agent? Muse? Who knows what Elsie really is. But we get a fun mystery surrounding the fact that Shagger exits, stage left, and ends up dead. But is is really suicide? Shagger's wife (with shades of personality that resemble Elthered's ex) is determined that it be determined murder.

Three and a half stars

This book came out in 2010

Follows Ten Little Herrings

Followed by Herring on the Nile

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh

There was a time when Kathleen "Kit" Devigny had hopes for her relationship with Noah St. John. They were friends with the crackle of something more. But then he went and crushed her heart in a very deliberate manner. Now she's just concentrating on getting her acting career going and trying to avoid her stalker.

Except now she needs Noah's help with the acting. She's up for a major role but the director is concerned that Kit doesn't have enough of a social media presence. Well, that changes when one shot of a photographer's camera, taken at a function Kit is attending with Noah so he doesn't have to face his family alone, means that the actress and the rock-star-drummer are now seemingly the newest "It" couple.

We get to see behind both the facades of Noah and of Kit. The faces they show to the world are not their true selves. Kit grew up with famous and distant parents while Noah was trauamatized as a child. The ending felt a bit unfinished for me in regards to Noah's "recovery" and parts of the book felt semi-repetitive but overall I liked this book and am looking forward to reading the last in the series.

Rock Kiss #3

Four stars

This book came out October 6, 2015

Follows Rock Hard

Followed by Rock Wedding

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible Plus audiobook February 2024

The Fourth Door by John Russell Fearn

The solution to this one was... weird. There were some fair clues but this was mostly really, really interesting. Like, this was the dawn of psychiatry being used in mysteries but... really wrongly. I don't have a record of why I put this on my TBR shelf so who even knows. At least it was short(?)

Elva is going to be a maid at a great house. She is fair of face but one leg is significantly shorter than the other. That doesn't mean that she isn't trying to marry the man of the manor. And she does. But then the house his brother, his twin, is living in burns down. And that's on the same night that the brother's fiancee is murdered. 

There are so many twists and turns in this book that it becomes overly melodramatic but it was still worth a listen.

Three stars

This book came out in 1948

Audiobook I own

Opinions are my own

Bodies from the Library edited by Tony Medwar

A delightful collection of lesser-known short stories from well-known authors. They include A.A. Milne, Arthur Upfield, Agatha Christie, and more.

My favorite story was Jeffrey and Veronica who meet as strangers at Monte Carlo. Both have recently left their positions (or so they say) and are enjoying a vacation before finding work again. But a night in a casino means that Veronica has left with the wrong bag and that sets off a curious chain of events.

I wish that the stories and the author's biographies had been switched. It would have been nice to have some background to the stories before hearing them.

Four stars

This book came out July 26, 2018

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise of mousy Charlotte "Charlie" Baird hooking up with big time businessman and former rugby star Gabriel Bishop sounded fun. And the glimpses of their relationship we got in the first book was fun. But the way the story played out... Ufda. 

Gabriel can tell that Charlotte is hiding and he figures out pretty quickly why. And that's why I'm so confused that he's pushing her so fast. All of the thoughts that we get from him are that he doesn't want to push her but... he's pushing her. And I feel like I missed broad strokes of their story. Things bounded ahead quickly and we missed parts where they grew closer. The first book and then the novella were so good, I was hoping for better for this one.

Weirdly, this is one of my favorite books in this series to re-read. I honestly skip over the flashbacks and the end and I like the book much more. 

Rock Kiss #2
Three and a half stars

This book came out March 10, 2015

Follows Rock Courtship

Followed by Rock Redemption

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible Plus audiobook February 2024

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door by Chelsea Bobulski

There is a romance trope of falling in love with the girl next door and that's what Graham Wallace has done. About 2 years ago is when it happened even though they'd been friends for years. But Sarah is dating his best friend Jeremy. However, a wish on a falling star makes it so that Graham gets everything he ever wants, he's the one who's been dating Sarah for two years.

It takes him a little time to find his feet but he VERY quickly starts to figure out that this life might not be the one he actually wants. And it's that swiftness that surprised me a little bit and actually made me like Graham a little less. It would have been nice to see a little more joy in his wish and not just a guy falling in love with another girl at what is basically the outset of his dream relationship. It made the whole thing rather joyless. And there was a LOT of focus on the girls' appearance. I'm assuming this book is going to be aimed at teenage girls with the "love" story but... there is so much focus on weight and outer beauty as being what is attractive to Graham. I generally liked the writing but there was a lot of internal misogyny included in it that is sort of ridiculous in a book published in late 2021. And most of the book was three stars until the last 10% which got beyond dramatic, really highlighted Graham's self-centeredness, and it really didn't need to be included.

Two stars

This book came out October 28, 2021

Followed by All I Want For Christmas is the Girl in Charge

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Wedding Date by Monica Murphy, Felicity Munroe, Stephen Dexter

While Kelsey has been a part of the series since the first book, we only met Theo in Rate a Date, the book right before this one. Kelsey is model gorgeous and has had problems in the past when men fall in love with her face without really figuring out who she is. The two of them have become friends and Theo needs help. His ex-fiancee is marrying his cousin (yes, the cousin she cheated on Theo with) and, in the way of romance novels, one of his cousin's groomsmen is in jail and he needs Theo to even out the lines. Theo needs a date so he and Kelsey decide to set it up. Of course, they'll need to attend a few family events first to really sell it. 

We do get to see Kelsey fall in love with Theo and with his family and we also get to see Theo finally confess his feelings but it's all sort of low stakes and I kept wondering why Theo said yes in the first place. And why Kelsey worked so hard to encourage him to say it.

Three stars

This book came out December 1, 2020

Follows Rate a Date

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Prime

Opinions are my own

Rock Courtship by Nalini Singh

Dave has been after Thea for a long time. He knows that she went through a bad time with an asshat of an ex. But this band member is in love with his publicist and he thinks she might like him too (and he's a little stalker-y in the beginning. Not so romantic). But then her sister (Molly from the first book) tells Dave to write her a memo. That Thea listens to memos. So Dave composes a memo. And Thea writes one back. Except for the vaguely stalker-ish moment and the reaction to the first memo, it was a nice novella and a good read, quite possibly my favorite story in the series. Can't wait to read the next book.

Rock Kiss #1.5

Four stars

This novella came out September 30, 2014

Follows Rock Addiction

Followed by Rock Hard

Audible book I own

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible audiobook February 2024

Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz

For the other books in this series, the Rancourt family has been set up as a former Big Bad. But in this book, Harlan Rancourt returns and appears to be on the side of angels. Or at least the same side as Olivia Le Clair.

Olivia is an investigator and an aura talent. She's not the oracle Harlan believes he needs. but he promises her a chance to solve her mother's murder. 

The resulting investigation will include characters that we've seen from other books but not to the point of making it confusing to new readers. Regular readers will finally find out the secret to the camera in Swan's antique shop that has been teased in previous books and Olivia will find a man who is willing to walk through hell to find her.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out January 18th, 2022

Follows All the Colors of Night

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread August 2022 as audibook from Libby

Rate a Date by Monica Murphy, Emma Wilder, Patrick Zeller

What would you do if your friend set up a profile for you on a dating account? Would you keep dating, even if you weren't sure that meeting people online was the way to go? Eleanor Murray is trepidatious but goes for it. And she meets this guy Mitch. He's evasive about his job and never gives up his last name. He is also moving from California to Las Vegas. But he's hot so she's all in. 

There is not a lot of relationship development in this book so if that is your catnip, this is not going to be the book for you. Eventually it does come out what Mitch does but they get over it faster than he deserves.

Three stars

This book came out March 16, 2021

Follows Hate to Date You

Followed by Wedding Date

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

In America, (I can't speak for other countries) it is thought that if you aren't doing SOMETHING, you are lazy. And even those "somethings" are rated. Bubble bath? Not important. Working every minute of every day? Incredibly important. No matter whether you are becoming irritable or unmotivated.  And the truth is, now we're being told that we need to make sure to take time for "self-care". More work! But Price, very convincingly, argues that laziness (at least as it is often defined), does not actually exist. The whole book is worth a read but there were a couple of points that I really resonated with. Burnout is very real and can cause people to act in both small and big ways, from small, petty actions to larger scale. I really loved the point in Chapter 2 that said, if you fail to meet a goal and don't feel guilty about it, it might not actually be a priority.

Four stars

This book came out January 5, 2021

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

The Smart Bitches have been raving about Nalini Singh for years. Years. And I never got on the bandwagon. Mostly because I thought all of her books were shape-shifting novels and I've only recently gotten into those as well. I finally picked this book up from the library. And while it wasn't totally my cat nip, I really did enjoy it. 

Zachary Fox, known as Fox, is a big time rock star. Which means that Molly Webster really doesn't want anything to do with him. Her whole life was destroyed when her famous father was discovered not to be the saint everyone thought he was. So, even though there are almost-visible sparks when she sees him across the room, she doesn't plan on doing anything with them. Until he follows her into the elevator. Okay. She'll do a one-night stand. But he wants more. In fact, he wants forever.

I didn't love Zach or Molly but they were pretty well fleshed out and I definitely am anxious to read ab out her sister, Thea, and Fox's bandmate, Dave. (I originally wrote this in 2016 but my feelings haven't changed).

Rock Kiss #1

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 9, 2014

Followed by Rock Courtship

Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible Plus audiobook February 2024

Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gilman

A famous assassin is going on safari? Does that make sense? Maybe not but it does mean that Mrs. Pollifax is pulled back into service AND she gets to see an old friend again. 

When Bishop turns up asking if Mrs. Pollifax will go on a safari and take pictures, just take pictures, of the participants, she readily agrees, visions of Tarzan dancing in her head. Of course, that is not what really happens and Mrs. Pollifax ends up in mortal danger once again. She also finds an admirer in a retired judge who is on vacation with his daughter.

Fun, fast, and fluffy. Just what a Mrs. Pollifax book is expected to be.

Four Stars

This book came out in 1976

Follows A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax

Followed by Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are their own

His for the Holidays by Samantha Chase

When you are in your mid-to-late-twenties in a romance novel, you are likely either going to be already successful or just about to get that Big Promotion. Hannah Christy is in the latter group. She is an interior designer who spent most of Thanksgiving and the last month getting ready for a big presentation that is going to guarantee her a new position according to her boss. The last thing she needs is to be trapped in an elevator. In her comfy traveling clothes. And especially with her Very Attractive neighbor. But she gets to know him, finds out he has an overly interfering family, and suggests he needs a fake relationship. Oh, not her! she is much too busy. Then she finds out that one of her scheming coworkers has secured the contract that she was supposed to get and her promotion is now off the table. Instead, she has a few weeks of paid (forced) vacation. She still isn't going to help but then she meets his mother and sister and impulsively steps in. 

Gage Lawson is immediately attracted to Hannah and he hopes for a longer relationship but he will take what he can get, especially if that means that Hannah will come with him to his family Christmas which they are having a few days before the calendar date. 

As the two are spending time together, getting to know each other, Gage falls more and more in love and Hannah becomes more despairing because she is guaranteed a move (either staying with her current company and taking a job in another state or finding another job completely which means she'll have to leave because there are no jobs in Raleigh). 

I didn't love that Hannah kept throwing up roadblocks. It seemed artificial in a woman who was otherwise shown as being mostly together. She has a Big Realization about herself at the end but... it's not something we've either seen or heard about anywhere else in the story. Gage was a nice guy with enough flaws that save him from being too perfect. A fast, fun, and fluffy book for the holiday season but not a lot of depth and from introduction to proposal is about two months.  Cottle, the narrator, really elevated the story and made it a fun listen.

Three and a half stars

This audiobook comes out January 11, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott, Barbara Rosenblat

Beryl and Edwina are at the end of their purse. They need to figure out a way to get more money in. When the gardener suggests they ride the success of their last mystery and start an inquiry agency. In fact, the vicar needs someone to investigate the disappearance of one of their pigeon racing club members. And also the club funds. Beryl is all in. Edwina does need some convincing but... well, the stack of bills aren't going to pay itself. 

So, the two are off. Once again, they are going to encounter murder. They will also travel to one of the local Kent mines where tensions are at an all time high between the owner who is slacking on safety measures and the miners who are having to go underground in order to work.

The murderer ended up being a bit out of left field as did the reason but I am reading this series more for Beryl and Edwina than the mysteries themselves. 

Four stars

This book came out September 25, 2018

Follows Murder in an English Village

Followed by Murder Cuts the Mustard

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Ghastly Spectacle by Lynn Messina

Beatrice Hyde-Clare is trying to figure out how to be a duchess. She is used to being in the shadows as a spinster, not put in front of the ton as the woman who snared a duke and has now solved several murders. She really doesn't think that her friend Lady Abercrombie's tack is the right one, but the woman has already invited a number of people to participate in a murder mystery dinner party so Beatrice feels obliged to attend. Of course, one of the attendees ends up dead (one of the hostess's paramours, in fact) and it is up to Beatrice to solve the crime. And she does, but there is still 40% left in the book.

I really loved seeing Bea's deductive reasoning to figure out who is going to be the faux murderer in the party and I did enjoy getting to see her relationship grow with the duke. The mystery was okay but after the 60% mark, I kept wondering why I was still reading until about the 70% mark. Some nice filler but I wanted the story to just get on with it already.

Four stars

This book came out May 14, 2021

Follows A Boldly Daring Scheme

Followed by A Malevolent Connection

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Wings and Broken Things by Trixie Silvertale

Sigh. I wasn't sure of this series but I've kept reading and I'll give it another shot but... Mitzy is an idiot. I'm not sure how she's actually solving these cases when she is an idiot. She literally pays off a character to suppress evidence. Really? And the author has many characters warning Mitzy away from Bombay and yet she still persists on the "well, he's always treated me okay" theory. This is not a valid theory if you have many different people telling you for different reasons. Yes, she's young but... ugh. I did round this up to three stars because it was an okay book outside of my disgust with the main character and I am going to give the next book a shot (mostly because I've already borrowed it so, what the heck) but this was really a two and a half star book for me. There are two mysteries -- a local thief and discovering who hit the local veterinarian -- but neither ends up being high stakes (or fairly clued) and the vet is ridiculously Pollyanna about the situation.

Three stars

This book came out December 13, 2019

Follows Tattoos and Clues

Followed by Sparks and Landmarks

Opinions are my own

Five Minutes: (That's a Lot of Time) (No, It's Not) (Yes, It Is) by Liz Garton Scanlon, Audrey Vernick, Olivier Tallec

Is five minutes a long time? Well, I guess it depends on what you are doing at the time. 

A cute book that is carried by the illustrations. I think the NPR Best Books description was maybe a little tempered by the author's love of the first book from this duo.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 17, 2019

Borrowed as a hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur T. Bradley, January LaVoy

The invitations went out for a weekend at the (rumored to be haunted) Barclay Hotel. One each, delivered by courier, to five people only: a  cowboy, a librarian, a CEO, an actress, and a detective on a Tuesday. From April 3rd to  April 5th, these guests will get to experience an all-expense paid weekend at the newly-renovated hotel. 

J.J. Jacobson works hard to convince his mom to go to the hotel. He loves ghost hunting but wishes that his CEO mother had a little more time for him. He convinces his parents to go but hopes without revealing his secret. In fact, almost everyone going has a secret. The only holdout is Detective Walker because even his granddaughter, Penny, has something she's not talk about. The other invitees include Buck who is a cowboy and a liar, Miss Chelsea who is a librarian and inveterate contest enterer, and Fiona Flemming who is an actress and medium. We also get to meet Emma, the chef's niece, who is excited because she rarely gets to hang out with other children.

All of them are entering a hotel but none of them will be leaving with their secrets in tact. 

I really enjoyed this book. I would take off a half star because there were a few too many zigs and zags but overall a fascinating listen and a large part of that was due to the narration of January LaVoy. NPR Best Books rarely steers me wrong.

Four and a half stars

This book came out August 25, 2020

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Breath by James Nestor

Elizabeth Baker's review on the NPR Book Concierge from 2020 made this book sound really interesting. And it was, to a point. I like a nonfiction book where the author is a nonbiased reporter and Nestor actually took place in a lot of the experiments himself. And I sometimes like that but the back and forth between the two was not well-woven together. A lot of the findings were things that I already knew about from yoga and I found myself racing to finish the book rather than really trying to read and retain it.

Three stars

This book came out May 26, 2020

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The Supper Club Murders by Victoria Dowd

The murder crew is back at it again. All five have been invited to a safari dinner (I know it as a progressive dinner) from a former bookclub member who is now the wife of a baron. Some people look down on Lord Black because he bought his title but it is a title nonetheless. And the safari supper will take place in the village, Greystone, surrounding their castle, Black Towers. It's a new place with some familiar characters though relationships have shifted dramatically - there is not nearly as much fighting between Ursula and her mother.

There are also new faces with some familiar names -- Scarlett Bradshaw, Joseph Greengage (a plum), Mrs. White, Reverend Vert (green), etc. And, while it is one of them that will die, one of their own will as well.

I really sort of slogged through the first book in this series (and I would still recommend reading it and the second books because they set up so much back story) but liked this one a lot. The characters are growing, infinitesimally but growing. The murder and solution aren't any less bananapants but even the new characters have depth that makes them interesting to read about.

Four stars

This book came out September 16, 2021

Follows Body on the Island

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own