August 2025 Monthly Reread

Opinions are all my own

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #1

This book came out October 28, 2014

Followed by White Hot
Audiobook from Audible

White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #2

This book came out October 28th, 2014

Follows Burn for Me
Followed by Wildfire
Audiobook from Audible

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

Three and a half stars

This book came out July 15, 2017

Follows White Hot

Followed by Diamond Fire

Audiobook from Audible

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3.5
Four stars
Followed by Sapphire Flames
This novella came out November 6th, 2018
Audiobook from Libby

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #4

This book came out August 27th, 2019

Follows novella Diamond Fire

Followed by Emerald Blaze
Audiobook from Audible

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #5

This book came out August 25th, 2020

Four stars
Follows Sapphire Flames

Followed by Ruby Fever

Audiobook from Audible

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #6

Four stars

Four and a half stars

This book comes out August 23, 2022

Follows Emerald Blaze

Audiobook from Audible

Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand

Three stars
This book came out in 1941

Inspector Cockrill #1

Followed by Green for Danger

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Framed in Death by J. D. Robb

An artist has decided that he needs new inspiration. His idea? To take licensed companions and pose them in the manner of old paintings. Then, he paints them. And, in doing so, he will surpass the masters.

Eve is off on a new murder. This time, while we do see in the mind of the killer, we don't know who he is from the beginning. 

As with other books in this series, the personal lives of our favorite characters are moving ahead. Mavis, Leonardo, Bella, Peabody, and McNab have moved into their house. Jenkinson is settling into being a detective. And there are glimpses of all the characters we expect to see. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 2, 2025

In Death #61

Follows Bonded in Death

Followed by Stolen in Death
Ebook ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives by Gretchen Rubin

I had heard the description of this book but had sort of forgotten that it's a book of aphorisms. If you listen to Rubin's podcast, you know that she's been collecting these for years. She finally decided to put them all in one place. 

Ranging from one sentence to shortish stories, the truths of life are gathered into categories. It's a fast read if you do it all at once, but this could also be portioned out to one a day.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 1, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Tao left her homeland when she was a child. She predicted her father's death and, when it came true, her whole world came crashing down. Now, she roams the countryside of her new home, telling small fortunes. Those are easier than life changing fortunes and allow her to make some money. Right now, she's just trying to stay one step ahead of the guild. Her life is better than it was before she left, but she's lonely. 

In this story, she starts to meet people (and animals) who are going to make it so that she has a core group of friends who can help her to continue to lead her life the way she wants.

This was a cute story. It dragged in a couple of places and I'm not sure that everything wrapped up cleanly but I generally enjoyed the story. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 5, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Roommate Mistake by Pippa Grant

I feel bad but every once in awhile a Grant just doesn't land for me. This was one of them; I didn't buy Ziggy and Holt as a couple. Too much insta-love and not a lot of reasons why. And this was one of those stories where there would have been no story if the two of them had just talked to each other so there was a lot of filler, not a lot of plot. 

Two stars

This book came out February 6, 2025

Copper Valley Pounders Rugby #2

Follows Until it was Love

Borrowed as Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen with narrator Abby Craden

This is one of the books that probably could have been a Ted Talk (and maybe it was.) Partanen has personal experience with moving from a Nordic country and now living in the United States and her comparisons are very interesting. When they're initially stated. But then there's not much depth. It seems like some sentences and ideas are just restatements. 

I enjoyed her explanation of the Nordic theory of love.

Three stars

This book came out June 28, 2016

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Edge of the Crazies by Jamie Harrison

A small town writer is shot in his office... but he doesn't seem overly concerned about it. He is a womanizer and has plenty of enemies so Jules, the local sheriff, has his work cut out for him. 

It's not like Jules is even sure he wants to do this job. His father died on the job and being back in Blue Deer, Montana, is fairly confining for him. He's not sleeping (though he is doing some sleeping around) and before the book is over, there will be some deaths. How much does this have to do with a death over twenty years ago? 

There was a lot of character building. Place was almost as much of a character. I got distracted trying to figure out which town the fictional Blue Deer was based off of. 

This book was written in the nineties and the story very much has that feel. There was just a certain rhythm to mysteries written during that time and this book fits very much into that pattern.  

Three stars
Jules Clement Mystery #1

This book came out in 1995

Borrowed as hard copy from the library   

Opinions are my own

We Solve Murders We Solve Murders by Richard Osman with narrator Nicola Walker

Amy Wheeler enjoys her life. Yes, being the bodyguard for wealthy people can be boring and annyoning but she enjoys the job. She's really enjoying working for author Rosie D'Antonio. But something is going on at the firm she works for. One of the owners recently left and the other has shown up at her father-in-law's house. Someone may or may not be trying to kill him (there's been a number of deaths lately, including one of their clients) and someone is trying to frame Amy for the murder.

Suddenly, Amy and Rosie are traveling around the world trying to avoid being killed. And the only one they can trust is retired policeman Steve who has quite nicely settled into his rut. 

I tried to read this as an ebook but couldn't get into it. As an audiobook, however? I quite enjoyed it. 

Four stars

This book came out September 17, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston

Like some of the later books in this series, this is really more about moving along the overarching story than a focus on romance. Like other books in the series, there are so many exclamation points! Like, a lot a lot of them! And there are more and more names added to these books so I would really recommend that readers start at the beginning of the Honey Badger Chronicles so you have a fighting chance of remembering who is who. 

We've met Nelle Zhao in previous books in the series. Her family (and thus she) is family wealthy and she uses that money to help her friends, whether they want it or not. Sometimes though, people don't want her help. Like her friend Maddie who would still be living with cardboard furniture and few clothes if Nelle hadn't stepped in. Or Keane Malone, whose story arc has crossed over the last few books of this series. 

Keane Malone is used to going it on his own, or at least just his own family. His father was murdered when they were children and no one stepped in to help them. Not his extended family, not his mother's family, not the company his father was working for. He would prefer not to have help at all. Which is why it's annoying that his family is suddenly stepping up to help. At least Nelle is good to look at. 

The two will have to join forces to take down the de Medici pride who are after Nelle and her friends. The badgers took down the lion's patriarch and they're out for blood. 

Three and a half stars

Honey Badger Chronicles #6

This book comes out August 26, 2025

Follows Born to Be Badger

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing

Opinions are my own

Reread December 2025

The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro with narrator Imogen Church

As a nurse who worked with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War, Gemma has seen a lot of death. But she wasn't expecting to have to deal with the death of her twin brother in a carriage accident. This changes the trajectory of her life in major and unexpected ways. It's especially strange that he left two odd sentences in his reporter's notebook. She takes his notes to the police. They're not interested until she gets to talk to Sebastian. 

An inspector on the force, Sebastian was rocked by the death of his wife. These days he's getting by through copious applications of alcohol and opium. He knows it's interfering with his life, and he's definitely going to quit. Tomorrow. 

The two team up to solve the murder of not only Gemma's brother but the young woman who was hung up on a cross in the cemetery with a pig's heart strung around her neck. 

This was darker than I was expecting with more explicit violence. Not a series I'd want to read at night, but an interesting start.

Three and a half stars

Tate & Bell #1

This book came out February 29, 2024

Followed by Murder at Traitor's Gate

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Mad Earl's Bride by Loretta Chase

A lot of my love for this novella may be nostalgia. It was my favorite in an anthology that I let go somewhere along the way so I was excited to read it again. 

Dorian Rawnsley, Early of Camoys, knows he is going to die. He'll probably go mad first (like his mother), but he's definitely heading for death. He has some recently discovered relatives and one of them has decided that Dorian should marry before his imminent demise. In a fog of laudanum, he agrees to the marriage.

Gwendolyn Adams isn't afraid to marry a man who is dying. She's studied to be a doctor (though no one has really taken her seriously.) If she marries an earl, she'll be titled and rich and able to do what she wants, including build her own hospital. It's just too bad this is a romance and the two may be starting to fall in love.

Four stars

Scoundrels #3.5

This novella came out in 1995

Follows Lord of Scoundrels

Followed by the Last He
llion

There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh, narrator Saskia Maarleveld

 The Great Eight. That's what they called themselves. Until one of them died at their own hand. Now, years later they're getting together again to celebrate one of their friends getting married. They're gathering at the family home of the sister of the woman who died. 

The story is narrated by Luna. She is a photographer who is slowly losing her sight. She is also a narrator who is very caught up in her own memories of Bea.  But can we trust her memories? They seem awfully halcyon? 

The first two thirds of this book were great. Suspense built; characters were fleshed out. I generally enjoyed that part book, but had really, really hoped the twist would be different. The end dragged out too long. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 21, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, narrator Em Eldridge

Definitely read the first two books before you read this one. You don't have to in order to enjoy the action, but the knowing the characters and the previous plot points really help add to the joy of this story.

Evie and the Villain are still trying to figure out how to bring magic back to the land. They are able to uncover another rhyme... although it's not really a poem so much as instructions that sometimes rhyme. They can tell that they are close though. Many of the components are in place. There's a lot going on and it was hard to keep track of people's histories sometimes but still a fun story. 

While Tristan and Evie are finding people who can help them like one who mentions that there's a curse on the Villain and one who may be able to return Kingsley to his human self. And that won't be a minute too late because he is becoming more and more like a frog every day.

Four and a half stars

This book came out August 5, 2025

Follows Apprentice to the Villain

Followed by ????

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Lost Night by Jayne Castle

Rachel grew up in a sort of New Age commune but escaped to the "real" world. She discovered quickly that life wasn't really for her either so she went back to Rainbow Island. There are dark things happening on Rainbow Island, including Rachel losing 12 hours of her life. And Harry Sebastian showing up. 

The great-grandson of a pirate, Harry's talent comes from the dark end of the spectrum. That can make him pretty scary. Which means, despite his attraction to Rachel, he's probably not going to act on it. But he still needs her help since she's the key to unlocking the strange things that are going on in the Preserve.

Three stars

This book came out September 4, 2012

Rainshadow #1, Ghost Hunters #9

Follows Canyons of Night

Followed by Deception Cove

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren, narrator Esther Benson

Is there anyone more endearing than this redheaded child? I remember giggling to beat the bands while reading this series as a child. She was just so... out there. I always wished that I had friends who scrubbed the floor with brushes on their feet and hid wonderful gifts for me to find. Sigh. Someday...

Although, listening to it as an adult, there is something a little more startling about nine-year-old child who lives by herself and lies incessantly though the book is still fun. 

Four stars

This book came out in 1945

Pippi Longstocking #1

Followed by Pippi Goes on Board

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Paulson was deep into the Rejuvenate multi-level marketing (MLM.) She was one of the few people who actually made it to the top of the heap. And yet, it was a harder place to be than she thought. Paulson can give firsthand examples of the mean-girl culture that tends to proliferate. Women are drawn to a chance to make money and make friends. But, as Paulson outlines, that is not what happens behind the scenes. She compares the methods of MLMs to cults and shows how the methods tend to overlap.

Each chapter is preceded by a quote from another person who has been burned by joining an MLM. 

Four stars

This book came out May 30, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria

In previous books in the series, we learned that Ava Rodriguez was unceremoniously dumped by her husband. When this book opens, the divorce has finally gone through and Ava is ready to turn her life around. To do that, she's going to get dressed up and go out, rather than staying in her room. She's not going to order rose; she's an all new Ava. At the bar is the owner of the hotel, Roman Vasquez and he is intrigued. 

The two start a relationship. Well, Roman is interested in it building into a relationship. Ava just wants it to be physical. See, her family is incredibly overbearing and she doesn't want a repeat of what she went through with her ex. Which is a valid concern. Mostly. Ava is sort of spineless. And Daria gives her really good reasons for being so, but I wasn't entirely convinced that she had made the changes needed and I was really annoyed that SO MANY people told Roman to let Ava handle her own problems and he... didn't. He just decided not to listen to any of them. 

Most of the book -- so delightful. Ending -- squishy. 

Four and a half stars

This book comes out September 14th, 2021

Follows A Lot Like Adios

ARC kindly provided by William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity

Hayley and Montague are back and they’re heading to the pocket universe of Willowweep. Cuthbert was hit on the head with a message in a bottle. Another universe needs help. So they open a rift. And 5 people and a dog walk through. But who are these people and why can they change Willowweep at will?

Some really neat world building in this one, including how/why Willowweep exists and how Hayley controls the narrative.

Four stars

Willowweep Manor #2

This book comes out August 12, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Simon and Schuster's Children Publishing, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews

Meg is enjoying an afternoon at her brother’s house when it’s interrupted. Not by the backhoe, that noise is expected. Rather, it’s the lack of noise. A skeleton has been uncovered.
Even though her family is, of course, helping uncover the whole skeleton, Meg is also dealing with housing dogs that are up for adoption until the Mutt March takes place in a few days. It’s a major adoption event and, while there are plenty of volunteers, they are also having to deal with the worry that someone may be trying to adopt a dog for nefarious purposes. 

As usual, a lot going on but Meg manages it all with aplomb if not always with dignity. A lot of call backs to previous books in the series, especially since they are dealing with a skeleton that may be linked to the Pruitts. I don't think you need to have read previous books in the series to understand them all but reading and re-reading this series is always a delight, especially when Bernadette Dunne is narrating. 

Four stars

Meg Langslow #37

This book comes out August 5, 2025

Follows Rockin' Around the Chickadee

Followed by Five Golden Wings

ARC (both ebook and audiobook) kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais

This was an interesting story that I probably would have enjoyed more as an ebook or hard copy. There are a number of puzzles in this book that would have been good to see. There is a website but my library book was returned before I could combine the two.

I also was not expecting the fantasy elements that came into the book. There are a lot of moving parts and the chapters switch around points of view so it's a lot to keep up with. The base story is that Destiny Whipp is invited to an island to become an archivist for a reclusive family who are actually wizards fighting for power.

Three stars

This book came out June 10, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams

RJ and Lear both have recent events that have shaped their present. Neither is really put into this story other than a paragraph or two. Instead, most of the story is concentrated on how much the two dislike each other.  

I can't remember what made me pick this book up but I never connected to either RJ or Lear. Their animosity is so great that it's hard for me to understand how they get together. She's a recent internet celebrity for having married a couple and he's a wedding planner. At the same time, she's a divorce lawyer who is trying to move up in her law firm so there's tension in a lot of her life. 

There were a number of points that kept nagging at me as I read that didn't seem to match up. I don't remember all of them but I was confused because RJ was supposedly only doing weddings for her firm's well-heeled clients but many of the clients didn't seem overly rich. 

Three stars

This book came out September 6, 2022

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)

I heard about this book during an episode of  Writing Excuses that talked about structuring a book around a thing. In this case, it's a fifteenth century painting depicting a chess game that is being restored by Julia. While using an x-ray, she notices a note: Who killed the knight?

The story seemed a little odd to me but I finally figured out that it was from the 90s (had thought it was more recent) and had been translated from Spanish. That provided a bit more context because the story, while it does revolve around that key question, also isn't really about it at all. There are only a few characters but each is deeply developed.

Three stars

This book came out in 1990

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Ms. Austen has always been popular and there have been a number of mysteries based around her books. This book takes every one of Austen's novels and brings main characters (or their children) to a house party at the Knightleys. In this timeline, Emma and George have just gotten married and are having a house party. For reasons, everyone is invited to join. And Mr. Wickham decides to crash. Of course, he's such a bad, bad dude, that nearly everyone has a reason to have killed him. 

This book was... fine. Some of the characters felt too changed from the books and much of the story felt forced. I liked the substory of the younger Mr. Darcy and Ms. Tilney but would have liked it more if it wasn't connected to the original books. 

Three stars

Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mysteries #1

This book came out May 3, 2022

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own