Happy Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton

Anna Johnson is waking up to a life that she's not totally in love with. So, normal. She's hungover, her husband is oblivious, and her kids are temperamental. In fact, her husband lets her start the day with something... odiferous. She's lamenting her life with a house to clean up after a party and her husband's judgmental family showing up in 26 hours. And it's all gotten worse. Not only was her cat locked into the larder, but so was a dead Santa Claus. And the dead Santa Claus was her boss who no one really liked. 

I liked aspects of this story, it was quick, it take place over a day. Also, I enjoyed the fact that Anna and Oli seem to have a realistic marriage where they sometimes love each other and sometimes... eh. I didn't always get the comedy but I tried not to hold that against this book (that seems more like a me thing). I also didn't like how much Anna was actively interfering with the investigation. Note that this is not a "fairly clued" mystery as there is really only one hint as to who the killer is. 

Three stars

This book came out September 26, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Just for December by Laura Jane Williams

This book started off rough for me. It's written in the present tense and it took me about 40% of the way through before I stopped noticing. There was also a long build up to our hero and heroine even liking each other and then it went to top speed except for the obligatory Big Misunderstanding. 

Evie is our heroine and she is dealing with a lot. Her mother is in an Alzheimer's care facility but Evie has a spending habit which means that she hasn't actually paid the bill in three months. This spending issue, by the way, is somewhat resolved but this is a long-term issue that will need more than just her friends' peppiness to resolve. In addition to the spending issues, Evie's other sins include being anti-human (grumpy) and determined to believe the worse in... everyone. Including the actor who is portraying the hero of one of her books which is being adapted into a movie. 

Duke Carlisle genuinely enjoys Evie's books. They bring him joy in a world that contained his alcoholic mother and his costar/girlfriend has just been outed as having an affair with their director. And he was pretty sure he was in love with her. Mostly. And now Evie is being downright rude to him and the resulting negative publicity is probably going to tank their movie. So the studio heads think that Evie and Duke dating will bring them some good will. He needs just a little extra since he is up for a big award for one of his guest star roles. Evie's a prickly bush but he finds himself strangely attracted. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out November 24, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own