The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery

As if she didn't have enough fires to put out, Robyn Caldwell is now dealing with the latest of her ex-husband's little peccadilloes. It's not like he's actually her problem to deal with but the things he does do still reflect on her children. Not that her children will notice as they are both dealing with their own lives... sort of. Not in ways that Robyn would expect anyway. But it's Cord's latest decision that has her accepting an invitation from her great-aunt Lillian to get out of town for a bit. Lillian is getting ready for her eventual demise and wants Robyn to come for a visit to finalize her last wishes. Also at the amazing house that Lillian lives in? Mason who will inherit the actual building. He is a good guy and manages to be both manly and respectful which is awesome in a contemporary hero. 

And he mostly deals well with all of the people who follow Robyn out to California from Florida including her eighteen-year-old son who has a plan but refuses to tell her, her twenty-two-year-old daughter who is engaged but Robyn fears it may be too fast, her boss who is embarking on an affair that Robyn is discouraging her from, her ex-husband and his girlfriend, and her daughter's fiance.

The boss storyline didn't need to be in there and the daughter and her fiance's storyline was a little overwrought, otherwise, this is Mallery at her best. 

Four stars

This book come out March 15, 2022

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

His Improper Lady by Candace Camp

We've seen Tom Quick grow up from a street urchin rescued by one of the Morelands to a man who is running a detective agency. When he sees an intruder one night, he's immediately intrigued. She's a woman! But why has she invaded his agency?

Desiree Sullivan and her brothers have worked hard for every penny that they have. Granted, a lot of their pennies came from thievery but they've had a hard life. At least until her oldest brother came back from Australia with a fortune. Now he owns a casino and Desiree uses her talent (an inner eye for lack of a better word) to determine when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. But she and Tom decide to join forces to figure out how her past intersects his. 

As long as most of the other books in this series, this definitely follows the same path and regular readers will enjoy it. I don't think you need to have read the rest of the books in the series but it certainly does help to know who everyone is. 

Three and a half stars

Follows His Wicked Charm

This book comes out June 29th, 2021 

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss

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

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

Jia Ahmed is on top of the world. Or at least her social media feed says so. In truth, she feels old. She was an early influencer and is now feeling like all of her best ideas are behind her. While recovering from a recent illness, she reconnected with a man she met online, a soap opera star who is part of a Bollywood dynasty. He's recently been put off meeting her but she knows that he's in the States and is going to a party as a part of the role he took on a US TV show. So, she decides to go. But the man, Dev Dixit, doesn't seem to want to acknowledge her at all.

Dev isn't sure who the beautiful woman is who approaches him at a party but she seems to know him. He is astonished when she runs away. But he ends up tracking her down (which, it's built into the story that he would leave her be if she had said so, but she doesn't, so not as creepy as it could have been - a sign of Rai's mastery.) Through an odd series of events, they end up pretending that they are in a relationship. 

I really, really liked watching the relationship between Jia and Dev develop. They are both so aware of each others feelings (sometimes the feelings are misinterpreted but they are at least aware) and both just want the other to be happy so each works toward finding that goal for the other.

Four stars
Follows Girl Gone Viral
This book comes out February 16th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss Plus
Opinions are my own

Happily This Christmas by Susan Mallery

 Many a romance has started with the guy next door and this one is no different. Wynn Beauchene has a 14 year old son but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t admire Garrick McCabe, the cop who lives next to her. When he comes to her asking for help with a pregnant 21 year old, Wynn is taken aback,
until she realizes the woman is his daughter. It seems that Garrick and Jolyn were close when she was younger but now their relationship is more strained, especially since Jolyn’s pregnancy has been difficult and that isn’t helped by the fact that her husband is currently deployed.
As Wynn and Garrick spend more time together, attraction starts to grow. Both have been burned in the past though and the upcoming holiday season brings family obligations and outside expectations that they might not be willing to bend to.
A typical Mallory novel: mostly closed doors for the romance; nice character development; an attempt to involve almost everyone from previous stories in the series; just a low-stakes, sugary, and fun read.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 29th

ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Happily this Christmas by Susan Mallery

 Many a romance has started with the guy next door and this one is no different. Wynn Beauchene has a 14 year old son but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t admire Garrick McCabe, the cop who lives next to her. When he comes to her asking for help with a pregnant 21 year old, Wynn is taken aback, until she realizes the woman is his daughter. It seems that Garrick and Jolyn were close when she was younger but now their relationship is more strained, especially since Jolyn’s pregnancy has been difficult and that isn’t helped by the fact that her husband is currently deployed. 
As Wynn and Garrick spend more time together, attraction starts to grow. Both have been burned in the past though and the upcoming holiday season brings f

amily obligations and outside expectations that they might not be willing to bend to.
A typical Mallory romance: mostly closed doors for the romance; nice character development; an attempt to involve almost everyone from previous stories in the series; just a low-stakes, sugary, and fun read.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 29th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Three and a half stars

Finding Christmas by Karen Schaler

Emmie loves Christmas. She LOVES Christmas. And she is sure that her boyfriend will love Christmas as well-especially when she puts together a seasonal game ending at a quaint B&B in the heart of a town that is all about celebrating. Too bad Grant doesn't get her card; instead, a mystery novelist with writer's block gets the hunt. Having been told by his agent that she's sending him something to get him started, Sam isn't worried about the hunt that takes him to a small town. In fact, he's sort of delighted by it. Even when he finds out that he's on the game as a mistake, Sam stays at the B&B. He gets to know Emmie and the town and decides there might be something long term about both...
A little too sweet for me but an enjoyable story and one worth picking up as a fun winter read.

Three stars
This book came out October 15th
ARC provided by HarperCollins and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Bridal Boot Camp Meg Cabot

When a super-built man shows up in her bridal boot camp class thinking that it's yoga,  Roberta “Robbie” James takes pity on him and lets him stay. Ryan Martinez needs help and it doesn't hurt that the super-built guy is hardly hard on the eyes. She kicks his butt in a 45 minute aerobics class and invites him back for the next week. He is up for it since his boss, the sheriff, has required him to take yoga classes to rein back his tension issues and he already has commitments on Wednesday nights.
An interesting start but it's all tease and no outcome.

Three stars
This novella comes out May 28th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and NetGalley
Opinions are my own