I'm Not Your Sweet Babboo! by Charles M. Schulz

A good dose of nostalgia, this book introduced me to a few Peanuts storylines that I didn't know including Linus' potential girlfriend who lives in the country. When she and Sally come face-to-face, Linus is left hanging in the wind on the roof. We also see Snoopy on the verge of marriage and in long-running feud with the cat next door.
Not my favorite Peanuts book but fills that nostalgia-need.

Three stars
This book comes out March 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

I Know What You Bid Last Summer by Sherry Harris

Sarah Winston is running a little bit different sale; this time, she's helping a school raise some funds. Most of the items are used sports items but she also gets some high ticket items like a signed jersey. Too bad she's knocked over the head the night before the sale and most of the more highly priced items are stolen. And the day of the sale, Sarah finds the school's principal dead in a back room.There are enough layers to make this story interesting but not so many that any of the stories get lost. I really like that CJ is gone, the will-they-won't-they of that whole relationship is more annoying than intriguing. And there are parts of this story that get a little repetitive. Maybe it's the whole series but I feel like every other book gets good.

Three stars

This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows A Good Day to Buy
Followed by The Gun Also Rises

Undone By You by Kate Meader

Dante Moretti is an out gay man. That is generally hard enough but he's the GM of a a pro hockey team, specifically, the Chicago Rebels. So he's not about to make his life any harder by going after any of his players. Especially not Cade "Alamo" Burnett, a young player who's not even out. But then he sees Cade at a gay bar. And then Cade makes the moves on him. Soon, they're in a steamy relationship. But Dante just can't believe that love might be part of the equation. Maybe Cade can.

This is supposedly the third book in the series but, at just over a hundred pages, I thought this was a novella, not a whole book. And that was part of my problem with it. I was really hoping that the "#3" meant that Dante and Cade were going to have a fuller story. This was fine but not what I was hoping for.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out March 5th
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

One and Only by Jenny Holiday

Jane Denning is the responsible one in her friend group. It's probably the reason that she's been chosen to babysit the younger brother of her bridezilla friend's fiance. She's not thrilled by that assignment but at least it gets her out of the rest of her bridesmaid's duties.
Cameron MacKinnon is not surprised that his brother's fiancee wants to set Jane on him. He had a pretty wild reputation growing up. But it doesn't mean that he has to sit down and take it. Especially since his list of things to do after being dismissed from the army includes getting laid and Jane keeps preventing that from happening. So, maybe he should focus on her instead...
I liked the building of this relationship. Yes, there were some one dimensional aspects (especially with Cameron) but, overall, we got to know both Jane and Cameron pretty well. We got to see just enough of her friends that there might be more of them in later series (worker girl Wendy and super model Gia) but it wasn't overly heavy in trying to build them up.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by It Takes Two

Color Me Murder by Krista Davis

Florrie Fox loves her job at Color Me Read, a bookstore in Georgetown. It allows her to be around books and to help others find something to read as well. In her off time, she makes intricate drawings for her series of adult coloring books. She's not exactly happy to be living with her parents which is why she jumps at the chance to live in her boss's carriage house. He needs an occupant in order to make sure his sister's spoiled son doesn't move in. Florrie is slightly worried about the nephew, especially when the man shows up at the bookstore and threatens to fire her. But Professor Maxwell, her world-traveling boss says that he'll take care of his nephew that weekend. So when Florine finds the nephew dead in the book store, run through with a spear, she is not surprised that her quiet boss is a suspect but she is shocked when he's actually arrested as the murderer.
With Professor Maxwell depending on her, Florine works with a variety of people (his butler, his friends, and his ex-wife (who has some pretty big issues of her own) to solve the issue of what really happened to the professor's nephew.
I didn't love the ending. The solution to the story was a bit convoluted and came mostly out of left field and the absolute ending was just a little too twee. Florrie was an okay character but unless she develops some flaws (at least a little more depth) she's going to become annoying very quickly.

Three stars
This book comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Deja Moo by Kirsten Weiss

San Benedetto has an interesting tradition, they build a thirty-foot star cow in the middle of the town square for Christmas. And for many years, the cow has gone down in a fire blaze. Maddie Kosloski would like to get to the cow to help her mother guard it, but her usually reliable truck has suddenly decided not to run. And that turns out to be a problem when one of the guards, a dairy farmer who has been pissing a number of people off, turns up dead, an arrow in his chest.
It's up to Maddie to find out what is going on. Mostly because her mother seems to be in danger even though she saw nothing the night of the murder.
I liked that Maddie doesn't seem to be one of those cozy-heroines who is perpetually caught up in a love triangle. There was a lot of wackiness in this book like Weiss felt like she had to make zanier and zanier characters. It was sort of overwhelming at points but I think this book would hit the spot for most contemporary mystery fans and all Kirsten Weiss readers.

Three stars
This books comes out February 27
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Chocolate a la Murder

Best Laid Plans by Brenda Jackson

Nolan Madaris is smarter than the average bear. He's prepared for his great-grandmother's matchmaking and he's not going to settle down with anyone, not even a gorgeous IT genius like Ivy Chapman. Sure, his foot-loose and fancy-free life might be wearing on him a bit but that doesn't mean he's ready to settle down.
Ivy has a terrible ex-boyfriend who has made her wary of all men. Even a smoking hot ladies man like Nolan. So when her grandmother starts working with his great-grandmother to try and hook them up, she knows it's time to do something drastic, something she would never normally do. She proposes a fake relationship.
As we know from most romance novels, this trick never works (at least in Romancelandia). While this is a perfectly fine book and I think regular Jackson readers won't be upset they bough the book, I never really connected with either Nolan or Ivy. They seemed like glossy, but rather shallow characters. A fast, fun, and fluffy read.

Three stars
This book comes out February 27th
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner

I requested this book from NetGalley because the title and cover reminded me of "Warren the 13th
and the All Seeing Eye." And most of the book reminded me of that, sort of a new story but mostly familiar tropes. Prime reality? Earth Prime?
Atticus 'Tick' Higgenbottom is one of many people to receive an envelope inviting him into danger. But he seems to be one of the few who answers the call. He is trying to solve the 12 clues that are very slowly being given to him while trying to make it through school alive.

Three stars
This book comes out February 8
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton

Three students picked for a $10,000 scholarship. All three are given clues, all three are given phones,
all get cameras, and all of them have private drivers. What's the difference between this book and all the others in this genre? These aren't the smart kids. There's a nobody, a slacker, and a show-off. None of their middle-school teachers think that they'll ever amount to anything. But, not only do the three manage to solve their clues (albeit with some help), they manage the twist in the story as well...
A fun story - very Chicago-centric so I'm not sure how much other people will enjoy it but it's definitely a fun story for middle-schoolers.

Four stars
This book comes out February 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Amber by Elle Casey

Amber grew up on a communal farm with her two "sisters," Rose and Emerald, with each of their
three mothers taking turns raising them. She knows it's an idyllic existence which is why she's not super stoked that a hot lawyer-type is on her front porch with news that is going to change their entire lives. It seems they're actually the love children of the band Red Hot. Their mothers were groupies, and when they found themselves pregnant, they decided to leave. Hot lawyer wants to offer them 10 million dollars a piece to meet the band. Amber is the only sister who really wants to go. So she goes to New York and immediately gets accosted by a tattooed gentleman who seems to know her name.
Tyler Stanz is the newest member of Red Hot, replacing the lead guitarist. He's very "guyliner" in a band that is known for mullets. Neither the band nor their fans seem very accepting of him. Which is part of the reason he was so ready to help out by bringing Amber in from the airport, not that anyone has told him who she is.
As Amber and Ty start to figure out where each fits into the Red Hot family, they also start to discover just how their initial attraction can start to turn to love.
Elle Casey can be kind of uneven for me. The books I've read of hers have been rated from two to four stars. There were some definite sticking points in this book for me (how did Amber attend college and not know about smart phones or Snapchat; why did she start beating on some guy who definitely knew who she was) but I overall fell into the "like" category for this book. I liked the world-building and am ready to see Rose and Em get their own HEAs (and hopefully hot lawyer too, but preferably not with one of the sisters.)

Three stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

One More Promise by Samantha Chase

In the first book of this series, Dylan Anderson was going to rehab.  He took the "rocker lifestyle"

quite seriously, drinking, popping pills, and sleeping with a different woman every night. Now he's out of rehab but his band isn't going on tour for three more months. He has some time to kill (and some community service to do). When his manager leaves a pamphlet for a literacy program, Dylan isn't incredibly excited but he figures it's at least something to do.
Paige Walters works for her family marketing firm but she is definitely the under appreciated child. Her sister is the tall, beautiful blonde whom her father adores, even if Paige is the one who does all the work. She doesn't necessarily want praise and adulation but a little recognition would be nice. Instead, her sister is the one who likes to swoop in to take the credit after everyone else had put in the work. Her ego is a little fragile and that's why she can't understand why Dylan might be interested. Well, that and their first meeting wasn't exactly auspicious.
But they start to learn more about each other and start to fall a lot in love.
I generally liked both Paige and Dylan but the ending was over the top. We just hadn't seen much of Paige's father and all of a sudden he was a major player.

Four stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows One More Kiss
Followed by  One More Moment

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

Still reeling from the death of her father, Flavia de Luce and her sisters are hoping to be distracted by a float with Dodger down the river. She is certainly distracted by the dead body that they find floating
in the river. It is a young man dressed in Shakespearean garb. Apparently, his name was Orlando and he was a ballet dancer. It is through his death that she makes the acquaintance of Hob who is the local caretaker's son who becomes an ally in Flavia's search for the truth.
You can very much tell that this is a male voice writing a female child. The way he has Flavia plotting her moves (we get an overly detailed description of Flavia's every thought) is very much an example of how men think women (even those in their "tender" teen years) act.  It was a little off-putting but even more than that, it caused the story to drag in places. Overall, a nice addition to the Flavia canon.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon

I quite enjoyed Thirteen Guests and was excited when another Farjeon book came up on Edelweiss as an an ARC of the re-release of this book by Poison Pen Press. Thomas Hazeldean is back again to help solve a mystery when he is, conveniently in the right place to see a burglar tearing out of a house after discovering seven bodies in a room. There is a note that points towards a mass suicide but both the inspector and Hazeldean are suspicious.
The burglar is almost immediately cleared of suspicion but this is a case that will take Hazeldean across the sea. He’ll also get to meet a young girl who may or may not (probably not) have something to do with the deaths. Or maybe her uncle. Or perhaps even the truculent woman who owns the pension where the girl and her uncle fled to after a mysterious cricket ball was lobbed through the living room of their house. The same house where the bodies were found.
The ending was a bit... out of left field. 2/3 of the book was really good and the ending wasn't bad, just weird.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 6

Unraveled by Lauren Dane

For over a year Maybe Dolan has been cutting hair at the barbershop (just off a bar) owned by Alexsei Petrov and has been denying her attraction to him the whole time. But Alexsei, out of a serious relationship and tired of chasing women, is ready to step into a relationship with Maybe.
He's a family-oriented man (even his ex is still a part) while her family is pretty broken up. Her parents never treated her like she was an accepted part while doting all their attention on her sister. After her sister went through a fairly horrific experience, Maybe's parents wanted to wrap her up in cotton while Maybe wanted to help her live life. Her parents hate her for that.
This was a three-star book except for Maybe's name. Oh good god. This is a cute name when you hear it but when you have to read it and then try to figure out every sentence and that it doesn't start with "Maybe today she would." The process smoothed out for me about 2/3 of the way through the book but that is a long time to wait.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out January 30th
Followed by Jagged

Howl for It by Shelly Laurenston; Cynthia Eden

Like A Wolf With A Bone by Shelly Laurenston
Darla Mae Lewis left the South for a reason. Mostly to get away from her argumentative sisters. They
tend to fight not only with each other, but with the Smith boys whom most of them are hooked up with. The last (I think) Smith standing? Egbert "Eggie" Ray. He's the scariest of the Smith boys but he'd rather be left alone than be the Alpha of the clan. When he sees Darla, he doesn't immediately know that she's his One, but it happens pretty quickly. Of course, they'll have to figure out why there's a horde of humans after Darla.

A nice start to a new shapeshifter series from Laurenston. The repetitious rhyming of the middle names was a little weird and it was a little over the top but a nice world-building for a novel.

Wed Or Dead by Cynthia Eden
I like novellas where the h/h have known each other for awhile, they're much more believable. In this case, , they've known each other long enough to be getting married as the story opens. But there's a problem; he's a shapeshifter and she's part of an elite group of hunters who have been put together to kill the "monsters."
Well, the wedding night goes well... until it doesn't . And it starts both groups toward a final battle and a crisis of conscience for at least one of our characters.
This was definitely darker than the first sorry. Good, but in a different way.

Four stars
This book comes out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Wallflower Most Wanted by Manda Collins

Opening scene: our heroine falls while painting and sprains her ankle. As the hero strides over to help
her, they overhear a murder being discussed. There is also contained in this book the problem of vast amounts of forged art coming out of their village and an unscrupulous man running for local council.
Luckily, Sophia and Benedict are positioned to help (she's an artist, his family is part of the government entity trying to shut the forgeries down).
Sophia actually seemed believable; a female artist with talent who might not be appreciated because of her sex - somewhat resigned but accepting. Benedick is a nice guy. There could be more to their connection but I don't think regular Collins readers won't be disappointed.

Three stars
This book comes out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows Duke with Benefits

Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys

A chance for a new life in a far away country? With free passage on an ocean liner? Lily Shepherd is apprehensive but open to change. She just didn't realize it was going to be exciting so fast. On board, Lily gets to mingle with the sort of people she might never have otherwise met. Even... well. Maybe a little romance. But, the veneer of wealth hides some dark secrets and Lilly gets caught up in webs she never thought she'd be a part of.
I have to admit that the present-tense-writing is not my jam and made it really hard to get into the book. I wish this book hadn't been billed as a mystery because nothing really happens until the end of the book. It's more a character study of flawed people but set among historical fiction.

Two stars
This book comes out January 9
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Deadly Summer by Denise Grover Swank

This was an interesting beginning to a new series.
Summer played a beloved girl-next-door character on a popular television series. But that was a long
time ago. Lately, she's been having trouble finding work. And she needs the money because her mother long ago took off with all of Summer's money and a balloon payment on a mortgage for the family farm is coming due. So, in a fit of temperament, Summer signs up for a reality television show wherein she will become a private investigator. Too bad the producer doesn't want the show to succeed and Summer is having to go back to the hometown and a family that doesn't really want to see her again (at least, her grandmother; her cousins welcome her with open arms).
The "Southern language" is a little hard to read sometimes. There also seemed to be a lot of back story that didn't get covered in this book. I'm definitely interested in the second book in this series.

Three stars
This book comes out January 9
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Followed by Blazing Summer Darling Investigations

Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

This story follows "When All the Girls Have Gone," when the story of a cult leader who locked eight children in a barn and then set it on fire, leaving them to die. Virginia Troy and Cabot Sutter were both in that barn and neither believes that Quinton Zane is dead. The last painting of one of Virginia's clients certainly seems to point that way. When she receives a picture of that painting, Virginia goes to the only man who might believe her, Anson Salinas, the man who rescued her that night. He refers her to his adoptive son, Cabot Sutter. They recognize each other almost immediately.
But someone wants the illusion that Zane is dead to stay intact. They don't want Cabot looking into it. Virginia seems to be immune, maybe because someone believes she has the key to the fortune Zane lost right before he disappeared.
There was a lot going at the end of this book. There was just one twist too many. Honestly, the story could have ended about two twists sooner and earned another rating star. Also, there is a very nice part where Virginia panics and Cabot treats her very kindly. Very forward thinking in terms of sex interactions. So why no condoms? A guy who's that sensitive to his partner would be sensitive in other ways.  I was also disappointed that we didn't get to see more of the story of the two falling in love.

Cutler, Sutter, & Salinas #2
Three stars

Follows When All the Girls Have Gone

Followed by Untouchable
This book comes out January 2, 2017

Reread as ebook from Libby February 2024

A Devious Death by Alyssa Maxwell

This was the first book I had read in the series and I didn't feel like I needed to have read the previous books. Even knowing that Phoebe Renshaw and her maid Eva Huntford have solved two previous mysteries, it still felt like I was able to get to know the characters without a lot of info dumping.
This time Phoebe and her sister Julia have been invited to their cousin's. She's just bought a new house and wants Phoebe and Julia to visit. But it is a very odd sort of meeting. The cousin has now servants, just an odd friend, Olive. And they're both being very secretive about their plans for the building. To add to the oddity, Regina (the cousin's) family shows up. Her mother, brother, and sister-in-law, all of whom are upset that Regina's father left all the family money to her. It should not be a surprise to mystery readers that Regina ends up dead and there are no shortage of people who would like to see her dead.
Yes, it's a little over the top but still fun.

Three stars
This book comes out December 26
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley