Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Cora Kelly is trying to find some closure in her life. She wants to know more about her birth mother and thinks that working at the boarding school her mother runs. But Aiyana Turner wasn't the one to hire Cora, instead, it was one of her 8 (!) adoptive sons, Elijah. A man who Cora is desperately attracted to.
Eli has some past issues of his own. He might have been adopted by Aiyana but the beginning of his life wasn't exactly tea and roses. We don't actually get a full description of what his life was like which was sort of disappointing. There are glimpses of his current relationship with his birth mother but no resolution.
This is a wonderful Novak story but suffers from a few things -- this is a world building story so we don't get as much time with the main characters, we get to see a lot of the physical relationship with Cora and Eli (why are so many authors into sex in public places right now? Is this the new thing in romance novels?) but not as much of the emotional, there is a nice use of condoms in the beginning and some discussion of alternate means of birth control but no discussion of STIs as if condoms were only used as a mean to prevent pregnancy but nothing else.
This isn't one of Novak's super-emotional stories that rips your hearts and guts out but I still think regular readers will enjoy.

Three stars
This book comes out March 21
Followed by No One But You

Seduce Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Hayley Thompson has been the good girl for her whole life up to and including working as her father's secretary. In the church where he was the pastor. Everyone knows who she is. Everyone knows what to expect of her. So when she decides to answer an ad to be the assistant to a man she doesn't know, life changes drastically.
Jonathan Bear owns a successful company but doesn't feel like he is successful. Instead, he feels like the town bad boy (although we never really see that in this book, maybe it was better built up in previous books in the series?). When Hayley Thompson replies to his ad, he doesn't think she'll stick. But when she does, he becomes attracted to her. And though he tries to stay away, he just can't.
This book, even at over 200 pages, felt really fast. The relationship never really had time to develop. I did enjoy the fact that this story was for Hayley and Jonathan without too many "pop-ins" from previous people in the series.

Three stars
This book came out March 7

Bound Together by Christine Feehan

I loved the Sea Haven books and wanted to finish out the Sisters of the Heart, even though I felt the series was getting farther and farther away from what was making it good. But, I finally got the story for Viktor Prakenskii. We've known for some time that he's married to Blythe Daniels and he's finally coming home to get her. Oh. And he's bringing eighteen of his chose family home to her so that she can heal them just like she's going to heal him. And the kids that he's bringing home, the ones that have been the victims of some pretty horrific sexual abuse. But it's okay because he's going to make it be okay.
Blythe isn't so sure about letting Viktor back into her life. He got close to her, married her (she's pretty sure about that point but it's a bit fuzzy), and then murdered her stepfather right in front of her. Then disappeared for five years without a trace. But he's back now along with his motorcycle club that seems to have no boundaries. And that's no problem because Viktor keeps telling her it's no problem.
I had so many issues with this book. It was really more of a two and a half but I rounded up. I just really need to stop reading Feehan's books because they aren't my cup of tea and yet I keep picking them up. To be honest, this book was just darn hard to follow. The sequel bait was an entire motorcycle club all with real names and nicknames. And this book is FULL of the thing that drives me nuts about this author, she doesn't just give you information, she slaps it upside your head four or five times to make sure that you know that Savage and Reaper are blond. And brothers. And the one is more broken. I couldn't even tell you which because, even after all that repetition, we had the motorcycle club to keep track of, the previous H/Hs from five books in the Sisters of the Heart series PLUS there was a tie-in to the 7 Sea Haven books.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out March 21

Death & the Gravedigger's Angel by Loretta Ross

Wren and Death are back, this time with Death's brother being included in the fun. The book opens with a dead, drunk man wearing an authentic Confederate coat. It seems that he stole a horse and died when his head hit a branch. Oh, and the coat has chemicals on it that make it obvious that it was recently buried on someone else. 
Death is asked to look into the murder of a bible-thumper's son. It seems that the man's church picketed a Muslim woman's death and now the son has turned up in the backseat of her husband. The supposed-murderer's friend asks Death to prove that the man committed the murder under the strain of PTSD.
Meanwhile, Wren is helping to clean out a house for auction and is running into some mysterious happenings there. And it's her handwriting that is found on a note in the drunk dead man's pocket.
I always feel like I'm missing something in these books. I have read both of the other books in this 
series and, while it seems like the information is all there... I just don't know if it's that the characters aren't quite fully developed or whether the story isn't quite finished, I don't know. I am frustrated that I can't put my finger on what it is that makes me feel like I'm only reading 90% of the story. I definitely know that I didn't feel like the stories in this book were tied together well. I'm also frustrated that we didn't get to see a lot of Wren in this story and we didn't get to know more about Randy.

Three stars
This book comes out February 8

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James

Eugenia Snowe is well known in the haute ton as being the proprietress of the premier governess service in England. But when Edward Reeve starts demanding replacements for the women caring for his half-siblings, Eugenia is pushed harder than she ever has been before.
Edward Reeve is a bastard, but his brother and sister are not. They were, however, scarred by living with the mother that the three of them shared. Now their mother's mother is trying to gain custody of them and she is a Duchess while Edward is merely the bastard child of two aristocrats. When he meets Eugenia, he falls immediately into lust. He doesn't realize that she is not only the daughter of a marquis but the widow of a viscount and assumes that she is just a former governess, someone that is perfectly acceptable for him to dally with.
Overall a nice book. I didn't love the kidnapping but if anyone could make it even slightly less than super-creepy Eloisa James is the one.

Three stars
This book comes out January 31

Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries by Martin Edwards

The Ghost's Touch by Fergus Hume
I had read The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and enjoyed it so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed this short story as well. The narrator (Lascelles) is spending Christmas at Ringshaw Grange where the owner is very poor but has the family estate while his cousin is very rich but has no property. The narrator is invited to the family estate for Christmas where it turns out the entire party is all men under the age of thirty. Also at the family estate? A ghost that is supposed to be a former Ringshaw bride who kills people who sleep in a certain room. The room the rich cousin is put in. The rich cousin who has a heart problem. 

Lascelles smells a rat and surreptitiously switches rooms with the rich cousin. The story plays out in a wonderful and enjoyable manner.

Four stars.

The Chopham Affair by Edgar Wallace
A blackmailing gigolo (Alphonse/Alphonso RIbiera) is found dead in a car next to an equally dead car thief.

Short, sweet, interesting. 4 stars

The Man with the Sack by Margery Allingham
Albert Campion has been invited to Christmas by one of his insufferable relatives. At first he's going to decline, but then his cousin writes him also pleading for him to come. It seems that she is in love with a poor man whose father was sent to jail for theft but her mother is pushing her at the young man of their guests, the son of an insufferable, newly wealthy family.
On the way down, Albert sees someone that he recognizes, a thief that he saw prosecuted many years ago. But he puts it in the back of his mind as he settles in for Christmas with his family, with the rich guests, and his cousin's beau. There is mention of a twelve thousand pound (cost, not weight) necklace that, of course, goes missing and the beau is immediately accused of the theft.

Pure Campion goodness, 4 stars

Christmas Eve by S. C. Roberts
A Sherlockian play where a young woman comes to Holmes for help because her employers necklace has been stolen but Holmes can't seem to follow the plot.

Serviceable, three stars

Death in December by Victor Gunn
Chief Inspector Bill "Ironsides" Cromwell is going to his assistant's family home for Christmas. Begrudging and grumbling as usual, he is nonetheless as shocked as his assistant to see a mysterious figure in the drive who disappears and leaves no footprints. Then someone brings up the subject of the family "Death Room" and a particularly annoying neighbor becomes insistent on spending the night, despite the host's obvious discomfort. In a surprise, he is not the one who ends up dead. Rather he sees a dead body but it has then mysteriously disappeared and now he has descended into what may be permanent lunacy.
Ironsides seems to have a clear idea of what might have happened even when the others seem stymied. The solution is a little out there but I enjoyed it.

Four stars

Murder at Christmas by Christopher Bush
A former swindler is murdered. There are a few of his victims in the small town and it's up to the narrator to help figure out how, with so many good alibis, the man could have died.

Three stars

Off the Tiles by Ianthe Jerrold
A woman, trying to help her neighbor get into her locked house, has fallen off the roof. Was it the neighbor who hated the dead woman for trying to woo her nephew into the arts (literally, he's a painter)? Or was there something more sinister at work?

An interesting twist, three and a half stars

Mr. Cork's Secret
Monsieur Aloysia, hotel manager, has a few problems. His hotel is overrun by the press hoping to get pictures of a film star and his new wife (who haven't yet arrived), his hotel is booked to the gills and there are still people asking to come, and there's a dead body in room 143. Luckily, the well-known insurance man, Mr. Cork, is one of the people wanting a room. It seems Mr. Cork has ensured some of the film stars' jewelry for a rather fabulous amount and he wanted to see about his investment. And it's a good thing he did so he can help solve the murder.

Three stars

The Santa Claus Club by Julian Symons
A detective is hired to protect a man who is receiving threatening letters. The man is a very rich one who gathers with other rich men to very ostentatiously raise money for charity every year. They take turns dressing up as Santa and collecting the funds. Our detective's customer ends up dead by the detective is able to solve the case.

Three stars

Deep and Crisp and Even by Michael Gilbert
I'm not sure that I completely understood this one. A young policeman, Petrella, is left in charge while in between Superintendent's and believes that something nefarious may be going on at the local boarding house.

Two stars

The Carol Singers by Josephine Bell
Mrs. Fairlands lives in her converted house quite happily, even at eighty-one years old. At least, she lives that way until Christmas Eve when she is robbed, tied up, and left to die in her own home. It's up to Inspector Brooks to figure out this... rather confusing mystery.

Three stars

Overall a nice pick of mysteries and a book I enjoyed. 4 stars
This book came out January 3

Ready Set Rogue by Manda Collins

Torquil "Quill" Beauchamp, Marquess of Kerr, is very upset that his aunt left her property to four unmarried bluestocking spinsters. He is racing down to find out what is going on (and possibly block his aunt's will) when his carriage breaks down and he has to stop at an inn. There he sees a young woman, obviously a governess, trying to get on the mailcoach but she refuses to leave her bags and the coach driver says that they are too full to take them with. When Quill finds out she is Aphrodite "Ivy" Wareham, one of the heiresses, he reluctantly offers her  a ride. On the way, they get to know each other better (even though he starts off as a pompous jerk). Once they get to the property, they not only meet the other heiresses, they discover that Quill's cousin is there as well to act as chaperone. Oh, and Ivy gets a note that the aunt thinks she was murdered and Ivy should work with Quill to figure out what's going on.
The romance for me was just a little too fast. Happy Ever After in just a couple of days? Meh. I like to see a relationship unfold. And the whole book went just a little too fast for me, glossing over several parts. But overall this is an enjoyable read that regular Collins readers will enjoy. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 3
Followed by Duke with Benefits

Four Weddings and a Sixpence: An Anthology

Something Old by Julia Quinn
The set up of the book. Four girls meet at Madame Rochambeaux's Gentle School for Girls (perfect name for a book about fate and working to choose your own). One day, they discover a sixpence in a mattress and come to decide that it must bring luck. Anne, claims it first even though she's the youngest by two years, because she needs to be married before she's twenty-one (though in the ARC, it says twenty-five in the intro and twenty-one in the story, I assume that will be fixed) leading us into...

Something New by Stefanie Sloane
I hadn't read Ms. Sloane before but am delighted that I haven't missed many books. As far as novellas go, I'm usually very disappointed in how fast characters have to fall in love to make the story work but she played this meeting and relationship beautifully.
The beginning was a bit rough with the exposition being told to a dog but Anne is delightful as is Rhys, the Duke of Dorset. He respects her and she is smitten with him though neither wants to marry the other, he being far too young (a familiar trope) and she being leery of love after seeing her parents' tempestuous match but they spend more and more time together, eventually falling in love.

Four stars

Something Borrowed by Elizabeth Boyle
In the opening, Cordelia was a wealthy young woman but by the time we get to her story, most of her family's wealth has been squandered by her father who has since died. She has been putting off her aunts' urgings to marry by saying that she's engaged. Of course, that's not true. But her rather unorthodox companion has a solution, just ask her childhood friend Kipp, now the fourteenth Earl of Thornton.
Kipp remembers Cordelia well. He also remembers their hope for adventure in the future. But when his older brother died, Kipp had to step up to try and save the family estate. To that end, he's all but proposed to a wealthy and beautiful cit's daughter. But when Cordelia calls on their childhood promise, he's ready to help.
A little too love-at-first-sight for me but generally a good story.

Four stars

<i>Something Blue</i> by Laura Lee Guhrke
Lawrence Blackthorne is not only friends with Kipp, he is long acquainted with the Daventry family. More specifically, Elinor (Ellie) Daventry. It seems her father is something of a scoundrel and Lawrence wants to make sure that Ellie isn't going to try and ride to his rescue. Especially since she's already given up Lawrence, her childhood sweetheart, because he wouldn't stop from prosecuting her father for his crimes. But that doesn't mean he wants to see her married to a pompous ass just because the ass's father sits on the review board.
I didn't like Lawrence as much as the other heroes we've seen thus far. He is very dictatorial and autocratic. Still, a readable story from an author I enjoy.

Three stars

... And a Sixpence in Her Shoe by Julia Quinn
Beatrice (Bea) was the skeptic among the girls. She didn't think that the coin had any powers and definitely doesn't want to get married; it would mean leaving her aunts on their own. But one day she bumps into a man in the street as she's studying the heavens. It's not the eye patch that startles her, but rather the fact that his uncovered eye is the exact color of the sky.
Lord Frederick doesn't realize this. He assumes she's aghast by his disfigurement. When he then meets her again in a paper shop, the encounter goes a little better but it is outside the the butcher that he shows himself to his best form, thwarting a would-be sixpence thief.
The two start to spend more time together and realize how much they have in common.
A little too insta-lovey for me and I didn't feel like we got to know Bea and Frederick as well as the characters in the other stories but I don't think it will spoil the tale for Ms. Quinn's regular readers.

Three and a half stars

Overall 4 stars
This book comes out December 27

This Is Our Song by Samantha Chase

Riley Shaughnessy is a big time rock star. He recently stepped back from his band to prove that he could handle a solo career. But... he's recently hit a brick wall on his song writing. His label is about to dump him but agree that he can have another chance as long as he participates in a month-long interview that will put him back in the public's eye. And not for being known as the least-talented of his band mates.
Savannah Daly is the reporter picked to do the interview. She's peeved because that means she's going to be bumped from a Cold Play article that she's been researching for the past month. Her first meeting with Riley is an accidental one when he quite literally bumps into her at a restaurant. Then she saves him from a rabid group of fans. When he finds out who she is, he assumes that their meeting wasn't accidental. And this is a continuing theme in their relationship. He assumes that she's all about the job, cools off and acts like a jerk, and then eventually figures out that he's being a jerk. And that was sort of boring. To see Riley make the same mistake over and over again and having Savannah apologize because he's hurt....
I think most regular Chase readers will not be disappointed but I was hoping for a little better from Riley.

Three stars
This book comes out December 6
Follows Always My Girl
Followed by Sky Full of Stars

The Heiress and the Hothead by Sabrina Jeffries

Somehow, I seem to have read this novella before but it wasn't labeled as a re-issue. I kept wondering what happened with Amanda Keane but I apparently knew? This is the novella that is the most danger-boniest of danger-boners.
Stephen is a reporter who is trying to change the world. He knows that the mill situations are dangerous for the workers and he is writing scathing articles. He wants to take some heat off by writing about Amanda Keane, owner of a factory in America but she keeps dodging him. Now he has tracked her down to a house party. And there, he meets a woman who is not at all what he expected. She may be the one person who can tame his fiery articles and teach him a new way to fight.
It's a novella so there's not a huge chance for the romance to develop. Mostly just a fight-fight-kiss.

Three stars

Comes out November 28

One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis

Rory Andrews doesn't remember Max Stranton from high school but he sure remembers her. In a gender reversal from The Trouble with Mistletoe, this time, the girl done the guy wrong. It seems that Rory's high school home life wasn't great and she was being picked on at school. Her attempt at retaliation accidentally included taking out the life Max Stranton had planned for himself. And then she ran, leaving Max to face the fallout, and she never even knew. Now, she needs his help to get back to Lake Tahoe in time for her first Christmas with her family in six years. She's disappointed them before so she doesn't want to be late. Too bad there's a blizzard that is leaving them trapped with Max's dog, Carl along for the ride.

This was okay but, as a novella, not enough time to really get to know or fall in love with the characters. Both Rory and Max felt a little stock to me with not enough time to explore how they got from their teenage selves to their nowadays selves.

Three Stars
This novella comes out November 8
Follows The Trouble with Mistletoe
Followed by Accidentally on Purpose

The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries

In The Study of Seduction, Warren Corry, Marquess of Knightford, was trying to protect his cousin Clarissa by asking his best friend Edwin to keep an eye on her. Now Clarissa is asking Warren to help her by keeping an eye on her friend, Miss Delia Trever. It seems Clarissa's brother died and left the family in debt. Now Delia's aunt has given her a dowry in the hopes of finding her a husband but Delia is acting strangely; slipping out of rooms, falling asleep at balls, avoiding house parties. Clarissa wants to see her friend so she wants to know what's going on.
Delia Trevor doesn't want to get married. It might mean saving herself but its not going to save her family. And she wants to make sure that her sister-in-law and nephew are taken care of as well. Then Warren starts getting in her way.
Not my favorite Jeffries book. I thought both Warren and Delia's problems were well-built up and then far to hastily solved. I get the tie-in with Delia's family problems and the banishment of Niall but the way to get them to overlap felt horribly overwrought. An okay addition to the series but I'm much more interested to see what went and will go on with Brilliana (what a name for practically-named-Delia's sister-in-law) and Niall.

Three stars
This book comes out November 22
Followed by The Pleasures of Passion

The Legendary Lord by Valerie Bowman

Sarah Highgate, the previous Season's Debutante of the Year (or some such, nonsense) has gotten engaged to a handsome Marquess. Unfortunately, he cares and talks about nothing but himself and she's over it. So she runs away to Scotland, to her father's hunting lodge. Except that she doesn't quite make it to the right place. Instead, she ends up at Christian Bancroft, Viscount Berkeley's, lodge. While there, her chaperone breaks her ankle so Christian's winterkeeper takes her into see the doctor, leaving Sarah alone.
Which is exactly when Christian arrives at the lodge. He's a handsome fellow but has been largely overlooked by eligible maidens because he can't talk to beautiful women without stuttering. Luckily, his first meeting with Sarah is so ridiculous he doesn't have issues with her. The two get to spend time together and become closer. But Sarah comes to the realization that she doesn't want to disappoint her parents so Christian helps to concoct a plan that will get her back to London without any scandal.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book, the two getting to know each other was just adorable and it wasn't quite the typical "I'm running away from a horrible marriage" trope, just different enough to be interesting. The second half got a little overwrought for me but I think most "Playful Brides" readers will be pleased with this book.

Three stars
This book comes out November 1
Follows The Untamed Earl

Someone To Love by Mary Balogh

Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby, is not very excited to have been named the guardian of the new Earl of Riverdale. And he is less excited to learn, from the Countess, that the old Earl had been supporting a byblow, a girl. Everyone is shocked to learn that the girl, known as Anna Snow, was actually a legitimate child while the supposed new earl, Harry, and his two sisters, the managing Camille and the pretty-but-bland Abigail, are products of bigamy. Everyone's world is turned upside down. Even Anna who has to leave the only home she's ever known and suddenly step into the world of the haut ton.
As he helps Anna work through her new life, Avery is shocked to learn that he might be falling in love...
I usually like Mary Balogh's books for their gentle pace and love stories. Unfortunately, while this one is in her normal vein, I just didn't see any connection between the two of them. It was a good start to a series, with plenty of sequel bait (Camille and Anna's friend from the orphanage?). It just suffered from the problem of too much setup, not enough story.

Three stars
This book comes out November 1
Followed by Someone to Hold

A Little Luck, A Lot of Fate by Linn B. Halton

This book is told in alternating first-person viewpoints from Kristi and Tom who used to live next door and have grown up to be... well. It's interesting. Kristi seems to think of Tom as a friend (at least in the first few chapters) while Tom describes Kristi as his girlfriend (they are, indeed, dating). There are also some chapters from Patrick, a tarot card reader who Kristi reaches out to for help.
You see, Kristi is an incredibly successful modern living guru and she's been working non-stop for the last ten years. Suddenly (literally) there's a Voice that tells her to stop and take time. So she decides on a four month sabbatical. Time to create a book that will tell the world that her life is not as picture perfect as it seems. And time to figure out how her life should work since perfection isn't working for her.
Tom is an artist. A very surly artist who has built a self-sustaining cabin to help stay away from the world. He is seemingly a very good artist but can't get the voice of his overbearing father out of his head. He loves Kristi for all that she's done for him but he's worried that their relationship is changing.
This was a nice book with a somewhat strange ending. And I have to admit that I was trying to stretch my reading horizons a bit so a blonde heroine who is just trying to figure out her life was a bit disappointing but I did end up finding a new-to-me publisher that I think I will enjoy.

This book comes out October 25
Four stars

To Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne

Oof. After the last book, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this one. But it was everything I had hoped for Alexis and Logan. Didn't love the ending but the rest of the book... le sigh.
Alexis Morgan met Logan eight years ago when he invested in her elite wedding planning business, the Wedding Belles. Since then, she's come to rely on his friendship. Meanwhile, Logan has been waiting patiently for her to realize that they are meant to be together. But his timeline is suddenly contracted when his father calls to tell Logan that he is retiring three years before Logan thought he would. Both his father and mother would like him to move back to London and take over the family business.
Meanwhile, Alexis' family has some news for her. Her sister is pregnant by her boyfriend of nearly 10 years. The boyfriend being the man that Alexis thought she was going to marry until she saw them fall in love, breaking Alexis' heart. They did the right thing, waiting a year after Alexis and Adam broke up and then talking to her first, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Now Alexis is flying down to Florida for the wedding. And her friends know the perfect way to help her get through this hard time; send Logan down to be her pretend boyfriend.
The "pretend we're in a relationship" trope is not one of my favorites, but it's not my least favorite and I'm glad that Alexis and Logan got their HEA.

Four stars
This book comes out October 18
Follows For Better or Worse

Mistletoe Games by Jaci Burton

Holiday Games
A continuation of the Riley family, Liz and Gavin are back at it in this book. And are they at it alot. A lot. A LOT. Yes, they're trying to get pregnant so there's a lot of sex. About as much as a usual Burton book but compressed into a short story.
A good story if you've read the previous books (since most of the story centers around the prep for and Jenna and Tyler's wedding), I think, but otherwise, it's, like, 50% sex and not much else.
Three stars

Holiday on Ice
Stella is a dancer and Trick, a hocky player. They hooked up off and on for about a year but neither was serious and their relationship sort of fizzled when they both got busy. But now they're in the same bar at the same time and the sizzle is still there. Could it be that there's something more?
I love when romance short stories start with a previous relationship; that means that it's not as hard to believe that true love might happen that fast.
Four stars


Hot Holiday nights
Holy menage, Batman! Warn a woman, NetGalley! This part suffered for me because this is NOT one of my favorite romance tropes. I generally like Burton's writing, even if it does get a little more explicit than I like. For the rating, this is my personal opinion. Do I think that regular Burton readers will enjoy the story? Probably. Do I like that Victoria was the leader in initiating this triad? I gave it a whole extra star because of that. I liked that she was confident in herself and her men.
When Victoria Baldwin finally takes a vacation, little does she suspect that she'll be falling in love. And falling in love.
Three stars

Rounding up to three and a half stars

This book comes out October 18

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

Benedict Society fans rejoice! This new book from Trenton Lee Stewart introduces new characters  who feel familiar and the writing is like a cozy blanket, recognizable and comforting. There were some rough spots but overall an enjoyable story.
Reuben is a boy who lives in a neighborhood ruled by The Smoke through the man's group The Directions, four men who  collect bribes to keep the neighborhood safe, mostly from them. He avoids thinking about his neighborhood life and how life for he and his mother has changed, gotten harder. Instead, he does a version of parkour, exploring the abandoned buildings around him. But then, he discovers a mysterious watch, one that enables him to turn invisible. A treasure The Smoke will do anything to get ahold of.
So Reuben will need help. He tracks down the family of the man who used to own the watch, more specifically, he finds Penelope, "Penny". Penny is related to another Penelope, one who was an adventuress (but not in the romance novel sense, a woman after someone's money, no- she is a female who had adventures. At least, until she disappeared). Apparently, Penny's family has stayed in the same lighthouse for generations, just waiting until the day that they will be able to find out what happened to the first Penelope and what she hid in the smugglers tunnels.
With The Directions quickly tracking Reuben, he and Penny and her brother Jack will have to work hard and fast in order to stay out of the hands of The Smoke.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 27

So Good by Darcy Burke

Cam Westcott kicks off a new series. This Westcott brother is well-known, and not just by his family, for being a major player. But he's been concentrating more on work lately and is starting to back off the merry-go-round of women. So when he meets Brooke Ellis, a wine distributor, he doesn't want to be interested. But (and even though she says she doesn't want to date him), he decides to trick her into a date. Which is SO romantic (Nope).
Brooke has her own issues. And she knows Cameron's reputation. So she doesn't want to get involved. But she is feeling more and more drawn to Cam.
I quite frankly didn't get the attraction between these two. No, I got the attraction, I just didn't get why they would have an HEA. It was an okay book most of the way through but the last Big Misunderstanding really dropped it a full star for me.

Three stars
This book comes out September 6

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

I feel bad because I generally liked the first book in this series, but I just could NOT get into this one. I never warmed to Heather and Josh... oofta. Yeah. I get that he had a scrape with death but to me, he was less of a survivor and more using it as an excuse to be an asshole.
Two and a half stars. I rounded up for Goodreads because I have warm fuzzies from the first book and I'm still looking forward to Heather's boss and her accountant finally getting together.
Heather is working to become a full wedding planner for the elite Wedding Belles company. She has just booked her first major client but is having problems not only because her client isn't acting very... bridal but also because the man next door seems to be up all hours of the night playing music with his band.
A few years ago, Josh was making the big bucks on Wall Street and living the hard life. But then, everything changed. Now he's trying to take time to smell the roses... and he thinks Heather should too. Can these two disparate people ever hope to find love?

Two and a half stars
This book comes out August 30
Follows To Have and To Hold
Followed by To Love and Cherish