Party of Three by Sandy Lowe

One night can change your life as friends Sarah, Avery, and Kaitlyn are about to find out. None of them are incredibly excited about the party but Sarah doesn't want to go at all. Her last SO left her with some pretty significant emotional scars, especially surrounding sex. What she needs is someone who can show her that her ex didn't' know what she was talking about.
Avery, on the other hand, is okay with going. But she's startled that the birthday girl's sister is back in town and all grown up. Can this best-friend's-sibling trope work out into an HEA?
Kaitlyn is also in for a surprise. The girl she loved in high school, the one who left, is not only back in town, she means to stay. And to fight for Kaitlyn.
All three stories are fine but none really popped for me. I like a story where I can connect to the characters and I just couldn't.

Three stars
This book came out August 13th
ARC kindly provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Ashford Place by Jean Copeland

When her aunt died, Isabelle Ashford inherited her house. She's a teacher with the summer off so she decides to fix what she can in the house and then flip it. It's a small town so she quickly gets to recognize the major players including Deputy Sheriff Ally Yates. While the two begin a romance, they also start to investigate why a baby's skull was found on the house's property.

I did like that Isabelle didn't go completely off on her own but the story was somewhat awkward and there was rather a lot going on.

Three stars
This book comes out January 15
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Calendar Girl by Georgia Beers

Katie Cooper has moved back home to help her mother deal with Katie's father who has early (and fast) onset Alzheimer's. She really needs some more money to help with the mounting medical bills. When her friend tells her about an admin assistant job, she jumps at the chance.
Addison Fairchild doesn't actually want an assistant but her drive to work has created a health crisis that has made her family decide that she HAS to have some help. Even so, it doesn't mean she has to act gracefully. Until Katie calls her out on her manners. The two eventually find a tentative working relationship. And love.
I wish I had remembered that I don't like boss/employee romances before requesting this book from NetGalley. I'm pretty sure people that don't mind that trope will like this book more than I did.

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

The Boss of Her -- anthology

Lead Counsel by Aurora Rey
My favorite of this anthology, Elisa Gonzalez is startled to learn that the lead attorney her firm is bringing in is the same woman she had a crush on in law school, Parker Jones. They had had one night of heavy making out but Parker burned her the next day. Now they're both powerful women who are better able to deal with their emotions as well as the pressures of life.

Four stars

For Your Eyes Only by Julie Cannon
Riley Stephenson is a powerful CFO but she's awkward. Like, super shy and awkward. So she's astonished to find herself making the first move and ordering a stripper for herself after meeting her at a friend's birthday party where Jessie, the stripper, performs. I liked this story because the two were able to meet outside of work and Cannon really worked to make Jessie have her own agency in the romance. I wish we had had a better/softer ending to the story.

Three stars

Opportunity of a Lifetime by M. Ullrich
Luca Garner is a stellar intern who is assigned to work under VP Stephanie Austin, known as the office ice queen. She works hard and eventually the two find that they appreciate each other both for their good working rapport and their mutual attraction.
This was the story that worked least for me. I'm not sure how we're supposed to connect to either character nor how we're supposed to believe they work as a couple. There was so much packed into this short story that I felt a little whiplashed from how fast emotions went from love to hate.

Two and a half stars

Four stars overall
This book comes out April 17
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley