Homicide in the Indian Hills by Erica Ruth Neubauer

stars

This book came out March 25, 2025

Jane Wunderly #4

Follows Secrets of a Scottish Isle

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Toymaker's Curse by C.J. Archer

The books are getting rather formulaic (and, really, have been for a bit) but there are only a few left in this series so I'm going to finish it out.

In this book, Matt and India encounter a toymaker who claims his magic was diminished by a  curse. When the toymaker is murdered, they are thrown into yet another mystery surrounded by magic.

Aunt Leticia is working on making Willie and Farnsworth fall in love... perhaps even get married. 

Three stars

This book came out March 2, 2021

Glass and Steele #10

Follows The Kidnapper's Accomplice
Followed by The Spymaster's Scheme

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Kidnapper's Accomplice by C.J. Archer

I think most reviews will start with the shocking reveal that, in this book, Willie wears a dress. It's a bet with Lord Farnsworth that goes wrong but it's not as large a part of the story as the blurb might want you to believe.
The bulk of this book is the repercussions of magicians coming out in the open and one particular magician who wants India to use her magic to extend his spells. When she refuses, he pairs up with another magician to take drastic measures.
We do see that India has been working on new spells with Fabian and they have created a flying carpet which eventually comes in handy. Also, we learn a little bit more about the mysterious Sir Charles.

Three stars

This book came out September 1, 2020

Glass and Steele #10

Follows The Imposter's Inheritance
Followed by The Toymaker's Curse

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Imposter's Inheritance by C.J. Archer

In previous books, India had been given a secret. She kept the secret, but someone else didn't and now Matt's familiy is being threatened. There are a number of other things happening in this book meaning it did get a little chaotic. For such short books, there is a lot going on in them. 

The promise to Lord Coyle is dealt with, there are any number of characters whose stories move forward a little bit but it feels like India and Matt have more or less stalled where they are, like their story has stopped now that they're married. 

Three stars

This book came out February 4, 2020

Glass and Steele #9

Follows Prisoner's Key
Followed by The Kidnapper's Accomplice

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Socialite's Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets by S. K. Golden

Evelyn is just trying to make it through life with agoraphobia. Plus, her paramour, Mac, took off at the end of the last book. But she's maintaining. At least until someone sends her a tiara. It's that tiara that attracts the attention of a group of ladies lunching at The Gold Room. Their leader appears to be a woman named Lois. And it's Lois who ends up dead. 

While dealing with the fallout from that death, Evelyn is also working around the rumors of the Gentleman Thief. He robs the wealthy leaving only a red pocket square behind. 

I enjoyed this book. I really liked that Evelyn is getting out of the hotel more often (whether by hook or by crook.) Didn't love the end of her foray into the city but I am excited to see what happens in the next book. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 11, 2025

Follows The Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating

ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

An Ominous Explosion by Lynn Messina

The Beatrice Hyde-Clare books aren't super deep but they're usually pretty fun. It took me awhile to get through this one but I did get to the end eventually.

In this book, Beatrice, her uncle, and her cousins go to a demonstration of a new steam engine. During the demonstration something explodes and the inventor, Peter Huzza, is killed. Few people are surprised. After all, this is a new technology and things happen. But Beatrice isn't so sure. Something just doesn't feel right. And it's not just pregnancy hormones.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 8, 2022

Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #9

Follows A Malevolent Connection

Followed by An Extravagant Duplicity

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Murder in the Churchyard by Catherine Coles

Previous books in the series introduced us to Evelyn's friend, Isolde. She has been attracted to the local doctor but seems to have been holding herself back from him. It turns out, it's because she's already married. And the man himself is in town, doing shady things that a bad man married to a good woman does in cozy mysteries. 

Of course, that is the man who ends up dead. Tommy and Evelyn are on the case. We also have it reiterated several times that they are sad because they don't have children, reminding us that detective work is not the sum whole of their lives. 

Tommy and Evelyn #2

This book came out January 29, 2021

Three stars

Follows Murder at the Village Fete

Followed by Murder in Belgrave Square

Ebook of mine on Kindle
Opinions are my own

The Prisoner's Key by C.J. Archer

Matt and India are enjoying married life and India is starting to work with a friend of her grandfather's learning the laguage of magic. Her tutor, Charbonneau (my spelling might be off, I listened to the audiobook) comes from a wealthy French family. He is a second son so they'd prefer he marry someone for politics or money. He wants to marry a magician. So, when Louise more or less proposes, he turns her down. But then, Charbonneau is sent to debtor's prison and any number of people would like to help him out, including one very sneaky magic obsessed lord. When Charbonneau (a lead magician) escapes, everyone is on high alert.

Three stars

This book came out September 3, 2019

Glass and Steele #8

Follows The Cheater's Game
Followed by Imposter's Inheritance

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Cheater's Game by C.J. Archer

Shenanigans abound when Buffalo Bill Cody's show comes to London. While India is impressed, Willie is not. But she doesn't mind playing cards with some of the men who were in the show. It's just too bad that Duke gets into a fight with one of them. And that man ends up dead.
While the "posse" is wrestling with that issue, India's got some added trouble. Her name is starting to get out in the magician's community and her grandfather seems more concerned about making sure people know they're related than keeping her safe.

Three stars

This book came out March 12, 2019

Glass and Steele #7

Follows The Ink Master's Silence
Followed by The Prisoner's Key

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder at Westminster by Magda Alexander

Kitty's sister has a beau which is somewhat astonishing since Margaret has generally said that she would prefer not to be married. Even more astonishing for this nouveau riche family, Sebastian is the heir to an earldom. Sebastian has, more or less, become a part of the family, esting nearly every meal at the Worthingtons. They KNOW him which is why they are all quick to jump to his defense when he is accused of murdering his grandfather.

The two had quarreled. Most recently about the grandfather's treatment of Sebastian's sister, Lily. The man kept her locked up in the house and, now that she is grown, is peddling her hand in marriage tonthe highest bidder. When Sebastian is arrested, Lily is taken to the Worthingtons.

Of course, there are other suspects but the Inspector on the case doesn't seem to want to do any work now that he's arrested the future duke.

The focus of this book was a little scattered and i wasn't exactly sure how.Kitty got to the end but it was overall fast, fun, and fluffy.

Three stars

This book came out January 25, 2022

Kitty Worthington #2

Follows Murder on the Golden Arrow

Followed by Murder at the Masked Ball

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Ink Master's Silence by C.J. Archer

 In a previous book, a man, one India thought was a friend, published an article releasing the knowledge that magic is real. Now, the man's editor is dead. But was the person aiming for Oscar Barratt or was the editor the actual target. 

There is no shortage to the number of people who would prefer that magic would be shoved back into Pandora's Box. But it's too late and now India's become a focus for the people who find magic to be a source of amusement. 

Three stars

This book came out September 5, 2017

Glass and Steele #6

Follows The Convent's Secret
Followed by The Cheater's Game

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Mystique by Amanda Quick

One of Amanda Quick's rare foray's into historical fiction not of the Regency genre. Alice is a woman of learning in the 1600's. She's a little bitter because she wasn't able to save her father's estate for her crippled brother. However, she takes solace in her studies. When she buys an unusual green stone, which is subsequently stolen from her, she crosses paths with Hugh, the Relentless, who is also looking for the stone. Hugh decides that, though Alice is a little older and more outspoken than the usual bride, she is his choice. There is some wrangling, Alice is headstrong and doesn't obey orders, she wrecks Hugh's plans for revenge, but in the end, they fall in lurv.

Four stars

This book came out June 1, 1995

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

The Convent's Secret by C.J. Archer

Matt and India still need a healing magician. Their search leads them to a convent where the boy was given up for adoption. But there are secrets the convent wants to keep; more than just the disappearance of one magical boy. It will be up to the pair and their friends to track down two nuns and two little boys that disappeared within the time frame of 27 years ago, the night a magician connected to Matt's watch was murdered.

Three stars

This book came out September 5, 2017

Glass and Steele #5

Follows The Magician's Diary
Followed by The Ink Master's Silence

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Magician's Diary by C.J. Archer

Finding Chronos was supposed to solve all of their problems. But he is only half of the solution. Now, Matt, India, and their friends are going to have to not only find the diary of the healing magician who helped create Matt's watch in the first place, they're going to have to find another healing magician. They think that they've found one but the man is killed. Could it be the guilds who want to hide the existence of magicians? Or is it some reason more closely connected to the two of them?

Three stars

This book came out September 5, 2017

Glass and Steele #4

Follows 
The Apothecary's Poison

Followed by The Convent's Secret

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Remember When by Mary Balogh

Balogh's Ravenswood series around the Ware family and it's matriarch Clarissa's turn to find love. 

Before she married the Earl of Stratton, Clarissa was a Greenfield and her best friend was Matthew Taylor. Matthew was the younger son of a nearby land owner so their friendship was a little over the line considering how wealthy her family was but nothing scandalous. Though they loved each other, Clarissa had a chance to marry the catch of the season and she loves him too. Was that a mistake? Now in her early fifties, she is wondering that fact. But she doesn't think so. Though she and her husband did not have a true love match, they did love each other. But he's gone and Matthew is still here. What could that mean for them?
Matthew was heartbroken when Clarissa married. He also married but his wife died in childbirth. He left to travel the world but returned to the place where he grew up. Now, he's the village carpenter, making beautiful furniture. That's the reason Clarissa stops by, to request a cradle for her coming grandchild. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out January 7, 2025

Ravenswood #4

Follows Always Remember

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group

Opinions are my own

A Christmas Holiday by Janice Bennett, Violet Hamilton, Sara Blayne, Karla Hocker, Anthea Malcolm, Tracy Grant , Elizabeth Thornton, W.M. Cordy

To be fair, I read this book close to when it came out so my rating may be colored by nostalgia. 

Holly Brooch by Janice Bennett

Miss Dorothea Steyning had a chance at happiness. When it fell through, she was left with a debt of honor. This Christmas, she has a chance to repay that debt. As long has her two students don't stand in her way. 

Christmas Bride by Sara Blayne

Kathryn is used to being the head of her rather... dramatic... family. She was married five years ago but he soon left for war. Now that he's back, he's confused as to why she didn't tell the world she's married to a duke. But the more he see of her family, the more he understands. And the more he's enchanted by her.

Glastonbury Thorn by Violet Hamilton

Nicholas Farris is home for the holidays. Before he left for war, he had an understanding with a very beautiful young woman. But now that he's back, he's wondering whether her younger sister might not be a better match.

Yule Log by Karla Hocker

A beautiful young widow sets out to celebrate "Christmas the way it used to be," and finds that a treasured friendship can blossom into a warm and lasting love.

Mistletoe Christmas by Anthea Malcolm

Elizabeth Alder had stubbornly broken her engagement a year ago. But on Christmas Eve, she is given antoher chance at romance...if she's brave enough to take it.

Sheer Sorcery by Elizabeth Thornton.

Jess has been dealing with her guardian for years. She's ready to be free of him. Or so she says. But when her eye is caught by a local shop's "Sheer Sorcery," some truths about their relationship might come out.

The Apothecary's Poison by C.J. Archer

While Matt and India are generally trying to stay under the radar of the newspapers, they do still read them. And an article about a doctor, claiming that he brought someone back from the dead. Of course, that's going to be of great interest to Matt so they take a chance an interview him. 

It's too bad that, while the man may be a magician, he doesn't appear to be capable of miracles. It's also too bad that the man ends up dead. Because they were there the day before, Matt becomes a suspect. 

A fine story and the ending actually moves the overarching story along.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 4, 2017

Glass and Steele #3

Follows The Mapmaker's Apprentice

Followed by The Magician's Diary

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Mapmaker's Apprentice by C.J Archer

The commissioner that helped Matt out in the last book needs help now. A mapmaking apprentice has gone missing and the commissioner would like Matt and India to help him out. In order to do so, they pretend to be a married couple. 

While visiting the guilds, they discover that the mapmaker's guild is also trying to suppress the knowledge that magicians exist. That leads to a very desperate situation where the pair barely survive. They also discover that their enemies may be more numerous than they thought.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 25, 2016

Glass and Steele #2

Follows The Watchmaker's Daughter

Followed by The Apothecary's Poison

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Regency Christmas by Leslie Lynn, Joan Smith, Barbara Metzger, Jennie Gallant

Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger

The Earl of Montraven fires his secretary when he discovers the man has been sleeping with the earl's mistress. As a last act, the secretary decides to mix up the cards going with the gifts to the earl's all-but-engaged-fiancée, the mistress he's dismissing, the woman he had hoped to replace her with, his mother,  his sister, and their companion. Of course, this leads to him discovering that the woman he should marry may have been under his nose all along.

Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant

This short story is actually quite bemusing. A young woman, Elizabeth, is being pushed to marry an older, disreputable man, Baron Rathborne. He has sent her a necklace as a betrothal gift that is later stolen from her. Luckily, Lord Wyckholme is there to help her get out of that engagement and right into another. 

I originally read this book around the time it came out and her uncle infuriated me then... he still infuriates me now. I mean, I try to think the best of people but this man goes into willfully naive

Love a La Carte by Joan Smith

Cybele has put all of her money into a new restaurant, but it has been roundly panned by food critic, Monsieur Bongout. She is desperately trying to save her investment but is also trying to avoid the attentions of the man she may actually love, Lord Sinden. 

The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn

Persephone may not have the use of her legs but she has a bright mind. She knows that her sister Athena deserves love. It is Persephone who encourages Athena to attend a masked ball. And it is there that Lord Andrew Finchley falls in love with a mysterious woman.

Are these the best stories ever? Maybe not. And I may view them with a lot of nostalgia but they are quiet romances that hit a very sweet spot.

Four stars

This book came out October 1, 1994

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer

Down to her last penny, about to be thrown out of her lodgings, India Steele does the only thing she can think of. She goes to the shop of her former fiance (the one who dumped her after her father died) and tells the customers not to buy from him. While she makes a scene, it doesn't do much. Except that one man takes notice, Matthew Glass. He immediately hires her on to find a watchmaker known only to him as Kronos.

Matthew needs to find Kronos soon. We don't learn much about it in this book but it is a life-or-death situation tied to a watch that the man made for him. But is Matthew Glass all he seems to be? Or is he possibly the American fugitive known as the Dark Rider.

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 28, 2016

Glass and Steele #1

Followed by The Mapmaker's Apprentice

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own