Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Oh man. I was SO excited for this book and when I saw that my library had an audio version, I was even more excited.  I LOVE when authors, especially celebrities, read their own books. This is not a new conceit, gathering tweets to make a book. And these are positive tweets! Both for the morning and the night! And it's Lin-Manuel Miranda! But listening to a bunch of tweets gets really tiring after awhile. And listening to one, or two, or even ten at a time, ruminating on them and enjoying them takes a really. long. time. 

I believe that I would have given this a higher rating had I read the book rather than listening to it and urge others to do the same.

Two Stars

This book came out October 16th, 2018

I borrowed this as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

Husband Material by Brenda Jackson

Producer Matthew Birmingham and actress Carmen Akins were married. But then their differences became too great and they divorced. For Carmen, Matthew was becoming too much like her father - he loved his work more than her. And she expressed that to him. When he missed a trip she had specifically prepared for the two of them to connect, Carmen was done.
Matthew knew that he was spending a lot of time at work but he was blindsided by Carmen's wanting a divorce. Now that she's in their house in the Hamptons and not going to leave (it was part of the divorce settlement that she could be there if he wasn't), he's ready for a little revenge. But he learns that what he thought about their divorce isn't the whole  story, he changes his goals for their time together.
This would have been better as a full book. There was so little connection between the two characters other than the sex that it made it hard to connect to them or to believe in their HEA.

Two stars
This novella originally came out as a part of an anthology but was re-released as an ebook this year.
Opinions are my own

Wise and Shine by Robert N. Stonehill

This is supposed to be a book that blends Epicurus and Eckhart Tolle to help you transform yourself. And there are some interesting ideas here but they are often reduced to their simplest terms and then those simplest terms are made to use points that create a misunderstanding of the original idea. Chapter 3 sounded like nothing so much as used car salesman or televangelist making things sound "so simple" until you really think about the explanation -- and it's not what that author is trying to point out. Things like the Feminist Critiques of Development are explained but then never related to the overall whole. My overall biggest problem with this book was that there were a lot of false parallels.

Two stars
This book came out January 10th
ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Need Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Levi Tyler was in prison for five years because the police believed he killed his wife. But said wife has suddenly turned up alive. So Levi has been released. And he is ready to face the world.
Faith Grayson is the sister of former heroes of this series. She is a young architect, one who feels like she is supporting her family. As a former child prodigy, she was the one on whose they rest all their hopes. But she's secretly taken on designing Levi's house. Even though she knows that her brothers would be irate.
Though each knows the other is All Wrong, they are still drawn together. It's almost
It's another of Yates' stories with a young heroine and older hero. They're sort of starting to bleed together for me. This one was a bit different in that Faith's brothers are involved. Faith was beyond naive and the ending was a bit too short and saccharine for me. I may start sticking to Ms. Yates other series.

Two stars
This book came out April 2
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

How to Be Better at Almost Everything by Pat Flynn

I've always liked the idea of Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none so the title of this book really spoke to me. You read books like Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" that talk about the merits of becoming an expert at something but there aren't a lot of books (at least that I've seen) about the idea of generalism. So this was something I was excited about reading.
I have a feeling that regular readers of Pat Flynn will like the style of writing for this. It did not resonate with me at all. The vast majority of the story examples of how these principles work were about him and how it worked for him. Well, how does skill-stacking work in general? Where are the studies that show it works for the general populace? And why is there a mixture of "we" and "you" in the instructional part of the series?  If the book focused less on the author and more on how these skills could help the reader, I would have liked it more.

Two stars
This book came out January 29
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Naughty But Nice by Donna Kauffman

Melody doesn't want her small town to change. That's why she's so so against Griffin coming to town. He's a developer who wants to help the town grow and he's surprised that some people might be opposed to that process. However, Griffin is determined to win the cupcake baker over.
In this series, this wasn't my least favorite but it was not a great story. Very shallow and not enough time to see why the two fell in love.

Two stars
This comes out October 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

A Deadly Brew by Lynn Cahoon

Jill Gardner and her friends are spending Halloween in the local haunted house. Four couples, all ready to see a ghost. But, why is there a ghost there and could this be a mystery too old for Jill to solve?

I usually like this series (or any series by Lynn Cahoon) but this one just didn't come together for me. Too much plot packed into a short story made it hard to understand.

Two stars
This came out September 4
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Mystifying Mathematical Puzzles by Joseph S. Madachy

This book was pretty disappointing. From the description, I thought it would be a book of puzzles for the reader to solve. Unfortunately, 3/4 of the book was descriptions on how famous puzzles have been solved. For someone who is more interested in the explantions, this would be a good book. If, like me, you are more interested in being the solver, I would skip it. Also good to know, this book was published first in 1966 so some of the puzzles are a little dated.

Two stars
This book comes out May 16

Until There Was Us by Samantha Chase

Two years ago, Megan Montgomery and Alex Rebat hooked up at her cousin's wedding. But then they were torn apart by living on opposite sides of the country and by the fact that Megan was working long hours. Now she's in the same city and their connection isn't any less strong. But can they make it work on the second time around.
Okay. I like Chase's writing and she has pretty great characters... usually. I just couldn't figure out why Megan fell in love with Alex. He was sort of an asshat. She doesn't like the outdoors -- but he's going to force her. Sure, he says he's going to go to museums with her, but we never actually see it happening. He thinks she works to much and doesn't share with her. But he hides that he is seeing his best friend every week and then runs off when there's a traumatic event. Other than the fact that Megan and her cousins think he's super hot, I don't see any reason to fall in love with this person.

Two stars
This book comes out May 1
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

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

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz

In this gender-flipped, updated version of the beloved P&P, Darcy Fitzwilliams is high-powered, beautiful, and rich. She doesn't get home to Pemberley, Ohio very often but her mother has suffered a heart attack so she's back for the Christmas season. She's been "dating" a family friend, Carl for eight years on and off but hasn't been able to commit. It is that lack of commitment that caused an estrangement between she and her father. It's at her parents annual party that she realizes another reason she hasn't committed, there are no sparks. At least, not like the sparks she's getting with Luke Bennett. They've had a contentious relationship since high school and it's morphed into... well, one hot kiss. But then they get engaged quickly afterward. To other people.
This book had a nice start but it veered too far from the original story. The best adaptations show the author's love for the original work but I didn't really even get that de la Cruz had even read P&P much less enjoyed it. The heart of that book are the relationships that already exist between the main characters and the new ones they are starting to build. Elizabeth and Luke barely interacted.
I liked that Darcy's best friend Bingley was still male and that he fell in love with one of Luke's brothers. But then there was a lot of exposition that was just... bleh. And Luke's explanations for his behavior both in present day and in high school were just gross.

Two stars
This book comes out

Eye Candy -- anthology

Generally, I quite enjoy anthologies. Especially ones like this one that take a group of new-to-me authors that might help me expand my reading. I'm also a huge fan of a holiday anthology. 
This anthology, not so much a fan of. Why? Because these were all parts of series that I hadn't read, that I felt I needed to have read, and now won't read. This was not the book for me, neither the stories (which weren't exactly romance more spanning horror and erotica, both of which I enjoy but neither of which I was prepared for). I would recommend it to people who have read and enjoyed at least one of these authors before.

Two stars
This book comes out September 5

Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Clara Campbell has been hard-hit recently. Both her parents are gone, her brother died in combat, and now she finds out she doesn't even own her family's property. At least not for another year. Instead, Alex Donnelly is the person who has been, by dint of her brother's will, put in charge of the property and, effectively, her. All she wants to do is ogle to cute guy at the coffee store and live her life. Instead, she has to deal with a brooding ex-soldier.
Alex is in Copper Ridge for two reasons. One is to help Clara and the other is because he inherited a portion of his grandfather's ranch. He wants to fulfill his friend's wishes, especially since his actions saved Alex's life.
I read the first chapter of this in the previous book in the series and immediately wondered if I would really enjoy this book. One of my pet peeves in books is the alpha male who feels he has to save the "little woman" and then there's the false "problem" of my-best-friend's-sister. But I generally enjoy Ms. Yates' books and thought she might be able to overcome my dislike of these tropes. But, unfortunately, Alex was as much of a "me big man, you little woman" as I thought he would be. And Clara is so young. So young. It's not just an age thing, not just a virginity thing, but an overall life attitude that made it hard for me to connect with her.
I will not give up on this series because Yates really is one of my go-to contemporary authors. This book, for me, was just one of her rare missteps.

Two stars
This book comes out August 29

Holiday in the Hamptons by Sarah Morgan

Toward the end of New York, Actually, we learned that Felicity Knight had an ex-husband who had turned up in Manhattan. Felicity had married Seth Carlyle when they were both too young and divorced him soon after. She has tried to face the sexy vet but has been unable to do so. Instead, she grabs the chance to leave town and head to the Hamptons when her grandmother calls for help.
Unfortunately, (at least in Fliss's eyes) Seth was only in Manhattan for a short stint before he returned to the Hamptons where he immediately runs into Fliss who panics and claims to be her twin sister.
Seth still has feelings for Fliss and is delighted to have this chance to get to know her now. If only she'd cooperate...
And, ufda, was Seth a totally bland bulldozer. We know nothing about him except that he seems to be an all-forgiving saint who doesn't want to give up on their love. He's not an alpha-hole because he does give Fliss a little bit of space but other than the fact that he's missing his father, we really don't get to know him. Nor does he have any discernible flaws while Fliss is described as being just riddled with them (and not just in her own head). At the end, I'm really not sure that these two people are getting an HEA.
I am hoping for better in the next book because I know that Morgan can write in-depth characters and fun-to-read books.

Two stars
This book comes out August 29
Followed by Moonlight over Manhattan

Instant Pot® Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook (An Authorized Instant Pot® Cookbook) by Sara Quessenberry, Kate Merker

I love my Instant Pot and was excited to see this book come up as an option in NetGalley. I was immediately disappointed by the length (75 pages). I was further disappointed by the recipes. Who has millet in their cupboards on a regular basis? There are some with ingredients that I would consider standard but there were enough with some slightly odd ingredients as to make it not worth reading. Also, the large pages made loading on the ereader very, very slow.

Two stars
This book came out April 15

Wired by Julie Garwood

Allison Trent is a college student. No, she's a computer hacker. No, she works for the FBI. No, she's a model. Oh wait? She's all of these things? And also, she's under fire from an aunt and uncle who want her to make money to keep her cousin out of jail? Oh, but there's also an FBI agent who's angry at her. Well, someone's trying to kill her but it could be anyone really. Good thing Liam Scott is there to keep her out of danger. Or put her in danger. Or... something?
There was a lot going on in this story. Which is not unusual for a Julie Garwood book. And the heroine is young. Really young. Not unusual for a Julie Garwood book. And she's TSTL. Like, really. She's this hotshot computer hacker but can't figure out how to block her aunt and uncle on the phone? Again, not unusual for a Garwood. But sad that this book seems like such a cookie cutter version of every book in the Buchanan-Renard series.
I have a lot of fond reminiscences of Garwood but I feel like her more recent books are intermittently rewarding. Allison drove me nuts, I never felt like we knew that much about Liam, and there was so much going on in this book it was hard to keep up and it felt like nothing was really wrapped up satisfactorily. I don't think I can ever really quit reading Garwood because when she's good she's very, VERY good but this is NOT one of those times. The only reason this didn't get one star is because I save those for DNFs and I waded my way through this whole damn book.

Two stars
This book comes out July 4, 2017

Follows Grace Under Fire

The Bachelor Auction by Rachel Van Dyken

Jane is a modern day Cinderella, except that her evil sisters are full-blooded. But still fairly evil, I mean, they expect Jane to do all their cooking, cleaning, and bill paying.
Brock can sort of understand. His younger brothers (twins) are not only working their way through most of the beds in town leaving him to run their family company, their reputation is leaking over to him as well. Which is why his grandfather wants to auction Brock off to some lucky lady. And heck, they might as well go ahead and get married. So that's why he's going to sneak off to his family's ranch. To get away from the ensuing hubbub. Too bad he finally may have met the woman of his dreams.
Is it coincidence that Jane ends up at the ranch? No. Not when his grandfather is involved.

Too bad Jane was such as wet dishrag. Everyone. EVERYONE walks all over her. And she doesn't even get to be the author of her HEA. She just has to trust Brock. Nor does it feel like her sisters ever get a good comeuppance. This might not be annoying to other readers but it really dropped my rating a lot.

Two stars
This book comes out O

Cooking Up Trouble by Judi Lynn

I honestly can’t remember why I asked for this book from NetGalley, I think I've been trying to branch out and try new authors. If I hadn’t wanted this review to be honest about the whole book, this would have been a DNF for me. The heroine is a definite Mary Sue. In fact, the whole book is. Tessa is supposed to be this sweet heroine who has locked her emotions away after her fiancé cheated on her. Even he can’t be a totally bad guy, stopping around to tell Tessa that she still deserves love. I think it’s supposed to be kind or something but comes off as smug and patronizing. And speaking of smug and patronizing, Tessa’s a romance writer. But she doesn’t write books with sex in them. She writes sweet romances and is aghast at the suggestion. (There is a sex scene in this book though).
Ian is from the “Big City” but has bought the land next to Tessa’s in order to start a vacation lodge. He fits the city slicker stereotype to a T, not being able to change a tire, buying the wrong kind of car, etc.
Everything is wrapped up so quickly and neatly, it’s eerie. Problem-solved, problem-solved. It’s like stack ‘em up and knock up down one at a time. And, good lord, we know Indiana is in the Midwest and that the people in this book have "Midwestern values," but repeating it 8 times in the first 80 pages is a bit overkill.
This book really reminded me of reading Trixie Belden. It was sort of blandly good. I know there are readers out there for whom this kind of romance is a nice read, but definitely not to my tastes.

Two Stars
This book comes out April 12

I'll be There by Samantha Chase

I was SO looking forward to the story of Zach and Gabby. Wounded hero and dedicated assistant? And the glimpses of their story in the previous book? HAWT. But then... came the last 60 or so pages. Why? Why were these included. We've seen Zach being an alphahole. We've seen him do it a LOT. So why one more instance? Why not explore more with Gabriella and her family instead of wrapping up a rather large story line in two paragraphs? This was a definite three-to-four star book for me and then... yet ANOTHER Big Misunderstanding. Blergh. Just Blergh.
After a climbing accident leaves him in a long recovery, Zach Montgomery is cranky. So cranky that his family is threatening to remove him from his position in their company (but of course, they wouldn't, they love him but want to try and knock some sense into him.) They also want to hook him up with his assistant, Gabriella. The two have been circling around each other for years.
Gabriella isn't sure why Zach went from being a friend to being an asshat and she's tired of putting up with it. But she doesn't want him to lose his job so she decides to help out, just one more time. (and one more time and one more time...)
Two stars.

Hot Toy by Jennifer Crusie

New Crusie book from NetGalley? Unfortunately, I hit "request" before I realized this was actually a novella that had already been published. And for being a 2006 story, this isn't really the Crusie I've come to love and know. And on re-reading... it wasn't any better..

Trudy Maxwell is rushing to find a toy for her nephew so that he can have the latest for Christmas. While at the toy store, she runs into an old associate of her father's and discovers that he too is looking for the season's hot toy. They find one left and Trudy discovers that this may be an extra special toy as it gets her into a mess of trouble with spies who want it almost as badly as she does.
I really did not like Trudy in this story. She is pushed around by her sister and more than a little flaky. Yes, it's nice that she's getting this toy for her nephew for the first Christmas after his father ran away with the secretary but, dear God in heaven, it's a toy. And hold her up to Crusie's uber-competent Agnes (Agnes and the Hitman) or self-confident Minerva (Bet Me) and this story suffers. A LOT.