Scandalous Summer Nights -- Anthology

I got this book for free from one of the authors, who I generally like. And... it took me a long time to read it because I just wasn't loving the stories and I felt bad about leaving a bad review for a free book. But then, I told myself, "These book reviews are opinions, they asked for your opinion, so just freaking put it up!" And, in re-trying, I've once again discovered something about sync. Sometimes, some books just don't capture you at one time, but when you re-read, you find something more. That's what I found with this book. I did not enjoy it when I got in the spring, but, at a different place some months later, I quite enjoyed it.
The Widow Vanishes by Grace Callaway
Will McLeod sold his commission eight years ago and has been working for various cutthroats doing the hard jobs ever since. His latest payment? A night with one of the man's whores. Who does he pick? The upright widow who is trying to work off her late husband's debt. An interesting premise,but it didn't work well for me. Scandal before Sunrise by Sabrina Darby Abigail Billings was known as the girl most likely to be caught in a compromising position. It's this title that draws younger son Honorable Elliot Jones to her. But Abigail is trying to overcome this name since she's trying to get married before news of the "great family scandal" can make its way to London. An okay story. I liked both Abigail and James but just wanted to knock them both over the head.
A Highlander's Heart by Jennifer Haymore
This story opens with Robert Campbell waking up on the battlefield of Waterloo. It's then that he sees an angel. One with the face of his wife. She's come to be with her husband. Whatever it is that she may find there. Because she wants to make amends. This is my favorite sort of short story. Where the characters already know each other so there's a reason they can fall in love in ~100 pages. Or less. This is a great story of two past lovers finding their way back to each other. And sets up a new series.
Lord Lucifer's Disciple by Sue London
Mr. John Howards is an incredibly shy man. His family and his schoolmates have put him down so much that he never believed in his own worth. At a masked ball one night, he manages to overcome the shyness by pretending to be someone else and flirting with a young lady. Elisa is an heiress of much renown. Men have been circling for years. But until that night at a masked ball, none have caught her fancy. But will she be willing to forgive when she finds out who he really is?
How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days by Kate McKinley
This seems to be a popular title. I've read a book recently and seen another with the same (though one did say 10 instead of ten) In this one, Miss Pippa Welby, our heroine, is the daughter of a wealthy man. The upper echeclons of the ton have always sneered at her. So when the Duke of Arlington, Lucas Victor Alexander, tells her that they are to be engaged, announced at a ball ten days hence, she knows that she needs to act fast. I really didn't like Lucas. He was too used to getting his own way, and rather than subverting it, Pippa seemed to fall pretty handily in line.
  Miss Amelia lands a Duke by Sandy Raven
Amelia Manners-Sutton is acting as chaperone for her social-climbing aunt. The woman, a viscountess, has her eyes set on a duke. But the duke... well he seems to have eyes only for Amelia. Quite a May-December romance though. More like January-December. I know it happens....
  Lady Northam's Wicked Srrender by Viviennne Westlake
The Countess of Northam, Rowena, is shocked to find out that her former suitor, her husband's best friend, Simon, the Earl of Waverly is staying at the same house she's just braved a storm to get to. There was a Big Misunderstanding that probably would have been better played out in a full book since this one took way too fast for her to forgive and he was more than a little bit of an ass.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

Image linked from Goodreads

While I generally stick to romances on this blog, I actually tend to read across many different genres. This book, is part of a series featuring a young girl in 1950's England. I would most definitely read the whole series in order.
I think Bradley might be trying to avoid the Cabot Cove effect (i.e. how do so many bodies keep turning up in such a tiny village)
The book opens with Flavia boating across the ocean toward Miss Bodycote's academy in Toronto, the alma mater of her mother. She is being escorted by the school's chairman who has not really taken to her, nor she to him. When Flavia is dumped at the academy, she finds it cold and lonely. She's woken up to another girl attacking her. When that girl hides up the chimney, she dislodges a body which immediately sends Flavia onto another adventure.
We meet a lot of new people in this book. A LOT. I think that I may have confused some of them sometimes but I didn't let that worry me too much. This book didn't capture my imagination like the last one in this series but it didn't completely turn me off either. It leaves me, like the last book, wondering where Flavia is going to go from here.

Followed by The Grave's a Fine and Private Place

The Importance of Being Alice by Katie MacAlister

Image linked from Goodreads

While the romance in this story is a little fast for me and the "madcap adventure" just a teeny bit too madcap for me, I overall enjoyed the story.
Alice is about to get engaged to Patrick. Well, they were about to get engaged. They even bought tickets to a cruise in Europe, but then Patrick found somebody new. That somebody is his friend Elliot's sister.
Elliot is in sort of a hash himself. He's inherited a falling-down castle and doesn't want to accept help. His family is the general sort of crazy that you see in this type of story. And sequel bait (but bait I definitely look forward to being baited by.) As a writer, he needs quiet so he jumps at a chance to take Patrick's ticket, on the understanding that Alice is not going to be there.
But that is where Patrick has once again done his almost-fiancee wrong. Alice shows up for the trip. Now, she's generally a go-with-the-flow type of gal. But finding out that her trip of a lifetime is on a boat that's falling a part and there's a lordly gentleman with a stick up his ass already in her room... she's not to excited. Until she gets to know the lord a little better.

Husband Hunters by Genevieve Gannon

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Three women come together at a society wedding. They've all given up hope of true love. Clementine's boyfriend is married. Which makes it hard for her to believe that her work as a marriage psychologist is doing good things. Daniela has found her true love -- but he just sees here as a friend and business partner. Annabel is an ex-model (I know, poor her) but most men only want her for her looks.
Throughout the books, each woman has to work through her own issues to find the man that she truly belongs with. They decide to make lists of what they want in a husband, but is that what they truly need?

A Bride for the Season by Jennifer Delamere

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James Simpson is enjoying a light flirtation with Emily Cardington. At least, it's light on his part. For her part... well, she follows him to a seedy bar, bribes his mistress to take her shawl, and then forces herself into a compromising situation with James. Not lucky for James and even more unlucky for her near-spinster sister Lucinda who followed her there that a gossip columnist catches it all.
Emily's father is not amused. But - he promises to increase her dowry if James can find a husband for Lucinda before the he marries Emily. James isn't an idiot. He knows that Emily is not the kind of wife that he wanted, that she's too young. And he's realistic enough to know that they're going to need money to live. But, of course, in true romance fashion, he discovers that Lucinda is maybe more his type...
I wish that this had been labeled as inspirational (Christian Romance) in NetGalley. I don't have anything against the genre but it's not one of my favorites. The book was also a bit... slow. If you like the genre, prefer a book that's fairly clean (no sex/dirty talk) and don't mind a slower-paced book, you might enjoy this book. Otherwise, I think there are others out there.

The Duke in my Bed by Amelia Grey

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Bray Drakestone is not a happy duke. His best friend has just died in a carriage accident. But before he died, Prim made Bray promise not only to take his dog, but also wants Bray to marry his oldest sister.
Two years later, all of London is agog to learn that Miss Prim is in town. Does that mean that she and Bray are finally going to marry? Bets are being laid everywhere.
Well, a lot of people are going to be disappointed, because Louisa (MIss Primm)has NO interest in being married to the man who helped hasten her brother to his death.
This was a good story that really brought the characters of Louisa and Bray to life. I wish there had been more talking about their pasts and where each was coming from, but overall, this was one of my favorite Grey books.
Followed by The Earl Claims a Bride.

Christmas at Carriage Hill by Carla Neggers

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Designer Alexandra Rankin Hunt is going to Knights Bridge, Massachusetts to bring Olivia Frost her wedding gown. The fact that she gets to simultaneously avoid Ian Mabry is just a bonus. The handsome RAF pilot was nothing more than a fling, no matter what her heart says.
Except... Ian is in Knights Bridge when she gets there. And he seems
pretty serious about making sure that her heart wins out over her head...
A lovely addition to the Swift River Valley series.