If the Viscount Falls by Sabrina Jeffries

Image linked from Goodreads

Possibly my favorite story of the series. Dominic Manton arranged it so that he would be jilted by Jane Grey. His brother had disinherited him so Dom knew (oh, you foolhardy male) that Jane would be better off without him. But now George, his brother, is dead, and Dom has ascended into the title. Jane is newly engaged, but she still comes to Dom for help when her cousin disappears. The cousin who was married to Dom's brother. The cousin who helped orchestrate the jilting.

The cousin who might be carrying a baby that will disinherit Dom.

Great character development between these two. No Big Misunderstandings. And, yes, some of these could have been solved if they just talked, but a lot of it was gaining maturity.
This book follows How the Scoundrel Seduces, it comes out on January 27th.

Devil Takes a Bride by Julia London

Grace is one of the most eligible heiresses out this season. Or... she was. Once word of her mother's madness gets out, their family is going to be shunned. That's why she's making one last bid for respectability. By being really, really bad. Except that she catches the wrong brother in her trap. While Amherst is a congenial escort who loves society as much as Grace, his brother is ... not a nice man. Especially according to Amherst. So Grace is mortified to have caught him instead.
Jefferson has no interest in Grace. Except that he has too much interest in this woman. She is his living fantasy (and he has a LOT of those that we see) but he can't connect with her. He is either scarred by his abusive father's actions or a little on the Aspberger's scale (he likes things to be even, is obsessed with the number 8, etc.) Also, he just doesn't like society very much.
For her part, Grace is trying very hard to make the best of the mess that she put herself in. She's trying to understand what is going on in her husband's head but can't figure out why he's so distant. I LOVED that she actually just kept talking to him about it, though. There was no Big Misunderstanding just because the main characters never sat down and talked.
The story was a little two "happy ever after" what with Jefferson's many tics being overcome by "twu lurv" and very little else. Also, I didn't love that it seemed like Jefferson made all the concessions in their relationship. But overall, I liked the characters, I liked the pacing, and the story.

Followed by: The Scoundrel and the Debutante

Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress by Theresa Romain

I  really enjoyed this book. It's a non-traditional hero and heroine from Regency times. Both are on the fringes of the ton, neither being titled. And surprisingly, neither wants to be part of the highest of society. They each have their own reasons for hanging on. 

Augusta is an heiress. As such, she is supposed to make a brilliant match. But she's bored. Bored, bored bored. So she escapes to Bath (with a friend who has had a miscarriage and is in mourning, when does that happen in a romance?) and pretends to be a widow so that she can find a lover to shake up her life.
Joss Everett is one-quarter Indian which sets him outside of society to begin with. Plus, his father was a profligate. He's just trying to help his cousin out with one more problem before Joss can leave his employ. Well, his cousin is actually being blackmailed and Joss needs to sell some of their ancestral lands so his cousin can pay it off. Joss isn't sure how he's going to meet with the movers and shakers of Bath because he's not a part of their society either. But he does know August, especially he knows the fact that she's not a widow. And she knows how to play the middle-class society, specifically how to manipulate the businessmen who think she is nothing more than a fluff-brain.
A good read and one that doesn't seem to connect at all to the previous two in the series (at least, not that I can remember) so it's not necessary to start at the beginning.

One Mad Night by Julia London

This was an okay story which is a surprise given the fact that I didn't particularly like either of the characters.
Chelsea is an ad exec who is certain she's going to nail the new Tesla presentation and get the account. As long as she can overcome the new wonderboy, Ian, who was lured in from another company and has snagged more than one of the accounts that she should have gotten. Now they're going head-to-head for the latest account. Only, she's been trapped inside the office because of a Snowpocalypse and she's there with... guess who? Sexy times follow.
I had quite a few issues with the story but it was overall okay and a fast read. It came out on January 1, 2015.

Echo Lake by Carla Neggers

The book opens with Knightsbridge hometown girl Heather Sloan slogging through the snow chasing a golden retriever puppy, Rohan (my favorite breed, I was hooked pretty fast). She isn't dressed for the weather but she can't let the puppy get away. He belongs to Vic Scarlatti, a newly retired diplomat who bought a house in Knightsbridge twenty years ago but has just moved in. He's hired Heather to do the renovations. He also called in Brody Hancock, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent. There have been some strange things going on and Vic is worried that someone might be after him. Brody isn't so sure, and he's not enamored of going back to a town he gladly left behind, but he sure is enchanted by the woman chasing a cute ball of fluff.

A very surface-level romance between Brody and Heather as the stay-at-home girl and traveling man work through their attraction. They were both nice enough characters but I didn't really feel  like we got to know either of them very well. And while the lust was slow burning, the insta-love was there.
Also includes a sub-plot with Vic and his house sitter, Adrienne Portale. Both felt like sequel bait. Well see them again.
Not my favorite in this series but certainly not bad enough to make me quit reading.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

Image linked from Goodreads

I was so nervous when I started reading this book. A continuation of "Garden Spells," the first book I ever read by Allen, the book that started her magical realism series, couldn't possibly be as good as the first?
Why did I doubt? This is a fairly simply plotted story with some conflict but it seems fairly gentle. Instead of a rollicking tale, we get a character study of who Claire, Sydney, and Bay have become. We even learn a little more about the husbands of Claire and Sydney and how they've adapted to ten years of living with Waverly women.
Addison's world building is so complete. With women who have just a hint of magic, but nothing spectacular. We find out that Claire has shifted into candy making rather than catering (though she's very unhappy about this). Sydney is still doing hair and excelling at it, but she feels like her husband needs a son and she's worrying about the lack. Bay is now fifteen and she's come into her own. She knows where things, and even people, belong. This has caused her some heartache since people don't always like to be told that they're not where they're supposed to be.

Four stars

Waverly Family #2

Follows Garden Spells

Opinions are my own

A Little on the Wild Side by Robin Kaye

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Wow. This book was... problematic. It's a word used a lot these days but I'd say that kidnapping a woman from New York to Idaho and then taking away all forms of communication could definitely be categorized in that way (not a spoiler, this happens in the first couple of chapters). I have to say that I was uncomfortable reading this book the whole time. Other people may not have issues with that but if you do, do NOT read this book.
Bianca Ferrari is a ex-supermodel who has been enjoying a string of 72-hour stands with Trapper Kincaid. And now, she's having a hard time dealing with an unexpected pregnancy

which Magically clears up when she again lets Trapper's magic wang inside her. Seriously. Puking so bad she's been put on bed rest, but a few rounds of sex, and she's good to go.

Trapper comes to New York, ostensibly to find Gina's long-lost brother. But instead, he finds out that the girl he just can't forget is pregnant. And in dire straits. So he decides to fly her home. To his home. In Idaho. Without talking to her about it. Which everyone tells him is a bad idea, but nobody seems truly upset about.
And we're told over and over (and over and over) that Bianca is a workaholic... and yet... we never see her asking about work. She gives control of her company to James, no problem. Okay, so he's a good friend who knows the company inside and out. But then, even when she does get ahold of the phone, she doesn't ask about the company. It's annoying.
I didn't particularly like either of these characters and may not have finished the book if it weren't an ARC (not that you have to finish them,I just feel like it's a nice thing to do).

Oh, and, major complaint, Bianca talks about having a 43" inseam. Um, no. Even if she's six foot, that is just WAY to long. At 5'9" (and 3/4 on a good day) I have a 32" inseam. My torso is a bit long but... another foot of leg? Not hardly. Now that I'm typing this, I'm guessing they meant 34" (nope, went back and checked, they typed out forty-three). Hopefully that is a typo that will be fixed in production.