Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery

Oh, I do enjoy the Mallery books that tend more toward chick-lit than true romance. Yes, Shannon Rigg find love in this story, but there is so much more. We see a marriage wracked by devastation and another on the brink of disaster. Not only do we really get to know these characters (I like Fool's Gold well enough but do we have to hear about EVERY couple EVER mentioned in the series in EVERY book? It leaves little room for the main story) but we also get to see the gritty realities of life, not just the glitter and glamour. Don't get me wrong, I love my "fluffy-happy" romances but, in Mallery's case, I like her more serious books more.
In this book, we again see a group of three women who are at differet stages in their lives. Nicole, a pilates instructor, has a young son and a husband who decided to quit his job (without talking to her) and become a screenwriter. Sharon, wildly successful, is now in her forties and wondering if family life is for her. And Pam who is in a relatively happy marriage but feels restless nonetheless.
This book come out on February 24th, 2015.

Earls just want to have fun by Shana Galen

A pickpocket and housebreaker, Marlowe has dim memories of a time before. A time with a woman who sings to her and loves her. But she thinks that is just something she made up to comfort herself while growing up in her hard-knock life.
Lord Dane's brother is a private investigator who is currently trying to figure out Marlowe and he pulls Dane in. Now he's trying to help Marlowe, a girl who has spent her whole life trying to fig in with the boys, figure out how to deal with society.
A premise we've seen before, the lost heiress, but with an Oliver Twist...twist (sorry, couldn't not put that in.) Did we have read about her bubbies on ever other page? Drove me nuts. And, yet another heroine who eats a lot with impunity.
I think that Shana Galen's frequent readers will enjoy this book, even if it wasn't one of my favorites.

Followed by: The Rogue You Know

It Must Be Your Love by Bella Andre

Image linked from Goodreads

When this book started, Ford is being a rock star alpha-hole. He hooked up with Mia Sullivan five years ago and then dumped her fast when she refused to leave everything in her life to travel with him. Now, thanks to his biographer, Ford realizes that he still loves her and wants her back. So he sets up an anonymous house showing (she's a successful realtor) and thinks that he can win her back in the course of a conversation. Hell, he's even envisioning their kids in the house. He's ready to give it all up for her (well, he's tired of touring anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal, right?)
I was really frustrated at this point. Andre is sort of uneven for me anyway with her heroes bordering on some really reprehensible behavior and I was ready for this book to be the one for me to be able to put it down and say, "I don't need to read this author anymore." BUT. But! Mia smacks him down! Yes, there's still all of the wildly annoying vacillating but she doesn't just fall into his arms. AND. And! Ford wises up and realizes that he's being and alpha-hole! There were still some problems

Ford was still very controlling, not letting their relationship progress physically because of HIS plan but at least Mia called him on his initial bullshit. Which means I have to keep this series on my list, if only to see how Ian and Tatiana turn out <spoiler>though with all of the references to his dark past and her innocence, I don't have high hopes for this book

Minor quibbles
Time with his parents was too short and really felt like the grown up version of plot moppets. Except they weren't young. Or cute.
Crap, I had some more but can't remember now.

Bottom line: if you like your Bella Andre (REALLY alpha heroes), you'll probably still enjoy this book. Mia was less wilting flower than some of Andre's heroines and that made for more enjoyable book.

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.