Thirteen Guests by J Farjeon

I requested this novel on a whim from NetGalley and liked it well enough but it's definitely not one of my favorites. There were definitely some parts in the middle that dragged for me and I had some trouble keeping characters straight.

The whole story is set at a weekend hunting party hosted by Lord Aveling at his country house, Bragley Court. We follow along as the guests (and two more people) arrive at the local train station. One of the uninvited guests is a young man who hurts his foot at the station and is invited to the house by one of the guests. The other lurks mysteriously in a hotel across from the station and watches the guests roll in.

There were supposed to be 12 guests but the injured man brings the number to an unlucky 13, the last to arrive being Mr. Chattery when he follows his wife in. Mysterious events begin to occur-whispered meetings between unmarried people, a sinister threat overheard, a dog stabbed, and then people start dying. What is the purpose of these murders and why were they committed?

This didn't hit my sweet spot but if you enjoy classic mysteries, it may hit yours.

Uncle Scrooge: Pure Viewing Satisfaction by Jonathan Gray

I remember reading Disney comics when I was a kid in the 90s. For nostalgia factor, this was an 8/10. Except for two little phrases, I could have been reading a book from my childhood (oh, and the fact that it was an ebook....). Purely fun reading. Nothing spectacular but a very good book.

Comes out in a week, you should give it a try!

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good by Kathleen Flinn

Yet another memoir interspersed with recipes? Hasn't that been done to death? Kathleen Flinn proves the answer is no. In this delightful book that moves seamlessly between time periods, Finn gives us an intimate glimpse into her life. I don't know who Kathleen Flinn is (probably a famous chef or cook?) but this book is a fantastic look at no only her own life in 1970s Michigan but how her family operated even before she came along. There are fantastic passages like "Burnt toast makes you sing good. Be thankful; no matter how little you've got, someone's always worse off than you. You can't give anything away, it always comes back. [My parents] handed down these simple life lessons to me as surely as they did their recipes."
I can't tell you yet how good the family recipes are, but I can tell you that I can't wait to read the rest of Ms. Flinn's story.

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins

A recent "Smart Bitches, Trash Books" podcast episode called Kristan Higgins an author who writes "all the feelings" (or something close to that) and this book certainly brings them all out.

The book is about the changes two sisters are going through, different points in their life. Jenny Tate is a well-known wedding dress designer. She's had a modern divorce; she's still friends with her ex and his new wife. In fact, the book opens with Jenny attending the new wife's baby shower. And yes, the ex didn't want to have kids while he was with her. But she's moving out of town, and hopefully these meet ups will lessen. And luckily, she has a hot new landlord to distract her. A hot, new landlord with a tragic backstory.
But Jenny's story line pale for me in comparison to that of her sister, Rachel. Rachel has what appears to be a perfect marriage. A man she loves, two gorgeous little girls, house, etc. But an unexpected text reveals that her marriage isn't as picture-perfect as she had thought.
Are their stories ones we've read in romance before? Certainly. But with her usual flair, Higgins manages to make something old fresh again.

What to Do with a Duke by Sally MacKenzie

In the 1600s, the Duke of Hart's great-something-grandfather seduced a woman who then cursed the family. If the men didn't marry for love, they wouldn't live to see their heir born. Also, she set up a spinster house which was to be available to any single woman, past a marriageable age, along with a stipend. 

Miss Hutting, Isabelle "Cat" Catherine, is the oldest daughter of the village vicar. Most of her nine siblings still live her parents' tiny house and she is desperate for privacy. So when the previous resident leaves rather abruptly, Cat knows that the house is meant to be hers. Too bad two of her friends are also anxious to have the house. And too bad the handsome Duke really seems to believe in the curse...
While not my favorite MacKenzie (I didn't buy that her friends would be so vindictive), I'm liking the setup for the series and am already ready to read the next book in the series.
This book goes on sale next Tuesday!

The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan

This was a well-written book that I was able to zoom through. It seems well-researched and might might work well as a book club book where members try out keeping journals and being grateful, tracking how it works for them.

However

----------------------------Do not read if you enjoyed the book ------------------------------------

One of the main complaints I read about "TheHappiness Project" was that the author was a rich, white woman writing about her problems. I had the same problem with this book and it just started out by grating on my nerves when the author tells of a series of events that should have frustrated her but then explains how she was able to turn it around and be grateful for every single one. Every… single… one. This sort of forced gratitude doesn’t seem like a pleasant sensation to me. It seems wrong, like she was putting up a false front. And the name dropping! But I kept reading. That, and the fact that, objectively, I could tell this was a well-written book was why it ended up with three stars. It's nothing new under the sun but readers new to the idea of gratitude should really enjoy this book.

Starting Over by Stacy Finz

I've read one of Finz's "Nugget" stories all the way through and flipped through the other two. None really caught my interest and I was ready to write off the series. But I saw this one on NetGalley and was curious as to how Ms. Finz was going to pair Nathan "Nate" Breyer. I had liked him in the first book, a business-like man who was enigmatically kind toward his sister and agreed to donate sperm to his best friend so that she and her partner could have a child. Nathan is now dealing with the consequences of that action, in love with his biological daughter but unsure how much he can contribute to her life without overstepping the bounds of his original agreement. I wish we could have seen more of that struggle but it was resolved well (I thouhgt). Ms. Finz specializes in off-beat families/romantic pairings, and, though not quite as gritty, remind me very much of Brenda Novak.
I rather liked Sam Dunsbury, the woman who reminds Nate so much of the fiancee who dumped him the night before their wedding. Sam actually did the same thing, leaving the man she was to marry hours before the wedding. Rich playgirl, that's what he's mentally categorized her as.
Sam thinks Nate's hot but can't understand the hostility he seems to have for her. She knows that she hasn't worked before but also knows that this is the kind of job that she can excel at. Hell, she's been doing it for free for years.
I loved watching the dance of these two proud people. And really enjoy that this book actually has the feel of a small town. We're not hit over the head with "Hey- this is a small town," it just is. There were definitely some misunderstandings that could have been cleared up if they had just <i>talked</i> to each other. Also, the end was a little too pat. Pages and pages of misunderstandings that cleared up in a few paragraphs? A little rushed. But, overall, an enjoyable book.