Courting the Countess by Anne Stenhouse

Melissa, Lady Pateley, has a lot going on. Her beloved husband died (I think three years before the story started?), a recent housefire not only had her caught under a roof timber, she ended up with burns over a lot of her body, and now she's been kidnapped. Not by George Gunn, the man who has made ever-increasingly fervent advances (notable even among the many fortune hunters who hope to marry her right before she dies and leaves them her wealth), but by his second (or more removed) cousin, Harry Gunn.
It seems that Harry's great-uncle has grown concerned over the way George is acting toward Melissa. It's the same way that his father acted toward a debutante, a passion that ended with him climbing into the debutante's room, being captured and sent to the mad house.
Harry is trying to protect Melissa by whisking her away but doesn't realize that his formidable sister, Mrs. Duart, is bent on making sure that Melissa and George marry. Which gives them both pause.
I kept trying to figure out if this was a reprint because this seemed more like an old-skool romance than something from today. There was just SO MUCH going on. It's only 165 pages but there are secrets and then other secrets and then partial secrets... It was a lot. A Lot.
Overall a fast and fluffy read with a light romance not going farther than some heated kissing.

Three stars
This book came out September 9

Baba Jaga by An Leysen

Overall a very nice story. A play on some very familiar storybook themes (one version of Hansel and Gretel has them escaping with a comb and mirror; Cinderella/Snow White with the evil stepmother; Little Red Riding Hood with going to visit a relative; Baba Yaga, the Russian witch who lives in a house with chicken legs). This book has Olga, an orphan whose father has remarried, being sent to her stepmother's sister to ostensibly borrow some needle and thread. However, the real plan is for Baba Yaga to eat Olga. Luckily, because Olga is kind, she has some help in escaping.
Though translated from the original Dutch, this is, in the main, a very nice book.
The illustrations are are absolutely fabulous and the book is worth reading just for those alone.

Four stars
This book comes out September 13

Autumn Allure by Allie Boniface

Was I the only one weirded out that the title is "Autumn Allure" and Autumn is the name of our hero's daughter? I get that "allure" doesn't necessarily mean something, well, mature, but it sure implies it.
Anyway. Reading this book was some slow going. I thought that maybe this was the author's first book because the sentences didn't really flow. It was just sort of choppy. And I never really connected with the characters and couldn't really figure out why they were connecting with each other. I finished it and was okay with the end but couldn't help to wish for a little more.
Maxine "Max" Abbott is a librarian who, in her late twenties, still lives with her mother. Her mother is a former beauty queen who jumped from man to man and is now embarking on a quest to get on the town council.
Nate Hunter is a bar tender who loves his life. He's jumping around from girl to girl all while being footloose and fancy-free. And then. An ex-lover he barely remembers comes and tells him that he has a daughter. Suddenly, the guy who throws out pans and dishes rather than cleaning them is going to be raising a child. At least until her aunt gets back into the country. But his sister is leaving the house they've been sharing and Nate will be on his own with a four-year-old girl.
When Nate overhears Max's mom trying to bully her into being more of a girly-girl and then notices that she seems to connect with Autumn in a way that he can't, he comes up with a solution. Max can move in and help him take care of his daughter.

Three stars
This book comes out September 15

Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson

There is a reason that the blogs I read are talking about how much they love this book. It's fantastic. Not just a retrospective into her film history, Mara Wilson talks about her life up until now. The fun sides (getting to work with Danny DeVito) but a lot of the darker sides as well (her mother dying, her issues with OCD). Her writing flows, jumping back and forth seamlessly along her timeline. I sat down to read a few pages and resurfaced in the world a couple hours later having devoured the whole thing. It's the kind of book that makes you want to sit down with the author and see if they're really like their writing because it's just... that... good.

Five stars
This book comes out September 13

The Short Con by Pete Toms and Aleks Sennwald

The book opens with a newly orphaned girl staring out a window and remarking on how much she hates life. We learn that her name is Mary Branwell and that she is being assigned as a partner to another girl "Pop" Popowski. The nun in charge of the orphanage says that Pops is a weird kid and needs socialization. Oh yeah, and they're kid detectives. Kid detectives that are going to solve the murder of Mary's parents.
This was an odd book. I liked the premise and the illustrations. The ending was just a bit too weird for me.

Three stars
This book comes out September 13

In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett

A wonderful look behind the scenes of "The Carol Burnett Show." Stories about the people (cast members, guests, friends, and those working behind the scenes), about the clothes, about the sketches... Carol includes them all. This isn't a strict biography, it's more of a stitching together of stories (some are repeated but told from different angles).
A feel-good book that is exactly what you want when reading Carol Burnett.

Five stars
This book comes out September 13

By Firelight by Janice Maynard

By Firelight
Grant Monroe is enjoying being by himself in his mountain cabin when, during a heavy snow storm, there's a sudden thunk at the door. And then Madison Tierney stumbles in. She was hiking the Appalachian Trail, got ditched by her two friends, then got lost, and only barely made it to Grant's cabin. Now the two are trapped together in a cabin.
This story has my least favorite trope of "we don't need condoms I'm on birth control" and was also just a bit too insta-lurv-twee for my tastes.

Two and a half stars

Hot Arctic Nights
Hallie lost her mother in January and he job the Monday after Thanksgiving. She's not really in a holiday frame of mind so she agrees to fly up to Alaska and fill in for her friend's parents for two weeks at their B&B. She doesn't expect to find semi-permanent guest, Daniel.
When they meet, Hallie is about to fall over exhausted from travel and Daniel is dressed as Santa. She takes him to the school and learns that he works for the navy as civilian law enforcement.
Hallie then discovers that she has a family of fifteen that she's going to be expected to host, including cooking for them. Of course, as this is a holiday story, she is immediately enveloped into their warm bosom. Or something.   Daniel helps her as often as he can and, as the two grow closer, Hallie starts to reclaim some of her holiday spirit. And she also starts to realize that maybe, as people kept telling her in the beginning of the book, Alaska is a place that she can fall in love with. Especially if she has a special someone to share it with.
Good use of condoms in this story.
Three stars

This book comes out October 11