The Miracle of Meditation by Ryuho Okawa

I should have read the description a bit more and clued in that this was going to be a meditation book with a religious bent. Nothing against it, just not my meditation style. I didn't count that against the book though. To be warned though, this goes beyond a low-level religious bent and talks about guardian spirits and stray animal spirits, things that not everyone will be on board for.
It's not anything really radical in the world of meditation, just a nice book that outlines not only what meditation is but also provides some really nice examples to use while practicing. The Q&A is definitely a little more "out-there" but some readers may feel comfortable with that. Very much reminds me of the teachings of Elizabeth Clare Prophet.

Three stars
This book comes out November 1

The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries

In The Study of Seduction, Warren Corry, Marquess of Knightford, was trying to protect his cousin Clarissa by asking his best friend Edwin to keep an eye on her. Now Clarissa is asking Warren to help her by keeping an eye on her friend, Miss Delia Trever. It seems Clarissa's brother died and left the family in debt. Now Delia's aunt has given her a dowry in the hopes of finding her a husband but Delia is acting strangely; slipping out of rooms, falling asleep at balls, avoiding house parties. Clarissa wants to see her friend so she wants to know what's going on.
Delia Trevor doesn't want to get married. It might mean saving herself but its not going to save her family. And she wants to make sure that her sister-in-law and nephew are taken care of as well. Then Warren starts getting in her way.
Not my favorite Jeffries book. I thought both Warren and Delia's problems were well-built up and then far to hastily solved. I get the tie-in with Delia's family problems and the banishment of Niall but the way to get them to overlap felt horribly overwrought. An okay addition to the series but I'm much more interested to see what went and will go on with Brilliana (what a name for practically-named-Delia's sister-in-law) and Niall.

Three stars
This book comes out November 22
Followed by The Pleasures of Passion

The Legendary Lord by Valerie Bowman

Sarah Highgate, the previous Season's Debutante of the Year (or some such, nonsense) has gotten engaged to a handsome Marquess. Unfortunately, he cares and talks about nothing but himself and she's over it. So she runs away to Scotland, to her father's hunting lodge. Except that she doesn't quite make it to the right place. Instead, she ends up at Christian Bancroft, Viscount Berkeley's, lodge. While there, her chaperone breaks her ankle so Christian's winterkeeper takes her into see the doctor, leaving Sarah alone.
Which is exactly when Christian arrives at the lodge. He's a handsome fellow but has been largely overlooked by eligible maidens because he can't talk to beautiful women without stuttering. Luckily, his first meeting with Sarah is so ridiculous he doesn't have issues with her. The two get to spend time together and become closer. But Sarah comes to the realization that she doesn't want to disappoint her parents so Christian helps to concoct a plan that will get her back to London without any scandal.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book, the two getting to know each other was just adorable and it wasn't quite the typical "I'm running away from a horrible marriage" trope, just different enough to be interesting. The second half got a little overwrought for me but I think most "Playful Brides" readers will be pleased with this book.

Three stars
This book comes out November 1
Follows The Untamed Earl

Someone To Love by Mary Balogh

Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby, is not very excited to have been named the guardian of the new Earl of Riverdale. And he is less excited to learn, from the Countess, that the old Earl had been supporting a byblow, a girl. Everyone is shocked to learn that the girl, known as Anna Snow, was actually a legitimate child while the supposed new earl, Harry, and his two sisters, the managing Camille and the pretty-but-bland Abigail, are products of bigamy. Everyone's world is turned upside down. Even Anna who has to leave the only home she's ever known and suddenly step into the world of the haut ton.
As he helps Anna work through her new life, Avery is shocked to learn that he might be falling in love...
I usually like Mary Balogh's books for their gentle pace and love stories. Unfortunately, while this one is in her normal vein, I just didn't see any connection between the two of them. It was a good start to a series, with plenty of sequel bait (Camille and Anna's friend from the orphanage?). It just suffered from the problem of too much setup, not enough story.

Three stars
This book comes out November 1
Followed by Someone to Hold

Epic Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

A look back at the Big Nate comics over the years including an interview with Lincoln Peirce (done by Jeff Kinney, of "Wimpy Kid" fame), a brief history of the strip, and then several examples of the strips from 1991-2015 peppered with comments from Peirce about how he came up with ideas or how characters evolved.
The foreward to this book was certainly interesting. It took a very "Behind the Music" tone. I even heard Casey Kasem's voice as I was reading it, "After 18 years, 'Big Nate' had become an overnight sensation" (not a real quote).
But this was was definitely a fun read though I would recommend the hard copy, NOT the eversion. Reading this on a smaller screen was incredibly difficult, having to make the text big enough to read and then having to scroll, shift the screen, scroll, get to a new page, and then scroll took a lot out of the experience.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out October 25

A Little Luck, A Lot of Fate by Linn B. Halton

This book is told in alternating first-person viewpoints from Kristi and Tom who used to live next door and have grown up to be... well. It's interesting. Kristi seems to think of Tom as a friend (at least in the first few chapters) while Tom describes Kristi as his girlfriend (they are, indeed, dating). There are also some chapters from Patrick, a tarot card reader who Kristi reaches out to for help.
You see, Kristi is an incredibly successful modern living guru and she's been working non-stop for the last ten years. Suddenly (literally) there's a Voice that tells her to stop and take time. So she decides on a four month sabbatical. Time to create a book that will tell the world that her life is not as picture perfect as it seems. And time to figure out how her life should work since perfection isn't working for her.
Tom is an artist. A very surly artist who has built a self-sustaining cabin to help stay away from the world. He is seemingly a very good artist but can't get the voice of his overbearing father out of his head. He loves Kristi for all that she's done for him but he's worried that their relationship is changing.
This was a nice book with a somewhat strange ending. And I have to admit that I was trying to stretch my reading horizons a bit so a blonde heroine who is just trying to figure out her life was a bit disappointing but I did end up finding a new-to-me publisher that I think I will enjoy.

This book comes out October 25
Four stars

A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

There seem to be an abundance of mysteries setting Sherlock homes to have actually been a woman. There's at least one other one where her name is Charlotte. But this series is a little bit different. It's told in alternating third person viewpoints between Charlotte Holmes, her sister Olivia (Livia), and Inspector Treadles.
Charlotte believes herself to be smarter than everyone else in her family, including the father who holds the money. So when she decides to lose her virginity to a now married, ex-suitor, it's very calculated. What she didn't count on was being discovered by the man's wife. And his mother. Or that his mother would die the next day. Or that her sister would be blamed having gone to the woman's house the night before to confront her. She decides to set off on her own and quickly discovers that it is not going to be as easy as she assumed. The world does not have time for intelligent women. Well, except for one man, her childhood friend Lord Ingram.
Lord Ingram was the one to introduce Inspector Treadles to "Sherlock Holmes," the man who has helped him solve a case or two. So when Holmes points out the connection between the newly deceased mother, another Lady, and a gentleman from the country, Treadles listens.
Luckily, there is one other person who seems to appreciate Charlotte's talents, a former dancer named Mrs. Jebediah. At least, that is the alias she uses. She's really more well-known as Mrs. John Watson.
I really enjoyed the way this story was put together. Mrs. Watson, like the fictional male before her, brings talents to Charlotte that she doesn't otherwise have. Unlike Sherlock (at least usually), Charlotte at least seems to understand her value. Also with their relationship, there was a possibility of a Big Misunderstanding but it was nicely avoided. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

This book comes out October 18
Four stars
Followed by A Conspiracy in Belgravia