Dog Night at the Story Zoo by Dan Bar-el

Argh. I feel so bad because somebody spent a lot of time on this book and I just didn't enjoy it. I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to be geared toward. It had fun pictures and a cute premise (animals coming out for open mike night) but the stories seemed like they were more geared toward adults. It was an interesting dichotomy what one that made the stories work a little less.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out

Scandalous Ever After by Theresa Romain

I really liked the first book in this series and was looking forward the second. In this book, Kate Whelan is visiting her father, hoping to borrow money to shore up the estate her late husband decimated with his gambling. While there, she sees that Evan Rhys is doing a lecture and decides to go  and see her husband's best friend. The three of them used to be great friends, but then came the steeplechase when her husband died and she hasn't seen Evan since.
Evan didn't feel like he could stay when he felt such guilt over the accident that took his best friend. But now that it's years later? He's ready to go after woman he's always loved. Of course it's never just that simple. Problems from both the past and the present rear up to make the course of Twu Lurv not so smooth.
And, while this was a nice story, there were a LOT of rocks on the path to HEA. Some of those rocks? Kate and Evan themselves. There's a lot of angst in this book. Will regular Romaine readers still enjoy it? Probably. But not as much as the first book.

Three stars
This comes out July 1

Down Home Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Both Alison and Cain are familiar to regular Copper Ridge readers but I don't think you'd need to have read the whole series to dive into this book.
Alison was introduced as having been helped out of an abusive relationship by some of our previous H/H in the series. In subsequent books, we learned about her opening a bakery and reaching out to help other women in similar circumstances. This time, she's helping out the daughter of one of the Donnelly brothers. Violet's mother left her and Cain without a word and Cain then moved his daughter from Texas to Oregon. She's been sullen and withdrawn (few teenagers aren't) but Cain is only just starting to realize how much she's acting out.
Even though Cain and Alison agreed to have a no-strings affair, Violet and their own emotions are getting in the way. Can they
I didn't love the ending and there were some other plot points that bothered me but I really appreciated the adult conversations (the main characters talked to each other? No way!)

Four stars
This book comes out June 27
Follows Slow Burn Cowboy

Yellowstone Country by David Skernick

A book full of beautiful pictures from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. The term "Yellowstone Country" is a bit of a stretch since many of the pictures come from way, way outside the Greater Yellowstone Area (yes, this is a defined area). I would suggest getting this book in print as it did not seem as impressive on an e-reader.

Three stars
This book comes out June 28

If the Haunting Fits, Wear It by Rose Pressey

Cookie Chanel is on the road helping a client, Danielle, dress for the Kentucky Derby. While attending one of the parties, she discovers the dead body of Danielle's jockey, Ramon. Of course, his ghost starts following her around. He joins regular ghost Charlotte and another woman who had joined earlier in the book, Maureen.
Cookie decides to stick around to see if she can help solve Ramon's murder. While there, both of her beaus (Love-triangle alert! Seriously?) follow her and try to help out. Not helping out? Heather, the woman who owns the B&B where Cookie is staying. Also not helping, the fact that Ramon doesn't seem to have been a nice guy. It makes it hard to find out who murdered you when there are a number of people lining up for the chance.
In comparison it to other books in the series, this book was just not as good. The love triangle with Cookie took up a lot of space (and didn't really add to the mystery), Maureen took up a lot of space (and definitely didn't add to the mystery), and there just wasn't enough room to develop the main mystery.
And don't even get me started on that horrible ending. I hope it gets changed before publication.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out June 27
Followed by A Passion for Haunted Fashion

Duke with Benefits by Manda Collins

This book picks up immediately after Ready, Set, Rogue. Lady Daphne Forsyth and Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, have been circling around each other. She is a genius at mathematics. She's also very wary because she's been burned by men before. First, her father who would use her to win money at cards. Then her tutor's son who... well... that's a bit of a spoiler but when he shows up, she's not happy.
Dalton is taken aback by this woman who says what she thinks and is willing to have sex with him without the sanctity of marriage. He knows that she's smart at math, but he also knows that he's a genius with people (we're told this over and over again.) Together, they are going to be able to not only solve the riddles his aunt left for them both, but discover the location of some long-lost gold.
Like the first book, this is a fast trip between introductions and Twu Lurv. We get a little more time since Daphne and Dalton met in the first book but that book didn't cover much time. We also got two characters who were nice enough but we got more "tell" than "show" in character development.

Three stars
This book comes out June 27
Follows Ready, Set, Rogue
Followed by Wallflower Most Wanted

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean

We met Seraphina in the first book when her sister, Sophie, pushed Sera's cheating husband, into a decorative pond. I was wondering how Ms. MacLean would let a blatantly philandering husband and his (at the time) pregnant wife find an HEA. Well, it's done in flashbacks. Going from when Malcolm and Sera fell in love, why they got married (is it true that she tricked him?), when he followed her to America, all interspersed with the present day when Sera is petitioning Parliament for a divorce. But is that what they both really want?
The problem with these two is that they really hurt each other. And we get to read about that hurt all throughout the book. There is some growth but I never really connected with either. Still an interesting trope to take on and I certainly won't quit reading MacLean because of it.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out June 27