Death Makes a Prophet John Bude

Some mysteries start with a murder and then build in the backstory of how the murder came to be. In this Inspector Meredith story, the story starts with a buildup of the cult known as the Coo (Children of Osiris). We meet the current leader, his controlling patron, and the man who would take his place. Tensions are built until the middle of the book when the murders (yes, more than one) finally occur.
Though firmly set contemporary to the time it was written (1947), the story could definitely be set in the current day. A fast read, it will delight any classic mystery reader.

Four stars
This book comes out January 3

Please Don't Do Coke in the Bathroom by Sami Christianson

This reminded me of Subversive Cross-stitch; taking a craft and then updating (?) it with bad language. In this case, it's with calligraphy. There are suggestions for signs that you can make yourself. They start with words starting with each letter of the alphabet then a few other suggestions. A nice novelty book.

Three stars
This book comes out September 26

Head over Heels by Jennifer Dawson

Sophie Kincaid is just the PR girl. At least, that's what she tries to tell the FBI when they come to arrest her bosses. But it's too late, her reputation is in tatters. She retreats to Revival, IL where her best friends have helped to get her a job and a rental. A rental that is owned by an uber-hot man. One that is tatted and dangerous. Sophie's catnip. The type of man she is trying to avoid.
Ryder Moore is looking for a woman to settle down with. Someone who will create a home and be a mother. Not a disgraced city girl who is only in his town biding her time. Too bad she's not only hot, but brainy, sassy, and the kind of sexy that calls to Ryder.
I didn't love the angst that was the last quarter of this book. It was just a little too much over the top for me. But I really enjoyed the book and liked that I could jump in without having (remembered reading?; while creating tags for my blog post, I discovered I had read the third book in this series but didn't remember it as the H/H from that book didn't figure prominently in this one) read the previous four books in the series.

Three stars
This book comes out September 26

Bad Boy's Bard by E.J. Russell

We've seen Gareth Kendrick in the last two Fae Out of Water books. The last true bard of Faerie, he's had kind of a crappy life. First his brother sent him to be trained by dead bards (since there weren't any live ones around to do the training. Then his human lover was killed by an Unseelie Fae. And not just any Unseelie, it was none other than the new king!
Niall O’Tierney's life hasn't been any better. He's the son of the last king, half-brother of the new king and he's spent the last two hundred years avoiding his one true love so that he wouldn't be forced to kill the man. Well, to kill Gareth. So when he sees Gareth's shock his first instinct is to fake amnesia. Uh huh. But that's not their biggest problem, there's a threat to all of Faerie that only Gareth and Niall can contain.
Probably my least favorite of the three books. Both Gareth and Niall were just a little too much in their own heads. That being said, I enjoyed this whole series overall and look forward to more from Russell.

Three stars
This book comes out September 11
Follows The Druid Next Door

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

Oh. This book started off so well. Holly White is back in her hometown, not because she wants to be there, but because she was dumped by her fiance two weeks before the wedding. Unlike other series, Holly is happy to be home. She loves Mistletoe, Maine, loves the quirky people who live there, and loves being in a place that embraces Christmas so  much. Rather than being resentful that she's forced to return home, it's nice to have a character who is happy to go back to a place that loves her.
Well, except for Margaret Fenwick, the president of the Mistletoe Historical Society. The woman is clearly unhappy and is pretty much trying to drag the rest of the town down to her level of misery. It's just too bad that she's murdered on Holly's family's farm right after a fight with Holly's father.
It's too bad the ending was a) just a little out there and b) so darn cheesy. I'll try the next book in the series but this may not be a series for me.

Three stars
This book comes out October 12

Second Chances -- Anthology

One of my favorite tropes for romance short stories and novellas is the second chance. It makes it infinitely more believable for two people to find their HEA. It clears up the need for a first-meet and makes more room for a good story. This is a really nice mix of stories. I didn't love all of them but I didn't need to, this was more an introduction to the authors and I think that most of these stories probably nice captured the author's tone and writing style.
With sixteen stories, I'm not going to review them all but there were some authors that I'm going to explore further. I definitely liked Cassandra Dean's "Scandalous," a historical story of a woman who was  ruined but then traveled the continent and returned to the man who finally realized he might be good enough for her. If this were a longer book, I think I would have liked it quite a bit.
Another one I would have liked the full-length version of (but enjoyed the story) was Lizzie Shane's "Something Old, Something New," the story of a couple who had been lovers, but then the man ghosted. Now they've met again at his best friend's wedding that she is the planner for.
Overall, a nice sprinkling of romance authors. Every romance reader will find at least one story to enjoy.

Four stars
This book comes out September 12

The Final Score by Jaci Burton

We've met both Mia and Nathan in previous series. He was the son of two previous protagonists while she is the sister of one. Since both those books, these two have become close friends and, one crazy night, lovers.
In this book, Mia is concentrating on starting up her business while Nathan is about to step into his father's shoes as the starting quarterback for the Sabers. Both are busy but still make time for each other... even as they're fighting off sexytime feelings for each other.
And most of the first part of the book is "we should have sex" "no we should just be friends," mostly on the part of a very wishy-washy seeming Mia. And it's her actions at the end of the book that knocked it down an entire star. It was great that Nathan called her on it, but based on her actions in most of this book, it made it hard for me to believe these two were going to get their HEA.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out September 2017
Followed by Shot on Gold