Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase

Finally the last Shaughnessy sibling gets her story. Darcy is the youngest as well as being the only girl. She's twenty-five and still working on figuring out what it is she wants to do with her life. She knows she's good at organizing and that's what gets her a week-long job helping woodworker Benjamin Tanner figure out his book. And it works well. Until she can't get home. And Ben is conscripted to come rescue her so she doesn't have to sleep at the airport.
Their relationship starts off with a misunderstanding and it just keeps going.
There's a lot of sexual tension in this book but I'm not sure that we get to see much else. Both  are sketched out but there's not an arc for either. An okay book but I was hoping for more for Darcy.

Three stars
This book comes out October 3
Follows A Sky Full of Stars 

Myths of Work by Adrian Furnham, Ian MacRae

Relatively short, this book was a really easy read. Some of the ideas seemed a little common sense to me (not every office should emulate Google) but there are some that I know aren't as common sense for others (listening to music at work? Horrors!). One I hadn't heard this specifically: We only use 10 per cent of our brain at work (I had heard the myth that we only use 10 percent of our brain, but ony at work). The chapters end with references and further reading that looks interesting.

Four stars
This book comes out October 3

Holiday House Call by Jen Doyle

Six years ago, neurosurgeon Dr. Karen Carmichael acted completely out of character and had a wild one-night stand with a man she met in a bar. She has an incredibly stressful job and is cruising down one of the back roads on a Tuesday night (the night she's allowed to cry) when she encounters that man again.
He may not remember her name, but Tuck sure remembers the encounter. When it turns out the car he pulls over for weaving is the woman he hasn't forgotten, Tuck is ecstatic to have a second chance. He's not thrilled that she's a doctor since he spent a LOT of his childhood in hospitals. He can see forever with this woman, if only she'd give them a chance.
This is the second book I've read in this series and I'm really enjoying it. The characters are somewhat undeveloped (we only get a glossing of why Karen and Tuck dislike each others professions) but the series seems to be a fast, fun, and fluffy series that works beautifully if your looking for an HEA without too much angst.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out October 1, 2017

Follows Called Out

Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey

Five years ago, Ava Wright and Jace Morrow were in love and trying to make it in the music scene. When Jace got the chance to make it big, but without Ava, he took it. He's regretted it ever since. With his father's death, Jace has a chance to go back to the small town where he and Ava grew up.
Ava is still in town. She's working for her parents in the same cafe she worked in in high school. And the music, for her, is gone. She's not happy that Jace is back in town but she's... fair? or something? Stacey tries to paint her as a caring person who just can't stand Jace's suffering but she comes off a little... door mat-ish. It's not a horrible story but would have been a lot better as a full story.

Three stars
This novella comes out October 1

Halloween at the Graff by Sinclair Jayne

Walker Wilder has retreated to Marietta, Montana, home of the cousins she's never met, to lick her wounds. Her boyfriend was schtupping an intern and her high-powered job fell apart so she felt lucky to get a job trying to boost the visitation to the historic Montana Graff Hotel. And, when she's spooked by a moving chair in the hotel's attic, she thinks she has the perfect hook.
Calum Quest is visiting his old friend Logan Wilder in Montana when he gets the message that there might be a haunted hotel in the area. He's not super stoked about it because he really would rather not be a ghost chaser any more. But Walker's hot and she has an interesting story. So, what the heck, he'll at least check it out.
The timing of this story was very odd. I couldn't figure out if the search for decorations, the chair, and Calum's arrival were all on one day? Her first day at work?
I also wish that we had gotten to see a little more of the characters' development. Their changes of heart were incredibly sudden. Calum's deep and understanding but then he gets pissed that Walker, who he's known for less than a week?, doesn't share one of her deepest secrets, but then he's okay.
It's a nice story but I wish there had been more.

Three stars
This book comes out September 25

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