The Attraction Equation by Kadie Scott

Max Carter is a pretty rigid dude. He only sleeps with women, he never dates them. This is a practice that gets him into trouble when he blurts out at the family Thanksgiving dinner that his family can stop fixing him up- he's already got a girlfriend. Too bad that's not true. So he decides to blackmail the first woman he sees into being his fake girlfriend.
All Gina Castillo wants to do is sneak a small puppy into her friend's apartment. She doesn't want anyone to know about the dog because her friend might get kicked out. The dog wasn't supposed to be adopted yet since he's a gift for Gina's brother for Christmas which is still a month a way.
This is a romance novel so of course peripatetic Gina and uber-rigid Max are going to fall in love. Did I buy it? The attraction, yes, the long-term possibilities for their relationship? Not as much.

This book comes out November 13
Three stars
ARC provided by NetGalley

Changing Colors by Elyse Springer

Tony Quinn likes the world to be well-defined. People go in boxes and that's where they stay. Even in the world of the theater, he manages to keep his life very tidy that way. At least, that's until he meets Gee in a club one night. It's lust at first sight. But then Tony muffs it up. See, Gee is a man who  likes to wear women's clothes. He is not transitioning in any way; he just likes to wear women's clothes. Half the time, he doesn't even shave. And Tony can't handle that. They are together for a short time, then apart for a long time, then together again.
I seem to have picked up several romances lately where one character is rigid and the other one has to make all the changes. That's how I felt about Gee. Here's Tony stepping out of his comfort zone and Gee is shitting all over his efforts. Gee is otherwise so comfortable in his own skin, something you don't get to see often, I wish he hadn't been such a jerk. Then there's the fact that Tony was more or less stalking Gee (or at least his sister had a Google alert out.)

Two stars
This book came out October 23
ARC provided by NetGalley

Death at Thorburn Hall by Julianna Deering

Drew and his wife Madeline are in Scotland for the British Open. They were ostensibly invited by Drew's cousin Lady Rainsby but Lord Rainsby confides that he was the one who wanted Drew to come. But before he can reveal his reasons, Lord Rainsby is murdered.
There are several subplots with Nick trying to drum up the courage to finally ask Carrie to marry him and the search for Drew's long-lost mother continues.
I didn't love the ending of this book. It didn't seem fairly clued. Even the role the mysterious Count has to play is weird and seems tacked on. It's overall a very nice book and it very much makes me want to re-read the first book in the series.

This book came out November 7
Three and a half stars
ARC provided by NetGalley
Follows Murder on the Moor

Death at the Emerald by R. J. Koreto

Thirty years ago Lady Beatrice Torrence and her husband disowned their daughter when she became an actress. She comes to Lady Frances Ffolkes for help finding her daughter before she dies. The mystery will take her into the world of the theater and into a myster decades old.
Frances once again teams up with her maid Mallow but this time her husband-to-be also plays some part. I like Hal; he seems like the progressive sort of husband a bicycle-riding suffragette would need.
This was a nice addition to the series. It was a little over the top in places but mostly an enjoyable book that I think regular readers will enjoy.

Three stars
This book came out November 7
ARC provided by NetGalley

Cici's Journal by Joris Chamblain

This is almost like a modern-day Harriet the Spy with a young girl making observations about the world around her and then writing them down.  Like Harriet, Cici makes some missteps in her personal life, her journal becoming more important than her friends or listening to her mother. It's a charming book with a built-in mystery. It is a little preachy and, like most graphic novels, it takes a loooong time to load the pages on an ereader.

Three stars
This book comes out today
ARC provided by NetGalley

Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh

Previous stories in this series had three siblings being proven illegitimate and their cousin coming into the title. Alexander Westcott never wanted to be the Earl of Riverdale. He likes his cousins and he liked his life. But now he's inherited not only the title but land, a crumbling house, and a mountain of debt.
Wren Heyden knows about the debt and she is offering up a solution; marry her and get her inheritance. Alexander is taken aback, especially when he discovers why she's been a recluse for most of her life. They decide that it won't work... until Wren comes to London.
Regular Balogh readers will recognize themes that she's played with before -- long-lost family, a slow build to love, etc. There is a nice balance between bringing back previous characters in the series and setting up for the next book. Regular readers will enjoy this book.

Four stars
This book comes out November 7
ARC provided by NetGalley
Follows Someone to Hold

Christmas at the Graff by Kaylie Newell

Jemma Banks isn't going to be in Marietta for long. She's just here to help the father who abandoned her as a child. To say she has mixed emotions is an understatement. And meeting her father's friend/pysical therapist, EJ Corpa doesn't help her sort those feelings at all.
The man is handsome as heck and really seems to see Jemma's father as, well, a father-figure.  And while he says repeatedly that he's not interested in long-term relationships, he seems to have a heart as big as the mountains they climb to find the perfect Christmas tree.
This was mostly an okay book except that EJ was sort of a creepy person. He was controlling, never even tried to see Jemma's side of the story, and kept having thoughts about how to kidnap Jemma. I soldiered through to the end of the book but it was a near thing.

This book came out November 1
Two stars
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley