Amber by Elle Casey

Amber grew up on a communal farm with her two "sisters," Rose and Emerald, with each of their
three mothers taking turns raising them. She knows it's an idyllic existence which is why she's not super stoked that a hot lawyer-type is on her front porch with news that is going to change their entire lives. It seems they're actually the love children of the band Red Hot. Their mothers were groupies, and when they found themselves pregnant, they decided to leave. Hot lawyer wants to offer them 10 million dollars a piece to meet the band. Amber is the only sister who really wants to go. So she goes to New York and immediately gets accosted by a tattooed gentleman who seems to know her name.
Tyler Stanz is the newest member of Red Hot, replacing the lead guitarist. He's very "guyliner" in a band that is known for mullets. Neither the band nor their fans seem very accepting of him. Which is part of the reason he was so ready to help out by bringing Amber in from the airport, not that anyone has told him who she is.
As Amber and Ty start to figure out where each fits into the Red Hot family, they also start to discover just how their initial attraction can start to turn to love.
Elle Casey can be kind of uneven for me. The books I've read of hers have been rated from two to four stars. There were some definite sticking points in this book for me (how did Amber attend college and not know about smart phones or Snapchat; why did she start beating on some guy who definitely knew who she was) but I overall fell into the "like" category for this book. I liked the world-building and am ready to see Rose and Em get their own HEAs (and hopefully hot lawyer too, but preferably not with one of the sisters.)

Three stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

One More Promise by Samantha Chase

In the first book of this series, Dylan Anderson was going to rehab.  He took the "rocker lifestyle"

quite seriously, drinking, popping pills, and sleeping with a different woman every night. Now he's out of rehab but his band isn't going on tour for three more months. He has some time to kill (and some community service to do). When his manager leaves a pamphlet for a literacy program, Dylan isn't incredibly excited but he figures it's at least something to do.
Paige Walters works for her family marketing firm but she is definitely the under appreciated child. Her sister is the tall, beautiful blonde whom her father adores, even if Paige is the one who does all the work. She doesn't necessarily want praise and adulation but a little recognition would be nice. Instead, her sister is the one who likes to swoop in to take the credit after everyone else had put in the work. Her ego is a little fragile and that's why she can't understand why Dylan might be interested. Well, that and their first meeting wasn't exactly auspicious.
But they start to learn more about each other and start to fall a lot in love.
I generally liked both Paige and Dylan but the ending was over the top. We just hadn't seen much of Paige's father and all of a sudden he was a major player.

Four stars
This book comes out February 6
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows One More Kiss
Followed by  One More Moment

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

Still reeling from the death of her father, Flavia de Luce and her sisters are hoping to be distracted by a float with Dodger down the river. She is certainly distracted by the dead body that they find floating
in the river. It is a young man dressed in Shakespearean garb. Apparently, his name was Orlando and he was a ballet dancer. It is through his death that she makes the acquaintance of Hob who is the local caretaker's son who becomes an ally in Flavia's search for the truth.
You can very much tell that this is a male voice writing a female child. The way he has Flavia plotting her moves (we get an overly detailed description of Flavia's every thought) is very much an example of how men think women (even those in their "tender" teen years) act.  It was a little off-putting but even more than that, it caused the story to drag in places. Overall, a nice addition to the Flavia canon.

Three and a half stars
This book came out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Followed by The Golden Tresses of the Dead

Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon

I quite enjoyed Thirteen Guests and was excited when another Farjeon book came up on Edelweiss as an an ARC of the re-release of this book by Poison Pen Press. Thomas Hazeldean is back again to help solve a mystery when he is, conveniently in the right place to see a burglar tearing out of a house after discovering seven bodies in a room. There is a note that points towards a mass suicide but both the inspector and Hazeldean are suspicious.
The burglar is almost immediately cleared of suspicion but this is a case that will take Hazeldean across the sea. He’ll also get to meet a young girl who may or may not (probably not) have something to do with the deaths. Or maybe her uncle. Or perhaps even the truculent woman who owns the pension where the girl and her uncle fled to after a mysterious cricket ball was lobbed through the living room of their house. The same house where the bodies were found.
The ending was a bit... out of left field. 2/3 of the book was really good and the ending wasn't bad, just weird.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 6

The Yoga of Leadership by Tarra Mitchell

I requested this book because it was an intersection of two things that I am very interested in lately. However, this wasn't really a book on leadership in the workplace which I was disappointed about. It took a long time for the author to find her rhythm and it ended up being more of a book on yoga themes than about leadership. It was okay but not anything I haven't read before.

Two and a half stars
This book came out December 12
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Unraveled by Lauren Dane

For over a year Maybe Dolan has been cutting hair at the barbershop (just off a bar) owned by Alexsei Petrov and has been denying her attraction to him the whole time. But Alexsei, out of a serious relationship and tired of chasing women, is ready to step into a relationship with Maybe.
He's a family-oriented man (even his ex is still a part) while her family is pretty broken up. Her parents never treated her like she was an accepted part while doting all their attention on her sister. After her sister went through a fairly horrific experience, Maybe's parents wanted to wrap her up in cotton while Maybe wanted to help her live life. Her parents hate her for that.
This was a three-star book except for Maybe's name. Oh good god. This is a cute name when you hear it but when you have to read it and then try to figure out every sentence and that it doesn't start with "Maybe today she would." The process smoothed out for me about 2/3 of the way through the book but that is a long time to wait.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out January 30th
Followed by Jagged

The Phantom of Oz by Cindy Brown

Ivy Winters is worried about her friend Candy MoonPie (now going by Candace Moon). The once
pleasingly plump and vivacious actor is but a wisp of her former self, in size and in personality. Ivy goes to meet Candy at her new production, the Phantom of Oz, and barely misses getting hit by the heavy, antique chandelier that goes crashing to the floor. Is it just an unfortunate accident or an escalation in the series of unfortunate events that have been plaguing the production? When the issues end in the death of an incredibly toxic Hollywood-type and Candy's disappearance, Ivy is on the case.
I think regular readers will be happy to continue the series. I would suggest newer readers start earlier in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out January 30
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Follows Ivy Get Your Gun