The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton

Three students picked for a $10,000 scholarship. All three are given clues, all three are given phones,
all get cameras, and all of them have private drivers. What's the difference between this book and all the others in this genre? These aren't the smart kids. There's a nobody, a slacker, and a show-off. None of their middle-school teachers think that they'll ever amount to anything. But, not only do the three manage to solve their clues (albeit with some help), they manage the twist in the story as well...
A fun story - very Chicago-centric so I'm not sure how much other people will enjoy it but it's definitely a fun story for middle-schoolers.

Four stars
This book comes out February 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Giving Chase by Lauren Dane

This was an interesting premise with high school teacher Maggie Wright getting gussied up and attracting the attention of not one, but two men in town. One is a crazy stalker and the other is the brother of her hero. So that's new and interesting. She actually dates two people before getting together with the hero, Kyle. I liked that. She hadn't been out much, having been told by her mother and sister that beauty beat brains and therefore Maggie was worthless. But now, with cutie pie Alex interested and sheriff Shane Chase asking her out, Maggie's reveling in her new makeover.
Kyle Chase was interested in Maggie but she's off limits since his brother Shane asked her first. But Shane messes up, big time and leaves Kyle with an opening. One he's only too willing to walk into. Even though Maggie's gunshy after having been burned by Shane, Kyle convinces her that he's serious about wanting to be with her. Now they just have to work through Alex.
I didn't love the pacing or the writing but I kept with it and mostly enjoyed this story. I really wanted to read the second book since I was interested to see how Dane could transform him.

Three stars
This book came out February 1
ARC kindly provided by Net Galley

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