Happiness Hacks by Alex Palmer

This is an attractive repackaging of ideas I've read elsewhere. There are nice breakdowns of chapters like Happiness at Home, Happiness in Love, etc. with subsections underneath each. They include some simple hacks like creating creativity by working in the room with the highest ceiling or journaling or taking an eight day vacation. There is also a lovely chapter on the downside of happiness that you don't usually see in most books. For the most part, it is just a repackaging of ideas that you've probably read if you're a self-help junkie but that last chapter brought it up a star for me.

Three stars
This book comes out May 15
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Pairing a Deception by Nadine Nettmann

Though this is the third book in the series, it's the first one I've read. I didn't feel like I needed to have read the first two. There was enough backstory without an info dump to know what was going on with the series. Katie Stillwell is volunteering at a wine and food festival the weekend ahead of her advanced sommelier exam. Her beau John Dean is with her as well, taking well the fact that he was signed up as "Dean Stillwell" and generally proving himself to be a really, really good boyfriend. Too bad the rest of the weekend is moving as smooth. There's a young woman chasing down the emcee. He's avoiding her for most of the day but Katie leaves them at a table together at the end of the evening. Too bad the young woman ends up dead outside his door the next day.
The ending didn't make a lot of sense to me but it was overall a pretty good book.

Four stars
This book comes out May 8
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The First Time at Firelight Falls by Julie Anne Long

Eden Harwood - florist, harried single mother, ardent admirer of the elementary school principal, Gabe Caldera. Luckily, he's a big admirer of her too. I loved the way Long portrayed real life; snatches of flirting lived between moments of parenting/principal-ing. I didn't love the way that a whole bunch of drama was dropped into the middle of the book after a pretty steady romance. But it was resolved in a fairly grow-up way that you don't often get in romance novels.
While the second half of the book was way more tangled than the first half, regular readers of Hellcat Canyon won't be disappointed.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 8
Follows Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss

Down the Aisle with Murder by Auralee Wallace

A return to the Wallace that I enjoy reading.
The book opens with Erica Bloom attending Candace's bachelorette party. Is it weird to celebrate the wedding of the woman who dated Erica's one true love? Not in a small town. The big hit of the party though is the maid of honor, Lyssa. That would be the same Lyssa who turns up dead the next day.
Erica and Freddie would normally insert themselves into the case but Freddie is acting strangely; in fact, he has told Erica that they need to have a break.
And there are a lot of strange things going on at Otter Lake. Erica's mom has brought in a new guru, Zaki, and there is... something strange about his seminar. Like, the fact that it's for singles but Erica's mom isn't forcing her to go. Grady, Erica's erstwhile love of her life, is taking a vacation; something he's never done before. Sheriff Bigly is there in his place and she's not amused by Erica and Freddie.
I liked this book so much better than the last one. Yes, Erica is still a little immature but she seems to be getting better. I wish that the murder victim had been better fleshed out.

Four stars
This book comes out May 1
Follows Ring In the Year with Murder
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Today I'll Be a Unicorn by Dana Simpson

Would've been five stars if this book had been longer (8 pages!). There is a nice story of Marigold deciding that she is going to be a unicorn for a day but then deciding it is not for her. I'd call it an entrance drug to the Heavenly Nostrils series.

Four stars
This book comes out May 8
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick

Like the other heroines of this series (only one other so far, but we're given the pattern), Adelaide Bankcroft has a reason to hide her past. She's in Burning Cove after escaping from an insane asylum; the place her husband consigned her to in order to get control of her inheritance. Now she's working as a tea shop waitress who also creates specific teas for the shop's customers - the tea can do things like create calm or help with insomnia.
Jake Truett is in Burning Cove ostensibly to relax his overworked nerves. But he has an ulterior motive, one that perfectly aligns with keeping Adelaide safe.
I quite enjoyed this book and hope that we get to see the full story of what happens between Raina and Luther.

Four Stars
This book comes out May 8, 2018

Follows The Girl Who Knew Too Much

Followed by Tightrope
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread August 2022 as audiobook from Audible

Until There Was Us by Samantha Chase

Two years ago, Megan Montgomery and Alex Rebat hooked up at her cousin's wedding. But then they were torn apart by living on opposite sides of the country and by the fact that Megan was working long hours. Now she's in the same city and their connection isn't any less strong. But can they make it work on the second time around.
Okay. I like Chase's writing and she has pretty great characters... usually. I just couldn't figure out why Megan fell in love with Alex. He was sort of an asshat. She doesn't like the outdoors -- but he's going to force her. Sure, he says he's going to go to museums with her, but we never actually see it happening. He thinks she works to much and doesn't share with her. But he hides that he is seeing his best friend every week and then runs off when there's a traumatic event. Other than the fact that Megan and her cousins think he's super hot, I don't see any reason to fall in love with this person.

Two stars
This book comes out May 1
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley