The Gun Also Rises by Sherry Harris

Belle Winthrop Granville is a grande dame who is selling off her massive book collection. Her first editions and books in the library are being sold by a local dealer. Her paperbacks and popular fiction, she's asked garage sale whiz Sarah Winston to deal with. Too bad Sarah is once again having to dodge bullets. It might just have something to do with the bundle of papers that Sarah discovered that seem to be the papers Hemingway's first wife lost on a trip to Paris.
There is, as usual, a lot going on in this story. There is also a first edition Hemingway, a group of treasure hunters going after the same thing, a murder, rivalries, and an old army friend and his wife who are having some problems. It makes the book a bit disconnected in places but regular Harris readers won't be deterred.

Three stars
This book came out January 29
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Follows I Know What You Bid Last Summer
Followed by Let's Fake a Deal

How to Be Better at Almost Everything by Pat Flynn

I've always liked the idea of Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none so the title of this book really spoke to me. You read books like Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" that talk about the merits of becoming an expert at something but there aren't a lot of books (at least that I've seen) about the idea of generalism. So this was something I was excited about reading.
I have a feeling that regular readers of Pat Flynn will like the style of writing for this. It did not resonate with me at all. The vast majority of the story examples of how these principles work were about him and how it worked for him. Well, how does skill-stacking work in general? Where are the studies that show it works for the general populace? And why is there a mixture of "we" and "you" in the instructional part of the series?  If the book focused less on the author and more on how these skills could help the reader, I would have liked it more.

Two stars
This book came out January 29
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Narwhal's Otter Friend by Ben Clanton

I adore the Narwhal and Jelly stories and this is no different.  A new creature come into the life of the two friends and captivates Narehal's attention. Otter even seems to like waffles as much as Narwhal. Jelly begins to feel a bit left out and tries to find a new best friend but it is hard work.
Another lovely addition to the series. I didn't love the inset story and wish this had been longer but otherwise a great read.

Four stars

Followed by Happy Narwhalidays
This book comes out February 5
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Corned Beef and Casualties by Lynn Cahoon

Jill Gardner's small touristy town is holding a St. Patrick's Day festival. She is overwhelmed and not really loving the number of people who are walking around drunk in the middle of the day. But she is charmed by one young woman. Too bad the young lady later ends up dead and Jill wants to know why.
I really like the full-length Tourist Trap mysteries but the novellas are just too short. Jill is not as likeable in these stories as her ruminations about not linking how much her boyfriend has to work get annoying. And we don't get to see as much development in the other characters meaning that everyone is just sort of stagnant. Then there are the touches of magic that happen only in the novellas. Why only the novellas? If magic is part of the series, make it part of the series. It was cheeky in the Christmas novella but felt really last-minute wedged in to this story.

Two and a half stars
This story comes out February 5
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Danger on the Downs by Bianca Blythe

Cora Clarke was a child star who didn't age quite fast enough; her voice is still high, she is a bit short to be a real leading lady. Everyone knows that she's older so audiences just aren't seeing her the same way. And she's not really sure she wants to be an actor anymore anyway. She's traveling in England and her great-aunt asks her to come visit. Her aunt is one of the maids for a woman who was married first to a wealthy man and now to a foreign prince. When the hostess of the house, Mrs. Ivanov, finds out who Cora is, she invites her to join the dinner party upstairs. But she has a problem that she wants Cora to figure out (since Cora played a girl detective); who is trying to kill her husband? Cora isn't really excited about that plan but she's delighted to find out one of the guests is her best friend, Veronica. Too bad someone kills Mr. Ivanov anyway. At least that means Cora gets to see investigator Randolph again.
I wish this book had had about 80 more pages for a little more exposition. It was a nice, quick read but would have benefitted by a little more filler. The story was so pared down that I felt a little whiplashed by how fast the "ending" changed. It would have also served to make the ending a little less abrupt.

Three stars
This book came out January 18
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

In a Badger Way by Shelly Laurenston

I just go the excerpt of this book where Stevie from Honey Badger Chronicles book 1 and Shen from the Pride books are set up as the romantic interests. Shen has been set up as a super laid-back, continuously bamboo eating panda shifter. Stevie is a highly strung tiger-badger hybrid who is also ridiculously smart. The beginning of the book has Stevie freaking out about the number of bears in her kitchen while her sisters (normally the only ones who can calm her down) are not in the area. It's going to be up to Shen to help figure it out.
I'm a little hesitant about this book but am pretty sure it's going to be the fun ride we can normally expect from Laurenston.

Three stars (for the excerpt)
This book comes out March 26
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

The Matchmaker's List by Sonya Lalli

This book is exactly what I thought it would be - light and fluffy but with a peek into a culture I know nothing about. Raina Anand is a likeable character who is more or less ready to get married but is not ready to be pushed into it by her family. Her Nani has a list of potential suitors ready for her but Raina tells a lie (to help a friend) that changes everything. 
While the book isn't perfect (dragged in a few places and was a little uncomfortable in others), I will try to re-read this book before my ARC expires.

Four stars
This book comes out February 5
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley