Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern

Swashbuckler Lucy loves to kill vampires.  And maybe people. But using her sword is awesome. So when she meets Lord Byron (yes, that Lord Byron,) who is also hunting vampires,  she hops right on board his giant, psychic eagle, Napoleon. Granted, her first choice would have been to be inducted into the secret vampire society but Byron keeps interrupting her interludes with Lady Violet (who may be a secret vampire cult leader....or a great pretender, if you believe Gladys De Harridan, an EXTREMELY old vampire.)
As Lucy adventures, she and Byron meet a strange cast of characters most of whom have secrets. Except Virginia. Well, she has a secret but she's also pretty inept so.... There is also Sham who, dressed as a lady, is the person Lucy is most interested in.
I was pretty bemused by this book in general (I could mostly follow but got lost a couple times.) I think fans of McGovern's "My Life as a Background Slytherin" will enjoy this book immensely as the wit and drawings are very similar.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th, 2019
ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from library November 2024

A Question of Us by Mary Jayne Baker

Clarrie Midwinter may not have the most posh life but it's a good one. She's got her mates, she's got her trivia nights, and she's got her best friend, Simon. Except that one of their teammates has been pushed off the team since she cheated on another one of their teammates.
Simon's very serious about getting together with Clarrie but every time he brings it up, she acts like he's joking. Finally, Fate and a bet step in to force Clarrie to move past her anxiety and finally accept that Si might be her lobster.
This was a VERY British book and I'm not usually affected by that but this time... it was a lot. If I had known it going in, it might have been easier to get through. I liked that this was a group book, just as much about the friendships as the romance.

Three Stars
This book came out September 5th
ARC kindly provided by Aria and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux

Ever since her mother supposedly left town with a lover, Terri Rayburn has been painted with the same brush. It doesn't help that she's "from the lake" which is definitely not the same as being from "in town." You know who's from town? Stacy, the mayor's daughter. She's also the one engaged to Nate Taggert. Of course, she doesn't know that Nate Taggert is living in Terri's house... and so is Terri.
Of course, like all Deveraux novels, Terri and Nate are perfectly matched. They may not realize it yet but they are. Both tall and muscular and incredibly handy -- perfect. This is unusual for a Deveraux novel in that the hero is engaged to another woman for 3/4 of the book. And there's sort of a mystery but it's in the background and then quickly wrapped up.  Regular Deveraux readers and people looking for a fluffy beach read with no character development will enjoy this book.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th
ARC kindly provided by HARLEQUIN - MIRA and NeGalley
Opinions are my own

Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman

Leesa Oliver is on a flight, on December 23rd, closing out a contract with the incredibly demanding Cary Anderson who is emailing her from first class, already trying to get her to make updates to a video project. Her employee who does the actual editing stayed behind in Australia to hang out with a woman he's met so she's feeling a little frustrated. And learning that there is a storm that is making it difficult to land and impossible to leave the airport leaves her frustrated. But Cary notices her frustration and offers her a ride to his grandmother's, less than a mile away. He has a ride.

Leesa, decides to take him up on it. And it's then that the misunderstandings start. Cary's grandmother, a famous romance novelist immediately assumes that they are dating. Cary would like to encourage her because it makes her worry about him less. When he hears Leesa's story of how she'll be spending Christmas (with her ex-husband's family after the death of his mother's mother), he bets her that she'll call him before he calls her, needing a fake significant other. It turns out she needs the help first and then they just... keep not dating. 

Fake relationships are one of my favorite tropes. And this one starts so well. And I did appreciate that this relationship took place over the course of a year.. it gave Leesa and Cary time to get to know each other. But there were pieces that felt undone and parts that ended rather abruptly. It was an okay story but I wish it had ended a little more smoothly.

Three stars

Book comes out September 5th

ARC kindly provided by Aria and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Wrapped in Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan

Liam Montgomery's world is spinning. He just found out a Big Secret after a family wedding and it's making him distance himself from his family which is normally close. But he's finding some comfort in his relationship with Arden, a woman who was in the same hospital room that he was in after an accident.
Arden has lupus and she is dealing with having an "invisible" disease. She often has to call off planned engagements because of her flare-ups and it has caused a lot of distress among her friends, most of whom have deserted her because of her "flakiness."
I wish this book had been a little longer. Liam's secret wasn't well developed; it was more show than tell. And while Liam and Arden dealt with one of her flare-ups, I wish we had seen more. I just couldn't get the sense that he was going to be committed enough to stick.

Three stars
This book comes out September 10th
ARC kindly provided by Author Collective 20 and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Remembering the Dead by Elizabeth J. Duncan

When the local squire has a chance to display the Black Chair, a piece of Welsh history awarded posthumously to poet Hedd Wyn in 1917, Penny Brannigan is called in to help arrange a dinner for the local dignitaries. There hasn't been a dinner at the manor for some time and everyone is excited to either attend or help the event go off well.
Unfortunately, not only is the chair gone by the end of the evening, there's a dead body discovered as well. And when it's discovered to be the relative of one of Penny's employees, the grief quickly hits home. Characters both old and new feature in the solving of this mystery which ends up being a bigger planned heist than first thought.
I don't think you will need to have read previous books in the series but it probably helps. I didn't think the mystery quite came together in the end but it was nice to visit some of our favorite characters and to see at least one former baddie get his comeuppance.

Three stars
Follows The Marmalade Murders
This book comes out September 10th
ARC kindly provided by Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Sharon, Lois and Bram's Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson; Lois Lilienstein; Bram Morrison

I think there are a lot of people in my age group that will remember Sharon, Lois, and Bram from their television show. Now, their iconic song is in a children's book. The illustrations were perfect for the kind of fun and inclusive show. There was a sense of humor. There were also a couple of verses I didn't know. But I have had that song in my head all day now...

Four Stars
This book comes out September 3rd
ARC kindly provided by Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley
Opinions are my own