The Hardy Agency by Script by Pierre Christin / Art by Annie Goetzinger

I don't know if a book less than twenty years old can rightly be called a classic but this is certainly a reissue of a book that originally came out in 2001 -- one that has the gritty appeal of a 1950s hardboiled detective mystery with some twists that I haven't read before (though I expect they may be more common that I believe): the detective in this case is a female, a widow to be exact, and it's set in Paris.
In this book, Episode One (of three),  Edith Hardy takes on the case of of a parfumier who has lost his lead scientist. Along the way, her young assistant Vittorio, now  in France known as Victor, is caught up in a round of socialist workers. There's a run-in with the KGB, a prescient dream, and.. just a lot going on. Very French.
If you like the Inspector Maigret mysteries, this may trip your trigger.

Three stars
This book came out September 18th
ARC kindly provided by Europe Comics and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey

I hadn't read a book in this series and obviously didn't read the description very well -- I completely missed the part about the paranormal mysteries. The part about Rose Gallagher being a Pinkerton agent and, heavily implied, being in love with the man, Thomas, who brought her in to the agency when he recognized her ability to see the spirits/shades. One night, she overhears her handler and his boss seemingly implying that she is not going to be a good fit for the agency, that she's not catching up as soon as she should. So when Sergeant Chapman comes to the door of the house that she's staying at, she immediately takes on his case. It seems six delegates from the Republican Convention are now dead and the sergeant isn't sure it's typhoid as the coroner is implying. In the course of her investigation, she meets Nicola Tesla.
It was an interesting read, especially with Rose trying to figure out how to align a new life, which seemed like it was going to solve so many problems, with the old one. I didn't feel like I missed much by not having read the first book in the series but I still wished I had read it.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 17th
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis

After a lifetime of heartbreak, Ivy Snow is ready to run her (about to be permitted) taco truck and make some roots with her found family in San Francisco. She's finally found a place to stay and nothing's going to push her out, not even the uber-handsome Kel O'Donnell.  Guy's a cop anyway and Ivy knows that's no good. It's too bad he's the cousin of one of her new-found friends and it sounds like he's going to be hanging out for awhile. And the more they hang out, the hotter he gets...
Kel has been... well. He's not working as a sheriff right now for reasons and he's got some time off from his ranch so he'll help his cousin Caleb with some work for his security business. He doesn't expect to fall in lust with a woman who cooks like a dream. But when her brother comes back into town, Kel just isn't sure that Ivy is someone he can trust.
I love most of Shalvis's work but the ending often don't work for me and this one is the same. It skips too far ahead and too much has happened that I would have liked to know how they actually got to their end point, it would have made the characters a little deeper.

Three stars
This book comes out September 24th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Christmas in Chamonix by Sasha Wagstaff

Everyone knows the story: two best friends, one a guy, one a girl. One or the other realizes that they're in love with the other and, after a a short, turbulent period, they realize that they are both in love and end up with a HEA. Except in this book.

Lily Jackson has only recently realized that she loves her friend Jamie. But when she finally gets up the courage to tell Jamie that she loves him, she discovers that he's already in a relationship. And the woman he's dating? Well, it's just going to be uncomfortable for Lily to stay in the country. Even at Christmas, her favorite time of the year. So she finally takes he friend Imogen up on her suggestion to come to France, to the Chamonix ski resort. Lily has never skied but her job as a masseuse is pretty portable so she picks up and goes. And at Chamonix, she meets ski instructor Luc, a man who hates Christmas. Can she teach him to change his mind? In a typical romance novel or a Hallmark movie, it might be a no-brainer. But this book... who know?

A charming book that actually introduced some darker themes. Maybe a little too much for a Christmas book but it's all wrapped up neatly in the end. An extra bump in the rating for how the women handled the dating situation.

Four stars
This book comes out September 24th
ARC kindly provided by Canelo and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Seduction on a Snowy Night -- anthology

A Christmas Abduction by Madeline Hunter
Adam Prescott, Baron Thornhill, is expecting to spend his Christmas at his cousin's house avoiding marriage to an eligible heiress who is after his title. He's not expecting to be kidnapped off the coach and taken to a remote location. He's also surprised that one of the two kidnappers is a woman. A very attractive woman. Either way, he's pretty comfortable because he knows that they are going to be disappointed. No one will pay any sort of ransom for him. Even when he finds out that it's about more than money, he knows that he's innocent of the accusation being leveled at him. At least, he's pretty sure he is...
An okay story. Adam seemed like a decent hero but I wish we had gotten to know Caroline a little bit more.
Three stars


A Perfect Match by Sabrina Jeffries
I have been excited for this short story since I read a preview at the end of  Project Duchess. Cass is just trying to protect her young cousin from a rogue, Captain Malet. Several characters try to tell her that she is jealous of her cousin's youth (Cass isn't that old, just poised) and fortune (Cass is also an heiress but doesn't want anyone to know because she's been burned before. At a ball, she is startled to learn that she is not the only one suspicious of her cousin's suitor, Kitty's brother has sent an emissary in the form of Colonel Lord Heywood Wolfe to protect her. When Heywood believes that Malet is going to whisk Kitty away to Gretna Green, he decides to steal both ladies away first.
Like Project Duchess, this story was great for the first 3/4 and then falters. The last Big Misunderstanding didn't need to be there and seemed antithetic to Heywood's character.
Three and a half stars

 One Wicked Winter's Night by Mary Jo Putney
Years ago, Anthony fell in love with a woman who was a little bit older than he but when he proposed marriage, she told him he wasn't grown-up enough yet. It didn't quite break his heart but it definitely made him think twice about marriage. And now that he's a duke, women are knocking down doors to get to him. So, while he's sort of thinking about marriage, he is definitely thinking about it once he realizes that the veiled woman dancing an exotic dance at the home of his sister's friend is his long ago love, Diana.
A nice story that built characters nicely considering it was so short.
Four stars

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 24th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Merry Viscount by Sally MacKenzie

Caroline Anderson is on her way back from London after a failed attempt to sell the Home's Widow's Brew beer to a London tavern. In fact, she ended up having to ward off the gentleman from a rather amorous  attempt. Now she's on the stagecoach from hell with a judgmental pastor, a husband and wife who are REALLY annoying, and now a young mother with a six-year-old boy and a baby. Then two inebriated gentleman join the trip. And they decide to take over the reins and immediately drive the stagecoach into a ditch. To her astonishment, Caroline knows where they are, near the home of a man known as Lord Devil, a man who's nephew she played with when they were children. Only now the nephew has taken on the mantle as the Lord and he's holding a Christmas orgy at his house to spite his uncle's memory. However, the lord, Nick, isn't so inhuman that he'd turn people out into the cold so the entire stagecoach ends up at his house. He's astonished to recognize his childhood friend and even more astonished when she suggests that they pretend to be lovers.
Caroline has a really good reason for that-especially since her past was Not Good and she could use the dubious protection of a relationship with Nick but she soon realizes that a fake relationship might turn out to be real after all.
Like all MacKenzie books, this is a fast, fun, and fairly shallow read. Everything is wrapped up neatly without a lot of angst. The perfect book to read if you need something fluffy and light but I wish there had been a bit more character development.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out September 24th

Followed by Cheers to the Duke
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

Maggie, Katie, and Rosie are all hiding things from each other. Maggie doesn't want to let her daughters know that she and their father are divorcing. Though grown (maybe especially because they're grown), Katie and Rosie have no idea that their parents' marriage is anything but stable. But it could also be that they are so involved in their own lives.
Katie is an ER doctor in an ER that is perpetually understaffed. A month ago, something happened. We don't know what it is for most of the book but it is causing her some severe issues with PTSD.
Rosie is the pivot around which the story revolves. She's twenty-three with a history of making impulsive (not always good) decisions. This time, it's to get married to Dan, a man from Colorado after dating him for three months. Her family, mostly looking forward to one last Christmas in their cottage in England, are aghast.
But, as will happen, on this trip the secrets will start to come out. And maybe, just maybe, that's not such a bad thing.
Another good book from Sarah Morgan. It did take me awhile to get into it and I never really connected with any of the characters but the story moves and the ending seemed realistic.

Three stars
This book comes out September 24th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own