Pucked ( #1) by Helena Hunting

Violet Hall doesn't really care about hockey, even if her stepdad is a well-known scout and her stepbrother a rather notorious player (in all senses of the word). So she knows hockey players and would rather just avoid them all. Until one not only turns out to be hot but erudite as well.
Alex Waters has a reputation in the league as landing more than his fair share of women but the truth is, he doesn't dive into the puck bunnies that much anymore. But Violet intrigues him. And when she gets locked out of her hotel room, he's excited to entertain her for the evening with no expectations. But then, she exceeds all of his expectations. And the rest of the book is about the two of them navigating expectations.
I didn't like the ending - I just didn't think Alex would act that way based on how he was portrayed in the rest of the book.

Three stars
This book came out May 3rd, 2015
Audiobook from library

The Ghost of Christmas Past by Angie Fox

I should have figured out that this was a riff of the Christmas Carol from the name, especially since it's a series about a woman who sees ghosts so why wouldn't she see one on Christmas Eve? Especially when her boyfriend's mother has been particularly horrible and Ellis doesn't immediately side with Verity.
I thought the idea was nice but the execution was a little heavy handed and the connection to the woman who brought Lucy into Verity's life was shaky.

Three stars
Follows The Mint Julep Murders
Followed by Southern Bred and Dead
This novella comes out November 29th
ARC kindly provided by Moose Island Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Fake Wife by Stacey Lynn

Teagan has just had her job cut due to budget cuts. And, in true trope fashion, she arrives home to find her fiance, the man she's been with for seven years, in bed with another woman. Packing up her life into her Prius, she is trying not to make the day even worse when she rear ends a car. An expensive car. An expensive car carrying three years in a row Sexiest Bachelor Corbin Lane. But she is confused that he doesn't seem very upset, instead, he has a proposition.
Corbin is still mourning the loss of his grandmother and reeling from her will dictating that he must marry within six months and be married for at least two years. Teagan seems like as good a choice as any, plus she's there, she's gorgeous, and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. So they make their plans, but like most plans of mice and men, these certainly go aglee when they realize that their attraction is inconveniently getting in the way of their rational business plan.
This story got an extra star because the Big Mistake was recognized by both and they worked quickly to rectify it.

Four stars
This book came out January 9th, 2018
Audiobook from library

Weekend Fling by Stacey Lynn

Willow is not having a great life at the moment; she needs an escape from having to work two jobs to support her mother who is depressed after Willow's dad walked out for seemingly no reason. When Trey, a tech-guy who comes into her coffee job and has flirted with her before, asks her to be his date to his best friend's wedding, she agrees. A weekend away, maybe a hot fling with a hot guy will make her life look a little bit happier.
Trey is ecstatic. He has been crushing hard on this woman and the more time he spends with her, the more he is interested in being with her for longer than the weekend. But real life intrudes and it will be how Willow and Trey deal with it will determine whether their relationship will survive.
This book is part of a series and I had not read any of the others nor anything else by Lynn before. I liked that she wrote about real-world problems (mental illness, having to confront your childhood through a different lens, etc.) but somehow it didn't quite hold my attention - something about the pacing and I also didn't really like Willow in the beginning. However, I finished the book and have since gone back and discovered that my library has the first 2 books since you could sort of tell which characters had been an earlier part of the series. I really liked the first and am looking forward to the second.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out November 26th
ARC kindly provided by Loveswept and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier

Lucy Stone, reporter, has been invited to a private island. It is owned by a billionaire who is trying to take it completely off the grid. Even more than that, Scott Newman is trying to make it as eco-friendly as possible. He, along with his second wife (a former singer), his daughters from his first marriage and his sons from the second are practically going back to the early 1900s. At the launch party when Scott invites all of the people who worked on the island to check it out, he announces that one of his daughters is now going to be a partner in his firm. At the same party, Scott invites Lucy out for a few more days so she can really see what they're doing.
All seems well, even idyllic with a scattering of other people working on the island. But then, there's a death. And some of the small number of people disappear (which should be difficult on a small island.)
I am not sure that I've read a Lucy Stone mystery before. And I don't think it was good to jump in here. I'm sure that Lucy has more redeeming qualities in other books but I mostly saw her being super judgmental in this book. And, based on the cover and the description, I was expecting a strict cozy and I'm not sure this book fits entirely in that category. It was an interesting read but I'll probably stick with Ellery Adams or Lynn Cahoon.

Three stars
This book comes out November 26th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Texas Wild by Brenda Jackson

In previous Westmoreland series books, we've learned that their great-grandfather was sort of a horndog and they're thinking there might be more cousins out in the world. To that end, Megan Westmoreland has hired private investigator (and the man whose two sisters have married two of the cousins), Rico Claiborne. Rico knows they have an explosive chemistry and he doesn't want it to go anywhere so he forbids her from following him to Texas where he's going to chase down a woman who was rumored to have been involved with the great-grandfather. The two hook up and Megan, who is a virgin, somewhat mind-bogglingly most of the women in this series are, immediately captures Rico's heart. An okay addition to the series and regular readers will enjoy.

Not My Type by Anna Zarlenga

This book opens, as many romance novels do, at a wedding. Teo is railing against the fact that his friend and former wingman, the one who racked up as many notches as Teo himself on their proverbial bedposts, is getting married. Teo doesn't understand it to begin with and, even worse, he keeps getting berated by the bride's sister, Sara. He immediately dismisses her as not his kind of woman and therefore not worth worrying over. They exchange insults and he goes on his merry way. Except that his merry way is suddenly roadblocked. The previously spoiled son of an Italian media mogul, Teo is now expected to... work. And he has to start by getting a degree. Too bad the class he's signed up for is the one Sara teaches. The two continue to knock heads until he offers a trade. She helps him pass her class and he will help her nab the professor she has her matrimonial eyes set on.
The premise of this book is fantastic and enemies to lovers is one of my catnips. I honestly can't tell if this book is really this choppy or if it is a problem with the translation (I tend toward the latter.) It seems like this was translated word for word rather than trying to capture the nuance of the story,. without trying to create any flow, and without any regard to social norms. Teo several times calls Sara ugly. Just straight up which is pretty shocking in a romance, even in a book that is women's fiction. His character starts as a spoiled brat and doesn't really grow that much.

Three stars
This book comes out November 21st
ARC kindly provided by Aria and NetGalley
Opinions are my own