The Arrangement -- Anthology

MISCHIEF AND THE MARQUESS by Sylvia Day
Justin, the Marquess of Fontaine, and Lady Sophie Milton-Riley are being brought together by their matchmaking mothers. Justin needs to get married and Sophie is eligible... well, not really. She's had a child out of wedlock. But Justin doesn't seem to mind; it's just Sophie. She would prefer to prove that they are incompatible. Except that they aren't...

I couldn't connect to either of these characters and it was even harder than the usual novella issues. Two and a half stars.

THE DUKE’S TREASURE by Minerva Spencer
Beaumont Halliwell, the Fifth Duke of Wroxton, needs a wealthy wife and fast. Josephine Loman's father is dying but he wants her to improve her station in life so he marries her off to Beau, telling Beau not to let her come back. Beau obeys but as he starts to get to know his wife, he realizes that he may have been hasty in assuming that a low-born woman would not be his perfect match and that he wants her to be happy in all things.

Better than the first story, this one still has a lot going on with back stories and current stories and it feels like the ending was a bit forced. Three stars.

THE INCONVENIENT COUNTESS by Kristin Vayden
Miss Diana Katherine Lambson is out of options. After her father's death, he left only debts. Her only choice is to marry Charles Brook, Earl of Barrington, who wants her family's land. While her father had strictly forbade it, Diana wants to take that chance in order to save her mother and sisters.

My favorite, this could have been a longer novel and I would have been perfectly content because it would have filled in the cracks. Three and a half stars.

Three stars
This book comes out January 28th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis

Piper Manning's parents died when she was young then her grandmother died when Piper was 18 leaving Piper in charge of her younger brother, Gavin, and her younger sister, Willow. Neither Gavin nor Willow gave Piper an easy time but she's gotten them both out of the house and on their way. She's just about to achieve her dream of selling her grandparents' property and going to school in Colorado when they both come home, needing family. Which Piper might need as well.
Trying to change their family rut is painful. Also painful? Opening her heart to the tall, dark, and handsome man she meets in a storm, Camden Reid. He's in Wildstone to reconnect with his father after his brother's death but it may be that Piper is the person to help him to stay.
Piper's brother Gavin also gets his HEA with an old flame.
A nice addition to the series. I wish Piper and Gavin had gotten separate stories because we didn't get to see the true development of either but it a good read.

Four stars
This book came out January 21st
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

In the Shadow of Vesuvius by Tasha Alexander

The book opens with a body. Emily and her husband Colin have traveled to Pompeii with their friend Ivy and they are the ones to discover that one of the bodes is from rather more recent times than nearly 1800 years ago. Their friend Jeremy also shows up as does someone from Colin's past, someone who will change the course of Emily's life.
Regular readers of the series will probably enjoy the book; we get alternating stories between Emily and a woman from before Vesuvius erupted. We also have the normal sort of mystery that you would expect from a Lady Emily story though the surprise that changes Emily's life will definitely be a sticking point for some readers (as it was for me.)

Three stories
This book came out January 7th
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own.

The Math of Life and Death by Kit Yates

Every one in awhile I like to try and stretch myself by reading a book that I don't completely understand. This was one such book. Did I understand everything about these math principles? Nope. Did this book keep me riveted? To be honest, not really; I kind of had to plow through a half chapter in a sitting before my eyes started crossing. But I finished it and found it very readable. As I was reading, I felt as though I understood what the author was saying though not enough to explain it to anyone else (which I would count as true understanding).

Four stars
This book came out January 7th
ARC kindly provided by Scribner and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

A fantasy story told through the letters of two cousins (fancy term-epistolary).
Generally speaking, it's London 1828. Only, this is a London with wizards. No, not like Harry Potter. These are wizards who are out and about in the world. But the story really focuses on two cousins, Kate and Cecelia. While Kate is in town for the London season with her very pretty younger sister, Georgy, Cecelia is staying in the country waiting to come out in the next year. Somehow, they both (separately) stumble into a wizards' feud and manage to get themselves involve.
I liked both Kate and Cecelia. They were pragmatic and strong-willed, brave, but not stupid. Each faced a powerful wizard and came out ahead. Yes, they each found their own true love but it was with the sense that it was icing on the cake for their HEA.

Five stars
This book came out April 15th, 1988

Followed by The Grand Tour
Borrowed as an ebook from the library
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby February 2023

Fatal Accusation by Marie Force

Sam and Nick are in the soup again. When the president lands himself in another scandal, this time of an affair he had while the First Lady was undergoing chemo. It just gets worse when the woman in question ends up dead. Once again, Sam and Nick will have to deal with the threat that he may have to step into the role of Commander in Chief if the president resigns  while Sam is having to hunt down a murderer.
I really liked how much Sam grew in this story. Nick is still as perfect as ever but we got to see more about how and why their marriage works.

Four stars

This book came out December 17th

Follows Fatal Reckoning

Followed by State of Affairs
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Just for Now by Rosalind James

Is there a betrayal worse than finding your partner in your very own bed with someone else? Maybe, but Jenna McKnight can't think of that. It's been over a year and she's been traveling around New Zealand just trying to find herself. Normally she's a teacher but it's the middle of the school year and no one is hiring. Except there is a man who needs a nanny but he immediately insinuates that she's there to seduce him rather than be the nanny to his children.
Finn Douglas is tired of women throwing themselves at him. Yes, he's on the All Blacks but that doesn't mean he wants to live a high-flying life. He's content to stay at home and spend time with his kids. Jenna is a complication. She definitely loves his children but she's also incredibly tempting.
A nice story; we do get to see Jenna and Finn get closer and they are mainly very smart about starting a relationship while in the position of boss/employee which is what makes the ending sort of jarring.

Three stars
This book came out August 29th, 2012
Follows Just Good Friends
Followed by Just for Fun
Read on Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own