Speakeasy by Sarina Bowen

May Shipley isn't really all that old but she could already be assigned many labels: lawyer, alcoholic, bisexual. But she really is sick and tired of her family  treating her like fragile glass. It doesn't exactly help that the book opens as she stops by a bar. She sees her girlfriend's car and decides to stop by and say hello. Too bad she walks in to see her girlfriend kissing the woman she dated before May. Before May can do anything physical, Alec Rossi, the bar's owner hustles over and carries her out.
Alec had only just put together that May's girlfriend was cheating on her and was debating whether or not to let her know when she walks into the bar. Helping her out that night leads to helping her out at her law school reunion (which her ex is also attending) which leads to sex. And somehow that all leads to an HEA.
There was so much going on in this book. There were the people from previous books and all of that history crowding this one as well as all of the possible sequel bait. I didn't think you needed to have read the previous books but there was an overabundance of info-dumping. And there was so much going on with Alec, I'm going to be brutally honest, I just got sick of hearing about it. I wish we had heard more from May because I never got to connect with her.

Three stars
This book came out in May 29th, 2018
Borrowed this book from Audible Escape
Opinions are my own

The Kissing Game by Marie Harte

Rena Jackson has saved up enough money to open her own beauty salon so she's leaving her  job at, well, a dive bar. Of course, that means that she's going to be leaving behind the Viking hunk, Axel Heller. It's just too bad she never could connect with him.
Axel is ready to step up and finally ask Rena out. Eventually. There is a LOT of thinking about it. But the two finally get together but still have obstacles to overcome, including Rena's dreams going up in smoke.
Oh man. I usually like Marie Harte but the pacing in this book was just... weird. Scenes didn't follow each other well and it just got choppy.  I didn't mind the German insertions at first but, wow, they got to be a lot. Harte is a good author but this book does not prove it.

Two stars
This book came out February 4th
ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Twice the Witch by Danielle Garrett

Well. I spoke too soon. I noted in my review of the first book in this series that I was happy there were no love triangles as that is an overused trope. This book... ufda. So many.
Holly wonders what is going on with her boyfriend Adam and the new witch in the house, supernatural TV star Evangeline Loren. Adam is wondering what is going on with Holly and her private investigator friend, Nick. Holly is sure that her friend/boss at the coffee shop has a crush on Nick.
Adding into her personal drama is the fact that her coworker Paisley's cousin, Katarina, is missing. Holly gets Katarina's mom in touch with Nick but it ends up being Holly who stumbles across her first. Too bad it's because Katarina is a ghost and no one else (except the other supernaturals) can see her.

Three stars
Follows Murder's a Witch
Followed by Witch Slapped
This book came out September 19th, 2016
Borrowed this as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Murder's a Witch by Danielle Garrett

When Holly Boldt's boss is killed, she's worried that all of her own secrets will be revealed. The fact that she's an exiled witch working in the human world already makes her life fraught with danger. She's still allowed to practice some magic but making potions... well, that's kept on the sly. But she generally likes her life and Beechwood Harbor is starting to feel like home. So she's trying to stay on the DL, living her life at the manor with other supernaturals including a vampire and a shifter while working at a coffee shop. The day that she ports in behind and finds a body surrounded by broken peppermint bottles is the day that she starts to worry about her place. She's not a suspect, but her close friend is.
A nice start to a new series. I'm glad that it doesn't seem like there will be a love triangle.

Four stars
Followed by Twice the Witch
This book came out August 9th, 2016
Borrowed this as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own

Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday

I have enjoyed other books by Ms. Holiday but this one just didn't resonate as well. I think part of the problem was that this took place over a year which should have been great for the relationship development but, instead, we just dipped in and out of different days making it feel a little bit more shallow. And I wish Eve hadn't let Sawyer off so easy for making life decisions for her even if it was "better in the end." That's a BS reason to make decisions for somebody else and that seems to be a theme in romance novels I'm reading lately, men making sweeping life decisions for women because they "know" best. In at least one other book the guy figured out his mistake and I guess Sawyer sort of did but I wish we had seen more.

Two and a half stars
Followed by Paradise Cove
This book came out January 28th, 2020
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Oh man. I was SO excited for this book and when I saw that my library had an audio version, I was even more excited.  I LOVE when authors, especially celebrities, read their own books. This is not a new conceit, gathering tweets to make a book. And these are positive tweets! Both for the morning and the night! And it's Lin-Manuel Miranda! But listening to a bunch of tweets gets really tiring after awhile. And listening to one, or two, or even ten at a time, ruminating on them and enjoying them takes a really. long. time. 

I believe that I would have given this a higher rating had I read the book rather than listening to it and urge others to do the same.

Two Stars

This book came out October 16th, 2018

I borrowed this as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

Husband Material by Brenda Jackson

Producer Matthew Birmingham and actress Carmen Akins were married. But then their differences became too great and they divorced. For Carmen, Matthew was becoming too much like her father - he loved his work more than her. And she expressed that to him. When he missed a trip she had specifically prepared for the two of them to connect, Carmen was done.
Matthew knew that he was spending a lot of time at work but he was blindsided by Carmen's wanting a divorce. Now that she's in their house in the Hamptons and not going to leave (it was part of the divorce settlement that she could be there if he wasn't), he's ready for a little revenge. But he learns that what he thought about their divorce isn't the whole  story, he changes his goals for their time together.
This would have been better as a full book. There was so little connection between the two characters other than the sex that it made it hard to connect to them or to believe in their HEA.

Two stars
This novella originally came out as a part of an anthology but was re-released as an ebook this year.
Opinions are my own