My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding by Erin Nicholas

It's been a year since Josh Landry and Victoria (Tori) Kramer hooked up at Mardi Gras. They had made a pact to meet again at the same bar. Josh is there but Tori... isn't. He goes back to Autre to work at his family's swamp tour business... where Tori shows up the next day. She had been at the bar but, when Josh didn't show up, she kissed the man that she thought was him. Only it was her best friend who is getting married this weekend. The same man whose fiancee hates Tori because she thinks Tori is trying to talk her best friend, Andrew out of the marriage. Which Tori totally is. But not because Tori is In Love with Andrew but because she thinks the fiancee is all wrong for him. So Tori invites Josh to the wedding. That way she can prove that she's trying to break up the wedding for all the right reasons. Plus, fun make out times with Josh.

Josh is all in. Tori is his woman. Yes, the folks back in Iowa think she's a little nuts but she fits right in with the Landry family. He's determined to take this weekend to prove to Tori that he is the one for her. 

This book was a fun twist on some familiar tropes. There was no fake relationship (there could have been) and the best friends didn't fall in love. I hope that Andrew gets his own book as well as Josh's siblings, the surly Sawyer and goth-ish Kennedy.

Four stars
Followed by Sweet Home Louisiana

This book came out April 9th, 2019

Got this as an exchange from Paperback Swap and exchanged it again

Opinions are my own

The Case of the Careless Kitten by Erle Stanley Gardner

Can the actions of a cat help solve a mystery? They will if the main character is lawyer Perry Mason. He's trying to figure out whether or not Helen Kendal's uncle, who has been missing for 10 years but her aunt refuses to declare him dead, is really.
Someone purporting to be her uncle has called Helen and asked her to meet him. But when she shows up, there's a dead body who isn't her uncle. In between the call and the discovery, her kitten is poisoned. And that's all in the beginning of the story.
I picked this up based on the Classic Mysteries podcast. But it took quite a bit to slog through this book. The dated attitudes are harder to take in some books than others and this story was also pretty convoluted.

Three stars
This book came out
Borrowed this book from the library
Opinions are my own

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 It's time to attend a (minor) celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island. Alternating chapters build in depth characters show the tension that exists before the guests arrive. Many because of old friendships and school ties. The tensions build, culminating in a death.
This book drew me in. There were parts where I wanted to stop and check the ending to see if it would be worth finishing, but I didn't. I could definitely pinpoint who the murderer was but wobbled on who was going to get killed. I loved that the author only gradually revealed the information regarding both the killer and the victim and that it paralleled the history unraveling.

Four stars

This book came out June 2nd

Borrowed this as an ebook from the library

Opinions are my own

The Best Man Plan by Jaci Burton

Dumped by an email? Two days before her wedding? To a man she's known since they were kids? This is Erin Bellini's reality. And it sucks. But she pushes through and turns her wedding reception into a celebration for her family's winery. She also decides that she's going to get revenge on her fiance. The best way to do that? Sleep with his best friend (a friend of both of them since childhood,) Jason.

But Jason is having none of that. He's had a crush on Erin for forever and was just working up the courage to ask her out when Owen swooped in. So now that Erin is single again, he's going to make sure that she's coming after him for the right reasons. 

And I wish that there had been even a little bit more time in between Erin getting dumped and her hooking up with Jason. I get that he's her Twu Lurv and thus it is All Okay but it didn't really work for me. Yes, I knew this going into the book but Burton is an amazing author and made it so this wasn't a DNF book for me. I am looking forward to other books in the series.

Three stars

Followed by the Engagement Arrangement

This book comes out July 7th

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Hosed by Pippa Grant, Lili Valente

Cassie Sunderwell doesn't want to stay in Happy Cat, Georgia for long. Her job as a coder is in San Francisco and she is feeling overwhelmed by the nosiness of this small town. She wouldn't be here at all if her sister's husband hadn't decided that he liked a sheep better than her sister. Now her sister is in England leaving Cassie in charge of the sex toy factory that specializes in all-natural lube. Of course, not everyone in town is happy to have this particular factory there, even if it employs many people. But does that mean that someone is trying to sabotage the factory?
Yes. And it starts with explosions that bring firefighter Ryan O'Dell back into Cassie's orbit. They had worked on a project together in high school that left Cassie with a disgust of him. Even if he is mouth-wateringly hot.
This was just the sort of fun and fluffy book that I've come to expect from Pippa Grant. Lili Valente writes just as well. And a pet racoon? Okay, I'll bite.

Four stars
Followed by Hammered
This book came out January 15th, 2019
Borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

OMG. This book was... everything. In general, I don't like first person narration. It's usually better if it is alternating but Hall stuck with Lucien "Luc" O'Donnell and he was just so perfectly imperfect. Growing up the child of two people who were music stars in the '80s, he's famous for being the child of famous people. His one and only long-term relationship ended when his boyfriend sold their story fifty grand sending Luc's life into a spiral And since then, the paparazzi loves to follow him around like in the opening scene. He meets a cute guy while dressed as a rabbit but accidentally chases the guy off. While Luc is leaving the club, he trips on the sidewalk and is in the papers once again for allegedly being drunk/high/whatever. That's bad enough but, as a manager of donors for a nonprofit helping the dung beetles, Luc's job is now in jeopardy because donors don't believe that someone as out of control as Luc could reasonably be trusted with their funds. And with their biggest fundraising opportunity happening soon, Luc needs to fix his reputation fast. Is it the best plot point? Maybe. I worked for a nonprofit and there are definitely donors who will pull their money based on the stupidest of reasons. But it makes a good impetus for Luc to start dating someone who is looks like a grown-up steady person. And his best friend Bridget just happens to have the guy.
Oliver Blackwood is also perfectly imperfect. Even as Luc's white knight, the vegetarian barrister needs saving as well.
There could have been more resolution with Oliver's parents but the parts with Luc's dad and mom were perfect. Yes they were big stars but his mother loves Luc for who he is and Luc is able to make peace with who his father is and their relationship.

Four and a half stars.
This book comes out July 7, 2020

Followed by Husband Material

ARC kindly provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding by Erin Nicholas

It's been a year since Josh Landry and Victoria (Tori) Kramer hooked up at Mardi Gras. They had made a pact to meet again at the same bar. Josh is there but Tori... isn't. He goes back to Autre to work at his family's swamp tour business... where Tori shows up the next day. She had been at the bar but, when Josh didn't show up, she kissed the man that she thought was him. Only it was her best friend who is getting married this weekend. The same man whose fiancee hates Tori because she thinks Tori is trying to talk her best friend, Andrew out of the marriage. Which Tori totally is. But not because Tori is In Love with Andrew but because she thinks the fiancee is all wrong for him. So Tori invites Josh to the wedding. That way she can prove that she's trying to break up the wedding for all the right reasons. Plus, fun make out times with Josh.
Josh is all in. Tori is his woman. Yes, the folks back in Iowa think she's a little nuts but she fits right in with the Landry family. He's determined to take this weekend to prove to Tori that he is the one for her.
This book was a fun twist on some familiar tropes. There was no fake relationship (there could have been) and the best friends didn't fall in love. I hope that Andrew gets his own book as well as Josh's siblings, the surly Sawyer and goth-ish Kennedy.

April 9th, 2019
Four stars
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own