The Estate of the Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

Whew. This book has a heck of a lot going on and the ending was... a little odd. I didn't read all of the books ahead of it in the series but I have read a few. I was still a little lost. There was a lot of backstory that was assumed and a lot of characters that we probably already knew. 
Campion and Amanda are visiting her old homestead along with Lugg and their son. There promises to be a fantastical weekend party but the lead up is marred by the death of a friend, the local tax collector known as Little Doom. While it seemed his death would be fairly imminent, someone may have hurried him along and Albert Campion needs to figure out who.

Three stars
This book came out January 1st, 1955
Follows The Tiger in the Smoke
Followed by Tether's End
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

An Unexpected Pleasure by Candace Camp

American Megan Mulcahey is convinced that English nobleman Theo Moreland killed her brother ten years ago. And now her sister is having dreams that her family believes that they should take revenge. Megan gets taken on as a tutor for the two youngest of the Moreland children, twin boys who get into mischief in every book of this series. She doesn't actually know as much as them in some subjects but she only needs to hang on long enough to find proof that Theo murdered Dennis. Unfortunately, she finds herself charmed by the family and falling in love with Theo.
The Moreland family is unusual and that means that Theo doesn't necessarily think that finding the tutor in his father's study means anything malicious. He is more amused than alarmed. It doesn't hurt that said tutor is beautiful. 
It took me a little bit to get into this book because the beginning was just a little slow. I was pretty much considering a DNF at around the 80 page mark but read the last 30 pages and decided to wade through. And it was worth it. Most of the real story action starts about three-quarters of the way in but you need a lot of the slog to really understand what is going on. Like all of the books in the Mad Moreland series, there is a lot of mystical-type stuff going on but bringing that in is when the book really started to get good.

Three stars
This book came out August 29th, 2006
Follows Winterset
Followed by His Sinful Touch
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Taming Natasha by Nora Roberts

 I know I read this book much closer to the publication date and I think I even carried the series around with me for a few years so it is hard to say how well it holds up but I think overall pretty well. Spencer Kimball, composer and professor, is a little much sometimes but Natasha "Tash" Stanislaski deals with him quite well. She does run a bit from her own past but her family is there to bolster her back to where she belongs. 
Spencer is tired of New York. He grew up there, was a spoiled playboy there, almost missed out on his daughter's life there. He lost his music there. So he moves to West Virginia. And it's there that he meets toy store owner Natasha Stanislaski. First drawn to her by her looks, he soon find out that she is much more than than just her face. She is a vibrant, caring woman who might just change his life.

Three stars
This book came out March 1990
Followed by Luring a Lady
Ebook borrowed from Libby
Opinions are my own

Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston

Lou Crushek is a bear shifter who doesn't like change. At all. So when he's transferred with no notice from his police unit to the one containing all shifters, he's not happy. Who cares if his former foster mother, the head of the Bears Protection Agency, has basically doxxed him? He's also not excited to have picked up a female who seems to relish teasing him about their "dating" life.
Marcella Malone knows that Lou isn't her boyfriend. But he's so fun to tease. And it turns out that her work with the feline protection agency overlaps an investigation that he is very much an important part of. 
The more I read this book the more I enjoy it. Cella has a sly humor that makes her a great character for the series.

Four stars

This book came out March 27th, 2012

Follows Big Bad Beast
Followed by Wolf with Benefits
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024

The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters

Jacqueline Kirby is visiting and old friend in England. While there, she is invited to go with him too a country manor where a group of current day Richard III sympathizers will reenact his life before a letter is unveiled proving that Richard did not kill the princes in the tower.
But someone begins playing malicious pranks on the guests portraying Richard's rivals in the same order that Richard supposedly killed them. 
Not my favorite Kirby novel but still shows Jacqueline's amazing sense of humor. And is amazingly better as an audiobook.

Three stars
Follows The Seventh Sinner
Followed by Die for Love
This book came out January 1st, 1974

Audiobook from Audible Premium Plus
Opinions are my own

Scandal in the VIP Suite by Nadine Gonzalez

 I loved the cover of this book and the premise seemed interesting so I requested it from NetGalley. I'm not a huge Harlequin reader these days but this book reminded me why I used to be. A great story, well-developed, with a happy ending in a short format. I didn't love the ending because it was telegraphed so clearly and I wasn't sure I really believed it because up until that point, Nina and Julian had been communicating so well with each other, the Big Misunderstanding seemed out of character. I also don't love public declarations and, whoo baby, this one was public. Otherwise, Nina was a great character whose flaws we got to see as well as her journey getting past some of her fears. Julian also has a past and I loved that, even though she could have been, his ex wasn't vilified but was instead shown to be a human. 
When Nina Taylor arrives at the luxurious Sand Castle hotel (which, even the author notes is sort of a ridiculous name for a hotel), she is expecting to honor her mother's legacy by getting to stay in The Oasis, their most opulent suite. But, instead, she's been kicked out so that a movie star can stay instead.
Julian Knight doesn't feel much like a movie star. His shine has been tarnished with a bad film and even worse press. Staying at the Sand Castle means he'll get a respite from all the press. He's not expecting to find someone sleeping in his bed. Nor that he'll impulsively offer to let him stay. Even more shocking is that she accepts...

Four stars
This book comes out January 12th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston

Dee Ann Smith, the feared wolf-shifter who's not afraid to kill, gets her HEA with Ulrich "Ric" Van Holtz in this book. He's loved her since they were children and, despite the admonitions of all of those around them, the two have finally started moving toward love. 
Of course, we get to see many of the shifters from previous books and there is more going on with the overarching story of people using hybrids as fight dogs. A wonderful book in the series since we get to see so much of their relationship growing.

Four stars

This book came out May 25th, 2010

Follows Beast Behaving Badly
Followed by Bear Meets Girl
Hard copy I own
Opinions are my own

Reread as borrowed audiobook from Audible January 2024