Mystery at the Masquerade (, #3) by Josh Lanyon

Ellery Page is settling into his new home town and running the local bookstore. He might be a little disappointed that the romance he thought he had going with Police Chief Jack Carson seems to have cooled into a friendship but this small town has been welcoming. He's got a Scrabble night, a book club, and an invitation to the yearly Marauder's Masquerade. The party is thrown by a local founding family who still wield a lot of influence and money, the Bloodworths. There is mother, Marguerite, her younger (and philandering) husband Brett, and son Julian.
Not sure why he was invited, Ellery soon discovers that Julian has a massive crush on him, based on Ellery's past as a movie star. Ellery is bemused by his overtures but not as amused when the two stumble across a body in the family crypt. When Julian is arrested for the crime, Ellery is conscripted to help find the truth.
I hadn't read the other two books in this series but didn't feel like I had missed very much. The mystery in this story is given some short shrift with a B plot feeling a little underdeveloped. The flow of the story was also sometimes stilted but this was overall a light story with engaging characters (I was invested in Jellery (is that a thing?) from their first scene together.

Three stars

Follows Secret at Skull House

This book came out February 28th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by JustJoshin Publishing, Inc. and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death by Intermission by Alexis Morgan

I hadn't read any of the other books in this series but I didn't feel that I needed to. There was a lot of information in this book (some of it was said repeatedly) so we got a good idea of most things without needing to have read the rest of the series. Abby was maybe a little foolhardy but she did communicate with the police a lot so at least it wasn't that. The end was a little bit "I figured it out because now you're trying to kill me!" but overall a good book.
Abby is really starting to settle into her newly adopted town even being one of the organizers of the outdoor movie and picnic nights. Yes, she's stumbled over some dead bodies in the past but she's made it through and even has a good friendship (possibly more) with her tenant. Too bad there's another dead body found in the woods during the clean up. And it's really, really too bad that her mother's new boyfriend has been implicated.

Three stars

Follows Death by Auction

This book came out January 26th, 2021

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Blitzen's Fated Mate by R.E. Butler

I had heard about this book on the Smart Bitches Trashy books website. They gave it an F+ for just pure nutsiness and I loved the review. 
Honestly, I don't think Elyse's review can be beat so the TL;DR is that the shifter in the "Blitzen position" falls out of the sky and meets his fated mate who he more or less immediately starts boning.

Two and a half stars

Followed by Dasher's Fated Mate

This book came out February 29th, 2016

Kindle book

Opinions are my own

Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle

Sydney Ragsdale is grateful that she has her grandparents old house to retreat to after her divorce. It is cold and drafty but full of good memories. She has a job that will start in a few weeks and she hopes that her daughter, Ray Anne, will be happy there. Sydney is especially excited to have a part-time job at the local bookstore run by Bea. 
Kevin "Mac" MacAlea loves Hopewell. It's the reason he moved back here to be a teacher at the high school as well as a baseball coach. He's raising his son on his own after the boy's mother just walked out. So far, he's not feeling like he's missing anything. But he does see Sydney and figures he can always help a new neighbor learn to love his town too. 
There was a Big Incident at the end which seemed a little overwrought to me but otherwise was a good book. I also wished we had gotten to see a little bit more of Sydney and Mac's relationship since the book ended more or less at the beginning of a relationship.

Three stars

This book came out October 10th, 2017

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau

I only discovered Jackie Lau last year even though the Smart Bitches have talked about her for years. Her characters are captivating and her stories are generally pretty fun even if the last Big Misunderstanding in this one was a bit forced.
Victor Choi is still mourning the loss of his brother five years ago. And I did think the mourning was handled realistically (having lost my own brother just over 2 years ago, I connected with him.) He was always the more serious sibling but now he is downright dour. His new neighbor, Amy Sharpe, is exactly the opposite. 
Thirty years old and entering grad school, Amy inherited a house in Toronto from her great aunt and is delighted. She gets to try new foods, she gets to meet new people... like the hottie next door who tends to mow his grass with his shirt off (we hear about that a LOT). Sure, he's handsome and good in bed but he needs to step it up. Amy spent years in a relationship where she put in the majority of the work. But first he needs to pull his head out of his own ass.

Three and a half stars

Followed by His Grumpy Childhood Friend

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

This book came out September 8th, 2020

Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders

Josie Way used to work for the Library of Congress but, after entering the witness protection program, she moves to Oregon where she becomes the librarian of a small town. What she quickly discovers is that the library, the legacy of one of the town's now disgraced founding family, is soon to be demolished. But she is ready to fight for the library, especially when the books begin whispering to her. 
First books often have the heavy lifting of having to establish not only characters but the world in which they live. Josie is only just finding out that her family has magical powers so there is a lot of story before we even find out more about where her powers come from and how they manifest. IT was an okay book but I hope the witchy side is built out more in subsequent books.

Three stars

Followed by Seven-Year Witch

This book came out December 29, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

Badass Habits by Jen Sincero

Benjamin Franklin had a theory that some people are abstainers and some people are moderators. Jen Sincero is definitely a moderator and seems to assume that everyone else is as well. If you know yourself to be an abstainer, this book is not going to be for you. Otherwise, if you know that you are a moderator and that you love Sincero's books, I think you will delight in this new addition.

Two and a half stars

This book came out December 1st, 2020

ebook borrowed from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own