The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts

Hope Beaumont was introduced to the series in book one, The Next Always, when she joined the Boonsboro in as the innkeeper. When she and Ryder Montgomery saw each other for the first time, a bolt of lightning hit each. Then they took an instant dislike, each assuming the other was some sort of snooty or snotty. So of course, we the readers knew they were some day going to fall in love. 

It's a good, steady Roberts story with a little bit of the supernatural thrown in. In this book, we get to find out about Lizzie and her lover and they get their happy ending as well (it's a romance, this is not a spoiler.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 1st, 2011

Follows The Last Boyfriend

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Flare Up by Shannon Stacey

I wish I had read this book closer to the time I had read the others in the series because I had forgotten most of Wren and Grant's back story (some of which was seen in other books) and I couldn't remember most of the rest of the characters which made me feel slightly disconnected. I think it would have been different if I just hadn't read the series at all but knowing that I had read about these people but just couldn't remember their stories frustrated me a little. I also didn't realize that there were two or three chapters at the end of the book from another of Stacey's series and was sort of startled at how quickly the ending wrapped up when I was expecting so many more pages.

Grant Cutter was well on his way to the HEA that all of his other friends were experiencing. Then Wren Everett just disappeared, breaking his heart. He is therefore fairly shocked to see her again when he is called to a fire in a not-so-great part of Boston. 

Wren is also surprised to see Grant again. She ran to protect him when she feared that her abusive ex had found her again. But now that Grant is back in her life, she isn't sure she can walk away again.

I liked that Grant didn't immediately try to swoop in and rescue Wren when she lost almost everything in the fire. Instead, he was respectful of what she needed. He was a little less understanding about why she ran in the first place but I was actually more shocked that some of the women in his life were less understanding as well. 

Three stars

This book came out 

Follows Under Control

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

Not my favorite Agatha Christie for sure but an okay read nonetheless.  Part of my yuck includes casual racism and romanticizing of physical violence. 

Short synopsis: Girl, who recently lost her father, sets out to find adventure. When she witnesses an accidental death on a train platform, it sets off a train of excitement which leads to South Africa as well as several attempts on her life. Colonel Race is actually a minor character but the events in this book do lead him in to his life of fighting crime.

Three stars

This book came out August 22nd, 1924

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

When Nayna Sharma was 14, her sister ran away to get married. This wouldn't be so bad if their family weren't so darn traditional. Seeing how it affected her family, Nayna has since become the perfect daughter. And more and more she's starting to feel like she's in the perfect cage. Now that she's agreed to an arranged marriage, she sees the door to the cage swinging shut. For one night, she just wants to be a "normal" twenty-eight-year-old woman. So she goes to a party and makes out with a guy. At least she does until she sticks her foot in her mouth. And he disappears. Until he shows up at her parents as the next possible marriage match...

Raj Sen is traditional and he wants a traditional life. That means a wife who stays home and takes care of him and, hopefully, his future children. But when he meets Nayna at a party, he decides that he needs to find her again before he can fall into marriage. He is shocked that the dutiful daughter he is meeting is the same woman. But he asks her if they can see where the relationship is going to go. Working around old pains, meddling families, and family health issues makes the path to an HEA rather hard but worth it.

I might have been anticipating this book a little too much. It was very good but I got rather annoyed with the frequent mentions of Nayna being so dutiful and Raj being long suffering. It may also have been different if I had read it rather than listening to it. edited to add: It was different reading it. I liked it so much more as an ebook.

Four stars

This book came out September 18, 2018

Follows Cherish Hard

Followed by Love Hard

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Reread as ebook from Libby January 2022

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

I really enjoyed this book. At it's core, it's really about becoming more intentional - meditating on why we want to be around other people. And it should go deeper than - it's my friend's birthday, I want to celebrate her 365ish days around the sun. I actually read this to see if it would be a useful book for work and it really would be. In terms of creating meetings, fast get togethers, and even massive fundraising banquets, thinking about the WHY is as important as the actually DOING of an event. Some home truths that hit home for me as well were that more is not always merrier and that a host can't just chill - they need to ride the balance between completely hands off and dictating every minute.

Four stars

This book came out May 15th, 2018

Hard copy I passed on

Opinions are my own

The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews

Meg has her hands full, not only with her own twins but also Timmy, whose mother joined the army and is now stationed in Germany. So when she wakes up one night to the sounds of animals, she's confused. The only animal they have is her mother-in-law's (now her and Mike's) dog, Spike, and he's with her. When she goes downstairs, she discovers her father, grandfather, brother and the local vet moving animals into her living room. It seems the CORSICANs (Members of the Committee Opposed to the Ruthless Slaughter of Innocent Captive Animals) have broken into the local shelter after the news that the county manager and mayor have decided that it is too expensive to keep up the no-kill policy. This is only one of the most recent controversial decisions made by the new manager and mayor.

Then, the fifth member of the break-in crew turns up dead, some really hard questions have to be asked. Was it one of the many women that this fella was sleeping with? Or something more sinister?

Four stars

This book came out July 19th, 2011

Meg Langslow #13

Follows Stork Raving Mad

Followed by Some like It Hawk

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread November 2024 as Audible audiobook

Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews

Caerphilly College has no heat anywhere on campus which means that all of the students have been outsourced and Meg and her professor husband's house is a likely spot since it is large and rambling. That includes one student whose final thesis project is interpreting a Spanish play into English and then performing it. The 80-something playwright is discovered to be alive and has even flown over for the event. However, the head of the English Department (which oversees the drama students as well) has shown up with her minion from the President's Office saying that the thesis is unacceptable. Since this isn't the first time she has proved herself to be thoroughly unlikable, it's no surprise that she ends up dead. In fact, the bigger surprise is exactly how many people actually tried to kill her. 

There was a lot going on in this one but I think it is the basis for at least one of the twin's names.

Three stars

This book came out July 6th, 2010

Meg Langslow #12

Follows Swan for the Money

Followed The Real Macaw

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Reread November 2024 as Audible audiobook