A Void of Magic by Sandy Williams

Four years ago, Kennedy Rain got out of the family business. She wouldn't have come back now except her parents want to go on a second honeymoon. Again. So now she's back. And there's something going on, secrets that her parents have been keeping. It's well known that The Rain is a "null place". The problems (and pluses) that come with being a paranormal (vampire, werewolf, etc.) are voided in The Rain and there has been a treaty in place for hundreds of years keeping Kennedy's family and The Rain safe. But someone isn't happy with the status quo. Suddenly, the tables have turned and the treaty has been breached. 

This book, of course, reminded me of the Innkeeper's Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. The ages are a bit younger but you have the site of an Inn being "neutral territory" and a hotel owner who has (or at least it's hinted out) powers as well. 

Like most first books, this book is just the seed of an idea. There's not a lot developed about the hotel and there are a lot of secrets that even the readers don't get to know. It's an interesting start and I suspect the readers of Williams's other books may enjoy this one.

Three stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

Jones's series often deal with heavy issues but with whacky twists and truly unusual situations. This book is no different. The wackiness is maybe starting to veer a little too far for me but I still highly enjoyed the character building in this book as well as the overarching story. Auri could have been a little quieter but we keep being told that Sunshine was a handful as a child and therefore deserves a child who is just as wild. Though maybe not quite so death-defying. 

Sunny just needs one day off. But she's not going to get it in this book. She is now counting on both hands the number of people who claim to have killed Brick Ravinder, the man who kidnapped Sunshine when she was a teen. Even his brother, in a prison in Arizona, is getting in on the action. And in the middle of all this, she might be developing some feelings for her best friend. Well, she's at least considering it.

Of course, her daughter Auri isn't sitting quietly by either. She's been cleaning out her granparents' attic and discovered a ream of old newspaper articles referring to mysterious disappearances in town. And Auri thinks she knows who is behind it...

Four stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

Follows a Bad Day for Sunshine

Followed by A Good Day for a Hangover

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Winterborne Home for Mayhem and Mystery by Ally Carter

Three months after the end of the last book, the children of the Winterborne Home are feeling a little bit desperate. Gabriel Winterborne is back but his abrupt return to life chased off Isabella Nelson, the woman who had been running the home. Everything is falling apart which is not a good time since an agent from Child Protective Services has decided to stop by. And on a day when a new Sadiematic is being tested. And Violet is for sure needing new clothes since Tim had to split the back of her dress in order for her current clothes to fit. It's just not a good time.

But it appears that someone is after April. And, though there are people there to protect her, it might not be how she expects. Or perhaps even wants.

Another interesting book in the series. There is a little bit of character development in this book but it is more about the adventure than anything else. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 2nd, 2021

Follows by Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball by T.E. Kinsey

The Dizzy Heights are playing a private party this time at a pretty swank out-in-the-country house in Oxfordshire. And though some of the family are welcoming (notably the youngest son and the music producer uncle), there are definitely undercurrents of animosity as the wealthy father has recently remarried and the new wife is only a year older than his oldest son. With a fortune built on biscuits, he has money to divide up and there is some indication that he may be changing his will and that most of his children (if not all four) seem to have a problem with that. No surprise, of course, that he ends up dead. It appears to be a suicide at first glance but Skins and Dunn quickly realize that there is more than meets the eye. 

A highly enjoyable story, as usual from Kinsey. The author capture the feel of the time and place and acknowledges things like "Oh, we couldn't possibly find ANOTHER secret passage.."

Four stars

This book came out March 1, 2021

Follows The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds

ARC kindly provided by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances Wynn adored being a widow but she is still looking forward to marrying George Hazelton. Well, as long as he's not actually already married. But that is what a hysterical woman is trying to claim. She also says that she's the illegitimate daughter of one of the Russian royal family. It turns out her name is Irena and some of her stories seem to be true. At least true enough that she ends up dead. In Frances's garden no less. Can Frances figure out what is going on before she and George are ostracized from society completely?

Irena was really, really annoying. I often expect it when an old curmudgeon is killed off in a book but this was the first time I was actually relieved that a character was gone. Unfortunately, the rest of the story follows a lot of the zaniness that Irena introduced without the charm of previous books in the series (which I would highly recommend reading).

Three stars

Follows A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder

Followed by A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

This was a fast and furious romance. "No sooner met but they looked; no sooner looked but they loved..." and all that rot. I didn't like that aspect of it and the end wrapped up with rather a whimper but the more I thought about that, the more I appreciated the twist from what romance readers might normally expect. 

Lady Merritt Sterling is the daughter of Lillian and Marcus of the Wallflower series. If you haven't read other books in this series, I suspect there may be a rather lot of names in this book. I've read all of the Wallflower books and all of the Ravenels (I've even reread the latter series recently) and I had trouble keeping up. But most of the romance occurs between Merritt and Keir McRae, a whiskey distributor. The book opens with the two meeting after McRae's shipment through her company is sent to the wrong port, potentially subject to extra taxes if it's not where it's supposed to be in the next day, and some of the men that she's hired to offload said shipment spilled a cask on McRae himself.

Now, Merritt has flaunted tradition by running a shipping company so she's already on shaky ice by society's standards. Now, she's thinking of taking up with a man with no history (he's literally an orphan with no hint of his past except a golden key) because he's hot. With icy blue eyes. And she wants to go to bed with him. And apparently the night is transcendent because not even being stabbed nor social conventions can make McRae stay away. But being stabbed isn't the only way someone tries to kill him and it may take a lot of cunning and some inventive stories to keep McRae alive and for the two to find their HEA.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 27th, 2021

Follows Chasing Cassandra

Followed by Devil in Spring

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow is once again embroiled in a Christmas mystery. This time, she is in charge of the Christmas pageant when a second baby Jesus shows up. But this one is a girl and the note that was left with the baby points at Meg's brother Rob as being her dad.

This is bad because Rob was planning on proposing to his girlfriend and, with a rash of past girlfriends popping up, Delaney doesn't seem like she's going to accept any time soon.

All of this is tied into a murder in nearby Clay County (often the bad guys in this series) and it will take Meg to tie it all together.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 16th, 2018

Follows Toucan Keep a Secret

Followed by Terns of Endearment

Opinions are my own

Reread as Audible book December 2023