A Gentleman's Honor by Stephanie Laurens

Alicia and her sister, Adriana, have made a desperate bid to save their family. After their parents died, they were left with their three brothers. So they're using the last of their fortune for Alicia, masquerading as a widow, to bring her sister out into society. Hopefully Adriana's good looks will allow her to marry well (and  hopefully for love) and support the rest of them. 

Too bad Mr. Ruskin has attached himself to Alicia. And especially bad that, after a somewhat public argument, Alicia is found over his dead body.

Luckily, Tony Blake, Viscount Torrington, is the first to find her. He can immediately tell that she is not the killer in this situation. He is also immediately intrigued by Alicia. So now she has to balance the fact that she is falling in love with this man with the fact that she is supposed to be a widow in the know about how live (and physical love) work. Oh, and there's the tiny matter that someone seems to be working behind the scenes to make society believe that Alicia is a murderer.

Not my favorite in this series but not a bad book at all. 

Three and a half stars

This book came out in 2003

Follows The Lady Chosen

Followed by A Lady of His Own

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

This is one of Agatha Christie's stories that isn't part of one of her series. In this book, the narrator, Charles Haward, has fallen in love with a beautiful young woman. Sophia Leonides is part of an interesting family though; her grandfather, unlike most people, has made a great deal of money during the war. His family almost all live with him in a great mansion. Also living with them? His very young wife as well as the grandchildren's tutor who wasn't fit for the war. 

Sophia's grandfather dies suddenly and it is a case of poisoning. While most of the family seems to believe it is the very young wife and the tutor, Charles' father (the lead on the case) isn't as sure and conscripts Charles to find out more. 

The ending is like no other in the Christie catalog and probably shocked a number of readers when it came out. An enjoyable read, this fairly short book could have been maybe even a little shorter but was still fun to get through. 

Four stars

This book came out in 1949

Borrowed as ebook from Liby

Opinions are my own

December 2022 Rereads

Opinions are my own

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #4

This book came out September 6th, 2002

Follows Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos

Followed by We'll Always have Parrots

Audible book I own

We'll Always have Parrots by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #5

This book came out September 6th, 2002

Follows Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

Followed by Owls Well that Ends Well

Audible book I own

Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #6

This book came out March 7th, 2006

Follows We'll Always Have Parrots

Followed by No Nest for the Wicket

Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #32

Four stars

This book came out October 11, 2022

Follows Round Up the Usual Peacocks

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews

Meg Langslow #18

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 21, 2014

Follows The Good, the Bad, and the Emus

Followed by Lord of the Wings

Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
Meg Langslow #26
This book came out October 15th
Follows Terns of Endearment
Followed by The Falcon Always Rings Twice
Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot #7

Four stars

This book came out 1933

Follows Peril at End House

Followed by Murder on the Orient Express

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews 

Innkeeper Chronicles #1

Four stars

Followed by Sweep in Peace

cGraphicAudio borrowed from Libby

Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #2

Follows Clean Sweep

Followed by One Fell Sweep

This book came out November 13, 2015

GraphicAudio borrowed from Libby

One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #3

Follows Sweep in Peace

Followed by Sweep of the Blade

This book came out November 13, 2015

GraphicAudio borrowed from Libby

Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #4

Follows One Fell Sweep
Followed by Sweep of the Heart
This book came out December 2018
GraphicAudio of mine

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews

Innkeeper Chronicles #4.5

Follows Sweep of the Blade

This book came out December 20th, 2016

Ebook of my own on Kindle

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Poirot is vacationing with his good friend, Hastings. While enjoying the sun, he is approached by a young woman, Nick Buckley. She is a part of the flapper crowd but is scared. There have been a few too many accidents and she is worried that one of them might eventually kill her. And a death does occur at End House, the giant, crumbling mansion that Nick loves. But it is not her. Poirot is irate and determined that no more people should die.

The ending is a little convoluted as can happen with Christie but overall a delightful book.

Four stars

This book came out in 1932

Follows Black Coffee

Followed by Lord Edgeware Dies

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz

This book starts seemingly somewhat in the middle of the story. Some major things have already happened to Pallas Llewellyn and Ambrose Drake before they meet. One of the things involves Pallas meeting her two friends Talia March and Amelia Rivers who we do not get to see much of at all in this book and, even knowing their books are coming, I was sad not to see more interactions to tie the series together.

Pallas is one of a trio of podcasters who investigate interesting cases. She is in town because Ambrose has contacted her. Her own past is complicated by a lost night that amplified her psychic powers. 

Ambrose has his own lost night and his family believes it is driving him mad. But he knows that someone died in a mental hospital and he wants help. Pallas... will be that help. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out January 3, 2023

Followed by The Night Island

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own 

Reread as audiobook January 2023

Cursed Princess Club by LambCat

What a cute start to a new series! There was a little too much drama for me and just so many stumbling points in Gwendolyn and Frederick but overall a modern reimagining of some fairy tale tropes.

Once upon a time in the Pastel kingdom lived three princesses with their father and brother. Two of the three princesses (and their brother) are conventionally beautiful while Gwendolyn is often compared to a withered crone or a witch. But her family only sees how beautiful she is on the inside and luxuriate in her amazing cooking. However, when the three princesses meet the brothers of the Plaid kingdom to whom they have more or less been betrothed, things start to go awry. The youngest, Frederick, is assumed to be marrying Gwendolyn but he is repulsed by her outward appearance. This leads to Gwendolyn running away and discovering the Cursed Princess Club where princesses (and princes) who have been cursed can learn to live their lives without waiting for some nebulous "Charming." Because this is the first book in the series, we concentrate a lot more on Gwendolyn than the club but I'm assuming that we will see more of the club in future books in the series.

Four stars

This book comes out January 3, 2023

Followed by Vol. 2

ARC kindly provided WEBTOON Unscrolled and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday

I really enjoyed this book because we got to see Maximillian and Dani's relationship go from barely knowing each other, to friends, to lovers, to an HEA that makes sense. Is the book perfect? Maybe not; we could have had a little more resolution with the parents but overall a nice story.

Dani and Max met in the first book in this series (which I did not read and do not feel like I suffered for it.) Dani is the best friend of a cab driver who fell in love with a princess. Max is the heir to a duke and was engaged to said princess. When they met, Max was intrigued. Now in New York, supposedly to find his next fiance, Max finds himself looking for Dani.

Dani isn't sure how this unlikely friendship happened. She did use Max for a work party that her ex was also at (with his twenty-year-old-former-student-new-girlfriend). And now they're talking most nights as the year between Max showed up on her doorstep and the royal wedding that they are the best man and woman for. But that might be more than just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

Four stars

This book came out November 16, 2021

Follows A Princess for Christmas

Borrowed ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own