The Difference Between Us by Rachel Higginson

Molly Maverick is happy for her BFF, Vera. Vera's in love and getting married.  It's just too bad that Vera's fiance comes along with HIS BFF, Ezra Baptiste. Model-gorgeous, Ezra is a multi-bazillionaire who seems to have a fascination with Molly. Apparently, nobody else in his life tells him "no" and the fact that she did means that she is unique. So he basically strongarms her into helping him, even after a pretty decisive turn down from Molly by doing an end run and hiring the firm she works for as a designer and specifically requesting her. And Molly already has enough to deal with given the fact that her boss's son doesn't seem to have gotten the memo on the things that constitute sexual harassment. And there is a LOT of this book that is devoted to the description of that harassment. Which would have been fine had it not all been resolved in a couple of sentences. So much build-up for so little in return. Higginson's writing saved this from being a DNF for me and she handled Molly's reactions and why she acted the way she did pretty well but I wanted more on-page justice.

Two and a half stars

This book came out 

Follows The Opposite of You

Followed by The Problem with Him

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Fine Passion by Stephanie Laurens

Jack Warnefleet is trying to escape the matchmaking mamas of London by escaping to his country manor. There, he finds that in his absence as a spy for the Crown, Clarice Altwood, a marquess' daughter who escaped London after she refused to play by society's rules, has been acting in his place. After getting over their initial opinions of each other, they realize that they are actually very attracted to each other. But they still have to work with each other to try and overcome a recurring character from the Bastion Series who is trying to paint Clarice's cousin as a traitor.

One of the better Stephanie Laurens (possibly my favorite in this series) before she really starts getting into character's "true selves."

Four stars

This book came out in 2005

Follows A Lady of His Own

Followed by To Distraction

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

Vera has made a mess of her life. She had set out to be a famous chef but had sidetracked her life  in a massive mistake. Now she's back home, taking care of her dad who had cancer. She's also decided to open a food truck. Too bad the five star chef across the street has decided that she's competition, or something. He seems personally affronted that her food truck is across the street. Plus, he's taken up writing notes about how her food could be better. Even worse, he's usually right.

This was a great read even if I didn't quite  get how the two clicked together. Am excited to have found a new series.

Four stars

This book came out March 30, 2017

Followed by The Differences Between Us

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A is for Audra by John Robert Allman, Peter Emmerich

This is one of the books from NPR's Best Book that intrigued me. And it's a delightful book though I think you need some Broadway knowledge to really appreciate. Going from A to Z (with a couple of stretches), this book lauds the divas of the Great White Way. The poems are short and easy; the illustrations are delightful. 

Four stars

This book came out November 12, 2019

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

A Lady of His Own by Stephanie Laurens

Probably my favorite in the series (though the next book in the series is up there as well), Charles St. Austell goes home to help find a spy and ends up falling in love. Penelope Selborne was his one-time lover twelve years ago but he has never really gotten over her. Now, she is sneaking around his house in the dead of night and he's wondering why. And why won't she tell him more about what she is doing? Is she protecting herself, or someone else?

Spies, murder, intrigue and romance. Who could ask for more?

Four stars

This book came out January 1, 2004

Follows A Gentleman's Honor

Followed by A Fine Passion

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Alice Asher of Andover has been murdered. It seems to be an open-and-shut case of a woman killed by her brute of an ex-husband. So why is Hercule Poirot interested? Well, he received an anonymous letter about the murder. And when Elizabeth "Betty" Bernard is murdered in Bexhill, the stakes are definitely raised.
Poirot gathers some of the people affected by the murders, especially when the victim of 'C' turns out to be a well-known gentleman. It is in talking to these people that Poirot discovers the insidious reason for this series of murders.

Hercule Poirot #13

Four stars

This book came out January 6, 1936

Follows Death in the Clouds 

Followed by Murder in Mesopotamia

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews

You can try to read this book without having read the books before it but it will be much more helpful (and enjoyable) if you have read the other books first. There are a lot of people and a lot of species that are easier to follow if you know some of them already. I had a hard time following when I read this book as a serial on teh authors' webpage. It was easier to read it all at once and an amazing story as an audiobook. The narrator was perfect for this book. 

Sean and Dina just cannot get down time. The stories of Sean's prowess have spread throughout the werewolf community and now many of his kind are showing up to try and win his favor. One of them drops the news that Wilmos, an old werewolf, has disappeared. They are able to find out where he is but they are unable to get there without help. Which means that they will need to do a favor in return.

And what a favor. The only beings with a portal near Wilmos are the Dominion and what they require in return is a safe place to complete the selection for a mate for their king. Yes, this is a galactic Bachelor, a contest that touches everyone at the Gertrude Hunt, including Caldenia.

Four stars

This book came out December 13, 2022

Audiobook comes out January 13, 2023

Follows Sweep of the Blade

Reread as audiobook from Hoopla August 2024