Simply the Best by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Stepping out of her regular stories, Phillips adds a murder into this one. But, it doesn't detract from the romance, the genre she is really known for and trying to solve the mystery lets our two main characters get past their initial meeting which was both good... and not so good.

Rory Garrett (she uses the name Meadows so people are less likely to connect her to Clint Garrett, Chicago Stars football player) is used to things going wrong in her life. But her recent life is really taking the cake on that. A failed business, a bad attempt at a one-night-stand, and breaking up her best friend in Chicago and Clint are just some of the recent examples. But she's not prepared to find a body. Nor is she able to understand why Clint's agent is so darn hot, even if she knows there can never be a real relationship between them. 

Brett "The River" Rivers is used to being perfect. His life is built around being the best sports agent in the business. And that's about to be paid off with a promotion to Vice President at Champion Sports Management. But he's just made two massive mistakes and now he's not sure how to hang on to Cliff as a client. And it seems foolhardy to run around with the man's sister when Brett just can't help but be so darn attracted to her. 

I'm really not sure about the murder but it does create an external reason for Rory and Brett to be thrown together. Of course, there was a last Big Misunderstanding and a rather over-the-top end scene to the two being together but I overall enjoyed the book. 

Three and a half stars
Chicago Stars #10

This book comes out February 14, 2024

Follows When Stars Collide

Followed by And the Crowd Went Wild

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Truth or Dare by Jayne Ann Krentz

I like this second book in the Whispering Springs series. 

Zoe Luce married Ethan Truax in the last book in order to be safe from being returned to the mental hospital she escaped. In this book, her fellow escapee, Arcadia Ames is the target. Her presumed-dead husband, Grant Loring, is back and wants the information about his shady business dealings that Arcadia tucked away. Zoe and Ethan have to help out Arcadia, deal with their own professional problems and try to balance their own marriages.

Whispering Springs #2

Three stars

Follows Light in Shadows

This book came out September 1, 2003

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my own

Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte Sloane is coming up against the secret of her former life in a big way in this novel. In the last book of the series, she admitted her past to the Earl of Wrexford. But a young gentleman's death, presumably by his three-minutes-younger brother, will pull her into the spotlight.

Both of the young men in question were deeply involved in the scientific community but the twin who was killed was working on some particularly gruesome experiments that may also have led to his death. Of course, it might also be related to gambling debts. But whatever it is, Charlotte is determined to solve the murder, even if it means returning to a world she thought she had completely turned her back on.

I really liked this mystery and the fact that it moved Charlotte's character forward. We are getting to see both Raven and Hawk grow into their own. Wrexford may not have had as much to do in this book but his relationship with Charlotte is growing at a nice speed.

Wrexford & Sloane #3

Four stars

This book came out September 24, 2019

Follows Murder at Half Moon Gate

Followed by Murder at Queen's Landing

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Devil of the Gridiron by Melissa Blue

Adam Carpenter is almost through the year that he's been put on probation for his football team. He's been caught a few too many times doing things that his team would rather him not be doing. Now he's run into a cute little redhead and has offered her a favor.
Charlotte West is, indeed, sweet and insanely attracted to Adam. And he seems to be changing his feathers, helping her out by creating social media buzz to help her program. But has he really changed or is he just using her too?
This was just a little too short for me. Could have used some more time rounding out the characters and making me believe in an HEA.

Gridiron Bad Boys #1

Three stars

This book came out November 8, 2015

Followed by Gridiron Heartbreaker

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

My Murder by Katie Williams

I saw this on the Books We Love list for 2023 and thought it looked interesting. We meet Lou who is a clone but who has all the memories of her previous body. As you can imagine, there is some dysmorphia over whether she really is "her" and some exploration of what it means to be yourself.

With four other women, Lou was brought back by the Replication Committee. All five of them were killed by a serial killer whose name is now famous and he is in prison. They are all trying to figure out what it means to have been brought back with all of their memories, with their same faces, but with a gap missing of what actually happened at the end (ascribed to trauma.)

Lou is having problems since the daughter who she wasn't even sure about before she died certainly wants nothing to do with her now that she has returned. She's also struggling in her job which seems to be virtual cuddling (human touch in a virtual age.)

A really interesting book that was a little disturbing a points but overall an interesting read. 

Four stars
This book came out June 6, 2023

Borrowed as hard copy from Library

Opinions are my own

Board to Death by C.J. Connor

Ben Rosencrantz used to be an English professor (yes, he's heard all of the Shakespeare jokes) but he came back to Sugar House, a neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, to help his father run their family's board game shop. His father is ill and can use the help but their shop has been in a slow decline for years as Amazon has taken over. Newly divorced, Ben is just in a constant state of nervousness because nothing has gone the way it should have and now he's back, still gay, in the heart of Mormon country. 

It really doesn't help that a patron shows up on his doorstep, with a knife sticking out of his chest, and promptly dies. The man had claimed to have the prototype for Monopoly which, if true, would have been worth quite a lot of money. Ben thinks that he may be a suspect in the murder so he decides to investigate on his own.

This was an okay start to a series. I don't love amateur sleuths who run into danger but Ben at least took someone along with him. There wasn't a lot of build up for the mystery other than Ben running around. The narrator also had some weird pauses that kept throwing me off but I did finish the book and I'd probably read the next one. 

A Board Game Shop Mystery #1

Three stars

This book came out August 22, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

At the end of the last book, Sebastian had gotten word that his father had been attacked. He and Kiera took their whole family, including their four-month-old daughter. He is being housed in a small village near where he was attacked, in the home of a former army doctor, so he at least has good care. 

However, when Sebastian and Kiera try to investigate, they run into a series of problems. There are few in the village who are willing to talk. They are also attacked. Someone is really working to make sure that the reasons for Lord Gage's attack aren't uncovered. And even the people who appear to be helpful aren't actually what they seemed. 

This book was fine but there was a lot going on. It may have been the time of my life and I'd like to re-read it again later because I did enjoy the character building, both the new characters and between Lord Gage and Henry, his son who was claimed by a duke.

Lady Darby Mystery #11

Three stars
This book came out June 20, 2023

Follows A Perilous Perspective

Followed by A Deceptive Composition

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own