Third Shift Society Volume One by Meredith Moriarty

Ellie has a bunch of bills to pay and has just lost her jib when she sees a man with a pumpkin head being attacked by a hell beast. She fights the hell beast with fire hands and helps save Ichabod's life.  He hires her to help him with his paranormal investigations. Suddenly, she's launched into a world of rare books with powers, giant insects, and... Alice in Wonderland?

I really liked this start to a series. The vignettes sometimes start and stop suddenly but there was an overarching story within each set of panels. 

Four stars

This book came out March 5, 2024

Followed by Third Shift Society #2

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis

When Anna Moore finds a coin in a collection of her dad's things, she doesn't expect Owen Harris to show up, accusing her father of having stolen a collection of rare goods including a necklace known as Ruby Red.

Owen's great aunt is his only family member left. She's ninety-five years old and, before she dies, he's like her to know that he recovered the property that was stolen so long ago. 

Together, they will solve the mystery of what happened oh so many years ago. All while Anna is also dealing with her sister Wendy who is pregnant with triplets. 

This is hypothetically part of a series but there isn't really a through line that I can see. This was a fast, fun, and fluffy book. Not much substance but an enjoyable book for a day off.

Three and a half stars

This book came out June 11, 2024

Sunrise Cove #6

Follows The Bright Spot

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Mischief by Amanda Quick

Imogen Waterstone needs help proving that her friend was murdered by her husband. And Imogen a has inherited a favor as part of her uncle's will. So she decides to call in that favor from Matthias Marshall, the Earl of Colchester, known around town as Cold-hearted Colchester. Imogen isn't worried about that sobriquet, she knows Colchester must be an amazing man, after all, he discovered the lost country (city?) of Zamar which has displaced Egypt in terms of its popularity. 

Colchester is bemused by this woman. She is intelligent, energetic, and blithely unconcerned with her reputation. Nothing at all like the other young woman of her age group. In fact, she seems more interested in translating a Zamarian tablet than finding a husband. And she also seems determined to rush into danger. 

Not only having to deal with a possibly murderous husband, the two have to deal with the rumors surrounding each as well as Colchester's half-sister showing up. Oh. And a murderer or two.

I remember this book fondly from my early days of reading romance and it is still a nice book. I think Quick's later books have more relationship development in them which is really nice to see.

Three stars

This book came out June 1, 1996

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus

Opinions are my ow

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakias

Imagine you're an evil wizard. You've worked hard your whole life to be evil: set people on fire for fun, set people on fire for thwarting you.... done other things to people that aren't great. But, then you wake up one morning and all of your memories are gone. And maybe you decide... you don't want to be evil. In fact, you're going to stop it right now. But that just seems to confuse everyone around you. And then there's the problem that you seem to be in the middle of a Big Scheme. A Big Scheme that includes kidnapping a princess. Perhaps she's not quite as princess-y as you originally assumed. But then, as you are fumbling your way around, you discover that no one in your castle is quite as they appear.

I quite enjoyed this book and hope that it will be a series. 

Four stars

This book came out May 28, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from library

Opinions are my own

Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel

Formerly a child detective, twenty-five year-old Charlotte Illes is now trying to figure out what she wants to do as an adult. In addition to some detective jobs for a local (very attractive, but of course Charlotte doesn't view her that way...), her friend Lucy has gotten her a job as a substitute teacher. But was does Charlotte know about children? Although, we do get to see flashbacks of Charlotte working on cases in middle school.

Surprisingly, there are just as many mysteries in the school as there were when Charlotte was a kid (so it's a good thing at least one of her detective kits is still hidden around the school.) Of course, these mysteries are somewhat updated, involving bobbleheads and social media. And blackmail- at least that one is recognizable. In this case, threatening letters have been sent to one of the teachers as well as her aunt who is the president of the school board.

I did feel like the ending came a little bit out of nowhere but it was still a fun book and the children weren't just plot moppets, they had actual personalities. I hope we get to see some more of Nia (a budding child detective herself), in future books. 

Four stars

This book came out July 23, 2024

Charlotte Illes #2

Follow2 by Charlotte Illes is not a Detective

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan

There were a LOT of names in the beginning of this story and I felt dumped into a situation. I think the author was trying to avoid info-dumping but it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story. 

Bailey Briggs normally love Halloween but this year is particularly challenging. She's taken over the family bookstore and is hosting what she hopes will be the first of an annual literary festival. Also, there's a camera crew in town taping for a ghost hunting type show. Both have people who grew up in town and there seems to be something going on between them. One will end up dead. 

There's a lot going on in this book including Bailey finding out more about her family. A good start to what I assume will be a series. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out July 23, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns

I am generally quite enjoying this series. In this one, former influencer/socialite-turned-baker/bakeshop-owner, Madison, is forced to confront her own past when her former friend shows up in towner. Brandy Denton became "former" when she slept with Maddy's ex-fiancée, Elliot. Now that Maddy seems to be gaining a social media following and a new life, Brandy has shown up in New Bison, seemingly wanting to ruin Maddy's life again. 

I say I am "generally" enjoying this series because Maddy is (at least to my memory) suddenly very emotional. She's breaking down, running out of rooms, and generally being more helpless than I remember. I'm hoping that got edited in the print copy but really annoyed me in this book. Hopefully, that changes in the series going forward as I have enjoyed these books so far. 

Three stars

This book comes out 

Baker Street #3

Follows Murder is a Piece of Cake

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own