High Intensity by Dara Joy

I remember enjoying the first of the Tyber and Zanita books but not the second. I couldn't really remember why. I now know. It's because Zanita was charming and whimsical in the first book while Tyber was bemused and enchanted (this was well before manic pixie dream girls became oversaturated in our culture.) The second book, she's a nut and he's a prankster know-it-all.
Zanita proposed to Tyber but then tells him she doesn't want to get married because they'll become boring. He decides to prove her wrong by whisking her off to an island adventure where there may be ghosts. Blooey (cook) and Hambone (cat), of course, are going to come along. Zanita's Auntie shows up as well. We even see Mills and Gregor (and his son Cody) a couple of times though the conversation is basically the same in both.

Two stars

This book came out October 1, 1998 

Tyber and Zanita #2

Follows High Energy

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Royally Pucked by Pippa Grant

What do you do with a spare royal heir when he's acting up? Manning Frey's family moves him to the United States where he is on a professional hockey team. He doesn't mean to knock up Gracie Diamonte but he's not exactly upset about it. Except that he's technically sort of engaged. 

Gracie isn't thrilled to be pregnant but that's what life is. She finds Manning incredibly charming but isn't ready to believe that he is read to settle down with a woman like her, she barely graduated high school and is from nowheresville Alabama.

Not as fun as other books from Pippa Grant but still a fast read and enjoyable enough to finish.

Three stars

This book came out April 6, 2018

The Copper Valley Thrusters #2

Follows Pilot & the Puck-up

Followed by Beauty & the Beefcake

Royals #1

Followed by Rockaway Bride

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Dirty Talking Rival (formerly Master Baker) by Pippa Grant

Some Pippa Grant books I love and some are fine. I can't tell you where the line is because they are all a little crazy and over the top but some are just more fun. I'm currently doing a timeline re-read and figured I'd include some of the ones I'd skipped before. This was one of them and it's fun. It's fast. It's fluffy. It's just a little annoying and I think it's because the reason Grady and Annika can't be together is more of a "reason." 

Annika is on leave from the Army to help her mom and her thirteen-year-old sister get set after her mom had some rapid onset blindness. Some of the getting set is opening a bakery, her mother's dream. Not Annika's; she can burn water. Luckily, her sister is good at baking and is holding them up. Unluckily, they live in a small town and it may not have enough people to support their business. There is a next town over though.

Too bad, in the next town over, her former best friend Grady already has a bakery. And he's actually good at baking. And really enjoys it. But he's barely breaking even himself. So they get talking long enough for them to decide to ride the storylines of rival bakeries (it works because their two towns have been rivals for generations anyway.)

So, in public they are trash talking each other while falling in love behind the scenes.

Three stars

This book came out June 27, 2019

Part of the Bro Code universe

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own 

Wrong Side of Forty by Jana DeLeon

Marina Trahan might never have known that her husband was cheating if her last hair appointment of the day hadn't gotten canceled. Not only does she find him in bed, it's with a girl only three years older than their daughter. The girl who stole two of their daughter's boyfriends. The girl who is wearing the new lingerie that Marina just bought to spice up their love life. 

Now, Marina doesn't have a house, doesn't have a job, but DOES have her sister and her mom's old fishing cabin. And the dog. And, now, some strange guy who is calling himself a demigod and telling her that she is a "seeker." Of course, she is the one who has to save the world.

But does Marina want to be that person? She's forty-eight years old and she's tired. But she needs the money and Alexios is offering her a million dollars. 

I didn't expect much from this book. Did every plot point make sense? Maybe not. Were the characters entirely loveable? Maybe not.  But I thought it was going to be fast, fun, and fluffy and that's what it delivered.

Four stars

Marina at Midlife #1

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Flirting with the Frenemy by Pippa Grant

Ellie and Wyatt have been at each others throats since they were kids. They had one frantic night together but, when he expressed regrets, she ran out. Then she was in a car crash.
Eighteen months later, he's staying at his friend's house in a small town called Shipwreck. When he walks in with his son, they find Ellie in the tub. Well, Wyatt does. And he's intrigued.
Ellie, on the other hand, is not so intrigued. Not only is Wyatt now walking in to her week at her brother's house, he's messing up her plan for the week. Her best friend is getting married to the brother of Ellie's ex. To make things less awkward, Ellie has lied about having a boyfriend. Through... circumstances... her best friend comes to believe that Wyatt is the new boyfriend. So now they have to spend time together.
Grant's writing is good in this one, I just don't love the storyline. I would say there's too much drama but that is sort of usual for a Grant book, this one is just TOO over the top for me.

Three stars

This book came out March 1, 2019

Bro Code #1

Followed by America's Geekheart

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own

Give and Take by Adam M. Grant

If you really thought about it, you might assume that people who hog all the glory or keep all the money for themselves are the only ones who get ahead. Grant uses this book to argue that the opposite is true, that we need to look for the givers in our lives. The chapters are split into topics like influencing people,  recognizing potential, and burn out and each looks at how givers and takers approach each. Each chapter also provides real-world examples.

Chapter 5 specifically talks about how to approach communication from a place of non-dominance. That an average interviewer was looked down on when they spilled coffee but it made an expert more relatable. In this chapter, he also references "powerless speech"- hesitations, hedging, disclaimers and more. Normally, you might think this displays a sense of inferiority but it can make people more receptive than a forceful arguement would.

Grant does a deep dive to understand why some people succeed and others fail. His theory? There are givers and takers in the world. The people who lift up everyone around them and the ones who are only in it for themselves. 

Grant weaves together stories of both givers and takers and why they succeeded and what they did to help or hinder others. My biggest surprise is that successful givers aren’t immune from self-interest, they just help others succeed as well.

Four stars

This book came out in 2013

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi

Scott travels all over the world for his job but he's ready to settle down. And there's something about coffee shop owned by Dina that is helping to stir his longing for the home fires. While he is very interested, she is a little more hesitant.

Dina is a witch. And when she was younger, she put a spell on someone she was in love with and it has reverberated through her love life since. She is not anxious to start something with this man who is so attractive. But he just keeps showing up in her life. Even at her friend's wedding where (darn those matchmakers!) they've been put in the same cabin. So, Dina decides not to fight fate. But will Scott survive?

Three stars

This book comes out October 1, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley

Opinions are my own