Murder at Morrington Hall by Clara McKenna

A Kentucky heiress, Stella Kendrick isn't much for the social whirl. Which makes it even more surprising that her father has dragged her along to some society wedding in England. Specifically, at Morrington Hall where her father is giving some of his racehorses as a gift. Stella is shocked to find out that she is supposed to be the bride. Strong-willed and independent (she drives!), she's determined that this wedding will not happen. No matter how handsome or understanding the groom is.
Lyndy, Viscount Lyndhurst is bemused by this brash young woman. She doesn't act like anyone he's ever known. Stella certainly doesn't act like she's anxious to be married to an English lord nor is she particularly interested in being the perfect viscountess. And that, along with her beauty, intrigues him.
Their wedding day is stalled, however, when the vicar supposed to marry them is found dead in the library. By Lyndy and Stella no less. This definitely casts a pall over the wedding proceedings but it gives them a chance to get to know each other a little. Lyndy is working hard to convince Stella that he doesn't want her to change while Stella is trying hard to figure out who killed the vicar and stole the surprisingly large amount of money from his coin purse.
An interesting start to a series. The relationship between Lyndy and Stella is only just beginning so we only get to see the two of them starting to figure each other out and I think that was a wise choice. The mystery was a little more rocky for my taste. The motive sort of made sense but I didn't think that the solution was introducted in a logical manner.

Three stars
Followed by Murder at Blackwater Bend
This book came out May 28th
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Sweet Cream Ladies, Ltd. by Flo Fitzpatrick

Hasn't everyone come up with a list of people they wouldn't mind dying? Okay, I technically haven't but I could see good reasons for doing so. Babs "Binnie" Harrison and Bootsie Kittredge, both professional actresses, come up with such a list one drunken night. And also joke that other people have similar lists and that the two of them should go into business "helping" others check names off their own lists. But then Babs gets drunk again and starts telling people about their list, the five names including a demanding actress they've both gone up against for roles, both of their ex-husbands, a psychic who helped Binnie's marriage crack up. Then, the people on their list start ding, in just the manner they had proscribed. Of course, they're the first ones suspected and interviewed by the hunky Detective Laramie. But they may need more than just his help to stay out of jail.
It took me a bit to get into the writing style but I eventually caught up. The ending was a bit over the top as well but it was overall a fun read.

Three and a half stars
This book came out May 15th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery

Sunshine and Margot are twins who are both at pivotal moments in their lives. They were raised by a grandmother, a beauty pageant consultant, and neither were able to live up to her standards. Sunshine escaped into a series of unsuitable boyfriends while Margot made just one, very unfortunate choice. Now Sunshine is the nanny to an adorable little boy and his widower father while Margo is an etiquette expert. Margot's latest client is an eccentric actress who wants to learn how to navigate in her soon-to-be husband's world of being an ambassador. They're staying at the home of the actress's son, a scholar who specializes in old manuscripts.
This is a lovely story of two sisters. If you are looking for a romance novel, this isn't one. The HEA is sort of wedged in at the end and I felt like the book suffered for it.

Three stars
This book comes out June 11
ARC provided by publisher and Edelweiss and NetGalley
Opinions provided are my own

Bridal Boot Camp Meg Cabot

When a super-built man shows up in her bridal boot camp class thinking that it's yoga,  Roberta “Robbie” James takes pity on him and lets him stay. Ryan Martinez needs help and it doesn't hurt that the super-built guy is hardly hard on the eyes. She kicks his butt in a 45 minute aerobics class and invites him back for the next week. He is up for it since his boss, the sheriff, has required him to take yoga classes to rein back his tension issues and he already has commitments on Wednesday nights.
An interesting start but it's all tease and no outcome.

Three stars
This novella comes out May 28th
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Just One of the Groomsmen by Cindi Madsen

Growing up together, Addison "Addie" "Murph" Murphy and Tucker Crawford were just two of a large group of friends. Addison was the only girl in the group but the feeling among the friends was more sibling than romantic. Now one of their group, Shep, is getting married so that means Tucker is home for the first time in two years. And that means that Addie is going to have to wear a dress. Since her normal wear is either yoga pants and a T-shirt or jeans and a sweatshirt, that is going to be a pretty big deal. The next time Tucker sees Addie, she is under a car and he only sees her legs -- that's when he starts to realize that his best buddy might be female. And Addison isn't immune herself. But the move from friendship to relationship is one that is going to be fraught. Especially when both Addie and Tucker are also trying to figure out some other pretty big decisions related to the rest of their lives. 

This was a pretty good book. There is a "big production" to get Addie back at the end after Tucker realizes that he messed up and I'm not a huge fan of those. However, the characters were well built, the romance was solid, and there were some nice openings left for more books in the series.

Three and a half stars

This book come out May 28th
Followed by Always a Bridesmaid

ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Tiffy Moore needs a place to live... fast. She needs to get out of her emotionally abusive ex's apartment as soon as possible. Easier said than done for someone who works for a craft book publisher. She's not exactly swimming in cash and her choices range from moldy to tiny. It's no wonder she ends up picking the option where she shares a flat... and a bed. But not at the same time.
Leo Twomey works nights and spends most of his free time at his girlfriend's so he figures sharing his apartment would be a good way to make some money to pay for his brother's lawyer. He figures having someone else in his flat won't be so hard to deal with.
Told over the course of a year, we get alternating first person views from both Tiffy and Leo. What I appreciated most was O'Leary's approach to Tiffy being in a relationship after her abusive ex. Leo was... awesome. When Tiffy freezes, he backs off immediately, working with her to get to a healthy-for-them sex life. And I also liked that Tiffy got into therapy and wasn't healed by Leo's magical wang. An easy ready but not a quick one because it does deal with some heavier topics.

Four stars
This book comes out May 28th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Smooth Moves by Marie Harte

Jordan Fleming knows that Cash Griffith is trouble with a capital 'T.' Snarling and strong, the man runs toward situations rather than stopping to figure out what is going on and then working through them. She needs his help though; her younger brother is starting to get into a lot of trouble and she thinks Cash can probably reach him.
Cash knows that he has a connection to Jordan but she is an employee of the company he is a a part owner for so she is not on the list of "okay" people to date. She's not even really his type. Except that, smart mouthed and super sexy might actually be his type. In fact, Jordan might be his perfect woman.
Harte does a really good job of exploring a few things in this book. Jordan doesn't see her job in the moving company as long-term but Cash does; neither looks down on the other for their choices. Rafe not speaking up about his problem with math was delicately handled although Jordan's family's interactions were just a little confusing overall.

Four stars
This book comes out May 28
Followed by Handle with Care
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own