Camping with Unicorns by Dana Simpson

Phoebe and Marigold are back and at their best. For most of the book, the timing is summer vacation. Phoebe re-learns how to manage her own time. Marigold learns about camping. Everyone gets to meet a unicorn who lives in the forest so he can be "away from it all" (not including video games).  And Phoebe starts to be something like friends with Dakota (since Phoebe is the only person she can talk to about the goblins).
It's impressive how much growth these characters can still have in book 11 yet stay true to themselves (little girl and narcissistic not-so-fictional character.) I thought it was really interesting that, while Dakota seems to have no one to talk to about unicorns, Phoebe and her parents as well as Max and his parents all accept unicorns with equanimity.

Five stars
This book comes out April 7th
Follows The Unicorn Whisperer
Followed by Virtual Unicorn Experience
ARC kindly provided by Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Badger to the Bone by Shelly Laurenston

Gah. This book gave me so many feelings. Mostly a lot of confusion. Because there are so many things about this book that usually annoy me and... they just didn't. They might on a re-read but not this time. The first and most egregious was not enough focus on Max and Zé even though this is supposed toe their book. And this may sound odd but I'm not even sure that this was a romance because it seemed like it was on the back burner. Great character development and in depth relationship development are my numbers one and two catnip and we just didn't get either in this book. Second thing that usually bothers me is the introduction (and focus on) characters who are clearly sequel bait. Max's teammates? The shifter team that tries to recruit them? All sequel bait. And their introduction (their are, what, like 7 or 8 people total for all of them so there's a LOT of introducing) takes up most of the book that would be used for relationship development.  Third, parts of people being introduced that weren't present in any other book in the series just to fit a plot point in this book.
And yet. And YET. Even though all of these things were present (or not), I still finished the book wanting more pages. Laurenston is the queen of the screwball shifter comedy and this book just continues in that vein. Max needs a group of friends who are her ride or die but we've never seen them before? Well, we'll just throw it into the story! Make it a fault of another character who never remembers them but scares the hell out of them.
Do you love Laurenston and the Honey Badger Chronicles? Pre-order this book. Right now. Haven't read them? Start from the beginning and just own them all. I fully plan on re-reading this book soon and will see if my feelings change.

Four stars
This book comes out March 31st, 2020
Follows In a Badger Way

Followed by Breaking Badger
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread May 2022, January 2024

Anton (Chicago Blaze, #1) by Brenda Rothert (

A hockey player hero who's been celibate for a year (or two?) A heroine who is married for most of the book? To one of his teammates? Can Rothert make them work? Mostly.
I really enjoyed seeing Anton and Mia fall in love. He accidentally finds her working one night and realizes that her still waters might run even deeper than he originally thought. He slowly discovers that she might not be as attached to her husband as he thought. That does not make him automatically leap to the assumption that she is available or even going to be his but it does give him hope. And the more time he can get her to spend with him, the more she might see how perfect they are for each other.
This was definitely a slow burn book which I enjoyed but I actually wish it had been a bit longer so we could have seen more of their relationship after they were together.

Three stars
This book came out January 29th, 2019
Borrowed this from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

The book opens on Black Friday with Jesse having talked Mercy into braving the midnight shopping options. While heading to the mall, she experiences a panic attack and plows into the car in front of her. And she has good reason to panic; the pack has been taken. The entire pack. Supposedly, the people that took them worked for the government but she has good reason to believe that is not the truth.
Her mate bond with Adam is tested and she learns more about who her allies are and what they can do. And it seems that there may be a Big Bad who is using the government for their own purposes.
And that link didn't quite make sense to me. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audiobook but I didn't quite get the link. Lots of action in this book, not as much character development.

Three stars
This book came out March 11th, 2014
Follows River Marked
Followed by Night Broken
Borrowed from Library
Opinions are my own

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren

Everyone (in general) is very aware that what is in front of the cameras on reality TV is often VERY different than what is happening behind the cameras. Carey Douglas, having worked for Melissa and Rusty Tripp, beloved renovation stars, since she was 16 knows their lives better than most. James McCann is newer to the team but he is beginning to understand that Melissa and Rusty may not actually be the characters that they play on TV. When Rusty and Melissa are going on a bus trip to promote their newest show, Carey and James are lassoed into helping make sure that no one sees the man behind the curtain. Neither especially likes the other but enforced time together might just make them see another side.
This wasn't exactly enemies-to-lovers, more indifference-to-lovers. And even the "lovers" part didn't really feel like there was enough time for me really to see how the two would work together. The rest of the story is, in general, fast, fun, and fluffy but I'm used to more relationship-building from the Christina Lauren team.

Three stars
This book comes out March 24th
ARC kindly provided by Gallery, Pocket Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, if a series is set in the late 1880s, at some point, they will introduce Jack the Ripper as an element. Does it always work successfully? No. And with this book it was... okay. It set off the series of events that lead to Veronica and Stoker meeting the crown prince of England at a... rather scandalous house. Coming face-to-face with a part of her past is jarring to Veronica. But that's not the only part of her past she'll have to face and this one might just be the thing that finally kills her.
Still a good book in the series but didn't feel as if it read as fast as other books in the series. I still think regular readers will not be disappointed.

Veronica Speedwell #5

Three stars

This book came out March 10th, 2020

Follows A Dangerous Collaboration

Followed by An Unexpected Peril
ARC kindly provided by Berkley
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby January 2024 (liked it better; three and a half stars)

Lucky Witch by Danielle Garrett

Someone is leaving cryptic clues around town on shamrock sticky notes that lead to gold coins. At the same time, there seems to be a leprechaun in town and someone is hunting werewolves on the night that Nick has his first change. There's a lot going on, even as Holly's business is taking off. And now Adam is pulling away leaving Holly wondering what is going on.
Regular readers will not find anything wanting. I would recommend new people start at the beginning of the series.

Three stars
Follows Along Came a Ghost
Followed by One Bad Witch
This book came out October 28th, 2017
Borrowed this book as an audiobook
Opinions are my own