The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James

There is a surprising amount of this book that is dedicated to the "villain" of the piece rather than Yasmin and Giles. There is so much that it leaves a little less room for our h/h and for their eventual reconciliation after the Big Misunderstanding. 

Yasmin's family is already notorious with her mother being Napoleon's mistress. Then, she runs away with a gentleman who claims they were married but he actually tricked her in order to get money from her father in order to hush it up. Now, in England and living with her grandfather, she spends her day attending society parties and trying to avoid her attraction to Lord Giles Lilford. 

Giles is also trying to avoid Yasmin as she is loud, brash, and full of fun while he tends to be a little more straitlaced. Even when he starts to realize the inevitability of their attraction he's always trying to rein her in. And it leaves me not liking him when his stodginess keeps him from being run over by his sister. 

Three stars

Follows How to be a Wallflower

Followed by Not That Duke

This book comes out November 29, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Certain Darkness by Anna Lee Huber

Verity and Sidney are working to figure out how to take down Lord Ardmore. They seem to be blocked at every turn until a phone call comes in from France. An old informant of Sidney's, Miss Adele Baverel wants to talk to him. So they travel to find out if she is willing to tell them about other collaborators against the Allies. But Miss Baverel ends up dead in her cell and one of the local law enforcement is accusing Verity of having helped her.

This sends them off on a search for the information that Miss Baverel says she hid. Along the way they encounter old friends and enemies and nearly get killed.

This was an okay book but didn't capture me in the same way that previous books in the series did.

Three stars

This book came out August 30, 2022

Follows Murder Most Fair

Borrowed as ebook from library

Opinions are my own

Just for December by Laura Jane Williams

This book started off rough for me. It's written in the present tense and it took me about 40% of the way through before I stopped noticing. There was also a long build up to our hero and heroine even liking each other and then it went to top speed except for the obligatory Big Misunderstanding. 

Evie is our heroine and she is dealing with a lot. Her mother is in an Alzheimer's care facility but Evie has a spending habit which means that she hasn't actually paid the bill in three months. This spending issue, by the way, is somewhat resolved but this is a long-term issue that will need more than just her friends' peppiness to resolve. In addition to the spending issues, Evie's other sins include being anti-human (grumpy) and determined to believe the worse in... everyone. Including the actor who is portraying the hero of one of her books which is being adapted into a movie. 

Duke Carlisle genuinely enjoys Evie's books. They bring him joy in a world that contained his alcoholic mother and his costar/girlfriend has just been outed as having an affair with their director. And he was pretty sure he was in love with her. Mostly. And now Evie is being downright rude to him and the resulting negative publicity is probably going to tank their movie. So the studio heads think that Evie and Duke dating will bring them some good will. He needs just a little extra since he is up for a big award for one of his guest star roles. Evie's a prickly bush but he finds himself strangely attracted. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out November 24, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Avon Books UK and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Her Favorite Rebound by Jackie Lau

Ufda. I wasn't sure about the premise of this book but a) this series has been really fun and b) Lau is an amazing writer, if anyone could pull off a heroine dating a billionaire at the start of the book but ending up with someone different, it would be Lau. But... well. I finished the book and Lau's writing was still good but we have a good dash of insta-love tossed with a side of the hero being creep (and acknowledging it!) with just a dash of a flat villain caricature and this book fell pretty flat.

Sierra Wu is a divorced woman who doesn't want children and her mother berates her about it every time they meet. But Sierra has a secret in her back pocket, she's dating a billionaire. And at the beginning of the book, she lets this news drop. Sierra's friends have secrets as well (which we know from previous books in the series); they don't like her billionaire. And Jake Tong doesn't like him either.

Jake worked for Colton Sanders and knows just what a bad guy he is. When he sees a woman in a restaurant one night and falls immediately in love with her, he has to let her know that Colton is bad news. And then Jake has to track her down at her workplace. Thankfully, he backs off after that but he still jumps in with both feet and railroads Sierra when she does end up calling him later because... plot reasons. 

Two stars

This book came out March 29, 2022

Follows A Very Beery New Year

Followed by https://themeanderingreader.blogspot.com/2023/02/her-unexpected-roommate-by-jackie-lau.htmlHer Unexpected Roommate

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

Astrid Parker is freaking out. Her life is slowing down. Except for when she crashes into that woman. And spills coffee all down her dress. The dress that makes her ass look fantastic. And on the day that she's supposed be filming for a TV series that will help her decorating business get out of it's slump. Her mother is already on her back, her business is doing horribly, and this is just the straw that breaks the camel's back. She goes off on the woman. Too bad this is the granddaughter of the hotel owner and the leader carpenter.

Jordan Everwood hasn't exactly had an easy time of it lately. Her former wife was dealing with cancer which meant that Jordan was going through it as well. Now her family home (sure she only spent summers there but that is where she felt loved) is being turned into something she doesn't even recognize.

The two are slow to come to some sort of middle ground and I'm not entirely certain of the HEA but it was still a fun read.

Four stars

This book comes out November 22, 2022

Follows by Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Followed by Iris Kelly Doesn't Date

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

A Malevolent Connection by Lynn Messina

An old enemy comes to Beatrice Hyde-Clare with a ridiculous story about someone trying to kill Beatrice's husband, the Duke. Is Lady Abercrombie still scheming or is she really trying to get back in the duke's good graces so that she can return to society?

Beatrice actually does the intelligent thing and lets her husband know about the plot (so many books rely on the protagonist keeping secrets and that causing issues.) He is unruffled. So, Beatrice decides to keep a secret that causes issues when she decides to track the uncle (and presumed murderous relative) down. But, while there is a body that shows up, it is not the one that they expect. 

There are storylines that are dropped but regular readers of the series are going to enjoy this book.

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 4, 2021

Follows A Ghastly Spectacle

Followed by An Ominous Explosion

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Lothaire by Kresley Cole

Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, has never been the Big Bad in this series but he has definitely not been on the side of good. He even brought back to life a long dead goddess (who was better off dead) by stealing her ring. And he wants to raise another, the one who is going to be his fated mate. Of course, they have to figure out how to get rid of the human host so she can keep the body. But Ellie Peirce doesn't exactly want to go. The more she sticks around, the more intrigued Lothaire is. 

The drama is still dialed up to 11 in this book and got to be a little too much toward the end but I am still enjoying the series. 

Four stars

This book came out January 10, 2012

Follows Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Followed by Shadow's Claim

Hard copy I kept

Opinions are my own