A Curious Incident, by Vicki Delany

A Curious Incident by Vicki Delany 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it!

Book 6 in the series.

A very pleasant surprise!

I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan when I read the first book, and really only asked for this one because I quite frankly didn't realize it was part of that series until I started reading. But right away, my biggest complaint was made moot. Gemma is much more likeable in this book than she was in the first, and her first interaction with a child made me smile. She still comes off as unsympathetic sometimes, but at least it's tempered by other things.

The small mystery at the beginning was cute, and the main mystery was interesting and well plotted out.

I actually look forward to more books in this series, now.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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South of the Buttonwood Tree, by Heather Webber

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars I REALLY liked it.

I absolutely adored this book. It had a touch of magic and a whole lot of family secrets! I will admit, it took me a bit longer to get into this one then it did for me to get into Midnight at the Blackbird Café, but it was still a fantastic read. I loved the growth of Blue and Sarah Grace's friendship, as well as the growth of each woman individually. I've actually read it twice now, once when I first got it and again, just before publication date!

There's so much love in this book, so much charm and a dash of mystery too, and I just couldn't put it down.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley*




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RomeAntically Challenged, by Marina Adair

Romeantically Challenged by Marina Adair

My rating: 1 of 5 stars, Did not finish.

Ugh. The blurb sounded so cute, but the love interest was such an ass, I really couldn't get in to the book. There were tons of distracting errors too. It was all too annoying for me, so I just moved on to the next book on my reading list.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley*

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Crushing It, By Lorelei Parker

Crushing It by Lorelei Parker

My rating: 1 of 5 stars, I didn't like it.

As a gamer, I wanted to like it. But it bored me from the beginning and I finally gave up. Sierra was too freaking gullible and Tristan was an Ass. The author's writing was fine, I just couldn't get behind the characters.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley*


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Breakfast at the Honeycreek Cafe, by Jodi Thomas

Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café by Jodi Thomas

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

First book in a new series.

This was the first book I've read by this author and it was an okay read. The town is the typical charming small town, but I felt like the author tackled too much in featuring 4 main characters and their stories. There didn't seem to be a lot of character growth, and frankly the plot lines were slooow for most of the book and then way too fast for some things. All the characters falling in love in a week felt like a stretch.

It's an okay book for a series start, I guess, but not anything special.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley*

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Murder by the Book, by Lauren Elliot

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott

My rating: 2 of 5 stars. it was okay.

Book one in a new series.

This book is very much focused on introduction and building relationships among the main characters.

There was A LOT going on in this book, and a lot more that I suspect will be followed up in additional books. The mystery the book centers on is a bit convoluted and complex and I felt as though all the relationship building was a bit distracting. It comes off more as a romance with mystery elements thrown in.

My biggest complaint though, is that there was too much unrealistic behavior going on for me to be able to completely suspend my disbelief and sink into the story. For instance, a brand new business owner who leaves her business almost entirely in the hands of her newly met and hired shopkeeper while she runs around solving a mystery. Most small businesses fail in the first year, as a result, most small business owners are pretty much shackled to their business, trying to keep expenses down. Even if the money came from an inheritance, it still seems far-fetched. Add in the chief of police having to arrest his own sister and not being ethically required to turn the investigation, at least officially, over to someone else and I just couldn't help but shake my head.

Hopefully now that a lot of the relationship framework is established, book 2 can concentrate on the mystery.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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Some Kind of Magic, by Mary Ann Marlowe

Some Kind of Magic by Mary Ann Marlowe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay.

Not very magical. After reading the book blurb and seeing all the 4 and 5 star reviews, all I can say is, I was really disappointed in this book.

It's a typical formulaic romance, but from the blurb and title I thought it would have a bit of a twist. All it really had was pure silliness. Low self esteem wanna be musician girl meets famous musician guy but has no idea who he is. Then she finds out and of course the guy couldn't possibly want to be with a girl like her if it wasn't for the crazy perfume she's wearing. Misunderstandings occur, couple splits, each is miserable without the other, blah, blah, blah. They get back together and have their HEA.

All in all, it's a fast read with some funny bits, but pretty predictable and formulaic.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

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All I Want for Christmas, by Jenny Hale

All I Want for Christmas: A feel good Christmas romance to warm your heart by Jenny Hale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

Single mom Leah's future plans are messed up by her dead match-making grandmother when the home/business she expects to inherit must be split with a man she barely knows.

I felt bad for Leah when the plans she'd made with her grandmother to reopen a wedding venue in her childhood home fall through when David inherits half the house.

The story was a little slow moving, but still sweet, if predictable. David was a bit stiff, and even a little entitled, but the ending was satisfying.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.*


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Practice Makes Perfect, by Sarah Title

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Title
My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

This was a short and sweet novella about research librarian turned erotic romance author, Helen, and her co-worker/best friend, historian Henry.

Helen finally gets a rejection letter with a reason for the rejection, and a suggestion for fixing her novel. Turns out Helen's story is great, except her sex scenes are boring. So she decides to do what she does best and research writing a good sex scene.

She's so into her research she doesn't notice Henry reading over her shoulder. Then Henry offers to help Helen with some one on one research.

It was quite short, and I wish it had been fleshed (no pun intended) out a bit more. The characters moved so quickly and suddenly I was 95% through the book and I never really felt like I got to know them. Henry's side-plot felt a little bit shoe-horned in there, just to give the story a conflict that the characters have to overcome. Despite that, it was a fun read and I found myself amused a lot.

Even though the main character was trying to write erotic romance, there was very little detail into her "research" with Henry, making it the cleanest "erotic romance" I have ever read, haha.

*I was provided with an ARC of this story by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Éclair and Present Danger, by Laura Bradord

Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was OK.

Book 1 in a new series.

Was this a mystery or a romance? There was a murder at the start, though it really gets swept under the rug for the most part, as the main character spends most of her time pulling together a new business and keeping her friends from pushing her at the first man available. And can I say for the record, the attitude of her friends, that she couldn't possibly be happy without a man in her life, really bugged the crap out of me the entire book?

I liked the premise (though starting a home baking business pretty much overnight seems a stretch, and if Winnie couldn't afford to keep her bakery open, where'd she get the money to kit out her ambulance?), it's a fun idea, even if most of the names of the desserts were on the corny side. And I liked Winnie. I mostly liked the rest of the characters, but found them to be a bit behind the times, shall we say. Even Renee, a young divorced mom, pushes men at Winnie, constantly. And we get that Lovey the cat doesn't really like Winnie. Enough already.

All in all, it's better than the previous book I read by the author, the first in her Amish mystery series, which was all too predictable, stereotypical and implausible. I will give book 2 a chance. But the mystery really needs boosting. Even if it's a cozy, the mystery still needs to be front and center. Less about Winnie's dating life and more "who done it?" And I didn't figure out who the killer was until the very end, purely because the killer was barely a blip in the book! And then Winnie has one of those too stupid to live moments that made me want to slap her.



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The Obsession, by Nora Roberts

The Obsession by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't usually have weird dreams from things I read or watch. But I started reading this book before bed. At about the halfway point I had to put it down and go to sleep, though I didn't really want to, haha. It gave me nightmares! I dreamed of sexual sadist serial killers, just like Naomi's dad. And weird as it seems, that's a good thing. It made an impression on me, put me in the story, or I never would have dreamed about it. And having had those dreams, I picked it up again first thing in the morning as I drank my coffee. I didn't put it back down again until I read the last page.

I consider this book one of Robert's best books over the last few years.



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Silver Linings, by Debbie Macomber

Silver Linings by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ick.  Just ick.  The Jo Marie/ Mark saga once again drags on and on.  The guests at Jo's Inn were annoying as hell.  Seriously, you're 10 years out of high school and you still want revenge on a boy?  Grow up.  High school sucked, move on.

It was so bad, I couldn't wade through it and I finally skipped to the end, just to have it done with.

I've long been a Debbie Macomber fan, up until now, I've read every book in her multiple series.  The ending of this book ended that.  It pissed me off enough that I will probably never read another book by this author.

First there was the oh so convenient HAE for the stuck in high school girls.  But what really left a sour taste was the cliff hanger ending for Jo Marie and Mark.

What I have always liked about book series is the fact that we get to meet the same characters throughout, but each book is its own stand alone chapter that furthers the series.  With this series, not only has there been little to no progress with the main characters, now it feels to me that the author isn't sure enough of their appeal and her writing to believe that readers will pick up the next series because they want/need more, so she had to forcefully create that need with a cliff hanger.

But as far as I am concerned, Jo Marie can continue being a wishy-washy widow, wringing her hands and Mark can fall off that cliff and stay/die in Afghanistan!  I won't be reading any further.


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