A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up.

The Great British Baking Show set in a world with dwarves, elves, and orcs as well as humans! As a human, Arleta Starstone has a distinct disadvantage in the world of baking: no magic. Her natural talents, stubborn nature, amazing herb garden, and a whole lot of hard work have turned her into a world-class baker nonetheless, but anti-human prejudice is a steep hurdle to overcome. Arleta's honorary dads (the orc couple next door) are her biggest fans and secretly enter her into a big-deal bake-off, and when a handsome elf arrives to escort her to the competition, she battles her fears and insecurities to take her place among the realm's elite bakers--the first human to do so.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary, with story and language also strong. I can't recall any violence, swearing, or sex scenes, but I read it a few months ago and may have just forgotten something minor. Warning: it'll make you hungry!

Many thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for providing the free eBook copy I devoured.

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The Wishing Bridge

The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Henri Wegner grew up a beloved child in Frankenmuth, Michigan, helped her father plan and execute his dream of opening the world's largest Christmas store, and then moved to Detroit to live her own dream of going to business school. She couldn't wait to leave behind small-town life and her childhood sweetheart. Fast forward a few decades, and the company she has worked for since graduating is now run by the son who inherited when his father died, and the son's a 2-dimensional stereotype of a greedy corporate shark. To save her job, she impulsively promises to convince her father to sell his now-famous, beloved store to a soulless company that will destroy it for profit. All she has to do is go home in December for the first time in years and betray her family to save a job she hates and doesn't really need or have strong ties to anymore.

*sighhhhhh* I wanted to like this book. It's a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form. Sadly, it is NOT one of the good Hallmark movies. There is no real conflict in this book, just a couple hundred pages of a grown woman agonizing over the world's most obvious choice.

This story is an identity crisis, and not in the way it intends (see above about the faux dilemma). Henri is introduced as being 52 years old, but the math on that doesn't work out, since based on the timeline of all the flashbacks, she had to be born in 1967, and the main part of the story has to take place now (2023) or thereabouts because of how the author refers to the COVID pandemic's effect on businesses in town. So Henri is actually 56. A 56-year-old woman with the angst and immaturity of a 26-year-old.

And that's, I think, really the problem. I LOVE finding stories centered on middle-aged characters, but this one doesn't feel authentic in the slightest. We are supposed to believe that Henri has lived and worked in the same place for *decades* and yet seems to have zero community? Her assistant is the closest thing she has to a friend in the city. There is no mention of anything that would in any way tie her to her current life--no friends or neighbors or former coworkers she keeps in contact with, no favorite restaurants or theatres, no faith community, no personality of any sort in her fancy, cold, uber-modern condo, and her work life is unbearably toxic. Apparently Henri has had the world's most routine, robotic life for the past 34 years, and we're supposed to believe this is in some way hard to give up to come home to a place she says she loves and feels loved, to take over management of a business she helped get started and still feels nostalgic for?

If Henri *had* been 26, I could buy that she was a workaholic driven by ambition and focused on her career to the exclusion of all else. I could believe that she was facing a quarter-life crisis and grappling with the realization that her life was going in the wrong direction. Actually, I could believe that of a 56-year-old if the circumstances of her life were different--multi-dimensional instead of a negative caricature of "Big City Life." It feels as though Henri was intended to be 26, but the author wanted to include all the nostalgia of life in the 1970s & 80s, which she couldn't do without making Henri a generation older. And it just doesn't work.

I did appreciate the nostalgic bits--I am old enough to have grown up with the excitement of those huge Wish Books at Christmastime that came from Sears and Montgomery Ward. However, I'm also old enough to know that NO ONE in 1975 was excited to get Star Wars figurines for Christmas, as is asserted in the opening of the book, because Star Wars didn't come out until 1977. That was just the first of several anachronisms.

One other thing really bugged me: toward the end, when Henri's boss & rival showed up at her family's store "unexpectedly" (it was telegraphed so hard...), Ms. Shipman describes the two of them sitting on the giant Santa throne in an "unchristian" way. I'm assuming she meant something akin to "lewd" or "x-rated," so the term raised my hackles. And then I snort-laughed at the implication that Christians don't have sex. Sure would be a lot fewer if that were true!

As with all Hallmark Christmas movies, there was supposed to be a romantic theme. Again, it would have worked quite well if the main characters had been 26 instead of 56. Or if they had spent more time getting to know the people they've grown into over the past 35 or so years since Henri broke Shep's heart, and IF the people they have become were actually a good fit. But that was pretty much glossed over, aside from Shep's newfound maturity a la post-divorce therapy. Nothing at all with the realities of single-sided step-parenting (which I can promise you is tricky!). I honestly think the most real character was Shep's ex-wife Hannah, who had done some major self-reflection and personal growth that Henri and her childhood BFF had not. Well, Sophie might have done a bit. All that is to say, the romance aspect of the book, which is usually my favorite part of a Hallmark Christmas movie, was both incidental to the main story and disappointingly paper thin.

For readers' advisors: I'm going with setting doorway as primary, for the descriptions of Frankenmuth and all its snowy businesses. There was no sex or violence, only a little swearing and a fair amount of drinking. Don't suggest this book to anyone who cares about complex, well-developed characters or a compelling plot, but it will probably appeal to readers who don't care about those things and just want to inhabit a Bavarian Christmas fantasy-land for a while. In that, it succeeds!

Nevertheless, I am very grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eBook ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Book Lovers

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Stephens has been dumped not once, not twice, but FOUR times by men who leave New York City for a Hallmark-movie-ending in the country. If her life were a romance novel trope, she'd be the "Evil City Girlfriend." Nora adores NYC, though, and has zero desire to live anywhere else. She is a classic workaholic, devoted to her clients and dedicated to securing the best publishing deals she can in her role as a fierce literary agent. She is also devoted to her younger sister, nieces, and brother-in-law, so when Libby begs her to take a month-long sisters' vacation to the very small town that's the setting of a client's best-selling novel, she acquiesces. Little does she know her sister has ulterior motives for the trip and is on a mission to give Nora her very own Hallmark movie experience. Not long after the women arrive, it's not a handsome stranger they run into, though, but the very editor who once turned down the book that put this town on the map, so to speak, and Nora begins to learn that everyone has a backstory, and sometimes first impressions are dead wrong.

I absolutely adored this book! Yes, the solution the characters struggle to see was obvious to me from the moment we learn what Libby's secret is--and it crossed my mind even before that--but the journey they took to get there was necessary, heartwarming, and sometimes even heart wrenching. Plus the witty banter was perfect, like an R-rated Gilmore Girls, and had me laughing out loud or at least grinning 'til my face hurt though most of the story.

What I don't understand is why the official synopsis of this book says Nora and Charlie are rivals. They barely know each other until Nora & Libby arrive in Sunshine Falls. The only time they've ever interacted was 2 years prior at the meeting where Nora pitched Charlie the manuscript for Once in a Lifetime, and he turned it down because he hated the setting. In fact, when Nora does spot Charlie in the coffee shop, she isn't sure it's him and has to look up his address to send an email as a test to see if the man ahead of her in line responds. Which he does, because apparently they both have email notifications turned on--something I would never do because the constant pinging would make me insane, but I suppose it makes sense for their business email accounts. At any rate, they aren't rivals; they are acquaintances who become colleagues and friends with enough electricity sparking between them to start a wildfire.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, language secondary (for the banter). There is no violence, but there are a few steamy sex scenes and some profanity sprinkled throughout.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review!

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Mr. Perfect on Paper

Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dara Rabinowitz has made a fortune turning her family's matchmaking legacy into the Jewish dating app J-Mate, but she hasn't used those skills to find her own perfect match, so her grandmother forces her hand by announcing Dara's "perfect husband requirements" on live television. Dara is humiliated, but it turns out to be a ratings boon for both J-Mate and the daytime TV show when the producers turn her search into a series of segments on the show.

Widowed single father Chris Steadfast is the exact opposite of Dara's criteria, but they gradually get to know one another through the string of hilariously disastrous dates his show's camera crew films and broadcasts. Unfortunately, Dara's insistence on only marrying a Jewish man blinds her to the perfect match right in front of her and has her clinging to one that's only perfect on paper.

What I loved about this book was the way mental illnesses, grief, and Judaism are addressed. I learned so much about all three! Dara struggles with all sorts of mental health challenges, particularly anxiety, and she has developed strategies and coping mechanisms to handle them. I thought those aspects of her character were so well done. Plus having the dates all relate to various Jewish holidays and traditions gave the opportunity to tell readers about the history and meanings of each, which was interesting.

Unfortunately, the secondary characters in this book are pretty one-dimensional. Even Dara's beloved Bubbe doesn't feel like a fleshed-out character. Frankly, it was difficult to believe that an expert matchmaker wouldn't notice how unhappy Dara was. Dr. Daniel was a perfectly nice person, just completely wrong for Dara. She let her prejudice get in the way of her happiness. I suspect this book would work much better as a movie, where a good set of actors could use nonverbal communication to develop into 3D people both figuratively and literally. And that climactic scene at Bubbe's party would make a very dramatic, cinematic movie ending.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. The New York/New Jersey setting might also appeal to some readers. No sex or violence, and if there was any swearing, it was so mild I can't remember it. It's a pretty fast-paced read. 

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

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The No-Show

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is, hands-down, my favorite adult fiction book so far this year, and I've read some excellent ones. I requested the eGalley copy from NetGalley thinking I was getting a rom-com, and while there definitely is romance as well as some humor, this book took me on an emotional journey I was not expecting, and I could not bear to put it down.

The first half of the book is character-driven, focusing on the three women Joseph Carter stands up on Valentine's Day: Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane. We get to know Siobhan's over-scheduled world as a life coach with past relationship grief. We learn about Miranda's life as the only woman on a tree surgeon crew (a.k.a. arborist). And we wonder exactly what trauma caused Jane to flee corporate London for a volunteer job as the youngest member on staff at a charity shop in Winchester. Their lives intersect in only one way: their relationship with the same man.

The second half of the book (or maybe the last 3rd? eGalleys have wonky formatting) is hard to talk about without giving anything away. The pace intensifies, the story taking unexpected twists and turns. I anticipated loathing Joseph, yet he defied all my expectations, and I honestly couldn't decide what outcome I wanted...none of which mattered in the end because O'Leary is a genius.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways are both VERY strong. The setting is England and Ireland. Some profanity and mild sexual content. One scene with accidental violence. Discussion or mention of grief, death of loved one, depression, dementia, stalking, sexual harassment, self harm, miscarriage, and panic attacks. LGBTQIA+ secondary characters.

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Payback's a Witch

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emmy Harlow left town as soon as she graduated from high school and has only been back to visit a few times since then, determined to live a magic-free life on her own terms in Chicago, after a painful breakup from an ill-advised secret romance with the Blackmoore family scion decimated her self-esteem. Now 26, Emmy has a job she adores, a mountain of student-loan debt, and a fierce desire to maintain her distance from everyone and everything she used to love. Enter The Gauntlet, a centuries-old tradition wherein the scions of the town's magical founding families compete once "every fifty years to determine which founding family got to preside over all things magical in Thistle Grove." The Harlow scion is the impartial Arbiter, and Emmy is the Harlow scion.

Her first night back in town, Emmy heads to a local bar and encounters her worst nightmare: Gareth Blackmoore and his drunk buddies. For his part, Gareth...absolutely doesn't recognize her and tries to hit on her, stunned that his pickup lines fail to impress. Natalia Avramov witnesses Emmy and Gareth's encounter and, to Emmy's shock, not only recognizes but actively remembers her from high school, though Talia was two years ahead. The women spend the rest of the evening drinking and bonding. The following morning, Emmy drags her pounding head to brunch with her BFF Linden Thorn and gets another shock: not only has Talia also had..."unfortunate relations" with Gareth, but he recently broke Lin's heart. Talia crashes their brunch to propose revenge: an unprecedented alliance between the Thorn scion (Lin's twin brother Rowan) and Avramov scion (Talia) against the Blackmoore scion (Gareth) at the upcoming Gauntlet. Though the challenges cannot be known in advance, plotting and planning provides ample time for sparks to fly between Talia and Emmy. Will those sparks be enough to rekindle Emmy's love for their town, or will they flame out as the Gauntlet ends?

This book was great fun to read, especially the descriptions of how the magic felt as it roared through Emmy, and I really enjoyed the steamy romance between Talia and Emmy, though sometimes I wanted to remind them that relationships which last cannot be built from chemistry alone--feeling "at home" with your partner is far more important than flutters and zings. Reading Emmy's struggle with her quarter-life crisis made me grateful to be past that phase of life. So much angst and self-delusion, so much pointless resistance to that which feeds her soul. I also appreciated that for all the angst, sexuality was a non-issue. No one batted at eye at Emmy being bisexual or Talia having a strong preference for women, yet also having a foolish fling with a man after a bad breakup. Humans are humans, and heartbreak is heartbreak.

I look forward to book two in the series, which presumably will feature Rowan and Isidora. Perhaps the author will flesh out some unanswered world-building questions in that installment, such as how intermarriage between founding families affects magical abilities and bloodlines. Surely this has come up at some point in the past 300 years? They can't *all* have married "normies." Or along those same lines, how are family names passed down? Specifically, do men who marry into the founding families take their wives' last names? Is that how Emmy's grandmother was able to keep and pass on the Harlow name? Or Gareth's grandmother? These questions and others didn't keep me from enjoying the story, but they did make me stop and wonder.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are both strong. There is a lot of swearing and drinking (I am seriously concerned for their livers!) but no violence. Tons of flirting, raging hormones, sexy thoughts and banter--in short, it's pretty steamy/spicy, but not especially explicit. The Gauntlet is reminiscent of the Triwizarding Tournament in Harry Potter.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eGalley ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

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The Shaadi Set-Up

The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Six years ago, Milan broke up with Rita via voicemail while she was enroute to meet up with him for a European vacation the summer after their sophomore year in college. He shattered her heart, and she hasn't gotten over it in the slightest, despite all her protestations to the contrary. Now Milan is a successful real estate agent...with one exception. He has a house on the market he hasn't been able to sell, and he needs Rita's design help to stage it. Their mothers conspire to set up a meet and manipulate them into working together in the hopes that the reunion will give them a second chance.

What the mothers don't know is that Rita already has a boyfriend, and she isn't interested in giving Milan a second chance. She convinces her boyfriend they should coordinate their profiles on the Desi dating site, MyShaadi.com, so they will match, thereby "proving" they are right for each other. Unsurprisingly, they don't match with each other at all, and soon Rita's boyfriend is dating other women, and Rita is spending all her time fixing up a second home with Milan. However, for a relationship to be successful, the past and present must be reconciled.

I have had a hard time deciding on a rating for this book. I really wanted to like it more than I did. There were some very enjoyable aspects to it but also some aspects that just didn't work for me. I vacillated between two and three stars, for an average of 2.5 stars, which I will round up since half stars aren't an option in Goodreads.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the glimpse into Indian-American culture, much of the banter, and the interactions between Rita and her best friend Rajvee. I also appreciated the steamy foreplay that led into the tasteful fade-to-black sex scenes. And I loved that it was Rita who was the expert with power tools and refurbishing furniture. The story kept me reading and went by pretty quickly.

Overall, though, the book made me grateful I'm not still in my twenties. Ugh. So much angst, so few deep conversations. I just don't understand how it took six whole years for Rita and Milan to uncover the misunderstanding that caused their breakup, given that both maintained contact with Raj. That's a pretty big Best Friend Fail to NEVER talk about such a pivotal event or connect the dots to realize there was more to the story.

I think the love triangle would have been more effective had Neil not been such an obvious mismatch. I wanted to kick him to the curb from the first chapter, and he never changed my mind. SO many things wrong there, including that a relationship should never EVER be based on pheromones alone. It was clear from the very beginning that he would never put Rita first, and she was straining to convince herself everything was fine & he was a good boyfriend. (See above about being grateful to have left my twenties behind.)

One other thing that really bothered me was that it seemed like Rajvee's gender fluidity was an afterthought or a late-in-the-editing process revision because someone said there needed to be an LGBTQIA character somewhere in the book. I was really excited at first when Vale introduced Raj's backstory because books are windows into someone else's experience, and I was looking forward to seeing how that character would develop. But aside from mentioning that Raj feels masculine sometimes and went shopping with Milan in high school for boys' clothes and (theoretically) uses all pronouns, the whole rest of the book depicts Raj as female. In fact, if Vale removed the section of the chapter where Rita recalls the history of Raj and Milan's friendship, I think you would never know Raj was anything but a cisgender woman. That was disappointing to me.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. There is no violence, some swearing. Sex is depicted positively, mentioned regularly, and not described in detail. The main characters are all Indian-American, and most (all?) secondary characters are presumed white.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eBook ARC in exchange for my honest review!

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Party of Two

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

A fun rom-com about an African American attorney moving to L.A. to start her own firm with her best friend who meets a charismatic, idealistic white senator in a hotel bar without recognizing who he is. When they meet again by chance, they decide to start dating discreetly, despite Olivia's misgivings relating to Max's high-profile job.

I enjoyed the book very much. It's the fifth in the series, but only the second one I've read so far. It probably helps to have read the others, but it isn't necessary, particularly for this installment. I personally would have liked a bit more time to develop the characters and the relationship, and a bit less angst from Olivia, but it was a fun read nonetheless.

For readers' advisors: story doorway was primary. Several steamy sex scenes, but not terribly graphic. No violence, but plenty of swearing.

I read an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for my honest option.

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A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay: A Novel by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back in the second installment of the hilarious series that bears her name. A few months have passed since we last saw Sun, and since then her parents managed to con her into going on some really terrible blind dates. The current one is definitely the worst, so it's a huge relief when her deputy calls with an emergency, cutting the date short. A raccoon emergency. At his own house. But hey, it got her out of a creepy coffee date, so there's that!

All too soon her attention is diverted from Randy the Attack Raccoon to a stabbing and hit-and-run at the bar owned by Levi Ravinder, the man she's been in love with since childhood. One man is taken to the ICU, one refuses medical treatment, and a third has his body dumped down a nearby ravine. But before she heads out to track down witnesses to an altercation between the stabbing victim and unknown assailants earlier in the day, Sun receives a message from one of Levi's uncles, claiming to have information about her abduction 15 years ago, and her destination changes. Upon returning to Del Sol, Sunshine is stunned to recognize the face of a young kidnapping victim on security camera footage from the previous day--a child who went missing years ago. Meanwhile, Sun's daughter Auri decides to enlist the help of her boyfriend and best friend in investigating a serial killer from decades ago.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The witty, snappy dialogue and multiple plot threads interwove with tender personal moments. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next (OK, mostly later in the book) I was sobbing and trying to explain to my kids why Mommy was so sad. I am grateful some questions from the first book were answered or at least partially resolved, even if the answers to the biggest were completely obvious the entire time to everyone but Sun. As per usual, the breakneck pace made putting my iPad down nearly impossible. Plus, I just wanted to spend more time with the characters. And hug them. And join the secret club.

For readers' advisors: story, character, and language are all very strong doorways. There is quite a lot of swearing, some sexual content, some on- and off-screen violence, some alcohol, and a couple of scenes where children or teens are in danger (they survive).

Many many thanks to NetGalley, Darynda Jones, and St. Martin's Publishing Group for letting me read an eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review. Um, when does the next book come out? Is it soon? Please may I read it right away? Please??

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A Bad Day for Sunshine

A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's Sunshine Vicram's first day on the job as Sheriff of Del Sol County, New Mexico. She got elected despite being unaware she was even running, thanks to her parents, who were determined to both bring her back to Del Sol and get rid of the corrupt, inept incumbent. Within minutes of her arrival, homemade muffins are delivered, horrifying her staff, who have long since learned that the size of the muffin basket portends the scope of the crazy or catastrophic cases coming their way. Today's basket is huge, and sure enough, a short time later a Mercedes crashes through the front of the sheriff station, driven by a desperate mother whose teenage daughter has just been kidnapped--an event the daughter has been predicting since she was a little girl. Sunshine and her deputies have only three days to find Sybil before her captor kills her.

I stayed up WAY past bedtime because I couldn't stop reading until I finished this book. The writing style is very witty (quite similar to Jones' Charley Davidson series) and just as fast-paced as the plot. In fact, the relationship between Sunshine Vicram and her daughter Auri reminded me a lot of Lorelei & Rory Gilmore of Gilmore Girls. Well, except that Lorelei knows from the beginning who Rory's father is, and Sunshine doesn't figure out Auri's until WAY WAY WAY after the reader catches on.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, language is secondary. The closest genre this book/series fits into at the moment is humorous mystery/suspense. There is a strong romantic subplot, (well, two, actually, and a bit of a third) but it will probably take another book or two (or 5, at the rate Sun's going) to develop into anything like a real relationship. There is one dream sequence that counts as a sex scene and some sexual references. Since the plot of the book focuses on a current and a past abduction, there is also reference to rape, in case that is a trigger for anyone. Also some off-screen violence, a bit of profanity sprinkled throughout, and on-screen teen bullying of Auri by a Mean Girl & her lackeys.

The diverse, quirky characters include many with brown skin in various shades and from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, chiefly Latino, African, and Apache. The father of one character is deaf, and another character is on the autism spectrum, so ASL is mentioned semi-frequently. Unlike with Jones' Charley Davidson series, there is only a hint of anything possibly beyond normal human experience. It's not urban fantasy. A minor character from the Charley series has a small cameo, however, and that was fun!

I read a free ebook ARC courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martins Press in exchange for my honest review. The only bad thing about that is that now I have to WAIT for the next book in the series to be written. Waiting is HARD.

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Twice in a Blue Moon

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Tate Jones is 18 years old, her grandmother takes her on a rare vacation to London. While there, Tate meets the 21-year-old Sam Brandis and his grandfather, Luther, also on a rare vacation in London. The quartet spend most of their waking hours together, and Sam and Tate fall deeply in love, telling each other their deepest secrets: Tate is actually the daughter of Hollywood's biggest movie star, raised in a tiny town since her parents divorced a decade earlier, and despite being kept strictly out of the spotlight, what she really wants to do is act; and Sam would rather be a writer than take over the family farm. When circumstances cause Sam to sell Tate's identity to the paparazzi, she's devastated...and also plunged into the very career she secretly desired. For fourteen years, the pair have no contact, until the day the now-famous Tate steps foot on the set of the new movie she's about to film and is shocked to discover that the screenwriter is, in fact, Sam. Old wounds are reopened, lanced, and given an opportunity to finally heal.

I really enjoyed this quieter tale of first love and the struggle to understand and forgive. The common theme among reviewers who didn't like this book seems to be that they were all expecting the type of humor found in most of Christina Lauren's previous novels, so if readers set expectations aside (or read something else if they are in the mood for banter and slapstick), the tone of this book shines.

I did find that certain aspects of this story strained credulity, however. For one thing, once the initial shock of betrayal wore off, why didn't Tate ever ponder what could have caused Sam to sell her out? She had to have known it would take something extraordinary, and she knew the name of his town, so it wouldn't have been that hard to locate him. Likewise, she was insta-famous, so surely Sam could have tracked her down to apologize and explain?

For another thing, how on earth could Tate have read the movie script and NOT recognized the story? It was completely obvious who wrote it and about whom. Even if she didn't recognize it prior to arriving on set, she should have caught a clue the moment she discovered Sam was the screenwriter.

Also, despite her fourteen years in the spotlight, Tate remains surprisingly naive. She really should know better than to believe anything her father says--she KNOWS it's all an act. So why is she stunned when he betrays her in order to garner media attention? Then again, perhaps that is a common mistake for children of narcissistic parents to make because they so badly WANT to believe their parents might for once put their kids' needs ahead of their own? So maybe that's more accurate than I'd like to think.

Nonetheless, the overall story was really well done, and I greatly enjoyed it. Many many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review!

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. Some profanity and a couple of sex scenes. No violence. Main characters are white, but best friend is half Asian, step-grandfather (Sam's) & costar are African-American, & best friend's assistant is gay.

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Royal Holiday

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hardworking hospital social worker Vivian Forest takes a long-overdue vacation to the English countryside, accompanying her daughter, Maddie, who's been hired to fill in as stylist to the Duchess during the Christmas holidays. The first morning they are at Sandringham, Vivian visits the kitchen to get some breakfast and discovers not only the cook's scrumptious scones, but also the equally scrumptious private secretary to the Queen, whom Vivian mentally nicknames "Hot Chocolate." The usually reserved Malcolm is astonished to find himself offering to give Vivian a tour, and even more startled when their flirtation grows to include horseback riding lessons, an exchange of humorous handwritten notes, kissing under mistletoe, and a full-blown fling. Sadly, all vacation flings must end, however. ...Musn't they?

I absolutely love that both Vivian and Malcolm are in their fifties. It's so nice to read about characters with established careers and lives, who know who they are and what they like and aren't straining to prove themselves. I so enjoyed Vivian's problem-solving skills and quiet, confident manner in rescuing Malcolm's relationship with his nephew. It did take Vivian a ridiculously long time to decide what to do about her promotion opportunity and Malcolm to sort through his feelings for Vivian, though. But it was probably pretty realistic.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. There is some swearing and sex, although not especially explicit. No violence. The story takes place mostly in England, but also partly in the San Francisco Bay area. It's book #4 in a contemporary romance novel series featuring African-American protagonists, which I didn't realize until after I started reading, but it didn't seem to matter much that I read out of order.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an eGalley copy!

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Someone to Trust

Someone to Trust by Mary Balogh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This leisurely paced, delightful tale of a couple finding the courage to buck societal norms and say yes to love is a perfect cozy winter read. Elizabeth is nine years older than Colin--a fact which would be unusual but no big deal in modern society but which was practically unheard of in upper class Regency England. Since this is book #5 in the series (reading in order is recommended, as the many characters reappear in all books), I was cheering as two of my favorite secondary characters got their well-deserved HEA together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an eGalley ARC copy!

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Unmarriageable

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you know the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you know the basic outline of what happens in Unmarriageable. The remarkable thing is how well this 200-year-old story has been adapted to the setting of modern-day Pakistan. Brava, Ms. Kamal!

Details have changed, of course, such as Alys Binat being a decade older than her namesake, Elizabeth Bennet, and employed as a teacher of English literature at a girls' school where the students frequently drop out to get married. However, nearly all of the changes enhanced and enriched the story. Some of my favorites include how Darsee's cousin Annie actually gets to speak and display a real personality, Darsee's other cousin being gay, Sherry actually being happy married to Farhat Khaleen & raising his children, a deeper understanding of Pinkie Binat and her obsession with her daughters marrying well, and all the lush cultural details about food & wedding customs, etc. The story of Wickaam's treatment of Darsee's sister is another example, although sharing about that here would necessitate a spoiler alert.

One change I did NOT like, however, was the inclusion of smoking as Sherry & Alys' secret rebellion. I get that the characters might feel the desire to rebel against the restrictions of their gender and financial circumstances/social class. But smoking is a moronic choice. First of all, it's impractical to the point of impossibility--I don't care how many sticks of gum you chew or air freshener you spray, there is NO way to disguise the pervasive stench of cigarette smoke, even if you light up in a cemetery or out a window of a particular room in a large house. Smokers always stink, no matter how much they may delude themselves otherwise. Second of all, Sherry was so conscious of her impossibly tight budget, it seemed entirely unrealistic that she'd choose an expensive vice that would deprive her family of desperately needed financial resources. True, millions of people do this very thing, but it's not consistent with Sherry's character.

I actually read this a couple of months ago but didn't have a chance to write my review at that time. (Sorry, NetGalley & Random House - Ballantine! Thanks for the free ARC ebook anyway!)

For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways are very strong. Surprisingly for a retelling of such a famous book, story doorway is actually quite strong as well. There are a handful of swear words, some sexual innuendo, and no violence. Setting is, as mentioned above, modern-day Pakistan (early 2000s, I think?).

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Someone to Care

Someone to Care by Mary Balogh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Viola Kingsley spent more than two decades as Viola Westcott, Countess of Riverdale. It was a loveless marriage, but she did come out of it with three children. As it turned out, that was ALL she got out of it--upon the death of the Earl, the entire Westcott family discovered that Viola and Humphrey had never been legally married, since his unknown first wife was still alive at the time of their wedding. Overnight Viola went from being a wealthy widow to a penniless pariah. The Earl's title transferred to a very reluctant Cousin Alexander; the Earl's money went to his sole legitimate heir: Anna, his daughter from his first marriage.

Several years later, Viola's life has stabilized: instead of being rejected by her family, the entire Westcott and Kingsley clans have gone out of their way to enfold and support her. Camille, her eldest daughter, has made her a grandmother. Anna is impossible to hate and absolutely insisted on giving Viola's home and dowry back to her and to her youngest daughter, Abigail. Viola worries constantly about her son Harry, back with his regiment and fighting Napoleon's forces, but he says he's having the time of his life. She should be content. And yet....

Just after her grandson's christening, Viola snaps. She has been suppressing her true self for a quarter of a century, and at 42 years of age, she no longer knows who she is and desperately needs to be alone to figure it out. She makes her escape in a hired carriage, which breaks down in a small village in the middle of nowhere, stranding her temporarily at the sole inn. Because Fate has a wicked sense of humor, she's not the only traveler stranded there that day. Marcel Lamarr, Marquess of Dorchester, the only man to ever tempt her to break her marriage vows, is already in the main dining room when she arrives. It's been fourteen years since she sent him away....

Marcel has a well-earned reputation as a gambler and cynic, a long list of former mistresses, and a history of avoiding family responsibility. He's in no hurry to return to his estate and deal with the various relatives living there, including his own children. In fact, he's successfully avoided dealing with them more than a few brief times a year since his wife's fatal accident almost 17 years ago. When he spies Viola, he makes the impulsive decision to send his brother away with his carriage, intending to test his powers of persuasion...and is delighted when she doesn't turn down his offer to escort her to the village fair. He's even more delighted when she agrees to spend the evening with him...and then to run away with him to his remote cottage.

What starts out as an impulsive fling evolves into a far more complicated relationship as the weeks go by, eventually becoming impossibly tangled once they are discovered by their respective families. For it turns out that responsibilities are not shed quite as easily nor permanently as Marcel had talked himself into believing, and to his astonishment, he's no longer sure he wants them to be.

This fourth book in the Westcott series is my favorite so far, and not just because the protagonists are only slightly younger than I am (a nice change from twenty-somethings who are magically as mature as people a decade older). Ms. Balogh is known for her character-driven romances, and this is one of her best, in my opinion. Viola and Marcel bring lots of baggage to their relationship, and the journey they make toward reconciliation and healing, particularly Marcel in his broken relationships with his children, is an absorbing story to read.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting (1813 England) is secondary. There is no violence, but there are sex scenes (not overly explicit) and some mild swearing (mostly variations on "damn").

Many many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC ebook I received in exchange for my honest review.

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Someone to Wed

Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alexander Westcott unexpectedly inherited an earldom and a struggling estate last year but not the fortune to go with it, making him an excellent candidate for Wren Hayden's husband search. She plans to snare a husband with her fortune in order to overcome the impediment of a marred face and hermit lifestyle. Wren fails to take into account his social responsibilities and large close-knit family, however, and quickly changes her mind. Sparks of interest, though, are not so easily extinguished....

I really liked that the heroine was slightly older (about 30) and had a big purple birthmark on her face instead of being 20 and conventionally beautiful. (OK, so other than the birthmark she was beautiful, but still.) Wren probably should have struggled a bit more in overcoming 20 years of hiding her face behind a veil after 10 years of being locked in her room--had a few more setbacks, perhaps--which really makes my rating more like 3.5 stars, but I so enjoy the Westcott family, I'm rounding up.

I also liked that despite her fear of showing her face to the world and not being taught to read until she was 10, Wren was a savvy, successful businesswoman. Additionally, her blunt, brave honesty saved herself and others from so much anxiety and heartache. I hate when characters avoid saying things because the truth is hard or they fear the answer and think silence or a polite lie will be easier, and then they end up causing MORE pain due to uncertainty, confusion, misconceptions, etc. I hate when this happens in real life, too.

I liked that the romance grew a bit more slowly, although the final scene's dialogue sort of tries to make you think otherwise to a degree. (I didn't buy it, and it was better the other way anyhow.) Alexander and Wren grew to respect each other, which I appreciated.

For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways are primary (Regency England during the Napoleonic wars). There are a couple of sex scenes but not terribly explicit. Occasionally a mild swear word. No violence.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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Seven Days of Us

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Birch family hasn't been close in many years, so spending an entire week together in quarantine over the Christmas holidays is an ordeal. Until they are certain that eldest daughter Olivia hasn't been infected with the deadly Haag virus while treating its victims in Liberia, they are virtually cut off from the outside world, holed up at the family's decrepit country manor house, each one desperately trying to keep his or her secrets hidden.

Other people have described this novel as both warm and funny, and I have to ask...what book were they reading? Despite some unbearably hot weather we had while I was reading, I felt chilled to the bone by the self-centered, dishonest characters and the gloomy, damp setting. Jesse irritated me the least, aside from Hornak's overuse of the word "like" in his speech (he's a grown man in his mid 30s--he wouldn't talk like a teenager). All the other characters were imprisoned in their individual silos of self-absorption. Obviously life isn't all sunshine and flowers, but honestly, it doesn't have to be that miserable--just tell the truth. Get over yourselves and pay attention to someone else for a change. Stop trying to hide cancer, job dissatisfaction, recently discovered children, forbidden relationships and protocol violations, sexual preferences, doubts, and all the other sources of anxiety. These things disconnect people from each other just as surely as they disconnected me from this whole cast of characters.

The story itself could have moved along more quickly, I felt. As soon as Jesse and Emma had their chat at the airport, I could see where that was headed, but it felt like an eternity before we got there. There was one twist at the end that I didn't see coming, but everything else was telegraphed way in advance. This isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but it didn't help matters, especially when combined with the loose ends left dangling. (For example, Jesse and George's first meeting stayed a secret. Really??)

The tone of this novel strongly reminds me of The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan--a book I've never been able to finish because I didn't like any of the characters--perhaps because both are British novels told from different points of view by deeply flawed characters? Thankfully for both authors, there are plenty of readers out there who enjoy spending time with people I can't stand.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary. Loads of profanity, including some of my least favorite words. Some sexual content, references. No violence.

I received a free advance reading copy (ebook) from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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A Tale of Two Kitties

A Tale of Two Kitties by Sofie Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kathleen Paulson, head librarian for the Mayville Heights Free Public Library, is sadly accustomed to encountering dead bodies. The bright yellow, catnip-filled, Fred-the-Funky-Chicken versions that her cat Owen likes to decapitate are a nuisance, but the human ones who've departed the earth as a result of violence are infinitely more disturbing. This time the deceased is a relative of her youngest employee, which hits too close to home for Kathleen, so she and her preternaturally clever cats start sleuthing to help Marcus close the case faster and bring the killer to justice. Thank goodness for Owen's superpower saving the day once more!

I really enjoyed how Sofie Kelly carefully wove together the seemingly separate storylines about the Janes brothers' estrangement and the future library exhibit of 20-year-old photos and mail found inside a post office wall. Some of my guesses turned out to be accurate, and yet I didn't put all the pieces together until the end.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this volume in the series, however, was that Marcus and Kathleen's relationship was secure enough to withstand the potential love triangle Kelly hinted at in book #8 and developed in this one. What I don't understand is what is taking the two of them so long to get engaged & married!

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character secondary. No sex or onscreen violence. Except for a smattering of mild swear words (mostly "damn" or "damned"), it would count as a "clean read." The series is best read in order, but you wouldn't have to read the first 8 books in order to understand what was going on in this one.

My advance reader's copy came with the novella "A Cat Burglar" at the end, but I don't know whether the published version will or not.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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A Ghostly Light

A Ghostly Light by Juliet Blackwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mel Turner specializes in renovating and restoring historic homes, particularly haunted ones. Her latest project is helping her friend Alicia turn an abandoned San Francisco Bay-area lighthouse into a B&B. It's going to take an enormous amount of money and logistical maneuvering, but things are right on schedule...until Alicia's abusive ex-husband appears on the island and is killed soon after. Since Alicia finds him at the top of the lighthouse with a knife in his chest and tries to help him just before he falls down the stairs and dies, she's Suspect #1. Mel knows Alicia is innocent and starts doing some investigating of her own to help the police uncover the real culprit.

Meanwhile, the ghost of a former lighthouse keeper, Ida Vigilance, is desperate to know what happened to her son over a century ago, and her grief is causing difficulty with the renovations, so Mel recruits her friends Luz and Trish to help her search for clues among historical records.

The latest installment in the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery series has it all: plot twists; characters you wish you knew in real life; funny, snappy dialogue; and a setting you can practically see and feel. Although you could read book #7 by itself, it's best read in order to fully appreciate the character development, particularly Mel & Landon's relationship and her recent-onset vertigo.

For readers' advisors: all four doorways are strong, particularly story and character. No sex or onscreen violence. Only an occasional mild swear word.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review. This is probably my favorite book in the series so far. Looking forward to #8 now!

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Before We Were Yours

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In 1939, twelve-year-old Rill Foss lives with her parents, three younger sisters, and a toddler brother in a ramshackle shantyboat on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. All is well in their world until the stormy night when their father has to rush their mother to the hospital across the river in a frantic attempt to save both her and the twin babies she's struggling to bring into the world. The next morning, while Rill and the fifteen-year-old ward of their family friend are in charge, the police come and force the five siblings into a car, saying they are taking the children to visit their folks in the hospital. Rill knows this is a lie but is powerless to prevent her siblings from being kidnapped and taken to the Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage where Rill, her sisters, and her brother are plunged into a nightmare of abuse and separation.

In present-day South Carolina, Avery Stafford is a privileged daughter of a prominent family, a successful attorney, and engaged to marry a lifelong friend. While home helping her father the senator get through a health crisis, an elderly woman in a nursing home mistakes her for someone else...and changes Avery's life forever. Buried family secrets lead Avery to question who she is and what she wants in her life.

Rill and Avery's stories are told in alternating chapters, urgent and riveting, their paths slowly converging in ways both inevitable and unexpected. Bittersweet, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.

4.5 stars, but I'm rounding up because the .5 off is solely due to my incomprehension over why the present-day characters feel the past should remain a secret. Who cares if it becomes public knowledge that nearly 80 years ago children were kidnapped and sold to adoptive families? The perpetrators are long since dead, and the victims deserve to have their stories told. How would it harm the senator if people knew his mother had been one of those children? This makes no sense to me.

For readers' advisors: all four doorways are strong, especially character & story. In some ways it qualifies as a "clean read," but the subject matter might not be what readers are looking for if they ask for that. The novel is based on real-life events wherein Georgia Tann ran a Memphis-based adoption organization that elevated the perception of adoption and orphans while simultaneously ripping families apart as she coordinated the kidnapping and sale of impoverished children to wealthy families across the country from the 1920s to 1950. Thousands of children endured horrific abuse, and hundreds died (or were killed).

I do not recommend reading this novel at bedtime because you won't be able to put it down, and if you did manage to put it down, you'd lay awake thinking about it instead of sleeping. Or at least, that's what happened to me!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

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