Blame It On Bath by Caroline Linden

This is book 3 in this series but only the 2nd book I've read by this author.

This is the basic story arc - The old Duke of Durham died. Somebody was trying to blackmail/upset the family by stating that they know the details of the Duke's 1st (and never terminated) marriage when he was younger. If proof was revealed, his 2nd marriage would be proven bigamous thereby making his three children bastards and losing their inheritance. The three children are Charlie (oldest), Edward, and Gerard (youngest). This book is about Gerard, the youngest and soldier of the family. His plan was to try and search out the blackmailer. Even if they solidified their claim on their inheritance, he would still only be a third son so his other current purpose is to find a rich wife. He is not totally mercenary. He wants to find somebody who he can talk to and have a satisfying marriage with as well as get a fortune in the bargain. Katherine Howe is a widow with a large bank account. However, she is getting pressure to marry her late husband's heir (somebody she finds thoroughly disagreeable for many reasons) but also......she had a tendre for Gerard when they were younger, even though he doesn't remember her.

I like this book for a few reasons. I like the characters. I like the women Linden creates. Usually they are not total knockouts, but neither are they hags - they are real. Which means a heroine who might be considered "plain" but who has beautiful blue eyes, or a fantastic smile, or any number of things that make them stand out. The interactions between the hero & heroine were interesting & good (you got things from both point of views). Enough sizzle balanced with enough good story. Although I personally would have liked it if a piano would have dropped on Katherine's mother.

Buried In Buttercream by G.A. McKevett

It can be difficult nowadays to find an author w/ consistently good stories. At some point a series starts to lose steam & you start to lose interest. NOT SO with this mystery series. I have read all the previous books in this series and this one is just as enjoyable as the others before it. If anything, it's made slightly more enjoyable after having read the others in the series and getting to know the characters. This is such a great series for anybody who likes cozies, strong female characters, good supporting secondary characters, and little bit of funny and a little dash of romance in their mystery.

The victim in this story is a wedding planner extraordinaire. There are many possible suspects because the victim did not have a huge fan club. I enjoyed the travel to different locales to hunt down clues and pry info out of people. The teamwork involved & relationships between all the detective agency members always makes me smile.

Satisfying ending for longtime fans of the series. Can't wait until the next book comes out! :)

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I got a copy of this book as an advanced reader copy through Net Galley. I don’t usually read Young Adult novels. I don’t for a few reasons – I’m not a young adult, but I also find that authors sometimes try too hard to make the characters “typical” teenagers and they come out sounding like stereotypes. That is not the case with this book. The teenage characters are interesting, quirky, non-stereotypical characters.

The main character in this book is 17yr old Kami Glass. She lives with her father, mother and two younger brothers Ten & Tom. I enjoyed the author’s exploration of the Glass family. Her brothers are a trip. I loved how three-dimensional all the characters were. I enjoyed reading the parts where Kami & her friends were playing detective and hunting down clues. She and her friends are working for the school newspaper and looking into the strange goings-on around town.

Since Kami can remember she’s had a voice in her head sharing her thoughts, her “imaginary friend” Jared. Eventually Jared & Kami meet – surprising each other by turning out to both be real people and not just the “imaginary friends” they had thought. The “how” and “why” of their special relationship is revealed near the end of the book. I love how the author has Kami & Jared deal with their relationship – it seemed very real and not forced to me. There are some very funny parts in the book, even though the tone of the story gets a little heavier and intense as the end nears. I loved Kami’s best friend Angela – very beautiful, not a people-person, and perpetually lazy like her older brother Rusty. One of my favorite lines from the book is:

“Oh my God, Jared. Don't tough-talk the lambs.” I still smile when I read that.

I was frustrated that the book ended on a cliffhanger. This book captured my interest from the moment I started it and I read it straight through until the end. I cannot wait until the second book comes out so I can see what happens next. I’m dying to know.

A SEAL In Wolf's Clothing by Terry Spear

This is not the first wolf book I've read by Terry Spear. I love the books in this series for a few reasons: I love werewolf books, the world is very layered & well-created, you like & care about the characters, the chemistry between the hero & heroine is fab, & the story keeps you guesing & interested. Normally I don't care for a lot of action in my romances, but the romance balances out the action.

Finn (the hero) is a Navy SEAL & a werewolf. He is part of Meara (the heroine)'s brother's SEAL group. Sparks fly between the two right from the beginning. But other than some serious teasing, there is no nastiness in their verbal sparring, which I appreciated. It was fun guessing throughout the story who the evil mastermind was. Some new interesting characters were introduced: Bjornolf (deep undercover good guy operative), Anna (part of Finn's SEAL team), & Paul. Rourke (a character from a previous book) was re-introduced and his character was made more interesting throughout the story - making the reader hoping that the author will give him a book of his own in the future. Great book & series!

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Just finished Firelight by kristen callihan this past weekend. Loved it! The hero was a scarred hero with an interesting backstory and twist. The heroine also has an interesting backstory and twist.  There was a definite gothic feel to the story which made the atmosphere richer. I loved how Miranda (the heroine) was a strong character - no whimpering wilting little flower. I liked how the relationship took awhile to develop. The ending sort of took me by surprise but I liked how the story resolved itself. Can't wait for the next book by this author!

The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens

Rating:  5 stars

The only book I haven't read in this series is book 1. This book - the 3rd one - is so worth waiting for.
For those of you who may not have read this book or the two earlier books in this series - this is the basic storyline: Some mysterious Scottish Earl has been behind the kidnapping of two of Celia Cynster's daughters - Heather in book 1, and Eliza in book 2. At the end of book 2 they had reason to believe that the Earl was dead so everybody breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed the guarding of daughter #3 - Angelia Cynster (also the youngest of Celia's daughters). Angelica's sisters were all successfully rescued & obtained fiancees out of their ordeals. Over the course of the two books little hints are dropped about the mysterious Earl and what his motives are. He never did the actual kidnapping himself & instructed his accomplishes to take care of the kidnapped women. Once he realized each woman had found love - he backed off on his kidnap intentions of that woman and just looked to watch over the woman and her intended.
At the opening of book 3 Angelica (the youngest and what is believed to be the most headstrong, & resourceful sister) spots a dashing figure in the ballroom. Three guesses who it is that she spots.   :)  The Earl had just planned to do some reconnaissance - imagine his surprise when the object of his mission descends on him and aggressively pursues him, engineering a private tete a tete out in the garden.
This book was so good for so many reasons. The characters were fabulous, the passion - steamy, the plot - interesting. These kinds of stories are usually ruined in several typical ways:
1.) There is an adversarial, very antagonistic relationship between hero & heroine throughout 90% of the book
2.) The hero treats the heroine cruelly, the heroine acts like a ninny
3.) The hero & heroine learn to trust each other but then a twist late in the book upsets that trust on a colossal scale


How Laurens makes this story fab:

1.) The heroine is super attracted to the hero before the abduction and is the furthest thing from a passive, wimpering little heroine. She is a classic Cynster.
2.) The hero is super sexy and treats the heroine w/ the utmost respect at all times. He is also a clever man, and caring.
3.) All through the journey to the hero's home in Scotland, Angelica and Dominic (her hero Earl) work together and plan together. Dominic's staff are won over by Angelica and it makes for a nice atmosphere for the long trip.
4.) The story is littered with scenes of the Cynster family planning what to do about Angelica's disappearance (both the men & the women). Of course all the Cynster men come riding to help out at the end. Yea!

Murder Out Of Tune by Simon Shaw

Not Cassio kill'd! then murder's out of tune,

And sweet revenge grows harsh.

Othello, Act V, Scene II

 

Rating: 4.5

The hero/villain of this story is Philip Fletcher. He is a 44 yr old actor living in England circa 1988. This is not a "who done it". Philip is the murderer. The only surprises are who he kills, how many people he kills, and in what way he kills. There is a lot of dark humor. The first person he kills is kind of spur of the moment & out of anger. The second killing is premeditated and out of revenge. Of the last two - one is accidental. The last one would be accidental, however the person survives and by then Philip is majorly pissed so it becomes a premeditated killing. Over the course of the book, Philip has a little transformation. It makes me think of all those stories about women having an "awakening". Philip has an awakening as well - just with some new criminal tendencies.

In spite of Philip's arrogance and almost sociopathic tendencies, he has his Macbeth moments - waking up in a sweat, panic attack, & nightmares because of what he's doing. I like one moment in the book - after the 1st killing he is interviewing for a part and he runs into another actor competing for the same role. He kind of has an omg moment:

Now, Tom de Vere had told him that the final selection had been between Dick and himself, so it occurred to him in a blinding flash of paranoia that what he had considered doing to Dick, Dick could very well do to him. If something happened to him, Dick would still be the automatic replacement. Philip wondered if Dick realized that the final selection had been so close. He was quite renowned for his aggressive temper; undeniably he had some violence in him. Perhaps, thought Philip, he ought to take pre-emptive action and murder him anyway. Then again, he might be mistaken, in which case it would be a bit rough on Dick, as well as risky for himself. He'd just have to take care and not lean invitingly out of any four story windows, such as the one he found himself staring out of now.

This might be awful to read if not for the wonderful writing by Shaw and the fine line he walks between dark humor and "ick". The character of Hannah (Philip's sometime girlfriend) reminds me of Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous.

All in all, great 1st book of a series. The last time I read these books was about 17 or so years ago. I wanted to see if I liked them as much now as I did then. So far, so good.