Novella

 Protecting What's Theirs by Tessa Bailey 

This was super short and yet the characters were more developed than in the first book. That might be because it featured the same characters from the first book so we were already familiar with them so there was no need to develop them. It was good to return to Ginger and Derek. He is on the case that was causing them so much pain when they met a year ago. She has just found out that she's pregnant. But, he is hiding from her because he is worried about the danger of the case so she doesn't get to tell her. She thinks he's leaving her. Then, when everything is about to go down she finally finds out about the case and is able to confront him about it and tells him to come home safe. When he finally comes home he sees her waiting in front of all of the furniture she has been working on; all of it is baby themed so she doesn't even have to tell him he figures it out on his own. He also returns home with an engagement ring so they end the story pregnant and engaged.

Cute Title. Cute Story.

 A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley 

This was so cute. I LOVE a fake relationship! I smiled and giggled throughout this entire book. Mariel and her insecurities caused by her family are all too real. Her accidentally summoning a demon and then being stuck with him was hysterical. Ozroth was amazing; a demon with a soul! His ludicrous and outlandish deal attempts were spectacular. And their concern for each other. He helped her become a better, stronger person who learned how to stand up for herself while she helped him discover that he wanted more out of his life than what he had. Her friendship with her friends was great. The way she leaned into her power was amazing. That he figured out a way to return her soul to her after she passed it on to him so he had two souls inside of him; that was clever. And that her bestie got to punch his mentor. Amazing. I adored this book and bought the 2nd and 3rd books in the series before I even finished reading this one!

Not as Strong as the First

 These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan 

It's been a while since I read book 1 so I had to remind myself of the characters and the plot; I was not able to just jump back into it easily. I did remember loving and being obsessed with book 1 and this was not near as strong as that. I was disappointed with this book overall. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it was a bit lackluster. That's not to say it was bad; I gave it 3* so it was enjoyable, but it wasn't all consuming like book 1. Brie had a lot of growth in this book. She realized that she only bonded with Sebastian because she was lonely and didn't want to feel alone ever again; that the love she felt for him wasn't a deep love. He, however did love her. She is still drawn to Finn. This book picks up right where the first book left off, with her running away. She meets Misha and together they save some kids from a camp. Turns out Misha is the King of the Wild Fae and he takes her to his palace and gives her a room; that room is the room Finn uses. He also teaches her how to dampen the bond so she isn't constantly bombarded by Bash's emotions. Finn shows up and she is drawn to him. Every time they try to get close she can't keep her walls up and Bash feels it and they stop. Then, they find out that the only way to deal with all of their problems is by getting to the Underworld to talk to the ghost of Mab and the only way to do that is to go see the High Priestess. So they do that, but she refuses to help which kills her. Then the spirits of all of the High Priestesses possess her body and give them directions on how to get to the portal so they go and it turns out Brie is a descendant of Mab's, so she is the rightful ruler of the Shadow Court. Mab tells her that the only way to solve the problems is to kill the Queen so Bash can get her crown and for Bash to give up his life so she can get the Night Court crown, or they can go to the River of Ice and permanently bond tying their life forces together. So, that's the same info they already knew. But, then she kicks out Finn and tells Brie that she needs to embrace her shadow self. Then the sort of get trapped in the Underworld, but manage to get out. Then they adventure and Bash's best friend turns on them; he's a traitor and turns them over to the Queen. She puts Brie and Bash into iron lined coffins. Brie found out that she and Finn are tethered which means she and pull on his power, so she does that to send out her shadow to kill the Queen and free both herself and Bash. Bash gets the crown. Then they go to the River of Ice. Before they tie themselves together forever he tells her that he loves her and then shows her the gem he gave her; it can restore her mortality. He uses it and becomes human. He keeps the Sun crown but the Night Crown goes to Brie. She takes control of the Court of Shadows. She and Finn bond. Jas, her sister, is in fae with her and doing well now that she's safe from her kidnappers. Like, it was fine, but not as strong as the first book.

Very Slow Start

 The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

This started very slow. I like fantasy books and I don't mind elaborate world building and this was still SO SLOW. Like, I'm glad I read "Faebound" first because otherwise I would probably not trust this author to build a fantasy world and magic system. The payoff didn't come until the last 90 minutes of the audiobook. Hasa was my favorite character. Despite her young age, she was smart, focused, brave, and wise beyond her years. I liked the growth that Annor experienced throughout the book. That she started out with the outward appearance of being spoiled while also having been abused by her caregiver and was still so kind was special. Then, for her to see the pain and corruption around her and take it upon herself to educate herself so if and when she won the challenge to become the next disciple she was prepared to make changes was wonderful. Sylah was my least favorite character. Having a drug addict/recovering drug addict as a main character was an interesting choice. And while I didn't like that aspect of her, it wasn't my main reason for her being my least favorite of the three main characters; I put her at the end because despite the fact that she was training Annor, she never felt like she was in control of herself or her own decisions. She was always a pawn. Some of that had to do with her voluntarily drugging herself to deal with her pain, and therefore not knowing what was going on around her, but a lot of it was because she trusted the wrong people. She was desperate for family so when Johnd came back to life she just fell back in with him, despite the fact that she KNEW he was keeping secrets from her. And she let him. And the woman that raised her, the woman she called Mama, lied to her about who her real family was, and she just brushed it off. It wasn't until she was working with Annor and helping her with the challenges that she became a full, independent person. And even then, she was only doing that, initially, to help Johnd. When she decided to pretend to be Annor, so she could fight Johnd, so Annor could win the final challenge and become the disciple, that was great. Sylah and Annor's romance was whatever; it didn't really add to the story. The ending was strong enough that I am curious about what happens next, but just barely. 

Made for TV cont (again x15)

 A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs 

Again with the children victims. I have a LOT of issues with this book. First, I being the kids as victims. Again. Second, and this came first in the reading, apparently there was a novella that came before this book in the reading order but neither hoopla nor libby had it so when this book started I was shocked. Jaw open. Catching flies. Could not cope. And we just moved on from that and while it was mentioned, we didn't return to it. It wasn't until the authors note that I found out about that plot point having been addressed in the aforementioned novella (that I immediately searched for and couldn't find in hoopla or libby). Mama, aka Daisy, is quickly becoming my favorite character and I realize this is a terrible decision on my part since she is older. But, right now she gets the best lines. Tempe is again running off without telling people. Like the last time we had a new character at the lab, I know that this one was no good and that they wouldn't be around very long. However, I did not expect them to have been complicit in their own downfall because of hubris; she texted the autopsy photos to Tempe thinking she was texting a reporter! When that came out, she was done for. As for the case, for a while I was convinced that the conspiracy was going to be that they were actually rescuing or trying to rescue kidnapped kids. I wish that was the case. This conspiracy theorist was so much worse than originally thought. I'm glad that Skinny was able to finally get enough evidence, with the help of the computer tech character, to stop his enterprise. That was horrible. And we have Mama and her computer skills to thank for figuring out the key clue.  I am so far along in this series that I want to finish it, but I really am over the her continual choice of children as victims.

Cute Title the Sequel

 An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley 

This was better than book 1, but still not as good as I wanted it to be. The audiobook narrator does well with creating distinct voices for the female characters but her male voices are lacking. And it was nice that the characters from the previous book played important roles in this book without pulling focus away from the main story. It was good that Jemina does recover some of her memories, but that it doesn't change her personality. I like Daniel; he is a good father even if he does struggle with communication. Busic was funny in this one, punching him in the face and then moving on to being cordial. It was so obvious that Patience was pregnant that it was irritating that she was hiding it. The plot for the merry widow to trap Daniel and her accomplice to try to either marry Jemina or defraud her out of her money was horrible. I could not stand the Lord Mayor and I'm glad Daniel was able to stand up to him when his house got raided under false pretenses. Finding out that Hope was really Jemina's daughter and them being able to be a happy family was nice. This had more adventure than the previous book but but one this series is over I will not be reading anymore from this author. I'm just not enjoying it as much as the cute title makes me want to.

Made for TV cont (again x14)

 Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs

This was unexpected and an interesting premise; religious zealots, web sleuths, and a personality disorder. We have a dismembered (incomplete) corpse. A web sleuth shows up saying she thinks she knows who the body belongs to and the provides an audio recording that is very disturbing. Tempe doesn't really have any other cases requiring her attention so she focuses on this. It takes her out of her jurisdiction and we meet a new cop. They go to a church to meet the parents of the missing girl who are not concerned that she is missing and the priest is very suspicious. After more digging, it turns out that the missing girl was let go from a nanny job where one of her charges, an infant, died in her care. Apparently it was SIDS. And, the other child fell of her tricycle and broke her arm. And her little brother fell down the stairs and died. And her puppy fell out of the window. And we have a missing man who has a genetic disorder that mad is grandmother think he was of the devil. His sister is the only one that cares that he's gone. She follows Tempe to tell her about him and give her all of the info she has. Also, Tempe's mom has a new man who is kind and rich and has convinced her to start chemo and get married. Tempe is avoiding Andrew and his marriage proposal. Tempe turns to her former priest to get info on the suspicious priest; he was excommunicated for performing exorcisms. One killed a young child. She is convinced that's what happened to this missing couple. She confronts him by herself. He greets her with a shotgun. He takes her to the church and the meeting hall where she sprays for blood and doesn't find anything. He obviously isn't going to let her leave so she kicks him and runs. She drives away and ends up at the store and dog training business of the family of the missing girl. The store sells concrete mix. Earlier, they found a head in a bucket and made a mold of it; the mold was of the missing man. She is convinced she has found the place where the murders took place. She goes into the dog kennel and finds a door, and inside the finds the missing girl. She and the cop had already spoken with her doctor so they know she has epilepsy. Turns out, her dad thought the medicine wasn't working and they were going to exercise the demon so they have kept her captive. Tempe tries to get her to leave, but when she does that it triggers a new voice. The missing girl doesn't just have epilepsy; she also has dissociative identity disorder. An aggressive, protective, personality came out. That is who did all of the murders. That is why they have been keeping her locked up. The new cop and Skinny both show up and save her. Everyone gets arrested. Tempe goes to the hospital because the girl attacked her. She and Ryan decide to live together and go house hunting. Also, Ryan and Skinny and bonded and they both decide to retire and form a partnership. A lot happened personally in this book.  I'm glad this was different from the usual cases and that this had progress on the personal front.    

Historical Romance

 Reforming a Rake by Suzanne Enoch 

I carried this book around in my bag for a month and read it sporadically. It wasn't like I didn't enjoy it; it was well written and I liked the characters, I just had a hard time sitting down and focusing on it. Lucien was fine. Alexandra was fine. They had good chemistry. There were some funny moments. I agreed with Lucien that his aunt was the worst, but his cousin wasn't bad, she was just young and needed guidance. Rose blossomed with Alexandra as her governess and the relationship she developed with Lucien's friend was sweet. That she was willing to go along with his plan to embarrass her own mother, just so he could get Alexandra as his wife was great. The kidnapping was pretty funny. I liked Vixen and can't wait for her book. I am glad that she was able to confront her uncle and get that closure. I should have liked this more than I did; I think I just wasn't in the right mood for this when I started it.

Historical Romance

 The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain 

This was a cute historical romance that had multiple happily ever afters in one story. While this was a romance book, the romance felt secondary to the friendship between Diana and the ladies of the directory. Diana does find love with Max, the author of the wealthy widows and spinsters directory for second sons. And her friend, a spinster who had a broken engagement because she fled to Gretna Green but was found by her father before the elopement could happen, who reconnects with her former fiance. Both find love and so some of the other ladies of the directory. However, the main point is that they are deciding the terms of how they are engaging with their pursuers. It was wonderful to see these friendships and the women feeling like they have agency in a time period when women are frequently portrayed to have none. I will happily read more from this author. 

First in a Trilogy

 Faebound by Saara El-Arifi 

I did not realize that this series was incomplete when I started listening to is and now my life is RUINED! This was so good. Elves. Fae. Magic. War. Backstabbing. Miscommunication (which I normally hate, but this was more because of legends than anything). Lies and deceptions. Love. Prophecy. This book had it all. And while book 2 literally just got released there is NO word on the third and final book. So older sister is the youngest corporal in the Waning Army, ever. But she has TERRIBLE taste in women. She is sort of dating the chieftain of the tribe. But, she makes a bad decision that gets a bunch of her soldiers killed and her girlfriend exiles her, which is better than killing her but still. She only exiles her because the people love Yerrin and she doesn't want a riot. Then we have younger sister. Lettle is a diviner. She and super hottie (Yerrin's right hand man) both follow Yerrin and they start developing feelings for each other, but she fights them the entire time. Lettle and Ryyan find Yerrin, she kills an Obia which is a magic beast and that gets them in trouble because it is bound to the prince of the Fae. Which they didn't know because they thought the fae were extinct. So they get captured and Yerrin is about the be executed when an obia bonds to her. So the princess, who is also a military commander, is now forced to keep her alive, because the Queens can't kill an obia, and she has to train her. They end up developing feelings for each other. See, horrible taste in women; falling for her captor. Lettle makes two friends, one is their dresser and the other ends up guiding her in divination without having to sacrifice obia. He is also the father of the dead prince and the princess, and surprise he is Ryyan's grandfather. There is a big feast and both queens are killed which makes the princess and her cousin the new rulers. Lettle overhears that the cousin orchestrated the whole thing and he almost kills her but she gets saved. Then, at the crowning, he doesn't get picked by the magic tree. Instead, Ryyan gets chose. Turns out, the dead prince, who found a way out of the magic bubble that keeps the fae captured, he had a tryst that resulted in Ryyan. And the magic tree picked him to rule with the princess. Also, his sworn enemy, the ruler of the Crescent Tribe, has been living with them and being their friend. But, now that he is king he has power over the earth and the prophecy that cost his mother her life finally comes true and he kills him. Yerrin and her obia leave the fae realm to go back home to tell her ex-girlfriend everything they have learned about the fae and to try to stop the war. And that's where the book ends. I am desperate for the next book!