This Was NOT Good

 Slave by Cheryl Brooks 

I am not sure why I wanted to read this or why it ended up on my TBR because it was not good. The writing was repetitive and uninspiring. The storyline was gross. I didn't like any of the characters. It never got any better. She calls him kittycat throughout the entire book when she's not calling him Cat because she couldn't come up with any kind of nickname that made sense. So, she is searching for her sister who got kidnapped 6 years ago and sold into slavery. When she finds out the planet she is on requires all of the women to be chained to their masters she goes in search of a slave. She finds Cat, buys him, and immediately frees him. When the man she bought him from tries to attack her, Cat jumps in to save her and she takes him with her on her journey. She tells him about her sister and asks him to pretend to be her master on the planet so they can look for her sister. He agrees. They flirt. They journey through the jungle and eventually find her sister who is now pregnant and happy and doesn't want to leave. Then, her sister tells her the truth of the planet, the women are engaging in selective breeding because the men are so aggressive. Only pre-approved men are allowed to breed and while her husband is the father of this child, he will not be the father of any other children she has because she will be artificially inseminated. Then Cat gets captured and she goes after him. Because of some procedure that a different alien did, she can track him and is able to save him but it's too late. Cat is bleeding out. A monkey comes out, sees her crying, leaves, and returns with some poultice. The women warriors show up with an alien just like the one that turned her into a tracker and they help Cat, then tell her they are very lucky because that monkey was a Guardian and they rarely show themselves. She and Cat rest and recover then make the trip back to Earth to tell her parents what happened. She and Cat have triples, which they call a litter. The book ends with them both old, having had many litters and Cat having donated his semen to the selective breeding program on the planet that sister is on. This was weird and I didn't like it. I won't be reading anymore from this series or from this author.   

Rom-Com

 69 Million Things I Hate About You by Kira Archer 

 I was smiling and kicking my feet basically the entire time, and I'm not a huge fan of office romance, especially not boss romance, books. But this was so cute! Kiersten gets promoted to first assistant when Maria quits because their boss, Cole, tells her to move her wedding because he needs her to work over the weekend. While talking with his friend, Brooks, Cole comes to realize that he might have overreacted so he gives her a good recommendation and an even better severance package. He then proceeds to work Kiersten into the ground. That is, until she and her two best friends win the lottery. If they take the one time payment and split it, they all end up with $69 million. She can't quit her job, not until everything is finalized legally, but she decides she's going to make her bosses life hell until then. Her friends create a poll of when he's going to fire her and put it on the business forum. He finds out from IT, but doesn't say anything to her. In fact, he tries to be even worse just to see what she will do. Turns out, they like this side of each other. Then, he tells her to schedule his yearly poker trip, but it can't be some place they have been before and they can't fly. So, she first books them in a sleazy motel, but has a helicopter take them to the real location: Amish Country. They have to participate in a school building and do all of the farm chores. Cole finally makes a move and kisses her. Then, he flies her to France and they stay in a literal castle for the weekend. Everything is going great until he gets a call about the paperwork for one of the projects. He immediately accuses her of messing it up on purpose. She yells at him about why is he currently with her if he's doing something for one of his mistresses. He tells her that house is in his sister's memory and is for people with her same illness. She flies back home and calls in the two friends for help finding the paperwork. She gets it filed, but because it was late the venue has been rebooked. She then works tirelessly to get everything set up at a new location and the party is a hit. But he isn't taking her calls or responding to her texts. She decides to just quit and wants to know who is going to win the poll, but the last day has a super cheesy message about not being able to be without her. She shows up, barges into a meeting, yells at the client and him. He follows her out. He apologizes. She quits at the same time as he fires her. They get back together. The epilogue is two years in the future with them happily married and her going into labor. He and Brooks are both a mess and it was adorable! I adored this book.  

YA Fantasy

 Firelight by Sophie Jordan 

A dragon and a dragon hunter fall in love. Jacinda is a fire breather which is super rare and because of that the pack doesn't see her as a person but as a commodity. Her twin sister doesn't have a dragon form and her mom let her dragon die after the death of her husband, their father. So, when Jacinda is almost caught by hunters the pack wants to punish her but mom has them run away in the middle of the night. The only reason Jacinda wasn't caught by the hunters is because the hunter that found her, Will, let her go. The twins end up in school in the desert because mom wants Jacinda's dragon to die. On the first day she has an encounter with Will. Then he sits beside her in study hall. He is trying to stay away from her, but he feels drawn to her. They have this will they won't they thing going on. He finds her wandering around one night because he went to look for her. She shows up at his house, with his entire extended family of hunters, and finds his dads trophy room. Will tries to stay away, but it isn't working. She gets accosted in the bathroom by a mean girl who 1) thinks that Will belongs to her and 2) tells her to leave him alone or his sister won't make the cheerleading team. They end up fighting and Jacinda burns her. Will eventually can't take it and they go public, making out in front of the whole school. They are about to go on their first date when his cousin makes the pull over and her sister pops up out of the back seat of his cousins car. They end up at a hunter party. They are kissing and a dragon from her pack, the one they want her to mate with, storms in. They get into a fight and fall over a cliff. Jacinda gives up their secret and shifts to save Will. Her secret is out, in front of the hunters and they have to leave. The book ends with them on the way to get her mom and go back to the pack. It took a while for me to get invested in this book, but I got there eventually. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next one!  

Dark YA

 Binding 13 by Chole Walsh 

I wanted to call child protective services multiple times during this book. I am a mandated reporter and was ready to report multiple things. But you can't report a book. This stressed me out. We did not need the school secretary engaging in sex acts with a literal student. (CPS call #1) She is a predator and a pedophile and doesn't need to be around children. Now, for the actual story. Shannon has been bullied mercilessly at her public school and her mom takes out a loan so she can go to the private school. On her first day she gets hit in the back of the head with a rugby ball and it's not good. Johnny didn't mean to hit her, but her mom doesn't believe him. He has been ordered to stay away from her. No problem, except he can't stop thinking about her and looking for her. The become friends and he is desperate to protect her from everyone and everything. But, also, he's a star rugby player and is very high profile - like destined for the national team high profile. Everyone knows him. That works out in his favor when people start hassling Shannon; he is able to put a stop to it. Her friends think he's into her. His friends think he's into her. They both deny it. She ends up at his house and kisses him, but he doesn't respond and she is so embarrassed. Then, she ends up at his house again because his mom is doing some real wing woman work, and he tells her that he wished he had responded differently, then he kisses her. Now its the day of the big game. He gets injured, or re-injured is more like it. She waits around outside of the locker room so she can see him, and they end up getting caught making out. Coach is disappointed and says he's going to have to tell their parents. The game and dealing with Johnny's injury went so late that they have to stay in a hotel. His best friend gets Shannon and takes her to the hospital with him. Johnny is super loopy from the medicine and tells his dad that he has to find the girl because he loves her. Then she shows up. Nurse says only one person can stay the rest of the night with him and Shannon tries to leave and he decides to go with her. His parents decide that she should be the one to stay since her being there is the only thing keeping him calm. As he's falling asleep he asks her who is hurting her and she says her father. The next day she is back home and her father is beating the literal life out of her, not for the first time (he is CPS calls 2 and 3). Her older brother Joey gets home and beats him to protect her. Their mom runs to the abusive father instead of checking on Shannon. Joey tells the younger boys to pack bags, gets Shannon, and then they leave. The book ends with Johnny waking up and having a memory of Shannon telling him her father, but can't remember the context. We have no idea how Shannon is or where Joey took them.  This book had me stressed! I like Johnny and Shannon, but I don't understand why this book has such a cult following. But, I am going to read the second one.  

Done With This Author

 Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga

This is my second book by this author and like the first, it was weird. I never felt a connection to any of the characters, mostly I was irritated with them. Ivy is a princess and a direct descendant of the first queen. Because of this her kiss has magic. Her 5th prince is dying and she needs someone new to bond with. Enter Zach. Only, there's a problem. Zach was raised basically in a cult and doesn't believe in the magic of the kiss. He thinks the original queen was able to do magic because of True Love's Kiss. So, while he bonds with her, he refuses to kiss her. Throughout their adventure to find the black dragon egg and kill it, they are faced with challenges that Ivy knows she could solve with a kiss. But, they do things Zachs' way and when it works out they are showered with gold light. They start falling for each other but Zach thinks it's all a manipulation to get him to kiss her. Then, they meet a mage who is able to help them. But, she ends up turning on them because she's really being possessed by the heart of the original queen. Turns out, she is the one who caused all of the dangers because she was heartbroken that her husband slept with her sister to produce more children with magic blood. Ivy and Zach save their friend and separate her from the evil queen, and kill the dragon, using love. Then they go back home and tell everyone the truth of what happened, and that using the kiss makes things worse. It takes a while, but eventually people come around to the new way of thinking, which turns out the cult was right.  I think I'm done with this author.  

Dark Romance Book 2

 Where I Belong by M. O'Keefe

This was better than book 1, not near as aggressive or trama-filled. It picks up where the previous book ended, with Tommy in a fight in a gas station bathroom. Beth takes the keys and drives them someplace safe. They are met by some dogs and an old man with a shotgun. But once he sees Beth, it's fine. She introduces Tommy and then shares a look with Peter, the old man. Beth and Tommy can't keep their hands off of each other and it's a good thing that her room is above the garage. Tommy and Peter are getting along okay until Tommy's dog is attacked by one of Peter's dogs and when looking for the first aid kit Tommy sees a picture on the fridge. Of his mom. Turns out Peter is the grandfather that didn't want him, signed away his guardianship rights and put Tommy in foster care. Then, we get the story: Tommy's first family was good and he probably would have gotten adopted but the dad got sick with cancer and they couldn't take care of him. He ended up back in the system and bounced around until ending up with the pastor. Then, we hear from Peter. He signed away his rights because he wife was sick with cancer and he couldn't take care of both of them, plus the social worker told him Tommy was with a good family. Now, Tommy feels betrayed by everyone. He gets a message from Carissa that forces a phone call between them and Tommy tells her about Beth; how her mother was drugging her and using her as a guinea pig and put her in foster care when she wouldn't cooperate because she kept running away. Carissa says Bates needs proof. Tommy leaves, but Beth has his phone and she sees the messages about Bates needing proof. She and Peter start to go after him, but don't know where to look. Instead, she makes a youtube video telling everything. Tommy shows up at the club that Bates is working out of and is met by Carissa who takes him to Bates. Tommy has no idea about the video and Bates shows it to him. Bates considers the debt paid. Tommy asks why, but Bates doesn't elaborate. They almost come to blows. Tommy goes back to Peters' and he and Beth get back together. They get a happy ending and Tommy gets a message from Simon, Bates has come to collect his debt from him. This sets up the next book without giving any of it away.   

Non-Fiction

 Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath

Reading this at the end of the school year was probably not a good idea; you have to be in a particular frame of mind for this book and end of the year just isn't that mind frame. This was easily digestible and had good examples, but it didn't do anything for me.  

Bodyguard Series #2

 Decadent by Shayla Black 

This book had no plot. None. Then, at about 75% of the way through, the author decided to throw in some high stakes conflict. The plot of the book was threesome. That's it. Kimber shows up to Deke and Luke's house to ask Deke to teach her about threesomes because the man she thinks she's in love with (a popstar) lives that lifestyle and she wants to be ready for him. He says I could show you better than tell you, after explaining all of the details. She agrees to live with them for two weeks on the condition that they don't take her virginity because she wants to show up to Jesse prepared, but still chaste. They then Eiffel Tower the girl making her virginity semantics. She catches feelings for Deke but he says he doesn't reciprocate and she leaves. She goes to Jesse and he won't even kiss her because he wants her to stay pure. Then, he brings her out at the end of one of his concerts and announces their engagement, without even asking her. Later that same night she finds with engaging in a threesome. She packs her stuff and leaves. She goes back home and is staying at her dad's house when the house explodes. She runs into the fire and drags him to safety. Deke and Luke show up; her brothers aren't happy about this because they know what kinds of things they are into and the don't want their sister involved. But, she is also being threatened so the three of them head to Jack's house in the swamp. And she falls more in love with Deke after giving up her virginity to him, with the help of Lukes' manipulations. But, Deke has baggage; his high school girlfriend killed herself when she found out she was pregnant. He blames himself. Then, we find out that Luke has been so invested in finding a woman for the two of them because he can't have kids; he was sick as a teenage and it rendered him sterile. They finally get the all clear and she goes home. Then, she finds out she's pregnant and Deke doesn't handle it well. She shows up to her house to talk but there's no answer. He finds her window open and hears noise so he calls 911, but they are already on the way because she managed to call before she got attacked. Deke saves her from the popstars manager, who was going to kill her because she was ruining the singers life and brand. She ends up in the hospital and in front of her brothers he tells the nurse that she's pregnant. They don't handle it well. Come to find out, she wasn't - it was a false positive. Deke finally tells her about his past and she helps him through it and they end up together, just the two of them. This was so dumb and way longer than it needed to be.  

Crime Series #13

 Trace by Patricia Cornwell 

Another good showing from this series! It had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how all of the pieces fit together. Kay is called to consult on a case in Virginia, by the man who took over her job. He is horrible! He's not good at his job, he has let the lab fall to ruin, and to top it off he's just an overall bad guy. So, the case is a 14 year old girl who died seemingly of the flu. But, once Kay and Moreno start looking into the case it becomes obvious that it was murder, not the flu. To make matters more complicated the parents of the girl are going through a messy divorce and the mom hits on Pete. He is open to it. This leads to him having no memory of what happened and he is left with bruises and bit marks all over his body. Kay now has to investigate the mom as well as the death of her daughter. Lucy gets involved and goes to investigate the dad and he is incredibly unprofessional and she gets it all on camera. Also, Lucy has a new girlfriend who at the start of the book was attacked and now to keep her safe she's in Colorado with Benton. During the investigation a construction worker is killed by his tractor and he ends up with the exact same trace elements as were on the dead little girl. Turns out the girl was killed by a former morgue tech, Lucy was the real target (of the same guy!) and the trace on the construction worker came when the killer was taking bodies and ashes from the morgue. This was wild and trying to understand how all of the pieces fit, with the science showing one thing and the rest of the evidence showing something else, was fascinating!  

Dark Romance Book 1

 Lost Without You by M. O'Keefe

This starts out rough and then gets way worse before it gets better. I almost DNF'ed it because of how awful the beginning was, but I needed to know if the bad guy got his comeuppance. This starts in a foster home with and abusive pastor and his wife. Tommy and Beth are in the home together and they start dating. They get caught making out in the art room instead of being at lunch. The pastor is notified. Tommy expects that he's going to be the one getting punished; he's prepared for the beating. But, instead Beth is taken. He and the other kids break out of their rooms and Carissa goes down to the kitchen to get a knife. They break into the office right as the pastor is about to start raping Beth. Tommy stabs him, but he gets knocked out in the process. When he wakes up the pastor is dead and instead of getting the medical attention that he needs, he is taken to jail along with Carissa and Simon. Enter Mr. Bates. He is a bad guy that works for an even worse guy. But he has power and says he can make the charges disappear if they agree to owing him a debt that he can collect at any time. They all agree. Simon makes sure that Tommy gets medical attention and then they live together, under the radar, until Simon goes away to college. Fast forward 7 years and Tommy is at the bar with his dog having dinner. In walks Carissa with an envelope. It's time to pay the debt. He has to drive to one address, make a pick up, then drive to another address and make a delivery. Oh, and Beth is involved. He gets to the house and she is drugged out of her mind, being attended to by a shady doctor who may or may not have a valid medical license. He takes Beth and they leave. She starts going through withdraw on the trip, but eventually she recognizes him. They get to the drop off address and it's a rehab facility. Then her mother walks out. She begs him not to leave her there and they drive off together. They rent a cabin, get a new car, and spend time together while she detoxes. Then, they finally consummate the relationship. She decides it's time to leave, to get back to being Jada the popstar and he agrees to take her home. But, her mother has made a statement saying she was kidnapped. He gets attacked in the bathroom at a gas station and that's where the book ends. Once I got through the horrible beginning the story and the characters were compelling. But, that beginning is really hard.  

Fantasy Adventure

 Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox

This was a fantasy adventure book and it was great, if a bit slow. Ellie is a famed fae warrior but she's in retirement. Cedric hates Ellie because she killed his parents. Ellie hasn't spoken to family of her betrothed since his death in the Crucible 25 years ago. Now, his mom shows up asking her to be the voice of reason and stop her daughter from entering, but Ellie's former best friend won't listen. Now Ellie has entered the Crucible with only one goal: save her. But the Crucible has other intentions: unity. And it keeps throwing Ellie and Cedric together. So much so that they start to fall for each other. Then, after the third task something is wrong and we find out that Ellie's betrothed isn't dead; he's been in the maze the entire time. And he's been corrupted by it. But, he gets killed, but not before trying (and failing) to kill his sister. The fourth and final task requires two people, and Ellie and Cedric are the only ones strong enough to go. They get there and it's not the full crown they were promised and the plan that they have devised won't work. One will have to die for the other to gain the crown. Cedric sacrifices himself for Ellie, but is brought back to life by Ellie through the power of the crown. The exit the Crucible and one of their companions turns on them. She reveals herself to be a shapeshifter and steals the crown and makes a dire pronouncement on the way. Then, at the very end we find out that Cedric's mentor and father figure is really the bad guy and has been this whole time! I can't wait to read book two!  

Dystopian #1

 Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 

I love a good dystopian story and they have been sorely missing for a while. Juliette has been locked up for almost an entire year with no human contact because her touch can kill. She found this out when, while trying to help a child she accidentally killed him. Now, she is a monster. But, she has recently been given a roommate. A boy. Adam. She knows him. They went to school together. She has had a crush on him forever. And she is determined to keep him safe. Only, it turns out he's working for her captors. Enter Warner. He is in charge of this entire branch? division? battalion? And he's crazy. He wants to use Juliette as a weapon. He assigns Adam as her personal guard and if she doesn't comply then Adam gets punished. But, Adam has a secret; two actually. First, he has had a crush on Juliette forever. Second, her powers don't work on him. They decide to break out. They run to his house where his little brother, James, is safely waiting for him. Kenji shows up at his door beaten and bruised and tells them he knows a place they can go. But, Warner has found them so they split up. Adam gets captured and Juliette saves him, then gets Kenji and James and they all get to the safe place; it's a place of resistance and it's full of people like her and Adam, people with powers. Oh, Warner can also touch her. He discovered that during their escape. And Kenji also has powers, he can turn invisible. Juliette and Adam are officially part of the resistance. I really enjoyed this and can't wait to see what else happens.  

Hockey Romance #2

 Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid 

This was funnier than the first book, but I think I liked the first book better. Shane and Ilya were together for so long, but they weren't anything more to each other than a hookup for most of their time together. Then, after years they decided to exchange phone numbers. Watching Ilya be jealous over Rose was great. Watching both of them try and fail to end it was heartbreaking. When they finally got caught by Shane's dad and had to confess was such a weight lifted off both of their shoulders. Then the plan for Ilya to move to Canada and the joint charity to end the feud and start being friends so they can be seen together in public. They destroy me. The confrontation Shane had with with best friend after the disastrous dinner and him finally coming around was sweet. But, they deserve so much more than hiding!  I am loving this series and can't wait until my hold on book 3 comes in!  

STEM Romance

 Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood 

I adored this; I was giggling and kicking my feet the entire time! Normally I HATE a miscommunication trope, but this was a miscommunication because he was so into her he got awkward and couldn't even look at her. And now he thinks that she's married but still wants to work with her even though he still has a huge crush on her. And they are twitter friends and are talking to each other about each other without even realizing it. And he's defending her to their boss. Then he saves her from being attacked by someone he thought was a friend, but who really was sabotaging the project. And he defended her in front of her ex. I LOVED this. This. Was. So. Cute. And the fact that I just so happened to read a book that was taking place at NASA right as the Artemis II crew was returning from space was an adorable coincidence.  

Cozy Mystery

 Finger Lickin' Dead by Riley Adams 

The great thing about a cozy mystery is that it doesn't matter how long it's been since you read the previous book, the author is going to remind you of who the important character are. That holds true for this book. Our mystery is the new food critic turns up dead. And he wasn't very nice in his reviews but whenever anyone saw him out and about eating he was always a member of the clean plate club. Everyone was surprised when they found out the dead guy and the food critic were the same person. And then his current soon to be ex-wife also turns up dead. His former ex-wife and current girlfriend ends up a suspect, but it's easily discovered that it wasn't her. From the investigation it turns out that it was his cousin, the Senator, all along. He was backmailing him for an affair and seeing as how it was an election year he couldn't have that so he killed him. And then, the current soon to be ex-wife picked up the blackmail scheme so he killed her too. But, he was found out before he could get away with it. I'm not sure if I will continue with this series, but the good thing is, if I decide to pick it back up later, it will be easy to get back into it.  

Billionaire Romance Book 1

 The Stopover by T.L. Swan 

I love the idea of a billionaire romance (please come and pay all of bills and take care of me), but Jameson is NOT it. I get the man knows his way around the bedroom and he can lay it down, but his temper is a major red flag. He was entirely too controlling for my liking. I'm glad her journalistic integrity encouraged her to keep looking to clear her name, but only for herself. Not for him. She deserved better.  Despite not liking Jameson I will be reading the rest of the series because I have high hopes for the rest of the brothers.   

Romantasy

 The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

The books in this series are huge and a lot happens in them. Like a lot a lot. So much so that it can be overwhelming and hard to keep track from the beginning to the end. The main things to take from this are: Malik was staying with the queen because one of the Revenants is his heartmate, but she doesn't know it. That same Revenant is also Poppy's older sister and she hides their connection with some bad hair dye. Cas finds out before Poppy and when she saves him he is the one to tell her. They do save Cas. Also, Poppy decides to complete the bond with Cas and Kieran so now all of their lives are tied to hers. Then we get the battle and somehow Poppy is also Sera, the consort of Nyktos. So now Poppy is the true Primal of Life and Death. It didn't make any sense to me. Also, somehow during the battle everyone on Team Poppy that was killed was brought back to life. But, what's important is that Cas and Kieran are still alive and both free. So far I am still enjoying the series, but I have heard that it does start to go off the rails a bit.  

Vampire High School? College?

 On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn 

While I enjoyed this book, I have a lot of questions that this book didn't address. First and foremost, how old are all of these characters supposed to be and how exactly do vampires age in this series? It is implied that they are adults, but why are they in school? Why does the description say vampire high school? If they are in vampire high school then why is Blake leading some of the military? Why did Medra no longer have any of her magic? She can clearly talk to dragons, since she was able to wake up a dragon and talk to it, but why can't she do any other magic? And what is going on with the human professor who is teaching her how to shield her thoughts? There is something special about him, but we don't know what. Blake and Medra have great chemistry, even if neither is particularly fond of the other. Also, his brother is a creep and his uncle is even worse. Luckily my library has the next book available in ebook format so I can *hopefully* get some answers! 

Not What I was Expecting

 Empire of the Black Sea by Duane W. Roller 

I'm going to be super honest, the subtitle on the audiobook is VERY small and I didn't see it so I 100% thought this was a book about pirates and was very confused when it started. *whoops* I would probably not have listened to it had I realized what it was really about because this is not the kind of book I can absorb through audio. I need this in physical form so I can annotate it and take notes. I gave it 3* because it was easy to consume, particularly for a historical work. The vocabulary was not overwhelming like can often be the case. However, EVERYONE HAS THE EXACT SAME NAME. That made this hard to digest. Another reason why this would be better in physical form.  

Bodyguard Series #1

 Wicked Ties by Shayla Black 

This book did not need to be as long as it was. She has a stalker and nobody seems to remember that because they are too busy banging. He met her TWO DAYS AGO AND IS IN LOVE WITH HER. They meet so she can interview him for her show and her stalker starts shooting at her. In public. And because he is a professional bodyguard he immediately jumps into action to protect her. And then he takes her to his place in the swamp because it's safe and secure. And his first instinct is to get into her pants. For revenge. Because his ex-wife slept with her current fiance. Except he's not really her fiance, that's the cover story they came up with for why she's in Huston, with him. He's really her half-brother that nobody knows about because her father refuses to acknowledge her. So bodyguard thinks he's getting revenge, but he's not. And he just keeps getting revenge and falls in love. And forgets about the stalker. Until she sneaks out on his besties boat. And then bestie puts a tracker on her so bodyguard can follow her. And they they have a threesome. And her brother shows up and confronts them. And bodyguard and brother make up. And then stalker shows up. And she gets shot. And I was right, it was her real ex-fiance. Then bestie shows up and takes her to talk to bodyguard and they make up and get back together. This could have been so much shorter if they could have just remembered the plot! 

Crime Series #12

 Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell 

Oh, this pissed me off! This was intense and much darker than the previous books. It was a continuation of the previous two and while there was some science, it was more focused on the escalation and fall out from the previous novels. Lucy and her partner kill Merino's son, who is the attorney for the French crime family. Kay is living in Florida, working as a consultant. She meets a detective from Louisiana who is being kept out of serial killings because 1) there aren't any bodies and 2) most aren't in her Parrish. We are led to believe the detective becomes one of the victims, but luckily she isn't and she and Kay work a case together. We also find out that Benton is alive. That he faked his death and that BOTH Merino and Lucy have known the whole time. Also, he has been orchestrating for everyone to end up in Texas where Werewolf is on death row. But, the coroner calls both Merino and Kay about an 8 year old case that Werewolf sends him a letter about; turns out it's one of his.. Well, really it's one of Jay's. Kay ends up talking to Werewolf in prison and then he breaks out. She flies to Louisiana and ends up taking care of an unaccompanied minor, the son of Jay Talley. This was all a set up to get her there to try to kill her, but she doesn't go to the basement like the mother of the kid wants, so she lives another day. Benton shows up and kills Jay, the mother, and the state prosecutor, who were all in on Jay's little rampage. But, we don't know what happens to the kid and the Werewolf is still out there. And Kay and Benton reunite. This kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time!  

Final in a YA Shifter Trilogy

 Summoned by Tricia Barr

This still had too many characters and too much going on. But, it did wrap up most of the storylines and it was not afraid to kill off some characters. Basically, Mereen and Kenzi escape with Laith, Cole, and Charlotte. Little brother does not come with them and aside from him staying at the vampire school we have no idea what happens to him. Mereen has Laith turn her into a vampire so she can be strong enough to fight her dad, and he agrees. Oberon and his in-laws show up to fight and they all survive, as does his bestie, Ren. Ren and Kenzi's mom are into each other. All three selkie's protect the magic school and Kenzi gets admitted to the school once the fight is over. Kendall turns into a hybrid but ends up dying. The mermaid seer teacher dies. There is a kracken and it has Laith's brooch, which Kenzi needs to bring back Gemma so Laith's story is unfinished. Cole's dad dies trying to save his mom. Juliette's boyfriend dies trying to save Cole. Cole does NOT handle it well when he finds out Mereen is a vampire hybrid. Mereen saves the day because her siren voice is more powerful than her dads and she makes him kill himself. The shifters make a council so there's not a power vacuum or too much power in one person like there was with Cole's dad. Oberon is made head of school again. I'm just glad it's done. I will not be reading anymore from this group of authors. 

The Power of Friendship

 The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall 

This was funny and sweet and I had a great time! Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. That's her job. Brides that want to plan their own weddings but need a little help hire her and she does the things they can't do; it's like having a wedding planner but not. Enter Cordelia. She is titled. Literally. She is Lady Cordelia. And she is NOT easy to work with. She does not want a professional bridesmaid and does everything in her power to get "Emily" to quit. But, this job ends up being good for both of them and they become actual friends. Until the night of her bachelorette, which is just the two of them drinking at a hole in the wall bar. Cordelia tells her the story of how she and a former friend had a falling out because she OD'ed and the friend stopped coming around. The story hits the papers and they all automatically assume it was her. Turns out it was the barman. Cordelia shows up on the day before her wedding to apologize and ask her to be her bridesmaid for real and they make up. Sophie has now come clean to her entire family about the top secret wedding she was working on, and to Cordelia's family who didn't realize they weren't actually friends. And she starts dating Cordelia's hot older brother Tom. This was so good, the friendship, the laughs, the romance. All of it!  

Soldier Series #6

Wicked and Forever by Shayla Black 

Trees is the only person in this entire operation that has any brains. Period. How the Colonel and his sons survived for so long without him is a mystery because they are all dumb. Layla also has brains, but she refuses to use them until it's almost too late. She gets herself captured by Victor and tries to manipulate him into taking on the head of the cartel; it works for a bit until it doesn't. Trees gets physically and emotionally hurt in the process and has to rescue her. Again. But, she does make a contact inside the organization who is willing to send her Kimbers' location in exchange for Victor. So, instead of using herself as bait, they use Victor. But, during the trade we find out that her her nephew isn't her brother in laws son, it's her father in laws; he is the heir apparent which is why the head of the cartel was so desperate to get him back. But, the contact she made is the second in command and he kills the head of the cartel, gives the sisters $5million in cash in exchange for them renouncing any claim to the cartel. And this is all after they saved Kimber. Then, Trees and Layla get married and the book ends with her pregnant and him reunited with some of his siblings. The storyline lasted for six books but was finally wrapped up. And it wouldn't have been without Trees.  

Crime Series #11

 The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell 

This is a continuation of the previous book and case. Scarpetta is being investigated for murder, but she obviously didn't do it. She had to move out of her house and moves in with her friend and sometimes therapist Anna. But, it turns out Anna has been subpoenaed. And, there is a hot shot prosecutor from New York in town. We are led to believe she is here to help Kay, then it turns out she is the one prosecuting Kay, but really she has been trying to help her all along because she knows she's being set up. Then, we find out that Jay Talley, the Interpol guy she slept with in France in the last book is really the twin brother of the guy that calls himself The Werewolf and that they have this weird relationship where Jay picks out the girl and sleeps with her and then the other brother kills her. Anyway, during the Grand Jury investigation Kay does great and the jury is very sympathetic to her and they don't bring any charges against her, but ultimately Kay does resign. While the science was still good, this was less about the science and more about the Machiavellian behavior of the French crime family.