Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

After becoming an empty nester, extreme introvert Maggie works from home, dreads the grocery store where she could run into anyone she knows, and just in general avoids any social situation like the plague. Her son Kit has inherited her antisocial gene and is having trouble fitting in at college. They make a deal to become more social, so Maggie joins a local online gaming group. She and the group leader click and begin a friendship through texting and online conversation. When Otter (Aiden) breaks his foot, she offers to help him out by bringing soup and helping him shop. But when she finally meets him IRL she's shocked to discover he's her own age and not a 20-year-old college student. He's equally as shocked that she's not his mother's age. The more time they spend together, the closer friends they become, but they've both had bad relationships and are determined not to take it further. But when Maggie realizes her true feelings for Aiden, she's afraid of running their friendship. 

I loved this slow-burn friends to lovers romance. Aiden is such a big cuddly teddy bear with a wonderful sunny personality, and feisty Asian Maggie isn't afraid to speak her mind or fight for a friend. These two were so obviously perfect together and I'm glad a little of her feistiness rubbed of on him so he could stand up to his horrible family! The gaming part was fun and unique, especially with this later in life couple. 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Spaceship Enkidu escaped a falling and poisoned Earth generations ago with its human cargo captained by Heorest Holt. Now their ship is falling apart and Captain Holt is desperate to find a new Eden for the last of Earth's population. A partially terraformed planet they name Imir is his only hope for saving the surviving cargo. Now Liff, Holt's grandaughter, at just 26 (13 by earth years) is hearing whispers from the colonists about the strangers in town not being fun a neighboring fan like they claim. One of them can fix anything even though their technology had been failing for years and all technical knowledge had been lost long ago. And Liff's teacher has radical new ideas about harvesting and the life forms on the planet. But when they shun these advanced beings it could affect the survival of the colony itself.

I like that the uplifted beings from the previous books come back to try and help the human colony. This book was a refreshing change from the first two books, although I've loved them all so far. The details of an unknown evolving species in the first books sometimes had my head spinning, so reading about humans in this book was quite different. 

I was thrilled to receive an advance reader copy of this book through Orbit Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Musical Games by Evie Alexander

As an actress who plays a small part in a UK soap opera, Sam is looking for bigger and better roles. When she learns that big time star Brad Bauer is shooting his new film in Kinloch, her best friend Zoe's new home, she plays hooky from work and takes a chance to meet him, date him, or whatever works to help her acting career. She stays with town gossip Morag and her son Jamie, a shy electrician still living at home with his mother. From the start it seems like Jamie resents her and everything she does seems to make things worse. Until one night, he brings it his guitar and their harmonies together are magic. Her nerves get the best of her when meeting Brad and she promises him an album for his movie, and suddenly she's dragging Jamie out of his shell to help her with the music. 

Jamie has always been shy and protective of his mother, afraid to move out and leave her. Living in a small town, the chances for romance just got away from him and suddenly he approaching 30 and still a virgin. Sam is beautiful, bubbly, and loud and Jamie finds himself continually tongue tied and ashamed, but after she sings with him, he's overcome by a sudden love for her. But he'll never be enough for her when she can have any man she wants.

Oh Jamie <swoon>!! I absolutely fell in love with his character, hiding his true feelings beehive a grumpy shell. Sam was the perfect sunny character to bring him out of his shell... but it definitely took some work and a lot of miscommunication before they got their HEA. I think this book was the best of the series yet!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis

Alice grew up in Sunrise Cove, helping her dad restore cars and run the race team for the Last Chance Inn, a wild west B&B that was the setting for a popular TV show. After a tragic accident ripped her life apart, she left and never looked back. But now Eleanor, the woman who'd always felt like a mother to her, had died and left her a share of the inn along with her ex-best-friend Lauren, and her childhood crush Knox. They're required to stay and fix up the inn for a month before a management company can take over and run it. All three have issues with each other and it's going to take some ground rules to keep the peace. But as the month goes on, every rule is broken as they each face their demons from the past. But what will happen when the month is up?

This was a sweet small town romance. I think out of all the characters, I disliked Alice the most. She was so negative and bitter through most of the book and I was just frustrated with her attitude. Knox definitely made up for it with his steady character, cheerful attitude, and funny banter. I haven't read the first two books in the series, but I didn't have any trouble falling into the story. I can definitely be read as a standalone. 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Leviathan by Kathryn Le Veque

Blackchurch Guild is a training program that creates elite warriors called Shadow knights, under the training of some of the best knights in the world. None are more fierce or formidable than the Leviathan. Athdara de Ghent is on the run from her Uncle after he murdered her father and brother and took over their duchy in Toxandria. She comes to Blackchurch to seek help from her father's friends St. Denis, the owner of the guild. Blackchurch never takes sides in any conflict but St. Denis offers to train her for free so that she can lead and fight with an army. After surviving the dregs training and becoming a recruit, Athdara celebrates at a tavern with a friend and meets Tay Munroe, fierce-looking yet sweet and protective, who she connects with and makes plans to see again. But when she meets the Leviathan on the training field, a man known to fail any woman from training, she's shocked to learn that it's Tay. As they train together, Tay is impressed by her courage and intellect and wants to support her in her cause, but to do that he'll have to give up Blackchurch. 

This is the first book I've read by Kathryn Le Veque and I really enjoyed it. This is the first book in her new series so it introduced a lot of characters. Athdara is such a strong female character and I loved how hard she fought for her little brother. Tay was the typical tough warrior, gruff and opinionated about a woman's place, but so sweet and protective and open to change for the right woman. I'm looking forward to reading about the other warriors in the guild.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert

After suffering weeks of writer's block, bestselling author Ben Bookman visits his family estate, Blackwood mansion, to the forbidden room filled with thousands of numbered books. Books without words. He doesn't remember anything that happened that weekend, only that he finished his book, The Scarecrow. But when the events in his horror novel begin to happen in real life, Ben starts to look into the history of the mansion and that forbidden room and to realize he may have released a nightmare too terrifying to contain.
This story that brings nightmares to life is chilling and I loved every minute of it. It has a unique plot that kept me guessing until the satisfyingly grim ending. The truth behind the books in the Atrium was soo great!

Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry

Returning home from a basketball game one night with her son and a friend, Jules Hart hits a patch of ice and slides into the lake. Waking underwater in panic and fear, she grabs the hand reaching for hers and escapes to the surface, not realizing that it's not her son until it's too late. Jules descends into grief, not wanting to live without her son, and ends up in a psych hospital. Why does she keep insisting that she killed her son when it was a tragic accident? And why does the other boy, Isaac Greer, insist that he should have been the one to die? When Isaac disappears ten months later, everyone believes it's the serial killer called the Dog Snatcher that's been targeting adolescent boys. All the clues fit...but Isaac's mother Amber believes that Jules knows more about his disappearance than she's telling.

Told in alternating chapters between Jules' sessions with her therapist and Amber's reactions to the accident, her sons grief, and the investigation into his disappearance, I thought the storyline was interesting and unique. The pacing was good, not giving away too much at a time. And the ending was such a shock! 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

Jenna Halliday is a journalist attempting to create a true crime podcast in a rural town in South England. Twenty years ago, four young women returning from a night out crash on Devil's Crossing, a road rumored to be haunted. Three of these women disappeared, never to be seen again.  

From the start, this story had an ominous and eerie vibe to it, from the haunted road through deep forest to the field of standing stones, and the close-lipped and secretive townspeople. I liked the two separate storylines with no apparent connection until everything clicks together at the end. I read this book in one night, it was that good!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.