Running Cold by Susan Walter

For Julie Adler, former Olympian now living in luxury with her husband in California, the sick of Jeff's suicide is barely fading when she discovers that he left her penniless. Ashamed to tell her friends, Julie is drawn back to the comfort and familiarity of the mountains in Banff where she trained. She finds lodging and a housekeeping position in a nearby resort run by an old friend. When a difficult guest is found dead and Julie becomes the number one suspect, she must rely on her knowledge of the area to evade the police until she can find the truth.  

There were plenty of thrills and surprises in this book that read more like a movie. The beautiful yet harsh setting in Banff and the impending blizzard just added to the tension. I was flipping pages, unable to put the book down until the exciting and satisfying conclusion. This was my first book by this author, but I plan on picking up more!

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

Wished (Ghosted #4) by Sarah Ready

Anna has fallen for Max Barone at first sight, gathering little details of his life as she cleans his house once a week. But he doesn't even know she exists. One day while cleaning she finds an antique necklace with a note that claims it grants wishes. As a child she wanted to be a genie able to grant wishes to her loved ones but maybe it wouldn't hurt to get a wish of her own. She wishes that Max would love her and marry her, then wakes up the next morning as Mrs Barone, married for seven years. Max is the perfect husband, devoted and loving, but Anna can't escape the thought that maybe this wasn't what he would have wanted. Can she put things back to the way they were? Can she live this life that feels like a lie?

Although I'm not a fan of instalove stories, this one with the addition of a little magical realism was more plausible. I like how the characters develop through the story, especially Max from his stiff and depressing attitude in the beginning to loving and happy. I get where Anna was coming from but got easily frustrated with her holding back from what she always wanted. But as always I loved their HEA. It's not my favorite book in the Ghosted series, but overall I did really enjoy it.

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain

When Ellie is tasked with ghostwriting a cookbook for the newest star of a cooking reality show, she can't wait to get started. This might finally help her save enough money to move out of her in-laws guest cottage, where she's been ever since she tragically lost her husband three years before. But the reality of Kieran, nicknamed the Pirate Leprechaun by the judges of the show, doesn't seem to take anything seriously. He ignores her emails, refuses to choose any layout ideas, and in general just seems to avoid her. Then her boss and publisher offers up his vacation retreat for them to work on the cookbook and suddenly they're thrown together. They each discover that their first impressions were wrong, and as they work together, more than just the kitchen is heating up. 

I love that these characters aren't the typical. Kieran is short and red-headed with dyslexia and ADHD. Ellie never recovered from her difficult childhood and has been exhausting herself doing everything for others, to the point that everyone around her takes advantage. But as they get closer and support each other, they each grow stronger to stand up to family and friends that only our them down. Overall a great forced proximity enemies to friends to lovers romance. 

Not Mine to Keep by Brittney Sahin

Calliope, or Callie, only recently learned of her father's identity at her mother's funeral. She is the only heir to the DiMaggio Mafia family and her father is dying. He's determined to marry her off to a monster so she can create a new generation, but that's the last thing she wants. She's avoided it so far, but then a stranger in a bar informs her that they plan to take her that night and force her home. 

Alessandro is the playboy of the Costa family and doesn't believe in marriage or relationships, but in order to exact revenge on the DiMaggio patriarch, he has to fake a marriage to Callie to save her from the man who tried to unalive his oldest brother. But as time goes on and they both fight to stay alive, he has to remind himself that she's not his to keep. 

I like this continuation of the Costa family story as I loved Enzo and his story. The suspense and spice are perfectly balanced to create an engaging story and unique characters kept me interested. I look forward to the next book. 

Can't Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan

This is a cute closed door fake engagement romance with all the cozy vibes of fall. Snuggle into your favorite sweater and a pumpkin spice latte while you enjoy Lexi's epically bad waitressing, her meet cute with Will, the misunderstanding that leads to faking it, and all the feels of a slow burn friends to lovers relationship. Great character development with relatable fun characters. This is a great book to get you in the fall mood. 

Loving Her Lonely Highlander by Maeve Grayson

Gunn Sinclair, Earl of Caithness and chieftain of Clan Sinclair, needs to marry and produce an heir. He's been widowed twice and believes himself cursed, so he needs a wife he can never love. He forges a marriage contract through his solicitor, but when she arrives she's absolutely horrible to her own children who are afraid of her. How can he trust her with his own child? He finds himself drawn to the children's nursemaid, an odd woman name Lorna with strange mannerisms and forceful opinions. 

Lorna expected a romantic evening with her fiance watching the northern lights over the cliffs, but after an unexpected announcement by Patrick, she's shocked enough to fall over the cliff, waking up in 17th century Scotland. Thinking at first that she's in a crazy realistic reenactment, she goes along with it. But when they arrive at Thurso, it's no longer the town she expected but a castle that shouldn't exist anymore. Now she has to survive long enough to make it back to her own time. While caring for the children, she becomes close with the chieftain's daughter and the man himself. Can she convince him to risk his heart again?

I was laughing at Lorna's mostly failed attempts to adjust her language and attitude in order to fit in. I love the scenes in the library when she cares for Gunn when he's so sick and his resulting care and love for her. He was so set on never loving again, so this scene was really sweet to me. And the tension at the end where he saves her back had me holding my breath, scared for him losing someone again. Overall I really enjoyed this book along with the rest in the series that I've read.

The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin

In a time when married and widowed women in England were forbidden to take a job outside the home, widow Emma Taylor is desperate to provide for her young daughter Olivia. She hides her identity to get a job at Boots Booklover's Library and this place would become her comfort and support with war looming when she's forced to send Olivia to the country for her safety. 

This is a wonderful book about books and the people that love them. While these characters were struggling with the realities of a country at war, they came together as a community to support each other and, of course, use their love of books as an escape. The book was beautifully written, highly emotional and heartbreaking at times, but also filled with hope, community, and friendship. I highly recommend this book, but make sure you have the tissues handy!

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