The Unexpected Husband

 

The Unexpected Husband is two books in one. Jury of his Peers and Any Sunday are the two books, neither are very long stories but they do leave the story with a complete ending.

Jury of his Peers

This was my favorite of the two stories it had more humor I could relate to. Caroline has always had a a problem with her longtime acquaintance Ted. The two are forced to spend more time with each other when they are put on the same jury. Due to unforeseen circumstances the two are forced to spend more time together where they quickly get on each others last nerve.

Any Sunday

 Marjorie does not do doctors at all even when pain in her side has her doubled over barley able to move. Finally her coworker and friend insists on making an appointment for her. To Marjorie's horror the doctor is not a monster but a normal man around her own age. Learning she needs emergency surgery for an inflamed appendix puts her in a near panic attack state which Dr. Sam cannot ignore. Knowing Marjorie is all alone with no family nearby Sam agrees to stay with her while she has surgery and wakes up afterwards. The beginning of love starts to form as Sam helps Marjorie learn to not be totally terrified of the hospital.

Both stories are typical Debbie Macomber style, romance with a hint of humor along the way. Fun, light, reads that easily distract the mind. 

Dying for Dinner Rolls

 

Dying for Dinner Rolls is one of the many unread books I have on the Nook app. Since it is impossibly hard to get books from the library right now I am randomly choosing previous books I have downloaded. Most are older Free Friday books.

Cat is horrified when she goes to check on her friend and finds her dead with a slit wrist. Obviously the police are not used to murders since it is deemed a suicide despite a large bash in the back of the victim's head. Lots of slapstick moments and it was pretty easy to figure out what the answer to the mystery was.

Just a basic cozy mystery. I felt like the humor was forced too much and that the characters were a big generic. Despite the larger mystery ending on a cliff hanger I will not be continuing with the series. 

Season of Joy

 

I had no clue that Season of Joy was part of a series. The first story was super cute but the short bonus story was not my favorite. 

Granger is doing his best to keep his family tree farm afloat after a fire in the summer that wiped out half his trees. Determined to make things work Granger struggles with answering all the questions his pre-teen girls have about their mother leaving. Dealing with one problem after another Granger is not prepared for a woman in his life.

Joy loves doing her art and is working on making her dream of opening an art gallery come true. Busy with teaching art classes and trying to keep up with her doctor parents Joy has not time for romance. That is until Granger and his two girls have their nanny retire suddenly. Unable to say no to the two girls Joy starts to give them art lessons after school while making some extra money to put towards an art gallerly.

The story was cute but predictable. I liked how all the character had their own flaws and quirks. The writing was smooth and easy to read. Despite being in the middle of a series I was not confused or trying to figure out what was going on in the story. The bonus story was cute but I wish it had been longer I do not feel like enough time was given to flesh out the characters. 

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse

 

I am pretty sure Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse was a Free Friday book at one point. I could not sleep one night and just randomly choose this from the many books I have downloaded and not read yet. 

Follow the death of her mother Francesca decides she needs to move back to the town she grew up in. Taking over the family coffee shop and settling herself in the house her mother left her Fran is happily getting into the swing of life in a slower paced city. One day she leaves work a bit early and takes a shortcut home. To her horror she finds the neighbor dead in the back yard. Quickly informed by the victims son who is a high school friend that his father was murdered Fran decides she needs to help solve the case. 

This is a really light read, not too long of a book and not a deep plot line. Despite that I enjoyed the story and would not mind reading more about Fran and her adventures. I had a couple of problems with the mystery not being fully wrapped up but it was enough closure I wont throw a fit over it. I did see the next book in the series is 4.99 and since it is not a book I would read many times I will see if the library has it. 

Miracle on 5th Avenue

 

Miracle on 5th Avenue was randomly grabbed from my to read pile and I cannot recall where I got it.

Eva is happy to keep busy working during the Christmas season. It keeps her mind off the fact that her grandma died a year ago leaving her alone. Lonely and missing her Grandma she eagerly takes a job decorating a pent house for Christmas and filling a freezer with delicious food. To her horror the man living in the pent house has not gone away skiing for a week instead he is still at home and clearly does not want her there. However Eva was hired to do a job and she insists on getting it done no matter the consequences of sharing a space with a grouchy author.

The writing flowed well and while it was a romance book it had few steamy scenes. I liked how the two main characters came off totally different at the start but then slowly opened up their real feelings. The ending was predictable except for one part which I wont spoil. While it is a series I do feel like I understood what was going on and all the loose ends were tied up. 

Blameless

 

Blameless is the third book in the Parasol Protectorate series. 

Having lost her standing on the Shadow Council and her husband's favor Alexia is determined to make the most of a bad situation. Knowing that the child inside her is surely Lord Maccon's Alexia decided she must go to the Templars to get proof. However things rarely go smoothly for Alexia. With the sudden disappearance of her rove vampire friend, Lord Akeldam, and having lost the protection of the pack Alexia must navigate the dangerous situation with non supernatural friends.

While parts of Blameless I enjoyed other parts felt like they were long and not really necessary to the story. As always my favorite characters continue to be side characters. All of them have their own personalities and fit well into the world that Carriger has created. Despite the side characters being strong I think I need a bit of a break from the series so I am going to hold off on Heartless for a bit.