Books 1-7

 Bloody River Blues by Jeffery Deaver

Well, that wasn't a good start to the year! I read 125 pages (which was more than a third of the book) and I just couldn't get into it. I found it to be so boring and taking a long time to get anywhere. Too many other good books to waste my time on one I'm not liking.

Not counting this book.

When Murder Comes Home by Shana Frost

Ten guests, two murders, one inn. Who is responsible?
Aileen Mackinnon ditched spreadsheets and a steady salary for the adventurous shores of Loch Fuar in the Scottish Highlands.
Now she's an amateur innkeeper to ten guests. But when one is murdered in his bed and an heirloom goes missing, can Aileen save the inn?
DI Callan Cameron won't have her nosing about, but with another body he has little choice in the matter.
Tension sizzles as Aileen and Callan step into a world of murders, fibs and heists. They might not always see eye to eye, but can they agree whodunnit?

I enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing to the end.  This is a first book in a series so there will be a lot more of the two main characters.

Come Get Me by Molly Black

When two dead bodies are found oddly staged on trains across the country, the FBI realizes a serial killer is at work. FBI BAU Special Agent Caitlin Dare wants to escape her dark past and never ride a train again. But when she is assigned to spearhead the case, Caitlin realizes she will have to play cat and mouse with this diabolical killer—even if it means facing her worst childhood fears.

Good book. Kept me reading, wanting to find out who did it and how he would get caught.

The Social Affair by Britney King

A timeless, perfect couple waltzes into the small coffee shop where Izzy Lewis works. Instantly enamored, she does what she always does in situations like these: she searches them out on social media.
Just like that—with the tap of a screen— she’s given a front row seat to the Dunns’ picturesque life. This time, she’s certain she’s found what she’s been searching for. This time, she'll go to whatever lengths it takes to ensure she gets it right—even if this means doing the unthinkable.

Well, this was a little weird, with quite the twist at the end!

Irish Hearts by Nora Roberts

--Irish Thoroughbred

There’s nothing left for Adelia Cunnane in Ireland. The aunt she cared for has passed, and the family farm has been sold for taxes. But her uncle Paddy has written her: Come to America…The Maryland horse farm where Paddy lives and works is more than Dee dared to dream about. She has always had a magical touch with animals, and here she finds employment in the stables—and a chance to fly, on the muscular back of Travis Grant’s chestnut thoroughbred. It’s easy to put aside a passing pang of homesickness when she can spend her first paycheck—which feels like a veritable fortune—on the feminine frivolities that were never a part of her life in the old country. But the most unfamiliar territory of all is her relationship with her boss, the man who has made all this possible. Spirited but innocent, Dee is disconcerted by the way he treats her—and the way she responds. America may be the land of opportunity, a place where even those from the humblest background can pursue what they want—and, perhaps, even find themselves one day attending the Kentucky Derby. But some divides may be too wide to cross, and Dee fears that demanding more could cost her all that she’s already gained

--Irish Rose

Burke Logan had traveled to a small Irish village to buy horses, and found a spirited filly he refused to leave without—a freckled, fiery-haired beauty by the name of Erin McKinnon... The rough and rugged stable owner offered her a job in America, and Erin bid goodbye to Skibbereen. She would keep his books in order, but how would she keep her heart from breaking?

These two books were the typical Nora Roberts light romances. Boy meets girl, they hate each other, they love each other, they live happily ever after.  

Don't Cry Alone by Josephine Cox

Beth is a woman of rare courage and fortitude, but there is danger and heartbreak to be endured before she can find peace and happiness...

Beth Ward and Tyler Blacklock share a love they know will last forever. But Beth's mother, Esther, is jealous of the girl and seizes an opportunity to be rid of her daughter. Banished in disgrace from the family home, Beth takes the northbound train and alights at Blackburn, friendless and alone.

On this day, Fortune smiles, for Beth is taken in by warm-hearted Maisie Armstrong, a widow with two children. Money is scarce, but love abounds in the cozy house on Larkhill, and Beth is content there to await the birth of her child. But she cannot forget Tyler, and is tormented by the belief that he has betrayed her.

I did enjoy this book but it really dragged on and on in parts.  I think the ending was very predictable as well.

The Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin

The war is raging in Europe. These girls will do everything they can on the home front – but is a happy ever after possible in such dark and uncertain times? Manchester, 1940: The minute war was declared, best friends Sally and Deborah volunteered for the home guard, willing to do anything to help their boys fighting overseas. An Auxiliary Fire Service girl by night, Sally ends up stationed at the salvage depot by day. Working amidst the scrap metal and waste paper, helping to make do and mend, isn’t quite the glamorous life in uniform she’d imagined! But she’s determined to do her best, and turn saucepans into Spitfires. When Sally meets Andrew, a quiet carpenter with a heart-breaking smile who understands how important her work is, she finally feels as though her efforts to keep calm and carry on are making a difference. As love blossoms, Sally feels herself opening up to Andrew in a way she’d never imagined possible. But then, just as Sally feels as hopeful as she can be in these times of war, a devastating air raid threatens everything she holds dear. As bombs rain down all over Manchester, deadly fires begin to destroy homes, and lives. With Andrew out rescuing families from the rubble, Sally rushes towards the plumes of smoke that fill the night sky. And is horrified to realize the very worst hit area has the salvage yard right at its heart. Desperate to help in any way she can, Sally, with her fellow salvage girls by her side, sets to work. But what will they find when the smoke clears? Will Sally and Andrew get the happy ending they so deserve? Or will her one chance at true love be lost forever as the morning dawns…?

This was quite an interesting story.  Learning about what happened in the departments of food and salvage. People really did work hard with their regular jobs and then the volunteer work to help the war effort.