June, Reimagined by Rebekah Crane - 5 Stars

 "June Merriweather is on the run—from her own life. Her brother is dead, her parents are liars, and her college major is a joke. Apart from her best friend, Matt, June is desperate for reinvention. And a one-way ticket out of Cincinnati to the Scottish Highlands is a good place to start.

With a backpack, an urn, and a secret, June begins again. She snags a job at a café and finds lodging at a quaint inn with a quirky cast of housemates. The only problem: the inn’s infuriatingly perceptive (and sexy) owner, Lennox. He’s suspicious of June. After all, no one comes to Scotland in the winter unless they’re running from something. From rocky start to sizzling temptation, June’s new world is exhilarating…and one detour away from disaster.

With her past and her future both vying for attention, June can’t begin to picture where her reimagined life is headed next. And falling in love with the last person she expected is only the beginning."

I really enjoyed this one. Normally I don't really care for romance type books, but this one didn't overdo it and the romance parts had humor thrown in with them.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin - 4 Stars

 "Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville’s elite. More recently, her husband made a fortune selling his tech business, and their adored son has been accepted to Princeton. Yet sometimes the middle-class small-town girl in Nina wonders if she’s strayed from the person she once was.

Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs while struggling to raise his headstrong daughter, Lyla. His road has been lonely, long, and hard, but he finally starts to relax after Lyla earns a scholarship to Windsor Academy, Nashville’s most prestigious private school.

Amid so much wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn’t always fit in—and her overprotective father doesn’t help—but in most ways, she’s a typical teenage girl, happy and thriving.

Then, one photograph, snapped in a drunken moment at a party, changes everything. As the image spreads like wildfire, the Windsor community is instantly polarized, buzzing with controversy and assigning blame.

At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning."

This was a fast paced read. I was expecting a twist, though, and was a bit disappointed at the ending. This is the first book of hers I've read.

Christmas Chocolates and Crimes by Cindy Bell - 4 Stars

 Christmas is approaching and "Charlotte's Chocolate Heaven" has never been busier. Ally and Charlotte are working like crazy to fill all of the orders.

But then a resident at Charlotte's retirement community ends of dead and Charlotte is the chief's prime suspect. Charlotte and Ally race to find the true killer before Charlotte spends Christmas in handcuffs.

This was a cute, quick read. It was perfect for the holidays. I think I'll check out the beginning of the series and maybe one of the author's other cozy mystery series. 

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier - 4 Stars

 "When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris's secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all."

This book pulled me in right from the beginning. It did take me a few days to finish it, but that's because we're in the middle of moving and I was on the road for 2 days and busy doing other stuff in there. But when I was able to settle down and get some reading time, I plowed through it. 

I enjoyed how the story wrapped everything up, but wasn't too surprised by the bit of plot twist that it had. I had kind of predicted that earlier on. I think the only negative I have is that sometimes it would go back and forth in time and I'd forget where the chapter was originally at. But overall it was a really good book.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

 "April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear."

I really enjoyed this one. It was a pretty fast read and I was anxious to see what was going to happen next. There was a small plot twist at the end, but to me it wasn't major.