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The Rogue by Maisey Yates

The Rogue by Maisey Yates is the eleventh book in the Four Corners Ranch.  Each book can be read as a stand alone book.  The Four Corners Ranch is a group of four ranches in Oregon.  Each of the ranches runs as a separate entity, but they work as a group to allow for growth and funds for that growth.  Each ranch seems to have its own “ mojo”.  In this novel we are at the King ranch with Justice.  Justice doesn’t do long term or relationships. He works hard and does whatever is needed at the ranch. 

Justice’s best friend is Rue.  She runs a yarn shop (passed down from her grandmother) and lives in her grandmother’s house.  She has everything planned down to the last detail.  Her binders are how she survives life, except for Justice, her best friend.  She is marrying Asher, a man she has been engaged to for years and known for even longer.  Justice is going to be her Best Man until the day of the wedding, when it was cancelled.  

Justice continues to support Rue through everything, and eventually agrees to go on her honeymoon with her to show her what passion is.  OH MY HOTNESS ALERT.  The Rogue by Maisey Yates is a great read. 

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Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Kiss Her Goodbye is the fourth book in the Frankie Elkins series by Lisa Gardner.  OH MY!  Prepare to be exhausted, because putting down this book is very very hard!  The book is written in two voices:  One being Frankie and one being Sabera and her early life in Afghanistan.  Reading about the fall of Kabul and living in a refugee camp in Sabera’s voice can be difficult.  

Frankie is in Tucson, Arizona trying to find a missing person named Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee.  Finding a place to live meanwhile is difficult, but she finds a job house sitting with reptiles in a mansion with two other “misfits”.  (The reptiles were anacondas and a very large iguana.)  

The storyline is complicated and seriously twisted in places.  The life of a Afghani woman with the fall of Kabul and later as an inhabitant of a refugee camp really opened my eyes to how difficult their world was. Frankie had to follow the clues that seemed to make no sense, but all seem to add up to a huge secret that Sabrina knew and other people wanted.  

Lisa Gardner’s newest book, Kiss Her Goodbye, is a mystery and thriller with spies, secrets and family.  Frankie is determined to find her way through the mystery.  The book is well written and well paced.  Kiss Her Goodbye is a great read.

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End of an Era

It was a difficult week.  I knew my leg wound was not healing quickly, but I was not prepared to have a second wound show up, nor was I prepared to not be able to return to teaching this September.  It was hard to write to my bosses and let them know.  In my head I wanted to work one more year for more financial security, but that is not to be.  The school continues to want me back and has offered to rehire me when I can return.  At the very least they would like me to participate in celebration days with the school (back to school night, music concerts)

Meanwhile, I had to clean out my classroom for the person who took my position.  There were so many materials that I collected in the last ten years. (When I left public school, I seriously purged, but then ended up 3 years later working as a teacher again in a private school.) I found a number of various craft projects, hand made games and cute items from the students.  The back of my car is full, so I am sure I will have to purge more. 

It is an interesting dilemma to leave a job before you are ready.  I have started to reach out to people so they are not surprised when I am not there in September. I also know that it is possible that I won’t be able to return at all, but that is a thought for another day.  All this has made this an emotional week.

In order to help the American Cancer Society, I have joined their fundraiser to read every day in August.  While I know that will be right up my alley, please feel free to donate to the cause.  So far, I have read two books this month, but my books are listed in my blog. 

Elise sent in a guest review of Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts - Check it out.

Meanwhile I need to go do Cat Mama duties and get rid of the dead mouse left on my doorstep by my 14 year old cat.  I didn’t think she hunted any more.  Boy, was I wrong!

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Guest Review: Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts

Vandy Myrick Mysteries Book 2

Minotaur Books

July 15th, 2025

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts is about family, race, class, and grief. Vandy, the main character, tries to keep busy with work as she still deals with the grief of losing her daughter. 

“The series came out of my long-standing love for film watching, detective stories, and mysteries/suspense of all kinds.  I wanted to write my own and put in a few twists. This series has a black woman PI, Vandy Myrick, within a small-town setting. I made up a town which is very close to the Central New Jersey town I live in. Queenstown is the name of the series town. I wanted to explore what I discovered in my own hometown: diversity, different world backgrounds, and people speaking different languages.”

Early in the story, her ex-husband Phil returns which conjures up all the memories, and they come crashing back to the surface. After a one-night stand with Phil, Vandy is getting ready to go to work when she finds out he has been murdered. She decides to piece together what brought her ex-husband's life to an end. Was it a complicated marriage, the son who attends a prestigious local school, his business, or his being a philanthropist? It is a puzzling murder that has many twists. Plus, there is the Rome School where Phil’s son goes, and his current wife works.  There are shady deals going on in this private school. Readers wonder if this also plays into Phil’s murder.

“I wanted to delve further into Vandy’s past. In the first couple of chapters of the first book, Trouble in Queenstown, I established she had a daughter who died tragically, an ex-husband, Philip Bolden, who she had a rocky, tumultuous, and passionate relationship. I want to make her relationship with her ex-husband the centerpiece of this book.”

Also in the plot is the role of the Rome school. “There are very dicey characters in the Rome School.  It is a plush, private boarding high school located in Queenstown. It is regionally and nationally acclaimed. Everything is not so smooth and shiny as the faculty and administration states.  There is corruption, greed, and unregulated obsession. What influenced the story was the real-life scandal of how celebrities and privileged parents tried to get their children into prestigious colleges. They projected onto their children, in real life and this story, prestige and power. They wanted to make their children follow a path they chose, not what their children would have preferred. This was a foundation for the kind of manipulating power I wanted to explore with the Rome School and its college admissions program.”

Readers will look forward to the next book in the series that has more of a mystery. 

Philip and Vandy’s relationship have ups and downs. “It is very fraught, messy, with a high point emotionally of her life. When Phil returns, Vandy has her emotions stirred up. She challenged her parents’ judgement after choosing to marry him.  Her father did not like him because he was so slick, and her mother did not trust him.  Vandy decided she could reform the ‘philandering Phil.’ She realized she could not change his approach and character, so she got a divorce.  Now twenty years later he has returned. She sees him still as compelling, charismatic, attractive, and mesmerizing. She finds it hard to resist him.”

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Until the Rake Surrenders by Darcy Burke

Until the Rake Surrenders by Darcy Burke is a historical romance with great bones.  This is the fifth book in the series called Rogue Rules. In short the premise of the book is that rogues are not husband material, do not trust them or believe them ever.   The story includes two people who are not likely to get married, but who are put into a position that might force the issue.  

Evan Price is a dashing rogue. He is irrepressible and determined to find his way forward.  At a party he was showing off the tricks he could  and his foot got caught in the stirrups of his horse and he was dragged unconscious before the horse was stopped.  Lady Minerva Halifax witnessed the accident and ran out to help him.  She ended up taking control of the situation and got Evan all set up in the nearest manor while she took care of him.  It helped him heal, but helped her avoid some of the rogues at the house party.  

Lady Minerva Halifas’ mother was disgusted with her daughter.  She was determined that Min would marry an appropriately titled person, no matter his temperament or behaviors.  She even - well you will need to read that on your own.  

Evan is not titled and therefore below Min’s class, but loved Min.  Min didn’t care about titles like her mother and wanted Evan. So conflicts occur and are stirred up by busybodies and Min’s mother.  Until the Rake Surrenders by Darcy Burke is a good read. 

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He Falls First by Jill Shalvis

He Falls First by Jill Shalvis is just a great read.  The novel made me laugh in several places and get angry (at people’s stupidity) in other places.  The main characters of Alice and Ryder (oldest of the Colburn brothers) felt so real and authentic when reading.  I loved the scene when Alice found Ryder on the floor bleeding and knew just to take care of him.  I loved all the parts when the Colburn brothers were dishing out insults and acting like overgrown teens.  

Alice works for a caterer and her first job every morning was setting up breakfast at the Ryder’s business.  Ryder couldn’t help but notice and enjoy Alice.  At first I wasn’t sure they would find their way to each other but I was relieved when I read how they flirted and pushed each other.  

Ryder is holding together so much which would kill a less determined person.  He is taking care of his infirmed father, running his business, keeping secrets from his sister and trying to be patient with Alice as she finds her way to him.  I love how patient he was with Alice’s younger brother and grandmother.  I love how Alice slowly began to let him in and then pulled back - going back and forth between the positions.  

Jill Shalvis is a go to author.  I enjoy her books and how she lays out the story.  He Falls First is the beginning of a new series about the Colburn brothers.  I am quite looking forward to the rest of the books.  He Falls First by Jill Shalvis is a great read.  

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One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune is a wonderful contemporary novel with romance and family.  The characters are not only looking and finding their inner self but they are daring each other to find their inner joy.  The novel is set on a lake in Canada, but feels like it could be any number of lakes throughout the area.  The characters of Alice and Charlie are universal.  

Nan brought Alice to the lake when she was 17.  It was there that she took her first “real” photo and found her career.  Years later, Alice brought Nan up to the same cottage and lake to recuperate from her injury and subsequent surgery.  Not only was she there to help Nan, but she was struggling within herself about where her career was going.  It was then she saw him.  The boat and the man who helped her with her first picture.  He was here at the lake again.

Charlie and his family had a house on the lake.  He is a stock broker who is on sabbatical for the summer.  He also was helping out and taking care of the cottage Alice and Nan were staying in for the summer.  Alice and Charlie start spending time together and attacking her to-do-list.  

The story made me laugh and cry.  The ending was kickass and I wanted it badly.  I love the way the book was written and the quality of the story.  One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune is a wonderful read. 

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Shattered Truth by Barbara Freethy

Shattered Truth by Barbara Freethy is one of the lovely suspenseful romantic thriller novels.  The combination of the events and people made it suspenseful.  The cruelty of the participants and their purposeful choices made it a thriller.  The characters, who trusted no one, managed to forge a strong relationship that made it a romance.  

Barbara Freethy’s newest book, Shattered Truth is the fifteenth book in the Off the Grid series.  The books can be read as a stand-alone. (I have done this.) There are repeating characters, but the main story is usually with newer people who have joined (or at least one) the FBI.  There is an elite FBI unit that operates in a more independent manner compared to the rest of the FBI.  

Matt Larson has just been asked to join this elite group.  He is excited by the prospect, but not expecting that he had to start early because a dead person has his name and number in her pocket.  He does not know her, nor does he know how she would have gotten his number.

Haley is determined to discover why her brother died 6 years ago.  She has balanced her job as a newspaper writer and finding her brother’s murderer.  She is positive he was murdered and it was not an accident.  As she goes to meet a woman who has information for her, she sees the woman killed right in front of her. She picks up her phone and runs away, later calling the police.  

Suffice to say Matt finds Haley and the phone.  Soon both of them are caught in the murder past and present.  Some of the characters they question are so sure that they are above the law, that you might cringe.  I sure did.  More people are being attacked.  Haley’s apartment was broken into.  This is when the plot line starts to ramp up and things start to pile up.  

I like Barbara Freethy books and I enjoy her characters.  I was not thrilled with the “conflict” as to be honest, it was nothing I am usually interested in.  However I didn’t put the book down so we can say it certainly kept my attention.  Shattered Truth by Barbara Freethy was a good book. 

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