ARC Review: Play for Me by Libby Hubscher

Play for Me
Author: Libby Hubscher
Publication: Berkley (June 20, 2023)

Description: When her new job takes her to a New England boarding school, she’s surprised to find her roommates are all men – including a very handsome one who plays by his own rules.

Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates.

Sophie knows that training a bunch of privileged high school kids whose idea of a play is A Chorus Line instead of a walk-off homer is going to be a big change from the pro athletes she’s used to. She wasn’t expecting that these students would have big-time talent and even bigger-time problems. Sophie has troubles of her own—Jonas is a full-fledged grump who clearly doesn’t want her near him or the precious piano he never plays.

With sunny optimism, Sophie sets out to win over Jonas and help the kids she’s growing attached to. But when her relationship with Jonas moves to the major leagues and plans change at the end of the season, they have to choose whether they are playing for keeps.

My Thoughts: Sophie Doyle lost her dream job as a trainer for the Boston Red Sox when she kept the star pitcher out of a crucial game and the Sox lost the World Series. She also lost her live-in boyfriend who was the team doctor. She's become persona non grata in all of Boston.

She does find a new job as a trainer for a private school in New Hampshire. The only drawback is that the school focuses on the Arts and sports run a very distant second. She also finds herself sharing an apartment with three guys. Two of the guys are a couple and are very friendly and welcoming. Not so much the third. Jonas Voss is the director of the orchestra and is a real grouch.

Sophie generally has a sunny, optimistic personality, but losing her job and moving away from Boston and her father who is in an assisted living facility has been hard on her. However, she tries to make the best of things and even institutes some therapy for the music students many of whom are suffering from repetitive strain injuries.

She learns the Jonas used to be a concert pianist until an injury sidelined him. While orthopedic medicine doesn't give him much hope of a cure and return to his career, Sophie feels that therapy can possibly help him. As the two work together, they begin to fall in love but with Sophie's goal to return to Boston and the Red Sox and Jonas's goal to resume his career in Europe, it doesn't look like their relationship has much of a future.

I enjoyed this contemporary romance. I found the characters engaging and well-rounded people with compelling backstories. 

Favorite Quote:

My situation doesn't come close to yours, but I realize it's devastating. But none of us is just our job or our team or music or any single thing. We're more than that. We're a million dreams and possibilities. You are. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Play for Me by Libby Hubscher

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

I lost everything in the span of twenty-four hours. Well, nearly everything, since Dad was still safely tucked away in Sommerset Meadows, but that's a different story. Heartbreak comes in all forms. 

Friday 56:

He waved a hand. "That's just sexual tension."

I shook my head. "I wish. No. We're just total opposites. Anyway, He's probably messing with me. He told me that night in the library before Thanksgiving that he doesn't like me."

This week I am spotlighting Play for Me by Libby Hubscher. This contemporary romance is from my review stack. Here's the description from Amazon:

When her new job takes her to a New England boarding school, she’s surprised to find her roommates are all men – including a very handsome one who plays by his own rules.

Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates.

Sophie knows that training a bunch of privileged high school kids whose idea of a play is A Chorus Line instead of a walk-off homer is going to be a big change from the pro athletes she’s used to. She wasn’t expecting that these students would have big-time talent and even bigger-time problems. Sophie has troubles of her own—Jonas is a full-fledged grump who clearly doesn’t want her near him or the precious piano he never plays.

With sunny optimism, Sophie sets out to win over Jonas and help the kids she’s growing attached to. But when her relationship with Jonas moves to the major leagues and plans change at the end of the season, they have to choose whether they are playing for keeps.

Audiobook Review: Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

Airs Above the Ground
Author: Mary Stewart
Narrator: Antonia Whillans
Publication: Hodder & Stoughton (May 19, 2019)
Length: 9 hours and 13 minutes

Description: The original writer of romantic suspense, Mary Stewart leads her readers on a thrilling journey across mid-century Europe in this tale of adventure and deception, sure to be loved by fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym.

Vanessa March's husband, Lewis, is meant to be on a business trip in Stockholm - so why does he briefly appear in newsreel footage of a fire at a circus in Vienna, with his arm around another woman? Vanessa flies to Austria to find her husband, inadvertently becoming involved in a mystery that spans three countries...and the famous dancing stallions of the Spanish Riding School.

The moonlight flooded the meadow, blanching all colours to its own ghostly silver. The pines were very black. As the stallion rose in the last magnificent rear of the levande, the moonlight poured over him bleaching his hide so that for perhaps five or six seconds he was no longer an old broken-down piebald but a haute école stallion of the oldest line in Europe.

My Thoughts: This romantic suspense title was written in 1965. I first read it about that time, and it has been sitting on my keeper shelf ever since. When Chirp offered some of Mary Stewart's classic romantic suspense title for wonderful sale prices, I decided to revisit some books I remembered fondly from the past. 

Vanessa March is a twenty-four-year-old veterinarian who has given up her work to marry. She and Lewis have been married for a couple of years and are hoping to start a family. However, Lewis has one more job from his employer before he can switch to a position that has a lot less traveling. He tells her that his current job is in Stockholm but, when a friend of her mother's sees Lewis in a newsreel which shows him to be in Austria, Vanessa needs to see for herself. She is especially concerned since they argued bitterly before he left on his last trip and now she's seeing him with his arm around another woman. 

Vanessa travels to Vienna with the Timothy who is the 17-year-old son of her mother's friend. He's supposed to be meeting his father there. But both he and Vanessa are lying about their reasons for traveling to Vienna. Tim just wants to get away from his over-bearing mother for a while. His father doesn't know he's coming, and Timothy arrives to make a third wheel in his father's new romantic relationship.

Timothy ends up traveling with Vanessa to check out the circus where her husband was last seen. Lewis doesn't know she's coming either. Vanessa and Tim find all sorts of secrets when they arrive. There has been a fire which claimed two lives - one of which was a colleague of Lewis's. Lewis is there under an assumed name investigating the fire and the circus. Vanessa is surprised to learn that Lewis is a part-time spy. He does side jobs for the government that his prime employer doesn't know about.

Vanessa does surgery on a horse that belonged to one of the victims. Since the horse was just the man's pet, there isn't a place for a non-working horse in the circus. It turns out that the horse was stolen from the Spanish Riding School and is one of the famous Lipizzaners. Vanessa and Tim want to get the stallion back to his home since those horses are national treasures. 

Someone is very interested in the horse's saddle and it isn't for the glass jewels that have been used to decorate it. There is some smuggling going on which Lewis, Vanessa and Tim manage to thwart but not before a harrowing chase up a mountain and an encounter with a cog railway train.

I really enjoyed this story again which must now be considered historical fiction. Lewis smoking in bed after an intimate encounter (which occurs off the page) is one clue. Vanessa giving up her career to marry is another clue. Reading paper maps in a dark car is still another clue. And lots would have been different had cell phones been available. 

It was a very suspenseful story. I had some brief recollections of the story but soon found myself engaged and entertained as Antonia Whillans narrated.

I bought this one from Chirp when it was on sale. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Bigfoot and the Librarian by Linda Winstead Jones

Bigfoot and the Librarian 
Author: Linda Winstead Jones
Series: Mystic Springs (Book 1)
Publication: Sorin Rising LLC (September 16, 2019)

Description: Something in the Water?

Marnie Somerset’s new job at the Mystic Springs Library seems almost too good to be true. Yes, the small Alabama town is populated with more than its share of odd people, and she did have a flat tire on her way into town and hallucinate Bigfoot crossing the road, which made for less than a stellar start. But the library is fantastic, her new house is charming, and the hot local writer keeps crossing her path.

Clint Maxwell is drawn to the new librarian, even though he knows getting involved with someone from outside Mystic Springs would be a very bad idea. Marnie’s not a Springer, and she won’t last long in a town awash with magic. Still, when she’s threatened he feels compelled to protect her. Is she meant to be his? Is this the woman he’s been waiting for?

My Thoughts: Marnie Somerset is looking for a new start. She's recently lost her job at the Birmingham Public Library and broken up with her boring boyfriend. When she sees an ad for the Mystic Springs Library, she's ready for adventure. 

She wasn't expecting to have a flat tire on her way to town and see Bigfoot cross the road ahead of her though. Bigfoot isn't the only strange thing about Mystic Springs. Most of the people are strangely unwelcoming. However, the library is fantastic, her new house feels like home right away, and the local writer is interesting even though he writes horror. 

Clint Maxwell has always lived in Mystic Springs. Even when he goes out on author tours, he tries to not be away for more than ten days at a time. Clint has a secret: he is one of the few remaining Bigfeet. If he's gone too long his magic diminishes. Other residents of the town are witches, warlocks, werewolves. All have different opinions on whether or not Mystic Springs should join the greater world and let the magic spread or become another Brigadoon and withdraw from the world. 

Marnie is a librarian. Her go-to is to do research and read books. She finds one about the search for Bigfoot and emails the author. She doesn't expect the author to show up in town wanting to film Bigfoot for a new cable television series. The new arrival is a modern-day Mr. Darcy but not nearly as interesting to Marnie as Clint who is a much more rugged type.

Things heat up when Marnie learns that the former librarian, whose house she's living in, was murdered for her role in the debate about the town. It looks like she had hidden something that might tip the scales one way or the other and some of the residents are determined to find it whether or not Marnie gets in their way.

This was an entertaining paranormal romance/urban fantasy. It begins a series. 

Favorite Quote:

Many of her peers disdained Mr. Darcy and said his kind was out of fashion, but not Marnie. She'd always been a bit out of step, had accepted that about herself long ago. Who wanted to be like everyone else? Not her. She'd read Pride and Prejudice at an early age, and had always imagined Darcy as the perfect hero. Maybe in reality he'd need some work. but all in all...yummy.

I bought this one for $.99 from a BookBub email on March 16, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Marked by Moonlight by Sharie Kohler

Marked by Moonlight
Author: Sharie Kohler
Series: Moon Chasers (Book 1)
Publication: Pocket Books; First Edition (December 26, 2007)

Description: She doesn't know what bit her...

Seemingly overnight, Claire Morgan has transformed: the normally mousy schoolteacher is now bold, and her behavior is truly wild. Her eyes gleam silver. Suddenly she's a self-confident femme fatale with a libido that just won't quit. After an impulsive makeover, she's even...dare she say it?...sexy. Is Claire going insane?

Then brutally handsome stranger Gideon March tells her she was bitten by a werewolf, and Claire figures he's the insane one. Sure, she was attacked by a nasty dog in a back alley, but this guy stalking her says he's a member of an underground society of lycan hunters -- and his mission is to kill her immediately.

When Claire finally realizes she really is a lycan, there's no turning back -- because by now Claire and Gideon are bound by a hungry passion. If they can't break the curse by the next full moon, Claire's soul will be lost forever and Gideon will be forced to terminate his prey -- a woman dangerously close to devouring him, heart and soul.

My Thoughts: Claire Morgan is a high school English teacher who is bitten by a werewolf when she tries to track down one of her favorite students who has missed school for a few days. Gideon March is a lycan hunter and has been since his mother who was recently turned killed his father and was killed by another hunter. 

Gideon knows that he should execute Claire before the full moon comes and turns her into a killer, but for reasons he can't quite articulate, he decides to help her track down and kill the alpha of the pack member who bit her. At least, that's the plan once he can convince Claire that she actually was bitten by a werewolf and will become one herself at the next full moon.

Claire recognizes some changes in herself. First of all, the newly silver eyes aren't what she usually sees when she looks in the mirror. Also, her appetite especially for meat increases yet she doesn't gain any weight on her 5' 2" frame and is in fact getting more muscular. But the biggest change is that she has stopped being the wimp her abusive father trained her to be all her life. 

Gideon has his work cut out for him as he tries to convince her that the changes that are happening are because she was bitten. He is also dealing with a change in attitude. He's no longer sure that killing the newly bitten is the right course of action. Maybe some of them can be kept from becoming killing machines. 

This was an entertaining paranormal romance with interesting characters. It hit a bunch of the romance tropes in an engaging way. It is also the first book in a series set in the same world -- LA with a paranormal side. 

Favorite Quote:

"After you kill him, the curse will be broken."

At this, Gideon hesitated, his hand hovering over her foot. "If he's the alpha, yes."

"Alpha?"

"Each pack has one alpha and every lycan can be traced back to the alpha, wither through birth of infection."

"So if you kill the alpha, the rest of the pack will become human again?"

"No." His eyes cut directly to hers. "Only those who aren't damned."

I bought this one March 9, 2008. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh

Midnight Exposure
Author: Melinda Leigh
Narrator: Scott Schumaker
Series: Midnight (Book 1)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (August 21, 2012)
Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes

Description: The first suspenseful thriller in the Midnight series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

When two hikers disappear from their hometown in Maine, everyone blames the blinding storms. But the truth is far more sinister. Unaware of the danger, tabloid photographer Jayne Sullivan follows an anonymous tip to find the most reclusive sculptor in the art world. Instead, she finds mysterious handyman Reed Kimball - and a small town full of fatal secrets.

Five years ago, Reed buried his homicide detective career along with his wife. But when a hiker is found dead, the local police chief asks Reed for help. Why was a Celtic coin found under the body? And where is the second hiker? Desperate to avoid the media, Reed doesn’t need a murder, a missing person, or a nosey photographer. Until Jayne is attacked, and he realizes that her courage is his undoing. Reed must risk everything to protect her and find a cunning killer.

My Thoughts: MIDNIGHT EXPOSURE tells the story of a woman from Philadelphia making her way to rural Maine on the hunt for a reclusive sculptor. Her editor at the tabloid where she works wants photos. Jayne Sullivan needs the money since her regular gig of selling travel photos isn't paying enough to work down the debt her brother's treatment for PTSD has built. 

Reed Kimball has taken his son to rural Maine to get away from the notoriety he gained as a homicide cop in Atlanta accused of his wife's murder. The lack of a quick suspect caused the tabloids and newspapers to focus on him even though the cops knew he had an ironclad alibi. Now he's doing handyman work and secretly building a career as a sculptor. 

There is a big secret hidden in this small town which Jayne runs into right away when she arrives. Someone tries to kidnap her! Recently two boys had gone missing in the woods and only one of their bodies has been found. Reed thinks there is evidence of foul play, but the deputy sheriff wants to wait for confirmation from the State before he investigates. He's too busy campaigning for the sheriff's job and too busy resenting Reed's previous experience in Atlanta to do his job. 

The first kidnap attempt leads to a string of other attempts to kidnap Jayne. Reed doesn't want to get involved with a woman who is just visiting but she is able to get under his skin. His anti commitment attitude is crumbling more and more as he gets to know Jayne.

This was an engaging and action-packed romantic suspense title ably narrated by Scott Schumaker. I loved the slow building romance between Reed and Jayne. I liked the way they grew to trust each other and share their secrets despites those same secrets threatening any possible romance. 

I bought the Kindle copy and was able to add on the audiobook for $1.99. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

A Fatal Illusion
Author: Anna Lee Huber
Series: A Lady Darby Mystery (Book 11)
Publication: Berkley (June 20, 2023)

Description: New parents Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage look forward to introducing Sebastian’s father to his granddaughter, but instead find themselves investigating an attempt on his life...

Yorkshire, England. August 1832. Relations between Sebastian Gage and his father have never been easy, especially since the discovery that Lord Gage has been concealing the existence of an illegitimate son. But when Lord Gage is nearly fatally attacked on a journey to Scotland, Sebastian and Kiera race to his side. Given the tumult over the recent passage of the Reform Bill and the Anatomy Act, in which Lord Gage played a part, Sebastian wonders if the attack could be politically motivated.

But something suspicious is afoot in the sleepy village where Lord Gage is being cared for. The townspeople treat Sebastian and Kiera with hostility when it becomes clear they intend to investigate, and rumors of mysterious disappearances and highway robberies plague the area. Lord Gage’s survival is far from assured, and Sebastian and Kiera must scramble to make the pieces fit before a second attempt at murder is more successful than the first.

My Thoughts: The eleventh book in the Lady Darby historical mystery series has Kiera, Gage, baby Emma, and their staff rushing to the site of an accident that almost killed Gage's father. They find him recovering slowly from an attack by highwaymen that killed one of his staff and badly injured him.

Gage and Kiera and the others begin to investigate and find a town filled with secrets. It doesn't help that Lord Gage is being less than truthful about what he knows about the attack and the attackers. It also doesn't help that Henry, Lord Gage's natural son, is also part of the group that rushed to his aide. Lord Gage is angry that Gage has made Henry part of his family and refuses to acknowledge him. 

They have quite a wide assortment of enemies of Lord Gage who are all possible suspects. It could be politically motivated sing the recent passage of the Reform Bill had his fingers all over. Or it could be some enemy from his days as an inquiry agent. Or it could be something from the past Lord Gage won't talk about. 

I enjoyed this emotionally charged story. Gage is at the stage of almost being willing to write his father off as any part of his life. He is angry that his father wants to control his life. He is also angry at the betrayal of his mother that he sees when he learns about his father's philandering. Kiera is also angry at Lord Gage both because he tried to oppose her marriage to Gage and because of how much his attitude hurts her husband. However, she also doesn't want to write him out of his granddaughter's life. She sees glimmers of a different man when he interacts with baby Emma. 

The plot was a twisty one with quite a few secrets uncovered. Fans of the series won't want to miss this episode. 

Favorite Quote:

One could feel both profound relief and dread at the same time, just as one could love someone and still feel fiery anger, disappointment, and disgust. And those were only a handful of the complicated emotions his father provoked in both of us. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.