Truth or Beard by Penny Reid, 338 pages

 Falling for the wrong twin never felt so good…

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. That's why perpetually level-headed Jessica James has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau for most of her life, while Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can't stand him, and she's pretty sure he can't bear the sight of her.

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in the middle of a massive confusion kerfuffle. She's spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane's disdain, so now that she knows she's been wrong all along, she's unprepared for the reality that is Duane's insatiable interest…and his hot looks and hot hands and even hotter kisses.

She always thought she knew her own mind, but as Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who's been her sworn adversary for years, how much of her heart is she willing to risk?

Highland Hearts Holiday Bookshop by Tricia O'Malley, 338 pages

 The universe is playing a joke on me.

An unexpected inheritance has gifted me with the dream of a lifetime – owning a charming bookshop in small-town Scotland. Little did I know this gift comes with a surprise – Highland Hearts bookshop has been running an underground magical matchmaking service – and as new owner of the shop, I am expected to deliver on these matches.

As Christmas looms, and lonely hearts beg for love, I’m tossed into the world of magic and romance, aided by a meddling book club who seems more interested in romance than reading.

The problem is – I just don’t believe in love. Or so I thought.

It turns out there’s one local bird nerd and Scottish hottie, Alexander MacTavish, who has my heart all aflutter. While he’s more into puffins than paperbacks, I can’t help but notice he’s showing up at the bookshop to help every time something goes wrong. Maybe it’s my determination to have an adventure, or maybe it’s the magic, but every time tall, dark, and grumpy enters my bookshop, I find myself wanting to read up on birds just to catch his attention.

As my newfound magic falters, and the town enters my shop into a cutthroat Christmas window decorating competition, I find myself working side-by-side with Alexander, who seems just as determined to avoid love as I am.

With Christmas fast approaching, I must figure out if I can suspend my disbelief and make the match of a lifetime – my own.

Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers by Emma Smith, 338 pages

 Most of what we say about books is really about the words inside the rosy nostalgic glow for childhood reading, the lifetime companionship of a much-loved novel. But books are things as well as words, objects in our lives as well as worlds in our heads. And just as we crack their spines, loosen their leaves and write in their margins, so they disrupt and disorder us in turn. All books are, as Stephen King put it, 'a uniquely portable magic'. Here, Emma Smith shows us why.

Portable Magic unfurls an exciting and iconoclastic new story of the book in human hands, exploring when, why and how it acquired its particular hold over us. Gathering together a millennium's worth of pivotal encounters with volumes big and small, Smith reveals that, as much as their contents, it is books' physical form - their 'bookhood' - that lends them their distinctive and sometimes dangerous magic. From the Diamond Sutra to Jilly Cooper's Riders , to a book made of wrapped slices of cheese, this composite artisanal object has, for centuries, embodied and extended relationships between readers, nations, ideologies and cultures, in significant and unpredictable ways.

Exploring the unexpected and unseen consequences of our love affair with books, Portable Magic hails the rise of the mass-market paperback, and dismantles the myth that print began with Gutenberg; it reveals how our reading habits have been shaped by American soldiers, and proposes new definitions of a 'classic'-and even of the book itself. Ultimately, it illuminates the ways in which our relationship with the written word is more reciprocal - and more turbulent - than we tend to imagine.

Never Fall For Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath, 338 pages

 The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So, Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So, when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course, nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. As hilarity and miscommunication ensue, while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other, when their relationship started with a lie?

Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths, 338 pages

From the author of the beloved Ruth Galloway series, a modern gothic mystery for fans of Magpie Murders and The Lake House.

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favourite literature.

To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary: "Hallo, Clare. You don’t know me."

Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?

One For the Money by Janet Evanovich, 338 pages

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and  Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash-fast-but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family....
Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water-wanted for murder...
Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight-and keep herself from being killed before she gets her man....
Now that I'm working at the Court and dealing with some bondsmen, I wanted to pick this series back up.

Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris, 338 pages

This was probably the darkest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery yet with the torture and murder of a street urchin setting off an investigation into the disappearances of the unwanted children of London. This series is well-written, filled with historical details and intriguing characters and a compelling mystery (or two.) Now starts the wait for the next one to come out.

Who Buries the Dead by C.S. Harris, 338 pages

Another page turning mystery featuring Sebastian St. Cyr. With the next book I'm all caught up and will have to wait for the new one to be written, boo hoo.

When Gods Die by C. S. Harris, 338 pages

A victorian murder mystery. Very well-done.

The Dead Duke , His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell, 338 pages

In 1898, the case that filled newspaper front pages and fascinated people across the English world, was the case of the Druce family. Some family members claimed that patriarch T.C. Druce had actually been the 5th Duke of Portland who ended his second life by faking the death of T.C. Druce. Millions of dollars and a title were at stake in this high-stakes case that took years to work its way through the courts and still left many questions unanswered.
This was an interesting case and kept me reading.

The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin & Samantha Norman, 338 pages

A very engrossing piece of historical fiction, set in the winter of 1141 in England when Matilda and Stephen destroyed the land fighting for the throne. This had an evil monk with a penchant for redheads, a castle under siege and a mercenary determined to protect the young girl in his care. Outstanding book.

The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy, 338 pages

Boy, if anyone had told me a few months ago that I would be a fan of Pat Conroy (Beaches and The Prince of Tides) I would have laughed in their face. Our our book club decided on his short story collection My Reading Life and I was hooked. His book featured the books and people that gave him a love of reading and the written word in general. I have an obsessive love of reading, reading anything that crosses my path basically. His book The Great Santini featured heavily in the essays so I picked it up as well and loved it. I was hesitant to give this a go, fearing it wouldn't be nearly as good. I was not disappointed, this was actually better. I loved getting to see Pat's relationship with his parents as an adult, and after the book had come out. It was touching to see his father redeem himself with his children somewhat. I finished the book and just felt exhausted, drained and extremely touched. All signs of an outstanding read.