#TBRChallenge: Wyoming Christmas Ransom

The Book: Wyoming Christmas Ransom by Nicole Helm

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue #1826, 2018, 3rd book Carsons & Delaneys trilogy, Out of print, Available digitally 

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Helm is a prolific writer and I enjoyed some her SuperRomance work before Harlequin killed that line (RIP). According to my records I picked up a print copy of this book at a library book sale back in 2022.

The Review: Y'all, I have zero reading mojo right now and this month's TBR Challenge snuck up me. I had originally thought to dig out a single title Gothic but time being short, and my mojo being non-existent, I went diving into the Harlequin Cupboard for an Intrigue. Also, and it can't be overstated, I find Helm to be a competent writer. I knew that even if I might not be wild about this story - it was at least going to be competently written and readable. Turns out it was more than that, this is one of the better Intrigues I've read in a while.

Will Cooper has been in purgatory for two years. That was when Bent, Wyoming's coroner, Gracie Delany showed up on his doorstep to tell him his wife was killed in a car accident (it's never explained why Gracie delivers this news instead of the cops - but roll with it. This is the third book in a trilogy that I'm reading out of order). The cops rule Paula's death an accident but Will is convinced it was foul play, especially when he finds out his wife was having an affair. But to the cops it's open and shut - so he starts snooping around on his own.  And Gracie? Poor dumb bunny Gracie - she agrees to help him. Letting him look at files and photographs, going with him to revisit the scene - all stuff that could land her in hot water if her superiors found out.  Well, Gracie has finally hit her breaking point.  She can't keep enabling Will. She's more than half in love with him and he's never going to be able to let Paula's death go - even after two years of amateur sleuthing have turned up nothing. He'll never accept the cops got it right. 

Will can't believe Gracie is quitting on him. He'd be angrier if he wasn't an island, a man on a mission. It's Gracie's abandonment that drives him back to the one clue he's found - buried in an old grocery list on Paula's computer. That's when he notices a pattern - so he goes to the local bar to talk to Gracie, who once again tells him to let it go. It's on his way back to his reclusive cabin that he gets in a car accident in the same spot where Paula died. Someone tampered with his car. Someone wants him dead. After two years with no threats on his life, why now? Then someone takes a shot at Gracie...

This series is set up around a small town, middle of nowhere Wyoming family feud involving the prosperous Delaney clan and less prosperous Carson clan. Gracie is a Delaney and Poor Dead Paula was a Carson. Helm does a reasonable job of getting newcomers up to speed without burying us in backstory that was likely partially covered in the first two books, and while the previous couples do show up (and play significant roles to varying degrees), they don't make nuisances of themselves.

The character backstory here in interesting. Gracie is the poor orphaned cousin, now nicknamed "The Angel of Death" because of her job, who survived a car accident that killed her parents. She bounced around for a bit, finally landing in Bent - with her uncle who can't be bothered with her, but three cousins who adore her. This dynamic felt a little weird to me since it's never explained why exactly her uncle could give two shits about her but it works in giving Gracie some edge so I rolled with it.

Will is the classic Guy Who Is Right But Nobody Is Listening To Him. Gracie's cousin Laurel is a sheriff's deputy and a straight-shooter, and she found no evidence anywhere that Paula's death was anything more than an accident.  However, when she discovers Will's accident was the result of someone tampering with his vehicle, she's not unnecessarily stubborn. Oh, she doesn't come out and admit she was wrong - she's more a "where's the evidence, let's find some evidence" kind of person. 

The emotional aspect to the romance is very interesting because Will is pretty much a brick wall from the jump and Gracie is essentially enabling him. She's also fallen into the classic girl trap of "but I can fix him!" She's starting to wake up to the fact she can't do that with the opening chapters of this story. Fair warning that of course she's a virgin and we have a no condom but it's OK I'm clean sex scene but this is the first one I've read EVER where it didn't completely annoy the hell out of me. Oh, I still hate it, but I hated it a little less here (she's on the pill, he had a full screening done when he found out his wife was cheating and hasn't had sex in two years). The dynamic between Will and Gracie is Messy AF, but Helm does mine it for some emotional angst and by the end I did think these two crazy kids could make it work.

Intrigues are all about pacing, and Helm keeps things humming along at a fast clip. I started and finished this story in a couple hours. I figured out where it was going towards the final third, but it was still an engaging read. I'm typically not crazy about family feud tropes (I realize how shocking this is, given my long history of loving soap operas) and while I'm unlikely to go back and read the first two books in this trilogy, some of the secondary characters featured in this story are part of the spin-off Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested series and a few of those characters did pique my interest. Which means it's time to take a deep dive into my Kindle to see if I have already randomly picked up some of those...

Final Grade = B

Note: For readers not crazy about Christmas romances, the holiday is barely a whisper of a mention here - mostly the connection is it's December in Wyoming. Also, Harlequin is getting sloppy with their titles. While there is an abduction, there isn't a "ransom" to be had here.

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is October 15

Our next #TBRChallenge is set for Wednesday, October 15 and this month's optional theme is Here There Be Monsters. Y'all I had big plans for a single title Gothic this month and guess who 1) came back from her fabulous Ireland vacation with a sinus cold and 2) once the cold wrapped up got shingles. Yes, f*cking shingles. When I JUST became eligible for the vaccine and had big plans to schedule that once I was fully past the sinus cold. Since my whining on various social media outlets I've learned we really need to lower the age for that vaccine. So many folks who got shingles in their 30s and 40s OMG!  All this to mean it might be another month for me to dive into the Harlequin Cupboard and see what Intrigues or Romantic Suspense titles might fit 😁

I've traditionally done some sort of "scary" or "suspense" theme for October and the Here There Be Monsters suggestion came out of my annual theme poll and it not only keeps true to the "scary" or "suspense" idea - but you could also easily roll in a Gothic, paranormal or a monster romance (freaks that I think y'all are 😂).  However, if you just feel like a pleasant contemporary or angsty historical right now - remember, the goal of this challenge is to always read something, anything, that has been languishing in my TBR pile.

Also, a reminder that it's not too late to sign-up for the Challenge (fun fact: it's never too late to sign up!).  For more details and for a list of participants, you can check out the 2025 #TBRChallenge page.

Mini-Reviews: Cozy (and Series) Round-Up

Now that I'm fully back to reality (mores the pity) from my fabulous two-week vacation in late September, it's time to catch up with reviews for books I read but never go around to blogging about. Given that the first book on our hit parade was finished before I went on vacation (and my memory ain't what she used to be...), it's time for another round of patented Auntie Wendy Mini-Reviews. 

Just Make Believe by Maggie Robinson is the third book in her Lady Adelaide series and one I finished back in early September. Off page between the second book and this one Addy apparently put the moves on Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter, advances that he rebuffed. Not because he's not attracted to her (which is what Addy thinks) but because of the fact that they come from two completely different worlds. This on top of the fact that her dead husband, and now the ghost haunting her to "make amends" so he can get into heaven, Rupert couldn't keep it in his pants while he was alive (and he died in a car accident with one of his mistresses no less) - let's just say Addy's pride is a bit hurt. So she decides to go to a house party hosted by her closest neighbors, Hugh and Pamela Fernald to take her mind off her embarrassment. Hugh, now confined to a wheelchair, is one of England's great war heroes - so when his wife is found poisoned in the conservatory it's shocking indeed. Setting her wounded pride aside, Addy calls in Inspector Hunter who is soon working the case.

Is there anything better than dead bodies showing up at an English house party? To my way of thinking, not really - and it's the premise of this story that kept me engaged. Hugh may have been a war hero but his wife had a pile of secrets - secrets that ultimately got her killed. The question being, which one of the house guests, servants or family members actually poisoned her?  Rupert's ghost, of course, shows up to help Addy, and that was my issue with this entry. I typically eschew ghost characters in mysteries because so often they serve as sleuthing shortcuts and while Rupert avoids that tag in the first two books, he's a big ol' giant shortcut in this entry. Enjoyed the premise, wasn't entirely wild about the execution.

Final Grade = B-

Farewell Blues by Maggie Robinson is the fourth and final book in the Lady Adelaide series and picks up right were the third book left off (which is a cliffhanger).  Unbeknownst to Addy and her sister, their mother, the very proper Dowager Marchioness had...a lover?!  A Duke with a reputation for being a big ol' stick in the mud, but a man has needs I guess so not so much of a stick in the mud that he didn't take a lover.  Anyway, the man has been shot dead in their love nest at The Ritz, and Addy's mother was found standing over the body holding a gun. Um, her gun. And turns out her gun was the murder weapon. The Detective Inspector assigned to the case sees it as open and shut so his desire to actually investigate is nil.  Enter Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter, who is recovering from injuries from the previous book so decides to take some time off so he can privately work the case.

There's plenty of suspects because the Duke's family is a veritable nest of vipers and of course Rupert's ghost comes back to help with the case, despite the fact he feels he more than earned his wings in the last book. While the mystery itself features a nice amount of twists and a variety of suspects, there's a lot of unanswered backstory left off page - namely what Addy's mother would have seen in the Duke, who was stodgy, crusty and frankly had a vile family.  We'll never know, since the author chooses not to address it.  Rupert's ghost provides more shortcuts here, but not as many as the previous entry and in the end he finally earns his wings and stops haunting Addy, to her great relief.  Since this is the final book in the series the author gives the reader 3 (!) epilogues to wrap up the various romantic entanglements that developed over the series.  These felt very much like an afterthought to me, like the author found out in the 11th hour that the publisher was dropping the series so hurry up quick and write some epilogues so we can tack them on at the end. Did I think they could have been better integrated into the story?  Yes.  Did I not like them? Good heavens, I'm not a monster. Who doesn't love 3 happy endings?  Monsters, that's who.

Final Grade = B

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars is a book I wanted to like a lot more than I actually did.  It has a dynamite premise, which is why I downloaded it in the first place. By day, Joe works a drab, dreary day job as a hotel accountant but by night he is the fabulous drag queen, Misty Divine, working at the legendary Lady Lady's club in London's West End. It starts out as just another night at the club but Misty, who is very close to her mentor, Lady Lady, notices that she seems "off."  When she goes to check on her after the show she finds Lady Lady dead in her dressing room, poisoned by a box of doctored chocolates.

Naturally everyone who had access to the backstage dressing room area are suspects and of course the lead Detective Inspector on the case is an asshole, although his female partner isn't all bad. There's nothing for it, Joe/Misty decides to investigate the crime themselves and naturally lands themselves in a bit of hot water as it appears the killer isn't afraid to strike again.

Like I said, the premise is dynamite and the world-building is pretty good.  Unfortunately the writing isn't. It lacks polish, is very tell-y and more than a bit repetitive - especially when it comes to Misty's internal thoughts and worries. I think had I been home at the time I started reading this it would have failed the pick-up / put-down test, but I was trapped on an airplane when I started it so I plowed through a massive chunk right out of the gate.

Things got a bit better for me once the coincidence of Misty turning up where she doesn't belong too many times gets her arrested, but ultimately she's sprung by the cops and ends up solving the case. Unfortunately while Misty is a fabulous drag queen she suffers from the same affliction that many straight cupcake-baking, knitting amateur sleuths do - which is she's a bungling incompetent more often than not. There's also a dangling loose thread left unaddressed, likely because it's going to be fodder for the next book in the series, currently targeted for June 2026.  I liked the premise and this did keep me reasonably entertained, but between the lackluster writing and Misty annoying me in that special way a lot of amateur sleuths annoy me, it's unlikely I'll pick up Book 2.

Final Grade = C-

Review: Cowboy's Last Stand by Jill Sorenson

After a hiatus, Jill Sorenson returns to contemporary romance with the first book in what is projected to be a series, Cowboy's Last Stand - and y'all, I had forgotten how great contemporary romance could be. This book reminded me so much of what Sorenson excels at - which is writing about messy characters with messy, complex problems. This one hooked me from the first chapter and didn't let go.

Jason Reed is a U.S. Marine with a job waiting for him in San Diego, he's just not sure it's a job he wants. He's not sure he's qualified to teach a bunch of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) recruits when the reason he's stateside is a job that went horribly wrong in Afghanistan. His recovery was long and he's still dealing with the after effects, namely he can't sleep indoors, so he hits the road and is hiking the Continental Divide Trail from his father's ranch in Montana. He ends up veering off to take a detour to Last Chance in West Texas to see Natalie Luna. He has unfinished business with her, never mind that she doesn't know him from Adam.

Natalie is a young widow with a young son, Marcus, and working two part-time jobs to make ends meet. Jason finds her at her second job, waitressing at a local bar called The Night Owl. Of course he takes one look at her and backs off telling her who he is and why he's there to see her.  Instead he steps in with his best White Knight Impression to handle Billy Hendricks, local bad guy who just so happens to be the local sheriff's kid.  This altercation leaves Jason banged up, and seeing that Natalie needs the help (handyman stuff around her house) he stays on.  Still, of course, not telling her who he is and his connection to her late husband, Mike. 

Natalie loved Mike and his death gutted her. The only thing that kept her moving forward was Marcus, but it hasn't been easy. She's also young and attractive, so she's been fending off "interest" from lowlifes like Billy Hendricks and his more honorable brother (and Mike's BFF), Wade Hendricks. However romance is the last thing she's been interested in until Jason shows up, sending her hormones into a tizzy. These two start sparking together right away but they both have a mountain of baggage, never mind the massive Big Secret Jason is keeping from her. 

These are messy people. Romance readers are used to the suave, put-together on the outside heroes who are hiding vulnerabilities, but that's not Jason. This guy is messy both outside and inside. He's not dealing with what happened in Afghanistan, he's got a complicated relationship with his father, and for reasons he's not being completely upfront with Natalie - which we all know is going to backfire spectacularly for him.

Natalie is the kind of hardworking, vulnerable heroine who doesn't need the Rescue Fantasy, but Lord knows she deserves one. She can take care of herself and her son, although without Jason blowing into town she'd probably live out her days emotionally hollowed out, sitting herself on the shelf out of respect for Mike's memory but also for the fact that pickings in town are pretty slim. She hasn't left Last Chance because of family - Mike's and also the grandmother who raised her, now in a care facility. 

There's a lot of passion in this story with sexual tension zinging between Jason and Natalie from the start.  How good is it? Even their fights are passionate. Seriously, I loved reading these two disagreeing and fighting with each other. Which I realize makes me sound sick, but it's been such a long time since I've read this kind of passion in a contemporary romance, frankly I think I'm forgiven. 

Of course Jason's Big Secret comes exploding out in the end (blessedly not via a third party) and of course Natalie reacts the way you expect her to. This is where I'm not entirely convinced with this story - I'm not sure she should forgive him nor ride off into the sunset with him. What Jason tells her completely upends everything she thought she knew and while Sorenson does give this development some room to breathe, I'm not entirely sure it was enough for me.

That said, I did really enjoy this story quite a bit and Sorenson sets up Last Chance with enough interesting secondary characters that I'm dying to see where she takes this series next. One of those rare series books where I want to end up reading books about damn near everybody. 

Final Grade = B+

Irish Eyes: Unusual Historicals for September 2025

I know, I'm shockingly late with this month's round-up of Unusual Historicals but I have a good excuse. I just got back from a 10-day trip to Ireland with my older sister. Two middle-aged women in a Kia Picanto (Go, Go Picanto!) starting and ending in Dublin - basically circling Ireland. Belfast, Galway, Killarney, Kilkenny, and a bunch of stops in between. Breathtaking countryside, amazing weather (just one rainy, dreary day!), proper Guinness, proper cider, and more medieval castles than you can shake a stick at.  To get this long overdue party started, let's lead off with a suitably appropriate title...

The Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley

Can she finally put herself first, in order to find love?

Peggy Cassidy is a milly, working in the Belfast linen mills to just about get by. But Peggy also has another job - a secret one. She works as a handywoman - an illegal midwife, tending to the women of her community in their time of need.

When Peggy is offered the chance to leave Belfast to receive formal midwifery training in Dublin, it sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

But amongst her middle-class colleagues, Peggy must keep the truth about her past secret at all times. If the realities of her life in Belfast are revealed, she could lose everything she has worked for.

And when she meets a well-to-do doctor down in Dublin, she must make a decision: should she protect her family and her history? Or can she let herself fall in love?

Tinley is better known to romance readers under the name Catherine Tinley, having written a number of books for Harlequin Historical. This book, set in mid-1930s Belfast and Dublin, is described as "saga historical romance," backed up by the 405 page count listed over at Amazon.  I'm pretty excited to give this one a whirl and it's already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

The Gunslinger's Widow by A.M. Vergara

When a gang of outlaws storms Flaka’s family ranch, pursuing a lone gunslinger, she kills the gang’s leader in a split-second decision that turns her into southern Texas’ most hunted fugitive.

Flaka couldn’t have known the masked bandit she shot was the local mayor’s son. And Mayor Ian Marcus is not a man to let his son’s killer go free, even if it was self-defense. Flaka joins up with the stranger who started all the trouble—Oliver, a mysterious and alluring gunslinger who promises to protect her. They flee across the deserts of southern Texas and northern Mexico, seeking safety outside the reach of Marcus’s vengeance. But Ian Marcus respects neither jurisdiction nor borders and, as her feelings for Oliver grow, Flaka begins to realize that the final showdown may come at a cost far higher than her own life.

I know less than nothing about this author but if ever a back cover blurb screamed "WENDY!" it's this one. A historical western romance the way I like 'em - not a cutesy small town in sight. Will the characters manage to stay alive, let alone fall in love? Guess I'll have to read the book to find out.

Is This Real or Just Pretend? by Emily Sullivan

Alexandra Atkinson prides herself on being in control. It’s why she’s such an asset to her father’s investment firm—along with her utter lack of a social life and her talent for spotting successful ventures for investors. But with her father nearing retirement and the board unwilling to have a female head, Alex could lose everything . . .

After his business partner burned him, Lucien Taylor is determined to start over. But he doesn’t know how until his childhood friend’s sister, Alexandra Atkinson, comes to him with a most unusual proposal: She’ll help Lucien find the funding he needs if he pretends to court her long enough to secure her claim to her father’s company.

But Alex and Lucien soon realize they didn’t quite account for all the details in their arrangement—like how they can undo each other with just a look. And the more time they spend together, the more the intensity shimmering between them can’t be controlled. Not even by Alex. And if they give in? Well, she’s not sure which of them will be in more trouble . . . but she’s willing to find out.

She's a numbers whiz trying to convince her father's partners that just because she doesn't have a penis doesn't make her incapable. To solve that issue? A fake engagement to her brother's friend who just so happens to need her investment advice to scratch up some needed funds. 

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee

Two women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead of becoming enemies, they find themselves falling in love—though not with him.

Harriet Lockhart never planned to marry. She has spent her life defying expectations, playing male roles on London’s seediest stages, and doing whatever she pleases. When Harry is contacted by her hitherto anonymous father, she finds herself at risk of losing the trust fund that’s subsidized her lifestyle—unless she begins to lead a more respectable life, starting with finding a husband.

Emily Sergeant, the picture of modesty, has only ever wanted to marry. And were it not for one mistake in her youth that rendered her a social pariah, she would be appropriately betrothed. Instead, she’s due to wed the only willing—and most abominable—man in her small town. Desperate for an alternative, Emily flees to London to snag a less lecherous fiancé.

Worlds collide, dramatically and hilariously, when both women decide on the very same duke as their best possible chance at a tolerable husband and a secure future. A tongue-in-cheek romp through London’s summer season, from balls to brothels, horseraces to duels, Harry and Emily compete for the duke’s favor, only to find their true hearts’ desires may be more compatible than they could have ever predicted.

A scandalous actress and a social pariah are on the hunt for a tolerable husband, a minor matter complicated when they both set their sights on the exact same duke.  As they both vie for his attentions they find themselves drawn to each other instead.

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton

A vigilante widow and a casino owner are both trying to bluff their way to a winning hand.

Heloise Marlowe has always forged her own path. As a former blacksmith and fencing instructor, she wasn’t just going to sit around knitting after her husband died. The Wimpole Street Widows Society, a secret group dedicated to balancing the scales of justice, was a much better fit for her skills. Her newest mission: seduce the owner of the club Dionysus and gain access to the den’s inner workings. She didn’t mind putting her body on the line, but she wasn’t prepared to gamble her heart.

Ethan Sinclaire has worked hard to clean up his club after the betrayal of his brother. But now, rumors are swirling that his club is just as crooked as before. He won’t let anyone destroy what he’s built, so when Heloise starts poking around, he decides to go all in, in hopes that she’ll show her hand. Enjoying her company is the easy part. Keeping himself from falling—that’s a whole different card game.

The start of a brand new series, she's a widow bent on vengeance and he's a casino owner who fears his establishment has fallen back into bad habits he worked very hard to clean up. Naturally they are at cross purposes and naturally they can't stay away from each other.

Resisting the Forbidden Widow by Maggie Weston

He has a list of eligible brides

But his assistant isn’t on it…

After losing her husband so young, Mary vowed to never love again. Her new position as Cameron Sykes’s assistant is the perfect guarantee of independence. Until Cameron tasks her with helping him find a titled wife!

As they try to find his perfect bride, it’s only Mary that Cameron can imagine at the altar…and in the marriage bed! Yet she can’t give him the Society approval that his hardworking parents desperately craved. But can he resist the all-consuming lust that’s threatening to derail his plans?

Victorian era and third book in a trilogy, a young widow heroine takes a job as an assistant to a self-made man who has more money than the Queen herself, but not the blue-blood pedigree. What's a hero to do? Ask his capable assistant to help find him suitable wifely prospects, or course!  And naturally it all goes to hell when he can't stop thinking about his assistant in that role... 

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an enemy: the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real danger: the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

A Gothic novelist heroine who discovers her biggest rival is the butler's daughter she had a horrible crush on as a teenager. Things come to a head when they both make the trip to a creepy manor where they plan to set their next books.

Grace in Glasgow by Matilda Madison

Sometimes love is the best medicine.

Grace Sharpe has finally found the perfect medical instructor in Dr. James Hall. As a woman, Grace isn’t permitted to attend university to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. But now that Dr. Hall has taken her under his tutelage, she’s more determined than ever to make her dreams come true.

As long as she can focus on her work...

Dr. James Hall isn’t pleased with his current situation. After being begged, pressed, and eventually threatened to take on the youngest Sharpe sister as a student, he reluctantly does so. And while Grace seems more than capable of handling herself, James worries that he will not be able to keep his true feelings about her concealed.

When missing persons reports begin popping up all over Glasgow, Grace suspects something nefarious. Will Grace and James be willing to sacrifice anything to uncover the truth, including love?

Third in a series, she's determined to become a doctor but keeps hitting road blocks because she doesn't have a penis. He's the doctor pressed into tutoring her, a predicament he's none to happy about because feelings. 

On the Ropes of Scandal by Sandra Sookoo

Mr. Duncan Stapleton, Lord Frampton, adores the time he spends in the boxing ring as much as he does being a rake in London. He has a natural talent for boxing, and with each illegal bout, his confidence grows. Though the sport is wildly dangerous and ultimately took his father’s life, it’s the only thing he wishes to do and it’s a fat lot better than going into the church as his mother recently suggested… until a powerful jab to the head relieves him of his memories and he’s left wandering Cranleigh one early October evening.

Miss Phoebe Bidwell is tired of grieving. With most of her family dead, she takes refuge in her aunt’s small Surrey bakery, but those skills in creating confections don’t prepare her when the handsome man she watched box stumbles into her doorway on the street with no idea of who he is or where he came from. Deciding a string of little white lies is acceptable in order to have a bit of happiness for herself, she settles into sin with him.

The autumn days fly, but when Duncan’s brothers descend upon the bakery and tear apart the fake marriage story, they demand a surcease to the blatant scandal. Afterward, Phoebe and her pretend husband remove to London. Just as his memories slowly come back, they are forced to wed for real, and life shifts. He wants a return to his rakish life, and she’s a fish out of water in the ton, but when two fighters are against the ropes, they’ll either need to come out swinging or declare defeat, especially when the prize is love.

Third book in a series with shades of While You Were Sleeping. A particularly bad blow to the head leads to amnesia for our boxer hero, and the heroine, hiding and toiling away in her aunt's bakery, figures what's the cost of one little white lie? Turns out quite a bit when the hero's brothers find him and his "wife" which of course leads to a big ol' scandal. 

Nine titles this month, a whirlwind tour of options. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?

#TBRChallenge 2025: How to Rescue a Family

The Book: How to Rescue a Family by Teri Wilson

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Special Edition #2675, 2019, Book 2 in multi-author continuity series, Out of print, available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I had an autographed print copy in my TBR, which means I picked this up at an RWA conference. 

The Review: Reading the author's note in this book I learned this was Teri Wilson's first book writing in a multi-author continuity series, and I'm sad to say it showed. Wilson has written some fine category romances and this could have been one of them - but instead it languished in "OK but with pacing problems" territory for me.  I still zipped through it in one sitting, but it wasn't a terribly memorable read for me, and trying to dredge up thoughts one day after finishing the last page is proving to be a challenge.

Amanda Sylvester grew up in small town Spring Forest, North Carolina and now runs the family restaurant. She has dreams of branching out into higher end catering for events like weddings but her parents have proven resistant to the idea, wanting the restaurant to remain the way her grandmother ran it. This is enough for anyone, but lately Amanda has gotten distracted by a handsome new man in town, Ryan Carter, who is now running the local newspaper.  Ryan comes into the restaurant a lot for take-out and she soon learns he was once a hotshot reporter for The Washington Post and is a single father.

Ryan left his fast-paced life in D.C. after his wife died in a car accident. Since her death, their young son, Dillion, has stopped speaking. Now a single father needing to change his workaholic ways, Ryan relocates them to Spring Forest, but a tornado that ripped through town in the first book of the series has further rattled Dillion.  Ryan is desperate to help his son and decides to take Amanda's advice - maybe visiting the local animal rescue to play with the animals will bring him out of his shell.  Next thing he knows, he's adopting a dog and Amanda is teaching him in the ways of pet ownership.

The official back cover blurb says that Ryan proposes to Amanda, which doesn't happen.  What does happen?  Not much.  The local animal rescue was severely damaged by the tornado, Amanda finds out the sisters who run the place don't have insurance, Amanda decides to host a fundraising barbeque, she helps Ryan and Dillion adopt a dog, Ryan and Amanda are attracted to each other.  Really, that's about it until the final few chapters when Ryan's in-laws show up, decide to fight for custody of Dillion (a suit with no real teeth to it - but whatever...) and AMANDA proposes to Ryan, because having a fiancée will make Ryan look that much more stable. It's tacked on, rushed conflict for like 3 chapters to get our couple to say their I-love-yous and ride off into the sunset.  The problem being I'm not sure they do love each other outside of Ryan being grateful to Amanda for coming up with the dog idea because it gets his son to talk again.

This story could work but the pacing is all off. The first 3/4s of it are tied up in small town shenanigans and continuity series stuff. In order for the romance to work I needed Amanda and Ryan to be in each others' pockets a lot more, and for the conflict in the final 3 chapters to happen a heck of lot sooner.  There's no urgency here, which is a problem with category romance when you have a finite word count you're working with.

Is this a terrible read? No. It's just flat, and pretty boring. It's another in a long line of cutesy, non-descript small town romances. If you can't get enough of these and you also love cute animal companions in your romances? Sure. Otherwise, this one is strictly lather, rinse, repeat.

Final Grade = C

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is September 17

Our next #TBRChallenge is set for Wednesday, September 17 and this month's option theme is Friend Squad. Even though I've been mired in a "no spoons" slump, the TBR Challenge waits for no gal, and this month it's also not waiting for my vacation. Yours truly is jetting off to Ireland with her older sister for a 10-day, bucket list trip and two whole weeks off work (OMG!).  Will I get my book read? Will I get a review posted for the 17th?  Cross your fingers folks, I need all the luck I can get.

The Friend Squad suggestion came out of my annual theme poll, and I'll admit I'm blindly reaching into my TBR and hoping for the best. Generally speaking I don't actively seek out books featuring friendships but am always pleasantly surprised when I find one. And if you're like me with this theme suggestion? Remember, the goal of this challenge is to always read something, anything, that has been languishing in my TBR pile - so straying away from the theme is perfectly acceptable if your pick ends up featuring jaded loners.

Also, a reminder that it's not too late to sign-up for the Challenge (fun fact: it's never too late to sign up!).  For more details and for a list of participants, you can check out the 2025 #TBRChallenge page.