FINISHED -

1. "BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN" (Kelly Group International #11) by Maya Banks (A+++++)The Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business. Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background. Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t...As the last unattached member of the Kelly clan, Joe is more than ready to risk life and limb on any mission he’s assigned to, but when it comes to love, he’ll keep his distance. He’s content to watch his brothers become thoroughly domesticated. Zoe’s had nothing but heartbreak in her life, and she’s determined to start over with a completely new identity, thanks to her college friend, Rusty Kelly. But it’s the gorgeous smile and tender words of Joe Kelly that begin to weaken her resolve to never risk her heart again. And Joe will have to put everything on the line to save Zoe, when secrets of her past resurface - and threaten to tear them apart.
2. "A MARINE FOR HIS MOM" (Sugar Falls, Idaho #1) by Christy Jeffries (A+++++) Mail-order dad - Can you order a dad in the mail? Hunter Walker isn't sure, but he thinks Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Cooper might be the next best thing. The wounded warrior has been his pen pal for months, and now that he's come to Sugar Falls to recuperate, Hunter is over the moon. His mom? Not so much. Maxine Walker has been acting weird ever since Cooper showed up. She seems to get mad whenever the veteran is around, which doesn't make any sense. And now Cooper is acting weird, too. Hunter doesn't understand why grown-ups always say things are complicated when they're really simple. His pen pal soldier and his sassy, stubborn mom belong together. But maybe they need just a little push.
3. "TALL DARK & WESTERN" (Man of the Month #146) by Anne Marie Winston (new author for me) (A+++++) When widowed rancher Marty Stryker placed an ad for a wife, the last thing he expected was a second chance at love. His little girl needed a loving mom - and he needed someone to share his long-empty marriage bed. But he certainly hadn't counted on his new bride, Juliette Duchenay, bringing her own bundle of joy. Yet, from their first kiss, Marty knew all his willpower might not stop the surrender of his well-guarded heart.
4. "DON'T LET GO" (Hope, Oklahoma #6) by Jaci Burton (A+++++) Running from the past isn’t nearly as satisfying as facing the future…Brady Conners is hardly the settling type, but when tragedy strikes in his family, he has no choice but to return home to Hope, Oklahoma. Setting up shop to work on custom motorcycles and pass the time, Brady has no intention of letting anyone get close - until he meets Megan. Pastry shop owner Megan Lee is drawn to quiet, brooding Brady. Their connection is undeniable, and it quickly develops from physical attraction into something much stronger. But with Brady putting up barriers, Megan is afraid to truly open her heart - unless she can convince him to let go of the past.
5. "LOVE IS MURDER" with stories by Roxanne St. Claire, Carla Neggers, Beverly Baxton, Robert Browne, Andrea Kane, William Simon, Laura Griffin, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianne Love, Patricia Roosemoor, Jon Land & Jeff Ayers, Heather Graham, Mariah Stewart, D.P. Lyle,Cindy Gerard, J.T. Ellison, Bill Floyd, William Bernhardt, Brenda Novak, Vicki Hinze, Julie Kenner, James Macomber, Alexanria Sokoloff, Pamela Callow, Debra Webb, Tori McGee Causey, Lori Armstrong, Alison Brennan and Lee Child.  The only one I read was Blood In, Blood Out by Brenda Novak (A++)
6. "FROM NEW YORK, ACTUALLY" (Made in New York: From Manhattan With Love #4) by Sarah Morgan (A++++++) Meet Molly - New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine. Meet Daniel - A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning. Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is.
7. "HIS COWBOY HEART" (Montana Men #6) by Jennifer Ryan (A++++++) Bound by honor and by love...that’s a Montana Man. Ford Kendrick has often dreamed of the day that Jamie Keller would come home to Montana. After high school, she needed to leave - and he, duty-bound to rescue his family’s ranch, pushed her to go. The Army made Jamie a hero, but Ford still sees the gorgeous, loving woman who lit up his whole world. Every day since she left, Jamie has longed for Ford. One glimpse confirms it: the sexy, dangerous-looking cowboy left a hole in her heart that nothing else can fill. Yet the battle scars she bears - inside and out - won’t let her trust anyone enough to get close. Ford wants to bring Jamie back to the life they dreamed of building. But locked somewhere in her memories is a dark truth that threatens her safety. It’s a battle Ford won’t let her fight alone, not when he’s determined to keep her by his side, now and always.
8. "HARD JUSTICE" (Body Armor #2) by Lori Foster (A+++++) Playing it safe has never felt so dangerous. Justice Wallington knows how to harness his strength and intimidating size, skills he put to good use first in the MMA cage and now as a bodyguard at the Body Armor agency. But no opponent has ever left him feeling as off balance as his new client, heiress Fallon Wade. Far from a spoiled princess, she's sweet and intriguingly innocent. It's a risk-free assignment, until he's required to fake a relationship with her in order to blend in. Sheltered from the world after a family tragedy, Fallon longs to experience life, going to bars, dancing, talking to strangers. Not easy with a huge, lethal-looking bodyguard shadowing her every move. Justice seems like her polar opposite, but pretending to be a couple stirs undeniable heat. And when danger strikes again, it's not just her safety in jeopardy, but a passion that's real, raw and absolutely against the rules.
9. "WHAT WE FIND" (Sullivan's Crossing #1) by Robyn Carr (A++++++) Under extreme pressure, neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan knows she needs to slow down before she burns out completely, and the best place she can do that is Sullivan's Crossing. Named for Maggie's great-grandfather, the land and charming general store at the crossroads of the Colorado and the Continental Divide trails now belong to Maggie's eccentric father, Sully. She relishes the opportunity to indulge in his simple way of life. But Maggie's world is rocked and she must take responsibility for the Crossing. When a quiet and serious-looking hiker, Cal Jones, offers to lend a hand, Maggie is suspicious of his motives until she finds out the true reason for his deliberate isolation. Though Cal and Maggie each struggle with loss and loneliness, the time they spend together gives Maggie hope for something brighter just on the horizonif only they can learn to find peace and healing and perhaps love with each other.
10. "RANDOM ACTS" (Joanna Brady #16.5) (Alison Reynolds #11.5) by J.A. Jance (A+++++) Sheriff Joanna Brady has a lot on her plate - she is up for re-election as sheriff, pregnant with her third child and her eldest is packing up to leave for college. Then Joanna is woken in the middle of the night by a call reporting a motor vehicle accident. Her mother and stepfather's RV ran off the road at high speed and hit the pillar of an overpass. Something about the accident seems suspicious, though, and when Joanna getss a call from Ali Reynold, a journalist turned investigator, she accepts her offer to help. They come up with a plan to find out who was responsible...even if that person is not the villain they'd expected.
11. "SECRETS IN DEATH" (In-Death #45) by J.D. Robb (A+++++) Lieutenant Eve Dallas must separate rumors from reality when a woman who traffics in other people’s secrets is silenced. The chic Manhattan nightspot Du Vin is not the kind of place Eve Dallas would usually patronize, and it’s not the kind of bar where a lot of blood gets spilled. But that’s exactly what happens one cold February evening. The mortally wounded woman is Larinda Mars, a self-described “social information reporter,” or as most people would call it, a professional gossip. As it turns out, she was keeping the most shocking stories quiet, for profitable use in her side business as a blackmailer. Setting her sights on rich, prominent marks, she’d find out what they most wanted to keep hidden and then bleed them dry. Now someone’s done the same to her, literally - with a knife to the brachial artery. Eve didn’t like Larinda Mars. But she likes murder even less. To find justice for this victim, she’ll have to plunge into the dirty little secrets of all the people Larinda Mars victimized herself. But along the way, she may be exposed to some information she really didn’t want to know.
12. "IT HAPPENED AT CHRISTMAS" (Christmas, Colorado #3) by Debbie Mason (A+++++) Love is the best Christmas gift of all. Free-spirited activist Skylar Davis is out of money and out of options. After using up her trust fund trying to save the world, she hides out in Christmas, hoping the kindness of friends will help her forget the reckless actions of her past. All goes well...until she comes face-to-face with one of her mistakes: the town's gorgeous young mayor. Ethan O'Connor likes his life drama-free and predictable now that he's about to make the move from small-town politics to the Colorado State Senate. Then Skye blows back into town, as impulsive and passionate as he remembers. If word ever got out about their night together - the night he's never been able to forget - the scandal could cripple his career. Yet as he starts his campaign, Ethan finds that, like the town of Christmas itself, he can't get Skye out of his head...or his heart.
13. "SINFUL SCOTTISH LAIRD" (Highland Grooms #2) by Julia London (A+++++) Widowed and forced to remarry in three years' time or forfeit her son's inheritance, Daisy Bristol, Lady Chatwick, has plenty of suitors vying for her hand and her fortune. But a letter from a long-lost love sends Daisy and her young son to her Scottish Highland estate to buy time for his return. Along the way she encounters the powerful Cailean Mackenzie, laird of Arrandale and a notorious smuggler, and she is utterly though unwillingly bewitched. Cailean has no use for any Sassenach in his glen. But Daisy's brazen, flirtatious nature and alluring beauty intrigue him. When her first love appears unexpectedly at her estate, Cailean knows that a passionate woman like Daisy cannot marry this man. And to prevent the union, Cailean must put his own life at risk to win her heart. 
14. "NO ONE BUT YOU" (Silver Springs #2) by Brenda Novak (A+++++) Silver Springs, a picturesque small town in Southern California where even the hardest hearts can learn to love again. Struggling to make ends meet after a messy divorce, Sadie Harris is at the end of her tether. Her waitressing gig isn't enough to pay the bills let alone secure primary custody of her son, Jayden, a battle she refuses to lose. Desperate, she accepts a position assisting Dawson Reed - the same Dawson Reed who recently stood trial for the murder of his adoptive parents. Joining him at his isolated farm seems risky, but Sadie is out of options. Dawson has given small town Silver Springs plenty of reasons to be wary, but he's innocent of the charges against him. He wants to leave his painful past behind and fix up the family farm so he can finally bring his dependent sister home where she belongs. As Sadie and Dawson's professional relationship grows into something undeniably personal, Sadie realizes there's more to Dawson than the bad boy everyone else see she has a good heart, one that might even be worth fighting for.
15. "CHRISTMAS IN DESTINY" (Destiny, Ohio #7) by Toni Blake (A+++++) “Go to Destiny. There’s something waiting there for you.” Shane Dalton’s new life is waiting in Miami, complete with fast cars and faster women. But first, he’s heeding his father’s dying words and stopping off in Destiny, Ohio. The detour wasn’t supposed to include a busted pickup and a blizzard. But Candice Sheridan, the cute redhead who reluctantly offers shelter, could prove a pleasant diversion. Trouble is, she thinks Shane’s bad news. And he’s pretty sure she’s right. Candice had her trust broken once before. Yet something about Shane won’t let her stay away. By Christmas, he’ll be gone. Until then, she’s itching to stop playing nice and safe...and try being a little naughty for once. As their holiday romance heats up, Shane uncovers a shattering secret and Candice is preparing to face heartache once again. But there’s no better place than Destiny - especially at Christmas time - for two lost souls to find the gift of sweet, surprising love.
16. "NO GETTING OVER A COWBOY" (Wrangler's Creek #2) by Delores Fossen (A+++++) The golden cowboy of Wrangler's Creek returns home to Texas to discover some old flames never fizzle. There are plenty of things Garrett Granger hadn't counted on losing - his child to miscarriage, his wife to another man and the family business thanks to a crooked CFO. He also hadn't counted on moving back to the family ranch, where he's met by another surprise - former flame Nicky Marlow, who is renting his grandmother's old house. Nicky's been rebuilding her shattered life since her husband's death two years ago. But Garrett's timely arrival in Wrangler's Creek doesn't automatically make him the missing piece of the puzzle. Even if he does seem to adore her two-year-old daughter. Even if seeing him again stirs up old feelings Nicky would gladly keep buried, forcing her to wonder if moving forward has to mean leaving everything behind. "ONE GOOD COWBOY" (Wrangler's Creek #1.5) by Delores Fossen (A+++++) The most honorable cowboy in Wrangler's Creek is about to get an offer he can't refuse. Carson Rowley expects Granger Ranch office manager Evie Martin to do any number of things when he breaks the news that her “on again, off again” boyfriend has eloped with a stripper. Cry, maybe. Curse, probably. Kiss him senseless? Nope…didn't predict that. Now that Evie's offering what he secretly craves, there's only one question: Just how bad should a good cowboy be? Evie's nowhere near as heartbroken over her unreliable ex as everyone in Wrangler's Creek expects. Especially once it's clear that her long-simmering crush on Carson is mutual. Carson's not the casual type, and inviting him into her bed means inviting him into her heart. But once he's there, she may never want him to leave.
17. "WILD HORSE SPRINGS" by Jodi Thomas (Ransom Canyon #5) (A+++++) In the heart of Ransom Canyon, sometimes the right match for a lonely soul is the one you least expect...Dan Brigman may not lead the most exciting life, but he's proud of what he's achieved: he's a respected lawman, and he's raised a bright, talented daughter on his own. But finding a lone, sparkly blue boot in the middle of a deserted highway gets him thinking maybe the cowgirl who lost it is exactly the shake-up he needs. After losing her baby girl, Brandi Malone felt like her soul died along with her daughter. Now singing in small-town bars to make ends meet, she's fine being a drifter until a handsome sheriff makes her believe that parking her boots under his bed is a better option. College grad Lauren Brigman has just struck out on her own in downtown Dallas when a troubling phone call leads her back home to Crossroads. Her hometown represents her family, friends and deepest hopes, but also her first love, Lucas Reyes. Will Lauren's homecoming be another heartbreak, or a second chance for her and Lucas?

CURRENTLY READING - 

1. "Gastien: From Dream to Destiny" by Caddie Rowland (Gastien #2) (reading on an Kindle app on my computer)
2. "Nauti Temptress" by Lora Leigh (Nauti #6) (Nauti Girls #1)
3. "Only Son" by Kevin O'Brien (new author for me)  
4. "Holiday in the Hamptons" by Sarah Morgan (From Manhattan With Love #5)

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO -

1. "The Collectors" by David Baldacci (Camel Club #2)

Finished in October: Knit The Season  by:  Kate Jacobs

                              The Secrets of My Life  by: Caitlyn Jenner

                              Nature Girl  by: Carl Hiaasen  for book club

                              The Murder, She Wrote Cookbook  Edited by Tom Culver and Nancy Goodman Iland

                              The True Women Cookbook  by: Janice Woods Windle

Currently Reading:  Hawaii  by: James A. Michener  for book club

I'm stuck in another huge project.  I have SO many Christmas and Halloween decorations, I don't have enough storage space.  So, I'm going through my closets and discarding useless stuff and cramming them to the gills to make way for the decorations.  One of our attics is jammed to capacity with outdoor Christmas stuff, and the other attic isn't fully floored. 

So, I am still on Soulless and The People of the Morning Star.  I am still working on the closet project, but I have moved on from Soulless to Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier.  Uh-oh.  When I realized Den of Wolves was book #3 in a series, I switched over to The Drafter by Kim Harrison.

Judye

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall  (Riveting.)

Henry's Sisters by Cathy Lamb  (WORST BOOK EVER!)

The Inverted Forest by John Dalton (Very good.)

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (Fascinating)

AUDIO

Beartown by Fredrik Backman  (Boooring!)

My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg  (Loving it!)

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield  (Meh.)

Reading:

The Statues That Walked--Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island by Terry Hunt & Carl Lipo

Heat: Adventures in the World's Fiery Places by Bill Streever

Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich

Finished:

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Chinese Takeout by Arthur Nersesian

The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America by James Sullivan

Second Life by SJ Watson

Finished this month:  Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini.  One of my favorite authors with his Paul Madriani series--- Paul and his partner, Harry Hines, take on the defense of Katia Solaz, accused of killing the man who had brought her from Costa Rica.  But there's much more involved than murder.  A gripping, page-turner as Paul and his investigator, Herman, go from Costa Rica to Panama, to Mexico to try to stop a man bent on total destruction on American soil.

A Fatal Appraisal by J.B. Stanley--- Molly Appleby has been sent to cover the TV show Hidden Treasures and write an article for her magazine. When one of the appraisers is found dead, she does some investigating on her own.  A fun "cozy", especially is you enjoy antiques.

Nightshade by Susan Wittig Albert --- China Bayles and her husband, McQuaid, along with her half-brother Miles, are trying to find out what really happened to Robert Bayles, China's and Miles' father. Other cold cases seem to be part of the mystery and as they investigate, other bodies show up.  [This book has been posted to my unpostable list on my profile page/ bulletin board. Very readable, just not up to PBS posting standards.]

The Old Contemptibles by Martha Grimes --- Richard Jury is unofficially investigating the death of a woman he was seeing romantically; which leads him to look into other deaths. Were they suicides or murder? Grimes always writes a tight plot with lots of twists and turns.

Harbor Lights by Sherryl Woods --- The Chesapeake Shores series-- Kevin O'Brien is struggling after his wife is killed in Iraq and Shanna Carlyle is trying to put her life back together after her divorce. Sherrly Woods' perfect prescription for one of her novels.

Currently reading:  The Silent Bride by Leslie Glass