That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston - 330 pages

In a near-future where the British Empire never fell, the heir to the throne princess Victoria-Margaret is having one last summer before taking up her duties.  She is spending the summer in Canada as Margaret meeting new friends and being a regular person.  There she meets August and Henrietta who have known almost their whole lives that they were going to marry.  But in this world, people are genetically matched by computer to make sure they are good matches.  When Henrietta and Margaret check their genetic matches online, they discover something strange, unsettling, and wonderful . . .


It took me a while to get into this book.  The premise was interesting and the characters likable.  However, the writing just did not draw me into the story until nearly halfway through the book.  Still, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical or LGBT romances.

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick - 340 pages

Lucinda Bromley hires Caleb Jones to investigate the theft of her fern.  She needs to find the thief as the fern was used to concoct a poison to murder a prominent member of society.  Caleb immediately suspects the thief is Basil Hulsey, a scientist working on a formula to enhance psychic abilities.  The search for the fern and Hulsey will bring Lucinda and Caleb into the sights of a dangerous society that will stop at nothing to get that formula . . . including killing Lucinda and Caleb.

This is one of the books in the Arcane Society series by Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz).  I enjoyed listening to this book on audio.  The narration was good.  I look forward to listening to more of the series on audio.

Assassination Classroom, v. 9 by Yusei Matsui

Assassination Classroom, v.9 by Yusei Matsui - 192 pages

In this volume, we end summer vacation with some matchmaking before returning to school where one student in Class-E decides to leave.

Another great volume in the series.  I especially enjoyed how the principal was finally shown up.  It will be interesting to see his revenge in future books.

Bedding Lord Ned by Sally Mackenzie

Bedding Lord Ned by Sally Mackenzie, 352 pages

Loved this very light and funny romance story. Without realizing it, I had chosen the second book in the "Dutchess of Love" series.
 "On the shelf" Nell has determined to give up her pursuit of her childhood friend, Lord Ned, since he's never given her notice... and she wants a family. She attends the Duchess of Greycliffe's birthday ball for Lord Ned with a promise from the Duchess that she will have eligible bachelors there for her. Along for the ride are a pair of her red silk drawers (bloomers) which, with the help of a mischievous cat, keep finding themselves in the most embarrassing places to be discovered by none other than Lord Ned. Nell is dismayed with the continued appearance of her red drawers and the lack of appealing suitors, but she's determined to settle on someone for a husband regardless of her feelings. Lord Ned is ready to marry again after the death of his first wife. When he meets one very pretty young girl who is the image of his first wife, he thinks himself in love. But what of Nell and her sexy red drawers. She's not as plain and simple as he's always thought her to be and he's quickly finding his mind drawn to her more often than not throughout the whole hysterical affair.

Truly, Madly: A Lucy Valentine Novel by Heather Webber

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber - 316 pages

Lucy Valentine is coerced into running Valentine Matchmaking while her father recuperates from a heart attack and a cheating scandal in the Caribbean.  What the world doesn't know is that Valentine Matchmaking is so successful because the Valentine family is psychic, allowing them to read auras and match people perfectly.  Unfortunately, Lucy does not have that gift.  Her gift was transformed into a gift for finding lost objects when she was shocked by electricity when a teen.  She has no idea how she will be able to run the matchmaking agency while her father is out of town.  Then she "sees" a missing ring on a skeleton and enlists the detective in the office upstairs to help her find the dead body.  It only gets worse from there.
I really enjoyed this book.  I enjoyed the mystery component of the book even though I figured it out about halfway through the book.  I did find it interesting that a book about matchmaking did not have a lot of actual romance in it.  It was more a mystery.  It will be interesting to see if that continues through the series or if it becomes more of a romance.