Hello, and welcome back! It was rather gloomy all weekend, though we didn't actually get any rain, so I went with a friend to a gemstone show yesterday to see what pretty shiny things we could find. We might get another of those outings next month, but then none till August for our favorite gem show. In the meantime, I've finished reading all of the May books already, though I still have some to share with you here.

First up this week is Elizabeth Hoyt's To Beguile a Beast (Grand Central), the third book in her 'Legend of the Four Soldiers' series. Helen Fitzwilliam has taken her two children and fled London for the wilds of Scotland where she plans to work as housekeeper for Sir Alistair Munroe, who is scarred both physically and mentally from his time in the Colonies. But Alistair has no desire for a housekeeper, and he's certain the beautiful Helen is no housekeeper, no matter what his friend's wife has put in her letter. But Helen won't be sent away. She has nowhere else to go to hide from the Duke who's kept her all these years, and she's sure he'll never think to look for her in Alistair's crumbling castle. But she's underestimated the Duke's desire for revenge. She also didn't plan on being so intrigued by Alistair, or his kindness to her children, despite his stated desire to be left alone. Alistair is sweet, and Helen desperate to save her children, but she's unable to do that alone. At least, not without giving up her freedom again. But if she does that, she'll have to give up Alistair, whom she's come to love in the short time she's spent with him. And Alistair isn't willing to let her go. I liked this one better than the previous two in the series, though I wouldn't say I loved it. Alistair seems to me to give in too quickly to having his private, quiet life disrupted, and too easily solves Helen's problem for her. This one has earned only three of Cupid's five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!