Hello, and welcome back! Mother Nature, it appears, does not intend for us to have a real winter here again. Instead of the snow talked about a few days ago, we got quite a lot of rain here in the last twenty-four hours. It's gray and ugly outside again, but the bread machine and soup pot are both working hard today. I've actually dug through about half the January releases already, which makes me a little sad. I was hoping for the new year to start off with lots of great romances, but it seems as if the publishers have other ideas.

This time out, though, I do have a good one: Jayne Ann Krentz's latest, Running Hot (Putnam). Grace Renquist has quite a lot more talent at reading people's auras than she lets on in her job with Jones & Jones in Eclipse Bay, Oregon, because she's afraid of her past coming out. Luther Malone is still recovering from his last mission for J&J, but when they call and want him to act as bodyguard for Grace while she identifies a possible murderer, he can't say no. Grace isn't too impressed by her cane-wielding bodyguard, but their cover story as honeymooners in Hawaii requires her to lose the gloves she normally wears around strangers. And touching Luther is a shock for her, not to mention hot as hell. But their supposed-to-be-brief mission is extended when more and more Nightshade operatives arrive at their resort, and some of them have auras that aren't quite right. Things get complicated in a real hurry, both between Grace and Luther and for J&J. For fans of Krentz's Arcane Society series, this one is a fun addition. I'm still enjoying very much the way she's tied together all of her series under each of her names, and Grace is a fantastic heroine, strong and smart, and Luther is just the perfect man for her. The only bad thing for me was reaching the end of this one and knowing we have to wait a while for Ms. Krentz's next book. This one is getting four of Cupid's five arrows. I can't wait to read the next installment in her Arcane Society series, no matter which name it's under.

Until next time, happy reading!