Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fun and funny. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My favorite scene is at the beginning of the book in the castle. Cassie is a reporter for a TV talk show and is hoping to move into mainstream journalism. She is visiting Scotland with her two closest friends and having a great time. Logan has a very popular web series which is known for crazy situations and stunts which he and his producer sister want to take mainstream but need to sell the show to a network. They meet in a hilarious situation in Scotland and of course fall for each other. It is unfortunate that neither knows anything about the other's background which leads to a crazy conflict which sort of puts them at cross purposes. Logan is the Scot and his buddy is the Brit. I loved this book and look forward to the next book that follows his friend Theo.

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Roman Count Down by David P. Wagner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am always jumping into the books in the Rick Montoya series as soon as I know they are available. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have been to a few countries and some of the main touristy countries but Italy is a place that I always return to time after time. I used to go every other year and do my best to visit a different part of Italy each time I visit. Of course whenever a family member visits I find myself in Rome over and over which is not a hardship. I have come to be able to find my way through some of the neighborhoods without direction which makes the series one of which I am quite fond.

Roman Countdown is a wonderful glimpse into Rick's life that the reader has not previously been privy and it is great. The mystery is quite intriguing where a Count was murdered while out doing some out of character things that really make me excited to know how things tie together. One of my most favorite parts is how detailed the story is with the streets, food, people, buildings, architecture, and art. I stayed and wandered through the area just off of the Piazza Navona which prominently plays as an area where the story takes place. It also introduces me to areas which I have not yet visited. I love this series and I love the characters, Uncle Piero, and the new characters the reader is introduced to in each book. Luckily the author appears to publish them pretty often and I am excited to see what Rick gets up to next.

The Debt by Glenn Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Debt is third installment in the Cal Donovan series. I received a copy from NetGalley and Severn House Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Cal Donovan is a colorful, intelligent man who appears to be damaged, but, the reader does not really find out how and why until The Debt. I was interested enough in this series that I backtracked and purchased the first 2 books and I will have to double back and read those. The title sort of speaks for itself. The Vatican finds itself owing a debt which was undertaken many years ago from the Sassoon bank. It was not an ordinary debt because the leaders of the Church committed some horrible crimes to find themselves in the place they are in this book.

Cal has a sort of associate friendship that is developing as the series continues and he has been given exceptional rights to almost all the archives and libraries of the Church. He is a scholar at a university that requires research and publishing and he is working on his next work which leads him to find the papers that start everything in this book. He goes right to the Celestine with his findings and the reader is shown just how far some of the leaders of the Church are willing to go to protect what they think is most important, the treasures of the Church which have been gifted and collected over the years. This pope is reminiscent of the current pope who sees the role of the Church as serving the underprivileged and poor in society. Pope Celestine understands the risk of what he is undertaking but sees his calling as protecting the Church's calling which is rooted in the Bible and not in the hoarding of treasures even if it means bankrupting the Church.

The Debt is a great mystery and thriller which does a great job of reminding the reader of the contentious relationship that has existed between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. It is always great to see stories that look at the history of that relationship and combine it with fiction. It is a great read and I cannot wait for the next installment. But, in the meantime, I have 2 books to backtrack and read before the next Cal Donovan story.