The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Hercule Poirot #33) - Agatha Christie

This short story popped up on my eReaderIQ alerts for free, and I snatched it up.

I'm not going to say too much about the story, it isn't very long, and I don't want to spoil things. To sum it up, Poirot is in the countryside for a good, old-fashioned English Christmas, but he's really there to solve a case. Add together a missing ruby, some kids, and some pudding, and you have a mystery only Hercule Poirot can solve.

This was over pretty quickly, so there wasn't much time for character development. I didn't read it in one sitting, so I when I picked it back up, I had to remember who some characters were since there are a lot of them. This story was enjoyable enough, but I think I prefer the novels.

The Number of Love (The Codebreakers #1) - Roseanna M. White

This book is part of a series that includes two other books: On the Wings of Devotion and A Portrait of Loyalty. As far as I can tell, I've never read anything by this author, but her name seems familiar. I "borrowed" this book using my Amazon Prime account.

Margot lives with her mother and works at the Old Admiralty Building. She breaks German codes and listens to God through numbers.

Drake is working undercover and keeping that fact from his family as long as he can. He meets Margot when his sister gets a job at the same place, and he's immediately intrigued by her beauty and sense of humor.

This book is set during the Great War, and I found it interesting even though it isn't a time period I get to read a lot. The historical elements are tucked in there neatly, so you're not wading through paragraphs of technical nonsense. It was well done, and I appreciated that.

There's a crossover with a book from another series. Margot is the brother of Lukas, one of the main characters in A Song Unheard (Shadows Over England #2). Lukas and Willa show up in this book, but I didn't feel lost not reading the other book. The next book in the series revolves around Phillip, a minor character. I liked the writing and the characters. I'd be be happy to read more from this author. Good Book!

Storing Up Trouble (American Heiresses #3) - Jen Turano

This is the third book in the series. The first two are called Flights of Fancy and Diamond in the Rough.

Beatrix is on her way to Chicago when the train is held up. She takes care of herself, but the man who believes himself to be the target of the attack drags her off the train. From then on, she's intrigued by his unusual mind, but he infuriates her at the same time.

Norman has been sheltered for his entire life, and he's been free to be absorbed in his research. He meets Beatrix and wonders if he's been missing out on a few things. He starts to appreciate his family more and see things in a different way. Being a man of science, it's up to him to experiment and get things right, but that doesn't seem to go as well as he'd hoped.

I loved this book. I liked the plot and the interactions between Beatrix and Norman. As usual, I'm going to mention the characters. This author has a real talent for creating them that makes you care about all of them, even the minor ones. You can read these out of order and not be lost, but you'll appreciate the overall links between the women if you can read them in order.

I truly enjoyed this entire series, and I'm sad it's over. These characters will be staying with me for a long time, and I think that's the best compliment I can give. Good Book! Good series!

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.