Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren

I'm sorry. I had to give up on this one half-way through, and it took me a month to get that far. I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care about the characters and found the plot a little confusing. They were going on a dive to find swords but yakuza were somehow involved and there was a monk who I think was good guy but was in love with a giesha who ended up "owned" by another man. Then that guy ended up dead and I quit reading. It just wasn't for me....
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Once Upon a Scandal by Julie LeMense

In a lot of ways, Once Upon a Scandal is a typical romance. She's beautiful and spirited; he's sexy with secrets. She, however, is dirt poor and shunned by (most) of her previous friends due to a her father's scandal and death. He, while seemingly a rich playboy, is actually a domestic spy, keeping an eye on the rich and powerful and it's that bit of intrigue that makes the novel a step above ordinary for me. Benjamin enlists Jane's help, and she, feeling like she really has nothing to lose, agrees. Jane, with the help of Benjamin and an old friend, reinvents herself to help lure the person who stole secret documents relating to the war out into the open. I guess this is the second in the series, but I felt we were introduced to the characters and they're backgrounds well. I assume the first focused on a different couple and featured Jane and Benjamin as secondary characters. The attraction between them...
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