Tuesday, August 05, 2008

July Reading Review

My standard 4 books read for the month...


I'm The Vampire, That's Why by Michele Bardsley

My Rating: 4*'s

My Thoughts: Quite silly but not too terrible. I have the sequel to read somewhere around here...







Judge & Jury by James Patterson

My Rating: 10*'s

My Thoughts: Patterson does it again with another suspene filled action packed thriller that takes your breath away. Andie and Nick were great characters. I enjoyed the locales this story takes you to and Patterson is so excellent in describing the surroundings that you feel you are physically there.

If you have never read any of Patterson's books, you are missing out on several hours of pure entertainment and fantastic story-telling.





Seduction In Death by J.D. Robb

My Rating: 10*'s

My Thoughts: Fantastic story but disturbing at the same time! I enjoyed seeing a more human side of Commander Whitney in this story as well as seeing more of Charles. Already looking forward to the next installment.






Sit, Stay, Slay by Linda O. Johnston

My Rating: 8*'s

My Thoughts: Not bad first in a new to me series. I like the ex attorney now pet sitter theory and will be looking for the next book to read. Thought the ending was a little rushed and came out of left field but can look past it as I did enjoy the characters.

Monday, August 04, 2008

New Additions to the TBR pile in July

More new arrivals...
Judge & Jury by James Patterson

Andie DeGrasse, an aspiring actress and single mom, is not your typical juror. Hoping to get dismissed from the pool, she tells the judge that most of her legal knowledge comes froma bit part curling around a stripper's pole in The Sopranos. But she still ends up as juror number 11 in a landmark trial against a notorious mob boss.
THE JUDGE IS TERRIFIED OF THE DEFENDANT.
The case quickly becomes the new Trial of the Century. Mafia don Dominic Cavello, known as the Electrician, is linked to hundreds of gruesome, unspeakable crimes. Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been tracking him for years. He knows Cavello's power reaches far beyond the courtroom, but the FBI's evidence against the ruthless killer is ironclad. Conviction is a sure thing.
SO IS THE JURY.
As the jury is about to reach a verdict, the Electrician makes one devastating move that no one could have predicted. The entire nation is reeling, and Andie's world is shattered. For her, the hunt for the Electrician becomes personal, and she and Pellisante come together in an unbreakable bond: they will exact justice --- at any cost.
THE VERDICT: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.


A Husband In Time by Maggie Shayne

The stranger had come to Jane Fortune from out of nowhere. He couldn't explain who he was, but Jane's young son could. The little boy insisted Zach was his imaginary daddy come to life, the father he's always wanted. And even Jane couldn't deny that he was oddly familiar. But the clock was ticking on the family they'd formed, because Jane had discovered Zach's identity--and only a twist of time could keep him home.


Alibi In High Heels by Gemma Holliday

Baguettes, bodies, and haute couture galore! Shoe designer turned amateur sleuth, Maddie Springer, is at it again, this time in fabulously fashionable Paris.
When Europe's designer de jour, Jean Luc LeCroix, invites Maddie to show her creations at Paris Fashion Week, Maddie's sure she's died and gone to heaven. That is until Jean Luc's top model is found dead on the runway, stabbed with a familiar stiletto heel. Sure someone is trying to frame her, Maddie enlists the help of her friends, including the sexy Detective Jack Ramirez, to uncover a daring jewel heist, a devious blackmailer, and even a few skeletons lurking in the closets of those closest to her.
But as the evidence mounts, Maddie becomes the prime suspect and Ramirez is stuck between a badge and a cute blonde with a tendency for trouble. Will he stand by her as she attempts to track down an international killer, or will this be the case that finally comes between them? One thing's for sure, if Maddie doesn't uncover the real killer soon, she may be saying her final adieu.


Bad Girl Bridesmaids by Susanna Carr

They're walking down the aisle and straight into trouble…
The author of Pink Ice introduces three beautiful women who are about to prove that bridesmaids can have all the fun…
After being bridesmaids in more weddings than they can count, Kelsey, Tara, and Amber are ready to trade in their taffeta dresses and dyed heels for something a little sexier….
Wanting to toss her latest bouquet into the garbage, Kelsey Morgan meets a hot millionaire at a wedding in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, he's certainly going somewhere and he wants to take her with him in "Serial Bridesmaid on the Loose." Two years ago, Tara Watkins started a blog called "The Bridesmaid's Diaries." Now she's about to see the best man with whom she had the best sex ever. He's been reading up on her life --- and he's determined to relive that wild night all over again. Feeling like the "Wedding Wrecker," Amber Hughes has already ruined one wedding in her hometown. She's back to be a bridesmaid again, with no idea that a sexy former classmate hopes to make this wedding even crazier than her last --- for all the right reasons.


Because Your Vampire Said So by Michele Bardsley

When you're immortal, being a mom won't kill you-it will only make you stronger.
Not just anyone can visit Broken Heart, Oklahoma, especially since all the single moms-like me, Patsy Donahue-have been turned into vampires. Now I'm forever forty, but looking younger than my years, thanks to my new (un)lifestyle.
And even though most of my customers skipped town, I still manage to keep my hair salon up-and-running, thanks to the lycanthropes prowling around. They know how important good grooming is, especially a certain rogue shapeshifter who's as sexy as he is deadly. Now, if only I could put a leash on my wild teenage son. He's up to his neck in danger. The stress would kill me, if I wasn't already dead. But my maternal instinct is still alive and kicking. And no one had better mess with my own flesh and blood.


Better Off Wed by Laura Durham

The murder of a particularly difficult mother-of-the-bride has cast a pall on wedding planner Annabelle Archer's latest triumph -- and suspicion falls heavily on her sometime-business partner and friend Richard Gerard. Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.

It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in D.C., but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close.


Fangs But No Fangs by Kathy Love

If I hadn't seen it for myself, I'd swear it couldn't be true: my brother, Christian, living in a trailer park in some backwater town, working at a karaoke bar. We're talking about Christian, the cultured, the refined, the snobby--the guy who'd probably sniff the plasma packets and send 'em back in a huff if the blood type wasn't the right vintage. But after centuries of living in the undead fastlane, he's made up his mind that this is exactly where he needs to spend the rest of eternity, atoning for his many, many sins. It's a self-imposed purgatory complete with lawn ornaments and blaring country music.
But sometimes things just don't work out like you think they will. Sometimes your hell can turn into your heaven. And thanks to Christian's chatty neighbor and boss, Jolee, things seem to be getting a whole lot nicer in Shady Fork Mobile Estates. Not that either of them has the first idea how to have a normal relationship--we are talking about a woman who's only dated dead-beats, and a guy who's only dated the dead. Nobody's perfect.
Still, it's a start for Mr. Rebel Vamp Without a Cause. And fortunately he still has me, Rhys Young, and our younger brother, Sebastian, to help him. We plan to show Christian that everyone deserves a second chance, and winning his beer-slinging, country-singing beauty is a great beginning.


Luscious Lemon by Heather Swain

In life, there's always a twist!
She's finally seeing the fruits of her labors. Chef Ellie "Lemon" Manelli's hip East Village bistro is suddenly all the rage; Lemon and her staff of wildly talented friends plucked from New York City's finest eateries can barely keep pace. Good thing she has her loyal, doting, bankrolling Georgia peach of a boyfriend, Eddie, to lean on -- not to mention a gaggle of loving relations over the river in Brooklyn. In fact, Lemon's life is turning out exactly as she planned -- except for the fact that she's late. As in late.
Nobody said anything about, you know, labor.
Having a baby right now would jeopardize everything Lemon has worked so hard to accomplish, so the pregnancy test results leave her feeling a little sour. Eddie, bless his heart, wants to just go ahead and get married, but Lemon's not sure the timing's right. She's about to learn a lesson or two about love and loss, though. And in the end she'll discover that there's a reason things work out the way they do -- and that when life gives you lemons, you can make lemonade, or lemon tarts, or lemon meringue pie. Or, you can just be a plain ole Lemon, if that's what you were meant to be.


Master Of The Night by Angela Knight

American agent Erin Grayson has a new mission: romance international businessman Reece Champion. Seducing the handsome millionaire could put her that much closer to the revenge she craves against a murderous death cult. Erin doesn't realize she's being manipulated by the very cult she hunts. Champion is actually an agent of the U.S. government.
He's also a vampire.
Reece immediately senses the latent supernatural powers hidden within Erin, powers as dangerously irresistible to him as her lush body and hot blood. Yet he also knows that yielding to their mutual desire will make them pawns in a deadly game.
And their opponent is, quite literally, a monster.


Notes From The Backseat by Jody Gehrman

Keep your friends close…and the blondes closer.
I thought I knew everything about Gwen Matson. We've been best friends since sophomore year at Analy High. I know her to be smart and confident with a retro style that would give Jackie O a run for her money --- albeit a graceful, sweat-free run in kitten heels.
Not once did she ever display a rabid need to record every detail of her existence. But never before had she gone on a weekend road trip with her amazing boyfriend, Coop … and his evil, yoga-toned best friend, Devil Blonde Dannika. Now she's writing to me like mad.
Not that I'm complaining. I'm in gay Paris (good), meeting my future in-laws (bad), so her tireless scribbling is keeping us both sane.
Usually, a well-thought-out What Would Jackie Do? Helps Gwen pull it together. But this crisis is beyond help. I know Gwen and Coop are meant to be, but can their love withstand Gwen's psycho jealousy and Dannika's twisted sabotage.


Sit, Stay, Slay by Linda O. Johnston

Once, Kendra Ballantyne was a litigator with a high-powered L.A. law firm --- until scandal forced her resignation. At wit's end, desperate, and broke, she's now rented her Hollywood home to strangers, moved into the maid's quarters, and jumped at a new job offer --- as a freelance pet-sitter. Her life has gone to the dogs --- who'd have guessed it would be so dangerous?
One of Kendra's first clients has been found stabbed to death in his upscale Toluca Lake home. The only witness to the apparent break-in is a mutt in mourning. But when another client suffers the same fate, Kendra fears she's being set up to take the rap. With the help of sexy detective Jeff Hubbard, she's got to find out why --- and she'd better do it fast. Because this killer's bite is a lot worse than his bark....


The Unexpected Salami by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

It's your basic video shoot. The lead singer of the Tall Poppies, lime green makeup in place, wails into the camera, "I'm bent and distorted, like a gnome I'm contorted."The Tall Poppies are still looking for their big break in the crapshoot known as the music business. So when their drummer is gunned down right in the middle of the video - and the murder is caught on camera - they finally make it onto TV screens around the world.
Their biggest fan, Rachel Ganelli, had escaped to Australia as a way out of a pending marriage and a mundane job, and away from her endlessly meddling parents. But when she finds herself witness to the murder, she hastens back to New York, where life is more predictable.
Or so she thinks.
Before she's had a chance to take a deep breath of city air, Rachel's sense of what happened back in Australia is turned on its head.
Part black comedy, part love story, The Unexpected Salami introduces Lauri Gwen Shapiro as a fresh, new master of what The New York Times called "screwball comedy."


The Wives Of Bath by Wendy Holden

From the bestselling author of Azur Like it and Farm Fatale comes a domestic comedy set in the world of coupledom and new parenthood Bath, England—the swanky town once home to ancient Roman spas and Jane Austen heroines—is the setting for this brilliant new novel. Birthing class brings together two sets of expectant parents, who couldn't be more different. Hugo and his spoiled wife Amanda plan to throw money at the problems of parenthood, making use of private hospitals and nurses, while environmentally friendly Jake and Alice have arranged a home-delivery complete with birthing pool and whale music.
When Amanda decides she's not cut out for motherhood and Hugo must look elsewhere for a sympathetic ear, the couples are inextricably drawn together once again, resulting in hilarious social comedy, as only Wendy Holden can write it.


You're The One by Judi McCoy

The year is 1899. Cassandra Kinross, an apprentice witch, is banished from her family home in the Scottish Highlands and sent to America as a mail-order bride. When she meets her fiancé, a proud and unbending man, she knows instantly they will never love one another, and has the nerve to tell him so. In a fit of anger, Colin MacPherson walls her up inside a third floor closet of the mansion he built for his bride and leaves her there to die.

With her final breath, Cassandra curses Colin and all his male descendants, barring them from finding their soul mate until she is able to find her own true love. Colin hears the curse and, over the course of time, goes mad. Boarding up the beautiful Victorian, he puts the mansion in trust for a century.

A little over one hundred years later, Colin's several times great nephew, Rand MacPherson, inherits the house and plans to realize his dream of refurbishing it and living there himself. Imagine his surprise when, on his first walk through the dilapidated house, he realizes he has an unusual tenant...his very own ghost.

When Cassandra finds out someone intends to live in her home she is furious. Colin deeded the Victorian to her on their almost wedding day and she has no intention of letting anyone else share. To make matters worse, the new owner is Rand MacPherson, a direct descendent of the despicable man who caused her death. Cassandra doesn't care if Rand is tall, blond and handsome--she wants him out of her house and out of her life forever.

But Fate steps in and proves to Cassandra that Rand is her one true love; now she needs to find a way to convince him of the same. For only then can the curse be broken and the lovers find their happily-ever-after.

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I am not a professional reviewer, but I love to read and share my opinions on my reading with others who are interested. I work full time but my ideal perfect day would be to curl up with a good book. The majority of the books I review here are from my private collection and my reviews are provided purely for entertainment purposes. I receive no compensation whatsoever for sharing my thoughts and review on any book. If you would like me to review your book, please email me at sharalsbooks@yahoo.com Happy Reading! :o)