Some interesting titles made their way into my home last month...
The Diva's Guide To Selling Your Soul by Kathleen O'Reilly
Description: She's the talk of the town....
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful . . .
Call me V. I used to be a nobody, just a girl from New Jersey who was probably going to hell anyway-or worse, mediocrity and a size 14. Now I get whatever I desire just by casting a little spell . . . a flawless body, a luxury penthouse, and a Fifth Avenue shop where rich women clamor for my overpriced handbags. Even better, I have power. I can taunt my ex-husband, break hearts without guilt, and love every minute of it. My secret? I lost the one thing I never needed in the first place: my soul. I sold it. And you'll never guess who's got it now.
She's a devil in disguise.
You know her as the dishiest gossip columnist in the city's trashiest tabloid. I call her Lucy. And our deal is this: the more clients I recruit for her Life Enrichment Program, the greater my rewards. But just between us, my fast track to heartless apathy has hit a few speed bumps --- lately, I've had the totally annoying impulse to do things that are...good. First there was rescuing a kid in the park. Then there was that date with the handsome, decent guy who wasn't even a celebrity. What's next, giving to charity or something? All I know is Lucy doesn't like it, not one little bit. And when she finds out, there will be hell to pay....
Pick Your Poison by Leann Sweeney
Description: Out of school, out of work, and out of motivation, Abby Rose is contemplating her life and wondering what to do next. It's the kind of situation that would get some girls down, but luckily Abby's got a heart the size of Texas-and a bank account to match.
When Abby discovers her gardener, Ben, dead in the greenhouse one afternoon, the emptiness of her own life hits her like a glass of ice-cold Texas tea. Ever since her father died, she's been mooning around the pool, making herself as useful as a june bug on a daisy. When the sexy detective from the Houston P.D. tells her it was poison that killed Ben, Abby realizes what she needs to do with herself: solve a murder. Little does she suspect that the answers to her questions about Ben's death will unlock secrets about her own past --- and might change her entire future....
Many Bloody Returns by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armsrong, et al
Description: You're invited to a celebration of vampires by a bakers' dozen of favorite authors. Sink your teeth into thirteen all-new, never-before-published stories, each one a fresh and unique take on the concept of what birthdays mean to the undead.
In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present.
New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love.
In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt.
National bestselling author P.N. Elrod's hard-boiled vampire PI Jack Fleming, from The Vampire Files, infiltrates a suspicious seance on the eve of the dearly departed's birthday in "Grave-Robbed."
And in award-winning author Toni L.P. Kelner's "How Stella Got Her Grave Back," vampires become amateur sleuths (with breaks for feeding) to solve the murder of a Jane Doe.
Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous --- these and eight more frighteningly original stories will ensure you'll never think of vampires or birthdays quite the same again.
Lisa Maria Takes Off by Susan Hubbard
Description: With her boyfriend, the enigmatic McAllister, researching his latest book in London, and her thirtieth birthday fast approaching, what better opportunity to take off?
But in London, the solid ground under Lisa Maria's heels gives way. McAllister has fallen under the influence of his bloodless editor, Lisa Maria's advice column is under legal attack and (worst of all) she's sprouted two gray hairs. Now, between fending off a crude rock star, impersonating a Brit and learning to strut in bamboo stilettos, Lisa Maria's feeling something she hasn't felt in a while: out of control -- and more than a little heartsick.
Ah, to be young(ish), jealous and exceptionally good at revenge. But how far should any woman go in the interest of romantic justice? Just ask Lisa Maria - a feisty American fighting for love in London.
Susan Hubbard is the author of Lisa Maria's Guide for the Perplexed, the prequel to this book, as well as Walking on Ice and Blue Money. She teaches creative writing at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, and she is the founder and curator of the Gallery of Questionable Taste.
Eternity In Death by J.D. Robb
Description: When club-hopping bad girl Tiara Kent is found dead in her plush Manhattan apartment, the killing has all the earmarks of a vampire attack. The ever-practical Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to deal with superstitious cops carrying garlic and stakes, as well as the ever-hysterical press. None of the wealthy young victim’s friends seem to know much about the Dark Prince she has been secretly seeing. The chase to stop him before he kills again will lead Eve and her team into areas of the city that not even the most intrepid cop wants to visit, and into the very heart of darkness.
Duck Duck Wally by Gabe Rotter
Description: GET SHORTY MEETS THE BIG LEBOWSKI IN THIS ROLLICKING MODERN COMEDY BY A CLEVER AND HILARIOUS NEWCOMER.
Meet Wally Moscowitz. His day job is top secret. As ghostwriter for Oral B, the most famous gangsta rapper in the world, Wally is the real mastermind behind Godz-Illa Records' best-selling artist, and the best-kept secret in the Industry. But if word gets out about Wally's true profession, Godz-Illa's kajillion-dollar rap empire will be sunk, and Wally will be dead meat.
When Wally comes home one particularly bizarre afternoon to find a ransom note and his best friend and dog, Dr. Barry Schwartzman, missing, Wally goes to great lengths to stop the dognappers while keeping the big secret under wraps. He must, if he wants to walk away with his job, not to mention his life, intact.
The hunt for Dr. Schwartzman and the blackmailing thug who is trying to reveal hip-hop's biggest conspiracy becomes a wild-goose chase in which everyone becomes a suspect: Sue Schadenfreude, Wally's girlfriend, who makes a pretty penny massaging Barbra Streisand's papillon, Yenta; Pardeep Vishvatma, Wally's neighbor, who keeps a watchful eye on all the suspicious characters lurking about the hood; Jerry Silver, Wally's slick-rick, self-styled superagent; Abraham "Dandy" Lyons, Wally's boss and Godz-Illa's CEO-badass with Suge Knight's street cred and Tony Soprano's "friends"; Jem, the fiery, achingly familiar vixen who steals Wally's heart; Yo Yo Pa and Teddy Bizzle, Oral B's entourage; and the mysterious mob crew: Five-two Lou, Six-seven Kevin, and Balsamic Vinny, who show up when Wally needs them most.
Duck Duck Wally is a hilarious romp through the absurdities of Los Angeles, the bombastic details of hip-hop culture, and a day in the life of what was supposed to be the painfully ordinary existence of Wally Moscowitz.
Flirting With Forty by Jane Porter
