REVIEW: Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Title: Goodnight Tweetheart
Author: Teresa Medeiros
Publisher: Gallery
Publication Date: January, 2011
Paperback: 222 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 9/10

Description: New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros absolutely dazzles in this quick-witted, laugh-out-loud funny, and highly moving love story that will set readers’ hearts atwitter.

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard"—a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical—Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss—a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.

My Thoughts: In today’s technologically advanced world, love finds us no matter where we are. Those of us who are highly skilled in all things Twitter will relate to Abby and Mark and for those of us who aren’t so knowledgeable in all things Twitter will still relate to Abby and Mark. I found myself drawn to this book by the title and though I’m not an advanced “Tweeter” as other people are, this story is still easy to get into.

I loved how each Twitter conversation between Mark and Abby starts with the question “what are you wearing,” which elicits some humorous responses and ends with a goodnight round robin volleying back and forth until Mark ends it with “Goodnight Tweetheart.”

I could not put this book down. Like Abby, I eagerly anticipated what Mark Baynard would say next and find out where in the world he was traveling to next. I loved how his wit and charm draw Abby out of her slump and she begins writing again with his daily encouragement.

Overall, I loved this book but I struggled with the rating. I felt the ending left me a little flat. There should have been more, giving the reader a little closure. Still, this book is a solid A- that will charm the reader, bring a smile to their face and a laugh to their soul.

REVIEW: Kindred In Death by J.D. Robb

Title: Kindred In Death (In Death #29)
Author: J.D. Robb
Publisher: Putnam
Publication Date: November, 2009
Hardcover: 374 pages
Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Thriller
Rating: 10/10

Description: When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena's body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

My Thoughts: What appears to start out as a random brutal crime quickly turns into a web of revenge and horror as a brutal killer is systematically killing the loved ones of people he blames for ruining his life. With the impending nuptials of Louise and Charles and Eve’s near panic at the thought of her matron of honor duties, she has very little time to find the killer but our Eve would much rather get bloody and chase down a killer than be subjected to the rituals of marriage and being within 100 miles of Trina and her devices of female torture.

As always, I loved this book and can’t get enough of Eve, Roark and the gang. However, I was expecting a more intense takedown of the subject. As usual, it played out flawlessly, but with the level of brutality the killer demonstrates, I expected him to go down fighting. Perhaps the author didn’t want her beaten and bloodied right before the wedding. Even so, Eve does get her hands dirty a few times and takes a few hits for the team. Not enough snark with Summerset this go around, but these two pace themselves beautifully and don’t disappoint when they do take the gloves off. I love how Peabody is developing as a character. She’s really coming into her own as a detective and with Eve’s mentoring, she will be a force to be reckoned with. What can I say about Roark that hasn’t been said a million times already? As Peabody and Mavis would say, he’s mag. I always enjoy seeing him getting to use his computer geek skills working with Feeney and McNab to assist Eve.

With 29 books in the series and no indication of slowing down, I am excited to see what Eve and the gang gets into next.

REVIEW: Eternal Kiss Of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Eternal Kiss Of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2)
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: July, 2010
Paperback: 361 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
Rating: 10/10

Description: An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness . . .

And now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears—this fearless, beautiful . . . human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

My Thoughts: This book turned out to be quite the surprise. In a good way. Mencheres has been a central character through the entire Night Huntress series and yet I didn’t seem have much interest in him. He always seemed to be brooding and even a little dull and mopey. In Destined For An Early Grave, there was a slight glimpse and hint of Mencheres’ ability to demonstrate quick wit and snappy dialogue. I’m happy I didn’t write him off as too dull or boring because I would have missed this story and that would have been regrettable. Those of us who have been fans of Ms. Frost’s books from the beginning know Mencheres to be quite eccentric and a little hard to warm up to. In his words, he’s older than dirt and has seen a lot of pain and suffering and endured quite a bit of his own as well. If you enjoy tortured characters carrying around scads of emotional baggage, you can’t go wrong with Mencheres. He’s used to people using him, hurting him, betraying him and even trying to kill him. He’s not used to a complete stranger endangering her own life trying to help him.

Kira is carrying her own baggage. Bad relationships, sick sister, loser brother, the list goes on. What I really liked about her is she’s a fighter. When she’s down, she refuses to stay down. She stands up to an abusive husband and picks her life up and moves forward. She doesn’t needlessly throw herself into stupid situations but when she sees a man being attacked, she doesn’t think twice about trying to help even though it nearly costs her own life. Unfortunately, she has seen too much and finds herself being kept somewhat of a prisoner until Mencheres can erase her memory about what she has seen.

I really loved this story because up until this book, Mencheres has been a character that I haven’t been able to relate to or connect with. His presence never seemed to carry the story anywhere or provide any interesting moments though he has always been a central character. With this book, Mencheres is revealed as a force to be reckoned with. He starts out as the same brooding and moping character as before, but quickly shows a completely new side to his personality that I never knew existed. Now I see a compassionate character that is protective and caring. He is a strong character with powers beyond imagining but has immense wisdom. It’s like the old Mencheres that I was seeing in previous books had died and was reborn into a completely different character.

I’m looking forward to where this series will take me next. Now that Mencheres is no longer the boring wet blanket I thought him to previously be, I would love to see a spin off book for Vlad, Ian and Tate.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In June

My book hoarding seems to have made a reappearance in June. Definitely needing a twelve step program for my book binge affliction...

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

Description: In her small town, dubbed "Dullsville," sixteen-year-old Raven — a vampire-crazed goth-girl — is an outcast. But not for long...

The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people — especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.

Ellen Schreiber's spooky and stirring romance tells the story of two outsiders who fall in love in a town where conformity reigns, and ends with a shocking surprise.

Undead And Unfinished by MaryJanice Davidson

Description: Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor is fed up of trying to decipher the strange things prophesied in The Book of the Dead. At the end of her tether, she strikes a deal with Satan who promises to help - if she and her half-sister Laura pay a visit to Hell. Hell, it would seem, is more terrifying than Betsy could have ever imagined - a waiting room with bad carpeting, re-runs of 70s TV shows and ancient Good Housekeeping magazines. But when Betsy and Laura find themselves catapulted back and forth through time, they realize they could seriously screw everything up for good...

Kindred In Death by J.D. Robb

Description: When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena's body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

Eternal Kiss Of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Description: An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness . . .

And now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears—this fearless, beautiful . . . human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Count To Ten by Karen Rose

Description: In all his years in the Chicago Fire Department, Lieutenant Reed Solliday has never experienced anything like this recent outbreak of house fires—devastating, vicious, and, in one case, homicidal. He has another problem—his new partner, Detective Mia Mitchell. She's brash, bossy, and taking the case in a direction he never imagined.

Mia's instincts tell her the arsonist is making this personal. And as the infernos become more deadly, one look at the victim's tortured faces convinces her and Reed that they must work closer to catch the killer. With each new blaze, the villain ups the ante, setting firetraps for the people Reed and Mia love. The truth is almost too hot to handle: This monster's desire for death and destruction is unquenchable...and for Mia he's started the countdown to an early grave.

A Glimpse Of Evil by Victoria Laurie

Description:Professional psychic Abigail Cooper is about to discover that some cold cases are better off dead...

As the FBI's newest Civilian Profiler, Abby Cooper is using her powers of intuition to help solve a backlog of the bureau's cold cases. But when she's the only one who's convinced that several separate cold cases are related, she'll have to call on every intuitive bone in her body before she's the one put on ice...