REVIEW: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Title: Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate, #1)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: September, 2009

Paperback: 357 pages

Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery

Rating: 10/10

Description: ALEXIA TARABOTTI IS LABORING UNDER A GREAT MANY SOCIAL TRIBULATIONS.

First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire --- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia is responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

My Thoughts: This book seems to cover several genres at once. Historical romance as it is set during the reign of Queen Victoria when women’s fashion included a bustle and corset and leaving the house with the incorrect hat was an unforgivable social faux pas. And in Alexia Tarabotti’s case, carrying a parasol is a must as well. The romance depicts two characters, a spinster and an earl performing the mating ritual required by Victorian society. This book could also be viewed as a paranormal romance as the characters involved in the romance have a paranormal background. Our hero, Lord Maccon, is the leader of one of the local werewolf packs. Our heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, is a preternatural. She has the ability to reverse the abilities of a supernatural being simply by touching them. Werewolves revert back to human form and vampires become human and are able to go out in sunlight. The only catch is this only works as long as she maintains physical contact. Once the contact is broken, the supernatural being goes back to his former state. Finally, this book could be considered a cozy mystery as there is mystery and foul play afoot. Newly made vampires are appearing without any apparent connection to the vampire hive in London and other vampires, high ranking members of London society are disappearing and someone is also after Alexia as well.

Regardless of which genre you decide to label this book, you will find this story to be highly entertaining. The chemistry between Lord Maccon and Alexia is intense. Besides the sexual tension lying just below the surface, there is a history between them of earlier confrontations and conflict. They definitely get on each other’s nerves. As a spinster, Alexia is not the typical simpering female solely motivated to finding a husband, sipping tea and being brainless. Alexia’s mother and two sisters fill that role perfectly. Instead, Alexia questions everything around her and I found her inquisitive and independent nature refreshing.

Lord Maccon is the type of hero I always enjoy reading. He is very protective of what is his and he is very much the alpha male. Ironically, only an alpha female is suitable as his mate and when it is decided that Alexia will be his mate, he automatically assumes she will take on the nature of an alpha female werewolf. Not being a werewolf, she has no idea what he expects and the results were quite entertaining. A Scottish werewolf…what’s not to love? If you need further encouragement, there is an extended scene when Alexia has to revert him back to human form while he is a werewolf. It was a little scary but in the end having to keep her arms wrapped around a very naked Lord Maccon was quite enjoyable, at least for the reader and I didn’t hear Alexia or Lord Maccon complaining about it either.

The author brings a story laden with humor filled with characters that I enjoyed meeting and found refreshing. I loved the story, the characters, including the brief appearance of Queen Victoria and some of the supporting characters like Lord Akeldama, Ivy and Professor Lyall. The only thing missing to make this experience perfect is having my copy of the next story, Changeless on hand.

REVIEW: Crime Seen by Victoria Laurie

Title: Crime Seen (Psychic Eye Mysteries, #5)

Author: Victoria Laurie

Publisher: Signet

Publication Date: September, 2007

Paperback: 304 pages

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 6/10

Description: This job is murder.

As a professional psychic, Abby Cooper doesn’t exactly lead a nine-to-five existence. But when she tunes in on a cold case that’s getting hotter by the minute, it looks like it’s time to work out a new schedule…

WELCOME TO A KILLER WORKWEEK…

Abby Cooper, psychic intuitive, is finding that gunshot wounds are bad for business --- especially since she never saw the bullet coming. She’s been recuperating under her sexy FBI agent boyfriend Dutch Rivers’s watchful eye, but Abby’s not the kind of girl who can tolerate much supervision. So when Dutch asks her to check out a few case files, Abby can’t pass up the chance to recharge her intuition --- and her independence.

When she accidentally comes across a closed file that’s dead wrong, Abby knows she’s got to bring the real killer to justice. With an innocent man in prison and no new evidence to free him, her only choice is to go undercover at the murderer’s shady mortgage firm. As a vision of the crime scene plays in her head, and she races to trap the bad guy, Abby realizes that corporate life is even tougher than it seems --- and the hours can be deadly.

My Thoughts: Crime Seen begins with Abby living at Dutch’s place while she heals from the gunshot wounds she received in Killer Insight. Abby seems less sure of herself in the beginning and her business seems to have dwindled down to nothing. While looking at some closed cases for Dutch, she comes across a cold case of a murdered police detective and her radar goes haywire. She’s convinced that the man in prison for the crime is innocent.

Abby’s private investigator friend, Candice, moves to town and she and Abby become business partners. Abby relies on Candice’s P.I. skills and contacts to help her solve the murder. She goes undercover in a mortgage company to try to uncover clues that will reveal the true criminals, which unknowingly puts her in the killer’s sights.

I really enjoy this series, but Crime Seen has been my least favorite so far. Abby shows more uncertainty in this story and though I understand the reasons behind it, I didn’t enjoy witnessing it. Dutch also came across more controlling than usual in this story and I saw a side to Milo I didn’t care for. Fortunately for me, these problems will not prevent me for continuing to read this series and hopefully the next book will be better.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In August

A few new friends found their way into my home.

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate, #1) by Gail Carriger

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Mystery

Published October, 2009 by Orbit

Mass Market Paperback, 373 pages

Description: Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?


Run For Your Life (Michael Bennett, #2) by James Patterson

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Published February, 2009 by Little, Brown And Company

Hardcover, 400 pages

Description: A calculating murderer who calls himself the Teacher is taking on New York City, slaughtering the powerful and the arrogant. Everyone is his potential student - from the loud-mouthed girl on her cell phone to the city's snooty upper crust. His message to them is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences. For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror." "There is only one man in the NYPD who can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Michael Bennett. For anyone else, the pressure would be overwhelming, but Mike is ready to step up - taking care of his ten children has prepared him for the job. As the media frenzy escalates, all of Mike's children fall victim to a virulent flu bug - almost as challenging an assignment for Bennett as tracking down the killer." A secret pattern emerges in the Teacher's lessons, leaving Detective Bennett just a few precious hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history.


Real Vampires Don't Diet (Glory St. Clair, #4) by Gerry Bartlett

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Published December, 2008 by Berkley

Paperback, 352 pages

Description: EVEN AFTER FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOUR BOYFRIEND STILL MANAGES TO DISAPPOINT YOU...

Gloriana St. Clair, curvy, stylish, undead, is spending New Year's Eve alone. And it's all because her boyfriend, Jeremy Blade, is traipsing off to parts unknown to rescue his supposed daughter from the clutches of "dangerous radicals."

Just as Glory settles down to subject her telepathic dog, Valdez, to an evening of chick flicks, she gets a call from the bodyguard of rock star and newly turned vamp Israel "Ray" Caine. Like most guests at a New Year's party, Ray is well on his way to being drunk off his butt, despite the fact that alcohol and turned vampires don't exactly mix.

Glory speeds over to the party to save Ray from himself, and finds the rock star more depressed than drunk. To take his mind off his vamp issues, she asks him for a late-night boat ride. What kind of trouble could they possibly run into out in the middle of a lake late at night?

Would you like a list?


Doom With A View (Psychic Eye Mystery, #7) by Victoria Laurie

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Published August, 2009 by Signet

Paperback, 336 pages

Description: Business has been frustratingly slow for Abby. She needs any new commission she can get, even if it means agreeing to a job with the FBI that puts her at the center of a political struggle between two powerful agents, one of whom is flintly lead investigator and confirmed skeptic Brice Harrison. Abby's skills - and patience - are continually tested as she works to convince Harrison that she's the real deal and can help him locate three teens who have mysteriously disappeared.

Abby's intuition tells her these are not random abductions - and she foresees another victim being kidnapped. To get to the bottom of the case, she and Harrison will have to put aside their differences and work together to find the connection between the missing kids. And to do that, Abby will have to win over Harrison while keeping her psychic eye wide-open.

REVIEW: Learning To Play Gin by Ally Carter

Title: Learning To Play Gin

Author: Ally Carter

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publication Date: November, 2006

Paperback: 277 pages

Genre: Chick-Lit

Rating: 8/10

Description: It takes two to play this game.

How does the queen of solitaire fare when someone else is dealing?

Julia James was on a winning streak. The hot self-help author of the single-girls’ guide 101 Ways To Cheat At Solitaire had millions in the bank and a boyfriend on the Hollywood A-list. But when her books drop off the bestseller list and her famous boyfriend moves to L.A., Julia realizes all her good luck could topple faster than a house of cards. Now, she has to head to the West Coast and play the odds or risk losing her dream career and her dream man. But can a woman become famous for being single figure out how to win at a game made for two?

My Thoughts: A great follow-up to Cheating At Solitaire. In this sequel, Julia James has weathered her public exposure of no longer being a single woman and has landed on her feet. She is neck deep in remodeling her home in Oklahoma and her boyfriend, Lance is embarking on a dream come true adventure of being a Hollywood superstar. Unfortunately, Julia’s status on the bestseller list drops and she wonders if or when she will be able to write another book.

Julia finally agrees to fly out to L.A. to spend time with Lance after finding out on the television that he bought a home and is relocating out there. She and best friend, Nina, arrive and though Julia feels a little bit out of her element, Nina takes to her surroundings like a duck in water. Though Julia is famous in her own right, walking the red carpet at a major movie premiere isn’t something she’s experienced in or comfortable with.

Along the way, Julia finds herself struggling to acclimate to the lifestyle that comes with Lance’s star status and meets several characters, including Lance’s parents and begins to question her place in L.A. and in Lance’s life.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought Julia and Lance were likeable characters I could easily relate to. The supporting characters like Nina and Julia’s sister, Caroline, bring an angle to the story that makes their characters stand out and are likeable as well. I thought it was curious that Julia chose an out of the way coffee shop to go to and reflect and that even after getting a car, she still hired a cab. I thought the cab driver, Pedro, was a great character and an excellent addition to the story. He gives Julia a completely different perspective on L.A. than what she had seen up to that point.

The only problem I had with this book is the ending. I didn’t feel there was closure and I have the impression that Lance is giving it all up, which I don’t think he should have to do. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that there will be another book, so I am left to wonder.

Overall, this story is very entertaining and a lot of fun. As the title declares, you may also learn to play gin while reading this book and card skills are always good to have on this journey of life.

REVIEW: Run For Your Life by James Patterson

Title: Run For Your Life (Michael Bennett, #2)

Author: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Publication Date: February, 2009

Hardcover: 400 pages

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 8/10

Description: A calculating murderer who calls himself the Teacher is taking on New York City, slaughtering the powerful and the arrogant. Everyone is his potential student - from the loud-mouthed girl on her cell phone to the city's snooty upper crust. His message to them is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences. For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.

There is only one man in the NYPD who can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Michael Bennett. For anyone else, the pressure would be overwhelming, but Mike is ready to step up - taking care of his ten children has prepared him for the job. As the media frenzy escalates, all of Mike's children fall victim to a virulent flu bug - almost as challenging an assignment for Bennett as tracking down the killer.

A secret pattern emerges in the Teacher's lessons, leaving Detective Bennett just a few precious hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history.

My Thoughts: NYPD Detective Michael Bennett and his ten children are back in an intense, action packed thriller with Michael facing a grim reality. Raising his ten children as a single parent and cop is stressful enough, but as each child comes down with the flu, it appears Michael is burning the candle at both ends.

The story begins with a hostage negotiation that goes awry when the suspect is gunned down seemingly from out of nowhere. A woman blathering away on her cell phone is shoved into the path of an oncoming subway train. A salesclerk at a Ralph Lauren clothing boutique is murdered in cold blood in front of his coworker who is left alive. The maitre d’ at the 21 club is murdered in the middle of the afternoon during the lunch hour. An Air France stewardess is killed in front of her colleagues as she exits the elevator in her hotel. And there are more to come. The problem is Mike doesn’t know who is behind the killings and time is running out.

He gets a break when he learns that the killer, who has dubbed himself “The Teacher,” has contacted the media and Mike begins to put the puzzle pieces together. Unfortunately, The Teacher doesn’t appreciate Mike’s interference and may have to alter his plans to teach Mike a lesson.

I’m really enjoying this series on so many levels. The hero is a regular guy facing the challenges and struggles of life: stressful job and raising his family as a single father while mourning the death of his wife. He is portrayed as a “regular guy” and is very likeable. I feel great empathy for him and the aura of sadness around him, but he doesn’t wallow in self-pity, which makes the reader like him more.

I also liked Mike’s Irish nanny, Mary Catherine and his grandfather-turned-priest, Seamus. I am looking forward to future books to see if the chemistry between Mike and Mary Catherine turns into a romance.

The only problem I had with this story is the murder at the beginning of the story doesn’t seem to be resolved. We are led to believe that the shot was not fired by one of the police officers so who did it?

Otherwise, if you are looking for a book that delivers a high suspense story that keeps the reader riveted to each page wondering where the next “bullet” will strike and filled with characters you can feel connected to, then look no further than Run For Your Life. Run, don’t walk, to the book store and get this book. Your life doesn’t depend on it, but you will be glad you did.

REVIEW: Forget About It by Caprice Crane

Title: Forget About It

Author: Caprice Crane

Publisher: 5 Spot

Publication Date: August, 2007

Paperback: 351 pages

Genre: Chick-Lit

Rating: 10/10

Description: How hard is it to knock down a pushover?

For twenty-five years, Jordan Landau's life has been eminently forgettable. From her combatively critical mother to her cheating boyfriend to her idea-stealing boss --- there's almost no one in Jordan's life who hasn't taken advantage of her near-pathological desire to avoid conflict.

Everyone's about to find out.

After a freak accident leaves Jordan in a hospital with a head injury, inspiration strikes. What's the best way to get out of a bad life? Pretend you can't remember it! Faking amnesia makes it easy to dump the boyfriend, trump the boss, and turn the tables on a family that never appreciated her. The Great Jordan Life Makeover is looking pretty good, until things take a surprising turn. Forced to start over for real, Jordan must soon figure out how to create a truly unforgettable life...and how far she's willing to go to do so.

My Thoughts: This is the first time I’ve read a Caprice Crane novel. I was thoroughly entertained and enjoyed Jordan’s story immensely. I liked that with Jordan, any reader can relate to her as we all have walked in her shoes at some point, whether it’s the toxic family or the lousy love connection or the less than satisfying career or maybe all areas, even. So, here we have a heroine who sheds new light on being a doormat. I even began to feel a little frustrated with her that she allowed this treatment for so long and sad that she felt her only solution was to lie.

After Jordan is hit by a car, she decides to fake amnesia thinking this will be the best way to change her life. She even drags her best friend, Todd, into her deception. I liked that Jordan does begin to take charge of her life with some very interesting results. Unfortunately, she doesn’t plan on falling in love with Travis, the driver of the car that hit her. The bad news is he believes she has amnesia, so Jordan has really gotten herself into a pickle.

The situation appears to go from bad to worse when Jordan’s mother files a lawsuit against Travis and, obviously he doesn’t take the news very well. Unfortunately for Jordan, she is involved in another mishap and this time really gets amnesia. Is this karma coming around for her earlier deception? If you are into that kind of thing, then I would say it’s possible.

At any rate, I loved watching how Jordan tries to navigate the path her amnesia now takes her and I laughed myself silly at her attempts to pitch advertising jingles to her boss that ring the gong of familiarity.

If you are looking for a very funny read filled with interesting and complex characters that you will love and some you will dislike intensely and a story that keeps you anticipating what will happen next, then I highly recommend this one that will make Caprice Crane an author to be on the lookout for.

REVIEW: Salvation In Death by J.D. Robb

Title: Salvation In Death (In Death, #27)
Author: J.D. Robb

Publisher: Putnam

Publication Date: January, 2008

Hardcover: 353 pages

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Rating: 10/10

Description: In the year 2060, cutting-edge investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies cannot answer ...

At the most solemn moment of a Catholic funeral Mass, the priest brings the chalice to his lips. Seconds later, he is dead on the altar. For the mourners packed into the pews, Father Miguel Flores's sudden demise is an unimaginable shock. When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained enough potassium cyanide to kill a rhino, she's prepared to plunge in and find out why, despite her discomfort with her surroundings. It's not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It's all that holiness flying around at St. Cristobal's that makes her uneasy.

A search of the victim's simple, sparsely furnished room reveals few personal touches, except for a carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals much more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo - and evidence of plastic surgery suggesting "Father Flores" may not have been the man his parishioners thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge, she hopes to track down whoever committed this unholy act. Until a second murder - in front of an even larger crowd of worshippers - knocks the whole investigation sideways.

The way Eve sees it, vengeance may be the Lord's business, but if there's going to be any earthly justice in this case, it's up to her.

My Thoughts: This installment moved a lot slower for me than other Eve Dallas books, but the story was still very intense and thought provoking.

What starts out as a routine investigation into the murder of a neighborhood priest during a funeral mass turns into a case of identity theft, greed and retribution and linking to multiple unsolved murders seventeen years prior. Eve tackles this case with the same tenacity and determination she gives to every case. As more layers are revealed, the more complex this case becomes.

When a televangelist is murdered the same way during a sermon, I immediately thought Eve would be tracking a serial killer targeting religious leaders. When the second murder is solved fairly quickly, I realized that the murders are not connected, other than cause of death.

Not a lot of sparring with Somerset in this story, unfortunately. I am looking forward to Eve losing her mind over hosting Louise's bridal shower. She would much rather get into fights with criminals than come within a hundred miles of giggling women. I can't wait to see how it plays out.

After 27 installments of this series, I feel like I'm putting on a comfortable sweater when I'm reading an Eve Dallas book. The characters are so well written that the reader feels a deep rapport with them. Luckily for the readers, this series does not appear to be running out of steam.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In July

I can't help but think if all of these books were on a Kindle, how much less the TBR mountain would weigh...

Impossibly Tongue-Tied by Josie Brown

Description: All over Hollywood, men are dialing O—for orgasms. Her steamy naughty talk fills them with lust and longing, and helps them perform like the studs they claim to be.

In truth, the industry's favorite "erotic phone operatrix" is Nina Harte, a struggling actress who has put her career on hold so that her husband, Nathan, can pursue his own dreams of stardom. When Nathan's career takes off, so does he, leaving Nina and their four-year-old son, Jake, for his diva costar, Katerina McPherson. Then "Kat 'n' Nat" are crowned the media's newest celebrity sweethearts, and Kat labels Nina an unfit mother in order to win custody of Jake, just so that she can have that highly-coveted celebrity accessory—an adorable child—sans any unsightly stretch marks.

The one person who does care about Nina is Nathan's agent, Sam Godwin. In fact, he's in love with her. And because he has both a heart and a conscience, Sam feels guilty for having put Nat in Kat's path in the first place . . .

Then again, how will he feel when he learns that Nina and O are one and the same?

Salvation In Death by J.D. Robb

Description: In the year 2060, cutting-edge investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies cannot answer ..." "At the most solemn moment of a Catholic funeral Mass, the priest brings the chalice to his lips. Seconds later, he is dead on the altar. For the mourners packed into the pews, Father Miguel Flores's sudden demise is an unimaginable shock. When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained enough potassium cyanide to kill a rhino, she's prepared to plunge in and find out why, despite her discomfort with her surroundings.

It's not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It's all that holiness flying around at St. Cristobal's that makes her uneasy." "A search of the victim's simple, sparsely furnished room reveals few personal touches, except for a carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals much more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo - and evidence of plastic surgery suggesting "Father Flores" may not have been the man his parishioners thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge, she hopes to track down whoever committed this unholy act. Until a second murder - in front of an even larger crowd of worshippers - knocks the whole investigation sideways." The way Eve sees it, vengeance may be the Lord's business, but if there's going to be any earthly justice in this case, it's up to her.

Reconstructing Brigid by Lee Nichols

Description: When the daughter of a politically connected CEO is found dead in her car off the Maine coast, her father wants the best investigation money can buy.

He demands that Brigid Ashbury determine the cause of death: was it a simple car crash or did someone force his daughter off the road? For the country's premiere accident reconstructionist, it should be an open and shut case. Except for one minor problem: Brigid is afraid of cars. While struggling to overcome her motorphobia, the result of her own recent collision, Brigid is trying to determine whether this really was an accident.

A wealthy family, a possible kidnapping and questions of inheritance muddy the waters. The prime suspect, Aaron White, is the boyfriend of the dead girl's sister. He even admits to sleeping with the victim…twice…but insists he didn't kill her. Determined to keep her suspect close, Brigid enlists Aaron as her chauffeur. And although he may be trying to seduce Brigid (and everyone else in his path) they do make a good team. But if they're going to crack this case, Brigid must first get herself back on the road to recovery.

Mrs. Whippy by Cecelia Ahern

Description: A woman in trouble turns to ice cream, and just might find love in its pursuit. Emelda is 46 years old. Her husband, Charlie, has just left her for a 23-year-old dancer. Her five difficult sons worship their father and blame Emelda for his departure. On top of everything else, she has to struggle with a new job at the local supermarket. For comfort she turns to her only true friend ice-cream. But lately there's a handsome man driving the ice-cream van. Could romance be about to blossom?

Heaping Spoonful by Shauna Glenn

Description: Heaping Spoonful will make you believe in the power of starting over!

When Claire Hamilton lost her husband to cancer, her self-image shattered overnight. Once a happily married and financially secure mother of two, Claire suddenly finds herself a single parent trying to keep her small bakery running smoothly. While she manages to continue her daily duties as mom, boss, sister and daughter, Claire's anger and inability to move on have her emotionally crippled. Luckily for Claire, the people who love her refuse to stop pushing her to really live--and love--again. Claire's family is impossible to ignore: Lucy, Claire's man-crazy younger sister and employee, prides herself on being blunt and brash, but amazingly lovable. Claire's father is an ex-high school principal who, though he is a great help with the business and his grandchildren, can still make her feel like a teenager. Claire's mother, a southern belle suffering from Alzheimer's, helps Claire most of all by providing her with a surprising gift from her own past.

Eye To Eye by Grace Carol

Description: Doris

Gig: newly minted lit prof transplanted to Atlanta.

Currently: butting heads with Southern-fried brownshirts, resisting the faculty's sonnet-writing Mick Jagger figure and—God help her— braving the shark-infested waters of online dating.

Ronnie

Gig: aspiring novelist returned to L.A.

Currently: back home, but not at home; tutoring an obnoxious Beverly Hills "homeboy" and hating the bartending bimbo hitting on her good-ol'-boy boyfriend (who's fitting in better than she is).

Turns out that coasting through life after grad school can feel a lot like just spinning your wheels—but Doris and Ronnie are determined to find their true paths. It's going to take heavy doses of IM, Chardonnay and one mantra: true friends can head in opposite directions and still see eye to eye.

Confessions Of Super Mom by Melanie Lynne Hauser

Confessions Of Super Mom by Melanie Lynne Hauser

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: “Every superhero has an Origin. To tell the truth, it’s a little embarrassing. I wasn’t put into a rocket and sent to Earth by my parents just as my home planet exploded. I wasn’t given a special ring by visiting aliens. I wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. No, it wasn’t anything nearly so glamorous; my beginnings are quite humble. I was merely the innocent victim of a Horrible Swiffer Accident.”

Meet Birdie Lee, clerk at Marvel Fine Food and Beverages and an average, middle-aged single mother of two teenagers. Until one ordinary morning when, on the floor of her bathroom, Birdie discovers a Stain of Unknown Origin—a stain so intense that nothing can remove it. When all her attempts fail, Birdie does the unthinkable: She loads her Swiffer with every cleanser she owns, aims, and shoots. Suddenly, Birdie becomes endowed with extraordinary powers. Now Birdie must somehow balance it all—her smug ex and his overachieving new wife; two teenagers and a string of PTA meetings; her own budding romance; and her beloved town of Astro Park, whose very existence is threatened by a mysterious force sneaking its way into every household. A delightful, well-earned escape, Confessions of Super Mom is an amusing vindication of the overlooked everyday heroism that is a woman’s life.

My Thoughts: I've never read anything by this author before and was very pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was drawn into the story and the character's personalities and lives. I thought the arrival of a membership packet from the Justice League of America was entertaining and I'll be curious if Wonder Woman makes her presence known as Super Mom's assigned mentor / trainer in the next book. For some reason, I had a hard time picturing Birdie in my mind's eye as I read the book. She is described as being in her early 40's with two teenagers but I kept envisioning a grandmother. I think her name conjures up that image.

A quick and enjoyable read for anyone, Super Mom, or mortal.

Ford County by John Grisham

Ford County by John Grisham

My Rating: 3 *'s

Description: In his first collection of short stories, John Grisham takes us back to Ford County, Mississipppi, the setting of his first novel, A Time To Kill.

Fetching Raymond --- Wheelchair-bound Inez Graney and her two older sons, Leon and Butch, take a bizarre road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit the youngest Graney brother, Raymond, who's been locked away on death row for eleven years. It could well be their last visit.

Fish Files --- Mack Stafford, a hard-drinking and low-grossing run-of-the-mill divorce lawyer, gets a miracle phone call with a completely unexpected offer to settle some old, forgotten cases for more money than he has ever seen. Mack is suddenly bored with the law, fed up with his wife and his life, and makes drastic plans to finally escape.

Casino --- Quiet, dull Sidney, a data collector for an insurance company, perfects his blackjack skills in hopes of bringing down the casino empire of Clanton's most ambitious hustler, Bobby Carl Leach, who, among other crimes, has stolen Sidney's wife.

Blood Drive --- Three good ol' boys from rural Ford County begin a journey to the big city of Memphis to give blood to a grievously injured friend. However, they are unable to drive past a beer store as the trip takes longer and longer. The journey comes to an abrupt end when they make a fateful stop at a Memphis strip club.

Quiet Haven --- The Quiet Haven Retirement Home is the final stop for the elderly of Clanton. It's a sad, languid place with little controversy, until Gilbert arrives. Posing as a low-paid bedpan boy, he is in reality a brilliant stalker with an uncanny ability to sniff out the assets of those "seniors" he professes to love.

Michael's Room --- One of the hazards of litigating against people in a small town is that one day, long after the trial, you will probably come face-to-face with someone you've beaten in a lawsuit. Lawyer Stanley Wade bumps into an old adversary, a man with a long memory, and the encounter becomes a violent ordeal.

Funny Boy --- Clanton is rocked with the rumor that the gay son of a prominent family has finally come home, to die. Of AIDS. Fear permeates the town as gossip runs unabated. But in Lowtown, the colored section of Clanton, the young man finds a soul mate in his final days.

Featuring a cast of characters you'll never forget, these stories bring Ford County to vivid and colorful life. Often hilarious, frequently moving, and always entertaining, this collection makes it abundantly clear why John Grisham is our most popular storyteller.

My Thoughts: Pretty good stories filled with the interesting characters that Grisham is known for.

Fatal Truth by Robin Burcell

Fatal Truth by Robin Burcell

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: A Homicide Inspector with the San Francisco Police Department, Kate Gillespie worked hard to get where she is. But a frantic phone call from a snitch threatens to destroy everything she is and everything she's earned. Pulled from the bright lights of the Homicide office onto the shadowy night streets, she arrives at a clandestine meet just in time to see the frightened informer shot dead ... by another cop. Now Kate is a target, on a trail of dirty deals, corruption, and escalating violence that reaches back into her own troubled family history and deep into a department riddled with dark secrets and truths that kill. Suddenly Kate Gillespie is teetering on a "blue wall of silence" and being set up to take a long, fatal fall --- by a relentless killer who's hiding in plain sight.

My Thoughts: A fast paced, adrenaline charged story that will keep the reader guessing. Kate Gillespie is a character I can admire and root for. Looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing what develops between Kate and Torrance.

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

My Rating: 9 *'s

Description: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.

My Thoughts: Alot of interesting plot twists greet Rachel and her friends in this installment of the series. Some good and some quite sad and some extremely unwanted and disappointing. The longer the series goes gives me more curiosity to the direction the author will take Rachel and Trent's relationship. In this book, the reader is given a glimpse of their childhood past and, for me, a little bit more understanding of their history. Jenks remains my favorite character in the series with his Tinkerbell expletives that keep me laughing until my sides hurt.

One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My Rating: 10*'s

Description: You can run from the grave, but you can't hide...

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She's still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around him awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline kick of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head -- wanted: dead or half-alive -- means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard she tries to keep things professional between them, she'll find that desire lasts forever... and that Bones won't let her get away again.

My Thoughts: This series just keeps getting better and better! Cat finally meets her father and her intention to kill him is stronger than ever, so I expect we will see more of this storyline in future books. After four years apart, Bones and Cat still have the chemistry that brought them together in the first book. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the storyline of Cat's para-military vampire killing team, but they are all great characters and the twist involving Don's involvement in Cat's life was an interesting revelation.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In June

I'm a book addict...hopelessly addicted...is there a pill or medical procedure out there that can cure me? :o)

Undead And Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson

Description: Betsy Taylor has problems that only a vampire queen/suburban wife could possibly understand. Such as taking the body of her werewolf friend Antonia-who died in her service-to Cape Cod, where she's not sure if the Wyndham werewolves will welcome her with fangs or friendship. Meanwhile, her posse back in St. Paul is sending frantic e-mails alerting Betsy to her half-sister's increasingly erratic behavior. Looks like the devil's daughter is coming into her own-and raising hell.

Same As It Never Was by Claire LaZebnik

Description: "Olivia Martin has mastered the art of cynicism. She's sailing through college, indifferent to grades or the people around her, just grateful to be living on her own, away from her divorced parents. Her rich father's second marriage is no happier than his first and has only strengthened Olivia's determination never to let herself fall in love. Unfortunately, some things are out of her control, and while Olivia does her best to stave off the early signs of infatuation, she can't deny she's interested in her dangerously handsome T.A. Just when she's thinking she might let herself fall for the guy, a car accident changes her life in ways she never expected. Suddenly, Olivia has to figure out the right thing to do - and whether or not she wants to do it." Olivia narrates her own story in a bold and honest voice. Plunked down against her will in a huge mansion in the wealthiest part of Los Angeles, and forced for the first time in her life to take responsibility for others, she finds herself more pampered than she's ever been before - and more burdened. Used to skimming along the surface of life, Olivia learns that no amount of ironic detachment can completely insulate you from the siren call of family and love.

First Drop Of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Description: The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows - her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield - and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's dark past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness - and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who craves a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human - even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the demon nightmare together...

Because once the first drop of crimson falls, they will both be lost.

Fat Chance by Rhonda Pollero

Description: The difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of your mother is that eventually God forgives you.

Finley Anderson Tanner just landed a quaint new cottage on posh Palm Beach. Not bad for an underachieving, sample-sale-shopping paralegal -- until she finds the place in shambles. She should have known better than to accept her overbearing mother's offer to sell her a house unseen at a bargain-basement mortgage rate. Good-bye Rolex dreams. At this rate, she'll be shopping designer outlets forever.

When Finley discovers a skeleton in her new closet, right where her Jimmy Choos should be, a total home renovation is the least of her worries. Sure, she knows how to catch a crook, but when a girl's sandwiched between sexy P.I. Liam McGarrity and her hot new boss, defense attorney Tony Caprelli, she can only be headed for commitment. To an institution. With her fabulous (but slightly more successful) friends to keep her sane and her interfering mother out of town, Finley vows to get this bad guy -- and decorate her new house -- even if she has to pay full price.

Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Description: Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger...

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won't stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor's hold over her. She'll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she's ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

Description: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.

Undead And Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson

Undead And Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson

My Rating: 6 *'s

Description: Betsy Taylor has problems that only a vampire queen/suburban wife could possibly understand...such as fifty thousand angry werewolves. That's what Betsy is facing when she takes her werewolf friend Antonia's body to Cape Cod, where the Pack resides at Wyndham Mansion. Because Antonia died in her service, Betsy is alive and well - and wracked with guilt. She has no idea if the Wyndham werewolves will welcome her with fangs or friendship. While Betsy and her husband Sinclair try to make nice, their legal ward BabyJon is freaking out every werewolf he comes in contact with. Meanwhile, Betsy's posse back at the St Paul mansion are not happy. Increasingly frantic emails alert Betsy to her half-sister's increasingly erratic behavior. Looks like the devil's daughter is coming into her own - and raising hell. All in the name of making Betsy's life easier, of course.

My Thoughts: New events unfold for Betsy and Sinclair when they travel to Cape Cod to return the body of Antonia the werewolf back to her pack. Betsy and Sinclair quickly find out that the werewolves blame her for their death of their packmate and if that weren't bad enough, Baby Jon isn't your average run of the mill normal baby. Meanwhile, back at home, Mark has his hands full trying to keep Laura from becoming the true embodiment of the Antichrist when Satan worshippers show up at the house. Story was pretty campy but I still enjoy the light hearted humor and silliness of the series.

Q Is For Quarry by Sue Grafton

Q Is For Quarry by Sue Grafton

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: "She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved." "That was eighteen years go. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to do the legwork for them, and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued with the challenge and agrees to work with them." But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

My Thoughts: Decent installment that is actually based on a true unsolved crime. I enjoyed the sparring between Lt. Doyle and Detective Olyphant. They remind me of "The Odd Couple."

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen’s relentless, inventive novels take readers on pulse-racing thrill rides that are as satisfying as they are heart-stopping. Now, in this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, a mysteriously isolated town stands abandoned as a silent watcher waits.

In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they’re stranded with no help in sight.

As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town’s previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness—someone who is watching Maura and her friends.

Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura’s charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless—and the chilling truth about Maura’s fate.

My Thoughts: Very gripping and suspenseful story with all of the surprises that fans of the Jane Rizzoli series have come to expect and enjoy.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In May

So, it occurs to me that we are now in June and The Scottish Guy and I are going to be relocating our household in September and I have acquired way more books in the last year than I've gotten rid of...ugh...packing is going to be a real bitch, let me tell you. My back is getting sore just thinking about it. Will I never learn???

Q Is For Quarry by Sue Grafton

Description: "She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved." "That was eighteen years go. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to do the legwork for them, and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued with the challenge and agrees to work with them." But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen

Description: New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen’s relentless, inventive novels take readers on pulse-racing thrill rides that are as satisfying as they are heart-stopping. Now, in this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, a mysteriously isolated town stands abandoned as a silent watcher waits.

In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they’re stranded with no help in sight.
As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town’s previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness—someone who is watching Maura and her friends.

Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura’s charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless—and the chilling truth about Maura’s fate.

Ritual In Death by J.D. Robb

Description: When a high-society party is crashed by a naked, knife-wielding, blood-covered man who "thinks" he might have killed someone, Eve Dallas must track down the crime, and the criminals. Everything points to Satanic ritual, but Eve doesn't believe in devil worship...

Bite Me by Christopher Moore

Description: The city of San Francisco is being stalked by a huge shaved vampyre cat named Chet, and only I, Abby Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area night, and my manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog, stand between the ravenous monster and a bloody massacre of the general public.

Whoa. And this is a love story? Yup. 'Cept there's no whining. See, while some lovers were born to run, Jody and Tommy were born to bite. Well, reborn, that is, now that they're vampires. Good thing theirs is an undying love, since their Goth Girl Friday, Abby Normal, imprisoned them in a bronze statue.

Abby wants to be a bloodsucking fiend, too, but right now she's really busy with other stuff, like breaking in a pair of red vinyl thigh-high Skankenstein® platform boots and wrangling her Ph.D.-candidate boyfriend, Steve (the love monkey). And then there's that vampire cat Chet, who's getting bigger and smarter—and thirstier—by the minute. Abby thought she and Steve could handle the kitty cat on their own, mais non . . .

Before you can say "OMG! WTF?" Tommy and Jody are sprung from captivity, and join forces with Abby, Steve, the frozen-turkey-bowling Safeway crew, the Emperor of San Francisco and his trusty dogs Lazarus and Bummer, Abby's gay Goth friend Jared, and SF's finest Cavuto and Rivera to hunt big cat and save the city. And that's when the fun really begins.