Definitely Dead

Definitely Dead

This is the sixth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  In this book, Sookie heads to New Orleans to clean out the apartment of Hadley, her cousin who was recently killed.  Of course bad things happen to Sookie and she gets herself in and out of many jams.  Romantic interests in this book include vampires Eric and Bill and shapeshifter/tiger Quinn.  Great action--I love this series.

Bookplate Special

Bookplate Special

Third book in the cozy mystery Booktown series.  In this one, Tricia's college roommate, Pammy, overstays her welcome as a guest and also apparently upsets some of the townspeople as Tricia soon finds Pammy's body in a dumpster.  Tricia begins her own investigation and also checks out Capt. Baker, the new cop in town.  She and Russ are having romantic issues so she's open to testing potential chemistry with Baker.  Another good book in this series, though the freegan part of the book was a bit odd and seemed a little forced at times.  I have #4 here to read at some point.

Stay

Stay

Van (Savannah) has long been in love with her best friend Peter.  She didn't plan for him to fall in love with her best friend, Janie.  The book opens with Van being Janie's maid of honor and trying to deal with residual feelings for Peter.  To help her get over him, Van orders a German Shepard puppy over the internet.  Once Joe, a huge puppy, arrives, Van's life is no longer lonely.  Joe's hunky vet, Alex, is just a nice benefit.  Good romance with good characters, I enjoyed this book a lot.  I borrowed it from my library.

Organize Your Corpses

Organize Your Corpses

First book in a cozy mystery series featuring Charlotte, a professional organizer.  She is hired by her former teacher who later ends up murdered and Charlotte is considered the prime suspect.  Charlotte begins her own investigation with help from a great cast of secondary characters including friends Sally and Jack, new friends Rose and Lilith and Charlotte's two dachshunds.  I enjoyed this book very much and will continue with the series.  I bought this book from Barnes and Noble.

Her Fearful Symmetry

Her Fearful Symmetry

Julia and Valentina are twin sisters.  Their mother is a twin as well, though her twin dies early in the book.  Their aunt leaves the girls her flat in London, as long as they agree to live there for a year and not let their mother in the flat. The girls go to London and realize that the ghost of their Aunt Elspeth is in the flat.  Valentina begins to feel the need to separate herself from Julia and form her own identity.  That is when things take a unexpected turn.  Good writing but this book had a slow start for me and I was disappointed in the ending.  Overall, I enjoyed the book.

I received the book from the publisher for review.

Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (4.5/5)

Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (4.5/5)

The second book in a cozy mystery series set in a pizza parlor.  In this book, one of Eleanor's employees, Greg, is accused of murdering his nasty, older brother Wade.  Eleanor and her sister Maddy decide to begin their own investigation to clear Greg's names.  This book was a good mystery with good twists and turns.  I hope that this series continues.

I borrowed this book from my public library.

The Killing Edge (5/5) (Kindle)

The Killing Edge (5/5)  (Kindle)

Years ago while in college, Chloe and her good friends Victoria, Brad and Jared survived a horrible massacre.  Years later, Chloe has become a therapist, a model, and a sketch artist for the local police department.  One model disappears and then some killings start to happen that are similar to the massacre.  A PI is hired to find the missing model and Chloe is drawn romantically to him.  The two team up to investigate.  This book was a great thriller--I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end.  Great action, great characters and just enough romance made this book a great read.  I read this book on my Kindle.

An ARC of this book was sent to me by Netgalley.

Roasting in Hell's Kitchen (4/5)

Roasting in Hell's Kitchen (4/5)

Hell's Kitchen is one of my guilty TV pleasures and I love Gordon Ramsay.  He wrote this book and he writes like he speaks--I loved it.  The book details his childhood, his relationships, his start as a chef, his ups and downs--very good, quick read.  Fan of his TV shows will not be disappointed.  

Lost for Words (YA) (4.5/5)

Lost for Words (4.5/5) (YA)

Something has happened to Sophie's older sister, Emily, but Sophie doesn't want to talk about it.  The book opens with Sophie's therapist giving her a notebook to use to journal her feelings.  At first she writes little to nothing but as the book progresses Sophie begins to open up, at least in the journal.  Readers are then able to piece together what happened to Emily.  A good work of realistic fiction.  I borrowed this book from the public library.

Real Murders (4.5/5)

Real Murders (4.5/5)

First in a mystery series, Aurora Teagarden is a librarian who has created the "Real Murders" club, where members research and discuss actual murders.  This club takes a devious turn when murders begin happening in their small town.  Aurora begins to investigate the murders with help from her two potential love interests: Arthur, a cop, and Robin, a mystery writer.  Good mystery and good characters, I will continue reading this series.

RIP Kiki 2004-2010

K

Since my furkids are part of my blog, I figured I should post about Kiki, aka my bitch cat.  Kiki was diagnosed 2 years ago as having HCM (a heart condition).  She was at that point given less than 6 months to live.  She far surpassed that, which I chalk up to her nasty attitude and her will to live :-)  A few days ago, Kiki had a stroke that did damage to her hind end.  She was in obvious discomfort so I brought her to my vet to be put to sleep.  He examined her and said that he would predict a major stroke for her in the next 24 hours so that made me very sure that I was making the right decision to put her to sleep.

The house is much quieter with her gone--probably because she growled more than our dog.  I will miss her miserable little fur self.

RIP Kiki

Seriously, I have tons of books

Go to Kris's blog at http://notenoughbooks.blogspot.com/ and see just how many books I really have in my house!

Thanks Kris for this fun feature on your blog!

Melissa

Moon Called (5/5)

Moon Called (5/5)

First in a paranormal series focusing on Mercy, a mechanic who is also a shape shifter.  Raised by werewolves, friends with vampires and fae, Mercy is one tough chick.  The local alpha and Mercy's neighbor, Adam, is injured and his teenage daughter is kidnapped.  Mercy gets involved in helping Adam and rescuing Jessie.  Good action, great characters, decent romantic aspect (Mercy has great chemistry with werewolves Samuel and Adam and also with vampire Stefan), I will continue reading this series.

I bought this book from Barnes and Noble.

Sprinkle with Murder (5/5)

Sprinkle with Murder (5/5)

First in a new cozy mystery series, this book is set in a cupcake short and of course it made me crave cupcakes (if only I baked!).  Melanie, Angie and Tate are childhood friends who have become business partners.  Tate is engaged to a nasty woman but the girls are trying to like her and agree to make wedding cupcakes.  Shortly after receiving samples, the nasty woman ends up dead and Melanie is the prime suspect.  She begins her own investigation.  Good characters, good setting, predictable victim but with a not so predictable murderer, this book is a good read.  I have already put book #2 on order (it comes out in January).  I bought this book from Barnes and Noble.

Heart of the Matter (5/5)

Heart of the Matter (5/5)

Nick and Tessa are married with 2 young children.  Nick is a great plastic surgeon; Tessa is a stay at home mom.  Nick's new patient, Charlie, is a young boy with burns to his face and his hand.  Valerie is Charlie's mother--she is a single mom and a lawyer.  She and Nick form a strong connection and they find themselves falling for each other.  Told in alternating chapters from the point of views of Tessa and Valerie, this book tells a tale of love and problems.  I expected to hate some characters and root for others but I really ended up caring for all three.  A great read.  I borrowed this book from my public library.

Emma and the Vampires (5/5)

Emma and the Vampires (5/5)

This book is probably the best written of all the classics combined with paranormal books I've read so far.  This book took my favorite Jane Austen novel (Emma) and gave it a new twist with one of my favorite genres (paranormal), and did it in a great way.  In this book, Mr. Knightly and Mr. Elton are good vampires, there are bad vampires, Emma slays the bad vampires and she still takes time to play matchmaker for her friend Harriet.This book stays true to Austen's style while modernizing it with the current love of paranormal reads.

A great read and I loved the author's note about how he wanted young adult readers to like this book--as a teacher, I think this is a great way to get students to read some of the classics that they otherwise might be hesitant to read.  I enjoyed this book greatly.  

I received this book from Sourcebooks to review.

Firefly Lane (4.5/5)

Firefly Lane (4.5/5)

Kate and Tully have been friends for over 30 years.  They have survived bad childhoods, failed relationships, career changes and moves cross country.  But even a long friendship can stall out for a while, until something so major happens that the pair are forced back together again.  Tully is a hard character to like and I wanted Kate to find a better friend but I guess that would have defeated the purpose of the book :-)  

A good read and my first by this author.  I will read more.  I borrowed this book from a friend.

Paper, Scissors, Death (5/5)

Paper, Scissors, Death (5/5)

This book is the first installment in a cozy mystery series.  Kiki's husband is murdered and she is deemed a suspect so she begins her own investigation.  With her husband's death, Kiki's life is changed--she loses money, she loses friends and she faces losing the custody of her 11 year old daughter, Anya.  But with her job at the scrapbook store, good friends, a lovely Great Dane and a blossoming romance with a police detective, she might be able to make it.  This was a good mystery with good twists and turns and great characters.  I really enjoyed this book and will continue with the series (there are three books, to date).  I borrowed this book from my public library.

Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City (4.5/5)

Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City

Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City is a great example of British chick lit, even if it was written by a man :-)  In this book, second in a series but very readable as a stand alone since that is how I read it, Holly is in the market for a promotion at work, she is ready to step it up in her relationship with her boyfriend but she has some serious doubts about her worthiness, and she is surrounded by a crazy crew of friends and coworkers.  This book is told entirely through email messages and while this book is huge, it flies because of the format, the humor and the way the characters are developed through these email messages.  Holly reminded me a little of Bridget Jones, in that she was a likable but somewhat clueless character.  I will go back and read the first book in the series at some point because I did enjoy the characters so much and want to see the begin of them.  I heartily recommend this book to readers of chick lit.  I enjoyed it a lot. 

This book was sent to me by SourceBooks to review.