Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Family Affair


Lacey is dealing with her recent divorce from her cheating husband. Her constant companion is her cat Cleo. Cleo "bonds' with Dog, the mixed breed cat of Lacey's suave neighbor Jack. When Cleo gets in the kitten way, Lacey demands that Jack take responsibility. He gladly does so, in order to have an excuse to spend time with Lacey. He eventually breaks through her defenses but their romance is not totally without issues. This was a good, quick read--I love Macomber's writing--she is one of my comfort authors. I received this book from the Amazon Vine program to review.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Deadly Sister (YA)

The Deadly Sister (YA)

Jefferson, the most popular boy in school, is found murdered.  Abby's wild sister, Maya, is the prime suspect.  Abby manages to get Maya to a safe place before the cops can take her into custody.  Abby begins to investigate who murdered Jefferson but the twists and turns are unbelievable.  This is a good young adult mystery with a lot of twists and turns.  Complex characters, good writing and a whodunit that will keep readers guessing made this a very good read.  I borrowed this book from the library.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Alice in Zombieland

Alice in Zombieland

This is an altered classic--a paranormal take on Alice in Wonderland.  In this book, Alice falls through the hole and meets a bunch of zombies.  This location begins to have a not so pleasant effect on Alice--she begins to crave flesh and her skin is beginning to rot.  She knows she must get home.  This was a cute, quick read.  I think it is definitely more enjoyable if readers have read Alice in Wonderland--there is a lot of play on the characters and happenings of that book that could be lost on one who has never read it.  This was a fun book.  I was sent this book to review by Sourcebooks.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Full Moon Rising (5/5)

Full Moon  Rising (5/5)

This is the first book in a paranormal series.  Riley Jenson is half werewolf/half vampire.  She works for a sort of secret service agency for paranormal beings.  Riley is sent on special assignment when her brother, also an agent, turns up missing.  Helping her search is Quinn, a very old vampire.  Quinn has his own agenda but Riley is more focused on the chemistry between the two of them than Quinn's motives.  This book had good action, hot sex scenes and great characters.  I will continue to read this series.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

It Happened One Bite

It Happened One Bite

This is the first book of the gentlemen vampire series.  Years ago, Blaire's mother and four other witches in her coven locked up Lord Kettering (James), a vampire, in order to protect the then-unborn Blaire.  As a young woman, Blaire travels to the castle that James has been held in and releases him from the spell.  The chemistry between the two is undeniable.  James quickly realizes that Blaire is a witch and he eventually reveals his true nature to Blaire.  But things cannot be simple and there are some darker vampires heading to Blaire's home.  

This book had good romance, a nice, gothic feel and a great combination of paranormal beings.  This was my first book by this author and I will make sure to find others by her.  This was a fun read.  I was sent this book by Sourcebooks for review.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Word After Word After Word (YA)

Word After Word After Word (YA)

Some youngster learn the power of words through a visiting writer who teaches their class for a month.  Each child writes about something in his/her life or some feeling that he/she has felt.  These pieces are then shared with their families and turns out to be educational for more than just the students.  A nice, quick read.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Crazy (YA)

Crazy (YA)

This was a good piece of young adult realistic fiction.  Jason, a 14 year old, is left to take care of his mentally ill father after his mother dies from a stroke.  Jason really tries to keep things together and hide how horribly things are at home because he does not want to be separated from his father.  He is sent to a school support group and becomes friends with Pete, Shelby and Haze.  He does not count on them being so willing to help him with his home situation, even if it is in ways that he does not understand at first as being helping him. I enjoyed this book and think it would appeal to both girls and boys.  I gave it a 4.5/5.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Jumping Off Swings (YA)

Jumping Off Swings (YA)

Ellie, a high school student, gets pregnant after a one night stand with Josh.  She plans on having an abortion but she cannot go through with it.  Ellie then decides to give up the baby for adoption.  This book is told by multiple narrators:  Ellie, Josh, Ellie's best friend Corinne and Josh's friend Caleb.  These four detail how this unplanned pregnancy affects all parties, including the parents of those involved.  This is a powerful book but not necessarily an easy read.  This book is a good show of YA realistic fiction and is a quick read.  I enjoyed the multiple points of view and the fact that this book was extremely real. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

Emily goes to a Halloween/murder mystery party in her neighborhood to help her recover from her dog's recent death.  While there, the DJ gets ill, seemingly due to poison.  Then, during the knife throwing act, Emily swears one of the sisters involved in the act is killed.  Emily tries to convince others of this fact and begins her own investigation.  This was a quick read though at times the writing was a little confusing to follow--a lot of characters without much description thrown into a short book in a short amount of time.  All in all, a fun read.  It was a decent mix of humor and mystery.  I can see potential with the spirit of the dead dog helping to solve the mysteries.  The author sent me this book to review.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Staying at Daisy's

Staying at Daisy's

Daisy runs the swanky hotel owned by her father, Hector.  Daisy is married to Stephen and find out that he is cheating on her when Stephen and his girlfriend are in a serious car accident.  Stephen ends up dying and Daisy decides to not fall in love with a player again.  Daisy meets Dev at a wedding held at the hotel; he is everything she has sworn off.  Of course she is immediately drawn to him.  The two go to pick out a dog for Dev and Daisy picks Clarissa, a little hot dog with personality to spare.  Besides Daisy and Dev, there are other romantic storylines  going on--Hector and Maggie, Tara and Dominic, Barney and Mel.  All of these characters are ones that readers will care about and invest in. 

This is my second book by Mansell and I really enjoy her writing style.  This book is great British chick lit.  Mansell writes great characters, good romances and does not just make it fluffy.  I also like how an animal is incorporated into her books in a decent supporting role.  

I received this book from Sourcebooks to review.  

Taste Me

Taste Me

This book has it all--vampires, werewolves, succubi, sirens; you name it, it is in this book.  Sometimes, though, it was almost a bit too much.  But overall, this was a good read.  There is a league of supernatural beings who run a sort of council and they have recently revealed their existence to very select humans.  Lucas is the head of security for the council.  When the head werewolf's daughter is attacked and nearly killed, tension increases and Lucas is going to be kept busy.  If that is not enough to keep him entertained, singer Scarlett returns to town and the sexual tension between these two is beyond high.  This book is filled with romance, action and paranormal twists and turns.  The characters are well developed and interesting.  This was my first time reading this author.


I liked Scarlett's cat the best.  He was quite the feline personality.  I enjoyed reading about more than one type of paranormal being at once.  I skimmed most of the sex scenes; they are not my thing to read.  


I was sent this book by Sourcebooks to review.