#8 Book Read in 2012
Hold Me Closer Necromancer
Sam has some powers that he did not know he has until he runs into an evil guy named Douglas. Douglas tells Sam that they are both necromancers--they can raise the dead. Douglas is threatened by Sam's powers so he kidnaps him and keep him with his other prisoner, Brid, a werewolf/fairy hybrid. Brid's pack and Sam's friends and family launch a rescue attempt. This story has a lot of action and humor in it and it will keep readers interested. There are many different paranormal figures featured in this book. I enjoyed this book.
#7 Book Read in 2012
Emily and Einstein
Emily is a book editor. She volunteers at an animal shelter. Emily is married to Sandy, a businessman from a rich family. One night, Sandy dies in a car accident. He begs for a second chance and an old man gives him one, in the form of Einstein, the dog Emily saves from the shelter. Sandy begins this new journey selfishly, trying to figure out how to save himself. He eventually realizes that his true mission is to save Emily--from his vindictive mother, from her own depression, from her sister Jordan and truly, from his actions and treatment of her when he was alive.
This book was excellent. I was immediately sucked into it and cared from Emily right from the get go. I loved the dog Einstein and was glad to see Sandy's journey into what type of person he truly had been. This book had humor, romance and a sort of mystery to it. What would happen to Emily? Would Sandy be saved from an untimely death? Readers will want these answers and will not be disappointed in the book. I loved it.
I was sent this book to review by the publisher.
#6 Book Read in 2012
The Baker's Wife
Geoff was a pastor but is eventually let go and he and his wife Audrey open up a bakery. Jack is the policeman who had a lot to do with Geoff losing his job. Jack's wife Julie is missing after her scooter and her blood are found in the street. Jack is convinced that Audrey hit Julie with her car and killed her. He accused her of trying to cover up her crime. The cops do not agree with Jack that Audrey did it. Jack begins to lose it and takes Geoff, Geoff's son Ed, and three others hostage in the bakery. He tells Audrey to bring him his wife or he will kill them all. Audrey begins a desperate search for Julie.
This book was extremely well written. It sucked me in immediately. Audrey was a great main character. She had guts, brains and a heart. The twists and turns of the back story behind all the characters kept me guessing. This book had a good mystery, good action and a cast of characters that were complex and interesting. I recommend this book.
I received this book from the Amazon Vine program to review.
I am currently reading:
The Baker's Wife--very good
Emily and Einstein--loving it!
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer--YA on my Kindle
#5 Book Read in 2012
How Reading Changed My Life
This book details Anna Quindlen's lifelong love of books and reading. She describes growing up with books around her, raising her children with books around them, censorship, recommendations and other tidbits that book lovers will enjoy. Readers will get Anna's fascination with reading, how much of a part of her life it is, and her desire to share its meaning with other readers. This book is a quick read, but has a lot of depth. I enjoyed her writing style--down to earth, personal and interesting. I recommend this read.
#4 Book Read in 2012
Blood Ties (YA)
This is the sixth book in a YA paranormal series. Twins Rayne and Sunny have a pretty interesting life. Sunny is a fairy princess dating the king of the vampires. Rayne is a vampire/fairy who also happens to be a slayer. The girls usually end up getting into some interesting scrapes trying to help the greater good. In this book, Sunny's friend Jayden has been turned into a vampire. Sunny wants to get him to drink blood from the Holy Grail because that will kill the vampire cells and make him mortal again. At the same time, a bunch of evil slayers are after Rayne. This book has a lot of humor, good action, romance and great characters. How can you not love a series that features characters like Bertha the Vampire Slayer. I recommend this series highly!
King of Darkness
Thad Morgan is the vampire king and he is searching for his vampire queen. He does not expect it to be Isabel Anthony. Isabel hides among the humans and does not really subscribe to the vampire lifestyle. Thad and Isabel meet at a club and the chemistry begins. Thad needs to be joined with his soul mate so that he can access his vampire powers. Isabel is not really sure that she wants to be a part of that. This book had action, the paranormal twist and some hot scenes.
I received this book for review from Sourcebooks. It will be published in February 2012.
Vampire Crush (YA)
#3 Book Read in 2012
This was a good YA vampire book. Sophie is on the high school newspaper and finds the group of new students interesting and begins to investigate them. Turns out that they are vampires. This group includes her old next door neighbor, James. He has returned to his old house and he tries to keep Sophie safe from the head vampire, Vlad. Vlad is searching for a mate who comes from a highly esteemed vampire family; the only thing he knows about her is that she has a star shaped birthmark. Vlad begins to check out all the high school girls for such a birthmark, staring with Sophie's step-sister Caroline.
This book was a good read. There was humor in it, action and some good mystery to it. The characters were interesting--I liked Sophie and James, Vlad was a well-developed bad guy and the secondary characters such as Violet, Neal and Caroline were interesting. I recommend it.
Deliver Me From Darkness
#2 book read in 2012
This is the first in a new paranormal series. Roland was once a Paladin Warrior--an angel of the light. He was then turned into a vampire. The Paladins cast him out of his group, except for his friend Logan. Karissa is a girl who turns up in need of Logan's help. She and Roland have an instant connection. Karissa and Logan also are connected but in a different way. As Karissa's powers are revealed both Paladins and vampires want to acquire her. Roland must do all in his power to save the love of his life. This book had decent action and a good romance. I enjoyed this book and would continue this series.
This book will be published in February 2012. I received a review copy for Sourcebooks.
Sleight of Paw
Read of the year: #1
This is the second in a cozy mystery series which I love. Kathleen is a librarian in a small town. She has two cats, Hercules and Owen. Both cats seem to have some magical powers but Kathleen has not quite figured out how that is possible yet. In this book, a former school teacher, Agatha, is run over and Ruby, one of the local people, is arrest for the murder. Kathleen does not believe Ruby hurt Agatha so she sets out on her own investigation. Of course Marcus, the local detective, cautions her against doing so--and it turns out that he has a good reason to be cautious. Kathleen gets herself into some jams while doing her investigation.
I love this series. I love Owen and Hercules. The small town setting is nice and the characters are strongly developed and I have come to care about them. The mystery in this book is good and had some good twists and turns. I would recommend this series highly. I cannot wait for book #3 to come out.
