by: Shana Abe

Number of pages: 335

This rich story, although not the first of a series, is an amazing gem.

Told partly in fairy tale, and in the tale’s period of mid-1700’s Europe, the fantasy revolves around the legend of the Drakon.

These lost people have legendary powers, but have hidden from the world due to the greed and ambition of man. Amalia Langford is the daughter of a Drakon alpha, and she can hear the future. The foil to her power, Zane, is a master thief who knows about the Drakon secrets, and how to destroy them. An unlikely pair, fate has conspired to pull them together to find a mystical blue diamond with the power to enslave Lia’s people.

The building story, along with the pair’s obvious growing infatuation, contrasts with the genuine hopelessness of the situation. Lia doesn’t know if the man she’s fallen for is going to enslave her and use her to destroy, or if he truly loves her. As the story is revealed, the reader roots for the seemingly impossible happy ending.

Delicately written and wonderful, this is a story not to be missed. I loved it.

Overall book rating: 9

by: Toni McGee Causey

Number of pages: 341

I don’t know how to rate the character believability for these books.

Bobby Faye is unlike any heroine you’ll ever find. She’s ballsy, yes, but a walking tornado. Mayhem and explosions follow her like baby ducks.
And the story, oh! Loved the twists, the triangles, the plot unveiling. This is an amazing action mystery with a touch of romance that rampages through the backwaters of Louisiana like alligators in April. (read book to understand reference) Bobby Faye has a limited amount of time to deliver her great-great-something-grandfather’s iron (yes, iron) tiara to a mobster who has kidnapped her no-account brother. But she loves her brother and would walk through swamps, salt mines, junkyards, exploding oil rigs, and even through the net of FBI and local police, to get it to him in time.
Add in gun-runners, a mysterious man who is in the “acquisition” business, bank robbers, and ex-boyfriends and you have one of the best books written. If you can keep up.

I love this stuff!

Overall book rating: 9.5

by Kat Richardson
pages: 352
(part of the Literary Escapism New Author/League challenge)

In overview, my introductory step into the Grey was engaging, and an act of will power since I kept getting pulled away to do the mundane normal world stuff like work and help with the grand-baby. By the time the big build-up climaxed, I was distracted and left standing on the outside looking in, rather than being immersed in the story.

On the back cover:

Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until a two-bit perp’s savage assault left her dead—for two minutes, to be precise.

This simple incident leads to a series of increasingly bizarre encounters. At first, Harper blames it on the knock to the head she received, but as things get weirder, she fears (like most of us would) she is going crazy. On the dubious advice of a doctor, she seeks out Ben and Mara Danzinger who tell her what she is seeing is what they call “the Grey.” Or in other words, the world between this reality and the afterlife.

Harper’s world gets more bizarre after a routine missing person case she is working on unveils yet another connection to the Grey.

In classic Hammett-noir fashion, the cases Harper pursues, and the connection to the mysterious increase. The stakes get higher, and the characters get darker. The reader starts to doubt the motives along with the detective and the drama rises to a deadly level.

Wonderfully engaging, and the beginnings of a great series.

8.5 out of 10

by Rowena Cherry

Wow. Science fiction with a touch of romance. Really. Let me say it again. Science Fiction…! Backstory needed, bizarre world building, and too much going on to really focus on the budding romance. Should not be put in with the romance novels. but I can’t really see some Microsoft clone wanna be Spock reading this one either.

Writing: 7.1 (kudos for world building, minus points for romantic suspense); characters: couldn’t relate. Nope. Couldn’t relate….6.1; plot: out there and contrived. huh. 5; conclusion: wow, Captain Cardboard has a brain. Who knew? 6.1

Total: 6.1

by Lori Handeland

Elizabeth Phoenix used to be a police officer, but left because her “gift” of seeing things through touch caused the death of her partner. Now she is drawn into more intrigue as her foster mother is brutally murdered. And the main suspect is her ex-boyfriend and enigma, Jimmy Sanducci.

Drawn into an underworld of paranormal war, she must choose to follow her destiny and avenge her foster-mother’s death and pick up the mantle of leadership she left behind.

Grade: writing: 8.6

by Sandra Hill

At last the littlest of the LeDeux boys gets a story. Tee-John, formerly the comic relief of Hill’s Cajun novels is all grown up and ready for Saint Jude to work his mojo. That is, his great aunt Tante Lulu seems to think so. And when Tante Lulu thinks someone is ready for the “Thunderbolt of Love” nobody and nothing is safe.

This romp of a read leaves no sacred stone secure. Poor Tee John not only has to avoid Tante Lulu’s thunderbolts, but the reporting mayhem caused by one of his old flames named Celine Arseneux. Can you smell the ozone?

Dash in a little police drama, bordellos, a hunt for pirate treasure, mob bosses and politicians, hoodoo love magic, and the brew is cayenne pepper hot.

Overall: I simply love Sandra Hill’s works. There is no doubt that she is a master in her genre and a humor genius. 9

by Michelle Lang

This line of books has included many entries with amazing depth, intriguing plots, and enough techno-geek babble to keep this fiction nerd ecstatically happy. Netherwood takes the line beyond Star Trek into Matrix realm. I never quite got the jist of the first ten or so chapters. The world building was simply too “out there.”

Talia Fortune is several things, heir to a mega corporation that runs the future, sheriff/law enforcement in a world that exists both in reality and cyber reality, and spy in the cyber underworld nicknamed “the Netherwood.” She is hunting down her digital lover also known as Avenger. Can you smell the plot yet? Well dash in the Matrix vibes and throw in Terminator 2 for good plot comparison. Do I take the red pill or the blue pill?

Overall: Once past the confusing world building it picked up pace and led to a semi-satisfying ending. But you won’t hear me singing its praises. 5.45

by Charlaine Harris

There is a certain quality that literature has that sets it apart from regular stories. It may be a nuance, a phrase, the character voice, the setting, the reactions of supporting characters, or that certain intangible thing that makes your heart tense with emotion.

An Ice Cold Grave is the continuation of Harper Connelly’s adventures. Her talent? Finding dead bodies. Not the nicest of careers. With the help of her step-brother Tolliver, they are on the trail to find a missing teenager. But this isn’t an ordinary case. There’s more than one missing boy.

And Harper finds out how many more.

This chilling tale is a “don’t miss” read. Not only are you gripped by the unfolding drama, but you are touched by Harper’s personal tale.

Writing: I used to think I liked Sookie’s (another Harris character) voice better than Harper’s. This book proved me wrong. It’s all the genius of the author. I could only wish to write as well. 10

Characters: There are no cardboard cutouts allowed in Harris’s works. This book is no exception. Whether it is the aging grandmother, or the town police chief, supporting actors have as much of a tale to tell as the leads. There is a chilling discovery at the end when the killer is revealed. There is also warmth. 9.5

Plot: Suspense, heebie-jeebies, tension…it’s all there. Served up with a chill. 10

Ending: With the strength of the novel in its words, the ending wrap up falls a bit soft. The climax is spectacular, but all things must end. Without the wrap up, a 10, but with it… um? 9.2

Overall: Not quite as good as the last book I read by CH (A Secret Rage) but that was a stand-alone tale. 9.7

by Christine Feehan

Unlike her Drake Sisters novels, the Game series has all the qualities of a fast paced thriller. There aren’t as many overt Mary Sue’s and Marty Stu’s littering the landscape and the action is much tighter. This tale centers around Saber Winter (sigh…faked names, I’m shaking my head.) and Jess Calhoun. Guess what Jess’s occupation is? Cattle wrangler? No, sorry. Former Navy Seal now radio station owner with his sister. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that, huh?

Saber is on the run yet still manages to snag a DJ job from Jess in this post 9-11 world. It’s fiction so that’s ok. Saber is also genetically enhanced by an evil overlord type that has ties to the military. Ok, it’s fiction… Jess just happens to be enhanced too. The coincidences are fast and furious.

Writing: I can’t fault the execution or style. Feehan’s a pro who delivers consistently above average work. While not elegant or lyric it gets the job done. 7

Characters: Given the situation I guess the believability factor can be tossed so let’s just enjoy them. They’re at odds, slightly Captain Cardboard, but fun for an afternoon of black and white. 7.5

Plot: Here’s where world building helps and formulated plots hurt. 6.4

Ending: Big finale, lots of boom. Kiss kiss, etc. 6.8

Overall: A solid entry by Feehan, but not literature. 6.9

by Simon R. Green

It’s an odd feeling to put on a pair of shoes you haven’t worn in a while. Your feet become so accustomed to the nuances of tight new shoes that your old shoes feel loose in comparison. I bring this up because “The Unnatural Inquirer” (the latest in Simon Green’s Nightside series) is just like that old pair of shoes. It’s loose, comfortable, everything you love about an old pair of shoes, but it lacks the “new” feeling.

Sure, the story is new. There is new trouble to be faced, Walker is more of an enigma than ever, and Suzie Shooter has a couple of walk on scenes. But the main thing I felt that lacked was some of the tension of the prior books. Now that the BIG BAD is gone (sorry, if I spoiled things for fans new to Simon Green) it just seems as if John Taylor is strolling through the case with a lackadaisical ease he didn’t have before. I don’t think I like the old shoes much anymore. But I’ll still bring them out and wear them once in a while.

Writing: Green is his usual paranormal noir self. There are witticisms, collected descriptions of the bizzarro world that makes up the Nightside, but overall it was phoned in. 7.0

Characters: John Taylor, Suzie Shooter, Walker, The Collector…they’re all here. There’s a cameo by Alex Morrisey (he gets more lines than Suzie), and the assorted baddies that wait ’til the last few pages to be revealed. I love all of them, and it was nice to see the dust settle once again in the Nightside. I miss Razor Eddie. 8.0

Plot: Tightly woven mystery despite the lack of tension. That all stems from the apocalypse aversion in the prior couple of novels that made things SO intense. It’s like a Buffy episode following the destruction of a notorious bad guy; it’s there, it’s funny, it’s…eh. Something had to follow Lilith. 8.1

Ending: I’m going to root for John and Suzie ’til the day I die. Well, maybe not, but I liked the way it ended for now. 8.3

Overall: 7.9