Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love the yummy recipes in these books. The characters are fun but I found this book being very slow compared to the first book in the series. It took about three quarters of the book before it started to get interesting.
Hannah's indecision over Mike and Norman is starting to bug me and I'm only in book 2 I think it's going to go on for a long while, love triangles usually do.
I will keep reading these books, they are a good, easy reading 'who dun it?'
With delicious recipes. :)

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Glory In Death by J.D. Robb

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
 
"It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there's only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Even in the mid-twenty-first century, during a time when genetic testing usually weeds out any violent hereditary traits before they can take over, murder still happens. The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects-including her own lover, Roarke."

I enjoy this series. Its an easy read, with quirky characters and a good 'who dun it' what more could you ask for? 

Oh yes the mysterious Roarke! ;)

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Damascus Road by Ellen C. Maze

Damascus Road by Ellen C. Maze

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
 
"How far would you go to protect the innocent?
Giving up your life to save a stranger is one thing, but subject yourself to constant torture in an effort to save some people you've never met? This is the kind of man you'll find in Tony Agricola; survivor of Book One: The Judging.

Tony will sacrifice his very blood so the town can sleep safe at night. Would you?"

Wow, Ellen has done it yet again. What a fantastic trip she just sent me on.
I seem to fall in love with every new character Ellen brings in to her books.

In this instalment Tony is on a mission to save Paul from his evil vampire ways. Tony is determined to keep him on a tight rein but Paul finds himself another preacher Big John Jenkins. Will two preachers be enough to placate him? 

I have loved every one of Ellen's books and short stories that I have picked up. I recommend her books to everyone.

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Emma's Dragon: A fairly Horrible Love Story by Ellen C. Maze

Emma's Dragon: A Fairly Horrible Love Story by Ellen C. Maze

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
 
"Famous children's book illustrator, Emma Topp, saw a dragon while camping alone at Tom Bailey Lake. Should she tell anyone? Braving to share her sighting with handsome and dashing Deputy Trevor Lucas, Emma might have bitten off more than she can chew."

I've had my eye on this short story since it was added to Amazon. The cover is eye catching and the title made me curious. I finally got round to buying it today and finished it in no time.

I think the fairly in the title was an understatement. 

Ellen you've done it again, I loved the story, it captured me so much that when I had finished, I found my forgotten cup of tea cold.

A fabulous read I would recommend to anyone with a spare 30 minutes.

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Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"A body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to Lowes Motor Speedway near Charlotte just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for race week. The next day, a NASCAR crew member shares with Tempe a devastating story. Twelve years earlier his sister, Cyndi Gamble, then a high school senior who wanted to be a professional racecar driver, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Is the body Cyndi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, but the search was quickly terminated. As Tempe is considering multiple theories, including an FBI cover-up, a surprising, secret substance is found with the body, leaving Tempe to wonder what exactly the government was up to. . ."

I really enjoyed this book. I have never read a Kathy Reichs book before and was so glad I gave her ago.
The main character Dr Brennan isn't quite as weird/quirky as she is in the TV series "Bones", But I think I liked that. I will definitely grab her books again.

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City of Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am really disappointed with this book. It kept me reading but only to get to the good bit, that didn't really arrive. It was just full of Jace hating himself even more for reason's out of his control. I didn't think it was possible for some one to hate themselves so much, but Jace definitely hits a record in this installment. I wanted the happy Jace and Clary, which I think we managed one paragraph of in the whole book. Or was that one of Jace's self loathing dreams? Yes you read that right, He didn't even have to be awake to be hating himself.

There were bits I liked, like Maia and Jordan and Simon and Isabelle. But Jace brought it all down. :(

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Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary man, maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.


A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15. 

Today is August 14."

A friend of mine recommended this to me and I am so glad he did.


This book was a great read, but I did find Odd babbled alot.It wasn't too predictable and I loved the fact that Odd gets visit's from "the King of Rock 'n' Roll", Elvis. :)

I did not guess the end, infact I was that shocked I had to read the sentence (if you've read it you'll know which one I mean) three times over before I believed what I was reading. Lol...

Very good Mr Koontz, very good.

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Envy by J.R. Ward

Envy by J.R. Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis ~ "Seven deadly sins. Seven souls to save. And a man and a woman treading the lines of danger, desire and deliverance ...As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas DelVecchio Jr grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father. Hired to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in Veck is both professional and arousingly personal. But Veck and Sophia have a common interest. He's Jim Herron, a mysterious stranger enlisted to save the soul of a killer's latest victim, one precariously hovering between heaven and hell. Before Herron's job is done, Veck and Sophia will be inexorably drawn into a battle of good against evil, where the risk is nothing less than total damnation."

I'll start by saying I love how J.R. Ward has connected this Fallen Angels series with Black Dagger Brotherhood, her other series. I was so happy to see Veck is a main character, I wanted to get to know him more after Lover Unleashed.He is such a complex and confused man.

Overall I loved this book just like I have loved everyone of J.R. Ward's book's, she is an amazing writer. Most her main characters are men and she has their dialogue down to a T. I forget that it's actually a woman that has written these books.

I'm three books into this series and I still can't figure out who 'Dog' is.. He is obviously not an ordinary dog and Jim knows that... The question is Who is he???

One of my favourite quotes out of this book:

“[Devina] “You know, Adrian, you ever get bored with being a Goody Two-shoes, you could come over to my side.”
“Because you have cookies, right.”
Those black eyes returned to his own. “And so much more.”
“Well, I’m on a diet. Sorry—but thanks for the invite.”
― J.R. Ward, Envy
 
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Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis ~ "Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .
Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.
Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.
A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?"

I was really disappointed how the last book, Hourglass ended. That's why I waited so long to read this last one. But I'm so glad I put my concerns aside and picked this up. It was Fab.
I can't say much without spoiling so I'll just leave you with one sentence..... Read it ASAP. :)

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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis ~ "Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts
pounding."

Oh my.. I balled my eyes out most of the way through this book and loved every word of it.

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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis ~ "Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol..."

Wow.. I really did pick this up immediately after finishing The Hunger Games And could not put the bugger down. I was so engrossed. All I can say is it is jam packed full of twists and turns. Now I am going to go bury myself in Mockingjay :)

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book would of gotten 5 stars but I struggled to get into it. I had to read a good 30% of the book before I couldn't put it down. So for that reason I only thought it fair to have 4 stars.

 Synopsis ~ "In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."
This may have some tiny spoilers. It's a hard one to review without spoiling it.

I love the whole concept of the story. I guess it's a more brutal immoral form of Big Brother, but with teenagers as the contestants. Katniss is a great character but she bugged me when she didn't get Peeta's feelings.

I'm going to open the next book right now just so I can find out what happens with Peeta and Katniss next, now that they are home. Not to mention what is Gales reaction going to be about it all.

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Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a HUGE Richelle Mead fan, I have read all of her series and love them all for their own reason's. I was gutted when I heard that Last Sacrifice was the last in her Vampire Academy Series. So when I heard that Richelle was starting a new series that was a spin-off to Vampire Academy, I was extremely happy.

The main character/narrator of this book is Sydney, who we first met in Blood Promise. Obviously Richelle kept us in the dark about which other characters were going to be featured, dropping hints here and there. I, along with all other VA fans; was hoping that one of those characters would be Adrian. We left him heartbroken by Rose in Last Sacrifice and I felt a need to see more of him and hopefully see him recover and move on.

We start to see a possible love connection between Sydney and Adrian that did get on my nerves a little and I found myself shouting at the pages. "Just Kiss, damn you!"

Eddie was another character from VA that was in Bloodlines, but I felt he needed a bigger part in this story. At the end it showed potential that the next book might give us that.

We were given a new character called Micah. I'm just not too sure about what I think of him. There is a connection (if you want to call it that) between him and Mason, (whom died in on of the VA books) that Eddie picks up on. It affects Eddie quite a lot. I'm not sure if that connection is what puts me off Micah or if it's just the name. As I read another series by Laurell K. Hamilton which has a Micah who debuts in Micah, He is THE Micah. Maybe I should call Richelle's Micah, Michael as I read and see if that helps.

The only problem I had with Bloodlines is that I found it was just too predictable! I was hitting my head with the book every time it hinted at Jill's attack/rescue. The other main Tattoo thing was really predictable too. But saying all that I loved being in Sydney's head and loved getting to see Adrian too.

So definitely want to read the next one, especially since a certain person walked in the door at the end. It sounds like he might be staying for a while too. ;)

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Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was great short story, and wow was it full of steamy, hot sex scenes. So full in fact I didn't realise it was only 80 odd pages long. I got a phone call right in the middle of one of these scenes by a telesales person, lets just say I was so pissed at the disruption; they won't be ringing back again.

I don't know where to start with this review...Ok here it is in 5 words---> Sexy Sebastian, Wowza! MUST READ. ;)






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The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide by J.R. Ward

The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide by J.R. Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've never read "An insider's Guide" to a series before. I put it off for a long time thinking it would be a boring recap of the series so far. I was proved so wrong when I picked this up.

This book has all sorts of fun brotherhood information in it. Firstly there is a Novella called 'Father Mine' which is based on Zsadist and Bella. I love Zsadist. He is one of my favourite brothers. There's lots of advice in here for aspiring writers, information on publishing, agents and editors. It gives a good insight into JR's writing process which was very eye opening. There's also a section called 'Kicks and giggles' which is some of JR's favourite quotes and smart ass comments the brothers have come out with in the books. Then there is also a section with posts that the brothers have put on the BDB message boards. Which were really funny.

I am so glad I bought this BDB, Insider's Guide. I feel like I know the brothers even better now.

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Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was undecided on whether I should give it 3 or 4 stars. I decided on 3 because the story wasn't that fab. Towards the end it picked its pace up and did reel me into the story more, so I am interested in seeing what happens in the next installment.

It was the character Jericho Barrons that had kept me reading this book. Barrons is such a interesting mystery I found myself skimming some of the duller bits to find any information on him, I could. He isn't like other male character's that you fall for while reading and want to read more because they are just so damn sexy. He is something else entirely, i can't put my finger on it, he's alluring and fascinating. I definitely want to learn more about him.

The story starts with MacKayla Lane an ordinary 22 year old from Georgia, telling us her story...

Her sister Alina has been murdered in Ireland and the only clue to the murderer is a confusing voice mail message on Mac's cell phone. She goes to Ireland to talk the Police into keeping Alina's case open. But falls into a world of Fae. She uncovers Truths about her sister and herself that has been kept from her by her parents all her life.

Mac runs into Jericho Barrons, he seems to be the only person that can and will answer her question's, well some of them anyway. As much as she doesn't trust him any further then she can throw him. She finds her self going back to him in need of help. Mac agrees to help Jericho find the elusive "Sinsar Dubh" --that her sister mentioned on that voice mail message--- and hopefully it will lead her to her sisters murderer. Barrons leads Mac not only deeper into the Fae world, but also into the world of a mobster ex-boxer, and a vampire's lair....

A great piece of advice from Barrons that will stick with me for a long time is ".....if there's one thing I've learned in life it's this: assume makes an ass out of u and me.

a sight from the book that will never leave my mind: Barrons painting nails... LMAO.

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