Reviews and Comments

Brussels is a city I particularly dislike, so it felt as extra punishment for Gabriel as Jane leaves him alone in their hotel room there because he's being a horrible company and refuses to tell her what's going on. What a way to fulfil her dream of travelling around the world! Back to the Half-Moon Hollow without a boyfriend, Jane finds that her book shop is ready to open and all her friends are there to help her get back on her feet. But strange things keep happening and Jolene is pregnant, which turns both sides of their families into bad nightmares. But the real questions are: who wrote the anonymous notes to Gabriel? Why is Jane getting some threatening letters? Who is Jeaniene? What is wrong with Mr. Wainwright's nephew?

In this book the adventure slows down to Jane's routine around the town. The book is still funny and compelling, but is not as interesting as the first two. The story slightly shifts focus to Dick and Andrea, while Zeb and Gabriel are missing most of the action. Even the end lacks a lot of action. But there are good things as well, Jane's mother finally accepts her and it is great to see part of her family rebounding. Andrea and Dick are just a great couple, and it's funny to read their dialogues as well as their concerns towards Jane. This is an easy to read book, but I felt some more action and more dangerous enemies would have helped.

Zeb's wedding is coming up and neither of their families is happy about it, but they still decide to do a Titanic themed wedding. What could go wrong, right? Zeb's mother is specially unhappy about her son's wedding and will make the happy couple miserable, which will eventually become Jane's problem. But Jane already has money problems, sister problems, boyfriend's problems and her horrible Grandma Ruthie found a new victim during her ex burial. Jane has a lot of fires to put out!

I really like Jane, she is sort of the perfect main character. She is funny, she is strong, she doesn't let people abuse her (too much) and she is smart. I really like her, so I was worried that the main mystery was rather obvious. But everything else, even if it looks pointless to the main plot, is extremely entertaining and keeps the story interesting. The best bit was discovering that the main mystery wasn't the one I thought... And a wedding themed after the Titanic?? That is just too good to miss.

Jane Jameson is a nice librarian that has just got fired and even though she hated her boss, she loved her job. Drowned in self-pity, Jane drinks to forget and her luck gets worse when her car breaks down on the way home. She is then shot (mistaken by a deer) and left to die, but she wakes up undead. Jane is slightly upset about this turn of events, but she really didn't want to die and so she has to make her new situation work with the help of her best friend, a really ugly dog and her strange sire. Things get complicated as she becomes the prime suspect of murdering a vampire she fought with. Plus, everyone seems to covet the house she lives, her family included.

This book is really funny! It is very quotable and in that it reminded me a bit of Evanovich's Plum series. However, Jane is not as nosy as Stephanie and hopes trouble goes away if she ignores it really hard. Because of that, the story doesn't develop quickly but it still grabbed my interest. The dialogues are extremely funny, and the way Jane's relationships evolve once she is declared a vampire is quite interesting. A whole new world is opening for her in the form of a basket on behalf of the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, a hot sire, a nice werewolf, the ghost of her favourite aunt and vampire politics. She has a lot to learn, not to mention suncream to apply. What a delightful read.

Tammy Jo Trask is a beautiful redhead living in a small town, divorced from a policeman that still loves her. Her family is magical but Tammy doesn't seem to be able to handle witchcraft - at least she can bake great cakes. Trouble comes her way when her family locket is stolen, which holds the ghost of Eddie. Tammy Jo has to get her locket back as soon as possible or Eddie will disappear for good. In the meantime she meets the very handsome Bryn Lyons that gives her a mysterious cat to protect her, even though she has been advised to stay away from him. Vampires and werewolves also start to visit town as troubles unfold.

Is Tammy Jo a common name? I'm not english, but it sounds awful to me and I kept forgetting it. This story is very fast-paced and I enjoyed reading it, but I still feel Eddie would be a better main character. Tammy is not very strong or logical - which Lyons blames on her red hair - and in some bits I wished she would just seat and think before running. The crime story is compelling, as are the other characters but a lot of the mysteries about Tammy and her family are left unsolved. The end is a bit weird, I don't get it why none of the magical people knew how to solve that particular problem. It's a very entertaining book and I'm looking forward to read the next ones.

I wanted to know the end of [b:High Five|6423|High Five (Stephanie Plum, #5)|Janet Evanovich|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1270849101s/6423.jpg|1874115] so bad that I started reading this book straight away. It's again filled with very funny moments, but it doesn't have as many explosions as the previous instalment. But don't worry, instead of explosions we get Bob: the wonder dog that eats (and therefore poops) like a cow! Besides this great addition, Stephanie is surprised by both grandma Mazur moving in with her and Ranger's disappearance. Ranger is the last person caught on tape leaving a murder scene, and Stephanie wants to help him but has no idea how, specially considering that almost every criminal in town is looking for him and hoping she leads them to Ranger. To make matters even worse, Joyce Barnhardt is the bounty hunter responsible for bringing Ranger in. Things can't get any more complicated for Stephanie, unless we add a man who is badly in need of sex and is called Morelli! Wow, this series is unstoppable!

This series is an amazing good mix of mystery and laughs, and this book doesn't disappoint at all. Stephanie's uncle is missing and even though he was known to be a scrooge, he might have been onto something bad when he disappeared. Stephanie is asked to look for her uncle, while Vinnie doesn't have much work for her. Since money is starting to become a problem, she decides to ask Ranger for some help on getting her a job. Hilarity and explosions ensue. I didn't realise how much I missed big explosions! Stephanie really attracts dangerous situations and people - either in the form of criminals or sexy men. And it's a known fact that people in the burg don't like that other people get shot or blown up - the viewing isn't the same with a closed casket. Morelli is finally getting some competition from Ranger and I cannot wait to read the next book and find out exactly what was happening in the end. As always, Janet Evanovich delivers and if you love Stephanie as much as I do, this book is a must read. Mix a lot of Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger, grandma Mazur and Lula, and then add a little of a sheik, a little person and a lot of cars: you are ready for the action!

Panem is a world built on the remains of our present, and is divided into twelve districts controlled by the Capitol. Once the districts rebelled against the Capitol but they lost the war. The way found by the Capitol to punish the rebels was to destroy one of the districts and organise "The Hunger Games": every year each district has to send a boy and a girl - the tributes - to an arena to fight to death against the tributes of the other districts. Katniss volunteers to the games to take the place of her younger sister and Peeta, the son of the baker, is randomly chosen to pair up with Katniss as the tributes of District 12. The whole thing is televised as a huge reality TV show and humanity seems completely lost for those who bet on the children and are thrilled by each death.

This has to be one of the fastest paced books I have ever read. It is amazingly well written! This book is the first of a trilogy so I knew the end would be a cliffhanger to make me run for the second book ([b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268805322s/6148028.jpg|6171458][b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268805322s/6148028.jpg|6171458]). It is surprising how I loved Katniss although her main instinct is to survive to get back to sister, even if it means killing everything that moves and compromising her feelings. The easy to love Peeta shows the tenderness that seems to have abandoned everyone else as he doesn't mind losing, which means being killed, if that makes Katniss the winner. Reading the way characters grow while fighting for survival and finding surprising allies is extremely enjoyable. The whole Panem is exceptionally well thought and this book is a pleasure to read, even if the whole idea of children killing each other sounds like a awful premise. A must read.

Alex and Rianna have their office "Tongues for the dead" finally open and they need clients. When a man throws himself from the top of a building and his ghost firmly denies he killed himself, Alex and Rianna get their first client. In the meantime, Nekros is assaulted by more suspicious suicides and Alex cannot understand what is going on - what kind of magic can force someone to take its own life? To make things worse, Death is avoiding her and Falin barely speaks to her because he's a pawn at the hands of the Winter Queen.

I looooved this book, it's definitely my favourite so far! Alex is clearly tired of everything she went through, not only physically but also emotionally since she feels abandoned by both Death and Falin. She tries to concentrate on her new office and the case she has in hands: a handful of suicides that sound a lot like homicides. But how? And why? Not to mention her true heritage that is getting more and more obvious, which brings a lot more problems for Alex as she dreads Faerie. Thankfully Alex's best friends are there willing to help her, I was really glad to see the whole group fighting together. What a great book! It still leaves a lot of open questions, but it's very hard to stop reading because the action never stops and the suspense builds enormously with a lot of twists! Can't wait for the next one!

Mona Berman writes romances and is happy with her wedding and three daughters until her busband tells her he wants a divorce. Mona is completey caught off guard, and as she puts it: “Mr. Arnold,” I said between clenched teeth, “looking into a lighted make-up mirror with a plus-seven magnification is a humbling experience. Having your husband leave you for a younger woman just plain sucks.” Now Morna has to adjust to being single, convince her editor that her new book will sell even though she is not completely sure of it, survive her three children plus one dog, one cat and her aunt Lilly that comes to live with her and brings two more kitties with her. And then there's the plumber Ben who makes Mona's imagination run wild whether he's coming or leaving. Will Mona find her happy ending through so much ordeal?

For a free Kindle book, I expected less, much less. I laughed out loud several times and completely fell in love with Mona. It's easy to understand with whom she will be in the end, but I was pleasantly surprised by the way the story (and her dates!) unfolded. I kept wishing Mona good luck through her relationships and thankfully her good friends kept her sane through her divorce and bad first dates (she has a couple of really bad ones!). Aunt Lilly is too funny! An excellent addition to the "permanent" cast. A perfect reading for the Summer and to cheer you up!

Vlad Tepesh - the Dracula himself - is a vampire with a long history and a seemingly long list of enemies. Leila is a human that channels electricity and is able to learn each person's secrets through touch. Moreover, she can also contact people using her powers and has tried to control them most of her life. Vlad's enemies think she might be the missing weapon in their fight against Vlad, but Leila is not so sure about it. And then comes along Vlad and saves her, which makes her a willing prisoner of the infamous vampire.

Vlad is the main character of this story and how he deserves it! He's been one of my favourite characters and sometimes I even liked him more than Bones. But even though there are some funny dialogues between Vlad and Leila's thoughts, I have to say most of the humour I relate to Vlad in Cat's books is nowhere to be found. I particularly liked how fierce Leila is and how she balances her options, but the end was so predictable!... This book is full of adventure and has a bit of romance, but ends without a real ending so I look forward to the next book in this series.

Rebecca Bloomwood is a journalist who is not quite sure if she should be writing advising people on their finances when she simply can't control hers. She feels better whenever she shops - so every problem she has makes her shop more, which brings her into a lot of debt. Now she only has two options: cutting back or making more money. Or maybe use her colourful imagination to keep her bank problems at bay?

I picked up this book after reading [b:I've Got Your Number|12033455|I've Got Your Number|Sophie Kinsella|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327956732s/12033455.jpg|16327730], which I really enjoyed and because everyone seemed to enjoy this series from the same author. It is a funny book and I was curious to see how it ended, but I couldn't feel any kind of sympathy towards Rebecca. Most of her problems were self-inflicted and I still think she got away too easily with lying so much. On the other hand, I don't get a thing about clothes and should have thought of that before start reading this book. The story itself didn't develop much, and even though it's very easy to read I was actually expecting more.

Lalla Bains and her dad are selling their crop dust business, but in the meantime Lalla hires a new pilot - Dewey Treat - to help them in their last season. Unfortunately, Dewey ends up dead at their "end-of-business" party (at least he died at the right themed party!). Lalla ends up taking care of Nancy, Dewey's widow, and brings her to her home because she feels Nancy might also be in danger. Of course Lalla's suspicions turn out to be founded, but there's no way a tiny little thing like her wedding is going to stop Lalla from snooping and figuring out who killed Dewey and why!

I'm so happy that Lalla Bains is back! This was my favourite book of the three and it's all there: crime, mystery, suspense and great characters! I really liked the glimpses into Lalla's thoughts as she goes back and forth with new theories. Her dad completely lost in a house full of women as Lalla's great-aunt and her cousin (Pearlie) come from Texas for her wedding is hilarious. Nancy is a great character because you won't be able to decide if she is one of the good guys or one of the bad ones. Nevertheless, the best new character is hidden under cousin Pearlie who starts out as a spoiled rich woman but who keeps growing on you, believe me. It's also endearing to finally meet the woman behind Lalla's name and finding out how much they have in common. You'll like this story, it has the right twists, the right amount of corpses, one bride and at least one goat! (Which according to the author has not been harmed in the making of the book).

Still recovering from a blood moon, Alex Craft is back as well as her two love interests: fae Falin and Death. She has a new case that involves shadeless left feet with no bodies attached. There is a very powerful serial killer on the loose and Alex's magic may be the only way to stop the killer, even though it may be too much magic for Alex to handle. Weird and strange creatures move in the shadows protected by glamour and most see Alex as a target. Faerie is finally closing in on Alex and there are too many dangerous choices to be made.

I loved this book! It was better than the first, filled with action, magic and mystery. Be warned that the book ends with a cliffhanger but is a satisfying one, I may add. Alex is using more and more of her power as she is slowly discovering what she can do and the secrets her family holds. However, she also gets blinder and blinder as her power degrades her real sight. With all the help she can get, Alex tries to fight the foreign magic attacking her and stop the serial killer, while trying to understand what happened to the bodies the left feet once belonged to. She also cozies up to Faerie and meets other important fae characters along the way, as she discovers more of herself. Alex's world unravels with each page and I just loved how it pours magical creatures, power and amazing scenarios. What an action-packed book!