The Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

ISBN:  9781416532415

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing

Rating:  B

Isabel Spellman is up to her old tricks, investigating the men she dates to the point of violating a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and admitting her true feelings to her mom.  As is a typical adventure into the world of Spellman’s there is always SO much drama going on.  Izzy is having trouble keeping tabs on all the craziness that is raining down in her life.
Her workaholic brother David has taken to drunken bouts in his bathrobe watching his ginormous TV in the middle of the day.

Izzy’s best friend and David’s wife Petra has gone MIA and won’t return any of Izzy’s calls except to the land line of Spellman Investigations.  Petra’s disappearing act and David’s penchant for Bourbon in the afternoons leads Izzy to think there might be trouble in paradise.

Izzy’s parents have been taking random “disappearances” aka vacations and hating every minute of them.  Izzy’s dad seems to be taking showers in the middle of day and no one knows why and Izzy’s mom keeps waking up in the middle of the night to vandalize a motorbike.

And enter the new neighbor and exboyfriend #10, John Brown, if that is really his name.  He has a locked door in his apartment that he consistently finds Izzy trying to break into, and their relationship lasts about 3 days because she has to get in that door and he refuses to let her.

And as always Rae and Henry, while Henry gives Rae driving lessons, she accidentally almost murders Henry by running him over.  Ahhhh you gotta love a 15 year old with a learners permit.
I really adore this series, it’s so light and fun and almost normal.  Lutz has created a cast of characters so truly unique and inspired that they almost surpass my love of the Stephanie Plum gang.  Currently Lutz has created a more realistically true cast, and that has me begging for more already.  However, I do not see news of the next installment on the authors website

If you haven’t yet read The Spellman Files, it is one of my new favorite series because the minute I open the cover I am completely sucked into the my role as the innocent observer in the craziness of The Spellman family.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

ISBN: 9780451217424

Rating: B-

Courtesy of: Ck2S Kwips and Kritiques

Eloise Kelly is on a mission to discover the true identity of one of the most elusive and influential English spies of the 19^th Century. When Eloise leaves Harvard behind and heads to England to research this most romantic of all heroes, she is in for an adventure to exceed many lifetimes. Eloise learns that relatives of Lord Richard Selwick, aka The Purple Gentian, may have papers that will help her solve the mystery that has captivated her enough to lie about the true reason for her dissertation.

It took me a while to become engaged in THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION. I can admit this probably had more to do with how I prefer to learn about the characters rather than any problems with the story itself and how it was written. I loved it when I was reading it but I kept setting it down; not because I didn’t want to know what happened, but because I knew I was so far away from finding out. THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION is the first in Willig’s series; therefore the build up of the world and characters is important and will definitely lead for a more fulfilling experience with the future stories in this series. I just prefer a little more action while getting to know the cast of characters. After I reached the point of no return, I could not set this book aside without itching to get back to it. Which is a mark of great storyteller, keeping me interested enough to keep reading and then springing the good stuff on me that I couldn’t put the book down.

While Eloise’s story is the prompt for the plot, her intrusions detracted a bit from the story, whether it was by design or by flaw it doesn’t matter she always appeared just as I was about to find out somebody’s dirty little secret. Willig made me feel as though I were Eloise as I was reading and having her appear randomly took me out of the story and distracted me from the story. However, the last chapter of the book had me wanting to know more about both The Pink Carnation and Eloise which gave me hope for the future books in this series.

By the time I closed this book, I cared for all the characters and couldn’t wait to know more, and the almost cliffhanger at the end of THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION had me reaching for the next book in this series THE MASQUE OF THE BLACK TULIP. Although the beginning of THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION did not fit my reading personality, by the end I was caught in the mystery and intrigue of The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and all the spies that were trying to save England from a French invasion.

Fuzzy Navel by JA Konrath

ISBN: 9781401302801

Rating: A

Courtesy of Ck2S Kwips and Kritiques

Lieutenant Jack Daniels is about to start a hellacious day

3 Snipers simultaneously kill 3 separate sexual predators at exactly 5 pm making Jack’s head spin.  Arriving at the final crime scene Jack becomes a potential victim because 1 sniper hasn’t finished yet, and starts picking off cops one at a time.

Jack is about to learn that watching cops die around her doesn’t compare to what lies in wait at home.  What will Jack do when faced with more than 1 enemy and trying to protect everyone she loves?

Fuzzy Navel is another inspiring vision into the life of Lieutenant Jack Daniels of the Chicago Police Department.  JA Konrath has erected a world for his leading lady to inhabit with the freedom to be everything she should be; wise cracking, tough talking, loyal, sensitive, and true to herself.  I always feel at home when I am encompassed by a Jack Daniels story, transported to the places of my childhood, the sights and sounds of Chicago and everything that surrounds her.

Konrath does an exceptional job at making each moment in this book count.  It was written in a small time frame and in small quarters, but it was written well and with so much action which made it larger than life.  I found myself anticipating what would happen next only to find myself on the last page and well….

Pardon me while I have a moment with the author, Mr. Konrath, was the ending really necessary?  Do you have to torture me for a whole year?  The minute I closed Fuzzy Navel I logged onto your website to get some answers and all I found was more questions and even more laughs.  It takes an author who is also truly a reader to make me laugh when I am still in shock, but kudos to you for allowing me the opportunity to forgive you before I even realized how mad I truly was.

Forgiven though he may be, I am impatiently waiting for Cherry Bomb to release in June 2009.

Reviewed by Merry

Lover Enshrined by JR Ward

ISBN: 9780451222725
Rating: A

Courtesy of Ck2S Kwips and Kritiques

In a haze of red smoke, Phury is lost to all, especially himself. As savior for the race of Brothers it appears that he will again fail to honor a role he’s taken over. The war between the Lessers and the Brotherhood is reaching seismic proportions and the losses are felt more than ever. Will the Brotherhood survive this latest plunge of the Lessening society or will they fail to protect the most innocent among them?

LOVER ENSHRINED showed me as a reader that a love story does not have to occur only between lovers. The relationships Ward has created between the Brothers shows that a love story can occur within the confines of the family whether it is a biological or a chosen family. There are several emotionally intense moments that occur in LOVER ENSHRINED and each one was presented with such a delicate hand, it brought tears to my eyes.

As each book in this series progresses, the relationships between the Brothers is more of a focus and I am so happy to bear witness to such an amazingly strong character driven series. I love each Brother more than the next because although I might not always like what I am reading, I like who they are and what they represent as characters. Too many authors take their Alpha Males to the negative extreme which constantly makes them far too unattractive to me as a reader, however Ward has created Warriors, Brothers, and Men who not only protect the body but also the heart which shows the true Alpha character of a man.

LOVER ENSHRINED was definitely not a romance lovers dream. It is a gritty, honest, and sometimes brutal story of what it takes to love someone who doesn’t love themselves; however it also shows the heart of a man who would do anything to protect one his Brothers.

I was finally captivated by the Lessening Society and the true Evil of The Omega. LOVER ENSHRINED brought the war between The Brotherhood and The Lessening Society front and center for me and had me begging for answers and devouring the book that much faster in order to get those answers.

First time readers of J.R. Ward should start the series at its inception DARK LOVER, where a truly amazing cast of characters is born.

LOVER ENSHRINED made me laugh, it made me cry and I am honored that I get to spend a few hours lost in the talented story telling of J.R. Ward.

Reviewed by Merry

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

ISBN:  9780641835322

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Trade

Rating:  B

Meet Isabel Spellman; the PI with a past and the family drive her back there.  The only thing in Isabel’s life that keeps her grounded is working for Spellman Investigations, but when her parents drive her to the brink she is forced to consider giving up the only thing she knows in order to escape their family “issues”.  Will Isabel solve the last case of her career before time runs out?

Isabel is the perfect blend of Stephanie Plum and Veronica Mars.  She tends to let her mouth get her into trouble, but lets her skill get her out.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book when I first picked it up, I felt that the author was trying to force feed me the character development and I wasn’t too keen on that.  However, as the plot began to develop so did the characters of their own accord and the author let the characters grow on their own.  For me the characters natural progression is what saved this book because I didn’t think I’d be able to finish it.

I am more than glad I did because I ended up devouring the second half of this book with no qualms and no regrets.  The plot became engaging and the characters showed their flaws and a lot of heart.

I can’t wait to see what Curse of the Spellman’s brings to the table in the next installment of this new to me series.

Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern

ISBN: 9780143038900

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Rating: C

Cara must learn to unlock the secrets to her autistic son’s mind in order to help the police solve the murder of another child from his school. Will she be able to delve that deep into his mind or will her efforts prove to be fruitless?
I picked this book for my yahoo group Book of the Month read and I honestly couldn’t be more disappointed, I thought it would be a fascinating thriller that would force me as a reader to look beyond what I consider “normal”. However, it was so elementary and lack luster, it could have had huge potential, it fell severely short.

The ending felt rushed and completely underdeveloped and it annoyed me. There are certain times when a Happily Ever After shouldn’t occur, and this should have been one of them. Everything was just neatly wrapped up in a quick little bow and as a reader I felt totally jipped.

The characters and their relationships were just dull and 1 dimensional and not explored at all. Part of what could have made this book stand out would have been how all the people tie together, but the potential of this story was wasted, which is sad for me as a reader.

Blood Noir by Laurell K Hamilton

ISBN: 9780425222195

Publisher: Penguin USA

Rating: A

Jason has to go home, his father is dying of cancer and only has a few weeks left. Although estranged from his family for over 3 years, Jason feels he has to at least say goodbye, but he is afraid of the abuse he will face, since his own father doesn’t respect him, and refuses to believe Jason is straight, Jason’s mom begs him to bring a girl home so his father can die in peace. The only girl Jason would trust to come home with him is the one he will never ask, but when she offers all bets are off. What will happen when Anita and Jason make the trip to Promise North Carolina, will they survive the family inquest?

I love Anita Blake and the world that Laurell K Hamilton has created for these amazingly intense characters. There is an infinite amount of pleasure I get from revisiting St Louis and my favorite people who dwell there.

I’m a huge fan and I always have been and I always will be, I love seeing Anita become more human because for a while there I thought her more of the monster than the ones she is given the authority to kill. However, something happened to Anita when she became Nimir Ra of the Leopard Pard, she started to feel and understand emotion that ran deeper than her necromancy. I love watching her character grow in ways that I never would have believed possible. There is a scene where she is with Jason that actually made me get a little misty because it was a defining moment in this series and for their characters. Hamilton’s characters aren’t only three dimensional, but the individual flavors she pours into them makes me so eager to have the next one written and in my hand. I am always jealous when someone starts reading this series for the first time because to be able to fall in love with it was an awesome adventure.

I know there are people out there who read LKH just to count the sex scenes to me that is just wrong because they miss all the emotion that LKH puts into these characters. There are moments that I cheer for these characters I have grown to love so much and there are times when I am in total shock of what they go through for each other and because of each other, but each moment in these books matters.