July has been a busy month. I suppose most summer months are though. I've spent a lot of it working and running around and not as much of it reading. At least not as much as I'd like. Could be the weather, could be my lack of energy, could be the books. Maybe it was a mix of all three.
Anyway, here are the books that I read this month:
by Bailey Cates
336 Pages
When Hollywood invades Savannah’s historic district to film a Revolutionary War movie, magical baker Katie Lightfoot, and her witches’ coven, the Spellbook Club, take a break from casting spells for casting calls. One of the witches snags a part as an extra, while Katie’s firefighter boyfriend, Declan, acts as on-set security. Katie and her aunt Lucy decide to stay out of the action, but after the movie’s “fixer” fires the caterer, the Honeybee Bakery comes to the rescue, working their magic to keep the hungry crew happy.
But when someone fixes the fixer—permanently—and a spooky psychic predicts Katie will find the killer, the charming baker and her fellow conjurers step in to sift through the suspects…before someone else winds up on the cutting room floor….
As much as I'd love to be a Magical Baking Witch (¥), being a Catalyst can't be fun if it keeps landing you in the the middle of a murder investigations. Like the rest of this series, Katie takes on trying to help solve this mystery, not because she wants to, but because it's constantly forced upon her and she knows that she can use her magic to help. I like how this book solidifies her relationship with Declan, as he tries to understand her magic and what it means. I feel that I'm really getting to know the characters now that I've read a few of these books and I'm really enjoying that.
by Christopher Moore
387 Pages
Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant - you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger, taller, stronger Alpha Male.
But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child.
Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie - exhausted from the birth - turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird.
People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death.
It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it.
I read a bunch of Christoper Moore books when I was younger and thought they were hilarious. So when a co-worker of mine offered to lend me a few, I jumped at the chance. I shouldn't have. It's not that it was a bad book; it certainly had it's moments, but I expect more from books now than I use to (#). I expect to have characters that aren't totally defined by stereotypes, that grow as people over the course of many years. I understand the need for hilarity and absurdity, but I expect it to be used as needed and not all the time; especially not when it's inappropriate (%) I certainly don't like that women are referred to as "fuck puppets".
On the good side of this, I really appreciated the discussion of death; of watching people react when they know they are loosing a loved one. I enjoyed the coming together of families, good and bad. It seemed to me to be the most honest part of the entire book.
On the good side of this, I really appreciated the discussion of death; of watching people react when they know they are loosing a loved one. I enjoyed the coming together of families, good and bad. It seemed to me to be the most honest part of the entire book.
by Patricia Briggs
292 Pages
Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...
Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.
But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.
I was really hoping that this book was going to be good. I needed something fun to pick me up after reading A Dirty Job. This was the wrong book for that. I remember when I read the first book that there were some problems with it that I had a hard time with. This one had all those problems, plus more; Rape (%), Friendship Romance (&), Failed Bechdel Test (#) , Magical Heritage (¥) and Love Triangle (▲)
Yup. This one went on all my trope lists except microwaving tea.
The whole book is filled with misogynistic bullshit and weird Christian overtones that don't fit the story very well. Very groan worthy. Beyond that, the story itself wasn't too bad. I can get behind hunting Vampire/Demons, talking to Ghosts and hanging out with Werewolves. But if the series continues on the way it had been, I'n not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not.
Yup. This one went on all my trope lists except microwaving tea.
The whole book is filled with misogynistic bullshit and weird Christian overtones that don't fit the story very well. Very groan worthy. Beyond that, the story itself wasn't too bad. I can get behind hunting Vampire/Demons, talking to Ghosts and hanging out with Werewolves. But if the series continues on the way it had been, I'n not sure if I'll pick up the next book or not.
by Lauren M. Roy
294 Pages
Night Owls bookstore always keeps a light on and evil creatures out. But, as Lauren M. Roy's thrilling sequel continues, even its supernatural staff isn’t prepared for the dead to come back to life…
Elly grew up training to kill things that go bump in the night, so she’s still getting used to working alongside them. While she’s learned to trust the eclectic group of vampires, Renfields, and succubi at Night Owls bookstore, her new job guarding Boston’s most powerful vampire has her on edge—especially when she realizes something strange is going on with her employer, something even deadlier than usual…
Cavale isn’t thrilled that his sister works for vampires, but he’s determined to repair their relationship, and that means trusting her choices—until Elly’s job lands all of the Night Owls in deep trouble with a vengeful necromancer. And even their collective paranormal skills might not be enough to keep them from becoming part of the necromancer’s undead army…
I was super excited when I found out that book 2 of this series was finally out in paperback! I've been waiting a year to read this one. What Blood Bound does so wrong, Grave Matters does so right! All the characters love and respect each other, even if they don't get along that well or know how to talk to each other. They don't sexualize or compete with one another. They actually worry about each other's feelings.
They are a tight knit group of awesome friends; some of them just happen to be Supernatural.
So when weird things start happening and people start coming back from the dead, they team up together to help take them down, each using their own specialized talents.
I hope I don't have to wait another year for the next one
They are a tight knit group of awesome friends; some of them just happen to be Supernatural.
So when weird things start happening and people start coming back from the dead, they team up together to help take them down, each using their own specialized talents.
I hope I don't have to wait another year for the next one
by Anna Godbersen
405 Pages
Jealous whispers.
Old rivalries.
New betrayals.
Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park South.
Farther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune—and her fame—are anything but secure, especially now that one of society's darlings is slipping tales to the eager press.
In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. . . .
This has been a long standing series on my TBR pile. Every once in a while, I like to sink into a good romance and this teen fiction series is the perfect one for me. It's easy and quick to read, while still having a great and intricate plot full of love triangles (▲), betrayal, blackmail and ballgowns! I devoured this book in a few days and I think I may have to go out and buy the last one to find out what happens. I don't think I can wait another year.
Books that I am currently reading
Books that I am currently reading
by H.P. Lovecraft
Page 223 of 360
The Court of the Air (Jackelian #1)
by Stephen Hunt
Page 129 of 582
The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time #4)
by Robert Jordan
Page 873 of 981
(36:54 of 41:31 hours)
by Stephen Hunt
Page 129 of 582
The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time #4)
by Robert Jordan
Page 873 of 981
(36:54 of 41:31 hours)
