Sixth Grave on the Edge

				Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson Series) Offered by Macmillan Price: $10.99
To Many Threads Left Unraveled, May 21, 2014 Book Description Publication Date: May 20, 2014 Sometimes I wrestle my demons. Sometimes we just snuggle. —Bumper Sticker Most girls might think twice before getting engaged to someone like Reyes Farrow—but Charley Davidson is not most girls. She’s a paranormal private eye and grim reaper-in-training who’s known to be a bit of a hell-raiser, especially after a few shots of caffeine. Her beloved Reyes may be the only begotten son of evil, but he’s dark and sultry and deeply sexy and everything Charley could hope for. Really. But when the FBI file on Reyes’ childhood happens to land into her lap, she can’t help herself: She opens it...and then the real fun begins. First, Charley finds a naked corpse riding shotgun in her car. Then, a man loses his soul in a card game. Throw in a Deaf boy who sees dead people, a woman running from mobsters, and a very suspicious Reyes, and things can’t get any worse for Charley. Unless, of course, the Twelve Beasts of Hell are unleashed…Sixth Grave on the Edge is the sixth Charley Davidson novel from bestselling author Darynda Jones

This review is from: Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson Series) (Kindle Edition)

Don't get me wrong, I did plow though this book like there was no tomorrow, but why an author would leave so many threads and plots unfinished or just brought up at the beginning of the book never to go back to them again is a mystery to me.

I understand that this series is going to be a long one, or at least that is what I assume it is going to be and maybe the author doesn't want to clear up too much at one time - but there are too many side stories that are not getting any closure. Perhaps everything will be cleared up in one major book - but it had better be a heck of a book.

For example Charleys step-mother and her Father...what was up with that???

The character growth is minimal to non-existent -In my opinion, Charley needs to grow and mature. To have this major plot twist come in the last chapter is great but may not ultimately work for the rest of the series - especially if Charley is going to keep disregarding what Reyes has to say.

However, I am not the author and I am sure she has some sort of plan to bring all these loose elements together. I just hope it really works out in the end.

So far the ride has been worth it, but with no character growth I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay on this particular ride.

Corpse of Discovery by B.B. Cantrell

				Corpse of Discovery (Portland Bookmobile Mysteries) Price: $2.99
Just not Great..., May 16, 2014 This review is from: Corpse of Discovery (Portland Bookmobile Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2014

From the author of "Murdermobile": Clear the streets, the magenta bookmobile is back, in another tale of mayhem, intrepid librarians and quirky bookmobile patrons in Oregon's slightly-off-kilter Rose City. This is pre-"Portlandia" Portland, with a mother lode of colorful characters, from has-been Rajneeshee cultists who let it all hang out (on a nude beach) to the practical joking great-great-great grandson (or something) of Sacajawea. Get cozy as fiery-haired librarian-on-wheels Hester Freelove McGarrigle and her pizza-eating Maine Coon cat follow the clues with dishy, trail-running, slightly OCD-ish Detective Nate Darrow. In the end, Hester and her history-loving colleagues paddle in the path of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery -- in authentic dugout canoes -- on what becomes a desperate voyage down the Great River of the West. Literary laughs, librarian love and a little lunacy fill this fun weekend read. (Bonus in the back: a recipe from Hester's kitchen.)

I really loved the first book in this series Murdermobile (Portland Bookmobile Mysteries) (Volume 1)(if it is going to be a series) however, this second book seems almost as if another person wrote the book. Considering the author is really a husband and wife team, I have to wonder if they are trading off who writes which book?

The voice and style is not the one that I fell in love with. The mystery took an extreme back seat to the history lessons and the descriptions of towns/area. It was somewhat interesting, but I was looking forward to a cozy mystery with everything else being background 'noise' so to speak.

There was no excitement, not even the final chapters that were suspiciously similar SPOILER (another slow speed chase???) END OF SPOILER to the climax of Murdermobile, the first book. I'm disappointed in this novel but not enough to keep me from reading a third installment when and if there is one

Witch Hunt by S. M. Reine

		Witch Hunt: An Urban Fantasy Mystery (Preternatural Affairs) Price: $2.99
I Liked It a Lot - But With Some Reservations, May 13, 2014

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

New York Times Bestselling Author SM Reine presents a new series for fans of The Dresden Files and The Iron Druid Chronicles...

A brutal murder.
There are scratches on Cèsar Hawke's arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun -- he was too drunk to remember it -- but he knows for a fact that he didn't kill her. He's an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn't hurt people. He saves them.

The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running.

The search for a shaman.
Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead...for the right price. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she resurrects someone for the wrong client, she ends up on the OPA's most wanted list.

One risky solution.
Tracking down Isobel is the last case assigned to Cèsar before he bolts. If he finds her, he can prove that he didn't kill that waitress. He can clear his name, get his job back, and bring justice to the victim.

She's just one witch. Cèsar has bagged a dozen witches before.

How hard can one more be?

I rarely buy self-published authors, but there was something about the blurb and the cover that had me clicking the 'buy now' button when I came across this book. I'm very glad I did buy it and I will be buying the second book also.

That is not to say that this book didn't have some problems...it did, but they were not problematic enough to keep me from enjoying this read.

It was a fast read and the red herring thrown in kept me from guessing what was really going on.  I have to say that the 'bad guy' the author was pushing us toward is the one I had thought did it right from the start.

One problem I had that I couldn't get out of my mind, is that when the author is confronted with her characters getting into a situation that the author can't find her way out of -she just  seems to give a shrug.  She may then go on to have her character says something like this quoted part " Somehow, we escaped .  Don't even f***ing ask how, because I don't know."  Something along this line was done several times during this novel.

The pacing was pretty good, the character development could have went a little deeper, as could have been done to the world building.

Yet, I still stayed up half the night to finish this book.  I really liked Cesar Hawke and his brother.  I loved the sarcastic , dry sense of humor  (fatalistic even) that Cesar  displays, and I hope to see in following book that he will get the girl, hopefully it will be the right one!

		How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) Offered by HarperCollins Publishers Price: $6.64
Could Take it Or Leave It, May 8, 2014 Book Description Publication Date: April 29, 2014 From New York Times bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks comes the next adventure in the Love at Stake series, featuring a Master vampire and his love affair with a woman of many secrets . . . Vampire Zoltan Czakvar is on the hunt for the truth about his father's death. He's been searching for a very long time—since 1241, in fact. And he is not about to give up, even when he's attacked by a woman with striking blue eyes and a hell of a right hook! Neona is also on the hunt. She's looking for a mate and she thinks muscled Zoltan will work just fine. After all, men are good for only one thing. Soon, though, she realizes there's more to this handsome vampire than just sexual prowess. But she's keeping a secret from Zoltan, something so big that it will rock the vampire world. Can their newfound love survive . . . even if their passion means the destruction of her world?   This review is from: How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (Love at Stake) (Kindle Edition) I could take or leave this book...and that is really a problem isn't it? When I don't really care if I finish a book or not, something must be wrong. I know that this author has many followers and I used to adore her books. However, I have found lately that they just didn't fill my needs as they once did. I thought I would give this author another try...and I found that the characters were one dimensional - focused on sex pretty much 75% of the time instead of what is happening around them, the story itself was interesting as was the introduction of another shifter group, but not enough to sustain me. I agree with another reviewer - this was not one of her best books. I does, nevertheless fill a niche -it will be a great beach or vacation read, especially for fans.  Comment | Permalink