Defending Angels by Mary Stanton

Genre: Paranormal Cozy
Distributor: Berkley
Acquisition: Kindle
Length: 304 pages
Rating: PG because reader needs to be old enough to know that blatant misconceptions about angels contained in book
Starring: Rachel and her friends and family
Theme: You Can Right a Wrong and You Can’t Help What You Were Born to Be.
Comments: I went looking for a book at Barnes and Noble (I wanted to see if Carolyn Hart’s print book was on sale because I’m not paying the price Kindle wants). It wasn’t on sale, so I looked at other books. This one looked good so I went home and purchased it on Kindle. It was a good book. I’m so/so about buying the next. I like the plot, I like the characters, I like the concept. But, I need to know that Rachel’s going to get a backbone and stop accepting the things that happen to her and really say, “Tell me exactly what’s going on.” If the author does that, I’m on board for the whole series.

Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell

Genre: Paranormal Cozy
Distributor: Signet
Acquisition: Kindle
Length: 335 Pages
Rating:G
Starring: Lily Ivory and friends
Theme: Righting wrongs
Comments: Very few authors are a must buy. Juliet Blackwell is. This is the third book in the series and did not disappoint. From the angst over doing what a friend wants compared to doing what a friend needs, to the cult, to the cop, and even with snakes in the background, this was an engaging read.

Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

Genre: Paranormal
Distributor: Avon
Acquisition: Audio from Scottsdale’s Civic Center Library
Length: 384 pages
Rating: X
Starring: Rachel and Etienne
Theme: Even really stupid bad guys can foil a vampire’s plans
Comments: When I read my first Lynsay Sands’ vampire book I went to Borders (this was before I owned a Kindle) and tried to buy the whole series. I’m big on reading things in order. They didn’t have them. Since I have 2000 books in my tba pile, I sorta forgot to keep looking for them. Then, I found this one at the library. Books on tape cause a few dilemmas. See, in a book, if I’m reading something I know, I skim. On tape, hard to skim. This one had lots of redundancies. Still, I like how Rachel died trying to save Etienne’s life in her morgue. I like that he was a video game designer. I like Sands’ writing. This one, though, I had a hard time coming up with the theme, and I’m wondering if Sands’ did too.

Finders Keepers by Craig Childs

Genre: Memoir/Educational
Distributor: Little Brown
Acquisition: Purchased at closing Borders’ store when a hardback book became amazingly affordable (but I’m very sad that the Borders had to close down for this to happen).
Length: 288 pages
Rating: G
Starring: Craig Childs
Theme: Our quest into history is destroying history
Comments: For the SuperLibrarian assignment this Wednesday, I needed to read a contemporary. So, this is it. I love archaeology and the adventures of those we seek antiquities. This book looked at the southwest from an ‘expert’s’ perspective. It discussed all that is happening with its tangible history. There were gems in the book and it held my interest.

Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart

Genre: Cozy Paranormal
Distributor: Avon
Length: 336 pages
Rating: G
Starring: Bailey Ruth Raeburn
Theme: Angel sleuth rights a wrong and saves the day
Acquisition: Bought this one after reading the first in the series.
Comments: Bailey Ruth is an angel and wants to have another adventure on Earth as an emissary. She’s soon back in her hometown taking care of a surprise grandson who shows up on his grandmother’s doorstep. Grandma is more than pleased. Unfortunately, her health is not the best and her distant family, all set to inherit millions, is not pleased at the appearance of an heir. You got it, Grandma dies prematurely. Again, I like that I didn’t guess whodunit, but I’m a little annoyed that I don’t think there was any hints that allow the reader to discern. Still, as soon as book three falls below $5, it’s a must-read. And, if I don’t fill my top 10 by December 31, this one will go on it. I liked it.

Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Distributor: Mira
Acquisition: Free Download on Kindle
Length: 400 pages
Rating: PG 21
Starring: Olivia and Connor
Theme: Sometimes the love of your life is the first love of your life, too bad life gets in the way. Comments: With a Dirty Dancing backdrop, this one was pretty engaging. Especially since I was with my son at his summer camp while I read it. You'll be getting about five reviews at one time since I had three days of straight reading. The main characters had a good arch. There were lots of blooming romances, setting the stage for later books. It held my interest, but I’m waiting for Kindle to offer 2.99 or less for the rest of the series.

Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart

Genre: Cozy Paranormal
Distributor: Avon
Length: 336 pages
Rating: G
Starring: Bailey Ruth Raeburn
Theme: Angel sleuth rights a wrong and saves the day
Acquisition: Bought this one after hearing the author speak at the Poison Pen bookstore.
Comments: Bailey Ruth is an angel and wants to have an adventure on Earth as an emissary. She’s soon back in her hometown acting not only as a guardian to her niece but always solving a crime. This book inspired me to buy the next in the series and I’m reading it right now.

A Promise to Keep by Kathryn Cushman

Genre: Inspirational Women’s Fiction
Distributor: Bethany House
Length: 320 pages
Rating: PG 13 because it deals with death of a child
Starring: Melanie and Andie
Theme: The pain will never go away but it will lessen
Comments: This was a free download from Kindle. Two women deal with the grief of losing their sons in a car accident. Wealthy mom only had one son; son pretty much caused t he accident. Barely getting by mom also has a daughter. Her son was innocent victim. This is a story about how pain can get out of hand and life can be one grief-filled misstep at a time.

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Genre: Faction (historical event with both real and fiction happenings)
Distributor: Crown
Length: 440 pages
Rating: PG 13 (for the beheadings and gor)
Starring: Madame Tussaud, Marie Antoinette, Henri, Marat, Robespierre
Theme: Change is not always good
Comments: Michelle Moran is one of the few ‘must buys’ for me. When this one came out, only in hard cover, the $25.00 price tag gave me pause. When Borders went into real decline, I purchased the book during the last week of the store when all books were majorly cut in price. Here’s the truth. I’m not paying $25 dollars for a book (unless it’s the Bible). Now, about the book. This book was a change for her Egypt setting. We went to France. I’ve never really studied the French Revolution so it was a real learning experience for me. The details were awesome. This book indeed sold her next one – no matter the setting. That being said… I want Egypt back.

The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Distributor: Steeple Hill Love Inspired
Length: 288 pages
Rating: G
Starring: Gladiator Caros and accidental slave Pelonia
Theme: (1) No sin is too great. (2) Make the best of every situation
Comments: I went looking for this one on my Kindle after hearing good things about it. It’s an unusual historical series fiction in that it’s set in Roman times. Pelonia suffers greatly at the hands of evil men. She winds up being a slave to a man whose beginnings in slavery are much like hers. They fall in love. She’s still in danger because she’s a Christian. He’s in danger because he doesn’t believe he’s lovable.