Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie

Now reading this after Gunpowder Green* was as different as night and day. This book has sparkle and wit. It's funny and the main character, Abby, is great. She is also very human, she has flaws, she gets jealous and scared and all around has depth to her. The writing has a great up tempo to it. I enjoyed this one immensely. Abby is a psychic and the whole matter is included to matter of factly that it doesn't feel unnatural at all. This is the second book in the Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye series and I can't wait to get the third (which my library doesn't have, grrr).

Rating: 5 out 5 stars, I really enjoyed this one.

Recommendations: Witch Way to Murder* by Shirley Damsgaard is the first book in the Abby and Ophelia mysteries, and The Trouble With Magic* by Madelyn Alt is the first book in the Bewitching mystery series. I also would recommend Mum's the Word* by Kate Collins, it's not a paranormal mystery but the writing style is very much the same. Mum's the Word is the first in the Flower Shop mysteries.

296 pages, about 2 hours.

Gunpowder Green by Laura Childs

I really want to like this book and this series. The characters should be engaging and interesting the mystery is well done. The scenarios intriguing.... But I just can't. Gunpowder Green is the second book in the Tea Shop Mysteries. And I should love them, but the writing is flat and uninteresting. I was actually able to put the book away just pages before the big reveal of who the murderer was! And I am someone who is almost *physically* incapable of putting a book down without finishing a chapter! I like the premise, I like the characters, I just can't get into the writing. There is no spark, no life to it. I do like Laura Child's other series, The Scrapbook Mysteries.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars, it was OK.
Recommendations: Try the Scrapbook Mysteries, I read the first book (Keepsake Crimes) already and liked it a lot better!
244 pages and took me about 3 hours.

There Will Be Dragon by John Ringo

No despite the title this is not a fantasy novel! It's a sci-fi novel and an end of the world type at that (my favorite). In the very distant future people have virtually no wants or needs. Until the "Net" that provides everything for humans goes down (This is waaaay over simplifying things). Now the people best equipped to survive are the ones who studied or re enacted Roman, Renaissance, and modern (for us the reader) times. It is the first in a series and I'm a little worried that the story is going to get drug out too much... or else span multiple generations, neither of which I'd like.
Rating: I enjoyed this book. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendations: I've only read a few things by Ringo, and that was in conjunction with another author David Weber (who I love). And that series was March Upcountry*, March to the Sea*, March to the Stars* and We Few*. I'll also finish this series, the next book is Against the Tide.
This one was about 600 pages and probably took me about 8 hours to read (in my defense I was sick)

The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis

I really enjoyed this book. I finished it last week and then promptly got sick. So my review is a little late. I enjoyed the characters although I felt almost like there were too many to really get a feel for everyone. I'm really looking forward to the next books in the series so I can get to know everyone better. The main character Sophie, was sophisticated enough to be interesting but normal enough to seem like someone you might know. And her "nemesis" Natasha was a Martha Stewart clone, I truly enjoyed their rivalry.
So, rating: 4 out 5 stars, not a book I would keep for all time, but highly enjoyable.
Recommendations; the rest of the series (so far!) The Diva Takes the Cake, The Diva Paints the Town and, The Diva Cooks a Goose. They are definitely on my list of things to read and luckily my library carries all three! I've got a couple of books in the queue that are of a similar looking nature, main character is a chef/caterer/decorator etc so I'll let you know how they compare.

300 pages took me about 3 hours to finish. (Understand that I'm not timing every minute, I'm only approximating.)

The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse by Lean Sweeney

Alright, so I didn't care for this one so much, I found the main character, Jillian, to be a little wishy-washy although by the end she was doing a lot better. I also didn't care for how they portrayed the cats and their relationships to their people. Don't get me wrong, I love my cats but I just didn't like this authors take on them. I will probably read the rest of the books in this series; The Cat, the Professor and the Poison and The Cat, the Lady and the Liar. I think I will get to like Jillian more as time goes by. The author has another series too, the Yellow Rose mysteries that I will probably check out sometime.
Rating: This one gets 3 out of 5 stars, it was OK.
This is a new series for me, and I only picked it up cause it had cats lol so no recommends this time.

(This one was 278 pages and took me about 2 hours)

If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell

Just finished, If Walls Could Talk. This is the first book in a new series. I enjoyed it, I liked and empathized with the main character, Mel. Mel is a general construction contractor, she's recently divorced and discovers she has "the sight" and can see/sense (some) ghosts. The ghost of a murdered associate starts haunting her and she is compelled to help him. In between solving murders Mel has to run her construction business and family concerns as well. I especially liked the descriptions of the construction aspects, and Mel's search for period treasures for restoring historical homes. There is a hint of romantic complications too for those of us who like that sort of thing too.
Rating:Over all I'll give this book, 4 out of 5stars, I liked it but didn't *love* it.
Recommendations: Juliet Blackwell has written two other books, Second Hand Spirits and Cast Off Coven*. If you liked this, try Blackwell's other book, Second Hand Spirits,which is the first in that series. If you have a more paranormal bent, try The Trouble with Magic* by Madelyn Alt.

* indicates that I have read a book

A Little About Me

So as you might see from any earlier posts, I discovered that a free form blog was not for me. I had a hard time completing thoughts. Sooooo, I'm switching gears. My husband pointed out that since I read a lot, and since I spend a lot of time looking for *more* things to read that maybe I should write book reviews. I thought this was a great idea. And it's perfect for me, I have a specific topic each time to write about. So! Hopefully these reviews will be helpful to other people. And hopefully I will have fun writing them.
Anyway, about me real fast. I love to read, I read all the time, I also read very quickly. I average about 20-25 books per month. I always have books on me, I have books in the car, at work (an emergency backup book, in case I forget the one I am currently reading) I just like having books around. I also spend hours each week looking for more things to read, I *love* Amazon's If you like this, then try this feature. So I'm going to try and include a feature like that in each review. We'll just see how it goes :)