BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by C.J. Pinard

BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (An Enchanted Immortals Novella)

by C.J. Pinard

Book Summary:

Supernatural creatures have roamed the Earth since the beginning of time. There was a time when humans would not tolerate having vampires and other creatures in their midst, stealing their young and killing their fellow human beings. These humans took care of business with pitchforks, sharpened stakes, and fires. As the centuries passed, the supernatural creatures learned that they needed to hide in order to survive. As they did, humans evolved, and after a few decades, humans no longer believed the tales from mythology and folklore. Then the creatures became more bold again, showing themselves when they should have stayed hidden.

In 1945, the assistant director of the FBI suffered a horrible tragedy, which he learned later was supernaturally related. He created a small branch of the Department of Justice called the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation – the BSI. Little did he know that there were already men and women policing the world of the supernatural – or the “Fae.” The only difference was that this other group had a huge advantage over the humans running the BSI; they were also immortal, just like the creatures they policed. Should the BSI and the Immortals work together to keep the peace?

Follow agents and Immortals from the four supernaturally busiest places in the country – San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. and watch the BSI evolve.

Vampires, shapeshifters, succubae, and Immortals. What is the Justice Department hiding?

My Review: 

This novella takes us from the start of the BSI in 1945 to 1989.  It follows several  different agents as they learn of the existence of the fae and the immortals.

In 1945 we meet the founder of the BSI, Jim Blackwell who is seeking answers for his sons untimely and strange death and finds them in the most unlikely of places.  Thus forming a branch of the FBI to deal with the supernatural.

From Francisco to Chicago we meet vampires, shape shifters, BSI agents, Immortal Police, Immortal coven leaders, a succubus and  a sylph. We follow the journey of the BSI agents and they learn to deal with the world of the Fae and we learn how the Immortals insert themselves into the BSI to keep an eye on everything.

This is an excellent set up for the beginning of what I can only expect to be a compelling series.  Threw the years we meet a number of people in this novella and I can only hope we get to know them more throughout the series.

 

PG-13 lets face it when you are dealing with vampires and succubus nothing is appropriate.

 

 

 

Existence by Abbi Glines

Existence by Abbi Glines

 

Book Description:  Pagan Moore doesn’t cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn’t let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he’s dead.

Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn’t realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with, is not a soul at all.

He is Death and he’s about to break all the rules.

 

My Review:  This book was supposed to be an audiobook review.  I got halfway through the first chapter though and realized that I couldn’t listen to it.  The narrator isn’t bad but the voice she chose for the best friend was Mini Mouse on drugs.  It was terrible but I continued on with the book because I was intrigued.  It’s a great story about Death, who is an actual guy, and the object of his affection, Pagan, a girl that he breaks all the rules for.   This is YA so Dank looks like he’s in high school.  It isn’t creepy at all.

This book has an intriguing concept.  What happens when Death decides not to take a life.  There are consequences when the natural order of the universe is ignored.  I think the book would have been even better from Deaths perspective.  It was what Pagan learned about Death that kept me reading and what he revealed to her about what it takes to be Death so that he can claim souls.  Falling in love with her soul would change him and what he is forever.  Forever is a long time when you are an ever existing presence.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a book where the concept of death is an actual main character.  I have, of course, read plenty of books with vampires and other entities stand in as a replacement for death.  Not to put to fine a point on it but isn’t that why we read about vampires?

The main character, Pagan, is a teenage girl and she sometimes acts like a teenage girl.  If New Moon was nails on a chalkboard for you ( like it was for me) then brace yourself for part of this book.  Since we experience this book through Pagan’s eyes we only see what she sees but we can put some things together.  Death sort of looses focus and he tries to save himself by putting some distance between himself and Pagan.  I wondered if he was scared of what was happening to him, what it was going to be like when he felt things for the first time about his job or if he was just trying to do the right thing.  Maybe it was a combination of the three since he sang to Pagan every night in the mental facility as she slept.  All reasons why I thought this book was great.

If you’re looking for something a bit different then I recommend this book.  Oh and just in case anyone cares I liked the audiobook cover better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PG-13

 

 

 

 

Try these other books:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Header Feature Image: Forest Sunrise by Krappweis from freeimages.com

Modest Musings

Welcome to Modest Musings!

This is were we will tell you what books we have acquired this week.  Whether it is through purchases, NetGalley or one of our many book list emails.  Please feel free to tell us what you think and if there is a particular book you are interested in seeing a review of.  Hope you enjoy!

Jessica’s Modest Musings

Witch Blood by Emma Mills – When Jess steals a glance at a gorgeous guy in a Manchester nightclub, little does she realise how he is going to change her life…or should that be death? Yet, the vampire clan could never have predicted what they were taking on.

With Luke pronounced ‘off-limits’ and the blood of a vampire simmering in Jess’s body, can she forget the love of her life and move on? If not, she will risk exposing the entire Northern vampire clan to untold dangers, in order to live her life the way she wants.

Can Jess be sure that Luke is all he appears to be? Will she succumb to the attraction she desperately tries not to feel for Daniel? And why does she still crave a packet of crisps more than a tasty teenage boy’s blood?

BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Ivestigation (An Enchanted Immortals Novella) by C.J. Pinard – Supernatural creatures have roamed the Earth since the beginning of time. There was a time when humans would not tolerate having vampires and other creatures in their midst, stealing their young and killing their fellow human beings. These humans took care of business with pitchforks, sharpened stakes, and fires. As the centuries passed, the supernatural creatures learned that they needed to hide in order to survive. As they did, humans evolved, and after a few decades, humans no longer believed the tales from mythology and folklore. Then the creatures became more bold again, showing themselves when they should have stayed hidden.

In 1945, the assistant director of the FBI suffered a horrible tragedy, which he learned later was supernaturally related. He created a small branch of the Department of Justice called the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation – the BSI. Little did he know that there were already men and women policing the world of the supernatural – or the “Fae.” The only difference was that this other group had a huge advantage over the humans running the BSI; they were also immortal, just like the creatures they policed. Should the BSI and the Immortals work together to keep the peace?

Follow agents and Immortals from the four supernaturally busiest places in the country – San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. and watch the BSI evolve.

Vampires, shapeshifters, succubae, and Immortals. What is the Justice Department hiding?

Marking Time (The Immortal Descendants #1) by April White –  Seventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything… a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family. But when an old graffiti tag in a tube station transports Saira to the 19th Century and she comes face-to-face with Jack the Ripper, she realizes she needs help after all.

Saira meets Archer, a charming student who helps her blend in as much as a tall, modern American teen can in Victorian England. He reveals the existence of the Immortals: Time, Nature, Fate, War and Death, and explains to Saira that it is possible to move between
centuries – if you are a Descendant of Time.

Saira finds unexpected friendships at a boarding school for Immortal Descendants and a complicated love with a young man from the past. But time is running out for her mother, and Saira must embrace her new identity as she hides from Archer a devastating secret about his future that may cost him his life.

Perception by Lee Strauss – Eternal Life is To Die For.

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along-side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans.

Her brother Liam is missing.

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically.

Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

PERCEPTION is a (SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not-too-distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love.

Imperfect by Tina Chan – Life is harsh for Kristi. She’s the only Accident living in a world of Perfects. More often than not, she feels like a blemish on an otherwise utopian society. And her life is about to get worse. The government has arrested her adoptive parents and her brother goes missing. To top things off, Kristi somehow gets dragged into the mess and now she’s a wanted fugitive…

Troop is less than he seems. Teachers love him. Colleges want him. Students revere him. There’s even a hot girl after him. Life couldn’t get any better than this, right? So, why does she feel like he’s a devil in disguise as an angel?

Lynn’s Modest Musings

Exceptional by Jess Petosa – In the future, things are anything but ordinary…

In 2022, the United States commissioned a group of scientists to experiment with genetic mutations. Their goal was to create a serum that would alter the human genetic code, making the subject stronger and faster. They succeeded but their victory was short lived. Not only had they created a super serum, but also an airborne virus. By 2025, seventy-five percent of the world’s population had perished. The survivors, well their lives would never be the same.

175 A.V.

Ally is an Ordinary; a human immune to the virus. She lives in a settlement outside the City with her mother and twin brother, but lately it doesn’t seem to be enough. She is wrestling between being with her family and volunteering to move to the City, where she can work for the Exceptionals.

Luke is an Exceptional; a superior human being. His ancestors were infected with the virus and lived through it, leaving their super human strength and special abilities to him. He has never given much thought to Ordinarys, despite pressure from his father to choose one from the ORC. But all of that changes when he meets Ally…

Rogue (Exceptional Book #2) by Jess Petosa – Ally is finally outside the City walls, with her brother and her best friends.

Luke is still inside the City walls, with no memory of the girl he once loved.

Life in the Wilderness is dangerous, and they soon find out that they are not alone. Will Ally continue her journey to the Southern City, or will she risk it all to help the boy she loves?

The Asylum for Fairy Tale Creatures by Sebastian Gregory – Once upon a nightmare…

Long ago, in a land where imagination meets the darkest nightmares, they built the asylum. Surrounded by a forest of thorns, it holds the most twisted minds in the fairy tale kingdom: a terrible collection of evil creatures and forgotten souls. Imprisoned within its walls, they are doomed to spend forever after telling their tales… and serving as a warning to others.

Now, you are invited to accompany Blood Red Riding Hood into the depths of this strange place – where you will meet its even stranger inhabitants. But be warned: walls this thick were built to withstand the darkest magic… so once you’re inside, you might just find yourself living horribly ever after… and wishing you were indeed in a land far, far away.

The Seer’s 7 Deadly Fairy Tales by Elizabeth Marx – Okay, let’s start out by saying this book is a compendium, not a novel. I had no idea what a compendium was until my good friend Merriam Webster informed me. Compendium: 1) a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge; 2) A collection or compilation.

This is all the ExtraOrdinary knowledge I’ve collected and written down in the little black book Ilithyia gave me as a death-day present. The same night she gave me the spiel about the important purpose I’d serve as The Seer. I have more questions about the Order than I have answers for, but I’ve decided to serve my higher purpose by constructing this encyclopedia for the Ordinary world.

The Seer’s 7 Deadly Fairy Tales also includes a truthful account of what happened to me, and a peek into what transpired while Locke and I were sent away to Blessingston. It’s full of definitions, cool illustrations, and the first of seven fairy tales that will be told over the course of the series. If you’re dying to know what goes on behind the veil of secrecy Salem is shrouded in, feel free to read this compendium.

But beware, the Order has one rule about recording ExtraOrdinary events–it’s strictly forbidden. So just to be on the safe side, you might want to destroy this after reading it.

But don’t worry about me getting in trouble, I’m already dead!

The Seer

Dead Spots by Melissa F. Olson – Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and any supernatural spells or demonic forces are instantly defused—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can’t get out so much as a “hocus pocus.” This special skill makes her a null and very valuable to Los Angeles’s three most powerful magical communities, who utilize her ability to scrub crime scenes clean of all traces of the paranormal to keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark.

But one night Scarlett’s late arrival to a grisly murder scene reveals her agenda and ends with LAPD’s Jesse Cruz tracking her down to strike a deal: he’ll keep quiet about the undead underworld if she helps solve the case. Their pact doesn’t sit well with Dash, the city’s chief bloodsucker, who fears his whole vampire empire is at stake. And when clues start to point to Scarlett, it’ll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name.

 

Claimed by Lindsay Buroker

Claimed by Lindsay Buroker

Book Description:  After years on the hunt, Cedar Kartes is finally within striking distance of Cudgel Conrad, the criminal who slew his brother and framed him for murder. With the help of Kali McAlister, his business partner and the woman he’s mustering the courage to court, he believes he can finally rid the world of a bloodthirsty felon.

But nothing is ever easy in the Yukon. The new police commissioner has taken an interest in Cedar’s checkered past, a suspicious newspaperman is trying to make friends with Kali, and Cudgel may be laying traps for Cedar even as Cedar is trying to trap him.

 

My Review:   This story is just as great as all the others in the Flash Gold Chronicles.  My favorite thing about this one though is that Cedar, big Katana wielding Cedar, is jealous.   The story starts out with Cedar being jealous of a newspaper man.  Can you believe it?   It ends with Kali exasperated with Cedar.  That’s not new but you’ll be happy with the out come.  I was.  It was completely Kali and Cedar.

I love that these stories are a ruckus adventure.  They are funny and fun.  Does Cedar get his man?  You’ll have to read the story for yourself to find out.

I’m so sad that the next one is the last one.   At least we can be sure of a happy ending.   This one has a happy ending too in case you are curious.  Okay, it’s a complicated happy ending but aren’t they all?

 

 

 

 

 

 

PG -As usual there is a little bit of death.  Cedar is in them what do you expect.

 

 

 

 

 

Background image: River Stream View Between Trees by Jtkunley from freeimages.com

Try the other Flash Gold Chronicle stories:

Audiobook Review: The Cursed by Heather Graham

The Cursed by Heather Graham

Narrator: Luke Daniels

Length: 8 hours 55 minutes

Version: Unabridged

Published by: Brilliance Audio

 

Book Description:  Hannah O’Brien, who grew up in the house and now runs it as a B and B, has always had a special ability to see a pair of resident ghosts. But when a man is murdered in the alley behind her place, she’s dismayed when his spirit appears, too, asking for help.

FBI agent Dallas Samson has a passionate interest in the murder, since the victim’s a colleague whose death is connected to the smuggling ring known as Los Lobos—the wolves. Now Dallas is even more committed to chasing them down….

Unaware that Dallas has certain abilities of his own, Hannah calls her cousin Kelsey O’Brien, a member of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, an elite unit of paranormal investigators. The present-day case is linked to a historical mystery involving salvagers, a curse and a sunken ship. Danger and desire bring Hannah and Dallas together, but to survive, they have to solve the mysteries of the past—and stay alive long enough to solve the crimes of the present!

 

My Review:  Luke Daniels is pretty much my favorite narrator.  He’s narrated a ton of books and is completely fantastic.  He has a wide range of character voices and makes use of them.  So the fact that I got to the very end of this book and had the intense urge to scream WHAT at the top of my lungs isn’t the narrators fault.

This book had me until the end.  Really.  The epilogue was what killed this story for me.  I love history and this book has plenty.  Key West history is some of the most colorful you will ever hear about.  Key West is also known for its ghosts.  Honest.  The stories that Hannah tells on her tour are true.  I’ve read about them.   I love ghost stories that are rooted in history.

I loved how this book worked around the history and legends of Key West.  What I didn’t love about this book was the love.   I get it, extreme situations and all of that but the story lost me when in the epilogue she is offered a job with the Krewe of Hunters and she says she needs to think about it.  That was fair enough.  She loves her bed and breakfast.  She repeatedly puts her life and the lives of the people around her in danger because she insists on continuing her ghost tours while a murderer is on the loose.  Her business is that important to her.   This mostly level headed character is a responsible business woman running not only a successful B&B but the best ghost tour in the city.  Her tours sell out every night.  So after knowing all that I’m supposed to buy the fact that she is so in love with a guy that she’s known for three days that she would let the woman that helps her clean up after guests run the B&B while she moves to who knows where with Dallas?  Without a reason.  Just follow Dallas because she loves him so much?  I’m supposed to accept that?  Just like that in the epilogue?  I was completely disappointed.   She loved the B&B.  She fought for the B&B.

If she had accepted the job none of this would be an issue for me.  I just don’t understand the decision to make her chase after Dallas.  If she had accepted the job to help the spirits that the Krewe of Hunters came into contact with then I could have accepted that she would be willing to leave the B&B.  I felt like  a gutted fish.  This one little epilogue changed this whole story for me.

I understand that Heather Graham has a formula that works.  She’s like Nora Roberts and Janet Evanovitch we read them because we know what we are getting and we love them for it.   I just wish that the love story hadn’t over shadowed the character of the characters.  This won’t stop me from buying her next book.  I’ve come to see the value of these romantic suspense stories.  They are the perfect vehicle for fun ghost stories.  I’ll keep reading them as long as she keeps writing them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

R- There is enough sex and death that you don’t want to listen to this in mixed company, and by that I mean it is not suitable for children.

 

 

 

 

Try these other books:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background feature image: Foggy Day by Dogbono from freeimages.com

The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro

The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro (author)

Maricia Inoue (illustrator) and Andres Mossa (illustrator)

 

Book Description:   Twenty-one year old Jeremiah Jacobson is the world’s best hockey player, but he wasn’t prepared for the frenzy and scrutiny that came with that title. Tom Leonard is an average college sophomore… just a guy trying to find his place in the world as he sorts through issues that are both very real and seemingly insurmountable. Through a chance meeting, these two strike up an unlikely friendship. Their bond is tested when Tom discovers that his idol isn’t as perfect up close as he seems from afar. With Jeremiah living a little too much in the moment and with his past catching up to him, will Tom be able to help him before it’s too late? “The Hockey Saint” is the sequel to the critically acclaimed and award winning graphic novel, “The Stereotypical Freaks” and is Volume 2 in the “Forever Friends” Trilogy

**Mr. Shapiro gave us a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

My Review:  Let me start by saying that I had never read a graphic novel before and I had no idea what to expect.  I had to read up on what a graphic novel even was.  I wrongly assumed that they were comic books.  I’m not even sure it’s still politically correct to call comic books comic books.  There are strong opinions on both sides of that battle from what I’ve read.

Here is what I actually learned about graphic novels from reading The Hockey Saint:

1.  Graphic novels are still novels.

2.  Graphic novels have amazing art work.

I really enjoyed The Hockey Saint.   It’s a tale about addiction, guilt and redemption.  I realize that those are things that wouldn’t normally put a smile on ones face but this story is beautifully told and carries an uplifting message.  If you are new to graphic novels as I am then this is the perfect place to start.

About the hockey.  This story has hockey in it but it isn’t about the sport.  It’s a story about a man trying to be a better man and falling a little sort until he meets someone who makes him realize that he wasn’t trying hard enough.  It’s simply told with hockey as the background.  So you don’t need to search the internet learning about hockey if you don’t follow the sport.  Don’t let the title put you off.

This was a great story with great artwork.  You should visit the author’s website and check out the rest of his work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PG  This is a clean book suitable for all ages that deals with alcoholism and doing the right thing.

 

 

 

 

Background feature image: Ice, Frozen River by Philippena from freeimages.com

Queen of Heart: Volume Two The Wonder by Colleen Oakes

Queen of Hearts: Volume Two The Wonder 

by Colleen Oakes

 

 

Book Blurb:

An Exiled Princess.
An Ancient Tribe.
A Dangerous Stranger with Unknown Loyalties.

Dinah, the former Princess of Wonderland Palace, has been chased into the wilds of Wonderland after the brutal murder of her brother and the ruin of her impending crown. Now, as her half-sister Vittiore sits on the throne beside her Father, the brutal King of Hearts, Dinah finds herself alone in the forbidding Twisted Wood with only Morte, a homicidal beast, for company.

Hunted by the King and his army of Cards, Dinah struggles to evade those who long for her head, including Cheshire, the King’s clever advisor, who is slowly tightening his grasp around her. Spurred on by her rising terror, the former Princess finds herself at the center of a web of conspiracy reaching far beyond the Palace and deep into the mysterious Yurkei mountain tribes.
Even with the balance of an entire Kingdom at stake, Dinah knows something that her allies and enemies do not: that the most dangerous conflict of all has already begun as she battles the enticing rage that beckons her ever closer as love slips further from her grasp.

The second book in the bestselling and award-winning Queen of Hearts Saga, The Wonder takes readers back to the most wondrous and curious places in Wonderland, and continues this darkly addictive tale featuring one of the most infamous villains of all time.

But be warned…not every fairy tale has a happy ending.
This is the story of a princess who became a villain.

My Review:

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Colleen Oakes has done it again!  She has captured my attention full force and created another wonderful story in the revealing tale of how the Queen of Hearts came to be.  If it is possible this book is better then the first.

Like in the first book so much happens to Dinah and some unbelievable secrets get revealed.  When we first encounter Dinah this time around she is exactly where she was when we left her in book one, on the run.  While on the run she meets a surprising ally as she travels to the Yurkei Mountains, and wait until you meet them! And Dinah must learn to defend herself and survive.

As I said more is revealed in this tale, but to get into it would reveal a story this is definitely worth the read.  You will be surprised as you learn more about Cheshire who I admit in the beginning made my skin crawl.

Once I started I couldn’t put it down.  There is still one more book in the series and I wish I could pick it up right now!

 

 

PG-13 as I have said before “Off with their head”

 

 

 

Check out our review of Queen of Hearts: Volume One The Crown

About the Author:

Colleen Oakes is the author of the Elly in Bloom Series and the YA fantasy Queen of Hearts Saga, both published via Sparkpress. She lives in North Denver with her husband and son. When not writing, Colleen enjoys swimming, traveling, and immersing herself in nerdy pop culture. She is currently at work on the last Elly novel and another YA fantasy series called Wendy Darling.

You can visit her webpage at: www.colleenoakes.net or at her very lengthy and sometimes embarrassingly personal blog, The Ranunculus Adventures:
http://ranunculusadventure.blogspot.com/

Modest Musings

Welcome to Modest Musings!

This is were we will tell you what books we have acquired this week.  Whether it is through purchases, NetGalley or one of our many book list emails.  Please feel free to tell us what you think and if there is a particular book you are interested in seeing a review of.  Hope you enjoy!

Jessica’s Modest Musings

Ethereal by Addison Moore – Sixteen year-old, Skyla Messenger is a dead girl walking.

When her newly remarried mother moves the family to Paragon Island, to a house that is rumored to be haunted, Skyla finds refuge in Logan Oliver, a boy who shares her unique ability to read minds.

Skyla discovers Logan holds the answers to the questions she’s been looking for, but his reluctance to give her the knowledge she desires leaves her believing Logan has a few secrets of his own.

Skyla’s bloodlines may just be connected to the most powerful angelic beings that roam the earth, and the more she knows, the more danger she seems to be in.

Suddenly an entire faction of earthbound angels want her dead, but Skyla is nowhere near done living—and she’s not going down without a fight.  It’s on.

Prime Deception by Carys Jones – When Lorna Thomas is found dead in her car everyone believes she killed herself. But the day after her death Lorna was set to sell a scandalous story to one of Britain’s biggest tabloid papers. For six months she had been the Deputy Prime Minister’s mistress.

Will Lorna’s secret die with her? While her family try to move on and come to terms with her death one person refuses to believe that Lorna killed herself. Her twin sister, Laurie is convinced that Lorna was murdered and she’ll stop at nothing to prove it, even if that means teaming up the very man her sister had been having an affair with…

Grave Danger by Heather Graham – For special-effects artist Ali MacGregor, it can be hard to tell fantasy from reality. Especially when her coworker Victor leaves her alone in the studio one night, surrounded by scary creations—zombies, werewolves and mangled corpses. And then she hears footsteps…. Footsteps that shouldn’t be there.

Nearby, Ali’s ex, cop Greg Austin, is called to the graveyard set of a horror movie after a real corpse appears. But the dead man isn’t who his ID says he is. And Victor isn’t who he seems to be, either. Greg quickly realizes that Ali, the woman he’s never stopped loving, is in grave danger….

Heir of Skies by Rachel Higginson – Stella is a Star, sent by a Council of Elders to live on Earth and protect the planet from the Darkness, a terrifying evil that would suck the good from every living thing and leave the planet empty and desolate. She has until her twenty-fifth birthday before the Protectorship becomes hers and Earth is left solely her responsibility. Stella’s fate goes on fast forward as she struggles to balance the rest of high school with the duties of protecting humanity from the deadliest kind of evil. With her parents and Seth, the boy intended to be her Counterpart, by her side she faces down demons and fallen angels in an effort to protect the last inhabited planet in the universe. But evil is not her only enemy. She also fights her future as she tries to decide if she’s willing to give up her human relationships, especially that of her best friend Tristan, in order to save humanity.

Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes – From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny’s happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn’t the last, yet the bruises that can’t be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

Gina Holmes ’ stunning literary talent glistens like crystal in Wings of Glass. With subtle brilliance, she takes us into the very heart of what makes us hungry to love and be loved. Simply stellar!” Susan Meissner, Author of A Sound Among the Trees

Lynn’s Modest Musings

The Cursed by Heather Graham – Hannah O’Brien, who grew up in the house and now runs it as a B and B, has always had a special ability to see a pair of resident ghosts. But when a man is murdered in the alley behind her place, she’s dismayed when his spirit appears, too, asking for help.

FBI agent Dallas Samson has a passionate interest in the murder, since the victim’s a colleague whose death is connected to the smuggling ring known as Los Lobos—the wolves. Now Dallas is even more committed to chasing them down….

Unaware that Dallas has certain abilities of his own, Hannah calls her cousin Kelsey O’Brien, a member of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, an elite unit of paranormal investigators. The present-day case is linked to a historical mystery involving salvagers, a curse and a sunken ship. Danger and desire bring Hannah and Dallas together, but to survive, they have to solve the mysteries of the past—and stay alive long enough to solve the crimes of the present!

A Dangerous Talent by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins – Alix London has a promising career as an art consultant, a sumptuous condo in Seattle’s toniest neighborhood, a gorgeous figure, and a presence that exudes Ivy League breeding and old money. She has it all…or does she? Only Alix knows that the image she presents to the world is a carefully constructed mirage that veils an embarrassing truth. A brilliant, once-promising art student, the daughter of a prominent New York art conservator, her world was left in ruins when her father went to prison for art forgery. Now a Harvard dropout with an emptied bank account, she is languishing in a career that has produced little more than a lucky house-sitting gig. But all of that changes when Alix meets Christine Lemay, a novice art collector with money to burn and a hot tip on a recently discovered painting by American master Georgia O’Keeffe. Chris hires Alix to perform the authentication, an assignment that finally could launch Alix into the big leagues. But soon after her arrival in Santa Fe, she finds herself tangled up in a web of forgery, deceit—and murder. Anxious to avoid becoming the next victim, she teams up with FBI Special Agent Ted Ellesworth—and gets a little unlikely help from her roguish father—to uncover the truth behind the painting and those who would kill to have it. Sharp, witty, and devilishly fun, A Dangerous Talent offers an insider’s look into the surprisingly treacherous contemporary art world.

Me by Katharine Hepburn – Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years, four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about her private life in this absorbing and provocative memoir.

A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year

A Book-of-the-Month-Club Main Selection

Existence by Abbi Glines – What happens when you’re stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course.

Pagan Moore doesn’t cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn’t let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he’s dead.

Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn’t realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.

He is Death and he’s about to break all the rules.

 

Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman

Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman 

by Lilly Fang

Book Blurb:

Welcome to the Festival of Roses, a world full of magic and romance. Every year during the festival each boy leaves a flower at the door of the girl he believes is the “fairest of them all.” Naturally, Snow White gets dozens of flowers, while her younger sister Rose Red is ignored.

This year, though, things are different. For the first time, Rose Red has a mysterious admirer, and this year she isn’t the only one jealous of her sister’s beauty. But even though it’s a time of celebration, when girls begin disappearing, the festival turns deadly. With mysterious strangers arriving every day, an ominous marriage proposal, and magic and danger everywhere, Snow White and Rose Red will need to work together to survive the festival and solve the mystery.

My Review:

As many of you know I love fairy tales retold or re imagined and this one is not exception.  Rose comes of age and comes into her magic at just the right time in this story.

There is something dark and mysterious in the forest beyond their home.  Something that forbids the people of there little town from going there at night.  With magic surrounding them they should be safe, but they aren’t.

Snow and Rose’s mom goes for help but when she doesn’t return the girls must take matters into their own hands and find out once and for all what they are capable of.  Curse of the huntsman takes us on a few twists and turns until we reach our ultimate conclusion.

Snow White and Rose Red are strong female characters that though afraid know what has to be done and take care of business. I recommend this quick read and look forward to the next one in the Snow and Rose adventure.  

 

PG – magic and action

 

 

 

 

If you liked this review you may also like:

Just click the book to see our review.

     

 

Fallen On Good Times by Rewan Tremethick

Fallen On Good Times by Rewan Tremethick

Book Description:  Fairy tales are warnings.  Legend is history.  Monsters are real.

America, 1920. The city of Pilgrim’s Wane. The people on the street can be dangerous, the ones in the shadows even more so. Private Detective Laslo Kane is giving up. But then a brutal murder drives a terrified investor to offer Laslo a life-changing sum of money to solve the case.

 

The fee could set Laslo up for the rest of his life, assuming he still has one when he’s finished going up against the most dangerous crime family in the city.
Can Laslo survive and claim his fee, or will earning a living be the death of him?

My Review:

Let me just come out and say that this book will be included on my list of best book that I’ve read this year.   It’s extremely well written and charming.

I puzzled over where to place Laslo Kane in my vast library of private detective knowledge.  I was torn at first between Sam Spade and Harry Dresden.   Then a most miraculous thing happened about half way through the book.  I realized that Laslo Kane was his own private detective.  He doesn’t remain tortured at the end of this book the way so many other characters do.   He isn’t in the same place at the end of this book as he is when we first meet him.  Literally and figuratively,  since he’s sort of homeless, but he knows who his friends are and that’s important too.

The book is told in first person and Laslo has a unique outlook.  He also uses the slang of the time which also makes him charming.  The other great thing about Laslo is that he’s a normal sort of guy with normal ambitions.  I really liked that.

One of my favorite scenes in this book is when Laslo goes to meet-let’s call her a potential witness.  Everyone has, at one time or another, been in a persons house who have managed to match the furniture, carpet, drapes and walls.  We’ve all been there.  Laslo comments that the room looked empty to him and he had to find a chair by touch.  It was very funny.  The witness was also pointing a gun at him the whole time so that added to the funny.

Another scene that I’ll never forget is Misty Joe sitting with his candle.  There was something supremely sad about Misty Joe sitting with a candle in front of him and Laslo explaining about ghosts earthly remains.  That right there was worth the price of admission.

Mr. Tremethick was kind enough to send me a copy of his book to review.  I liked it so much that I bought one to support the book.  I’m glad he found us because it would have been a shame if I had missed this book.

Fallen On Good Times is impressive and elegant.  The story is told with ease and an addictive natural flow.  Laslo Kane may very well be my new favorite private detective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PG-13 Some violence and things exploding.

 

 

 

 

 

Background image:   Ciudad De Panama by Silviamar2 from freeimages.com