Charmed and Ready by Candace Havens

( 27 ) Bronwyn the Witch, book 2

The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmondo

( 26 )

Withholding opinion til after book club meeting in a week or so–will update then (if I remember, lol).

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Okay, this sucker really disappointed me.  The blurbs on the back gave away part of the ending, that the kid was found safe and sound. Well, gee, I know how it ends, so that takes away most of the dramatic tension and just leaves boring writing to plod through.

The flashback structure of the story irritated me to no end. As far as I can and could tell the scenes she flashbacked to had absolutely no relevance to the central story–they felt like time-wasters to make a short story into a novel.

I liked the way the author captured how a photographer sees the world, in microcosm and at large, that was interesting.

Not interesting enough to make this downer of a book a keeper, or even  a, “Yea, I might read that again in a few years.”   I like my friends so I can’t pawn it off on them. This book is Paperback Swap-able and that’s about it.

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

( 25 ) Kate Daniels, book 2

I liked this one even better than the first one.  I did get a little annoyed at how frequently Kate’s ~lack~ of a sex life was mentioned—I like this series and I don’t want it to devolve into just another sex-laden paranormal… I was relieved that all they did was talk

Confirmed some of my suspicions as to the nature of Kate’s heritage and power, but I think there are more revelations to come.  Dialogue was better this time, but the action/battle stuff dragged a bit for me — I kinda skimmed when it moved into lots of hacking and whatnot for a few pages at a time.

The cover art on this one was kind of cheesy.  Okay, this one and the first in the series, but this one was noticeably worse.

Which won’t stop me from picking up book 3 when it comes out Tuesday (3/31)

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

( 24 ) Kate Daniels, book 1

I liked it.  MC reminds me of a female Harry Dresden.  Curious as to what the big secret of her magic is, so will have to read more.

I also liked the nosferatu-style take on vampires–a girl can only handle so many oversexed, model-gorgeous vampire series. The were-characters were a bit one-dimensional and their origin story borrows heavily, and without subtlety, from LKH’s concept for the same.

And, in a happy change of pace from most paranormal stuff with a female MC, there was NO sex.  Zip. Nada.  Nice to see someone can do it without the characters always doing IT.

Carrot Cake Murder by Joanna Fluke

( 23 )  A Hannah Swenson mystery

I don’t do ‘cat’ mysteries and almost abandoned the first book in this series because of the freaky cat the MC owns, but I’m glad I stuck with it.  I like the character, the recipes are tasty and amusing to read as well as the story, and I’ve enjoyed watching Hannah’s character grow. It’s only a little growth since this is essentially a series of quirky foodie mysteries with quirky, sitcom-ish characters, but they are fun and I keep buying them, reading them, and paperback swapping them

I do wish the author would hurry up and resolve Hannah’s romantic triangle already, though.  That three-way thang got old a few books ago!

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

( 22 )

A friend gave me this audiobook when she was done with it.  It was well read by the author and I enjoyed listening to it. I like hearing authors read their own work. They are not pro voice actors, but they have heart and a story to tell.

This was an abridged version–can I just state for the record I despise abridged versions on principle?  Thanks!

The MC lacked emotional depth and when her emotions did have depth it felt false; I hope this is due to the whole abridged thing, but I’m not counting on it.  I really enjoyed the portrayal of small town mountain life, and the vivid compare and contrast between similar communities in two different countries.

Don’t get your hopes too high, but for a little commute listening, this is nice.

Oh, btw… The friend who loaned it to me doesn’t want it back, so if you’d like to listen this one leave me a comment with a valid email address and it’s yours.  If I get multiple requests I’ll pick a winner by the highly scientific method of having my 7yo draw a comment number from a hat

Child of a Dead God by Barb & J.C. Hendee

( 21 ) The Noble Dead, book 7

Lots of great action at the end of the end of this one.  Lots of slogging through crap to get to it.  This was incredibly dense, especially when compared with the earlier books in the series.  I appreciate increasing complexity over a long-running series, but this was just so dry and dull for so much of the early parts of the book.  Much of the endless journeying could have been condensed or completely cut without significantly changing plot or character development, IMNSHO.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King

( 20 ) Mary Russell, book 1

I didn’t enjoy this book as much in a second reading, probably because I’ve spent the last week-plus fighting off some kind of creepy crawly ick and the longer the fight goes on, the more it seems to be winning   I enjoyed this book, but it seems like I remembered enjoying it more the first time I read it a couple years ago. Maybe it’s just that since I have read the other six books in the series I know what’s coming…

I hope to feel up to making my book club meeting tonight to discuss, since the person who makes us talk deeply about the books has finally come back to the fold   But waiting for the head to stop pounding and the random dizzy spells to fade… Will have to read everyone else’s reviews later.