Required Reading

Life is complicated enough without getting into hotwater with federal agencies so: TAKE NOTE Many things I review I got at no charge in exchange for an honest review. Consider this as informing you that ALL things I review may have been gotten at no charge. Realistically about 60% but in order to keep things above board just assume that I got the stuff free. I do not collect information on my readers. If cookies or other tracking stuff is used on my blogs it is due to BLOGGER not ME. Apparently the European Union's new rules state I need to inform you if cookies are being use. If they are it isn't byu me, consider yourself INFORMED.
Words like, “sponsored,” “promotion,” “paid ad” or even just “ad” are clear ways to disclose that you’re being paid to share information and links so BE AWARE that some of what I write can be described as an AD by the government. BTW I will NEVER say a product is great, super or even acceptable if it isn't, whether I got it free or NOT!

Books I have authored.

Many times I receive books for FREE to give them an honest review. I do not get paid to give a good or bad review. Spotlights are promotional and should be regarded as advertising for the book spotlighted. Regardless of where or how I got a book, my review will be as honest as I can make it.

Monday, January 27, 2014

A Taste Fur Murder by Dixie Lyle


You might consider this book a normal "who done it" if there weren't supernatural beings, ghosts and ectoplasmic  beings.   The pet cemetery is threatened and it needs a protector.    The eclectic guest list at ZZ's soiree provides a wealth of potential miscreants.   This ended as quite an entertaining mystery.

Foxtrot is a fixer.  She handles all of the eccentric ZZ's guests and their miscellaneous and often bizarre requests.  However Foxtrot has a lonely job.   She can't get too close to the guests nor can she jeopardize her authority by becoming  overly familiar with the other employees.   Foxtrot's life is so consumed by her duties that she has little or no time to herself.

Imagine her surprise when, Tango, her long dead cat shows up one day and is able to actually communicate with her.   The author did a nice job in setting a very normal stage and then introducing the supernatural aspects of the plot.

I recommend the book.

web site: none found

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Delia's Shadow by Jamie Lee Moyer




This book is set in San Francisco in 1915.   The Panama-Pacific International Exposition is the backdrop for the book.   The plot is a serial murder investigation surrounded by ghosts.

Delia Martin fled San Francisco after being plagued with ghosts.   Her return to her home is due to the insistence of a ghost.    Delia doesn't know why she sees ghosts and wonders why she can't communicate with them. 

The setting is post San Francisco earthquake and that somber experience carries through the book.   The exuberance of the time period is also featured.   The author does a superb job in painting the time period.

The mystery was well crafted with plenty of twists and turns.   Delia finds help in a mystic, two detectives and her best friend in weathering the attentions of both a serial killer and a wealth of ghosts.  She also finds herself emotionally attached and romantically inclined so there is a bit of a bite for each and every type of reader.

I highly recommend the book.

Web site: http://www.jaimeleemoyer.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Whiskey Rebellion by Liliana Hart

Set in Whiskey Bayou, Georgia this off beat private gum shoe story is more like a scrape off the gum from the shoe.  A likeable narcissistic, accident prone school teacher finds herself literally tripping over a dead body who happens to loom large in her professional life.

The comic relief in this book is low brow at best.   The protagonist is constantly in heat, she junks out at every opportunity and struggles with self esteem issues.  She drives too fast, puts her priorities in the wrong places and runs into doors with her face.   She is a stereotypical klutz, loveable but a klutz. 

Comic mystery, romantic comic mystery, slapstick, I just don't know how to describe the story.   It is entertaining and you can't look away, somewhat like one of those "your mother is sleeping with your sister's boyfriends, Dad's best friend" daytime "reality" TV shows.  

It was an amusing read.

Web site:http://www.lilianahart.com/

/This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Unwelcomed Child by V. C. Andrews


This book is in Andrew's  usual style of writing about children who have parental issues, in this case cruelty by her grandparents.  I found the book quite similar to her other books such as Flowers in the Attic.  Elle Edwards is raised by her grandparents and kept aloof from others to ensure her grandparents are not corrupted by her mother's past.

I thought is was a good story and a good plot.   It is however almost a formula, albeit a successful formula for Andrews.  It is just very similar to past books in style and characterizations.

It was suspenseful and entertaining, it was a good read.

I recommend the book.

Web Site: http://www.completevca.com/

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Dreams of the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn


I haven't read any Vaughn since I reviewed Kitty’s House of Horrors  here a few years ago.  This book, in some ways, seemed more polished than the previous read.  I don't think it is classified as a YA (young adult) but I think it reads as a YA novel.  That isn't a bad thing, just my perceived market focus.   Anna, the protagonist is struggling to find her way to maturity while dealing with an inherited not so super superpower.

I got a feel for the old comic book heroes from this book.  I'm quite sure that was intentional.   Vaughn creates a good Gotham City kind of setting.   She appears to have a good grasp of the teenage psychic or a very good memory of her own teen years.   As a former guidance counselor, I recall quite clearly how teens struggle to create an identity clearly their own.   Taking after your parents is often perceived as a fate worse than death.

The book had a lot of action and angst.   Relationships are explored and renewed.  Celia's situation forces Anna to realize what is really important.   Vaughn does a nice job reinforcing family values.

I recommend the book.
  

  This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.