The weatherman took away our chances for rain that used to appear for the weekend. (See post below about Liars.)

I read On the Edge (The Edge, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews. I keep threatening to do a review, but suffice it to say I could not order the next in the series fast enough. (Bayou Moon (The Edge, Book 2)) I have loved everything Ilona Andrews writes. The Edge is easily going to make my top books of the year. It’s one of the rarest of the rare that I’ll probably re-read. It’s a mix of urban fantasy, fantasy and romance. Every word of it is done well with awesome characterization and plotting.

New Email Sign Up

I’m going to implement a sign up for people to subscribe via email to my blog. I’ll post the details, but if you want to be a beta tester, the signup is over on the left sidebar. Basically if you want an email containing the latest blog posts (sent once daily), you sign up and the daily blog posts will be delivered to your inbox. That way you won’t miss a single complaint about the weather–or the weather report!

Here are some very good review sites:

Motherload – Highly recommended review site; it’s one of my favorites. There’s almost always a giveaway going on too!!! Free books!!!

ebookworm Mostly reviews science fiction and fantasy. Has good Kindle tips and Kindle news.

Mysteries in Paradise, Australia Just what the name says, ma’am. Kerrie covers all kinds of crime!

Marleen’s Journal Covering all parts of the world, Marleen brings you book thoughts from Ireland. She reads a very wide range and posts all her thoughts–good, bad and otherwise!!!

Socrates’ Book Reviews –lots of cozies, the occasional romance, many a book challenge! — OR, for her cozy mystery reviews only go here.

Books on the Knob – Reviews, Kindle deals, free book deals, Kindle news/releases and general book talk. Also has a direct Kindle subscription available.

MyGuiltyObsession Lots of books across genres, specializes in YA.

My Eclectic Bookshelf Lots of Urban fantasy, paranormal mysteries and paranormal romance.

The Frugal Reader Great finds for under nine! Reviews, excerpts, good books!

DollyCas specializes in cozy reads. The site may take a long time to load as there are a lot of books listed in the sidebars.

I think this is cozy paranormal (Haven’t read anything other than the sample) No, it wasn’t cozy paranormal. It could have been and would have been a better book had it stuck in that genre, but it wandered way off the tracks plotwise and … well, no spoilers.

It’s Free today:

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead

Hat tip to Northern Lin for letting us know! EDIT: DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS!!! SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT!

I also came across this classic that I just loved when I was young: Anne of Green Gables (formatted for the Kindle.) I think it is out of copyright (in public domain) so you can probably find sites where it’s free, but here it is formatted from Amazon for a dollar!

I recently finished Elizabeth Peters’ Laughter of Dead Kings the sixth and last book in the Vicky Bliss series.  It’s been over ten years since the fifth book came out.  I was so pleased to hear this book was out!   I read it and loved it.  It’s a great little cozy caper.  My full review can be found at BookSpotCentral.

I skimmed two other reviews of this book before reading it–there were some minor complaints about the book being rather drawn out.  I didn’t find this to be the case, but perhaps I just so enjoyed being around the characters again, I didn’t notice any slow spots.  What I did notice was that when looking for a cover shot of the book, the website that seemed to go with the author was woefully short on info about the book–no cover, no hoopla, no mention of the book.   That website was dedicated to the Amelia Peabody series (also a delightful series).  There was a mention of the Vicky Bliss series, but the list hadn’t been updated to include the latest title.  I then found the author website, but it just described the various series–it didn’t even list the names of the books!

Maybe there is another website out there with author info that includes info about this series, but I didn’t find it.  It’s disappointing to see that not much marketing is being done to draw new readers to the series.  It’s a wonderful little set of cozy mysteries with a unique voice.  But unless you were already a reader of the series, I doubt you’d ever hear about this title.   I don’t know if the older titles are still in print, but it seems to me that they are more likely to go back into print if the new book helps create demand.  With the little research I did, I’m guessing that the series will fade into general obscurity due to simple neglect.   It’s too bad.  All six books brought a smile to my face when I read them.

I’ve listed the titles in order below. I linked the first one to Amazon.

* Borrower of the Night: A Vicky Bliss Novel of Suspense (Vicky Bliss Mysteries)
* Street of Five Moons
* Silhouette in Scarlet
* Trojan Gold
* Night Train to Memphis

For anyone that likes Janet Evanovich’s series–Plum Boxed Set 1 (1, 2, 3): Contains One for the Money, Two for the Dough and Three to Get Deadly(Stephanie Plum Novels) and so on, I think you’d like both the Vicky Bliss and Amelia Peabody series.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. The winner is:

Liliana of Maryland!!!! Your book will be on its way shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered; and a special shout out to Danna at her Cozy Blog for sending people this way!

In celebration of a new book in the series, I’m giving away a brand-spankin’ new copy of Kaye C. Hill’s first in the series, Dead Woman’s Shoes.

Kaye’s latest book, “The Fall Girl” is available for pre-order at Bookdepository. The release date is around August 12. Woot!!!

This contest is open only to US addresses–However–if you live in the UK, you’ve a little luck: Dead Woman’s Shoe’s is on sale at the publisher site: Creme de la Crime for only 2 pounds! Pretty darn good deal for a trade paperback! (You may need to scroll down to find Dead Woman’s Shoes.)

Dead Woman’s Shoes is a cozy/mystery with a lot of suspense and great characters including Kinky the chihuahua, a missing cat, a vet, a policeman, an entire drama club, and of course, an amateur sleuth, Lexy, who must sort it all out even though she is on the run herself! There are twists and turns, capers–-and many a thread woven into a completely captivating tale. Dead Woman’s Shoes made my list of top books for 2008. I fully expect “The Fall Girl” to make my 2009 list.

If you include your mailing address in the email, and you are selected as the winner, I will announce the winner and mail the book right away. If you don’t want to include your mailing address, I will attempt to contact you via email ONCE. You will have a week to reply with your US mailing address. If I don’t receive an email within the week, I will select another winner. Please enter only one time. Multiple entries will be disqualified!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the covers or the books (if you’re read them!) Earlier, I posted some info about the covers and how the publisher designs their covers.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and read. Then too, I’ve started a few books and just not been able to concentrate. Maybe it was the storyline, or maybe it was me. Good news, though! I picked up the first book in Anne George’s Southern Sisters series, and boy was it good. Murder on a Girls’ Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery is a cozy mystery. It’s fun, funny and well-plotted. The characters are not only charming, but real–family squabbles, an endearing husband (who sometimes make the heroine so mad she sleeps on the couch!) and good, old fashioned caper activities.

I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series, even though it takes a special series to keep my attention. I think this series will be a keeper. It’s a very nice comfort read, yet it is fast-paced and funny enough to have that special magic that keeps me wanting more. I haven’t read a lot this year, but this book is very likely to make my top reads for the year 2009.

One Jump Ahead by Mark Van Name is a wonderful little sci/fi adventure. Funny how I don’t read much sci/fi compared to fantasy and mysteries, but this year, the books I’ve most enjoyed have been in the sci/fi camp. Anyone who likes John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series will love this series by Mark Van Name. I’d say I even liked One Jump Ahead just a bit better because I connected with the main character, Jon Moore, better. The creativity in this book gets extra points–there’s some use of animal characters that I really appreciated. There weren’t many female characters, but those that were in the book were fully developed and not stereotypical.

This is a great adventure with interesting and well-developed characters. The main character has some unusual characteristics, rather than your standard strong he-man. I liked that he didn’t spend time drowning his sorrows in booze, and there were several spots where the character stopped–and noticed the waves on the beach or the strange beauty of unusual woodwork.

For non-sci/fi readers, this book is a lot like Frederick Forsyth’s Avenger. Fans of Forsyth that haven’t ventured into sci/fi would do well to start here. Some excellent reconnaissance setups and “infiltration.”

Full review over at Bookspot.

Fabulous, just FABULOUS! I was going to make Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2) by Ilona Andrews the book of the month, however, I have in my hot little hands, Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3) and I suspect that it will also make my top list, which means I’ll have another book of the week for May!!!

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1) is the first in the Kate Daniels series and I highly, highly recommend it. It easily made my Books of the Year for 2008!!! Book two is bound to make it into the list for 2009.

These are strong urban fantasy books that use a lot of interesting, well-researched myth characters–not just a vampire or werewolf. The books have a touch of old fashioned romance. When there are vampires, they are also not your standard creatures, a take that I enjoyed because instead of trying to make a dead thing romantic, Andrews’ character knows dead is dead! Kate is a modern day warrior in Atlanta where the magic is back–but only in waves, existing next to technology when the magic isn’t working.

The links above go to Amazon where I noticed that the titles are on the buy 4 books for the price of 3 as of May 1–get all three. They are that good. If you need a recommendation for a fourth title, just let me know. I have oodles of recommendations!

Update:
My review of “Magic Strikes” the third in the series is over at BookSpotCentral Review. I loved it, of course. These books really made my week!!!

While doing the review and checking the copyright, I noticed that “Ilona Andrews” appears to be two people–Ilona and Andrew Gordon. One of these days I’ll have to look into this mystery of two people and find out just how it all works out into a book. No matter who is doing the writing, it’s just wonderful stuff!!!

New Book Review over at eBookworm for The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe.

I am *highly* looking forward to April’s comments on the review. She may have an item or two to dispute with me on this one, but I *assure* you I am completely right and fair, and just because she is a dragon does not mean that I will back down. Unless she’s having a bad day…

‘ware the smoke, it usually means flames!

Sword-Edged Blonde is a fantasy novel with a pulp-fiction detective.

The Dragons of Hazlett by Michelle Scott is a good debut. This is a beach read; nothing complex, a nice read for a quiet afternoon. I read it as an e-book, which is particularly good for stories that don’t require a lot of concentration. (I don’t own a fancy e-reader, I read on my laptop, which probably lacks the sophisticated features that make reading online easier.)

It took me a while to get used to the premise because it’s a little unusual: mechanical items are taboo and considered occult. What’s funny is that in real history, mechanical items were often thought evil, yet in fantasy, it’s almost always magic that is the occult. So I’m reading along with certain expectations and finding myself in a bit of a different place. Not a bad thing, but I found myself thinking, “Hey! Everyone knows that mechanical items are just…” Some of the examples of “mechanical” could have made the concept easier to accept. There’s one scene where the protag doesn’t really know what an arrow is…that brought me up short because it took my mind a while to wrap around the concept that in any world an arrow wouldn’t be common place (why waste magic when something as simple as an arrow would do?)

This is a murder mystery at heart and a good one. Romana’s granduncle has been murdered and though she didn’t know him, she is determined to find his killer. Even though it means accepting some unpleasant truths about his life and going to an unknown city where she has no friends or other family she takes on the duty with determination.

There were two POVs to the story, but the author kept it nicely simple. The character development was strong enough that I didn’t mind the two POVs—I cared about both characters enough to like both segments and not get annoyed at moving back and forth. That said, the character motivations were very simple. I’d have enjoyed a bit more complexity in motivations from both the main POVs and the other characters in the story. The characters are not one-dimensional, but they are simply stated rather than having hidden facets.

The actual plot is where the dimensions of the story is fleshed out. Just when things look simple, there’s a bit of a twist or at least an alleyway. Nicely done—right up until the end battle. It was a nice ending, had great tension, but then it dropped it suddenly. After some of the setup shown earlier in the story (which I can’t reveal as it would be a spoiler) the climax needed to deal with the issue as the true battle it was. Instead, it was packaged neatly and dispensed with. There were certainly other plot elements that were handled with the complexity they deserved so the ending felt a little like the author had a word limit.

Despite the rushed ending, this is a good story and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. It’s easily worth the e-book price (about 5 dollars) and for those that don’t do e-books, it’s also available as Trade Paperback (click on the title links in this post to go to Amazon). Though it’s not labeled YA and probably rightly so because it isn’t a perfect fit, The Dragons of Hazlett would be good reading for that category as well as adult–I’d call it a cozy/fantasy/mystery.

(Cover Art by Skyla Dawn Cameron)

I’ve had this series on my TBR for a while (a looong while). Well, I finally got around to reading the first The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (See all Mystery Books) and I LOVED it!!!

This is sort of the American version of Amelia Peabody or the American version of Miss Marple. I’d categorize it as a cozy thriller. Yes, a cozy thriller. Perhaps a new category, but it’s very fast-paced and more dangerous than your average cozy. The international intrigue and tough guys make it a thriller. Most of the violence happens offstage but it does color outside the strict cozy lines.

Very few of this series is available on Kindle and that’s a darn shame. It would be much easier to buy them if they were available for e-readers, but I’m not opposed to a regular book. The series is too good to pass up! HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended! These are must-read gems!!!

Haven’t done a book post in a while because I’m not reading as much lately. It’s spring–there’s gardening, lots of writing and lots of cooking going on. There would be more eating going on, but I’m dieting…

I read both of these books on the Kindle–what great finds!

Wistril Compleat by Frank Tuttle is several novellas all in the same fantasy setting, all about the trials and tribulations of the grumpy Wizard Wistril. Humor, adventure, and fun capers all around. The first story started off a little slow and I was leery–but this book was some of the best fantasy I’ve read in long while. Great beach read–the pages turn faster and faster. I’m not that fond of short stories, but when they are all in one setting about the same characters, they read much more like a novel and are fully satisfying.

Wistril Compleat is also available on CD, although I’m not linking to it because it wasn’t currently in stock at Amazon.

Next up is a crime novel, Fatherly Love. I know, I know. Looking at the cover, this book doesn’t look like much, but we all know that covers don’t make the book!

Fatherly Love is a very good mystery, similar in tone/style to those great pulps of yesteryear, but with a modern sensibility (the women aren’t just for looks). It’s available on Amazon and also at Smashwords.com.

I’m also not sure I love the title of this novel; “Fatherly Love” while appropriate, leaves out a lot. I think it could be more…interesting. No, I don’t know what it should be, but somehow it seems like it should capture something mob-like.

On the reading front, I just reviewed two very good books over at BookSpotCentral (click links below to read the reviews):

New Tricks by John Levitt – This one is definitely going on my books of the year list. The first in the series is Dog Days. I loved them both. If you love urban fantasy, this series is for you.

Shadowmagic by John Lenahan – This one is also very good; an unintended quest survival tale with a family-oriented twist. Good humor in this fast YA read.

I have a few places I like to use for finding ebook bargains:

Kindle Reader There’s a frugal pick every day so far as I can tell. The other books listed may or may not be bargains depending on your budget! There are good book descriptions, prices and the posts say whether text to speech is enabled or not.

Books On the Knob is becoming ever more relevant to the e-reader world. Not only does it have bargain Kindle books, but also Nook, Sony and any other e-book that is a bargain. There is a new post daily, sometimes more than one. You can subscribe to get your bargain list daily: Books on the Knob

And here’s another one that I just started following, DailyCheapReads. I’ve found some excellent bargains on this one–everything is under five dollars. This is a fun site with good books!

I was recently fortunate enough to receive a review copy of The Heretic by Joseph Nassasi. I don’t accept many review copies these days; my reading time is almost nil and it has to be something special to catch my attention. Even after I get a copy, I never know if it will work out to be something I like. Well, let’s just say just say this was a real winner, and I’m thrilled to have had the chance to read it. Five stars, highly recommended–it makes my top book reads for 2010 EASILY.

The Heretic is a fast-paced supernatural thriller with wonderfully drawn characters. The book starts a bit like a report and I worried it might not grab me, but it quickly drew me into the world of the Knights Templar. These are not your ancient Knights either; it’s a contemporary set of heroes hoping to protect the world from evils seen and unseen.

It has more than one Point Of View (POV) but it all works extremely well. I don’t normally warm to multiple POV, but the characterization is so strong, I had no complaints.

The Heretic is a mix of “tough guy” literature with epic fantasy story. The only other series that I think I’ve read that is similar is The Adept by Katherine Kurtz.

The Heretic is Awesome Stuff; a total page-turner. My only possible complaint is that while the story wraps up nicely, it has many an open-end. I’m feeling pretty happy that the other books in the series are available already.

There’s a love story here, a lot of action, more danger than a body can reasonably live through and huge imagination. For my cozy blog readers–this one does have more battle and violence than a cozy, but nothing that put me off. It’s not all off-stage though so be warned if you are a strict cozy reader.

An excellent read. I’m greatly looking forward to the next one.