Tag: great read

Books, great reads, Reviews

Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon

debra

Hey everybody,

Somebody Killed His Editor is a murder mystery by Josh Lanyon.  This is the first book I have read by this author and I found this book by way of an online book club I am in.  It is this month’s selection.  The detective is Christopher Holmes, a mystery writer whose sales are declining.  His agent told him to attend a small writer’s conference where the main speaker will be his editor.  He absolutely does not want to go, but he concedes to her request.  His agent has also told him to drop a new story idea to his editor that he does not have in his head yet in order to keep writing. Upon arrival, he finds a murdered body at the Lodge and is a leading suspect.  The next day, he finds another dead body! The search is on for the killer and the reason why.  Christopher is assisted by J.X. Moriarity, a writer who is an ex-cop.

What I liked about this book:  First, I love a good murder mystery and this one kept me interested.  It is a good little “whodunit”.  What surprised me most was the humor in the story, largely due to Christopher. This character’s internal banter is refreshing, at times self-deprecating, but quite humorous.  I do not expect to laugh during a murder mystery, but I did in this book.  There is a subplot of a romance between Christopher and J.X., but the author develops it slowly.  I thought the writing was tight in this book and the pacing of the story felt right. I believe I will be reading more by this author.

I was not crazy about the titling of the book and I thought the cover art was a bit too “cheesy”, but just put all that stuff aside and enjoy the story which is the most important thing anyway.  Pick it up—I think you will like it.

Happy Reading,

Debra

Out of the Box Blogs

Dragon on Top by G. A. Aiken

Les

*****WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS ONE VULGAR WORD IN A QUOTE********

WOW! This book is short, but AMAZING! All about dragons. Dragon queens, Dragon Warriors, Dragon politicians. I didn’t want to put it down.

Main character Ghleanna, is a dragon warrior captain, and she is hilarious. She is sent to protect Bram the Merciful on a peace treaty mission. Along the way her family of warriors becomes involved and the family dynamics are so freaking awesome. Of course there are fights, love, sex, banter, and foul language. I love it.

Everyone knows I love good banter, but this was awesome and I found myself loving all the characters. I love they way they interact with each other. The name calling, head butting, sibling affection.  The author did well with the characters, they told you key points about all of them.

All in all, I loved it, I would read it again. It is not a cliffhanger. So it has an ending, and if I might add, a good one.

I will give you some quotes from the book. I mean, you know I leave you guys hanging so you will read it, but I am in a giving mood today. HA!

“Wake up, ya lazy sow. Wake up!” – Ghleanna’s aunts

“Leave me be, you mad bitches!” – Ghleanna

And my favorite:

“I didn’t go through half-a-century of training and more than that in battles to end up the babysitter of Bram the Merciful.” -Ghleanna

Bram the Merciful responds “Would you like an actual blade to twist in my gut, Ghleanna?”

“It’s nothing personal,” she responds.

Ha! I love it! I could probably find one hundred quotes I loved. So you need to read it, so you can see what I am talking about.

GO NOW! RUN MY FRIENDS! YOU HAVE A BOOK TO READ!

Peace

Les

Books, great reads, Reviews

Naked In Death by J.D. Robb

debra

Hey everyone,

I know I am very late in starting this series, but better late than never!  This series is set in the not to distant future and stars Eve Dallas as a Lieutenant In New York and Roarke as a suspect in a murder mystery she is investigating.  I really enjoyed this story. The writing is tight and the plot has staying power.  I would expect nothing less from Ms. Robb, who I am sure everyone knows is Nora Roberts.  The plot moved right along and as someone who enjoys murder mysteries, I liked how the mystery unfolds. There is enough suspense in the plot to keep it interesting and enough suspects to give you something to figure out. (The bad person was in my top two suspects. Yay me!)  I also enjoyed how the relationship between Eve and Roarke plays out.  It was not rushed in my opinion (a personal pet peeve of mine).  Eve has to work through her emotions due to Roarke being a suspect.

If you haven’t started this series yet, give it a try.  I will be moving on to Book 2 very soon.

Happy Reading,

Debra

Books, great reads, Reviews

Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds

Karen

Shifter Planet Cover

This was my first book by D.B. Reynolds but not my last. I really enjoyed the world that she built, but let’s make this blog official, blurb first then a review.

Blurb:

Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she’s the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet’s secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there…

But there is a secret involving some Guild members-one that could get her killed.

Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it–even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything-including each other-in their battle for the right to live in peace.

Now the review: I loved this book! I have to admit in the beginning I was not a Specialist Amanda Sumner fan. I found her arrogant and annoying. For example she practically throws a hissy fit when she finds out there are shifters on the planet and no one told her. Really? This is one of they’re biggest secrets, your people have done nothing but harm but they should have told you because your breathing? That irritated me. But I loved Rhodry from go. He was protective and honorable, plus being smoking hot didn’t hurt. And truth be told Amanda grew on me, her personally became less entitled and more independent (it they’re a difference? Of course there is) which also coincided with the story really picking up. The less I worried about her the more I realized that this was a really good book. The world building was spot on, I was never confused about where they were or what something looked like. The relationship between Rhodry and Amanda was refreshing, instant attraction but not insta-love. And the story itself was great, just enough angst to make you want to read, just a little more.

I recommend reading this, the book comes out October 26th. Grab it, you won’t be disappointed. I did get a free copy from netgalley, so thank you for that!