Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun Review

M.J. Holliday is a gifted psychic medium who is in business with her best friend Gilley Gillespie, a gadgets expert. Gilley acts as M.J.‘s manager and books her gigs as a ghost buster of sorts ridding haunted houses of their unwanted ghosts. M.J.’s latest job is to appear on a television show called Haunted Possessions as a psychic and will use her skills to tell people if their family heirlooms are truly haunted or not.

The show consists of four mediums, two of which seem like frauds. The only medium M.J. believes in is a young man named Heath. They quickly form a bond and end up shooting a segment together. But when a knife mysteriously shows up as the next heirloom to look at, no one knows what they’re getting into until it’s too late.

This mysterious knife is extremely dangerous and leads M.J. and her friends on a chase for a killer. It doesn’t help that the hotel they are all staying in is extremely haunted and everywhere M.J. turns, there’s a ghost popping up. When one by one people in the haunted hotel start turning up murdered, M.J. realizes this isn’t going to be an easy case.

Along with the help of her boyfriend Steven, best friend Gilley, medium Heath, and the rest of the crew from the TV show, they embark on their scariest adventure yet to catch a killer before he can take another victim. But is their killer a ghost or a living person, they do not know. All they do know is that this ghost hunting job is getting to be really dangerous and even though they are getting paid handsomely, they don’t think it’s worth losing their lives. Will M.J. and her friends solve the case before another person is hurt?

Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun is the third book in the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series starring M.J. Holliday, a psychic medium. This was the first book that I’ve read by Laurie and I found it to be so much fun! The story is full of suspense, ghost hunting, and a mystery that you won’t be able to figure out. I enjoyed all of the characters but Gilley by far was my favorite. He was hilarious and shined through in all of his scenes. M.J. is a fearless woman who won’t stop her investigation until it’s solved. I found her character to be strong willed and I enjoyed that she didn’t need a man to rescue her in scary situations.

If you loved Wendy Roberts’ books you are going to be in heaven with Victoria Laurie’s series. As soon as I started this book, I found it impossible to stop reading it! Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun is a carnival ride of fun with ghosts, spirits, haunted houses, villains, mystery, telepathy, and psychics! I look forward to the next book in this series Ghouls Gone Wild due out March 2, 2010.

Love at First Flight Review

Juliana Gregorio and Michael Maguire are both headed to Florida to spend time with their significant others. They’ve never met before and coincidentally are both in long distance relationships. During their flight, they get to know each other and plan to talk again on their return trip home.

Juliana is a hair stylist and has been with her high school sweetheart Jeremy for ten years. Although she is happy with Jeremy, she wonders when he will take the plunge and ask her to marry him; after all it has been ten years! Michael is a prosecutor for the state’s attorney in Baltimore City and has been with his girlfriend Paige for the last four years. They are engaged and due to be married once all of the insane overzealous planning is done. Michael would like a simple wedding and doesn’t care for all of the extravagance that Paige insists on.

Juliana and Michael’s chance meeting turns into a friendship when they reunite once again on their flight home. Both of their relationships suffered changes during their trip and they are both free to explore other options. Will Juliana and Michael find love together and leave their significant others for good?

During their time together, Michael is prosecuting a high profile case and the defendants will do anything in their power to make sure the star witness does not take the stand. Juliana and Michael’s lives are constantly in jeopardy and they now have a police escort at all times. Will Juliana decide that life is too dangerous with Michael and leave him for Jeremy or will she discover happiness like she’s never known before?

Love at First Flight is a beautiful heart warming story that any woman could relate to. We have all been at a crossroads at one time in our life where we had to make a tough decision that will forever impact us. Juliana thought she was in love with her boyfriend of ten years but when she meets Michael, she realizes what true love really feels like. Love at First Flight is a story about love at first sight. It’s what every woman dreams of, meeting a man and knowing from the instant you meet him that he is the one. Along the way Juliana struggles with her emotions while she has to make a big decision and will break one man’s heart in the process.

Love at First Flight is a contemporary romance with a touch of suspense mixed in. If you are looking for a great love story that will make you smile and cry; this is the one. Juliana and Michael came alive in this book and I felt their love and their heartbreak every step of the way. Love at First Flight is an excellent book that romance readers will quickly devour and yearn for more. Overall, Marie Force is an outstanding writer and I look forward to reading more books by her.

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Visit Marie Force's site

Blue Moon Review

Ever Bloom’s life has dramatically changed ever since she met Damen Auguste and lost her whole family in a tragic car accident. She’s become an immortal and is adjusting to her new found powers. Damen has been right by her side along the journey and is teaching Ever what it means to be an immortal. But with the arrival of a new kid in school named Rogan, everything changes and not for the better.

Suddenly, Damen doesn’t want anything to do with Ever, her friends reject her, and she is constantly being taunted by everyone at school. Without Damen to provide her with her immortal juice and to teach her about her new life, she is left all alone, confused and terrified. Why is Damen acting so oddly? Why does he look like he’s becoming human and losing all of his powers? Why does Damen not love Ever anymore?

Ever travels to the other dimension of Summerland to find answers on how to save Damen. He is quickly deteriorating and she is convinced that a rogue immortal is the reason. While in Summerland, Ever discovers that there is a way to turn back time and get her old life back. Will Ever leave Damen and return to her old life and family? Will the rogue immortal get to Damen and kill him before Ever can save him?

Blue Moon is the second book in a paranormal young adult series called The Immortals. Ever is on her own in this installment and needs to figure out how to save Damen before his time runs out. Without having enough immortal knowledge this leaves her enlisting the help of a psychic and some friends in Summerland to help her. But the ultimate decision as to whether she is there to save Damen or if she tries to return to her old life is up to Ever and only Ever to decide. Will her decision cause catastrophic consequences or will she finally get her own happily ever after?

I adored the first book Evermore and was very anxious to read Blue Moon to find out what happens next with Ever and Damen. I enjoyed the scenes in Summerland as they were very imaginative and the imagery was nice. The conclusion to Blue Moon is very shocking and I still feel conflicted on whether I liked it or not.

Now despite some nuances, I really do love reading this series. The writing flows well and even though this book reads a little younger then the previous one at times, I still couldn’t put it down and was excited to see what would happen next. Overall, The Immortals is a great new series that is full of surprises and secrets to slowly be uncovered one by one. Look out for the third book in The Immortals Series, Shadowland due out February 2010.

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Visit Alyson Noel's Website for The Immortals Series

HQN Teen Books

I found this great list of some of the upcoming HQN Teen books on an Amazon ''So You'd Like To...'' List written by a reader. She has tons of great recommendations. Scroll down to HARLEQUIN SERIES to see the list of HQN Teen books list. And check out all her other recommendations. Go here to see it! And here's another list by her also. If you look to the right hand column while looking at a list...you will find more lists by other people. And then when you look at their lists..you will find more. I can browse going list to list for hours! LOL Have fun! :) Let me know if you find anything really good. I'm interested in upcoming books that haven't been mentioned on any blogs. Some that I might not know about. And if anyone knows anymore of the HQN Teen books coming out, I'd love to know! Especially covers!!

Phantasm Review

Zoe Martinique was a Wraith but lost her powers and doesn’t know how to get them back. She isn’t able to travel the astral world out of body anymore and this leaves her as a defenseless human while the Phantasm is out to kill. Zoe’s mother is still in a coma and her soul is lost somewhere on the Abysmal plane. Without the ability to become a Wraith, Zoe has no way of traveling to the Abysmal to look for her mother’s soul.

Rhonda, her best friend, betrayed her and even though she is a valuable source of knowledge, Zoe refuses to talk to her. Zoe’s boyfriend Daniel hasn’t talked to her since that traumatic incident at the warehouse that exposed him to a world that he never knew existed.

Joe still makes Zoe’s knees go weak but nothing much has been happening with them. But Dags is back so that’s good so he can help her with this case. TC is around and he seems to be Zoe’s new partner in crime. Without TC aka The Archer, there is no Wraith Zoe so she must work together with him to figure out how to become her old self again. TC can not be trusted but for this one case Zoe must put her life and her closest friends and family in his hands or she will never find her mother’s soul and save her.

Will Zoe become a Wraith again or will she be stuck as a regular human being? What will happen to her mother Nona? Will Daniel ever talk to Zoe again or will he break her heart by finally moving on? Will Zoe and her friends make it out of this mission alive?

PHANTASM is the third book in the Zoe Martinique Series that follows the life of a unique woman named Zoe who has the ability to travel out of her body because of a traumatic experience years ago. She is able to possess a person’s body, communicate telepathically with them after a possession, travel to the Abysmal and communicate with ghosts. But all of these abilities seemed to have left her out of nowhere and she has no idea how to get them back. She lost her voice, has been in a coma, almost died, and suffered so much because of being a Wraith, but yet she misses being one once it was taken from her.

This series must be read in order or the reader will be completely lost for details. It’s been a year since I read Spectre so it took me a little while to remember some of the events from the previous book, but the author does a good job of giving some background on the other books to refresh readers’ memories.

Phaedra Weldon has become my favorite author in the urban fantasy genre after reading Phantasm. I adored Wraith and Spectre but Weldon has topped those two books in her latest release. The first person point of view flows beautifully and all of the characters are well developed and unique.

I did not want Phantasm to end and was so sad when I turned the last page. Weldon is an amazing talent and her series just gets better and better with each new book. I LOVED Phantasm. I loved every word, every scene, and every character. I would HIGHLY recommend Phantasm and Weldon’s series to readers who love an intense story with lots of excitement and adventure from the first sentence to the last.

Happy 4th of July!

The Dark Hunters Volume 1 Review

The Dark Hunters Volume 1
Story by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Art by Claudia Campos
St. Martins Griffin
July 7, 2009

Summary from Amazon:

In the war against vampires, mankind has only one hope: The Dark-Hunters. Ancient warriors who died of brutal betrayal, the Dark-Hunters have sworn themselves into the service of the goddess Artemis to protect us.
It’s a pact with pretty good perks. Immortality, power, psychic abilities, wealth and a cool wardrobe. But it comes with a few drawbacks: fatal sun poisoning and a new, irreparable dental problem. But aside from the fangs and nocturnal lifestyle, it’s not so bad.

Until Kyrian meets the most frightening thing imaginable. An accountant who’s being hunted by one of the most lethal vampires out there. If Amanda Devereaux goes down, so does he and no offense, he doesn’t want to die (hence the whole immortality thing). And he doesn’t want humanity dead either which is a good thing for us since he and Amanda are all that stands between us and oblivion. Let’s hope they win.

Review:
My father is a huge comic book collector and used to buy me Barbie, Archie, Little Mermaid, and Jem comics when I was a kid. Despite my comic book upbringing, I have never read a manga book until now! I was very pleasantly surprised to get this little gem in the mail for review. I have never read Sherrilyn Kenyon before so I knew nothing about her Dark Hunters Series besides what I read in this manga novel.

The Dark Hunters Volume 1 is exquisitely drawn and really brings the story to life. I enjoyed the interactions between Kyrian and Amanda, and was even laughing at their arguing in some of the scenes. The drawings of her expressions were hilarious and I enjoyed reading about the Greek mythology. It’s a little hard to fully understand a whole series of books by just reading about it in a manga novel but I am intrigued now to check out her full length novels.

The way to read a manga is kind of confusing at first but there are handy instructions in the front of the book, which is actually the back. This book is put together in traditional Japanese style so that means the book opens backwards, you read pages right to left, and you read the bubbles from the top right hand corner, to the left as you go down the page. Surprisingly as complicated as that sounds, it’s not that hard.

The illustrator, Claudia Campos, really did Kenyon’s writing justice and I had so much fun reading about The Dark Hunters. The book ends with a cliff hanger and I can’t wait for the next manga so I can continue the saga that I started! Overall, The Dark Hunters Volume 1 is definitely worth the buy and is great for paranormal readers who want a break from a full length novel.

The Neighbor Review

When a twenty-three year old mother vanishes in the middle of the night, leaving her four year old daughter home alone, the media goes crazy with theories on what could have happened to her. Sandra Jones was young and beautiful and this story has happened so many times before that immediately everyone suspects the husband.

Sandra’s husband Jason Jones is handsome in the Dr. Mc Dreamy way and is a bit older then her. He works nights; she works days, so they hardly ever see each other. Could Jason have had enough of his loveless marriage and put an end to it by murdering his wife?

Jason doesn’t help the cops search for his wife and seems to be playing a part in a play, ‘’the grieving husband.’’ Their daughter witnessed what really happened but Jason doesn’t want her talking to anyone. When the cops dig deeper into the Jones’ lives, they discover there’s more to them then your typical family of three living in South Boston. They have dark secrets and the last thing they want is for it to be played out in the media.

Will Sandra Jones be found alive or will she turn into another statistic, killed by her handsome husband who thought a divorce would be too much trouble to deal with?

The Neighbor is an extremely tightly plotted mystery with plenty of suspense and red herrings. My only complaint is that the overall reasoning and conclusion to the mystery didn’t live up to my extremely high expectations. As an avid mystery reader, I just wanted to be surprised or shocked but the ending was rather predictable for me.

The story alternates in narration giving the reader a peak into the suspects’ mind and motives. The wife tells her story in a foreshadowing that slowly puts the pieces of the puzzle together. This book is loosely connected to Say Goodbye which I recommend reading first so you are aware of certain plot points. Overall, The Neighbor is an exceptional book that kept me up until 4 am, saying just one more page…

Midnight's Master Review

Holly Storm is a reporter for News Flash Five and always goes too far in her investigations for a top story. When we first met her in the second book in this trilogy, Midnight Sins, Holly witnessed the wrath of Niol, a demon of the highest power, level ten. After discovering he was a demon, she’s found herself still strangely drawn to his club Paradise Found and goes to Niol for his help when her friend Carl is killed. Niol isn’t looking for love and the last thing he wants is to be involved with a human like Holly. But he finds himself attracted to her and can’t think of anything else besides getting her in his bed.

Niol and Holly team up to find a killer who is targeting demons and murdering them one by one. There seems to be some kind of connection to Holly since Carl was a friend of hers and now she’s afraid anyone she’s made contact with that may be a demon could end up dead also. With the help of Detective Brooks, Detective Gyth, Dr. Nathalia Smith, Dr. Emily Drake, Cara and Captain McNeal, the characters that readers have come to love in the last two books all come together to solve a serial killer case where demons are the ones being hunted and the humans are the culprits. Will Holly and Niol find love together or will the killer get his hands on Niol and take out the biggest demon in town?

Midnight’s Master is the third and final book in the Midnight Trilogy starring different Others such as shifters, charmers, demons, witches, and succubae. Niol was a character in both of the previous books and clearly stood out as the star. Now he gets the honor of front stage in Midnight’s Master and we finally get a closer look at the level ten demon.

This was my favorite story out of the three since all of the characters that I loved are together in this book. The suspense was exciting and Holly really shined in her role as Niol’s love interest. There are plenty of surprises in this book that will keep you reading long into the night. The romance is extra steamy and Niol is a fabulous unconventional hero who you can’t help but root for.

I would strongly recommend for readers to read this trilogy in order and if possible, one after another so details are not forgotten from the previous book. While each book in this trilogy can be read as a stand alone story, characters from a previous book show up in the following and it can lead to spoilers if you haven’t read them in order.

I adore Cynthia Eden’s books and their combination of genres such as romance, erotica, paranormal, and mystery. I read Midnight’s Master all in one sitting and was captivated from the first page to the last. Overall, this was a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy and I look forward to reading Eden’s story in the Belong to the Night anthology due out September 2009.


Midnight's Master is released tomorrow June 30th!
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Visit Cynthia Eden's blog

Order of the Midnight Trilogy
1. Hotter After Midnight
2. Midnight Sins
3. Midnight's Master

Eternal Hunter Cover and Blurb

Cynthia Eden posted this on her blog a couple days ago. This is the cover and blurb for the first book in her new paranormal bounty hunter series for Kensington Brava. ETERNAL HUNTER will be a January 2010 release. I can't wait! It sounds absolutely fabulous. I love the cover too!



Blurb:

Cynthia Eden delves into the dark realms of the Others, where desires and dangerous games await the unsuspecting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Assistant DA Erin Jerome has a secret. Make that two. One: She’s not entirely human–she’s Other, desperately trying to keep her supernatural strength under wraps. Two: she’s got a killer stalking her–an Other rogue set on “gifting” her bloody corpses, not to mention nights lying awake in terror. Small wonder she’s been having bad luck with men.

But the bounty hunter on her new case isn’t worried about any of that. Jude Donovan is a shapeshifter himself, and the new DA’s midnight hair and addictive scent tell him all he thinks he needs to know: She’s gorgeous, she’s definitely not human, and she’s bringing out the animal in him in a really good way. He might have to track a psychotic Other stalker through half of Louisiaian. But he might also get the chance to watch Erin’s wild side come out and play.

Visit Cynthia Eden's blog to find out more about her books!

Rona Sharon Article

Rona Sharon is the author of critically acclaimed historical novels of intrigue, passion, and danger. Her latest, Royal Blood, is a tale of lust and violence in the treacherous Tudor Court. From her home on the Mediterranean Coast in Tel Aviv, surrounded by thousands of years of history, Rona brings her passion for culture and travel to her writing and never fails to deliver a story that carries a punch . . . and a dagger.



Blood, Fire, and Pillars of Smoke: The Rise of Vampires in Pop Culture
By Rona Sharon, Author of Royal Blood

As popular themes go, vampires may very well win the prize of "most commonly resurrected." You may love them, hate them, or are trying very hard to ignore them, but surely you have wondered at least once what made the damned princes of darkness so bloody interesting.

If you prefer "real world" storylines and are observing the phenomenon as a baffled bystander, you might be interested to know that thousands of years before achieving mass popularity in movies such as Underworld and Twilight, and TV series like True Blood, vampires had manifested in pagan mythology, monotheistic demonology, and spiritual rituals.

Throughout history, vampire myths appeared in nearly every culture. From the ancient Middle East (Mesopotamia, Judea, Egypt), these archetypical baddies invaded Europe, where they found fertile soil in Slavic paganism, and also materialized in Africa, Asia, and the Aztec Empire.

Curiously, the earliest vampires were females -- violent dark goddesses like the Sumerian Lilitu, the Egyptian Sekhmet, and the Indian Kali, all possessing immense supernatural forces. These vampiric goddesses had both the powers to create and to destroy, to give birth and to devour.

In the Dark Ages, tales of vampires sparked public hysteria. Corpses were exhumed and stabbed. It had taken the vampire various reincarnations, through the Hebrew Talmud, Arabian Nights, Boccaccio's Il Decameron, and eclectic poetry to reemerge as the suave ageless nobleman.

This 19th century "makeover" was a direct outcome of the violent volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815. The Judgment Day atmosphere caused by dark skies and a frosty summer inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as plays and operas starring the alluring vampire lord.

From this point on, the revenants' star was on the rise and shining ever so brightly with each literary, musical, or theatrical piece conceived (oftentimes as a result of consuming laudanum) in their honor. Lord Byron, Edgar Allen Poe, and Alexandre Dumas, to name a few, contributed to their eternal fame, but it was the Irish novelist Bram Stoker's Dracula that had the mightiest impact on the imagination and cast the glory of the bloodthirsty count and his court in perpetuity.

Evidently the public's fascination with vampires is not an original fad. The vampire is the most popular fiction character of all times. What is it about vampires exactly that appeals to so many people? And why, being familiar with this totally fictitious half-man, half-monster icon, people are still happy to spend their time on movies, books, and TV series that feature vampires?

Entertainment and escapism come to mind. As much as we are riveted by "real world" plots, sometimes the brain needs to zone out in fantasyland. This explanation is plausible, but it fails to prove why the vampire in particular outperforms any other fantastical creature.

We should keep in mind that the vampire has only recently assumed the role of the compelling, gothic, martyred, seductive, gorgeous, off-limits, struggling, sympathetic, romantic outcast in love with a human. The slick hunk in black leather pants, driving a sports car in a metropolis by night, was not the bloodcurdling image that had haunted the graveyards of our ancestors.

Granted, the spooky effect has value. Sexologists believe that scary moments stimulate the libido and therefore couples may bond effectively having watched a horror movie together. However, while this theory is bound to stick in your memory, it does not offer sufficient evidence, either.

Vampires, whether pale and beautiful or ghoulishly foul, have always been identified with death, blood-drinking, and sex, feeding on emotions such as love, guilt, dread, desire, pity, and sadism.
Far be it from me to undertake psychoanalyzing why we are obsessed with death, blood, and sex. In my capacity as a historical novelist, I choose to explore the mysteries of the human psyche through stories in the hopes of understanding why we were put on this earth and how we may improve our lot in life. Ironically, as I study the tapestry of man's fleeting existence, I see how the fruits of one generation's labor -- art, science, architecture, etc. -- are reaped by its successors.

Now, a vampire -- omnipotent, never-aging, and immortal -- may travel the centuries unscathed, unconstrained by a deadline in his pursuit of enlightenment and happiness. Would he or she be a cheerful voyager or one cursed with loneliness? Then there is the future to consider. What if the world and/or mankind are doomed to a cataclysmic end? Would anyone care to witness that?

Vampire symbolism is tied in heavily with the awareness of the powers of darkness, chaos, and the occult -- ancient mysteries that add a chilling dimension to the rich layers of history and cast a question mark on the future. Doomsday prophecies made for an absorbing read as I was doing research back in 2007 for Royal Blood, my Tudor Vampires novel. Here's an example:

"Awake, ye drunkards, and weep . . . For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion . . . Sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand . . . And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come."
– Book of Joel

The vampire -- a human lookalike possessed of superior abilities, as well as frailties, dependent on man for sustenance, multifaceted and obscure -- remains an enigmatic figure. Friend or foe? Through him, we get to experience latent fancies and scenes in which the secrets of creation are unraveled. Thank heavens for fiction, I say. The world, I predict, has not seen the last of the vampire crazes. The undead are here to stay, our prolific imagination will undoubtedly continue to produce them, and even the most discriminating realist may yet cross over to the dark side.

©2009 Rona Sharon, author of Royal Blood



Book Blurb:
In the Tudor Court of 1518, your friends and enemies can be one and the same...

During the annual celebration of the Order of the Garter, Sir Michael Devereaux arrives in King Henry VIII's court on a mission for his benefactor. The celebration's endless feats and sumptuous women delight the charismatic newcomer, who becomes captivated by the enigmatic Princess Renée of France. But evil, it seems, has followed Michael to the court. Shortly after his arrival, an unknown killer claims several victims, including the Queen's lady-in-waiting, and the powerful Cardinal Wolsey asks Michael to help with the investigation. As he searches for the killer, Michael is haunted by disturbing images of the victims—flashes of violence that lead him to doubt his own sanity. Michael soon realizes that the key to solving the crime is connected to both the Pope's Imperial vault in Rome and a mystery from Michael's own past—revealing a secret that is so damning, it could forever alter the future of mankind.

Powerfully evocative and steeped with detail from the breathtaking era of the Tudors, Royal Blood is historical storytelling at its richest—an unforgettable tale of intrigue, passion, and danger.

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Visit the author's website at http://www.ronasharon.com.

Dial Emmy For Murder Review

Alexis Peterson is a popular actress on the daytime soaps and is recognized wherever she goes. After being accused of murdering the head writer on The Yearning Tide, Alex decided a change was in order and is now working for The Bare and the Brazen.

While presenting at the Daytime Emmy Awards, a fellow soap star turns up dead, hanging right over her head for the entire world to see. The last thing Alexis wants is another scandal, so she assists Detective Frank Jakes in his case to find the killer. The chemistry between Jakes and Alexis is still hot as ever but she’s still involved with Paul even if he is away at this time. Will she be able to resist temptation or will she take the next step with Jakes?

When more male soap stars turn up dead, Jakes realizes that Alexis can really help him with this case. She knows people at the other soaps and can get the inside scoop on what was really going on with these now dead soap stars. What would cause these men to be murdered and why leave the bodies to so easily be discovered?

Dial Emmy For Murder is the second book in a mystery series featuring soap actress Alexis Peterson. The author Eileen Davidson is a soap actress herself so I thought I was in for a real treat with this book. I’ve loved soap operas since I was a little kid. I remember my mother watching them late at night on tape and I’d beg her to let me see them too.

When I heard about this series, I thought it would be a fun book to read since I love soaps and it sounded like a light entertaining read. I was hoping for something really funny but with some mystery to it.

The story starts off with the murder and Alexis ends up in the investigation to find the killer. I kept waiting for the main character to talk about the set of the show, read lines with other actors, have a love scene, talk about her script, something to do with the soaps, anything. The murdered people are all soap actors and that’s about the only thing that revolved around soaps in this book. There wasn’t really any humor and the suspense wasn’t very thrilling. The mystery wasn’t hard to figure out and doesn’t require much thinking.

On a positive note, the print in this book is easy on the eyes and the chapters are nice and short. After reading so many dark urban fantasy books, it was nice to read something lighter for a change. After about 100 pages, I warmed up to Dial Emmy For Murder a bit but still didn't have a clear picture of any of the characters in my head. Overall, Dial Emmy For Murder is a quick read that cozy readers may enjoy, but I wouldn’t rush out to buy the next book.

Mark of the Demon Review

Detective Kara Gillian is a bit of a loner because of her secret life as a demon summoner. It’s hard to get close to someone when you have a summoning circle drawn on your basement floor and you leave your candles and tools laying around for anyone to see. When not summoning demons, Kara works as a Detective for the Violent Crimes unit. She is recently promoted out of Property Crimes and is very excited to be working some homicide cases.

During a summoning to complete her Summoner Training, the wrong Demon comes through the portal and into Kara’s house. He doesn’t seem all that bad, especially when he shows Kara what she’s been missing from not having a man lately. But after her encounter, Kara realizes what a huge mistake she has made and that this Demon is not one to play around with. When he starts invading her dreams and the line between reality and dreaming is confused, Kara starts to regret ever doing the summoning in the first place.

A serial killer dubbed The Symbol Man killed thirteen people when Kara first joined the police academy. He was never apprehended and now three years later, he has begun his killing spree once again. Kara has always been interested in the case since first sensing arcane power around one of the deceased bodies. She has studied the case files and is the most educated on The Symbol Man out of everyone in the police force. So when Kara is given the lead on the case for her first job in Violent Crimes, she is thrilled to be given such a big opportunity to prove herself as a Detective.

The FBI has joined forces on this case and with them comes a gorgeous but obnoxious man named Agent Kristoff. Kara works side by side with him while trying to keep her knowledge of the occult under wraps so everyone doesn’t peg her as a crazy satanic worshipper.

When the case turns out to definitely involve the world of the occult, Kara is at a crossroads on what to do. Does she keep her occult knowledge and position as a demon summoner a secret and try to solve the case herself or does she put her trust in a member of the FBI in the hopes that he doesn’t think she’s a lunatic? If Kara doesn’t entrust in someone for some help, more people could end up killed. Will Kara’s decision turn deadly or will she solve the case and come out alive?

Mark of the Demon is a delightful collaboration of genres including urban fantasy, suspense, romance and police procedural. Debut author Diana Rowland takes everything that I love in a book and puts it all together to write an outstanding novel. Take a dash of Charmed mixed with some Dexter and you have Mark of the Demon.

Mark of the Demon demands to be read in one sitting and is impossible to put down. There are some graphic scenes in this book so it is definitely not for the faint of heart. I enjoy the gritty and grimy aspects and was indeed shocked and scared while reading this book and it’s not easy to scare me! Mark of the Demon is a breath taking, heart stopping, white knuckler thriller that grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go! Run and get this book when it releases June 23rd. The next book, Blood of the Demon is due out January 26, 2010.

Eve of Destruction Review

Eve Hollis is a newly turned Mark and is still adjusting to her new life slaying Infernals. She has already battled numerous demons but has never been properly trained. Eve joins her fellow Marks on a field trip to an abandoned military base for a whole week of training with Raguel the Archangel as her teacher. Alec and Reed are both on other missions and unable to be there with her while she trains.

Even though Eve is more experienced then her peers, she is eager to learn so she can properly defend herself and kill Infernos. When a group of paranormal researchers show up at the base to film for a TV show, the Marks’s job becomes increasingly difficult. School turns deadly when one of the Marks ends up murdered and there’s nothing Eve can do to stop it. Without knowing who the culprit is, everyone’s lives are in danger.

In the mean time, Reed is popping up at the base whenever he has the chance and the close proximity to him is driving Eve stir crazy with lust. Alec has been distant lately and Reed is right there tempting her. Will Eve ruin her relationship with Alec by tasting the forbidden fruit with Reed once again or will she forego temptation and stay true to her man?

Eve of Destruction is the second book in the popular Marked Series and is even better then the first book Eve of Darkness. The suspense and action is completely thrilling, the love triangle heats up, and the mystery is tightly plotted. I was hooked from the first page in this installment and was absolutely delighted with this story.

The characters are well developed and I couldn’t stop thinking about this book whenever I had to put it down. Everything is described so vividly that it is easy to picture it playing out in your head like a movie. I would definitely recommend Eve of Destruction to urban fantasy readers who enjoy a fast paced, action packed story with a romantic storyline mixed with the dark and gritty.

I WANT THIS BOOK!

I was just browsing my Amazon wishlist and saw To Crave a Blood Moon by Sharie Kohler has a cover up there now! I am DYING to read this book. I adored her first two books and can't wait to read this third installment. To Crave a Blood Moon comes out August 25th.