this new book by Laine Boyd was just as good, if not better than her first
348664
Let me just say, this new book by Laine Boyd was just as good, if not better than her first! Again, I was on the edge of my seat reading this mystery. The lines of this book were filled with suspense, love and humor. Laine blends these emotions throughout the book in an effortless and elegant way. One minute we are following Detective Trent to interrogate murder suspects, the next moment we are seeing him interact with his lovely wife and outgoing daughter Amy, or traveling around the city of St. Louis. The insight she gives to the St. Louis region is wonderful. As a St. Louis native, I love how the author brings in many landmarks of the St. Louis area and describes them in such detail. I feel I am right there with Adam while he travels through the city that I love. This book is such a great mystery and the way it is set, is even better. The book starts out in the middle to late 1800's and picks up in present day. This is a must read, page-turner. Every page you read leaves you wanting more and just when you think you know who the killer is, another suspect or clue is thrown into the mix and you just have to read on! I would highly suggest this read. Also, I cannot wait for the next series!
4612787
The story continues in this book from the author's previous title "Blood of Asheim"; and it's every bit as good if not better.  I greatly enjoyed the read and the narrative; along with the look at yet another part of the Warhammer 40k universe I'd not seen.  I highly recommend this book to any Space Wolves fans, though it's the second in a series, so you might want to check out the first book as well as this if you're thinking of buying it.
1163351
This little ebook was every bit as exciting as the first book in the series The Iron King. We get a lot more insight into the Ash and Meghan relationship, their dynamic really evolves in this novella. I am assuming that the story will pick up in The Iron Daughter where this book left off, so if you don't read this book you won't be lost at all, but you will have missed out a great deal on the evolving relationship between Ash and Meghan. Its free, download it and enjoy!
2384876
I love mysteries, and this second book in the series did not disappoint. Church secretary, Cindy, again finds herself embroiled in a mystery as the bodies of homeless people start piling up, and the dogs they were given at a charity event turn up missing. Rabbi Jeremiah tries very hard to stay out of the fray, but he ends up in the middle of it, despite his best efforts. The mystery behind the rabbi deepens considerably in this book, and we the readers are left wondering just who is this Jeremiah.
Just like the first book, the author manages to keep any gore at a minimum which makes the story thoroughly delightful. I can handle the more detailed mysteries and thrillers, but to have a nice, light mystery is such a welcome change. Although a reader will be perfectly able to follow this story without reading the first in the series, I highly recommend you do so. It will make this one even better.
4569482
The book is the sequel of "Heart of the Fae". Like in the previous book, the author manages to create quite a complex world with enthralling characters. I just loved Sorcha's courage and determination, and being able to follow how her relationship with Eamonn develops while at the same time discovering who she is herself. For me, this was a new approach to the classic "Beauty and the Beast", and a good one!
Looking forward to read more by Emma Hamm.
2346405
This book was soooo much better than the first one. The reason I enjoyed this book so much more was because there was infinitely more intrigue going on, specifically related to the authors Kate is forced to deal with as part of her publishing career. In the first book, we were introduced to some wacky characters whose crazy antics were more eye-roll inducing than anything else, but in Shelf Life we observe more of a darker side to the desperation of these authors, some of whom we met in the previous novel, as well as some new ones. One author in particular was already presented to us, but just on a questionable surface level. The mystery of this character is slowly peeled away in this book, and even though you know it is ultimately leading to something awful, you can't help but continue reading. It'll leave you on the edge of your seat at times, which was an aspect that never appeared in the first book, thereby making Shelf Life a more dynamic and interesting read.

And now let's take a look at Kate's love life shall we? In my opinion, it's pretty much headed to hell in a handbasket. Unfortunately, she didn't follow my advice from the 1st one, which was to choose neither Mac nor Nick. Instead she went with her gut to explore a relationship with the married Mac, and Nick decided to go back to his life in California. If you ask me, he was lucky to get away while he could. However, that doesn't mean that the story ends there, oh no. After all, Mac is still married, so Kate is constantly struggling with her decision to carry on their affair, while at the same time chastising herself for refusing Nick after he'd been nothing but wonderful to her. Enter major plot twist and Kate's entire life is thrown upside down. She starts to wonder if maybe Nick is the one for her after all. So basically, just when you thought she had finally made a decision in regards to the love of her life, she changes her mind again. And again!

Unlike the first novel, Nick did have a much larger presence in Shelf Life, which was definitely a welcome change. That being said, he did still seem like something of an afterthought. While it truly does appear Nick is head over heels in love with Kate, I still question why. I felt like we never really got to see that spark between them at the beginning of their relationship, so when he says how she's the only one for him I just don't see how he came to that decision. Although the author may have included Nick more in the story line of this book, Kate herself appears to focus much more of her attention on Mac, so once again Nick seems like the designated rebound.
2366255
Oh she's done it again!

I loved this book and it was just as good if not better than the (Pucked) first one!
2137740
The Cainsville series is a departure from Armstrongs previous work in the Women of the Otherworld books. Its heavier on the mystery, lighter on the fantasy, and the heroine, Olivia Taylor-Jones, is more of a normal human than Elena and her fellow otherworldly women.

Olivia is a Chicago department-store heiress whose life seems set in its privileged but dull course, until the day she learns she was adopted. And that her birth parents are convicted serial killers. She finds out the same day the paparazzi do, and in short order, both Olivias adoptive mother and Olivias fianc&eacute; prove to be more concerned about themselves in the wake of this bombshell than about how its affecting Olivia. So, she decides its time to strike out on her own, for the first time in her life.

A series of strange and creepy events lead Olivia to the small  and rather odd  town of Cainsville. There, she experiences things like waiting tables and renting an apartment for the first time, and also begins to manifest a talent for reading omens; i.e. shell see a group of birds and be able to sense what they're predicting for her immediate future. And when she visits her birth mother, Pamela Larsen, in prison, she starts digging into her parents alleged murders in the hopes shell learn whether they were guilty or innocent. Specifically, in this first book, she investigates the last of the crimes  the one Pamela thinks will be the easiest to prove they didn't commit.

Olivia is a great, relatable character; her newfound drive toward independence is easy to cheer for, and shes smart and stubborn and resourceful. She has a teensy ruthless streak, but not enough to make her unlikable. And like most of us, she really wants a loving family. One of the things Armstrong does best here is Olivias conflicted feelings about Pamela. Of her adoptive parents, Olivia was closer to her father, now dead, while her mother was more distant. When Olivia and Pamela meet again, Pamela obviously loves her daughter, and Olivias initial distaste evolves into an absolutely aching hope that Pamela is innocent so that she can feel OK with loving her back.

Olivias partner in trying to solve the case is Gabriel Walsh, Pamelas lawyer. Im not completely sure what I think of him yet. Olivia may have a ruthless streak, but in Gabriel its more than a streak. I think hes being set up as a love interest, and Im not sure I want to root for that yet  though he shows signs of softening a bit as the book progresses.

The mystery is interesting, and it caused me to put my finger on something I love in books but have never quite articulated before  I love stories about old, cold cases. When I think about it, a lot of the mysteries I love have dealt with decades-old crimes that have to be pieced together from what little information still remains. Omens resolves one aspect of the alleged Larsen murders, but theres so much still to learn.

There are a lot of other little touches in Omens that I loved: the gargoyles in Cainsville; the omens, which are a type of magic that isn't trod over and over and over already; and the plethora of fascinating older female characters, which are often hard to find! (I even sympathized with Maggie, the waitress I think I was supposed to dislike; its obvious that theres something supernatural behind her incompetence (like the milk spoiling) and I would love to see her again and find out whats going on with her.)

Cainsville is an original new series that offers an engaging blend of mystery and fantasy, and Omens is a good first book that has me quite hooked. Ive already started the second book, Visions.
1422848
Having enjoyed I CAN SEE YOUthe first book in the Emma Willis seriesI knew I was going to like I CAN FIND YOU. I was wrong I didn't just like the book; I loved it! It was as good as the first one and so much more.
In I CAN FIND YOU, Emma is older and more mature and has a better understanding of her ever-expanding powers. But she remains the same loving and generous girl, who uses her supernatural powers to help loved ones and other people in need.
In this second book, I also enjoyed the authors fascinating imagination in describing how other entities are trying to help us humans to a better future and an optimal version of our planet. Of course, there were evil and vindictive entities as well. But thats what makes the book even more interesting. I found myself transported back and forth between fantasy and reality, and believe me it was a thrilling ride!
Im looking forward to the third book in Emma Willis series to be released.
2976378
This is a book that hooked me from the first chapter and kept me reading at a frantic pace. While Im sure familiarity with the world and the mythology helped (there was a steep learning curve with the first book), it was the shift in point-of-view that really made this second book so immediately accessible. Mulaghesh was definitely a secondary character in the first book, but one of significance. Her angry sarcasm serves the story well, and its refreshing to have a non-traditional hero leading the tale. Leading with her allows Bennett to explore more of Bulikovs history, which helps add new layers to the world building, and also reveals some surprisingly dark secrets in Mulagheshs past that explain her character and her return to action. She's a darker, more tragic hero than we knew, but she's also harder than we ever suspected. Retired she may be, forced into one last retirement tour, but she's still a soldier at heart.

We heard a lot about Voortyashtan in the first book, but actually seeing it for ourselves is something of a shock. This is not the civilized, progressive, urban fantasy setting of Bulikov. This is much more of a traditional rural fantasy setting, but one with layers and secrets of its own. Beneath the broken harbor town is a submerged city that must be dredged to reopen the canal; beneath the feudal conflicts of the river tribes and hill tribes is a dangerous political situation; and beneath the military presence on the frontier of civilization is . . . well, I won't spoil the revelation of those layers.

Once again we have a traditional sort of mystery to launch the story, a murder mystery that brings Mulaghesh out of retirement, and a question of Divinity to add a frightening edge to things. This time, however, the threat of the divine is very much at the forefront of the tale, even if it does call into question one of the most well-known stories of the Blink. I loved the way Bennett explored that aspect here, and even if I guessed at the connection between the mines and the City of Blades itself, I have nothing but positive things to say about how it was all revealed. Its a much faster paced story than the first one, with multiple conflicts to keep the reader on edge, and the epic finale is suitably HUGE for a book about the nature of Divinities and the question of an Afterlife.
3308317
I liked the first book about Eliza and Hamilton so much I read this book!  It was just as good, maybe better.  I'm ready for the third book.  I hope it is already written and I don't have to wait to find out about Agatha or Zane or Violet or Dot or whatever character the author chooses next.
3668804
This is the first book I've read by this author, but now I can't wait to go back and read her first novel, FIVE DAYS LEFT. If it's anywhere near as good as this one, I know I'm going to love it.

Charlotte is a character I found it easy to empathize with as I read her story. She finds herself sort of drifting after her husband dies...she's responsible for her teen aged stepdaughter, but she's not really, as the girl's mother is still in the picture--when she wants to be.

Lindy, the biological mother, wasn't very likable for me. As a mother, I can't comprehend not wanting to be fully engaged with my child...and especially not being there for her after she loses her father so suddenly and unexpectedly. I just wanted to shake her and wake her up to what she was missing!

Allie and Morgan are very well written adolescent characters. Honestly, I think the two of them were my favorite characters of the story. Morgan has so much to deal with for a ten year old, and I found myself rooting for her to be alright.

Even though this book deals with some difficult topics, it handles them with dignity and respect. Definitely one of the best books I've read so far this year!

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**
3032349
The sequel to the Iron King is just as good, if not better than the first. There were a few moments in the beginning where I wondered where it was going, but once the events that led into the war between Winter and Summer began, I was hooked and had trouble putting it down. Just like Kagawa's first book, the Iron Daughter is filled with lots of romance, unique characters, endless drama and the continuation of a love-triangle between Meghan, Ash and Puck. I'm looking forward to the next novel in the series and seeing where these great characters finally end up.
3190958
I enjoyed the first Mara Cunningham book, but this second entry in the series was even better.  Each page was gripping and the flashbacks were a great way to give backstory. The character development felt more nuanced than the first novel and the mystery easier to follow.

I'd read Too Close Too Miss first, but don't stop there.
237280
I loved this book every bit as much as Premiere, book 1 in this awesome new series for young adults. Once again, we are taking back to the runway and the life of Erin and her wannabe actress sister,Paige,  and the lessons are flowing once again, with trying to live a Godly life in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. The sisters are still their happy, loving self, but are dealing with the issues of everyday Hollywood  life. Once again, Melody Carlson does not pack this full of issues like pregnancy or sex, but she fills it with lots of drama, romance, family and God, to help show young adults that you can live a life for God and make it in the fast paced, hectic world of Hollywood and acting.

This book is definitely another 5 star read. It is easy to read- I read it one sitting, easy to follow-it could be read as a stand alone if you didn't get to read book 1, and is perfect for young adults AND adults. There is a strong spiritual message as well as wonderful lessons in life that we could all learn from and take to heart. I am super excited to continue to read this series and am anxiously awaiting the release of book 3, Rendezvous!

*This review is based on a complimentary copy which was provided for an honest review*
435316
This is the second time I've read this book and it's just as good as it was the first time!
2889211
I received a free copy of this book. The second book in this very well written and engrossing saga, it is just as good as the first. It's full of intrigue, humor, drama, entertainment and interesting characters. I really like this author and her stories. Will and Elle are a great second chance love story, both doubted the others motives the first time, and each has to overcome the mistrust and doubts they have had for years.