Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

  4.5 Stars- This was such a fun book that really had it all.  There was mystery, action, romance, and even a little historical fiction. Maeve and Therese are sisters who have both just lost their mom.  The two sisters don't get along and one wish that their mom had was for them to travel to Ireland together and hopefully reconcile. However, upon her death they find out that their mom's money was all scammed away.  Both Maeve and Therese need money and find out that a painting that their family has always had may be worth a significant amount. To sell it they need to trace its origins and that means traveling to Ireland.  Once in Ireland, the sisters embark on a journey that has them meeting interesting people, falling in love, figuring out their family history, and solving a mystery involving a crime. This was an excellent story and one that I wanted to keep reading as new events kept unfolding.  I really enjoyed the mystery that Maeve and Therese had to f...

 This book was not at all what I was expecting.  I was blown away with just how powerful this story was. This novel is told from two time periods.  The first is 1957 and the second is 1964.  Both focus on Aria, an orphan, who has come to  Chateau Marmont to live with her aunt.  Her aunt is a former Hollywood starlet who knows longer acts.  Something happened to her aunt.  Aria befriends two other actresses who become like sisters to her.  Through it all Aria only wants to blend in becoming a recluse herself with her only education the Chateau Marmont.  All that changes when the hotel is bought by a new owner who also happens to be a famous singer.  Things take a turn for Aria and she will have to decide what path she will take.  Aria is a fascinating character and one that I was drawn too.  I enjoyed the back and forth in the two timelines as we learned what she was like as a child and then what she was like as a young adu...

 3.5 Stars- An interesting start to a new series all about witches. Witch Season is about a hidden world that features witches as they navigate a world that doesn't know that witches are around them. There are several different points of view in this book but the main character is Katherine.   She was an unsettled witch who hurt some other people when she came into her magic and was adopted into the LA coven where she found other witches who would accept her and train her.  Sylvia, who is the leader of the coven, became like a mother to her.  Sylvia, however, has her own complicated past.  The Noctis Coven does not like Sylvia and wants her overthrown so they send in their son, Silas.  Silas needs to find a way to remove her but he does not expect to develop feelings for Katherine.  This begins a complicated scenario with many different secrets and histories being unraveled.  There were many parts to this book that caught my attention but I w...

 3.5 Stars- This story did a great job blending a natural threat with a human one and turning it into a twisty thrilling mystery.  Told from multiple perspectives, this is a story about a family, reeling from the loss of their father as they try to hold on to the family farm in rural Texas.  Verdacorp is trying to buy the McKenna's farm but Ellen, the mother, is refusing to sell.  Many of their neighbors have already sold to the corporation after facing struggles and losses with their farms.  Now several houses have been broken into. Trouble is definitely brewing and many of the families left are still in danger.  The McKenna family must come together to stay safe and protect their land from the upcoming storm and other nefarious people. There were many aspects of this book that drew me in.  There was an underlying sense of tension due to the storm.  I wasn't sure if I would like all of the different perspectives that the book gave of the differen...

 This was a cozy paranormal mystery set around Halloween time.   This is book 2 in the series and now Ravensea Castle is being used as the setting for an episode of Britain's Got Ghosts.  Nora is hoping that all of this promotion will help their struggling Bed and Breakfast.  To add to the chaos of the filming,  professor Tweedy has convinced Nora and Tamsyn's dad to hunt for a treasure that may have been buried by the Vikings many years ago.  The treasure could be worth millions and the professor has convinced their dad to split it fifty/fifty if found. News of the treasure reaches the ears of others staying at the castle and now people are going places they shouldn't.  To make things worse someone's life is threatened and another person winds up dead. Oh, and there really are ghosts at this castle.   This story definitely had potential.  I was at a disadvantage because I had not read the first one in the series. I did enjoy elemen...

  You cannot help but fall in love with a Sarah Addison Allen novel! Five out of Five Stars! There is a house that over the generations has been filled with mysterious women who seem to know all there is about everyone in the town.  They use that knowledge to intimidate.  Willamena wants freedom from that lineage and wants to find her true love as well as an escape from a life already laid out for her.  Only things do not go as planned.  The story flash-forwards 5o years and the focus is on her granddaughter, Bailey.  Will Bailey break the long held tradition of the house and the generations of women who have ruled Hen Town? What I love most about Sarah Addison Allen stories is the magical touches that blend seamlessly with an intriguing story.  There were multiple character perspectives and each one added to a story that I did not want to put down.  I was most fascinated with the ghost aspect of this story.  There are mystery elements, surpr...

  4.5 Stars- Wow, that ending!  This is a dystopian novel that has an enemies to lovers plot.  It is a dark romantasy that is plenty spicy and will keep you on your toes with the many twists and turns.   This novel is about a world where the men particularly one man, have the power.  New Haven is controlled by a masked elite.  They have everything while the rest of the state is left in poverty.  People have had enough, especially Shadera, whose parents were killed by the Veyra. She is a mercenary or Daggermouth, who agrees to take out the president's son, Greyson.  He is the executioner of anyone who dares to break the Veyra's laws.  Only when Shadera goes to take Greyson out she hesitates and doesn't end up killing him. Now in a cruel twist of fate they are forced to marry one another.  As hidden truths and betrayals surface, the two must choose between destroying one another or joining forces to bring down the corrupt regime entir...

3.5 Stars- I've always wanted to be locked in a library but after reading this novel I am definitely rethinking that desire.  This was a very dark locked room mystery novel.  Told from several different points of view, there are 7 people who go on an after hours tour of a famous library only to find that they are trapped in it overnight.  Then the deaths start happening.   The 7 characters all have a reason for being on the tour but something is not quite right because things go horribly wrong .  Aria is seeing Jasper and she has high hopes for their relationship so when he surprises her with an after hours tour of a famous library how can she say no.  Except Aria knows this library very well and she promised never to go back there. Aria is the main character so we get her perspective the most.  I was rooting for her happy ending but still trying to figure out for sure if she was someone I should be wanting everything to go well for. The five othe...

 There is nothing better than a thriller that captures your attention from the beginning.  I really enjoyed the premise of this novel.  A secluded break up retreat in Sweden sounding like a novel I really wanted to read about.  Anyone who has ever gone through a break up can completely relate.   In this novel Isobel attends this retreat, not because she has gone through a break up but because she wants to uncover an excellent story.  There are rumors that people have disappeared and other nefarious activities might be taking place.  Isobel wants to make a name for herself so she goes to the HImlafall Clinic to find out what the real story is.  The only problem is things start going wrong right away.  She feels like she is being watched, her things go missing, and she is not prepared for the type of therapy that the clinic offers.  As the novel unfolds we learn that Isobel does have some of her own issues to deal with.   I ...