What I'm Reading

Reviews:

Paw and Order, by Spencer Quinn
Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
Charming, by Elliott James
The Runestone Incident, by Neve Maslakovic
Known Devil, by Justin Gustainis
Love Story, With Murders, by Harry Bingham
Night Tide, by Michael W. Sherer
Under a Spell, by Hannah Jayne
Dead Insider, by Victoria Houston
Stranded, by Alex Kava
The Heart of Darkness Club, by Gary Reilly
The Second Rule of Ten, by Gay Hendicks and Tinker Lindsay
Pepperland, by Barry Wightman
Knit Christmas Stockings, ed. Gwen Steege
Ghost Time, by Courtney Eldridge
Free Fall, by Chris Grabenstein
Lace One Skein Wonders, edited by Judith Durant
Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations, edited by Paula Guran
Knit Your Socks on Straight, by Alice Curtis
Stakeout, by Parnell Hall
Crochet One Skein Wonders, by Judith Durant and Edie Eckman

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May 8, 2014: Paw and Order, by Spencer Quinn

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review.

In this seventh "Chet and Bernie" novel, Chet and Bernie pay a visit to Suzie, Chet's sometime girlfriend, currently living in Washington, DC. She's a reporter and is working on a story that she can't talk about. Inevitably, one of her sources is murdered, and due to a series of unfortunate events, Bernie is arrested. He is soon out, though, and on the way to solving a mystery with international implications.

The Chet and Bernie novels are told in the voice of Chet the dog, who considers himself a partner in the Little Detective Agency, along with Bernie Little. Chet loves steak tips, barbeque, Slim Jims and Bernie, who can do no wrong, according to Chet. He also loves riding in Bernie's Porsche with the wind in his ears, and sitting in the passenger seat. With Suzie along for the ride, Chet is relegated to the shelf in the back, and that doesn't make him happy. He grumbles a bit, but he's soon back to tip top condition. Chet the Jet doesn't hold a grudge. He sometimes finds it hard to make himself understood, but along the way he's responsible for finding most of the clues to the mystery, as always, proving himself a good partner to Bernie.

This was a great addition to the series, and well worth reading.

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May 2, 2014: Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review.

This is the second in the "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" trilogy. I adored the first one; I didn't like this second one quite as much, but it was still pretty wonderful.

I wrote of the first book:

The story is about Karou, an art student in Prague who has a secret life. She lives in an apartment and goes to school, but her second life is with the family who raised her, a group of "monsters" -- chimera with animal heads and feet. Her putative "father," a hulking monster with leathery skin and ox horns, sends her on errands around the world to procure teeth for some unknown (to her) purpose. She only has to open the door of his workshop, and she is wherever she needs to be -- Morocco, Paris, Prague. She has never understood who or what she is, or where she really came from, but on one of these errands she meets an angel, and everything begins to reveal itself. But when she tries to go back to the workshop, she finds the door no longer works, and she is on her own.

The second one is more about the war between the chimera and the angels, and less about Karou's friends and family, a bit more violent, but definitely worth reading.

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May 2, 2014: Charming, by Elliott James

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review.

I absolutely loved this book! John Charming, (yes, those Charmings) is a bartender in rural Virginia and is perfectly happy living that life. He is flawed, and broken (who wouldn't be, right?), but he is still a knight, and still has that tendency to want to protect and save people. He isn't really supposed to be doing that, since he is no longer a part of the order (Pax Arcana), but if he didn't, there wouldn't be a story at all. Pax Arcana is supposed to keep humanity from knowing about magical beings, and from knowing that the fairy tales were real, after all.

The story is told from John's point of view, and I loved that, because so much of the story is about how he feels and reacts to things. Very much worth reading.

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May 2, 2014: The Far Time Incident and The Runestone Incident, by Neve Maslakovic

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review.

"The Far Time Incident" is the first in a time travel trilogy by Neve Maslakovic. In this installation, the time travelers of St. Sunniva University find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation, and in the process of trying to find out what happened, end up stranded in Pompeii. Reminiscent of Connie Willis' time travels novels, the professors are all a bit nutty, there are comic moments, and also some very serious events.

"The Runestone Incident" is the sequel to "The Far Time Incident." This book deals more with Norse mythology and a 14th century artifact, the fabled Viking Runestone, and also with the protagonist's con man ex boyfriend.

I really loved both of these books. I love reading time travel books, if they're done well, and I felt that this book, as well as the early one, was done very well. There was romance, science fiction, and mystery, it has it all. I'm looking forward to a rumored third book.

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