ten beach road series SPOILERS.

I was living on lake time last week which is why I went missing. Since I'm teaching summer school (which starts right now), I decided to take the week of the 4th completely off. No editing, no writing, just a lot of ice cream and s'mores. And of course reading, because I never need a vacation from that.

My first lakeside read was Wendy Wax's latest Ten Beach Road novel, Sunshine Beach. I love the easy breeziness of this series, and this installment even had an air of mystery about it. The ladies are back at Bella Flora, still recovering from Deidra's death and their walking away from the network. Trying to figure out their next moves. After Kyra stumbles upon an abandoned hotel, the crew decides to take matters into their own hands and do the show on their terms, their way. The only thing they are missing is money and permission to renovate the old hotel which has a tragic history. Sunshine Beach was definitely a nice addition to the series, but the end had me more anxious for the next one.

summer lovin'

I haven't read a Melody Carlson book in ages, and I missed her, so when my mom told me about her new (or not so new) Follow Your Heart series, I was like GIMME. And although it was a little weird reading a romance novel that was heavy on the sweet instead of the skanky, it was a nice change of pace. A little corny sometimes, but in a good way.

Anna Gordon had a rough childhood. She lived with her grandparents for most of it due to her drug addict parents. She was smart, gorgeous, went to college, started to design a life she loved until her grandpa died and she moved in with her grandma and then two years went by and she just felt....stuck. She was managing a grubby motel in her small town and her dreams of being in the legit hospitality business seemed to get further and further away. Until she ran into a childhood friend who hooked her up with a job in New York City working at a chic boutique hotel. In a week, Anna's life went from blah to gah! Because not only does she move to the big city she also meets a guy. Or re-meets. Gets reacquainted. Anyways, you'll have to see for yourself.

sure to satisfy fans.

In Benjamin Black's seventh novel in the Quirke series, Even the Dead, my favorite Irishman's recent blackouts puts him on the injured list. No work, no booze. Not that he'll abide by doctor's orders.

An automobile "accident" occurs that results in a fiery one-car crash, leaving a young man dead breaks Quirke's convalescence. Suspicions of foul play drives him back to work in an advisory role. But when his daughter Phoebe is approached by the deceased's pregnant girlfriend, Quirke discovers this murder has more to do with his own past than he ever cared to revisit. 

now in paperback.

I totally blanked on reviewing Dry Bones by Craig Johnson, the latest in the Longmire Mystery series that is officially available to watch on Netflix (FYI), another dead guy, another hit. Kudos to Johnson for his interesting subject matter, as a girl with a wild imagination, I really enjoyed this tale.

In the 13th installment, a skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex are found, along with the body of the rancher who's land it was found on. Makes sense since the bones are worth millions. Enter Walt and Victoria to solve the case. It's fast-paced and fun, wonderful to see that Johnson isn't losing his steam.

clever novel that stands alone.

I never thought I would ever get into Norwegian crime novels until I read The Lion's Mouth by Anne Holt, which is part of her Hanne Wilhelmsen Series that was first published in 1997. Personally I love novels sans smart phones, they are a real treat.

When the prime minister of Norway is found shot in the head, Hanne Wilhelmsen, Chief Inspector of the Norwegian Police must travel back from her leave in California to solve such a shocking crime. And it turns out, more shocking than the crime is the past of the prime minister that starts unraveling once Hanne begins digging.

I love the format of this novel. It's very SVU. Dates, times, locations are documented, which definitely helps readers follow along.

comics for girls.

Teachers, publishers, parents, are putting in a lot of effort to create these amazing graphic novels and young adult series for middle grade boys to get them into reading. Hello? What about the girls? I loved to read the second I was properly taught how, but what about the girls I deal with everyday who hate reading, find it boring, have a hard time finding a book they relate to, etc.?

Enter Dana Simpson's Phoebe and Her Unicorn series. Yes, I am aware that a girl and her unicorn aren't exactly relatable. But the whole premise of the third installment, Unicorn vs. Goblins: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure, which came out last month, is how to make friends at summer camp. And any middle grade girl can relate to that. The series is funny, up to date on what is cool, with a touch of the imagination we want our young girls to keep for as long as possible.

imaginative and irish.

Since it's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, I thought an Irish novel heavy on the Gaelic dialect would be ideal to review.

Adrian McKinty has done a wonderful job setting apart his Detective Sean Duffy series by taking readers back in time (to the 1980's) and to a foreign (to most of us Americans) land, Northern Ireland. I am only curious as to why it took the fifth book for me to hear about it. But oh well, Rain Dogs is freestanding, and I plan to catch up on the rest later.

Detective Sean Duffy is funny, he's dark, he's got great taste in whiskey, he always checks his car for bombs before getting in. He's really enjoyable to read about. And in the fifth installment of everyone's new favorite series a journalist is found dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus Castle, and although it appears to be suicide, Duffy's gut tells him to take another look. To solve the case, Duffy travels to Belfast, London during the height of "The Troubles" and an ice road of Helsinki. The descriptions are great. The storyline is clever. It's not super past paced, but there are still twists and turns. It's not as gruesome as I imagined, what with the times. All in all, a win from me.

i love you, but you give me acid reflux.

Y'all already know about my obsession with the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. I can even spell Evanovich without looking it up. It's honestly my favorite series since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which says a lot because I really loved those books.

In the twenty-second installment titled Tricky Twenty-Two, Stephanie's most confusing FTA is a fraternity brother (nicknamed Gobbles) who allegedly attacked his dean and then disappeared after he was bailed out by Vinnie. People have seen him, but no one will talk. Things get curiouser and curiouser after Stephanie and her sidekick Lula go through the interviews. Some strange things are happening (and their are even stranger people) on the Kiltman College campus, and Gobbles doesn't seem to have anything to do with them. Things get even more confusing for Stephanie when Morelli breaks up with her. She starts questioning who she is, if she should become a baker, and if she should give herself over to Ranger.

Another amazing storyline by Evanovich if you ask me. Which you kind of did by reading this blog. Lula is funnier than she's ever been and Mama Plum even takes a break from her ironing to get in on the action.

fresh grade school series.

Goosebumps meets Diary of a Wimpy kid in this new late-elementary-to -early-middle-school series about a boy named Desmond Pucket who loves designing monstrous special effects that always end up getting him in trouble.

The third installment of this graphic novel series is definitely one your child should not miss. In Desmond Pucket and the Cloverfield Junior High Carnival of Horrors, there is no doubt that the kid has dreams and a flair for the dramatic when he creates a an amazing show at his school's Carnival of Horrors using all of his skills and scary props. Desmond's character is goal oriented. He is passionate about something. Yes, it gets him into trouble sometimes, but the kids got heart, and that's exactly what this age level should be reading about.

third century rome.

Today I'm taking you back. WAY back to AD 235 in Harry Sidebottom's new series, Throne of the Caesars. Book 1 titled, Iron & Rust opens on a surprise attack and the brutal murder of Emperor Alexander and his mother. Alexander is then replaced by Maximinus Thrax, and our story really begins. I definitely wouldn't call it a light read, and I didn't love the characters for obvious reasons. But the Roman politics sure were entertaining, mildly shocking, but entertaining. The second installment of the trilogy is already out, so you should start your binge reading now.

i can't wait for the next adventure.

The Postman Always Purls Twice is the seventh installment in the super popular Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series. If you are looking for a mystery that is a little more light and fluffy rather than gruesome and grotesque, this is absolutely the series for you.

A Hollywood film crew arrive in the small town of Plum Harbor, bringing with them famous actresses....and murder. Maggie are her knitters clique are likeable. And the plot is solid. A great addition to my collection.

waiting for plum.

When I'm feeling impatient and feigning for the next Stephanie Plum novel (which rumor has it is soon??), I snag one of the "between-the-numbers" novels so I can get my fix. This time I went to the library and grabbed Plum Spooky. I don't even know what order they go in, but they are super easy to follow since they all involve the handsome, not quite all the way human, Diesel who pops up out of nowhere to follow some paranormal criminal and helps himself to Stephanie's bed with her in it. This time around Stephanie has a big ticket FTA to hunt, and he's mixed up with a real bad guy who happens to be Diesel's cousin. Stephanie has a way of tackling a problem and kicking it in the nuts, which I always enjoy. And Janet Evanovich can make me literally LOL over a monkey flipping someone off. A dozen or so times and I seriously laughed every time. As far as inbetweeners go, this was a good read.

kiss kiss bang bang.

When I was in middle school, I LIVED off of being dared to kiss a boy at a party. What a rush. Nothing romantic about it, but when you're 14, who needs romance? Anna Staniszewski's I'm With Cupid from her new Switched at First Kiss series begins with a dare and a kiss that is much more complicated than anything I had to deal with. You see, Lena and Marcus aren't your average eighth graders, they have supernatural powers, and kissing caused them to not only swap spit, but swap powers with each other.

Staniszewski's take on the actual myths of Cupid and the Grim Reaper was super clever. Lena is a reaper (yes, a collector of dead souls) and Marcus the dreamer, is a cupid. They are polar opposites, and by switching their powers, they are almost killing and accidently love zapping lots of inappropriate people. This novel is thrilling enough for your middle school boys, and romantic enough for the girls.

this one's a winner.

How sad was everyone when Stieg Larsson died? I mean seriously WHAT A WASTE. Bah. On a brighter note, Sweden's Crime Queen, Camilla Lackberg is truly fantastic and has definitely helped Larsson fan's get over their grief. Her latest, The Drowning transports readers to the small shipping town of Fjallbacka where Christian Thydell's first novel is being released with excellent reviews. He realizes that maybe he revealed too much truth in his work of fiction when he starts getting threatening messages, and when a body is discovered in ice, Christian realizes that his past has come back to haunt him.

 

In walk detective Patrick Hedstrom and his partner Erica Falk (who is also a writer) to solve the case. Lots of mystery, lots of intrigue, and lots of tension ensue.

get something out of coloring.

Adults can now color their stress away with new adult coloring books from Running Press. Color Therapy and Creative Therapy are both therapeutic coloring books that use coloring as a way to help you focus and generate creativity, calm your nerves or relax.

Color Therapy by Hannah Davies, Richard Merritt, and Jo Taylor is separated into different sections of color pallets, each with a different purpose. Some pages are already fully colored in (which was a con in my opinion), but there is still plenty of room for you to color when you need to get our of your own head for a while. Very relaxing.

Creative Therapy by Cindy Wilde, Laura-Kate Chapman, and Richard Merritt is a coloring and doodling book that is becoming extremely popular with those who struggle to unwind. Designed to help unleash creativity, most of the pages are partially completed so that you don't get overwhelmed with a blank page.

i love Fo V.C. Andrews

The fo V. C. Andrews is BACK with another fantastic Dollanganger spin off titled Secret Brother which is set at the same time the Doll children are trapped up in the Foxworth mansion attic. The narrator of this novel is sixteen-year-old Clara Sue Sanders who lives in a mansion of her own in  the small and upper-crest town of Prescott, Virginia with her grandfather and little brother, Willie. After losing her parents, she had to grow up much faster than any other girl her age, caring for her younger brother once they moved in with their grandparents. Tragedy struck again when her grandmother passed a few years later. And when a tragic accident takes young Willie's life at the beginning of this novel, Clara Sue is shaken so heavily by her grief she becomes almost unrecognizable. Especially when her grandfather discovers that a little boy about Willie's age was dropped off at the very same hospital, almost dead due to malnourishment and arsenic poisoning (SOUND FAMILIAR????) and her grandfather takes special interest in the boy and his care. When her grandfather suggests that the boy recuperate at their home, in Willie's old room, Clara Sue loses it. And I can't really blame her. As the novel moves forward, Clara Sue fights back her own interest in this beautiful blonde boy, but in the end, she knows that her Willie wouldn't want her grief over the loss of him to overpower her will to help such an innocent doll.

Disclaimer: I read this in roughly 24 hours.

fantasy friday.

The Elusion series is a duology of fantasy/action/sci-fi/futuristic young adult novels written by co-authors Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam and are sure to spice up your reader's library. The series is set in a futuristic Detroit (which is a lot worse than present Detroit if you can imagine), narrated by sixteen-year-old Regan who, along with the rest of the residents of this city live with acid rain falling from the sky, forcing them to wear purifiers to survive everyday life. Many wish to escape their current reality, and before his unexpected death, Regan's father made an app for that. An app that transports you to exotic places, where you can find adventure and forget your troubles. Book one of the series, Elusion, is action packed while reader's follow Regan and her attempt find out what's really going on in the virtual world that seems too good to be true, because it is.

 

 

 

In book two titled, Etherworld, Regan and Josh (who she befriends in book one) are stuck behind the firewall in Etherworld, and are unable to fight Elusion. I am not going to go into a lot of detail as to not spoil book one for anyone who hasn't started this series. But there is more danger in Etherworld, more betrayal, romance and more to lose.

what day is today, today is mother's day.

I am not big on feelings, but when I really stop to think about my mom, I turn into a big puddle of mush. I love her so much I can't think about it too hard or it physically pains me. I downright SOBBED when I read A Letter to My Mom from the Letter to My Series by Lisa Erspamer. I loved it so much. I'll cry right now. It is filled with so many sweet, sweet letters from guys and dolls, some you know and some you'll want to know, to their mothers. The letters are filled with gratitude to mothers for believing in them, supporting them, encouraging them, never letting them be defeated. It's an ode to mom's who make things happen. I know it's after Mother's Day, but what a wonderful 'just because I love my mom' gift?

My mom is the QUEEN of making things happen. I would always come up with some harebrained scheme or another (still do sometimes) and she would listen and then always respond with, well what are we going to do to make this happen? I love her so much.

 

welcome to new york.

I love Candace Bushnell and Sarah Dessen, even at twenty-nine, so I was super excited to discover Susane Colasanti and her City Love series which follows three teenagers, Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna, in NYC. Being able to recommend new authors to students is EVERYTHING. And any high school girl will love these realistic characters.

The first installment, City Love is not only about finding love in the big city for these three very different roommates, it's about their love for the city. Which is contagious. We follow Sadie, the dreamer, Darcy, the Cali girl, and Rosanna, the philanthropist through the city that never sleeps, experiencing all three points of view. Summer, NYC, and romance, what more could you ask for in a summer novel?

mrs. berns is the new grandma mazur.

I am a huge fan of The Murder-by-Month Mystery series. And February Fever is a perfect addition. Town librarian and aspiring private investigator Mira James is excited to finally have a valentine for the big day, the only downer is that her boyfriend Johnny has recently accepted an internship in Portland. Mira's friend Mrs. Berns tries to lift her spirits by booking a trip by train from Minnesota to Portland for a romantic visit for Valentine's Day/a private investigator conference for the rest of them. Tagging along is the ever lovable, Jed, and all is going swimmingly until a woman is found murdered in the middle of the night. Her husband and daughter nowhere to be found. Mira and the other private investigators aboard the train heading to the same conference team up to solve this murder mystery. Minus the whole dead woman thing, there is a lot of passenger on passenger hilarity. And it's so nice to have a series to keep me busy while waiting for the next Plum novel.