Mysterious Saturday Review: Frozen Heat

*4th book in the Heat series*

When a murder happens early one morning, everything changes. At the scene, Nikki Heat recognizes the suitcase the victim lies in. It's the suitcase that was stolen from the apartment the night her mother was murdered.

Now, years later, she believes the murders are connected. She's never heard of the deceased woman, but she's determined to find out the connection between her and her mother. Rock attempts to help by rehashing her mother's death. Nikki has no desire to relive the past, but as Rook prods her, she relents.

Together they dig up some clues. As they keep digging, they uncover hidden life of Nikki's mom. Will Nikki finally know what happened that night and who's reponsbile? 

My Thoughts: I LOVE this series. I'm a HUGE Castle fan and these books are on my automatic to read pile.  I love how similar and yet wildly different the books are to the characters on the TV show. Obviously it's not the same characters, but key plot points are similar. I love how Rook tries to make Nikki laugh at traumatic moments. I love his geekiness and hit wit. I love their banter. There's deep emotions running through this book. It's personal. I love uncovering the secrets of Nikki's mother's life. I liked how Rook and Nikki traveled to uncover answers that no one asked before. I love the combination of Roach. I like how the police force is very different from the TV show, but with similar players. An emotional roller coaster ride of action, danger, and death.

Cover Thoughts: Fun - but I'm not sure it would grab my attention if I didn't know about the series.
Source: my Library

Adult Review: Fool For Love

 *A Cupcake Lovers Novel*

Chloe Madison graduated with honors from the Culinary Arts Institute on the same day her boyfriend tells her he's leaving her. He's been cheating on her, but didn't want to tell her and stress her out before her exams. With two years of her life wasted on him, Chloe has no idea what to do.

Her best friend invites her for a visit to Vermont. Before long, Chloe packs up her things and heads for Sugar Creek. There she takes a job as a cook/chauffeur for an older woman who's family worries about her. Daisy and Chloe get on amazingly well, they both have a devilish outlook on life.

However, Devin, Daisy's grandson isn't too keen on Chloe. He also can't stop thinking about her. As they banter back and forth, everyone in town realizes what they don't; sparks fly when they look at each other.

My Thoughts: I ADORED this novel and from the tagline, I'm hoping there's more coming. First, it's set in Vermont - which is where I grew up. So I loved all the Vermont quirks - the muddy roads, the flannel, the maple syrup, and the small town charm. 
Second a group of women (with one male addition) come together to talk about cupcakes each week. Who doesn't like cupcakes? The club has a unique history. Now they want to put together a book with their history and cupcake recipes.  
I really liked Chloe - she's feisty, sweet, loyal, and witty. She fit into town perfectly, even though she's barely spent time there. 
I liked Devin - how he tried to control everything and how that backfired on him. I adored his family. They were loud, secretive, and charming. 
I loved Daisy for her sense of humor and her quest for freedom. She's be fun to hang out with. 
All in all a charming story and I hope there's more about this small town and about the Monroe family. 

Cover Thoughts: Perfect - the cover sold me on this book
Source: My Library

Review: Queen's Lady

 * second book in the Lacey Chronicles*

Lady Jane's family was most unhappy with her broken engagement to the Lacey family. Jane knew they wouldn't care about her reasons. They forced her into exile where she could think about her behavior. A much older man rescued her by offering marriage. Their marriage was a matter of friendship not romance. When her husband died, he made her promise to be come a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen. He wanted to protect her from his vile sons.

Lady Jane did has requested. She found herself a new life with old friends, including the man who stole her heart. Now that she's back in society's good graces, her family comes looking for her. They want her to marry again and they're not above manipulating Jane to get what they want.

Will Jane find herself a champion and will it be James?

My Thoughts: I really like this series. I liked reading more about Jane. Her best intentions seem to find her into trouble. I really liked reading about Lady Jane's time at court, the whims of Queen Elizabeth and her favorites. It was hard to read about her horrendous family and the lengths they would go to secure their position. Knowing her family made me love her relationship with Milly more. I found Milly delightful and longer to know more about her shop. I loved how these two girls kept their friendship, even though it was forced into secrecy.  I wished there had been a little bit more about Ellie in this book. I liked how the war troubled James and how he fought to change his dreary future. I admired him for going to the New World in such a fashion.   I liked the twist about the brothers and I'm interested to see where this series will go next. 

Cover Thoughts: Not a huge fan - the girl looks awkward and strange.
Source: my Library

On My Hold List (25)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold at the library. I usually have 20-40 items checked out at the library and another 20 items on hold.

Runaway Princess: I loved this author's Little Lady Agency series. I had no idea she had a new book out until I heard it from Sarah on Twitter-  plus it's about a PRINCESS!

Royal Pain: Not about a princess, but with connections to the royal family. Bronte meets Max and learns he's a Duke.

Working Mummies - just a little Halloween fun!

Top 10 Tuesday

Top Ten Series I Haven't Finished (because either you didn't like them, you just have procrastinated) - Meme from the lovely Broke and Bookish

This is a great topic for me, because I have a hard time letting go of characters. Sometimes it's just that too much time has past and I forget everything that came before. I'd have to re-read the whole series and that's a serious time commitment. Or sometiems, it's because I have too many books out at the moment it comes in and I want to let library patrons have a chance to read it first, but then I forget to go back and grab it and so much time passes. I really do WANT to read these books!

Secret Life of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel - loved this series, but couldn't bring myself to read the last two. I think I'll have to re-read them all and soon!
Percy Jackson - read the first 3 books and LOVED them. Took too long to read the 4th (Still haven't) and forgot everything.
Maximum Ride - I got to the fourth book and really didn't like it - too much environmental preaching. Then I stopped reading it, but I hear it gets better
Song of Ice and Fire - I'm about halfway through Dance with Dragons. This one isn't entirely my fault. I'm reading it with my husband and it's hard to find time to fit it in.

Georgia Nicholson series - Again, stopped at the last two books

Pendragon series - same, last two books

Vampire Kisses: The first vampire books that I read and loved. 

Golden Lily: I still need to read this book.

I'm sure there's more, but I just can't think of any at the moment.

Like Peas and Carrots

My new post at the HUB is about girls and friendship.  Here's my favorite friendship book from my youth.

You can read the post here!

The Emmys Fashion

I love watching the Emmys and especially the red carpet. I love looking at all the dresses. This year there were many that I disliked but there were a few that stood out for me.

I loved:

Tina Fey

Jane Levy

Zooey Deschanel

Hannah Simone from the New Girl

Sarah Hyland - plus she helped design this dress

Melissa Rauch from the Big Bang Theory

Sarah Paulson


Did you have any favorite dresses from last night?

Mysterious Saturday Review: Powered Peril

 * Donut Shop Mystery Series #8 *

Suzanne arrives at work one morning to discover paint splatter across the front of Donut Hearts.  Before long the police Chief enters her shop. He's not there for donuts and he's not there about the paint. He's there about a murder.

Peter has been murdered. Suzanne's invited along with the Chief to her best friend's house. She must stay in the car while he gathers first impressions while telling her her boyfriend is dead. Grace is a suspect. 

Suzanne knows her best friend would never kill anyone, even in a fit of rage. Grace wants to get closure on Peter's death so she can move on. 

My Thoughts: I never liked Peter, but I was suspected by his actions and his conduct. I was also surprised by Suzanne - she seemed overly pushy to me in asking questions. Granted, the suspects weren't easy people to talk to, but there were times when I felt bad for them.  While I like the new position for George, I missed him in the sleuthing portion of the story. 
Still, I devoured this book, like I have all the other books in the series. I love watching Grace and Suzanne together. I love reading about Suzanne in action at her store, I always crave donuts while reading this series.  I'm interested to see where the future's going within the shop. 

Cover Thoughts: Awesome!
Source: my Library

Review: Courtship and Curses

 * prequel to the Bewitching Season and the Betraying Season *

As Sophie makes her debut into society, it isn't everything she hoped it would be. Her mother isn't here to guide her through society. She never thought her sickness would create a deformed leg.  She certainly never imagined that she would need to regain her magical skills lost during her sickness to save her family and friends from accidents.

These accidents are triggered by magic. As more and more accidents occur at social events, Sophie becomes curious. She notices that all the targets seem to work in the War Office. Could someone be trying to make things worse between England and France?

Sophie confides her secret in her new friend, who happens to be the cousin of the man she admires. Can Sophie trust her new friends enough to confide in her own powers? She'll have to figure out something if she wants to save members of the War Office, including her father's!

My Thoughts: I really love this series - for the time period (I'm a sucker for Regency England), the magic, and the mystery. Although I didn't like the reactions from society members, I loved reading about Sophie's debut. I liked watching Amelie smooth over her entrance to society with beautiful dresses instead of the boring subdued colors her aunt wanted to wear and the festive canes that didn't hide her deformed leg.  I really enjoyed Parthenope with her bubbly nature, her determination, and her sense of loyalty. I found her amusing. I liked how Sophie didn't give up when everything seemed impossible and how she blossomed under the friendships in society. I liked her how her magical abilities failed, but worked at times. 

I would have liked the see this book connected with the previous two books about magical twins at the time of their debut. For me, having read those books when they first came out, it hard connecting character wise.

Cover Thoughts: I like the soft purple, but it doesn't match with the review two covers who used models, still it's a very nice cover.
Source: My Library.

Review: Shatterproof

 * book 4 in the Cahill vs Vespers series*

Dan and Amy are still at Vesper One's beck and call. This time they're on a mission to Berlin to steal the Golden Jubilee diamond, part of a visiting exhibit from Thailand. The security surrounding the diamond is almost impossible to break, as the Cahills and their companions find out.

The appear to accomplish their task, which baffles them.  There's too much interference with the Vesper team. Vesper One isn't happy with Amy and Dan from their previous actions. Could he be mad enough to hurt one of the hostages? Amy and Dan will have to walk a very fine line to keep him happy and to figure out the rest of his time sensitive clues

My Thoughts: Roland Smith is an excellent addition to this team. I love the action, the drama, and the danger of this series. I love never knowing exactly who Amy and Dan can trust. I love the relationship between Amy and Dan - their bantering, their arguments, and their love for each other. These books leave me on the edge of my seat and eager for the next book in the series.

I love the time in Timbuktu, especially the moments in the library. I love learning about other libraries. I found the scrolls fascinating. I liked the perspectives of the hostages and how they used the most of their time. I like that readers get glimpses of them. Mostly I love traveling around the world with Cahills learning about different cultures, people, artifacts, and history. 

Cover Thoughts: Cool!
Source: My Library
Fun Fact: This is Roland Smith's first book for the 39 Clues series. He wrote the action packed Storm Runners series (which is now on our Middle School Summer reading list - along with the 39 Clues series)

Review: Winter White

 *book 2 in the Belles series- read my review of book 1*

Izzie and Mira were shocked to discover the big family secret. They're trying to cope from it and trying to show the world they're one happy family.

Izzie's trying to become more a part of Emerald Cove. She wants to do actual good with the Butterflies besides throw parties. Izzie knows real people who could use their help. She's tired of not taking action.

Mira's trying to pick up the pieces of her life. Her old friends aren't interested in her. She's happily working on her art, but could that get her into trouble too?

Both are are simply trying to put their best foot forward. Cotillion practice sessions and hazing heats up. Old rivalries, jealous feelings, and manipulations wreck havoc with relationships. Plus with someone leaking family information to the press, Izzie and Mira wonder if the only person they can trust is each other. 

My Thoughts: I LOVE this series. It's the perfect book filled with family drama, romances, and teen angst - just like all Jen Calonita's other books. While on the surface, it's a fantastic light novel, it also deals with heavy issues. 
I like Izzie's quest for helping others less fortunate than she is now and I feel her frustration at the other girls. I like how Mira's becoming less shallow and more...a person. I like reading about the politics, and the behind the scenes in a political aspiring family. I like reading about the different family dynamics in a rich town, in a way it reminds me of Gilmore Girls. 

I'm dying for the next book - Book 3 - The Grass is Always Greener coming out in April.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Little Brown -Thanks!
Winter White comes out in October

What's on My Holds List (24)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold at the library. I usually have 20-40 items checked out at the library and another 20 items on hold.

My Mother was Nuts: There was a excerpt on yahoo last night, which made this book look entertaining and full of interesting tidbits about Hollywood. I don't usually read nonfiction, but I'm really interested in this one!

Something from Tiffany's: Looks like a cute holiday romance - about 2 couples who's shopping bags get mixed up and thus their relationships.

What Happens at Christmas: Another holiday romance - set in Regency England

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Bookish People You Want To Meet (Authors, Bloggers, etc.) from Broke and Bookish

This is a hard post to create because I LOVE meeting bookish people and talking with them. There's so many authors I've met and so many I'd love to meet.

J.K. Rowling 

George R. R. Martin

These are the two biggest and ones I probably will never meet, but I would be so happy to tell them how much I love and admire their work.

Stephanie Perkins

Jessica Burkhart

Jen Calonita

Lisa and Laura Roecker 

Rachel Caine

Richelle Mead

Anthony Horowitz

YS Lee

I really could go on and on, but I'll stop there. There's only one adult author on the list, but I feel I could make a whole other list with just adult cozy mystery authors.  I'm really lucky at being able to meet a lot of authors and I've had such a great time meeting them! 

Tween Tuesday Review:Girl Games

**Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun! **   

Artemis is so excited. Since the girls were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, they're hosting their own special games. The Girl Games are here!  Artemis has many last minute tasks to complete before the competition can start and she wants to make sure these games are perfect!

The visiting athletes are here to win, even going so far as to taunt their competition. The Goddess Girls need to bring their A games to these Olympics. However, thoughts about boys, feuding over a kitten, and getting into trouble with Zeus all hinder their training. Will the Girl Games come together at the last moment and will the Goddess Girls medal?

My Thoughts: The first super special and the first book in the series with multiple perspectives. I loved seeing the viewpoints of all the goddess girls. Of course, I LOVE the idea of the Girl Games. The goddess boys were very supportive helping the girls train, as the girls helped them train. I liked the girl touches to the games - the pink sand and the stuffed animals for the relay baton. These little touches helped make the games unique and girly. I loved the celebration of girls and sports as well as the combination of athletics and girly. 

Cover Thoughts: I like it!
Source: The library

Review: Sam's Letters To Jennifer

One afternoon after parting, Sam realizes that she needs to set the story straight with her grand daughter. She sits down and writes her life secrets to Jennifer. Jennifer won't read them until Sam slips into a coma and is in the hospital.

Jennifer rushes to Sam's side. She takes her work with her to Sam's house on the lake. Jennifer spent happy summers of her childhood on the lake and it's almost like coming home.

There Jennifer sees her grandmother's letters. She starts to read them, but forces herself to savor these moments. She learns that her grandparents did not have the happy marriage she imagined. She learns about life, about love, and about finding your own happiness.

Sam's life lessons might be just what Jennifer needs to get over the loss of her husband and start living her life again. 

My Thoughts: I didn't read the cover flap on this book and the whole premise of the book through me for a loop. I was expecting more of a P.S. I Love You book and instead found something much different. I loved reading about the relationship between Sam and her grandmother. It was quite touching and reminded me of my grandmother. Needless to say, I read this one with a box of tissues.

I liked watching Jennifer learn to step out of the walled existence after her grief over Danny. I liked the quiet way she started a friendship with Brendan and how it became something much more. I liked learning about Jennifer's columns and how she learned to let go a little bit of her work. It's a lesson everyone needs at times and I'm in a similar spot. 

I liked going into this book one with idea but how it turned into something completely different. It sucked me in and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's a bittersweet read that tugged at my heartstring

Cover Thoughts: I like the lake, but it's kind of dark to see. After reading it I understand the cover, but I would have liked something more upbeat to draw me in. My eyes see the cover, but immediately move on.
Source: My Library

Winner!

Of the Harlan Coben prize pack is Megan! Congrats! An email has been sent to you.

Mysterious Saturday Review: A Witch Before Dying

 * second book in the series - Read my review for the first book*

Darcy works for her aunt at As You Wish - helping mortals with projects and witches with projects and wishes. She agrees to help out fellow witch Eloide clean out her mother's home.

Eloide's mother has been missing for over a year. Eloide can't afford rent on both houses anymore. She has no idea what happened to her mother but her mother had a very powerful wishing necklace, which plenty of people would love to find.

While in the house, Darcy and Eloide find a body and it's been there for quite some time. Now Eloide wants Darcy to look into her mother's murder. There's been rumors surrounding her disappearance. Can Darcy separate truth from all the rumors and can she figure out the murder and what really happened to the necklace?

My Thoughts: A charming new installment to this series. I love the small town setting, complete with humans and witches. I really like learning about the craft rules along with Darcy, who's new to town. I adore Mimi and I like how she and Darcy are learning together.  Plus I'm so interest to find what happens next between Darcy and Nick! I find the town characters fascinating, although not all delightful. I can't wait to learn more about Harper. I liked learning about the necklace, especially it's history and it's power. A great cast of potential murderers proved creepy, making this a fun light enjoyable read.

Cover Thoughts: Cute - I love the glittery swirls however, the woman is MUCH to thin on the cover.
Source: My Library
Up Next: The Good, The Bad, and the Witchy will be out next April

BBAW: An Old Favorite Book

I remember waiting for The Cinderella Society. I fell in the love with the cover. I love Princess stories. I was So happy when an ARC came my way. I devoured this book and haven't stopped handing it off to teens who love Princess stories, who love Meg Cabot, who love secret societies. It's a fabulous fun read!

In college, I decorated the ceilings of my rooms with pictures from magazines. At work, I've decorated the walls with...book covers, movie posters from books, stickers, and magazines photos that make me smile. The Cinderella Society is one of the book covers posted on my wall - but this one's special because right above it, I have a promotional postcard from Kay with my thoughts: 

Makeovers, secret societies, romance, and showdowns, 

I LOVED this book!

I love her highlighting my quote. Getting this postcard totally made my day!

I love the shoe on top of the pink boxes and the fancy writing! 

Book's I'm Dying to Read: November Edition

Here's a look at books out in November that I can't WAIT to get my hands on!

Bitter Blood: SO LOVE this series! I can't wait to find out what happens next!
Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart: I really enjoyed Darker Still!

Notorious 19: SUCH a fan of this series! It's one of my favorites!
Written in Stone: Another mystery series that I really like- which focuses on writing

Chronicles of Downton Abbey: I LOVE this show - looking forward to learning more about it
12 Clues of Christmas: ADORE this historical royal mystery series!

Divide and Conquer: Really liked Mutiny in Time, looking forward to the next installment
Miss Fortune Cookies: This looks super cute!

Come Fly With Me: I really enjoyed the first book.
Lies that Bind: LOVED the first book - plus doesn't the cover look awesome?

Princess of the Silver Wood: Love this author so much!
Dear Teen Me: SO looking forward to learning more about my favorite authors!

BBAW: What Book Blogging Means to Me

I first started blogging on Myspace. Remember when that was cool? I wanted to showcase books we had coming into the library and I also wanted to be able to keep track of the books I read. My early reviews weren't really reviews - but I was highlighting the books I read and sharing them with my followers.

On Friday October 3rd 2008 I made the change to Blogger and I've been here every since. I've updated my background - learned a little bit about HTML. This past summer, I had it custom designed by a fellow book blogger ICEY BOOKS.

*Blogging means that I know about books months ahead of time, which is perfect for my job.
*Blogging means that I can say to a patron, I haven't read that book, but I've heard good things about it - which is awesome because I'll never be able to read all the books I want to read. Yet, I can read and share what others think.
*Blogging means that I have an outlet to talk about books and to share my thoughts about books. I may not have the most followers or the most comments, but I blog for me.
*Blogging means gushing over the books that I love. I don't usually post about books I don't finish or books that I did finish but were mediocre. Thus, I my review tend to have the word love in them.
*Blogging means a community of people who understand teen literature and/or teen librarianship and I can go to those communities if I have a question (or ten)

I love the community of book bloggers - how they share their knowledge and information. I'm happy to be apart of it!

Top Ten Tuesdays

September 11:  Top Ten Books That Make You Think (About The World, People, Life, etc.) from Broke and Bookish

There are tons of books that make me think, but the ones that stick with me are ones I recommend to people. The following books deal really well with hard topics. Most of them are sad, heartbreaking books but they also have a glimmer of hope.

13 Reasons Why: Could someone have helped her?

Wintergirls: So haunting 

Purge: Realistic yet humorous 

Life After - Heartbreaking, but eye opening too

Speak - I love how she found her courage

Life as We Knew It - makes me want to stock up on canned goods whenever I hear about a potential natural disaster. 

Keep Holding On: Heartbreaking, but hopeful

Sold: Powerful

Can't Get There from Here - I liked the librarian in this one

Fat Cat: I loved the blend of science with food

BBAW: Meet Tasha

Give a warm welcome to Tasha from

Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books

Project Gutenberg Project

Liquid Persuasion

Twitter

If you could travel anywhere inside a book - which book would it be any why? That's a difficult question! I would love to live in Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. That would be kick-ass. I also always thought it would be fun to visit Narnia.

Your favorite novel is Jane Eyre, do you like/read modern adaptations or retellings of this classic novel?  I have read a few adaptions/retellings. Jane by April Linder was pretty good (Rochester is a rock star--gotta love that). You can find a list of the Jane Eyre adaptations I've read here:http://heidenkind.blogspot.com/2012/01/jane-eyre-approximately.html 

You have a quite a few recipes of cocktails on your tumblr - do you have a favorite drink? There are a lot of drinks I really enjoy, but sidecars are probably my favorite.

You have a section for Art and Art History posts - do you have a favorite artists/work of art? Some of my favorite artists are JMW Turner, Edouard Manet (both of whom I've "interviewed" on my blog), Remedios Varo, and Giorgio de Chirico. I wouldn't say I have a single favorite work of art, but I love John Singer Sargent's Street in Venice, and seeing Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Donatello's Mary Magdalene were incredible experiences.

Besides Harry Potter, do you have a book (or series) that you think people will be still reading in 100 years? Hard to say. It's difficult to image Twilight will still be as popular in 100 years as it is now, but you never know. It could happen! As for adult novels, I honestly couldn't even guess.

What is the best book you've read so far this year? Best as in most enjoyable, or best as in most well-written? :p I've read a few really good books this year. I think my favorites were The Man In Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. I also really liked The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie and The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton.

What do you enjoy most about blogging? Probably just the chance to socialize with other people who like books. I also really like writing and blogging gives me a creative outlet, especially the drinks blog.

It was great to meet you Tasha! Go over to her blog and leave a comment!