Time Off for Good Behavior by Lani Diane Rich

"I want to sue the city of Hastings, Hastings General Hospital, and Channel 8. Oh, and my ex-husband."

Walter's eyebrows lifted. "Your ex-husband? What did he do?"

"He's alive. I want you to sue him for not being dead yet."

Walter sat back, his white dress shirt sticking a bit to his skin. It's possible the Fireside had been named for the fact that it was always hot as hell in there. "You can't sue for that."

"Why not? He's supposed to be dead by now. Doctor's orders."

Walter laughed, a cue for me to join in and say I was joking. I kept quiet. He stopped laughing. "You can't sue a guy for not being dead."

"Can we sue the doctor who told me he'd croak, then?"

He stared at me for a moment, sizing me up, an unsure smile tugging at his face. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious."


***

Wanda Lane has had a string of bad luck! Loses touch with her parents when she got married to an abusive man, divorced him and now lives in Alaska, but he finds time to call her up to either profess his undying love for her or threatens her life...

After striking an obnoxious 'pencil faced' lawyer, Wanda ends up with a head injury and in a coma. What else could go wrong? Well, in the result of the accident, she's now hearing this phantom music in her head which comes and goes as it pleases and loses her job!

Wanda is the type of woman who does not think before she opens her mouth, she curses like a sailor, and drinks bottles of Chivas Regal which she names 'Albert.'

After meeting a sexy attorney, Walter Briggs, she also meets a therapist friend who insists that she covers her walls with sticky notes listing ways to become a brand-new Wanda.

**

I absolutely loved this book. It's short; I think I must have read it in a day, but it was entertaining the whole way through and I laughed out loud a few times, which is a plus. The author created a fun book with lots of humor. I loved how Wanda's character is very flawed - every character can't be perfect!

I'd recommend it!


5 stars for the humor
5 stars for the touching moments
5 stars for the tough, edgy, and hilarious main character
and 5 stars for the novel being unique.

The Perfect Family by Carla Cassidy

Marissa's husband, a fireman, was killed...and not in the line of duty. It's been about a year and for the first time, she feels like everything will be all right. And when a high school flame moves back into town, she even begins to think that maybe she can find happiness again.

But, someone has other plans. He wants Marissa for himself. She would be the perfect wife. And her small children would be his perfect son and daughter. Since he's been watching them for quite some time now, he knows everything there is to know about them. They were the family he was supposed to have, the family he deserved. And it was only a matter of time before he claimed them as his own.

***

I was very pleased with this romantic-suspense book. Every page was interesting and felt real...it wasn't a load of crap spilled onto paper. You could feel the emotion and the heartbreak, the desire. All the characters had likable factors, including the kids :-).

The ending made is seem like there would be a sequel...Bring on the second book! If it's not out already...I'm clueless. But if there isn't, oh well... I can only imagine how that one would be. But, back to the ending, I liked it. It showed how sometimes the 'bad' guys are just plain insane and nothing will ever change that... Sooo maybe there isn't a second.....

5 stars :-)

No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

Cynthia Bigge, a rebellious fourteen-year-old, wakes up one morning to find that her entire family has vanished without a trace.

What do you do when there is no evidence, no note left behind, no witnesses?

All Cynthia wants is some closure.

Twenty-five years later, she'll finally learn the truth...

Throughout the book, there are strange things that begin to happen. Phone calls, notes, e-mails...information that leads to so many more questions than answers.

**

Great book. This is another author I would like to keep following. It's a great suspense story that you can't help but get caught up in it. So many twists and turns, it'll have you on the edge of your seat...well, for me it did. I couldn't put it down.

I loved how it was written. He did a nice job at building the background of each character. From the devastating situation that Cynthia had to go through as a child, you can definitely understand why she does the things she does. For example, being extra cautious when it comes to her daughter because she is aware that the world is sometimes a cruel place.

Her husband understands her frustrations and is by her side 100%, but later starts to wonder if she's having a nervous breakdown after all those years.

I personally loved the ending of the book; I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Tough Luck by Jason Starr

Mickey Prada is a guy who lacks confidence and self-esteem. He's a smart kid, but hangs out with the wrong people, and eventually makes all the wrong choices and they all have consequences.

He works at a seafood market in Brooklyn and has delayed college to help take care of his sick father instead of putting him into a 'home.'

His life seems normal, until he meets, Angelo Santoro, at the market. Angelo keeps asking Mickey to place bets for him and because he's a nice kid, he agrees. The problem is, Angelo is losing every single time and Mickey's life seems to get complicated.

Mickey is reluctant and furious when he needs to dip into his savings account because Angelo won't pay up. He's in dire need of money, so when his best friend, asks to join him in a can't-lose plan, he goes along.

But it backfires and everything else seems to be going wrong.

**

Well, I was disappointed in the book. Did I expect it to be good?? I think I was hoping it would...but it was a waste of time. I could have easily put it down, but it got me curious as to what would happen and how it would end. I thought it would get better.

I can't even begin to tell you what was wrong with it, because I'm not exactly sure. It just was awful.

I'm definitely not reading this author again.

The Watermark by Travis Thrasher

Sheridan Blake has made his share of mistakes. Seven years ago he ruined his life and destroyed so many others. He is haunted by his past and wishes he can forget, but it's impossible. Especially when everyone around him brings it up.

When Sheridan meets Genevie Dayton, he wants so badly to open up about his past, but fails because he's afraid of what she'll think.

It's a story about having hope and getting forgiveness. Sometimes turning to prayer and God helps ease the pain and helps a person to move forward and look at life in a different way.

My goal was to start reading new authors rather than my normal ones, and I saw this book on the shelf of the public library. It's very different from anything I've ever read and I have to say, I was very pleased.

It took sooo long to actually know the whole 'mistake' that he had done, but at the end of the book, I realized it had to be that way. It was to show the agony Sheridan was going through. In order to believe it and feel the emotion, the reader couldn't know exactly what happened in the beginning.

I just loved the story as a whole, the characters, the concept, everything. Yes, it was religious, but you didn't get overwhelmed and it was in the right places. The ending was good too which is always a plus.

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

Adrienne Willis' husband left her for another woman and now she is a single mother of three.

Her daughter, Amanda, is struggling with the loss of her husband, and in hopes of trying to help Amanda cope with it, Adrienne takes a trip down memory lane to a place and time where she met Paul Flanner and fell in love.

They were two last souls who spent a weekend in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Adrienne was still trying to deal with the fact that she was on her own and needed to try her best in supporting herself and her kids. Paul's wife asked for a divorce because he had no time for his family; his career seemed to be everything to him.

It's a story about two people who turn to each other for comfort. It's about finding love at anytime - anywhere - and at any age.

This is definitely emotional - but not more emotional than "Message in a Bottle," in my opinion. I didn't get teary-eyed with this one. The characters were likable and you could sympathize with the problems each one faced.

In the beginning there was a lot of flashbacks so it was a bit tough to get into and follow, but once it was over, it was an easy read.

A Taste Of Liberty by Lisa Pietsch

Sarah Stevens is back! Man, it feels so good to finally say that.

A Taste Of Liberty is the sequel to Lisa Pietsch's The Path To Freedom. If you read my review for The Path To Freedom you know that this a great freaking series and that I love Sarah Stevens and all her hunky friends.

This book picks up a few months after the end of the first. Sarah and the rest of the gang have a new assignment and a new bad guy. Vince has new competition as an old character makes a re-appearance in Sarah's life.

This book has it all, action, adventure, romance, humor, hot guys, hot girls, and guns. Come on, people! Doesn't get better than that. The bad guys are bad to the bone, the good guys are hot as hell, and the chemistry between Sarah and Vince sizzles through the virtual pages.

I'm telling you guys, go buy this book - www.SapphireBluePublishing.com you will not be disappointed. Lisa Pietsch has a knack for creating entertaining stories and characters so real you'll forget you're reading a book.

And isn't the cover gorgeous?

5 stars for Task 125.

5 stars for all the butt kicking.

5 stars for Vince, cuz he's yummy!

And 5 stars for Vince & Sarah cuz they're the perfect couple and we the readers want them together.

Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

Teresa Osborne came across a bottle on the beach. Inside was a letter to "Catherine" and was signed by the name "Garrett." It left such an impression on her that she decided to do some research.

What she finds are more letters...addressed to the same woman, and signed by the same man. Theresa is intrigued by them. They are letters of love and tenderness and sorrow.

She's on the mission to find this "Garrett" and when she does, she likes what she sees. They are one in the same really; both never thought they'd fall in love ever again. It's a beautifully written love story about strength and fragility.

This book is emotional and a very easy, breezy read. I loved how REAL the emotion felt. You could definitely understand and feel Garrett's heartbreak; it was a nice touch with the flashbacks because it told their history and without it, I don't know if the book would have been that great.

The ending was a bit of a shocker. But I like shockers :-)

I absolutely give this book 5 stars.

Moonlit Watcher by Crystal-Rain Love

Finally! A new Crystal-Rain Love book. Moonlit Watcher is the sequel to Moonlit Dream.

Derek Kingston is a badass werewolf. He needs nothing from no one, except a good fuck every once in a while. And he never fucks humans.

Until he meets Juliana Van Alder, delicate ballerina. The last thing Derek needs is a delicate creature like her. He likes his women tough. He likes to be rough, surely he would break this prim and proper dancer in half. Unfortunately faith has decided that Juliana is Derek's soul mate and the full moon is approaching. No werewolf has ever been able to ignore the pull of the full moon to give a moon vow to his soul mate. But Derek is damn determined to beat it.

Maybe he shouldn't have slept with her then? I swear, men always thinking with their penises. When will they learn that once is never enough?

Derek and Juliana get closer, even when Derek fights against it. In the end her learns not to fight with destiny. And he also learns that Juliana is more than just a delicate ballerina.

Duuuuuude, I was just gonna read the first five pages and go to bed, but I ended up just reading the whole thing. It's a short read, but a great story. If you've read my previous reviews, you know I'm a huge fan of Crystal-Rain Love. She has such an amazing gift for storytelling, I'm quite envious and damn proud to be able to call her my friend. Her words flow so easily from the page. Even though the story is short you feel completely full at the end, yet you're left wanting more.

But when Crystal-Rain Love writes, you're always gonna want more. She's definitely one of my top five favorite authors of all time.

5 Big Giant Stars!

What Legends Are Made Of by Heather Beck

What Legends Are Made Of by Heather Beck is a paranormal anthology with four Goosebumps-like stories with a romantic twist.

The first story, Sir Tristan’s Estate, is by far my favorite of the four. It’s about a young photographer named Skye Huntington who is on an assignment for the magazine she works for. She arrives at Sir Tristan’s Estate in the middle of a small local scandal. The estate, which belonged to the state of Virginia after Sir Tristan’s death has fallen into the rightful owner’s hands. Sir Tristan was thought to have left no heir, but a small boy on tour of the estate, found the birth certificate of a daughter. Shortly after that, the heir appeared and took over the estate. The new owner closes the tours of the estate, but allows Skye to continue with her assignment, since she was hired before his/her arrival.

Skye is allowed to tour the estate. She meets up with the local historian and sparks instantly fly. Romance is in the air.

Unfortunately, that’s all I can reveal, because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone interested in reading. But I will say this story has love, ghosts on meds, and a twist of an ending. Sir Tristan’s Estate is definitely a five star kind of story!

The second story, Blue Water, is less “scary” and more romantic. Two individuals of different social classes find a lot in common and a lot to admire in one another. Surrounding this story is shark attacks, mermaids, and the origin of the mermaids. A love-conquers-all type of story. Sweet.

Four stars for Blue Water.

Freaky Frank is the third story in this anthology. I found this story pleasing and amusing. It’s about a girl named Brittany Addams and her summer job at the carnival. Now, you know whenever there’s a carnival involved that the story is going to be interesting.

On her first day of training, Brittany meets Frank. It’s love at first sight. Frank, who is much older than Brittany, runs his own freak show. Stanford’s Freaky Shrieks Freak Show is Franks own business with real extraordinary creatures. Educated fish, unicorns with wings, and the main attraction, Frank himself.

Again, this one was more romantic than scary, but a lovely story. Frank reveals his freak show and himself to Brittany and offers her something that would change her life forever. Brittany must decide whether or not the love she feels for Frank is strong enough to conquer her fears and his “freaky” tendencies. (Ha ha)

Four stars for Freaky Frank.

The last story in Heather Beck’s anthology is One Stop Horror Shop. Newlyweds Karyn and Max Shields’ dream has always been to own their own magic shop. The dream seems to be coming true, as Max meets a man named Quentin who wants to sell his magic shop.

Karyn is hesitant at first, but after a little coercing she agrees. Soon, the Shield’s are the owners of their own magic shop. Things, however, seem to get strange from the moment they sign the papers. First, Quentin is struck with a weird illness. He seems to be in perfect health, yet is in a zombie-like state. Then, upon cleaning out a closet in the magic shop, Max and Karyn find a very real looking skeleton which Karyn names Boney and sets up on their display window.

A few days after the Shields’ grand opening, they being to suspect that Quentin might have forged his bookkeeping, since the only customers they had were a brother and sister that wanted to start their own magic show business.

Over on that end, brother and sister Mitchell and Jodie use the tricks they bought from the magic shop. Everything goes wrong. From wrong to worse, actually, as their burrowed rabbit ends up furless, the handcuffs don’t open, the squirting flower squirts out blood, and Mitchell disappears into thin air. Really disappears.

The Shields have inadvertently bought a cursed magic shop. The origin of the curse involves murder, and that’s all I can say about that. One Stop Horror Shop, also a four star story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. I liked all the stories, although I must admit that after reading the first one, I was a little disappointed to read the rest. I kept waiting for another twist ending like the first, and I didn’t really get that. It’s kind of as if the story lost a bit of momentum. Maybe if they would have left Sir Tristan’s Estate for last I wouldn’t be left feeling this way.

Still, What Legends Are Made Of is a really good book. And I will be sure to add Heather Beck to my list of authors.

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter is the sequel to Heroes Die Young, from the Aston West series. For those who haven’t read the first part (you really should, it’s a great story), Aston West is a scavenger space pirate who tends to get into a lot of trouble considering his line of work is supposed to be of the humdrum variety.

In this installment, Aston finds himself reunited with his old friend, Elijah, and his twin brother Lars. The chance encounter, however, is not merely a coincidence. Elijah wants Aston to join “The Brotherhood”, a group of space pirates – led by the twins – that go around the galaxies stealing money and killing innocent people. This is too much action for Aston. Too much blood on his hands for comfort. He refuses the offer extended to him by his old friend.

Unfortunately, Elijah blackmails Aston into assisting on one mission. Just one. Then he’s free to leave.

But if you know Aston West, you know his life is never that easy.

Aw, man! What a story! Again, I’m not usually a sci-fi person, but I love Aston West. I love the adventures he goes on. I love that he tries to live a quiet life, yet is constantly thrust into danger. I love that even after years of cynicism, he’s still a good and honorable guy. And of course, I especially love the little romance that T.M. Hunter throws into the mix. Keep doing it, it works!

Friends In Deed by T.M. Hunter. Read it! But read it AFTER you read Heroes Die Young. Why? No reason, just really want you guys to read both of them.

Off to Toris with Aston!

My Tall Dark Greek Boss by Anna Cleary

Samos Stilakos, successful businessman is bored with his life and career. He has a new proposition from a bank in serious need of his business savvy. Taking the reins of the sinking bank and turning it into a success is just the type of project he would have enjoyed at one point in his life.

Not anymore.

He's fed up. After he's invited to an employee party thrown by the bank to convince Sam of why he should save this company, he knows without a shadow of a doubt that nothing could make him take this offer.

Until he stumbles across and ethereal looking woman in a dark balcony.

Ellie O'Dea isn't the type of woman to do crazy things, but the combination of the evening, the gorgeous Greek man, and the mask keeping her face hidden, had Ellie acting completely out of character. When Sam invites her up to his hotel room she accepts. And when he propositions her, she also accepts. With the condition that she's allowed to keep her face hidden.

Ellie may not be acting like herself, but she still has enough sense to make sure she doesn't expose herself to her potential future boss.

Four months later, after Sam and Ellie's passionate night, Ellie is working as Sam's personal assistant. She's appalled by the fact that he doesn't seem to recognize her, even though she did dye her hair, she never did take off her mask that night, and she did tell him if he ever recognized her to pretend like he didn't...

But still...how could he not recognize her, right? ;-)

Well, what Ellie doesn't know (yet) is that Sam did recognize her, and he's determined to make her his again. After all, he is a very successful businessman. He's used to always getting what he wants. Why else would he have bought the bank?

I started reading this book around 5 a.m. I needed to read a little bit before going to sleep (I'm a night person who works nights, hence the 5 a.m. bedtime). I had planned to read a chapter, maybe two depending on the length. I ended up staying up all morning. I didn't put the book down until I finished reading it in its entirety. It was a great story, with great characters. I love how Sam and Ellie butt heads. They're both hardheaded individuals, both used to doing things their way. It's a true testament of their feelings for one another when one would bend for the other. Of course things always ended up going even worse when someone would give in. They would both assume things instead of just asking the other. And you know what happens when you assume:

You make an ASS out of U and ME.

When I finally finished reading this book, I was sad. I never wanted it to end! And as I read the last few chapters- and wiped the tears from my face -I kept thinking, 'I hope someday I write as beautiful and moving as Anna Cleary'.

Most definitely going on my keeper shelf!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

A book filled with Magic, Love, and Suspense…

While Ethan Wate is counting down the days until he can escape from the small town of Gatlin, South Carolina, new girl Lena Duchannes is counting down the days until her fate is decided.

Once Lena arrives, everyone in town shuns her away immediately.

Ethan is dealing with a death in the family and is having a difficult time accepting the fact that his father has secluded himself from the world.

Lena is a mysterious girl who is struggling to deal with her ‘abilities.’

But no matter how different, these two teenagers are drawn to each other like magnets.

Ethan is determined to find out why. In the process, there are plenty of secrets and a lot of paranormal chaos…it’s anything but easy.

***

It’s a very short review, but if you’ve read the back of the book, you’ll understand why. I don’t want to give away details without spoiling the ending to such a great book!

So, I came across this novel by accident. I bought if intentionally for my little cousin… and lucky me, decided to order it online; therefore, leaving me to either return it, or keep it for myself and read it!

Guess what I did? Lol.

And I have to say, I am super happy about keeping the book; I loved it because it held my attention from the first page to the very last… even though there’s a lot of reference to the Civil War – it was needed.

It is a thick book, but don’t let that prevent you from reading it; the pages fly by.

I felt that it was well written, the characters were likable, everything in it was there for a reason, and all the mysteries were unraveled in the end.

If you like urban fantasy and YA Paranormal Romance…you’ll enjoy this.

Secret Santa 4 U by Paisley Scott

It's Christmas time again, the time of year that makes 33 year-old librarian Sophie Mulligan feel the loneliest. The holidays are a constant reminder that no matter what, she can never say the right thing to men.

After a little coercing from her neighbor and friend, Brody, Sophie joins a dating site. At first her luck does not seem to be going well, but after she has a talk with Brody who insists she change her screen name from LibraryLass to HotLibrarian, her luck changes.

Moments after entering the 30-Somethings chat room, Sophie spots a person under the moniker SecretSanta4U. Amused, she messages him. Sophie is instantly deflated as the conversation heads in the same direction it always does, sex. But she heeds her friend's words from earlier and decides to loosen up and have a little fun.

The end result: One steamy cyber session.

Sophie is instantly hooked. She's attracted to this man whom she has never met, and is having the most sex she has had in a long time. It all seems perfect, except for the fact that it's all cyber. But that all changes on Christmas Eve when a blizzard brings SecretSanta4U to her door.

What can I say about this story? It's short, about 39 pages. And in my opinion, every page is freaking gold! I didn't know that a story that short could be so filling, so gratifying. It felt like a full length novel, with enough character information to really see them in your mind's eye and enough...well...enough everything. Not a word was wasted.

Paisley Scott, remember that name, she's gonna be big!

Hex In High Heels by Linda Wisdom

Hex in High Heels is the 4th book from the Hex Series. It stars Blair Fitzpatrick, Stasi's best friend and roommate. We know Blair from Linda's previous books as having an in-your-face type attitude and an overall temperament similar to Jazz's.

At the end of the previous book, Wicked by Any Other Name, Blair finds out that Jake Harrison, the hot carpenter she has been crushing on, and the border collie that hangs around her residence, are one and the same. She knows Jake likes her just as much as she likes him, but he's resistant of her advances.

Not that that's gonna stop Blair.

In between trying to seduce Jake, Blair and Jake have to come together and protect the town and lake from the new residents, Jake's old pack. The pack of werewolves is led by Jake's brother, who wants to steal the land away from Blair and Stasi and wants to see Jake dead.

A lot of alpha energy pushing and shoving between Jake, his brother, their mother and Blair. But Blair is one powerful witch, with powerful witch friends, and she's one formidable opponent. She will do everything to save her town, and save the man she loves from his crazy family. Jake is part of her pack now, and her pack is a much better one to be in.

What a great story! So many things happen all at once. I love that. Between the pack drama there's foul smelling elves, and problems with Fluff and Puff (love those guys). Blair is a lot like Jazz, as I said before, but she's still a different character from Jazz. Overall it was a beautiful and well told tale, and all the characters (good and bad) really spoke to me.

Though I must admit the character I liked the most was Jake's ex fiance. A sexy werewolf named- you ready for this? -Jennifer Santiago.

That's me, you guys! I'm biased, I'll admit it. I won a fanfiction contest last year and Linda Wisdom put me in her book. I was most excited to see myself- and my name -in one of her books. I'm a big fan of this series, if you haven't noticed.

Anyway, for a dramatic and hilarious fun time, read Hex in High Heels. You will love it!

Can't wait till the next book!