Cozy Mystery Review: Snow White Red-Handed by Maia Chance

Snow White Red-Handed

Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery Book 1

by Maia Chance

from the back cover copy: 

Miss Ophelia Flax is a Victorian actress who knows all about making quick changes and even quicker exits. But to solve a fairy-tale crime in the haunted Black Forest, she'll need more than a bit of charm...

1867: After quitting her latest variety hall engagement. Ophelia acts her way into a lady's maid position for a crass American millionaire. When her new job whisks her off to a foreboding castle straight out of a Grimm tale, she begins to wonder if her fast-talking ways might have been too hasty. The vast grounds contain the suspected remains of Snow White's cottage, along with a disturbing dwarf skeleton. And when her millionaire boss turns up dead - poisoned by an apple - the fantastic setting turns into a once upon a crime scene. 

To keep from rising to the top of the suspect list, Ophelia fights through a bramble of elegant lies, sinister folklore, and priceless treasure, with only a dashing but mysterious scholar as her ally. As the clock ticks towards midnight, she'll have to break a cunning killer's spell before her own time runs out...

my thoughts: 

Ophelia is intelligent and resourceful, and she's convinced that all of this fairy tale business is nonsense. Her fellow actress Prue, on the other hand, is much more open-minded about everything. 

I finished this book in one day, and then I immediately pre-ordered the second book. I love the fairy tale aspect of the series, and I'm really curious about how it will play out with the following books. Overall, I'm really excited for this series and I definitely recommend checking it out.

how I acquired this book:
I purchased a personal copy. 

Paranormal Romance Review: How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

Love at Stake Book 1

by Kerrelyn Sparks

from the back cover copy:

Nobody said love was perfect..

Roman Draganesti is charming, handsome, rich... he's also a vampire. But this vampire just lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn't have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lop-sided eater for all eternity. 

Things aren't going well for Shanna Whelan, either. After witnessing a gruesome murder, she's next on the mob's hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she's afraid of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she's found the one man who can keep her alive. Though the attraction between them in immediate and hot, can Shanna conquer her fear of blood to fix Roman's fang? And if she does, what will prevent Roman from using his fangs on her...?

my thoughts: 

 Ok, so I know this book is ten years old, but I only just read it. When it first released, I remember thinking the plot just seemed too far out there for me, so initially, I ignored it. Over the years, more books in the Love at Stake series came out and I started hearing more and more good things about Kerrelyn Sparks. Finally, after all this time, I decided to give these books a shot. I am so glad that I did! Kerrelyn Sparks is hilarious. Is the idea of a vampire needing a dentist to fix his broken fang still a bit ridiculous? Well, yeah, but it's the best kind of ridiculous. I love the characters and the world that Sparks has created, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Shanna shakes things up in the vampire world and I'm excited to see that play out in the following books. If you like vampires or humorous Romance novels, you need to check out Kerrelyn Sparks and her Love at Stake books. 

how I acquired this book: 
I bought a copy. 

Cozy Mystery Review: Caught Dead Handed by Carol J. Perry

Caught Dead Handed

Witch City Mystery Book 1

 by Carol J. Perry

from the author's site: 

Most folks associate the city of Salem, Massachusetts with witches, but for Lee Barrett, it’s home.  This October she’s returned to her hometown-where her beloved Aunt Ibby still lives-to interview for a job as a reporter at WICH-TV.  But the only opening is for a call-in psychic to host the late night horror movies.  It seems the previous host, Ariel Constellation, never saw her own murder coming. 

Lee reluctantly takes the job, but when she starts seeing real events in the obsidian ball she’s using as a prop, she wonders if she might really have psychic abilities.  To make things even spookier, it’s starting to look like Ariel may have been an actual practicing witch-especially when O’Ryan, the cat Lee and Aunt Ibby inherited from her, exhibits some strange powers of his own.  With Halloween fast approaching, Lee must focus on unmasking a killer-or her career as a psychic may be very short lived. . .

my thoughts:

Wow, just wow. It's been a while since a book held my attention the way this one did. Don't get me wrong, I read many enjoyable books, but most of them don't keep me up until after 1am because I refuse to put them down and go to sleep. Caught Dead Handed can appear a little intimidating at first because it's a hefty read, but trust me, you'll be flying through the pages. Even after I figured out "whodunnit" I had to keep reading to see if I was right. Perry kept me intrigued and second-guessing myself, so I just had to know. The tone is darker than most cozy mysteries that I read, but it fit the story. 

I love the characters, even though I found myself suspecting many of them of murder. Lee is a great character and I look forward to seeing more of her. Aunt Ibby is fun, and I always love a librarian character. The secondary characters are interesting and engaging and I look forward to seeing them in future books. 

I was only a few chapters in when I pre-ordered my copy of book 2. I don't know how I'll wait until April. If you're interested in ordering either book, just click the cover pictures. 

how I acquired this book: I borrowed a copy from my local library.

Read-a-thon Update: The Ties That Bind by Kate Pearce

Grad school can make consistent blogging difficult, but here I am again today, back at it. On Wednesday, I finished another ebook novella. This one was The Ties That Bind by Kate Pearce.

The Ties That Bind 

by Kate Pearce

from the author's website: 

When Lady Arabella’s errant husband returns after a two-year absence that began just after the consummation of their marriage, she’s still furious with him. Will past hurts finally be explained, and will Lord James be shocked to discover that Arabella has made the best of the situation with the help of his best friend, Tom? Or will Lord James turn the tables, reveal all, and win their sexual game for an unconventional happy ever after?

Please note. This book contains m/f/m sexual interaction and mild infidelity.

my thoughts:

Ok, so I admit, I don't think I realized that this was a menage story when I downloaded it. If I had, I probably would have overlooked it, because generally speaking I just don't care for menage plot lines. However, I DO like Kate Pearce which is why I went for this one. For such a short read (about 44 pages), I really enjoyed it. It was seriously HOT, which is another reason I got this one, because even though multiple partner stories aren't my thing, I do love my romances to be hot, erotic, and explicit. (Yeah, ok, I'll read the sweet stuff too, but sometimes those just aren't as fun.) The Ties That Bind was a nice, quick read that I was able to finish just before bed. Pearce was able to pack a fair amount of backstory into a short space which is helpful since the shorter format doesn't allow for much character development. I was introduced to Kate Pearce through her Tudor Vampire books, and I will definitely keep coming back for more of her books. 

I recommend this novella to anyone who likes their romances hot and erotic. 

Read-a-thon updates: 

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris: page 219 of 416

Angel Slayer by Michele Hauf: page 144 of 279

Zombie Moon by Lori Devoti: page 66 of 283

I really need to get at least one of these books finished soon considering how many books I just picked up from the library. lol At this rate my TBR isn't going to go down during this challenge, it's just going to keep increasing. 

Read-a-Thon Update: The World of Tomorrow is Sadly Outdated by Leanna Renee Hieber

Today I finished reading Leanna Renee Hieber's novella The World of Tomorrow is Sadly Outdated. I'm a huge fan of Leanna's work. This novella was a little different than what I've read from her before, but still equally compelling.

The World of Tomorrow is Sadly Outdated

 by Leanna Renee Hieber

From the author's website: 

New York City: The Year is 1889.

New York City: The year is 2089.

In 1889 a group of bold pseudo-scientists discover the "temporal current" and begin to view the distant futures that await the Empire City. In the future, all life as we know it has crumbled, leaving New York City a ghost town with a populous scrabbling to survive underground. In the past it's up to an unlikely group of Victorian heroines and heroes to preserve something of their world to save their future generations. In the future it's up to an unlikely group of future survivors to take a leap of faith; discovering what their ancestors left for them with no more guarantees than love and hope.

my thoughts:

I love the way the stories are told, the way they are separate, but connected. Since this is a novella it's a quick and enjoyable read. I highly recommend anything by Leanna Renee Hieber. 

Read-a-thon updates: 

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris: page 97

Angel Slayer by Michele Hauf: page 57

Hello Again

Well, Tumblr didn't really work out for me. I still have it, but I haven't really used it. I'm going to return to posting updates here sporadically. As before I will simply post reviews for whatever catches my fancy, from any and all genres (with the exception of YA because I have a separate blog dedicated to that genre). All reviews posted here are honest reviews, but they are also all positive reviews. If I don't like a book, I don't review it.

Now on to part of the reason that I'm posting this. I have stumbled upon a TBR Read-a-thon over at the Wishful Endings blog that I intend to participate in. It sounds like a good way to keep me motivated and read through my books. The Read-a-thon goes from September 8th to the 21st. During that time I'm going to try to read through at least 10 books, if not 15.

If you're interested in doing the challenge with Wishful Endings, you can check it out here

Tumblr

Hey all! For the foreseeable future I will be posting book reviews on Tumblr. I may return to this blog at a later time, but I'm streamlining both of my blogs for now to make my life easier. You can find my reviews at bookmaedin.tumblr.com

Thanks for reading!