COPY CAT KILLING by Sofie Kelly

Publisher:   Signet

Date published:   May 1, 2012

ISBN:  978-0451236623

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Book format: Paperback

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

 

With another event in the making, small town librarian Kathleen Paulson is seriously taking up permanent residence in Mayville Heights. She’s still on the fence if she is going to stay after her initial contract runs, but she’s becoming more and more involved with and in the lives of its residents. With her good friends Roma, Maggie, Ruby and Rebecca life is pretty complete. Of course those well-meaning friends think she and police detective Marcus Gordon need to do something about their obvious—well obvious to everyone but the couple involved—attraction. With a seeming never ending rainfall causing flooding throughout the city Kathleen is right there with her friends shoring things up and moving things out of the art co-op’s basement. But there is a fly in the co-op’s ointment--Jaeger Merrill—is demanding more than the rest of the co-op can give. He is determined to find a sponsor to support the town’s artists, but the others aren’t so sure it’s the best idea. Before the rest of the co-op can take action on Jaeger’s demands he turns up dead and it’s Kathleen who finds the body.

Determined to stay out of the investigation, despite her kitties Hercules and Owen’s determination to be involved, Kathleen finds herself unsure what to do next. Out at Wisteria Hill to feed the ferals that live in the old Henderson homestead with Marcus she promises him she will stay out of it, that is, until, she stumbles on another body.

Is the second body related to Jaeger’s death or is it a cold case that needs to be put to rest? Can Kathleen find the guilty party…or parties…before he…or she…finds her?

I’m hooked on Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cat series and not just because of Owen and Hercules, although as a cat person they definitely add a whole other level of entertainment for me. In book 3, COPY CAT KILLING, Ms. Kelly has the variances in cats’ personalities down. She shows their individuality with Owen and Herc. She also takes readers into the world of feral cats and the issues they deal with. Alone, prey to other wild animals, injuries that can go untreated and subject to variances in weather. Through the veterinarian character, Roma, their story is told.

I like how not only is Kathleen changing and growing with each story, but how the secondary characters are developing as well. They have lives as full as Kathleen. And once again it’s nice that Kathleen and Marcus aren’t being rushed into a relationship. The focus is on the mystery and how Kathleen along with Owen and Herc, solve it.

Hercules plays a minor part in solving the crime with Owen taking the lead. There is mention of their magical abilities, however, those talents aren’t necessary to finding the murderer. The story could be told without those skills being included.

I also liked the reality of the Knitting Circle and kudos for that particular thread. Without giving much away, suffice to say they do more than knit.

I’m looking forward to book 4 and then it looks like a bit of a wait until book 5 is out. That’s the way it goes with a good series…at some point you have to wait and that makes the next book even better.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

CURSED by Cate Masters

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Date published: 24-Apr-13

ISBN: 978-1-61333-524-6

Paranormal, erotic romance

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=767&osCsid=lbc9fvcvktn3ccap6g4j1dnf45

Obtained via publisher

Rating: 3

Bruno diCesare can only take his place in the world for the ten days each year of Carnevale, when people are masked and costumed, so no one can see what he truly looks like. Melina Weaver is a scientist who learned to be a fire dancer to put some excitement in her ordinary life. She is finally taking a vacation and comes to Carnevale. Their attraction can only be short term. Soon they’ll both have to resume their ordinary lives.

Series: The Vitruvian Man book 1.

This book begins brilliantly. Bruno’s sections are first person, and Melina’s are in third. Bruno is tortured by his condition, knowing there’s no hope for him, but drawn by something stronger than himself to Melina and desperate to spend this brief time with her. The world building for his life is very good, with enough detail for the reader to see it quite clearly, yet not so much it slows down the fast pace of the story.

Melina’s life and job becomes clearer to the reader as the story progresses, especially once things start going wrong. She is an intelligent and strong woman, dealing well with the problems she encounters. The passion between them is hot and the secondary characters vivid enough to round out the story.

And then the book was totally ruined for me. Completely destroyed. Why oh why do authors insist on making the heroine do something incredibly stupid? We have a bright, brave, intelligent heroine doing very well at carving out a life, a career, a romance. Then of course she has to do something terribly dangerous all alone without telling anyone what she’s doing because she has to “protect” them. I read this plot line time and time again in book after book and it fills me with despair—or makes me want to throw my e-reader against the wall (or both). There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of ways to solve the plot without turning the heroine into a mindless caricature of a 1950s brainless helpless ditz of a heroine.

The ending was appropriate but I’d totally lost interest in the heroine by then. Nothing could redeem her for me.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Date published: 24-Apr-13

ISBN: 978-1-61333-524-6

Paranormal, erotic romance

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

Weblink: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=767&osCsid=lbc9fvcvktn3ccap6g4j1dnf45

Obtained via publisher

Rating: 3

Bruno diCesare can only take his place in the world for the ten days each year of Carnevale, when people are masked and costumed, so no one can see what he truly looks like. Melina Weaver is a scientist who learned to be a fire dancer to put some excitement in her ordinary life. She is finally taking a vacation and comes to Carnevale. Their attraction can only be short term. Soon they’ll both have to resume their ordinary lives.

Series: The Vitruvian Man book 1.

This book begins brilliantly. Bruno’s sections are first person, and Melina’s are in third. Bruno is tortured by his condition, knowing there’s no hope for him, but drawn by something stronger than himself to Melina and desperate to spend this brief time with her. The world building for his life is very good, with enough detail for the reader to see it quite clearly, yet not so much it slows down the fast pace of the story.

Melina’s life and job becomes clearer to the reader as the story progresses, especially once things start going wrong. She is an intelligent and strong woman, dealing well with the problems she encounters. The passion between them is hot and the secondary characters vivid enough to round out the story.

And then the book was totally ruined for me. Completely destroyed. Why oh why do authors insist on making the heroine do something incredibly stupid? We have a bright, brave, intelligent heroine doing very well at carving out a life, a career, a romance. Then of course she has to do something terribly dangerous all alone without telling anyone what she’s doing because she has to “protect” them. I read this plot line time and time again in book after book and it fills me with despair—or makes me want to throw my e-reader against the wall (or both). There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of ways to solve the plot without turning the heroine into a mindless caricature of a 1950s brainless helpless ditz of a heroine.

The ending was appropriate but I’d totally lost interest in the heroine by then. Nothing could redeem her for me.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

CHECK MATE by Rob Rosen

Publisher: Torquere Press

Date published: 5/1/13

ISBN: NA

Erotic MM, Contemporary

E-book

Reviewed by Helen

weblink: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=3873

Obtained via publisher

On a very hot day Dan’s car dies in the middle of nowhere. He strips off his clothes in an effort to cool down, and comes across Patrick. All Patrick wants is a game of chess. As his former chess club’s president, Dan agrees. But well, he was naked and…

This is a short, cute, little off-the-wall story, of a man driven slightly crazy by the heat, who meets a man who’s more than prepared to play along with him.

The language of the story is just a little different, and the two men are by no means your average hero, or even your non-average hero, but the craziness is all part of the charm of this story. Puns, clichés, and weird sayings, lead the men deeper and deeper into the game of chess, which in itself becomes the perfect analogy for what happens next.

In some ways this short story reminded me of Russian political allegories I read years ago. There’s the same other-worldly feel about it. Yet on another level it’s just a simple man meets man story. All of which is very clever indeed, and very likely only possible to achieve because of its short length.

If you like to think when you read, this is the perfect short story for you. It’ll stay in your mind all day revealing its deeper layer to you. On the other hand, you can just enjoy it and laugh at the weirdness that might happen in the extreme heat.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

THE SHINING CITY by Fiona Patton

Book Three of The Warriors of Estavia Series

DAW/Penguin

April 5^th, 2011

978-0-7564-0661-5

Fantasy

Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

In the City of the Gods, Anavantan, the gods walk among the people. Most pledge their fealty to just one of the gods. But several years have passed and now the grown children of a prophecy-seers Spar & Graize and warrior Brax, find themselves coming into their full power. But young god Hisar, the prophesied time of chaos and change is upon them…unless these three can figure out how to work together before it is too late. Enemies turn to friends, friends turn to enemies and an invasion force is on the Shining City’s horizon. Can these three find a way to do their part in the prophecy or will it lead to the destruction of The Shining City?

I have to admit, trying to follow this story was really hard for me as I didn’t read the first two books first. The story mentions events from the past two books that had me scratching my head, confused and having to put the book down more times than I can count. The world building is very well done and though there were parts that had me wondering if the author, who was just tossing in scenes that made no sense to the storyline, wanted to shock the reader in some way. The writing is lyrical at times and captured my attention at times where it flowed beautifully until I got thrown out of it by something in the story.

The characters were intriguing and the premise of the series was quite intriguing. The way the characters were introduced was interesting though there were a few I thought didn’t need to be in the story as it felt cluttered with too many people jockeying for a place in the spotlight. The author does an admirable job in creating something that interested me as a reader though I think I am going to read the first two books then read this one again to see if my view changes on THE SHINING CITY.

THE SHINING CITY is an interesting story that is better read in order just so you can make sense of it all. I really liked this author’s writing style and can’t wait to see what other books she has to offer a reader. If you are interested in trying a different type of fantasy story, then you might like THE SHINING CITY. Just remember to read it in order to get the full effect.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement