Finally unpacked from RWA and I’m not sure why it takes me longer to unpack then to pack.  I guess it’s because I’m leaving again next week for San Diego Comic Con, so some things will come out of the suitcase (dress shoes, sparkly jacket) and new stuff goes in (tennies, t-shirts).  And the basics will just stay where they are.  But, while I’ve been gone, the WW Ladies have been busy reading.

Heidi

Playing for Keeps by LuAnn McLane

Read by Heidi

Noah Falcon may think he’s returning to Cricket Creek, Kentucky with his tail between his legs, but the town is excited to have their hometown celebrity back home! Now Noah is taking the lead in the community play opposite Olivia Lawson. Olivia likes to have her life in order, and a prim and proper attitude. With Noah’s return, her world has been turned upside down and she isn’t sure whether she really likes it topsy turvy or not.

I felt like I was living in a romantic fairy tale movie while reading this first book in the Cricket Creek Series. You have all the ingredients for a perfect dish: romance, spice, turmoil, misunderstanding, and a perfect ending. Ah, what a way to kick off some summer reading.

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joysann

Quicksilver by Amanda Quick

Brilliance Audio

Listened to by joysann

Though it looks like natural causes, glass light readers are being murdered, which puts the strongly Talented Virginia Dean in real danger. Owen Sweetwater is investigating these murders with the use of his paranormal powers, and finds himself quite keen to keep an eye on Miss Dean as he recognizes that the two compliment each other, both with their magics and with the passion that flares between them. But a mysterious killer has targeted Virginia, and Owen uses all the resources of his family and heritage to keep her safe.

Quicksilver is the newest of the Arcane Society novels, with their timelines of past, present and future. This one is historical, taking place in Victorian London, and narrator Anne Flosnik enchants with her rich, aristocratic sounding voice, giving a sense of the culture and bringing color to the characters. I found listening to Quicksilver a pleasure, with its perfect blend of magic, mystery, suspense, and passionate romance.

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Kym L

Making Waves By Tawna Fenske

Read by Kym L.

Due to a phenomenally high I.Q. and short attention span, Juli has always found it difficult to fit in. Now her most recent job has ended with an offer of three weeks severance pay and a membership to the Scone of the Month Club. No matter. This will give Juli the opportunity to fulfill her Uncle’s dying wish that his ashes be scattered at sea. Unfortunately for her, a bad reaction to seasickness medication results in Juli becoming an accidental stowaway on Alex’s modern day pirate ship. But, Alex and his friends aren’t your average seafaring bandits. They’ve taken to the high seas to wreak vengeance on a crooked boss who left them high and dry and sans pension funds. Will the group become a real crew? Or will Juli be once more set adrift?

When I received the advance copy of Making Waves, I was thrilled. Though I enjoy other kinds of romance, contemporaries have always been my favorite, especially those that sparkle with humor. Fenske’s book fits the bill, and to find not only a new book, but also a new author was a real treat.

Ashley

The Queen’s Gamble by Barbara Kyle

Read by Ashley

This Thornleigh adventure takes place during Queen Elizabeth’s first major crisis.  Isabel and her Spanish husband Carlos, return from the New World, to help the Thornleigh family and before they know it they are swept up in crisis in England. French troops have landed in Scotland and are now threatening England. Carlos and Isabel soon discover that they are forced to be on opposing sides in the war, and realize that if they make it out of the war alive, their marriage might not survive.

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The Queen’s Gamble is a fast- paced and action- packed adventure that expertly blends fiction with history. It is a pulsating story of valor and greed, love and passion, and the tremendous cost of loyalty. This book kept me on the edge of seat for the entire novel.

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Shelby

Siren’s Call by Devyn Quinn

Read by Shelby
Tessa Lonike lives a life of solitude, hiding her secret on her family’s island while her two sisters live on the mainland, but one night when she witnesses a man, Kenneth Randall, go under the water during a storm and not come up, she jumps in to save him, using her mermaid tail and mermaid kiss to keep him alive. Later, he comes back into her life to somehow try to repay her.  Just as their romance blossoms,Tessa’s archaeologist ex-boyfriend Jack shows up, claiming  he has found proof of the family secret Tessa and her family have kept hidden for so long. Following Jake to the site of the dig in the middle of the ocean, Together they travel to battle the evil merqueen.

I love this book, with its mingling of fantasy and real life, never too sure who is good and who is evil. You think you know the characters but people in the story are always changing as are the situations and it’s a tangled web of action, hope, despair, mystery and romance. Overall a very enthralling novel that made me definitely want to keep reading!

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joysann

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Blackstone Audio

Listened to by joysann

The world has fallen apart, and, as a zombie, R can’t remember anything before, even any more of his name, though sometimes there are pieces of memory, usually after a dinner of human brain. After an unusually vigorous meal makes him aware of Julie, he rescues the young woman from certain consumption, and his association with her brings life and color into his dead world. R finds himself becoming more aware as their mystifying relationship becomes friendship, and he begins to conceive that a future might be possible.

I was surprised by how intrigued I was by this story, told in first person by the zombie. I started with misgivings about its unusual premise, but was quickly drawn in by the compelling, artful writing and the magic of narrator Kevin Kenerly’s beautiful voice. I’m sure it would be as fascinating in print, for Warm Bodies is a blend of horror and love story, a gruesome darkness redeemed by wonder, humor and hope.

Bottom Line: “‘Tis the good reader that makes the good book…” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson