I’m getting ready to leave Monday for the RT Booklovers Convention in Los Angeles. Trying to save money for the trip, I opted to not pay $100+ to get my hair colored (I decided gray is not in my color palate). Instead, I asked my sister to dye it for me. She did it the first time for me over 40 years ago and you think we would have learned our lesson, but no. Now, apparently, orange is the color to work my wardrobe around.
Michelle
Phantom Evil by Heather Graham
Read by Michelle
Regina Halloway, wife of Senator David Halloway throws herself off the balcony of their house on Dauphine in the French Quarter. Senator Halloway belives their home is haunted and that due to her intense grief over the death of their son she couldn’t deal with her loss. Jackson Crow is called in to lead a team of Paranormal Investigators, to answer the question whether or not the house is really haunted. Angela Hawkins is being directed by two ghosts who were victims of the serial killer Madden C. Newton who went on a killing spree during the Civil War. The ghosts are trying to communicate to Angela about the evil lurking in the real and spiritual realm.
Heather Graham does a great job with character building and setting her scenes. Having been to New Orleans I was able to picture in my mind’s eye what the characters were seeing. At times I sat with chills and goosebumps awaiting the next plot turn. The images she paints came alive in my imagination. A great read and highly recommended.
Kym
Guarding a Notorious Lady by Olivia Parker 
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Read by Kym
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Rosalind doesn’t think she needs a guardian. Her brother, Gabriel, disagrees. After all, he’s leaving town for three months, and men are already betting that they’ll be able to win his sister’s hand during his absence. To Rosalind’s dismay, it turns out Gabriel has chosen Nicholas — the only man she’s ever loved — for the job. This sets the stage for Parker’s amusing romp of a Regency. Because though Rosalind will only settle for a man who loves her with all his heart, Nicholas is determined not to fall in love.
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I always look forward to “Olivia’s” books, partly because I know her, but mainly because they’re always a fun read. Entertaining and amusing, with feisty heroines and dashing heroes, they provide an escape from everyday reality. “Guarding a Notorious Lady” fits perfectly into this category, and I hope others will take the opportunity to enjoy it.
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joysann
Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens
E-book read by joysann
Delia Forrest’s business as a conservator is successful because she has a special talent for restoring stone sculptures to perfect condition. It’s also a secret one. When she has to sell her grand family home and all its treasures to Grant Wolverton, her art dealer father’s young competitor, she grieves at losing all her friends. Delia and Grant end up working together, however, when someone uses murder and destruction in an effort to secure both the ancient property and the man who now owns it.
I’m already waiting for Keri Steven’s next book, because the magic of this one charmed me with both her artful writing and the beguiling characters she created, and she must have more in store for us. Exciting, entrancing, and wonderfully romantic, Stone Kissed was one book I’ll be rereading soon. If you haven’t gotten to this delightful and inventive story yet, you really must.
Linda
Delicious by Susan Mallery
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Listened to by Linda
The story focuses on the Buchanan family and the Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront. Cal Buchanan agrees to return to the family business to manage The Waterfront and bring it back to it’s former “Delicious” status in Seattle. In order to accomplish this he has to hire the best chef in town which turns out to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson. From the beginning there are sparks between the two of them and lots of interference form Cal’s grandmother.
I was completely entertained by this book. The characters were interesting and the narrative believable. The plot is well developed and intriguing. I especially like any book centered around a cooking theme. Therese Plummer did an excellent job reading.
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Michelle
Alien Tango by Gini Koch
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Read by Stacey
Meeting Martini’s parents, dealing with a Representative who has it in for the A-C’s, and debating whether or not she wants to attend her high school reunion isn’t a walk in the park for Katherine ‘Kitty’ Katt. Nope. Especially when you combine it with deadly attacks against the members of Alpha team, stalkers and the reappearance of a high school boyfriend. All she hopes is that she’ll get out of it all alive, with her relationship with Martini in tact.
This book is funny, fast paced and yet at the same time, raises interesting questions about dealing with prejudice, religion and refugees. Kitty is an amazing narrator and her perspective on the situations she must deal with in this book…from assassination attempts to her high school reunion and her former classmates, as well as the reality of finally meeting Martini’s parents, gives readers insight into the events that have forged her personality.
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joysann
Mercy Kill by Lori Armstrong
Listened to by joysann
Though nightmares of black ops in the middle east plague her, retired Army sniper Mercy Gunderson decides to run for sheriff when it appears the current one isn’t doing his job investigating the murder of one of her former operatives. Since a major oil conglomerate had hired her friend to promote an unpopular push for a pipeline, it seems the search for his killer is also unpopular. Mercy’s investigation leads her into dangerous territory that threatens her both her political aspirations, and more gravely, her life.
Gritty, tough and competent, it’s as Mercy’s vulnerabilities and hesitant dreams are revealed that she becomes seriously admirable and sympathetic. I like her all the more for the complicated humanity of her character, and Lori Armstrong again proves herself as a talented writer with this second engrossing mystery in Mercy’s South Dakota. As an audiobook, Mercy Kills is compelling, and narrator Jennifer Van Dyck portrays the heroine as tough a woman as she is.
Bottom Line: Spending the day shopping for hats.
