Blood and Magic

                Mix together some romance, lots of magic, a fair amount of adventure and, let’s not forget, a healthy helping of sex and you have the recipe for the book Blood and Magic. It’s a fast paced read with an enticing storyline and excellent characters. Luke is an enforcer for the Coven and is tasked with finding witches that have turned dark. Abigail is a powerful witch who is supposed to take the child she is looking after to her parents who just happen to be important people in the Coven. The only problem is that her job is not all it seems and dark magic brings Luke and Abigail together. As they fight for their lives and those of others, their romance ignites and sparks fly.

                This is the first book I’ve ever read by this author but after reading it I know it won’t be the last. It has a bit of everything in it to keep the reader entertained, including some pretty explicit sex scenes. There’s plenty of magic, lots of action and likeable characters. It’s perfect for an afternoon at the beach. The cover is romantic and fits the genre of the book perfectly and the editing and formatting worked perfectly on my ereader. This was such an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to read other books by Ms. Gimpel.

Baseball Dads

                I can’t say that I was really excited when I picked out this book to read. Based solely on the cover, I assumed it was only about baseball, a sport that I find about as entertaining as watching grass grow. However, I was in for a wonderful surprise from pretty much the first page. This story follows a group of friends who all have kids playing in Little League baseball and agree on how much they despise the coach. They decide to take matters into their own hands and when that works, why not take care of some other nuisances as well? This has to be one of the bloodiest books I have ever laughed so hard at and, believe me, it is brutally violent by places. This is a dark, dark comedy but I found it so compelling that I pictured the actors I would cast in the movie version which I hope happens at some point. It’s not your typical beach read if you want something light and fluffy but I took it with me to the beach and ended up reading parts to my husband because I was laughing so much out loud. The author basically wrote a book about the things we all really think at one point or another but won’t admit to….except maybe the raccoon part and probably everything that Russ does or says. This book is great and I’m so glad I picked it up. The editing and formatting worked well on my ereader. The cover, as I said at the beginning, didn’t catch my eye and made me think it was all about baseball. It was only on closer inspection that I saw the blood dripping off the bat and I figured it was twisted enough for me. Superb!!

The Bed

                The Bed is a delightful play written by Nikos Vlachos that follows the span of a marriage between a struggling artist and his trust-fund wife. Each act represents a different snapshot of their marriage with the one constant being the marriage bed that the husband had given his wife on their wedding night. Every scene is centered around the bed as the audience (or in my case, the reader) watches these two people fight to keep a marriage that neither are really sure should have ever happened in the first place. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Bed even though it is actually a play. It was very easy to picture it being performed because the characters are so well written and the conversations realistic. The author provides an appendix with suggestions of how various acts would be performed, a list of props and, most of all, a picture of the bed. The format is that of a play but still worked fine on my ereader as does the editing. The cover suits the play with its picture of a man and woman in silhouette. This is a great read and I’d love to see the play being performed.