Stranger - Anna Del Mar

                I’m not usually someone who is particularly interested in romance novels. I find them to often be silly and with repetitive story lines. I read the synopsis of Stranger and it sounded like it may actually have some substance to it, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m so glad I did because I couldn’t put it down. There’s romance but it’s not over the top romance, with a simpering female who needs to constantly be rescued by the heroic male. Instead, Summer, the main female character, is more than able to look after herself and proves it throughout the book. I’m not sure how believable her sleep walking problem is (she has a tendency to do whatever someone tells her to do while sleep walking, including anything sexual) but other than that I found her to be a likeable character. Seth has his own issues as well. He’s a former soldier, covered in burn scars as a result of a helicopter crash during combat that injured and killed fellow soldiers. He’s reclusive and has PTSD and it’s this vulnerability that I found so likeable about him. After all, what woman doesn’t want to know her man can and will fight for her no matter what? There are other characters that are well written too and I think this is probably one of this author’s strong points, her ability to write a variety of characters who are unique individuals and all are believable. I liked them all, whether to be rooting for them or hating them. The story is fast paced and yes, there is sex but it’s very well written and doesn’t overpower the book. Rarely do I want to read more books by a romance author but I will definitely read more written by Anna Del Mar.

A Girl and Her Cat - Denis W. Schulz

                I really need to pay attention to the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” and not choose the next book I read based on the fact that I’m a cat lover and there’s a really adorable one on the cover. The premise sounded good…a 1400 year old immortal heroine stuck in the body of a ten year old girl, a necromancer who is bringing back long dead historical assassins such as John Wilkes Booth, and best of all, a cat named Ingrate. So I was a little surprised when I opened the book and, after a short synopsis that explained the story so far, the book started with Chapter 179. I hadn’t realized this was a continuation of a previous book but often it isn’t necessary to have read prior books. Often a reader can pick up enough of the back story in the current book to follow the story as is written so far, although reading a whole series is much more fun in most cases. This does not pertain to A Girl and Her Cat. I can honestly say that I struggled to understand what was going on the whole way through. It’s written with a unique sense of humour that will most likely be of interest to certain readers but didn’t really entertain me. It is somewhat like the humour of Tim Dorsey or Carl Hiassen, only on steroids. The whole point of the story seems to be stopping the bad guys from putting fleas from the Prophet’s beard into the underpants of a senator. Yes, you read the right. Within the first few pages I was disturbed that a ten year old girl was referred to as being curvaceous. I realize there is a 1400 year old woman inside this little girl’s body but it still seemed very wrong. I know it wasn’t meant in any perverted way but all I could think was….ewwww.

 I enjoy odd humour and I think this author could write some fun and entertaining books if he just reined in the oddness a bit. There were so many characters that I kept getting confused who was whom and I started to forget who was the good guys and who was the bad. I would try reading a different book by Mr. Schulz but not in this series. As I stated above, I love the cover and it certainly did draw me in. The book formatted well to my ereader and the editing was well done.

Blood and Magic - George Barlow

                Blood and Magic is the first book in a new supernatural/fantasy series called the Ink Chronicles and for anyone who enjoys the work of Jim Butcher, this is sure to be a new favorite. I thoroughly enjoyed the book from start to finish and my only problem with it is the cliff-hangar at the end and the fact that now I’ll have to wait for the second book in the series. Blood and Magic tells two stories that at first may seem separate but are actually tied together. One story is told from a human point of view and one from someone who has just found out they are not totally human.

                Alex is a detective on the hunt for a serial killer who has been leaving victims with their throats slashed. The murderer never leaves any evidence or witnesses and there doesn’t seem to be any link between the victims. Henry is a socially awkward lab tech who one day finds himself seeing people’s reflections in a strangely odd way. Some of his colleagues may not be human if their reflections are telling the truth. Unbeknownst to Henry, he is actually an Inquisitor, someone who can see the mutations in people, among other magical skills. In order for Henry to stay alive he needs to learn how to use his new skills and magic and learn to rely on others who are trying to keep him alive.

                This is a fantastic world with a wonderful setting and characters that are lots of fun to read about. The author makes them jump off the page and become real. This would make an amazing movie or TV series. There are quite a few different characters but all are so well written and so unique that it is easy to follow them. I loved this book and am excited to have discovered such a fantastic author. I read the digital form of this book and it formatted to my ereader well. The editing was well done with only a few very minor mistakes. The cover really draws the eye and suits the genre well.