Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series)

A fighter by nature, a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of the Chosen female, Payne is cut from the same warrior cloth as her brother. And that's before human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello gets sucked into her dangerous world. Although he's never believed in things that go bump in the night-like vampires-he's more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks him as her own. But as the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human an the vampire worlds collide... just as a centuries-old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

WOW! I amazed with the way this book turned out... I was kinda holding my breath till the last minute. I really had been fearing the worst (and by worst, I mean thrilling, nail-biting suspense!), you tend to do that if you've read some of the other books in the BDB series, so I was happy to read such a amazing ending or "ending's" if you will. Although having said that... I now can't wait for Torh's book to come out! Hurry March! I need to know what happens next! Bravo J.R. Ward... your books keep me enthralled!

Catching Fire

Sparks are Igniting. Flames are Spreading. And the Capitol wants Revenge!

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her long time friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol-a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Oooooh so good! If you think the first one is great... wait till you read Catching Fire! The epic saga continues with Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Gale, Prim and all our friends from District 12 as well as our allies in the Capitol. This time, the tables have turned with the games! It's year of the Quarter Quell and that means the stakes have been raised even higher... along with all the lives of the ones we love! Read it!-- It's truly amazing! Ohhh and a word to the wise... be prepared to have Mockingjay (the last book) on hand... you will thank me when you get to the end of Catching Fire!

The Hunger Games

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

And just like that... I am hooked! I think its pretty much safe to say, I am going to love this series! Katniss is amazing! I can't wait to see what happens next! I seriously loved everything about this book! I don't want to reveal too much, but it IS such a great book, that you should not walk to the book store but run, in fact... ya know what... running is too slow... get a teleporter to the book store and get this book today! You won't be disappointed! It has has a bit of everything; adventure, danger, thrills, romance, friendship and humanity. Oh and may the record show... my heart beats for the boy with the bread. READ the book... and you'll know what I mean ;)

Cookie Dough or Die (A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery)

Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House, a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie, and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But now they must take a break from baking and turn their attention to re-creating a recipe for murder...

No one is more shocked than Olivia when prominent business owner Clarisse Chamberlain is found dead. It was Clarisse who encouraged Olivia to open The Gingerbread House and she was one of her best customers. The sheriff is ready to call the case an accident, but Olivia's convinced there's a murder to solve.

Then word spreads that Clarisse left Olivia a large sum of money, along with a collection of valuable antique cookie cutters. Suddenly, Olivia is the prime suspect, and when the local postman falls ill after sampling one of their cookies, all eyes are on The Gingerbread House. If the cookie-loving duo doesn't find the real killer, their reputation and quite possibly their lives will be battered for good.

I really hate to give a bad review... that's why I'm not... I just really think it was me this time and not the book. I just couldn't get into the plot and the characters. I will have to pick it up and re-read it at a later date... so... this is more like a "book break-up" ;)

Dear Cookie Dough or Die,

I sincerely regret to inform you, that I am finished reading you (for now). It is just not working out between us and to be truthful... I'm just not that in to you. Fortunately it is not your fault... this time it's all me. Don't worry... I'm sure I will pick you up again and re-read you at some point.

Sincerely,

Jess ;)

Hickory Smoked Homicide (A Memphis BBQ Mystery)

Welcome to Aunt Pat's barbeque restaurant-family run and located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Named in honor of Lulu Taylor's great aunt, the restaurant on Beale Street dishes out the best that barbeque has to offer. But sometimes even the best food can bring out the worst in people...

Since she runs the hottest barbeque joint in town, Lulu Taylor knows pretty much everyone in Memphis who loves their ribs sweet and their corn bread spicy. But one person she'd rather not know is Tristan Pembroke, a snooty pageant coach with a mean streak longer than a line outside Aunt Pat's. When she finds Tristan's dead body stuffed in a closet at a party, the police are suspicious-especially since Lulu's developed a taste for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught in a situation stickier than molasses, Lulu must clear her name, or risk getting fried!

With every book I read, I like this series more and more. This one really had me guessing till the end. There were so many good character's who could have "done it", and every time I thought I had someone pegged... there popped up another clue to make me wanna second guess someone else! Great thrilling and suspenseful ending as well. This is the third book in the Memphis BBQ Mystery Series by Riley Adams and I am growing to love the friends and family that gather around ole Aunt Pat's, I hope Riley Adams continues to write this series because now I am definitely hooked! :)

Who Do, Voodoo? (A Mind for Murder Mystery)

When Liz Cooper's friend Robin Bloom finds an unusual tarot card tacked to her front door, Liz writes it off as a prank. Robin refuses to ignore the omen her late husband drew the same card, the Three of Swords, in a reading the night before he was killed in car accident. As more cards and darker threats appear, Liz realizes someone very dangerous is upping the ante...

Liz turns to her brother's ex college roommate, occult expert Nick Garfield. As Nick leads her into the voodoo community to locate the origin of the deck, she can't ignore their attraction to each other. Then, a woman is found murdered and Robin becomes the prime suspect. Determined to clear her friend, Liz teams with Nick to unravel otherworldly secrets and seek help from beyond or risk being outwitted by a cunning killer...

Really awesome cozy mystery! And great for a first in a series! The book had me really guessing who the killer might be all the way till the end! I love the all the characters in the book and the witty charm of Dr. Liz Cooper! I also can't wait to see what the tarot cards hold in store for her and, one smoldering hot professor! All in all I am very intrigued by this series and I can't wait to see what Rochelle Staab will cook up next for us in her mysterious realm of magik!

Tempest in the Tea Leaves (A Fortune Teller Mystery)

Tempest in the Tea Leaves: A Fortune Teller Mystery

In the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal-and her predictions can be lethally accurate... Leaving the Big Apple for a quaint town of Divinity, New York, Sunny is determined to make it on her own as a psychic. With an ancient Victorian house as her place of business, Sunny uses various psychic methods to aid the town's residents. But when she uses tea leaves to give a reading for a frazzled librarian, what she finds at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful. Sunny informs the police of her deadly vision, but her warning is too late. And with hard-nose, ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone denying her abilities and naming her prime suspect, the situation is dire. Now Sunny has to use her visions to clear her name, before the killer can put an end to the psychic's future...

Not too bad for a "First in a new series"... It wasn't one of my favorites but it was by far the most quirkiest mysteries I've read! I like the characters in the sweet little town of Divinity. I LOVE the chemistry between Sunny & Detective Stone, and I'm very interested in where that relationship might lead. Sunny can be a bit impulsive, eccentric and bit neurotic... but she does have spunk, pizazz and a genuinely good heart. The only part I didn't like was toward the end... I felt sort of like I was being led on a wild goose chase, when trying to figure out the killer. I sort of had my superstitions who the killer was about half way into the book but still wanted to get to the bottom of it for sure. It did keep my interest most of the time but, would I read it again? Probably not... Ironically I'll probably be reading the library's copy of the next book in the series.