Cotton candy for the brain

One of my book clubs selected mail-order brides as June’s reading topic. Typically mail-order bride stories are set in the historical West, which I don't really enjoy reading. I did a little Goodreads research though, and found a paranormal mail-order bride novella with a contemporary setting: Loving the Lion by Lola Kidd.

After too many bad dates and heartbreak 28-year-old Erin is done with dating. Too bad she still wants a family. So when Erin meets Olivia, the owner of Lovely and Kind Brides, a marriage broker for shifters, she’s intrigued. Can she have her cake and eat it, too?

There wasn’t much to the plot of LtL, but it was a quick, enjoyable read. Billed as a standalone novella (“No cliffhanger!”), it’s an introduction to the series. However, with no real meat to the plot, and with so many things glossed over, it felt…empty. Pleasant, but not satisfying. Kinda like cotton candy…

Kidd, Lola. Loving the Lion (Mail-Order Mates Book 1). Amazon Digital Services, 2015. 3 stars.

Mainlining Molly Harper: Finding Half Moon Hollow

In February I found myself at Coastal Magic, a convention for readers and writers of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. My friend Grace suggested we attend, and we were lucky enough to score lunch tickets with one of our favorite authors, Molly Harper. Harper won my heart with her first Jane Jameson book, and I read that series through book four. But inevitably I slipped and lost track of release dates as other books grabbed my attention. By the time I registered for Coastal Magic I was behind not only on Jane Jameson but on two other series, Half Moon Hollow and Naked Werewolf. 

It seemed at the time too confusing to try and pick up the last Jane Jameson novel after so much time had passed. Instead, as preparation for the convention, I snagged a copy of The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires, the first of the Half Moon Hollow books. As I read, and laughed, I remembered why I loved Harper’s books so much. I read that novel in two days and moved on to book 1.5, Driving Mr. Dead. I finished that one right before Coastal Magic. Grace and I read book two, A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses, on audio on the way to and from Daytona Beach  - a ten-hour drive one-way. Undead Sublet, a novella, came next, and when I finished it I felt a bit lost. The next Half Moon Hollow wasn’t due to be published until the end of March! So I moved on to the Naked Werewolf series. As I type this I’m about halfway through with the first audiobook, How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf. If you’re keeping track that’s two and a half novels and two novellas - all of which I read in approximately eight days.

So what’s so addicting about Molly Harper’s novels? They have a distinctive wit and humor that just resonates with me. The basic plot points could be contemporary romance, but Harper has punched them up with shifters and vampires, which create unique scenarios. Her quirky characters are so real I feel like they might be neighbors…or at least I wish they were. And overall her writing style just pulls me in and I don’t want to stop reading. 

Do yourself a favor and pick up a Molly Harper novel the next time you’re at your local library or bookstore. I recommend starting with Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs, the first Jane Jameson novel (but you if you're less OCD than me you could pick up any of them and jump into the middle of the series instead).  

"Beware of beasts...and boys with bite."

Cynthia Eden is a prolific author of adult suspense and paranormal romances. By prolific I mean she’s written over fifty novels. By adult I mean “YOWZA!” But as I was scanning her book list something jumped out at me: She’d written a young adult novel. 

Its not uncommon these days to find established authors trying to break into the teen market, with varying degrees of success. This one, The Better to Bite, appeared to be self published and was only available digitally. The price was right, so I bought it and dove into the story.

Anna Lambert has moved to Haven with her dad, who grew up there and has returned to take a job as Sheriff. He’s promised Anna a quieter life than the one they're leaving in Chicago. Instead they uncover a series of mysterious disappearances. But nothing stays lost to Anna, who has a freakish power that draws her to anything, or anyone, who’s missing. What she discovers is Haven’s secret. A curse passed down from generation to generation - originating with her ancestors. 

The Better to Bite started off a little rocky, but soon found it’s stride. The characters were interesting, and I enjoyed the twists and turns Eden peppered throughout the plot to keep the reader guessing. Anna's power is unique and I enjoyed the way it slowly developed, giving hints and building up the tension. Add in a love triangle, some fur, claws and fangs, and a few frantic chases through dark woods...and you've got yourself a very readable book.

If you’re looking for a novel with mystery, romance, bad boys and werewolves, look no further. My only complaint is that there doesn’t seem to be a sequel…yet.

Eden, Cynthia. The Better to Bite. Digital: Curtis Brown Digitals, 2012. 4 Stars.

(Available online from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.)

Unexpected pleasure

The waters of Alabama hold secrets. Some are magical and ancient, beautiful and deadly. Others are simply dead.

Shelly Connors moved to the Alabama bayou community to live with her cousins, Jet and Lily, after the death of her parents. As a half-mermaid, she needed the connection to her own kind...and to the waters of the Gulf. By day she works as a water therapist and at night she transforms and swims in the waters near the family home. Life is peaceful and easy. Until the night something wrapped in plastic is dumped in the water near Shelly as she is out swimming.

Shelly can feel the wrongness of the large, oblong, plastic-wrapped object even before she slices it open to see what’s inside, but the shock of seeing the young woman’s face, eyes gouged out, is almost more than she can bear. Shelly surfaces and comes face-to-face with the man who dumped the victim – and becomes a target herself. Now Shelly must protect herself, and her cousins, from the very real threat of retribution from a serial killer. A serial killer who knows their secret.

This debut novel from Alabama author Debbie Herbert is not what I expected. With Harlequin Nocturne as the publisher, I thought Siren’s Secret would be…fluffy. Instead the novel is a well-plotted, intriguing, thriller with a believable romance and a leaning toward the paranormal.  It was still a quick read, but mostly because I didn’t want to put it down. I would recommend this genre-crossing novel to fans of romantic suspense and paranormal fans who are looking for something different.