Fall is starting to make it's presence known, while i love this time of year and it is one of my favorites.  I greatly miss the days when I can lay out and enjoy a book book, good drink and the beautiful weather.  Hopefully there will be a nice day soon that I can sit out in the cool crisp air and read a lovely book.

Record of the Fallen Vampire

This was an interesting manga series to say the least.  I had picked it up because the art work looked interesting and the idea of a vampire king looking for his queen seemed interesting to me.  What I got was something a little different.  What I got included half-vampires, an alien invasion and a vampire queen bent on revenge.  There seems to be a lot of stuff going on in this manga series.  A lot of weird things mixed together.  There were things that didn't make sense with the storyline, I don't think they needed the alien invasion part, but the author made it work with the storyline. 

I have always loved the art of different manga series' and this one is no different.  I love the art work of Fallen Vampire and fell in love with it from the first volume I read.  With 9 volumes, it doesn't seem like there is enough time for the author to appropriately tell the story.  There were times when things seemed to happen too quickly and other times when it seemed like nothing was happening.  Although the storyline felt flawed, I still fell in love with the story!  I was surprised at how much I simply loved this series I mean vampires fighting aliens, how bizarre is that?  But it still draws you in, maybe it is the artwork that sucks readers into the story like a succubus.

Overall it was an interesting idea, how well it would have been executed in a traditional novel, I am not sure.  I don't think it would have been as entertaining to read.  I would give this series a 3 out of 5 rating because it was captivating at times and you couldn't help loving the vampire king.

Scary Tales of Scariness by Chris Pisano and Brian Koscienski

Chris and Brian such interesting characters.  This year at Confluence I got to spend another day with them (I spent a day with them last year as well) and the shenanigans these to come up with...  I also go the chance to hear them do a reading or two from some of their books and there is nothing like hearing these stories come to life through these two.  This book contains a collection of short stories featuring Chris and Brian as well as Jeff  Young as they interact with the creatures that are supposed to be scary like vampires, spiders and the Devil.  But true to their nature, it ends up being funny rather than scary.

These two authors have a unique ability to bring humor to their writing regardless of the genre they are writing in.  Their character personas are true to their real life personas.  The speech patterns and actions are reflective of who they truly are.  It's fun seeing these characters come to life in different stories.  And knowing them personally adds a different dimension to the stories as well.  If you get the chance to meet them at a convention do so, they are a hilarious duo.  You can almost picture these two nuts interacting with things like the crocogator.  Just complete randomness and humor.

It was nice to take a break from series books and read something that would lighten the mood and bring humor into the day.  There are three or four more books in the Drunken Comic Book Monkey series and I do look forward to picking them up as well.  You never know what you are going to get when reading these two authors, or when you spend time with them!  If you enjoy books filled with humor and randomness then I highly suggest this book to you.  I give it a 4 out of 5 rating.  Love these guys.

The Mystery Box by Eva Pohler

Yvette comes home to a box sitting on the stoop, having been delivered by UPS.  When she opened the box she discovers baby clothing and a card addresses to a woman named Mona and a different address.  When she calls UPS the inform her that there was no mistake, that the box was to be delivered to her.  She decides to take the book to Mona, and discovers she is the neighbor who has been giving her a lot of troubles.  Mona tells Yvette that she has a story she needs to tell her and spend the next several days asking Yvette to come over in the afternoon to listen to her sordid tale of love, abuse, and kidnapping.  Throughout these visits Yvette believes someone else is in the house despite Mona claiming the sounds she hears is the cat.  Through her tale, Yvette learns of a shocking secret Mona has been carrying for several years.  Now Yvette needs to decide if Mona is truly friend or is she foe.


I was honestly blown away by this book.  I seriously could not put it down, and when I did it was ll I could think about.  Eva Pohler is truly a talented wordsmith and creates a story that will chill you to the core, but at the same time evoke sympathy and concern for the characters.  There are points when the reader isn't sure if they should feel bad for Mona or feel like she silly for getting involved with her professor, but regardless of poor decisions she makes, no deserves the things the professor puts her through.  Pohler describes everything in fine detail that makes the reader feels as if they are a part of the story listening beside Yvette.


I was almost able to predict what Mona's deep secret was, but at the same time there are things that were unpredictable and surprising.  The ending came up fast and seemed to wrap up faster than the rest of the story.  Pohler takes time to build up the climax so the ending came quickly for me and I wanted more from the story even though I know the characters found their appropriate ends.  Eva does a fantastic job with this book and I have added some of her other books like the Gatekeeper's Saga, and The Mystery Tomb to my to read lists.  I am excited to pick them up!  I give this book a resounding 5 out of 5 because it was truly a work of art.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Catherine Land answers an ad in the paper for a reliable wife, she sends along a picture with her letter describing herself as a simple and honest woman.  Ralph Truitt is looking for a companion a woman to help spend his days with.  He also wants his astranged son to come home, what he doesn't know is the secrets his son and new wife hold.

When I started reading this book I was sure if I would like it.  It was slow to begin and hard to get past some of the background description and things leading up to the plot twists.  Even then I found myself wanting to skip over parts that got to be boring and long winded.  The plot seemed to be one I had read before.   Woman married a man with a plot to kill him and take his money l.  Granted some aspects of the story are different and unique to Goolrick.I  didn't feel sympathy for any of the characters except for Mrs. Larsen, but she seemed to be the only genuine and hones person in the whole story.  Every one else had their own agendas and seemed to be using each other to meet those agendas.  Truitt came off as being a complete push-over when it came to Catherine even when he figured out what was happening, he didn't care.

It was a little more difficult to get to the end of this one than some of the other books I have read.  I was a little disappointed in it because I heard such great things and I didn't find it to be what others made it out to be.  I can see why a lot of people enjoyed the book, but I think I was expecting more suspense, more action, Truitt putting up more of fight.  The only suspenseful part (if you can say it's suspenseful){SPOILER} was towards the end when Andy tries to rape Catherine and she stabs him. I am not sure what I was expecting.

I would give this book a 3 out of 5 because while there are some things I didn't like about it there were some good points like the descriptions and dialog.  It was a well written book, just a well written book that didn't tickle my fancy.  I am sure other people would enjoy the book.  Even though I was  not a fan of this book, I am interested in reading some of Goolrick's other books to see if I would enjoy them as well because he does have an interesting writing style.

Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham

David Bennet's fiance was brutually murdered and positioned to resemble a thousand year old murder.  After the murder case was closed, David leaves town trying to leave all the rumors behind.  Katie O'Hara hopes to reopen the Bennet family museum after the death of the patriarch.  But there is a wrench in her plans, David Bennet who returns home to settle his grandfather's estates.  But he is not the only person with his sites on Katie.  Someone else is following Katie, and killing throughout the city.  While Katie takes on the cold case on her own, she has help from a spiritual friend only she may see.  All of these things mixed together make for a great story.

I have recently discovered Heather Graham's writing.  This book was the second of her's that I have read and I highly enjoyed it.  I like the idea of a ghost helping someone find a killer or try to protect the person who see him.  In this book Bartholomew, was highly concerned about Katie's safety, not just her physical safety but the safety of her heart.  He warned her against falling for David for various reasons, almost like a big brother would.  Bartholomew quickly became one of my favorite characters in the book for this reason and because he was a prankster and one who enjoys having fun.

Overall the story was interesting and I enjoyed the historical aspect included into the story, but there were some points that didn't seem to flow right or seemed to drag on rather than keep pace with the rest of the novel.  Katie and David's characters were well developed, and somewhat complex, but all the other characters fell into the background.  Some characters are introduced in the very end that would have made sense to introduce earlier on including the killer.  We didn't see much of the killer character in the book aside from when the story told from his viewpoint (when readers didn't know who it was).  If there was a little more interaction happened with the killer and Katie/David the ending may have made a little bit more sense. 

Graham does a good job setting up the story and building suspense throughout it, but some points seemed to have fallen short of expectation. It almost felt like there was more that Graham could have done with the story.  But even with dull moments the book still held my attention and pulled me into the story line.  I would recommend this novel to mystery fans who don't want something gory and over the top.  There is some romance, but I don't think there is enough for the novel to be considered a romance novel.  I would give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5.  I have three more Heather Graham novels on my to read list (I am sure I will end up buying more) and I cannot wait to begin one of them.

Heloise All Around The House

About a week and half ago my beloved Gramma had passed away.  She was a spitfire of a woman who was deeply devoted to God.  One of the many things she and I had in common was our love for reading.  Among the items that was given to me of hers, as a large amount of books.  Some I will review in honor of her. 

The first one I started reading is Heloise.   I  remember seeing this book or at least one like it in my house growing up, but never read it because we'll as a kid it didn't interest me.  But now as a woman in my 30's I wondered if there are tips that are helpful today.  The answer is Yes.  Yes there is.

There are so many helpful tips with humor added in ranging from getting gum out of hair and dishwashing tips to how to save potatoes from shriveling and saving your razor from rusting.  A lot of these tips, I never thought of trying.  I kept thinking why didn't I try that?    This reminded me of those "Daily life hacks" videos is see on social media all the time.  Who would have thought a popular trend today started in the 60's with books like Heloise!

I absolutely loved reading this and will be sure to try some of the ideas presented in the book.  I recommend it if you like learning new ways to do things, ideas to re purpose things, cleaning ideas and more.  I'm not going to give the book a rating for various reasons.  But will say it is a good addition to book shelves.  I love that this is one of the many ways I can remember Gramma and keep her close.

Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

As we all know Alice in Wonderland is my favorite story of all time, so anytime i can read a story or series that is based off the classic I end up reading it.  The Looking Glass Wars is such a series, Seeing Redd is the second book in the series.  Alyss has completed her Maze and defeated the Redd Queen.  She is working to get Wronderopolis back to the majestic glory it once was.  Hatter Madigan feels the need to take time for himself and Molly take his place as the Queen's bodyguard.  The king of the Borderlands: Arch has been plotting his own take over of Wonderopolis as he does not respect a woman as a leader.  Redd discovers she can navigate her maze after all and find her scepter and potentially defeat Alyss. Alyss must figure out how she can defeat her aunt once and for all to save her kingdom.

I generally love many stories that deal with Alice in Wonderland, this series is no different.  I love Looking Glass Wars series.  I was saddened that Alyss and Hatter didn't play bigger roles in the story.  Sure they were in the novel, but they were not the focus whereas Redd and Arch's plots were the main story line. The Cat and Dodge were not in the story much either, especially when the battle scene finally appears, they don't do much of battle.  I was waiting for something because there was a lot of build up.  But that seemed to be most of the book, building up for something else, something we don't see a lot of in this book, maybe the third installment.

Alyss hasn't changed much, she is still concerned with her feelings for Dodge and at times that takes her attention away from her duty as queen, but I guess you have to add in a romance to the story somewhere. What I did like and thought was interesting was the silk from the caterpillars having special qualities when woven into fabric or woven together.  It was an interesting addition to the story and I wanted to see where Frank would take it other than using the silk thread as a weapon or enhancement for weapons like Hatter's Hat.  I am not sure if I like this one as much as I liked Looking Glass Wars, and I am eager to see what happens in the third book of the series. 

I would give this book a 3 out 5 stars because it didn't seem as entertaining as the first book, though I still couldn't put it down.

Gifted By Liz Long

After the loss of her parents, Lucy Sullivan finds herself running away to join the circus.  Donovan Circus is not your everyday normal circus, the performers and workers all have special powers, Lucy included.  Lucy is a firestarter, probably the most talented.  As she is learning to control her power, someone is killing members of the troupe and sabotaging some of the performances.  A human scientist is enamored by the gifted community and has been experimenting on people he kidnaps from the community for years.  He has his sights set on Lucy and does everything he can to entice her to be his test subject and give him her power.  Lucy needs to learn who she is able to trust if anyone, who is telling the truth, and how will she be able to defeat someone who is determined to ruin the lives of those in Donovan Circus.

As soon as I began reading this book I fell in love with it.  Liz Long does an amazing job creating a world that captivates her readers.  I love stories that combine different magic powers, but sometimes those stories don't mesh well with numerous powers.  This one makes use of the powers in a great way, each person helping someone else train and great strong.  Lucy at first comes off as being a whiney little girl, but as the story progresses she becomes stronger and comes into her own fire abilities as well as skills as a leader.  She comes to realize not only who she is as a person but the strength she has as a Firestarter.  Throughout the book she relies heavily on others to help her around the circus, but it doesn't come off as a girl incapable of completing a task, it is one of teamwork and family unity.


There is a little bit for everyone in this novel,:mystery, romance, and fantasy.  Liz writes a fantastic tale that is difficult to put down.  It has an even pace and doesn't feel like it is forced. One of my favorite things was the character Gabriel, he was an Empath.  Liz takes the idea of an Empath a step farther in that they are able to control the emotions of someone else rather than feeling every emotion.  I also enjoyed that there were different levels to the gifts like with Firestarters there are those who can control fire, make fire, or even those who could just withstand it.  A lot of things in the book were unique and different from what I have seen in other books, and that makes it fantastic in my mind.

I know there is more to the series and I eagerly await the next book in the series to find out what will happen next, whether someone else will come along to replace Felix or if something else worse will happen.  I give this novel a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Zen of Zombie by Scott Kenemore

I bought this book for my boyfriend, it seemed like the perfect thing to get him reading a little bit more.  He loved it, and is actually reading it a second time around.  Zen of Zombie is a book that teaches you how to slow down and move at your own pace, much like a zombie.  It takes many principles of Zen and meditations and applies to them how a zombie would be.  It is an interesting way to look at Zen and is highly entertaining to read.  Who knew Zombies could teach so much about slowing down and enjoying life!

The book goes over 12 steps to led to complete zombification which takes place over a period of 90 days (my boyfriend said it didn’t take).  It helps readers conquer fears, play it cool, letting go and being your own boss.  Throughout the book it imparts wisdom and sage zombie advice for getting through life.  It is a funny little book to have on the night stand or coffee table as my boyfriend does.  It doesn’t necessarily follow the lore to a T, so if you are a fanatic for lore to be exact maybe don’t read this, but really it’s a book written in good fun.

It is not something serious or meant to be such, just something to laugh about and have an easy read.  Some things are reiterated throughout the book which can get old fast, but it is still something to give you or your guests a quick laugh.  There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor so if that is something that is not your style, don’t read it.  It pokes fun at the fandom which can be appreciated.  Overall I give the book a 3 out of 5 because it did find it’s silliness something my boyfriend and I could share.

 

Apologies

I know I haven't posted anything for several days, but sadly my beloved grandma is slowly passing away.  I have been spending as much time as I can with her which takes away from writing.  Prayers for the family are welcome while we await the inevitable.