Book Review: Undead and Unappreciated

Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJanice Davidson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have found a new series to read. This was a more entertaining read than I was expecting, really. Betsy Taylor is the vampire queen, tricked into marrying the tall, dark and handsome king, Eric Sinclair. She lives in a Twin Cities mansion with Sinclair and their friends, most of whom are alive and who are aware of Betsy's status. (It sounds creepier than it actually is.)

Betsy finds out she has a half-sister she never knew about who is currently a student at the University. Her name is Laura. She is blonde haired, blue eyed, sparkly, bubbly and gorgeous. And oh yeah, she's also Satan's daughter, destined to rule the world someday...


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Book Review: Welcome To The World Baby Girl!

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!: A Novel by Fannie Flagg

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is one of the best ones I've read in a very long time. It tells the story of Dena Nordstrom, America's blonde haired, blue eyed #1 female newsperson in the 1970's. The book jumps back and forth between the 1940's and how Dena's parents met and her childhood, to 1978 New York City. It could easily get confusing, but Fannie Flagg writes it so flawlessly it isn't hard to follow at all.



It mainly centers around Dena and how her life is out of control - she drinks too much, goes out too often and cannot handle any type of relationship. And on top of all that, now she has a bleeding ulcer. What's a girl to do? Go see a psychiatrist. Only problem there is, the second she walks in his office, he falls in love with her. So he refers her to another doctor, aptly named Dr. Diggers, who keeps asking her questions about her childhood and her mother in particular.



What can Dena tell her? Her mother was a very private person and Dena did not know her well at all. During Christmas break one year, Dena flys to her mother's apartment in Chicago, only to find that her mother has disappeared off the face of the earth. Why? Where did she disappear to? What secrets was she keeping? Was her mother a Nazi spy? A sleazy reporter thinks so, and he would like nothing better than to destroy Dena and her reputation. Dena has to put the past to rest and the only way to do that is by solving the mystery of her mother's past and what exactly happened to her.



Along the way in this book, you meet some interesting characters, mainly in the town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri - Dena's hometown and the place where she finally becomes whole again.



4 stars out of 5


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Book Review: The Haunting

The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wanted to grab a quick read, and this book fit the bill perfectly at 184 pages. It's about a 15 year old girl whose mother inherits a haunted house, Graymoss, in Louisiana and plan to adopt a bunch of hard-to-adopt children with her husband and live there. Problem is, Lia isn't crazy about that idea. The walls whisper one word over and over which no one can quite figure out, the designs on the ceiling turn into hissing and spitting monsters, invisible hands reach out and grab at people's hair and face; there have even been a couple of "accidents" of people falling down stairs after claiming they were pushed by something. The answers to the haunting lie in Lia's great-great-great grandmother's diary and a well worn copy of 'Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe'. Can Lia solve the mystery and free Graymoss from the evil within it's walls? What is that one word that the house keeps whispering, then screaming? Will Lia and her parents be able to live in Graymoss, or will they run from the old plantation house like their ancestors have for the past 200 years?



This is an enjoyable read. Overall I give it 3 stars out of 5.


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Book Review: Judgment in Death

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this series. I could not pick a favorite book out of it if I tried. This one pits Eve against a killer of dirty cops in New York in the year 2059. The first cop killed is moonlighting at a club called Purgatory which happens to be owned by Eve's husband Roarke. The normal cast of characters shows up in this installment also - Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Dr. Mira, Sommerset, Mavis, et al... I've grown quite fond of the characters in this series and their interactions with each other, Eve and Peabody especially make me chuckle.

Before you know it, two more cops are dead and Eve has her sights set on nailing a powerful mafia-type crime boss who she believes is behind the whole thing.

This series has it all...crime, punishment, sex, bad guys, futuristic crime fighting and a little bit of comic relief thrown in for good measure. I give this book 5 stars out of 5. I give the whole series a 5/5. Highly recommended.

Book Review - R is for Ricochet

I like this series for some reason. Ms. Grafton puts in way too many humdrum
details (I took a shower then walked to my closet and found my little black
dress, threw it on, went downstairs, walked into the kitchen and poured myself a
cup of coffee. Grabbing the newspaper, I sat down at the table to read the front
page...yada, yada, yada). Too many minute details, and it does get frustrating.
It's almost like she had a word quota to fill. But, like I said, for some reason
I like this series. Not really sure why, but I keep coming back for more. The
storyline itself is a good one; her characters are well developed and you do
tend to root for them. There is also a couple of new romances brewing (and
fizzling) in this book.

Overall, I would give it 3 stars out of 5.

Books Read So Far

Just so I can keep track of the books I've read, I'm going to list them here in this blog entry as I go along.

1. Blackwood Farm
2. Visions of Sugar Plums
3. R is for Ricochet
4. Shattered - A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star
5. Twilight
6. New Moon
7. War and Peace
8. Judgment in Death
9. The Haunting
10. Welcome To The World, Baby Girl!
11. Undead and Unappreciated
12. Eclipse
13. Trace
14. Pride and Prejudice
15. Divine Evil
16. One For The Money
17. A Tale of Two Cities
18. Rose Madder
19. Darkfever
20. Islands
21. Murdering Mr. Monti
22. Morrigan's Cross
23. Lover Revealed
24. Scent of Darkness
25. Code Name: Nanny
26. A Million Little Pieces
27. Breaking Dawn
28. Dark Lover
29. Two For The Dough
30. Rapture In Death
31. Lover Eternal
32. Lover Awakened
33. Dance of the Gods
34. What Looks Like Crazy
35. A Clue For The Puzzle Lady

Please scroll down for my review of "Blackwood Farm"