Karen Hawkins – Talk of the Town

The first book in the Talk of the Town series, published November 2008.


Do Blondes Have More Fun?
Newly divorced Roxie Treymayne is dying to find out. After years of being the perfect Southern lady, all she ended up with was a cheating husband. So she goes bombshell blond, gets a provocatively placed tattoo, and prepares to live it up as a Bad Girl. But then her mother falls ill...and Roxie is forced to return to Glory, North Carolina.
He'd Love to Know.
Once the town bad boy, Nick Sheppard is now Glory's highly respected sheriff. When the hot blonde he stops for speeding turns out to be formerly prim Homecoming Queen Roxanne Treymayne, Nick doesn't quite know where to look -- though he'd like a much closer one at the tattoo peeking from her shorts.
But It Takes Two to Tango.
Roxie and Nick had a steamy fling in high school, but a love affair between a Southern princess and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks was doomed from the start. Now they have a second chance. Can they get it right? Or will they just end up... the talk of the town?


It’s the third time I have read this book, and I still love it. It is so full of humor, and fun, and there is the sizzling hot attraction between Roxie and Nick. Roxie wants to be a wild woman for a chance, and Nick wants it safe, no distractions from his work. And Roxie is nothing but a distraction for him, and a hot one!

And then there is the Murder Club, a bunch of very senior citizens who love CSI and especially Gill Grissom, and Roxie gets the job to take them out and about, so they do more than just watch re-runs of CSI. Her mother used to take them to the park to watch the statue, but well, that is always the same. Now Roxie’s mother has had a little heart-attack she needs to rest, and Roxie and her brother Mark have come back to Glory to take over her many charity works. To get the Murder Club up and running, Roxie invents that they could investigate the suspicious death of Doyle Cloyd some years ago. After all, the whole town knew him, and they are using his old room at the assisted living center as they clubhouse. What Roxie doesn’t know, is that they are using some more things of Doyle’s…

When they find a whole box of blackmail notes, and it appears as though Doyle was blackmailing all of Glory’s important people, the stakes are rising. Someone is desperate to stop the Club from investigating, and Nick wants to keep Roxie and the oldsters safe. One of them is his own aunt Clara, and she sure is a portrait.


So, in a nutshell, a sexy as hell Roxie, bent on having some fun, her maid Trundy, who came with her to Glory to look after her mother, who can be so nasty, no nurse wants to work for her. And that Trundy is a character apart! I keep hoping she will get her own book as well. Perhaps with the bankmanager? Roxies brother Mark, who has only a small part in this book, as the next one is his. The stupid Mayor and his bimbo secretary, the newspaper owner who might also have his eye on Roxie, and some old people who stir things up nicely.
Hell bent to get out of Glory, Roxie married Brian, an upcoming young lawyer, and became mrs. Brian, managing his house and his career, neglecting her own degree. But she certainly is not stupid. After catching him in the act, cheating on her, she is mad as hell. And after the divorce, where she cleaned him out nicely, she is intent on big changes in her life. To start with going blonde, getting a tattoo and a navel piercing! Next: Paris, or Italy, and some hot men. But when her mother gets sick she needs to get back home first. But that will only be for a short time, and there will always be Paris. She certainly is not looking for a new man in her life, but never could she have guessed she would run in her old boyfriend Nick, then the bad boy of town, now the respected town sheriff. Roxie doesn’t want to behave anymore, she wants some fun, so she goes after it, and that means Nick.


I love this book, and I will certainly read it again and again, it still makes me laugh out loud. For instance, when Tundy tells Mark about the things Roxie did when she found out about Brian. Or the showdown between Roxie and Robin, when they wore the same outfit. Nick sure had his tongue hanging out of his mouth then!
It is a delicious story, so if you want a good laugh, a good plot, and some hot sizzling attraction and a few lovescenes, you really should try this book.

I know I am rambling somewhat, but it is late, I am tired, had my first driving lesson in 17 years tonight, and have an extremely busy weekend ahead. So good night, and have a nice weekend with a good book in it.

10 stars.

Kevin Hearne – Hammered

The third book in the Iron Druid Chronicles series, published July 2011.



Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully - he's ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he's asked his friend Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus's home base of Tempe, Arizona. There's a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.


Wow, I just finished this book, and WOW! Kevin Hearne is very evil to finish the book like this, and I have no idea how long I’ll have to wait for the next book to find out what happens next. I though I had many more pages to read, and suddenly the book has ended, and there are those horrible “extra’s” to fill the book up.

This third book in the series continues where the previous one ended. Atticus has promised to fetch one of one of Idunn’s Golden Apples from Asgard, as payment of the witch Laksha’s help with the Bacchants. He knows another route, so he doesn’t have to cross the Bifrost Bridge.
As a druid, he can easily shift planes, and he tricks the giant squirrel Ratatosk to take him up to Asgard. Unfortunately, the Norse seers called the Norns know of his arriving (of course!) and they await him to kill Atticus, killing the squirrel instead, and leaving Atticus no choice but to kill the hags.

Of course things are not going smoothly once he is in Asgard, but he does manage to steal one of the apples, but almost back to the World Tree, he is attacked by Odin himself, on his magnificent eight-legged horse Sleipnir and the twelve Valkyries on flying horses. Shape-shifting crumbles the tracking spell on Odin’s spear, so it falls harmless in the snow beside Atticus, who then hurls it back at Odin, killing his horse. And as Odin falls in the snow, and the Valkyries run to his side to help him, Atticus can escape Asgard in the nick of time. He sneakily left notes in Bacchus’ name, hoping to buy some time for himself, to settle his affairs and move with Oberon, his great dog and his apprentice Granuaile to another country to hide. Killing gods makes him way to visible for all the other pantheons and magic users.

And as his next step will be taking Leif up to Asgard, so he can finally fight Thor, after a thousand years, he is not sure he will come back from that adventure. Even Jesus himself warns him of what is to come. That killing Thor will be a very bad thing for the world to happen. But Atticus gave his word to his friend, and he cannot go back on it. So, against al warnings and misgivings, Atticus, Leif, Gunnar and some other people bent on revenge against Thor and the evil things he has done to them, set out for Asgard. The fact that the Norns are no more, should give them a slight advantage. And if they can get the frost giants on their side, and even better one.


This third, and even better, book in the series was very fast paced and action filled. But it is also filled with lots of humor. I loved the reference to Star Trek for instance, and why it never became a religion. Atticus can quote both Shakespeare and the Lolcatz, and often has a funny remark or thought. Of all the secondary characters, I still love Oberon best.
In the previous book, the Virgin Mary appeared, to bless Atticus’ arrows when he went battling a fallen angel. In this book, Jesus himself appears, to drink that beer with Atticus, and warn him from his path. Also performing some small miracles while here. And he helps Atticus out of a great danger, when the Hammers of God and that overzealous Rabbi have found him, and are doing their best to kill him, never mind the hundreds of witnesses around. If you are very religious I do hope you are not offended by the perhaps flippant use of Jesus in this book.

The Morrigan has a small part in this book as well, also warning Atticus from killing Thor, and of the Valkyries, of which some are kind of her friends. After all, they choose the death for Walhalla, the same as she does in her panteon.

I loved this book, and I have gotten very fond of Atticus and his carefree attitude. He tries so hard, but some things are just inevitable if he wants to keep on living himself. He explains some great things to Granuaile about being a Druid, and we learn the history of Leif and Gunnar and some other nice “people” and their hatred for Thor.

If you like some urban fantasy, and your mythology twisted around, where everyone you ever read about is real, you will love this series. Lots of gods and goddesses and creatures, good and evil, lots and lots of humor, male bonding and fighting, no romance though, although there is some sex mentioned (not for Atticus this time).

But the ending of the book, o that ending. It will haunt me for a while, not knowing what is to come.

10 stars

Robin Paige – Death at Devil’s Bridge

The fourth book in the Victorian Mystery series, published in February 1998. This is a very bad photo, the real cover is light and pretty.



Together they solved the murders at the Countess of Warwick’s weekend house … and together they fell in love. Now newlyweds Charles and Kate Sheridan have moved into Kate’s ancestral Georgian home Bishop’s Keep, where Kate plans to devote herself to her writing and Charles to the responsibilities of the landed gentry. He agrees to host an automobile exhibition and balloon race at Bishop’s Keep attended by Europe’s foremost investors and inventors, among them the young Mr. Charles Rolls and Henry Royce.
But speed, competition and money prove to be more explosive than gasoline – and for one automobile builder, more deadly…
Sir Charles Sheridan is a renowned photographer, amateur scientist, and a skilled detective. Kate Ardleigh is his Irish-American wife and a writer of crime fiction. Together, they are unravelling Victorian England’s most intriguing and unusual mysteries.


Another great mystery by Robin Paige! This one concentrates on the start of the British Automobile Industry. Again with some then-famous characters as the secondary characters, and possible suspects.

Kate and Charles are married, against the wishes of his mother. She positively loathes Kate! But Charles is in love with Kate, so he married her. But when his brother dies, he will have to put up with her again, and live in his ancestral home in Somerset with Kate, his brothers widow and his mother. Let’s hope that day is not soon! He does not really want to take on the tasks belonging to a baron. He likes his own hobbies and pursuits.
Kate is also happy about being married, as she loves and respects Charles. But it also involves a lot of change. Charles has introduced electricity and gas to the house, and Kate is not so sure she likes all that. Her cook, Sarah, totally detests the new gas cooker, as she cannot get used to its workings. So dinner lately is not a joy.

Their friend Bradford Marsden is preparing an automobile exhibition on his parents estate, while they are in the south of France. But when someone tells them, he is expressively forbidden to do that, so he asks Charles for help. There will also be a balloon launch, which some of the cars will then chase, like the hare and the hounds. Of course there was not too much thought about that, the narrow and winding lanes are not really fit for racing motorcars, especially when the balloon can fly much faster than the cars can drive. A mishap will surely happen.
Right at the start of the event, which is also planned together with the annual fest for the villagers, there is a big uproar. Bess Gurton is almost run down by a speeding motorcar, and to safe herself, she has to jump in the ditch. Of course that makes her very mad, but then she finds the body of Old Jessup, who supposedly died of fright of the motorcar. So the villagers are totally against the event, and want to prevent it.
The four men who have arrived with their motorcars and who will race it, really dislike each other. So no happy company at dinner for Kate and Charles. A lot of drinking, a lot of sniping. And the young Mr. Rolls sure is a charmer, but also a daredevil who likes to bragg. Kate’s young friend Patty Marsden seems quite taken by him, and as he his a friend of her brother, they see quit a lot of each other, something her parents will certainly not condone! But the old great-aunt who is chaperoning her, doesn’t do her job very well.
Charles is to go up in the balloon with Mr. Rolls, where he is to take pictures of the sights and the race. A steam car, an electric car, and two cars with a combustion engine will race the balloon. To his chagrin, Bradford will not be racing his own car, a German driver will race it for him. He cannot change that, as he is in debt to Mr. Harry Dunstable, and he is pulling the strings of the show.

But just as the balloon is getting ready to lift, a bunch of villagers armed with pitchforks are trying to prevent it, and the balloon goes off, when not all has been checked. And as it happens, the anchor is gone. There is no way they can safely land the balloon now! As Kate gets word of Charles predicament, there is only one course of action for her: She will chase him herself in Mr. Rolls motorcar! Patty is determined to go with her, to make photographs.
And as it happens, not one of the four racers get to the finish line, where the balloon has finally landed. So what has happened to them? Slowly word gets back to Bishop’s Keep, but the German racer keeps missing …


I loved this book, wish I could have read it without stopping. But helas, work goes before the book. Both Charles and Kate are finding bits and pieces of the puzzle, what has really happened to the car? And to Mr. Dunstable?
Amelia and Lawrence are happily married, and living in a little cottage at Bishop’s Keep, where Amelia is the new housekeeper. Lawrence has been loaned by Bradford to Sir Charles, as part re-payment of the loan. And Sir Charles sure keeps Lawrence busy with the instalment of the gas and electricity, and the upkeep of the machinery. They love it here at Bishop’s Keep, but now Bradford is talking about moving back to London, and taking Lawrence with him as his chauffeur/engineer. There will be a place for Amelia too, and a room in the attic … But they don’t want to go, they want to stay, what now?

All in all, a fast paced mystery against an historical backdrop. Plenty of suspects, plenty of motive, so it takes a while to get to the truth of the matter. But in the end, the newfounded scientific approach of Sir Charles will have the last word.
If you have been interested in the history of car’s you will love this one even more. In the end there is an explanation of what really happened with the famous characters used in this book.

9 stars.

New additions to my addiction

Two new books found my home, one yesterday, and one today. And that last one did so with a little detour: From England to Spain to Holland! So I can safely say, my book has journeyed farther than I have! It was shipped June 3, and arrived July 6. I am still missing one book, also shipped on June 3. I do wonder when that one will show up!

Roxanne St. Claire - Thrill me to Death.
Lara Adrian - Deeper than midnight

Jayne Ann Krentz – Uneasy Alliance

A stand alone novel, published in 1984. My copy is the little cover, published by Mira. Which I prefer.




Was he trying to control her . . . or protect her?

Life has taught Abby Lyndon the value of independence -- and the price she's paid to learn that lesson was high. A relationship gone terribly, unexpectedly wrong has left her wary and determined to control her own life. But Torr Latimer is equally determined to make Abby his own.
Torr's unwavering persistence leaves Abby nervous, confused . . . and undeniably drawn to the force of his passion. But when a nightmare from her past resurfaces, Abby has little choice but to accept Torr's help. Hidden at his remote cabin in the woods, Abby must decide if he's offering her shelter or trying to possess her. Or is Torr promising something else altogether: love?

Two years ago, Abby ran from an unwelcome suitor. She has build a new life for herself in Seattle, selling vitamins (and taking a lot of them herself!) She has people working for her, who sell them door to door, and business is actually good. She is taking a class in Japanese flower arrangements, but is horrible at it. She can never stop with just three flowers and a leaf, her arrangements are chaos. She is fascinated by Torr though, and the beautiful, severe arrangements he creates. And Torr is fascinated by her as well. And he decides he wants her, in his bed, in his life. And when Torr decides something, he goes after it full force. No stopping him.

Abby just got an unpleasant reminder of a weekend at the ocean two months ago, and is unsettled by this. When Torr senses something is wrong, he just barges in, and takes over control. Of everything. No matter how much Abby protests, there is no sway in him. He will take care of her, he will protect her. But Abby is very weary of possessive controlling men, and he will have to earn her trust by being patient. After the first hot night, they took the time to become friends, and for Abby to trust Torr. Bit by bit he tore the truth about her past out of her, and took her with him to confront her cousin’s husband, and tell him about the blackmail.


Okay, remember this book was written in 1984! Or even earlier, who knows. It is one of Jayne Ann Krentz’ first books. And the attitude back then was so very different. But I kept reading this time, because A: it is a JAK book, and I just love them all. The writing style, the characters, the subtle humor, the twists in the plot. Okay, no big surprises there, I guessed the truth at first. And B: It is a JAK book!

Truth then: I did like Abby, but she let Torr run all over her. Not that I can see a way to stop him from doing that. After all, she was attracted to him from the first moment she met him. Which was a new sensation for her. And she did feel safe with him, he would never willingly hurt her.
But Torr. He was a real alpha alpha male. She was his, his to keep, his to protect. She belonged to him, and she better admit it, and soon! Abby did not want to belong to him (of course not!). I did hate it, that she had to spill her guts, tell him everything about her past, especially her past lovers, while he kept silent about himself and his previous marriage (he is a widower). At a bad moment, the truth came out anyway.
Abby is more than able to take care of herself, but she lets Torr get away with a lot of things. He sure did get under my skin, I was irritated with him. Very highhanded and sure of himself. At one hand he admires Abby for who she is, and he lets her be herself, but on the other hand, he wants to control her completely.

7 stars

Maggie Sefton – Skein of the Crime

The eighth book in the Knitting Mystery series, published June 2010. Delicious recipe and knitting pattern included.



Fall has come to Fort Connor, Colorado, and the cool air has inspired the knitters at the House of Lambspun to start on their hats and mittens – while one person is inspired to kill…

Kelly Flynn is happy to teach new students the stitches of the trade – even Holly, the young woman who had appeared in Kelly’s backyard a month earlier, dazed and confused. Though Holly has a bit of a checkered past, she’s turning over a new leaf – with the help of the crew at the House of Lambspun. So when she’s found dead on the river trail near Kelly's house, Kelly feels compelled to investigate. Rounding up her knitting pals for help, she finds herself following a path of clues that twists more easily than the yarn with which she knits. Worried that someone with harmful intend could be closer than she thinks, Kelly must work fast to unravel the skein of this crime…


This is one cozy mysteries you really have to read in order to understand who the many characters in this book are.

Kelly Flynn’s boyfriend Steve is working two jobs in Denver as his own construction firm is slowly going under, due to the bad economy. As she hates coming home to a dark cottage, she leaves all the lights on. So one night Kelly comes home late, and walks into her home to let her dog back in. She is startled to find a young woman in her back yard, who just stands there, swaying. Not talking. Why didn’t her dog alert her? Carl is usual so protective of her against strangers. The young woman is stoned out of her mind, and Kelly calls the paramedics, who take her away. It seems like this episode scared Holly enough to try to turn her life around. She starts coming to the House of Lambspun, into the tender care of Mimi, who mothers all of her regulars, and even is going back to college and gets some classes.
Then one morning Kelly reads in the paper a young girl has been found death on the river track, close to her house. And it is Holly, who apparently died from an overdose. Holly’s boyfriend is devastated with guilt, why wasn’t he there to take care of her? He is even about to throw his medical scholarship away, just to find out who gave her those pills. But Kelly and the gang convince him not to do that, the other kids will never talk to them if he is stalking them. They will help him find out the truth, but in the meanwhile, he has to go back to the University in Denver, and study!
And so Kelly, with the help of another student who knows the party scene will, will find out the truth.

The plot was not a total surprise to me this time, it was the personal part of the story that had me openmouthed and in denial at the end of the book. How can Maggie Sefton be so cruel to leave it at this point? How long do I have to wait for the next book in paperback? It is not even on fantasticfiction yet!

Kelly is helping more and more with classes in knitting lately, and she even learns how to felt. She has made a winter hat for Steve, and felting would make it just that bit more warm to wear when skiing. She is still a big coffee-addict, always going for a refill at Pete’s and while visiting friends. She still mourns her mountain retreat, but is getting settled so well living in town, she will probably not buy a new house up there. In winter, she will be totally isolated, no matter how beautiful those Rocky Mountains are. Still, visiting Jayleen gives her the opportunity to take it all in again.
Megan and Marty are planning to get married, but everything is so outrageously expensive, how will they afford it all, and safe for a downpayment on a house? Megan is making lists and lists and more lists, and of course Mimi is glad to help.
Jennifer is doing alright, she and Pete are seeing each other outside of work and the gang as well, and that is good thing. She is healing from that horrible attack last year.

But Kelly and Steve, well. They see each other less and less, Steve staying more in Denver, and being exhausted when he finally comes home. He doesn’t want Kelly to help him financially, even when she easily could and not notice it. And Kelly just doesn’t understand that. Will his pride drive them apart? Let’s hope the economy will get better and building and renovating houses will be a viable business again.


As always, it is so nice to re-visit characters in a cozy series. And in this series, you really get to know them all, each one has some center stage in one of the books. Of course, the knew one in town, or in the knitting circle is the one getting killed, but that is how it goes in cozy’s.

I like Kelly, she is very open and friendly, and incurable curious about everything. She is always there for her friends. She is an accountant who loves her job, working on her own instead of being a part of the rat-race in a large firm. Inheriting a ranch with gas in the ground sure helped her become independent. She loves to knit, to watch Burt spin, and now is learning to felt. If you like those things as well, I bet you will love this series.
I’ve never really gotten Steve, and how he treats Kelly in this book sure makes my hackles rise. Sure he is going to a rough time, but that is were partners are for: go through it together, not to take it out on! And you just can’t show up home unexpected in the middle of the week and want Kelly to be quietly at home. She has lots of friends and things to do.

All the other regulars sure make great secondary characters, who each add something to the series. They help Kelly with her sleuthing, Megan with her wedding planning, and who ever else needs help.

The book is not fast paced and filled with action, but it just reads very fluently, and you just have to keep on reading. I started it this morning in the bus to work, and have finished it early tonight. It is the review that is taking the most time to write. There are also no love scenes in here, but there is doggy love, and friendship, and just love. And the best part is, the House of Lambspun really exists!

9 stars.

p.s. still a bit mad at Maggie Sefton though, with that ending …

Books to look forward to for July 2011

My list for July is very very short, so if anyone has some books I have missed, please comment on this post so I can add them.

Nora Roberts – Chasing fire PB
Catherine Coulter – Split second (FBI 15, HB)
Catherine Coulter – Whiplash – PB
Annette Blair – Skirting the Grave – Vintage Magic 4
Susan Wittig Albert –The Darling Dahlia’s and the Naked Ladies – Darling Dahlia’s 2 HC

I have read and reviewed 19 books in June, which is average for me. Only three books from my huge June list, but then some of them are still on the road somewhere between England and Holland. So they will surely be read this month.