Beg for Mercy

If you love paranormal romances and anything paranormal, you'll be interested in the Mercy Hollings series. Mercy is anything but normal. She has a special "gift", when she can take control of their minds with the "press". Sometimes she uses it for a greater good, while other times not so much. We can get into her world--and her mind--on when and how she controls it by a flick of a switch in her mind. And she's been a loner with no clue to her biological parents. But when her friend Sukey is in danger, she's on a mental fight for her own. And in the process, she made new friends. Great action with some action and a spice of romance. We see more on Mercy's world in the rest of the series. Don't make her mad!

2013 Book Reading Challenges

Well, once again, it's time of the year to do the book reading challenges post. I'm one book away of finishing this year's by tomorrow night and before midnight. Sadly, this year was the final year that my Romance BookClub egroup would have a romantic-theme challenge. It's closing its doors this week. So now I have the usual to line out this year's challenges, one by one. So here we go.

P.S. Good news. Someone saved the Romance Book Club from closing the egroup. I'll keep my challenges open until March to create some room in my TBR list.

To Be Read Main Picks
1. FreeFall by Joann Ross
2. Wild Wild West by Casey Daniels
3. Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
4. Halfway to Her Grave by Jeanine Frost
5. Sprinkle With Murder by Jenn McKinlay
6. The 9th Girl by Tami Hoag
7. Hot Dish by Connie Brockway
8. Sing It to Her Bones by Marcia Talley
9. Afraid of the Dark by James Grippando
10. Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare
11. Shear Murder by Nancy Cohen
12. Tunnel Vision by Gary Braver

TBR Alternates
1. Gone  Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. Perfect Timing by Catherine Anderson
3. Posed for Murder by Meredith Cole
4. Shooters and Chasers by Lenny Klenstad
5. Can't Stand the Heart by Louisa Edwards
6. Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie Barron
7. The Rope by Nevada Barr
8. Master of Surrender by Karin Tabke
9. Deadly Grind by Victoria Hamilton
10. The Whisper by Carla Neggers
11. Secret Identity by Paula Graves
12. The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon by Leann Sweeney

TBR Lite
1. Nightwatcher by Wendy Corsi Staub
2. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
3. Mastering the Marquess by Vanessa Kelly
4. The Lincoln Conspiracy by Tim O'Brien
5. Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman
6. Forbidden Magic by Cheyenne McCray

On the Porch Swing
1. One of the senses--Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
2. Spell out the month March: M for Midnight Comes Again by Dana Stabenow
                        A for Arsenic and Old Paint by Hayley Lind
                       R for Rapture in Death by JD Robb
                        C for Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
                       H for Hell's Belles by Jackie Kessler
3. Salutation--Hello Goodbye by Emily Chenowith
4.  Somewhere where you were born: Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein (New Jersey)

Mystery Readers Cafe
1. Flower/Herb/Spice in title--Slay it With Flowers by Kate Collins
2. Grave/cemetery, etc. in title--Skirting the Grave by Annette Blair
3. A body part or organ in title--Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks
4.  Favorite color in title/book cover--The Turquoise Girl by Aimee Thurlo, The Silver Needle Murder by Laura Childs

Beth's Challenge
1. Something in the Kitchen--A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell
2. Lost/Missing or Equivalent--The Missing by Chris Mooney
3. Up/Down or Equivalent--Dolled Up in Murder by Jane Cleland
4. Fire/Burning, etc.--Burn by Linda Howard
5. Party/Celebration--Wedding Party by Robyn Carr
6. Emotion--Dead Scared by SJ Bolton

Tell Me Lies

If you want a good laugh on a day when you have the blues, you'll enjoy Jennifer Crusie's Tell Me Lies. In this wonderful woman's fiction novel, there's romance, drama, mystery and intrigue. Welcome to the fictional town of Frog Point, Ohio, when Maddie Faraday's world came tumbling down. And it all started with a pair of black crotchless panties and gets weirder and worse from there. Add a former high school flame into the mix and people who's after her husband Brent too. But people kept piling up more lies on her. We see how close she is to her mother and grandmother, her daughter and her best friend. But when she's mixed up into Brent's mess, she's in a world of hurt and a lot of trouble. You'll love and cry, you root and cheer for Maddie, a former good girl gone bad, and to hell with the world. This is an enjoyable read.

The Postcard Killers

This is one of James Patterson's finest thrillers with the set of the backdrop of European countries for some international intrigue. We're introduced to Jacob Kanon, a NYPD detective who's hunting down the Postcard Killers who've killed his only daughter. And he comes to Sweden, when he's introduced to Dessie Larssen, a Swedish journalist, who he's attracted to, and helps him breaks the case wide open. One by one, young couples are being killed all over Europe, with Interpol hot on the scene. When they pick up the pieces to this case and piece them together, it makes sense. And it's up to the both of them to stop them dead at the tracks, before they kill again. Plenty of shocking twists and turns with Europe as a great backdrop in Europe and some in the USA. And what a great collaboration with Liza Marklund. I might be interested to read her books someday, too.

Stealing Shadows

This is a great thriller with some romantic suspense elements. In Kay Hooper's Stealing Shadows, the first installment in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit, we were introduced in Cassie Neill, who had a special psychic gift. When she arrived in Ryan's Bluff, North Carolina, she stormed her way into Judge Ben Ryan's office and told him why she was there. At first, Sheriff Matt Dunbar had his doubts and dithers about her. But with her psychic connections, she lead them to a trail of a serial killer. But with her late aunt's warning, she dared not to fall in love with Ben Ryan. We do get to know more about Cassie more and her own dangers in her world, day and night, and understood where she was coming from. But when she was close to her own danger, it put her at risk. We also delved into Ben and Matt's worlds and saw it through the eyes of a killer. A real good rush into the psychic realm.

This was a brilliant introduction to the paranormal thriller series. I did care about Cassie and Ben and Bishop's SCU team. This gave me chills, goosebumps, and so much more. I love the combination of the psychic-paranormal connection to the thriller genre. There's plenty of thrills here for sure. I liked the location of Ryan's Bluff for a small town in North Carolina for the setting. If you love both genres, this is the right series for you. Great drama, good suspense and intrigue, and tons of chilling action in this novel.

Will you be stealing shadows today? If so, grab a copy for yourself!

When Calls the Heart

This is a beautiful story about Elizabeth Thatcher, a new teacher in the Canadian Rockies in Calgary, when she moved from Toronto to join her self-brother Jonathan and his family. It's told from her view on her trials and tribulations of what she endured as a teacher in the teacherage and her class. She learned a lot on life and death, and learned about love, when she falls for a Canadian Mountie named Wynn Delaney, Jon's best friend. And they fall in love, a good start to this six-book series. This is real beautiful and got inside her head to see her emotions and how she persevered through it all. Really touching.

The Attenbury Emeralds

If you've read Dorothy Sayers's mysteries, you'll love this continuation to the Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane series, which happened thirty years later. If you haven't read the Wimsey Papers like I haven't read it, you'll do get a recap from the original story. We see how much Peter is loved and respected in the English dukedom and how he loves his son and Harriet, a detective fiction author. They unravel the original mysteries with new insight and a shocking conclusion of to present day latest developments. It did have a slow start and more telling via dialogue than showing, (so I guess you have to read the original book in the series). Plus good drama and good suspense.

Kill For Me

In Karen Rose's Kill For Me, the 9th installment in the romantic suspense series, and the first one in the Daniel Vartanian series, this one was one of the best yet. There were lots of drama here and tons of shocking twists and turns. Susannah Vartainian and GBI Agent, Luke Papadoupoulous were on a disturbing case, when her brother was hospitalized from a lethal attack. And from there, it had gotten more twisted and perverse than that, when someone gunned after her for their own nefarious reasons. Family secrets and a sex slave human trafficking ring were a crux for this plot. But it also brought them together and make them perfectly matched. We do get deep inside Susannah's mind and witness her past and discover her present state of mind, when Luke showed his true feelings for her. We also enter the evil mind of the people who wanted to draw their first blood on her. What a great read.

This was another one that would make you hair raise on edge and your head spin. I cared about Daniel, Luke and Susannah, when they've gotten embroiled into another hairy mess. I do love the Georgia location for this novel's setting as well. Those two people who were meant to be together fought long and hard to defy the odds. Great drama, good exciting suspense and tons of explosive action will keep you reading all night.

Check Kill for Me out today!

Big City, Bad Blood

Welcome to Chicago, Illinois. Ray Dudgeon is a former newspaper reporter and now a private detective. He's been assigned to protect Bob Loniski from the Mob, before he goes to trial. Not an easy job for Ray. While he's on protection duty, we're introduced to him and his relationship with his girlfriend, Jill, his friend Terry, and his assorted associates. We watch him interact and get out of sticky situations. Here's an interesting guy with a shaded past history. There's plenty of non-stop action and drama in this novel. When he becomes a target himself, he would do anything to save himself, even by breaking the law and covering his tracks. And when it comes to the Mob, it's a messy business, when there's lots of twists and turns and shocking surprises in the end, when things turn up the heat.

She'll Never Tell

If you love shocking twists and turns, she'll enjoy the first romantic suspense/thriller with a scary serial killer called the Bloodsucker. But we're introduced to Marcy's life, before and after her car accident. Six months later, she's transformed with a new life and look to pick up the pieces with her family and deal with her twin sister, Phoebe. Meanwhile, while she recovers from her injuries and insecurities, there's the Bloodsucker out there, who's setting his sights for specific victims and one in particular. Police Chief Claire Drummond is on the hunt for a serial killer and tackles her job too as a single mom. We don't know the real identity of the serial killer until the next two books in the series. So we'll keep guessing who he might be. This is more thriller and very little romantic suspense though.

Night Game

If you love good eco-thrillers with a hint of drama and mystery, the second book in the John Marquez series in a good one. We're introduced to another tough case by Game Warden John Marquez, when it deals with bear poaching and baiting and a corrupted warden. It started with a murder of a camper and escalated from there, going downhill. We watch Marquez with his SOU team and how he cares about his wife and step-daughter. And when Marquez gets closer to the truth, we see how he reacts in danger and protects his family. Even at night time, there's no time for gun and games, when dealing with dangerous animals. Great action and drama and plenty of suspense. I felt sorry for those poor bears. You'll get an inside look of the world of the fish and game wardens, too.

The Brass Verdict

If you love good courtroom drama/legal thriller series, you'll enjoy this one from Michael Connelly. Mickey Haller has received a lucky break, when his friend and fellow lawyer Jerry Vincent was found dead. We're introduced to Haller and his comeback from his hiatus to law. We see how he interacted with his colleagues and to the police. He's a devoted father and wants to reconcile with his estranged ex-wife, when he's changing his life round. We also meet Harry Bosch from his best-selling Harry Bosch series. There's plenty of twists and turns in this one, inside and outside the courtroom, and interesting characters arrive on the scene. Haller's boat load of cases would soon become his downfall later. And there a shocking curveball at the end of the novel that no one saw coming. What a good way to end it.

Delicious

Welcome to the world of restaurant business. In this sizzling new four-book series by Susan Mallery, in Delicious, we're  introduced into the food business and the hot foods to make it success. This story is about Penny Jackson, a chef who's carrying a secret of her own, and her ex-husband, Cal Buchanan, who has one he kept for a long time, when she works for him. But when they're reunited, more than sparks fly. We see how devoted they are to make his  restaurant a success, in spite of his evil grandmother. We all see how connected she is to her best friend, Naomi, and to her former in-laws, Reid, a former baseball player and womanizer, and Walker, a retired Marine who's on a mission, and Dani, who's having a troubled marriage. And cal connects to them too as well. Yummy! This novel is a delicious contemporary romance.