Strange Ideas is 5 separate stories compiled into one book. I'll be honest, most of the time I don't read books like this, but this was a really refreshing read that I enjoyed a lot. I think I enjoyed it so much because the short stories were well written and I couldn't guess the end of each story from the beginning. Below is a few sentences about each story.A Flip of the Coin is about a man named Jimmy that is on his deathbed in a hospital. Death comes to visit him and gives a unique way on how Jimmy will be deemed fit for Heaven or Hell.
Stamp was slightly scary. Ben and his friend Tim head to a club and when Ben meets a pretty lady named Cassie things get interesting. She asks if they want to join her at another club, and they quickly agree. I think most people would do as Ben did, act without thinking of possible consequences. The consequence is something not expected, and left me intrigued while reading.
Rock God is about a young woman named Mia that goes to a concert with her boyfriend Darren even though she's not a fan of the band. This story was slightly predictable, but still interesting.
Superstition is about Laura, a young woman married to Adam, a slightly abusive (verbal and rarely physical) husband. Laura is very superstitious and it was quirky but endearing.
Late: a ghostly tale has a school teacher in school after hours all by herself. I'm pretty sure that would be enough to freak out most people. When she hears a strange noise and sees something that shouldn't be there she winds up running out of the building. Little did she know, she can't escape from her new acquaintance.
Ahnastasia Feodor, the Blud Tsarina of Freesia (princess of Freesia) wakes up in a suitcase nearly drained of all her blood. After attempting to attack Casper Sterling, a drunk musician, she finds out that everyone believes that she is dead and her family was killed. Ravenna, a gypsy fortune teller is now ruling Freesia. Ahna's goal throughout the book is to get to Freesia and reclaim her royal status. Casper Sterling and his little orphan sidekick Keen lead the way with a lot of bumps in the road.Ahnastasia's character started out as an ice princess that thought everyone was beneath her. She was uptight and to be honest not the kind of character I typically enjoy reading. Thankfully, her character evolved, or maybe I just got to know her better as the book went on. I adore Criminy Stain (from Wicked as They Come - book 1) and was intrigued and slightly tentative when I found out Casper would be a main character in Wicked as She Wants. I'll be honest, his character has come a long way from book 1 and even the novella (The Peculiar Pets of Miss Pleasance). His character has grown and I pretty much loved him from the start of this book.
One of the more entertaining scenes in the book is Casper, Ahna and Keen traveling on a flying brothel. That's right, I said a flying brothel. I never really know what to expect from D. Dawson's books plot-wise, the one thing I can count on is a amazing book that I can't put down. I highly suggest this series, and cannot wait until the next book is released.
Alice Hu runs the Mad Hatter's Cupcakery and Tea Shoppe, which features awesome cupcakes with Alice themed titles. While closing up, Alice lets an older lady come in and gives her a cupcake. The older lady begins babbling about the Mad Hatter like he is real and pretty much makes Alice think the lady is crazy. Before the old lady leaves, she places a card with a white rabbit on the table. When Alice handles it she is transported to Wonderland and the Mad Hatter doesn't seem very pleased to see her. Events quickly unfold that tell why Hatter isn't exactly thrilled to see Alice and pretty much the rest of the book is Alice and Hatter getting to know one another. This is a short read that had me instantly looking for more books in the series. I hadn't read anything by Marie Hall before but I'll quickly be buying book two (Gerard's Beauty) since this one was amazing. All in all, you have to read this book! Oh and did I mention it's a freebie on Amazon (and B&N)? Enjoy!
Everything is normal in Sara McKenna's life until her childhood rival walks into the college class she is teaching. Hearing that her father, the fire witch priest, was killed and she has to go back home isn't news she ever wanted to hear. With the people that killed her father still on the loose, her world isn't exactly safe. She and Brent (her childhood rival) were attacked just driving a few hours back to her father's house. Add the fact that they can't be in the same room without getting on each others nerves leads to an interesting read.Brent is a hottie, literally. He's a fire witch that has taken over the coven that Sara's father lead. Being the new fire witch priest is a lot of responsibility, one of which is looking after Sara. To be honest in the beginning I wasn't sure if the two could be in the same room, much less romantically involved since they haven't gotten along since childhood. Somehow, Anya managed to convince me and made me root for them. There are quite a few obstacles in their way throughout the book, which I enjoyed since I dislike books that have a fairy tale romance from the get go.
Don't be confused by the cover, Fire and Flame isn't erotica. It is however an awesome read that anyone who enjoys romance books with witches in it will enjoy. Oh and did I mention it's free right now (until 06/08/13)? Go get this awesome freebie while you can!
Everything is normal in Sara McKenna's life until her childhood rival walks into the college class she is teaching. Hearing that her father, the fire witch priest, was killed and she has to go back home isn't news she ever wanted to hear. With the people that killed her father still on the loose, her world isn't exactly safe. She and Brent (her childhood rival) were attacked just driving a few hours back to her father's house. Add the fact that they can't be in the same room without getting on each others nerves leads to an interesting read.Brent is a hottie, literally. He's a fire witch that has taken over the coven that Sara's father lead. Being the new fire witch priest is a lot of responsibility, one of which is looking after Sara. To be honest in the beginning I wasn't sure if the two could be in the same room, much less romantically involved since they haven't gotten along since childhood. Somehow, Anya managed to convince me and made me root for them. There are quite a few obstacles in their way throughout the book, which I enjoyed since I dislike books that have a fairy tale romance from the get go.
Don't be confused by the cover, Fire and Flame isn't erotica. It is however an awesome read that anyone who enjoys romance books with witches in it will enjoy. Oh and did I mention it's free right now (until 06/08/13)? Go get this awesome freebie while you can!
Monica, a barista by day, stripper by night has the blues. How is a former angel turned succubus supposed to work for a hottie and not sleep with him? Monica's motto is to only sleep (aka steal life) with the already condemned souls, so her boss is off limits. The focus of Soul Stripper focuses around Monica's dual life. She works a fairly normal job selling coffee then does the complete opposite by going to her night job and stripping. Another main focus of the book is that someone seems to be killing succubi (succubus'?) and Monica might be next. It's pretty much a rush against the clock to find out who is behind the killings before she gets targeted and murdered.
Romance: Bow chica bow wowwwww! Soul Stripper is not for the faint of heart. There are sexy times in almost every chapter. This being an erotica novel, that wasn't very surprising. What did surprise me was how well written everything was and the focus wasn't on all of the sex. That being said, if you enjoy erotica books with a twist of paranormal you will love this book!
Ahnastasia Feodor, the Blud Tsarina of Freesia (princess of Freesia) wakes up in a suitcase nearly drained of all her blood. After attempting to attack Casper Sterling, a drunk musician, she finds out that everyone believes that she is dead and her family was killed. Ravenna, a gypsy fortune teller is now ruling Freesia. Ahna's goal throughout the book is to get to Freesia and reclaim her royal status. Casper Sterling and his little orphan sidekick Keen lead the way with a lot of bumps in the road. Ahnastasia's character started out as an ice princess that thought everyone was beneath her. She was uptight and to be honest not the kind of character I typically enjoy reading. Thankfully, her character evolved, or maybe I just got to know her better as the book went on. I adore Criminy Stain (from Wicked as They Come - book 1) and was intrigued and slightly tentative when I found out Casper would be a main character in Wicked as She Wants. I'll be honest, his character has come a long way from book 1 and even the novella (The Peculiar Pets of Miss Pleasance). His character has grown and I pretty much loved him from the start of this book.
One of the more entertaining scenes in the book is Casper, Ahna and Keen traveling on a flying brothel. That's right, I said a flying brothel. I never really know what to expect from D. Dawson's books plot-wise, the one thing I can count on is a amazing book that I can't put down. I highly suggest this series, and cannot wait until the next book is released.
River Weston, a video game designer, uses her Fae magic to create a program that will benefit the demons and humans in a world that is recovering from a virus outbreak. The program, Hollow Man, allows people to create a hologram and protect themselves during battle. While I admit the idea of the program would be useful in real life, I think it would probably be abused if we had that type of technology. Some sort of checks and balances would have to be enforced, which luckily this book had.Chase Hawkins (aka Hawk) is a Guardian who is dispatched with a team to strip Earth of destructive technology. In the Guardian's eyes, this will resolve everything by starting the world again with a clean slate. So when a mutated virus surfaces and starts affecting humans, everything goes crazy and Hawk and his teammates have to reevaluate their strategy. The virus is something out of horror stories - no one is really sure why it is affecting people at random, but it's Hawk and River's top priority to figure out what is causing it.
Fair Game starts where book two (Mind Games) left off from what I've read. Since I haven't read the previous books in the series, I was a little bit lost for the first few chapters but quickly figured everything out. All in all it was a pretty solid read, though a tiny bit slow for me. I enjoyed the relationships that River had with the demon gang of kids, as well as with her younger brother. I loved that the past was mentioned throughout the book so I know what had happened, it helped me fill in a lot of blanks. I strongly suggest this series be read in order, but it doesn't have to be. If you enjoy science fiction books with a strong intellectual woman you will love this book.
DNFI honestly wanted to love this book. But I couldn't get into it. I'm not sure if maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it or what. It is well written, but I think it just isn't for me.
Addison Harmon and her best friend head to Soul Harbor, Georgia for Summer when Addison is left a family house from her recently deceased birth mother. Having just graduated high school, she isn't sure what to do with her life and is using the trip to explore her options. This adventure allows her to find herself, as well clues to her birth mother's family past, though some mystery still remains. Addison and her best friend, Vera, quickly explore the small town and meet some of the townspeople. Not everyone is welcoming, while others greet Addison with open arms. There is a little bit of everything - mystery, paranormal, and romance to name a few which kept my attention.Catalyst is an amazing start to a series and a must read if you like New Adult books, or even Paranormal books. While Catalyst does end somewhat abruptly, I can definitely say that I'm dying for book 2 so I can see what happens next. When I started the book I knew from the first few pages that this would be something I wouldn't be able to put down, and I was right. Jennifer Snyder managed to suck me into her world with intriguing characters and an awesome plot. I highly recommend Catalyst, and cannot wait to read more books by Jennifer Snyder.
Sarah Ward, a female werewolf, would do anything to not join the local werewolf pack. When events happen that force her hand, her sister's man helps the situation by having his bodyguard/friend pretend to be Sarah's mate. Still jumpy after an abusive ex-boyfriend, Sarah isn't looking for romance. This alone had me intrigued on what was going to happen.Ramsey is a were-bear and not someone that anyone would want to mess with. He's the perfect man to help Sarah avoid the mating attempts of the local werewolf pack. Not many people (or weres) want to cross a huge guy that could break them like a toothpick. With that in mind, Ramsey is not an alpha male - like most male characters are this kind of genre - which I'll be honest, was refreshing. A good chunk of the book is how Ramsey and Sarah interact being thrown into this situation.
Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter was slightly predictable in some aspects, yet not predictable at all in others. The book managed to sneak things past me (which I love) which kept me on my toes. The love aspect of the book was intriguing - I wasn't sure if a jumpy werewolf would be able to entertain the idea of a relationship with a calm, yet deadly were-bear. I feel like I say this about a lot of books, but I couldn't put the book down. Every time I tried, I'd read a few more pages, which turned into a few more chapters until I was finished. The Midnight Liaisons series is a must read if you're looking for something unique.
Ivory, a flight attendant that loves to travel the world gets more than she bargained for on one flight with a broken AC. The book opens with Ivory doing her job, handing out drinks, and even going the extra mile by secretly using her power to lower the temperature. She has a unique super power that I personally haven't seen before in a book; she is able to control/create ice. Not everyone on the plane is thrilled about the cooler atmosphere though and events occur that cause the Manhattan 10, a superhero team, to recruit her for her protection. A man with yellow eyes that was on the plane whisks her away to the Manhattan 10's HQ and things take off quickly from there. The hunky jaguar shifter is purr-fect, and I couldn't get enough (more Panther, please!). I loved the tension between the two characters and the fact that she didn't just fall into his arms and there was a happily ever after. I'm not going to say more since I don't want to give spoilers. But if you haven't read either of Lola Dodge's books, you are missing out. While on the short side (they are novellas), they are by far one of my favorite series and I eagerly await book 3.
Frannie Pleasance, is a pet shop owner that sells rare pets from her home in London. The book is set in Sang, which is a world full of blood seeking creatures. When she meets an unconscious drunkard in an alleyway she comes to his rescue before the bludrats can get him. This is where Casper Sterling enters the picture. Things quickly begin to happen in Frannie's life; like a not so accidental fire in her bedroom and several other dangerous events. A firefighter named Thom Maccallan comes to Frannie's rescue and seems to stick around to be her protector. With all the dangerous occurrences happening in the book the only changes in Frannie's life are Thom Maccallan and Casper Sterling (her new lodger).The main focus of The Peculiar Pets of Miss Pleasance is finding out who is attempting to hurt Frannie. With a drunk musician and a hottie fireman attempting to woo her, the story kept my interest and made me love Sang even more than I thought possible. Delilah Dawson manages to mix whodunit, romance, paranormal and steampunk all in one. This concoction equals a fabulous series that is a must read. I highly recommend this series, if you haven't read book 1 (Wicked As They Come) definitely read that first so you get more details of Sang and the creatures.
Heather, the owner of a diner named The Pickle, lives the typical small town life. Everyone seems to know everyone which can be a blessing and a curse. For Sheriff Bronson, it is a little bit of a curse. He has been dying to ask Heather out pretty much since he met her, but can't seem to get the question out. When the annual town festival begins the perfect opportunity arises only to have everything go a little bit crazy. I was laughing quite a bit though out this book and read it in one sitting. One of the many things that made me chuckle was the following line."Caller reports that two men are driving what appear to be soupedup lawn tractors down Second Street toward the square."
All silliness aside, I loved the book. The characters were entertaining, engaging and I felt like I knew them personally by the end of the book. Fried Pickles and the Fuzz is a fantastic book that grabbed me from the first page. I highly recommend it and cannot wait to read more from Calico Daniels.