Review: TROUBLE UNDER THE TREE by Heather Webber

Title: Trouble Under the Tree

Series: A Nina Quinn Mystery

Author: Heather Webber

Publisher: Blue Dandelion Press (November 27, 2011)

Format: eBook Novel

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Genre: Mystery

Goodreads 

Description: When landscape designer Nina Quinn agrees to deck the halls of Christmastowne, an indoor Christmas village, little did she know how dirty the job would be.

Christmastowne has been plagued by mishaps. Someone’s stealing toy donations, cutting lines to the security system, starting fires, and poisoning the poinsettias. Worst of all, Nina’s neighbor, Fairlee McCorkle (aka Mrs. Claus) is found murdered under Christmastowne’s enormous decorated tree.

The deeper Nina digs for clues to unwrap a killer, the more she discovers that some secrets are best left buried in the past.

Review: Heather Webber’s Trouble Under the Tree is a delightful page-turner with a witty amateur sleuth in Nina Quinn.

The holidays are stressful, and it’s even more so for Nina Quinn. She’s working long hours on decking out Christmastowne, her fiancé is out of town helping his ailing mother, and she may have lingering feelings about her ex-husband. When a string of incidents occur at Christmastown, it’s up to Nina Quinn to dig through the dirt and lies to solve not only Christmas capers, but also a murder, or two.

Trouble Under the Tree yanks the reader into the story with the wonderful voice of Nina Quinn. She’s sarcastic, witty, and a wonderfully well-written character within an amazing supporting cast. Each character is different and makes their mark. The plot is fast-paced. For a mystery, Webber does well in dropping hints of some secrets but still leaving some big surprises for the end. Since this is a book in the Nina Quinn series, backstory and re-telling who characters are and hinting at the previous books are used. Personally, I could’ve done without these tidbits and still enjoyed and understood the story, but it didn’t affect my love for it either.

After reading Trouble Under the Tree by Heather Webber, I want to run out and read the rest of the Nina Quinn series. Be prepared to dig right in!

Five Bookworms = I loved it!

Review: THE LAST RISING by Rachel Firasek

Title: The Last Rising

Series: Curse of the Phoenix #1

Author: Rachel Firasek

Publisher: Entangled Publishing (September 3, 2011)

Format: eBook Novella

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads 

Description: After paying two millennia’s penance to Osiris, world-weary Phoenix Ice has had enough. Saving souls without any hope for her own redemption isn’t how she imagined spending eternity. Fed up, she decides her next death will be her last. But when she sacrifices her own life for a sexy Texan in a catastrophic plane crash, she has no idea the consequences will be so great…or that she’ll end up back in his life for her next assignment.

Now that Turner Alcott has survived the worst, finding a wife and mother for his son matters more than ever before. When the mysterious Ice comes into his life, Turner knows she’s the one—but love is the last thing Ice wants. If he wants to win her heart, Turner must teach Ice how to forgive herself, and prove that love is the ultimate sacrifice.

Review: Rachel Firasek’s The Last Rising sizzles in this new take on Egyptian mythology mixed with the modern day.

Once a goddess, now a phoenix, Ice must pay penance and hope for a chance for redemption. Yet she’s decided she has had enough of Osiris’s games. Yet when she saves Turner Alcott’s life, she may have to rethink her chances at redemption. Turner is arrogant, annoying, but she can’t stand to be away from him or his son Brodie. Ice must decide if Turner is her redemption or her newest curse.

The brilliant use of Egyptian mythology as well as the idea of the phoenix and redemption makes Firasek’s The Curse of the Phoenix series stand out. It is this idea that drew me to The Last Rising and into the series. Firasek knows how to create a slow burning romance. I kept wondering “will they” or “won’t they.” Turner is a bit of a weak link in this novella for me, though. I find his chauvinistic attitudes and brash behavior a bit off-putting, but Ice and Brodie won me over. Firasek creates strong characters. The pace moved quickly, only lulling during the latter half of the novel before picking up again. The characterizations of the other phoenixes make me want to read the next in the series.

The Last Rising by Rachel Firasek burns slowly and increases the tension between the romantic duo. Like a phoenix, I can’t wait to dust off the ashes and read the next in the series!

Four Bookworms = I really liked it!

STUCK by Becky Mushko

Title: Stuck

Author: Becky Mushko

Publisher: Cedar Creek Publishing

Format: PDF

Source: Author

To Purchase: Amazon  

Book Description: A paranormal novel in which an eleven-year-old girl-stuck in grief over her mother's death-helps a ghost who's stuck on earth until she finds her daughter.

Review: Becky Mushko’s Stuck touches the heart. 

When eleven-year-old Jacie’s mother dies, her entire world comes crashing down. She’s stuck with the class bully at horse camp. She’s stuck in grief. Then, she’s stuck in her anger over her dad remarrying a former high school girlfriend. When she meets a ghost who is also stuck, she learns how to get everyone unstuck.

Stuck follows Jacie’s progress through the stages of grief and growing up. At times, this novel brought tears to my eyes. Other times, I laughed and smiled, especially at the twins’ antics. Death features greatly, but it is more something to be sad about, a little mad, but not something to fear. Mushko’s knowledge about horses shines through as well as rural farm life. The characters are endearing, especially Jacie and her soon-to-be step-mother Liz. The glimpse of the paranormal and mystery is light and moving. Stuck is a fast-paced middle grade novel and invokes a great lesson of how to be unstuck in a bad situation.

Stuck by Becky Mushko delights in this emotional tale of grief, hope, and love. It may have been written with middle graders in mind, but anyone can find something to enjoy.

EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Every Other Day

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Egmont USA (December 27, 2011)

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley

To Purchase: Amazon  

Description: Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Review: Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Every Other Day explodes upon the paranormal scene and shows it’s not your average every day read.

In a world where hellhounds are members on the endangered species list, Kali D’angelo is far from normal. Every other day, Kali is a normal teenage girl, but come sunrise, she’s a nearly indestructible demon hunter. When she notices a death mark on a cheerleader, she decides to do the impossible and lures the parasite into her. Now stronger than ever but also connected to someone else like her, Kali has less than twenty-four hours to survive and save herself, her friends, and her mysterious new friend as well.

Every Other Day creates a brilliant world like our own, but where paranormal creatures are known to the regular humans. I love how Barnes uses the theories of evolution to frame the creatures. The characters are intriguing. I love Skylar and her gang of misfits, including her many brothers. The mysteries including Kali’s past are fun and intriguing to read. Kali’s voice is sarcastic and purely teen. The plot is fast-paced, and I kept reading to unravel the delicious mystery Barnes’ creates.

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes stands out amongst the paranormal crowd. I hope there’ll be more to come.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Title: 11/22/63

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Scribner

Format: Kindle eBook

Source: Purchased

To Purchase: Amazon  

Description: November 22nd, 1963 was a rapid-fire sequence of indelible moments: Shots ring out; a president slumped over; a race to the Dallas hospital; an announcement, blood still fresh on the First Lady's dress. But what if President John F. Kennedy didn't have to die; if somehow his assassin could have been thwarted? For Maine schoolteacher Jake Epping, those hypothetical what if's become real possibilities when he walks through a portal to the past. Without special skills and still unfamiliar with his new/old surroundings, he struggles to discover a way to change the history he left. Like its Under the Dome predecessor, Stephen King's 849-page novel shows that this master of suspense is back at the top of his game.

Review: Stephen King's 11/22/63 will drop the reader into the obdurate Land of Ago in his suspenseful new masterpiece.

When Jake's friend Al tells him his crazy plans to stop the Kennedy assassination in the past, Jake is first shocked and then amazed. He goes down the "rabbit hole" and agrees to change the past, but the past fights dirty. Jake'll need more than luck and knowledge of the future to survive, but will the new future be better than the old? Only time will tell.

The past may be obdurate, but King plans to create a new past in his 11/22/63. The characters are amazing and three-dimensional. Each one is unique and plays a part, no matter how big or small. Despite being a long novel, there is a quiet tension filling each page. I didn't want to put it down. I love the historical aspects of the novel and how King brings these characters from the past to life. The philosophy of time and time travel is fabulous. I love how the past harmonizes and the past doesn't want to change. Only one point made me roll my eyes, though. When Jake gets to Derry, we come across an It reference, which is a bit unoriginal, but it didn't stop me from reading. 

11/22/63 by Stephen King has done it again with this masterful, tense-filled new novel. I love it, and it's the type of book that'll make you think.