Book 5: Beautiful Disaster

Beautiful Disaster was a book that I read at the recommendation of a co-worker. Both of us like to read and will swap out reads all the time. 

Abby Abernathy was a classic good girl with a few secrets from her past. Her best friend America helps Abby to get more out of the college experience by bringing her to a fight club event. Shepley, America’s boyfriend, was there to help support his cousin, Travis.  Abby surprised Travis at the fight club event and he’s trying to get in her pants. Abby really isn’t sure about him especially since Travis doesn’t sleep with anyone more than twice.  But he was persistent and tricked her into a bet where she had to live at the apartment that was being shared with Shep, America and Travis.  Abby tried to move on from the idea of Travis since that was a heart break waiting to happen. But Travis makes it difficult since he would intimidate any guy who came around. The story gets really crazy as it goes on. The things in Abby’s past are not what you think. Then the ending, oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it. It was insane. 

But the craziness makes the book fun. I was texting my coworker at different points. I hadn’t had that much fun since I read the Hunger games with Susan.

I will be honest, I actually didn’t really care for Abby. She was a bit of a brat at times.  Travis was loose cannon. A honed fighter.  But at least underneath he was actually a teddy bear. I found myself cheering for Travis more and more even though I wasn’t sold on Abby.

Every once in a while an author will include in a great side character to help with backstory that is just magnificent. This happened in Beautiful Disaster. Travis’ dad was so cute and relatable. I loved how he was sweet to Abby and ready to back hand his boys if needed. I really wasn’t expecting him to be so rich for a cameo part.

I personally can’t wait for Jamie Maguire’s next book in the series Walking Disaster. While I won’t be thrown many curve balls in that story since it’s supposed to be relatively the same story as Beautiful Disaster from Travis’ point of view.  I can’t wait to see what he sees in Abby and how he handled the Parker situation. 

Book 4: The Reagan Diaries

The Reagan Diaries was a real treat to read but a dense read. Ronald Reagan was definitely interesting and I think  Douglas Brinkley did a great job to help edit down the diaries into a 784 page book.

I’m an eighties child. I remember stuff about Reagan from when he was in office in a vague sense. Not a ton since he was out of office when I was 4.  But I do remember him. More importantly, I have studied many of Reagan’s actions in classes over the years.  I have a Master’s of Public and International Affairs who studied security and intelligence.  Reagan is so important in regards to MADD, breaking down the Soviet Union, and serious hard core intelligence. So I have a healthy respect for the former president.   But it was still really interesting to read back and saw his daily ideas of stuff.

What I loved about this book is the ability to see the human side to him. He wasn’t quite what I expected in a way. He saw both sides of the situation oh so often. He was madly in love with his wife and hated whenever they were apart.  He used to get mad at his kids whenever they complained too much about the secret service. He wanted to protect his kids from the different threats that he knew about from intelligence reports but yet he understood that he couldn’t make the secret service lives miserable as well.

One of the things that surprised me was despite his busy schedule,  Nancy and him would watch a lot of movies and he would try to go Camp David every weekend. I knew he was actor, so he would have a healthy respect for the art but he really took it to the next level.  He loved horseback riding and being on the ranch. Then again a president is like anybody else, they need time to relax and do activities that recharge their batteries.

There were two things that were a real treat for me. His writing transitions about the day or lack of a coherent transition. He literally would talk about the arm deals that were worrisome and how Jack Lemmon was a terrific actor.  I do that, if it’s on my mind, I include it and sometimes the transitions are nonexistent.

The other things that I really enjoyed was noting the differences between the 80s and today. Some of it was really small things or things I take for granted. Like jeans,  he would break them in by going swimming in them and then letting them dry to his body. For me, I buy the most comfortable jeans from White House Black Market, no breaking in required.  Another thing was the movies, he would get upset if a movie showed drug use (like smoking a joint in 9 to 5) or used crude language since he acted in an era with heavy censorship to different shots. Now days, drug usage isn’t very popular in movies (but alluded to often) and strong language is more or less the norm.  

Book 3: A Different Kind of Fairy Tale

A Different Kind of Fairy Tale by Morgan Rayne was not exactly what I was expecting. If you read my blog a lot, you would know I am a sucker for fairy tales and urban fantasy, and based off the title.

At first I was in love with this story. It was fun to see a sports nut who realizes that she is actually into her best friend/neighbor. It was in that realistic vein that I do enjoy. It something very relatable and so there was the dissatisfaction that this could happen with me.

Plus I was hoping that the story wouldn’t be as bumpy as it was. There were times where Stella would just fly off the handle a little too quickly. I get being burned in a relationship and not wanting to get hurt but she’s almost too guarded.  There are fire/ice personalities but she takes the cake. Plus it seemed like at times some of the drama was amped up a little too much. With a story with a title harkening a fairy tale, I want that happy ending a little sooner then the author. Although the final ending was wicked sweet.

 Unlike the last book I’ve reviewed or Waking Up Married, I’m not sure how much more I will read with these characters. It was fun and nice distraction but I wasn’t fully compelled to read more after I finished up the book. 

Book 2: Exclusively Yours

Exclusively Yours by Stacey Shannon ended up being a very addicting little read. One that was I glad to find on iTunes for free.  It was a bit of a romance story between two exes that reunite in the form of a family vacation/interview.

I don’t know what it has been with me this year, I’ve definitely have been favoring the romantic stories. But I don’t hard core romance where scenes are just sets up of foreplay or pure bodice rippers. Instead I want stories that are grounded in reality. Something to give me hope for from a romance.  Give me a man with flaws but a sweet spot. 

The set up with Exclusively Yours is that Keri works for tabloid magazine and her boss finds out that Keri’s ex is the reclusive author Joe Kowalski. So she is sent home to get an interview with Joe.  She was able to connect with Joe. They find out there is still some sparks between them. So Joe devises this idea: come onto the family vacation and for everyday that you spend with the family, you could ask one question. He also kept a few things off limits which doesn’t exactly help Keri’s interview or career status.  

Spending time with your ex and his family isn’t as easy as it sounds. Especially when you are a city girl,  Joe’s sister is mad at you for unfriending her back in high school and then breaking Joe’s heart, and there are four rowdy boys in the mix.   But I liked that Keri was able to adapt as well as she did, okay she was a bit blackmailed into parts of the trip since if she refused activities, she couldn’t ask a question that day. She held herself well and it was nice to see her and Terri to repair parts of the friendship.

One of my favorite scenes was when Keri and Joe first hooking up. Part of it was how Joe got interrupted before that by his brother Kevin as he was retrieving condoms from the car.  Joe not being to happy about it kinda showed them to his brother poker style before he went to help his parents. But it really got good afterwards. Early into the vacation, Terry made the threat that if Keri and Joe were to hook up, she would hide all of Keri’s bug spray. Well nobody wants to risk their bug spray but it happened when in the woods.  And it was just funny how they all reacted to her swatting at herself until it was fessed up that Terry played a prank (not what started the prank).

I literally was hooked into the family dynamics. Sure I wanted things to end well, but it was more fun to see how everyone interacted. It was a rush to judgment for most people (other then Terry but that was her personality). I could see the kids doing what they were doing and it just felt like fun. I even wanted to go camping as I was reading it.

I'm going to be keeping my eyes out for more about the Kowalski family tales. 

Book 1: Play by Play

Play by Play: Radio, Television, and Big-Time College Sports by Ronald A. Smith was one of those rare textbooks that you want to read even after the class is done. In fact that was exactly what happened. I was assigned several chapters from this book as part of the required reading for my Sports and Media class. Since we only read several chapters, I decided to finish up the book while I was on break.

I loved sports my whole life. So it makes sense that I decided to pursue a life in sports.   But with sports it’s easy to forget the history of everything. It’s a big business now where back in the day, college sports were a form of clubs that grew up into something much larger. This book takes you to the roots of it all especially from the media stand point.

I loved reading about how it was the Ivy Leagues that really made competition what it is today. Now Yale, Penn, and Harvard aren’t exactly sport powerhouses. Instead it’s about academics first for them and a deemphasized view on sports.  It was fascinating to read. Plus it was neat to read how Fordham was the one competing in the first televised basketball game and the first televised football game. 

It was fascinating how schools didn’t want to promote certain products.   Cigarettes were okay to advertise and sponsor games but alcohol and drugs were completely off limits for most schools.

One of the things that didn’t surprise me was how the NCAA was trying to control everything. I remember growing up  where there was the game of the week but that was radically changing thanks to the Supreme Court Case (although when I’m less than 10 I had no idea it was an antitrust case, I just knew there was more options on TV).   But it was interesting to see the reason behind the NCAA.

This book was quite enjoyable.  It was both cursory but had excellent research. I’m glad Dr. Weaver had us read it for class and that I finished it up after the class was done.

Book 66: Girls In Trucks

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch really had me confused. I was not in love with this book at all.

Girls in Trucks is essentially about Sarah, a Southern girl with ties to Camellias. She goes from Cotillion Training School to being all grown up in New York. She’s had her ups and downs in life.  It’s unfair to call this book a novel. It’s more of a series of vignettes.

To be quite frank I hated this book. I have no idea how it was ever a national best seller. It was a disorganized mess.  Chapters barely tied together. Grammar was all over the place. Same thing with the point of view. Plus I thought the characters were terribly weak.  Normally national best sellers are better or good. This was pure crap.  

I find a great deal of irony of reading the back about how the author prides herself as having well developed characters. I’m sorry but other then Sarah, nobody was developed. Even most of the time, Sarah was a surface character. Turning someone into a drunk or a heroin addicted turned fashion mogul, isn’t character depth. Not unless you nature it and really interact. The characters never really stepped off the page for me other then in one chapter. That was when Eloise asked Sarah to visit her at school. It was a shame,  Eloise was never really brought back (okay she was for her wedding but it wasn’t a memorable).

When you think about Southern Society, you think about class, etiquette, tradition, and sisterhood.  This book touched upon those ideas but failed to really deliver them.

It’s no wonder that Girls in Trucks was left on a table for someone to take for free. This book was horrible. I wish it was better. I’m not sure if I will pass this book on. It just didn’t live up to my standards. 

Book 65: The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of Orwell Volume 2, My Country Right or Left

The Essays, Journalism and Letters of Orwell, My Country Right or Left was an interesting writing collection by George Orwell. This collection wasn’t the book wasn’t what I expected. Then the last half the book with is wartime diary was just flat out fascinating.

I won’t lie, when I read George Orwell in high school, it left a mark on me. I ate up both 1984 and  Animal Farm. The critique he had on society was so interesting and dark. So I was interested in reading more from him. I requested this book off of book mooch ages ago and then it got put on my shelf and forgotten about until I moved. This seemed like one of the perfect books to read to get something a little bit more serious on my reading list this year.

One of the things that really surprised me was how interested Orwell was in both propaganda and the use of new words. I wasn’t anticipating him speaking so favorably of propaganda and in a way wanted more done by the British in the WWII.  In a way it shouldn’t be so unusual. In 1984, propaganda was essential to the running of their world and the support of the military.  I’m just not as convinced that propaganda is so essential and can do in essence mind control.   After growing up with ads and skewed news stories everywhere, I’m skeptical by most propaganda. But I do know that the more often we characterize something as being evil, the more likely it can leave an impact.  

This book also allowed me to see Orwell’s personality. He just came to life. He seemed like such a character.  Someone who was so passionate about life and wanted to serve his country.

Several of the essays didn’t always impact me in the same way as I would have hoped.  He would talk about political leaders and I didn’t know them. It doesn’t take long for party leaders to be forgotten in history if they weren’t fully in charge. I knew Churchill, but some of the other names, I didn’t know.

My favorite part of this book was his war diaries. Those were great. More meaningful then his letters reporting about the war. In a way it was interesting and not surprising to see how the air raids weren’t always taken seriously. Such is human nature. The talk about life and events were interesting.  It showed me different views of the world which I love.

Book 64: Live to Tell

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner was an interesting read. It was an interesting twist on the idea of a murder thriller and mental illness. The characters had rich back stories.

This was a great little book. The perfect companion on a commute. It had action and great characters. The downside, it could be a choppy read.

I love how this book dealt with issues you don’t always think about. First, what it is like to be the one to survive the deaths of your whole family and you were witness to the onslaught. Second, how draining and difficult it can be to raise a young kid with severe mental illness. I learned a lot especially in how pediatric psych units can be run. There are some really interesting therapies out there and it’s neat to see how things are changing. The idea of CPS is really interesting and just plain smart if you have the ability to learn more about mental illness.

I liked the three main characters and the variety of lesser characters. There was Danielle, the lone survivor who was both the psych nurse and the struggle of dealing with a big anniversary of the death of the whole family. DD is the strong women detective who wanted to get a little personal time and yet dedicated to the job. Victoria the mother who gave up everything to care for her son who would bounce from being loving to absolutely psychotic.  All these characters had real breath to them. They weren’t perfect and they had issues.

The action always kept a good pace. Each chapter really had a purpose and would trade points of view so you could really get into the minds of the three characters. So many people died in the space of four days. There were two families killed (5 and 6 people respectively) and a primal girl. It was getting pretty crazy.

I hated how the book could get really choppy. While I love good plot progression, every so often I was lost.. Things would happen in the white space and you almost needed that information. While it was good to work my comprehension and logic skills.

The other thing that I disliked was the ending. I won’t go into too much detail, it was pretty lame. The Andrew Lightfoot character just fell apart in such an unbelievable way. I just couldn’t get behind that collapse. While the change in Evan’s character made sense, the change in Andrew Lightfoot’s didn’t.

Book 63: Beg For Mercy

Beg For Mercy was a little bit of a departure for me. I haven’t read a thriller in a while. Jami Alden spun a web that at times was pretty predictable but it was still a good read.

Beg For Mercy circles around Megan Flynn who is fighting for her brother’s life. Sean Flynn was arrested for a murder and would be the first person to be executed by the state. Megan lost almost all her friends and good part of her reputation by never stop believing that her brother was innocent despite the overwhelming evidence saying that he was guilty. In her search, she reunites with her former boyfriend, Cole Williams.  Cole was investigating the Seattle Slasher murders which appears to be a serial killer attacking prostitutes with little or no past. When Dev (a child that Megan tries to help), their two cases start to collide.

The book wasn’t bad but it was a wee bit predictable.  I guess early on connection between Club One, Sean, and the slasher murders and even the fixation by the murder has for Megan. It definitely could pull you in and make you want to keep reading so that is always a good thing.

One of the things that did bug me was the lack of showing in most situations. Most things were told to the reader. Especially when it came to the characteristics of people. I would have preferred more showing. Explain why people don’t trust or like Megan due to her belief in her brother rather then tell me all the time.  Just like I would have liked to know more about the roles about the prostitutes that Stephanie hinted at before her demise.

I will have to say, this very much reminded me of the book that was being written by my friend Darla. It was the same formula and that bugged me in a way. I don’t want to read basically paint-by-number book. It’s boring. I would like to think and be challenge when I read something. 

Book 62: Pale Demon

Pale Demon was the latest book on my reading list.  I was kinda disappointed by it.

Since I had the next book in the Hallows series, I decided to continue on with the series. I almost decided to switch it up but decided I wanted to know what happened to Rachel. Did she finally get her pardon and have her shunning revoked or did she finally get herself more into trouble? Plus how were things going on with Pierce and Rachel?

So I got to find.  Of course things couldn’t go smoothly for Rachel. People lied to her. Not to mention she had to take Trent to the west coast via car (since he was on an elven quest and she was banned from flying). Trent decided to unleash Ku’Sox, a genetic demon that the demons were trying to keep locked up underneath the Arch to keep him from destroying the world, as a way to gain leverage over a situation. But unleashing a crazy demon never works out well.  Needless to say, even getting to the conference wasn’t easy for Rachel and then for the coven to lie to her, things got even worse.

I will be honest, I felt like the book just gave up midway through. The oomph to the book wasn’t there all the way through. Plus I hated how the Pierce/Rachel storyline was just dropped. That was a great plot line from the last book and then non-existent. Sure there was a minor snag when Rachel prevented Pierce from killing Al. But instead of discussing it, she dwelt on it and created more friction then really necessary.

Also in this book, I felt like Rachel was more like a teenager then adult. She was just filled with angst and quick mood changes. Yes, in the first book, she could fly off the handle quickly due to jumping to the wrong conclusion but in this one, she took it to a new level.  So many of her actions, I felt like it was a little contrived..

I enjoyed the book. It was still a lot of fun but compared to Black Magic Sanction. I was left underwhelmed.  

Book 61: Black Magic Sanction

Black Magic Sanction was one of those rare books where I went from really couldn’t decide how I felt about it for over a third of the book and then found myself really wrapped up in the narrative. I think that starts to show the real pull to the Kim Harrison novel.

I’m wicked behind in The Hollows series. It’s book eight in the series but my first attempt at the series. So there was a lot of stuff that has happened in the past and the universe was a little cloudy for me.

Rachel Morgan’s life basically got far worse then she could have ever imagined. Basically she’s given two options: let the coven take her and give her a lobotomy/remove her ability to reproduce or fight for her life. Pretty easy choice in those terms. Although that does come at a cost, taking on a smut that comes with black magic and really trying to figure out your place in the world. Not to mention, her issues with men really come to play in this book.

Once I figured out the universe, I really got into the book. One particularly special and really well written moment was when Rachel shrunk down to be the size of a pixie to help out her friend Jenks.  It was special in that you could almost feel it happening to you. It’s doesn’t always happen to me to get caught up in the book like that.

The universe in this series is actually pretty cool. You got witches, elves, demons, pixies, fairies and even werewolves (somewhere in the background). Basically the demons and the elves went to war, they enlisted witches to help. After the war, the demons can’t reproduce until Rachel (a witch who can summon demon magic is healed by Trent’s dad an elf) who can potentially be the rebirth to the demon race. Demons area also trapped in the ever-after. Elves are basically in hiding in reality. Witches and pixies are out and known in reality and they shun/abhor any use of black magic. It makes your aura smutty. The coven hates smut yet it’s not beyond them to hire people who make their aura’s smutty.

I like how the characters weren’t black and white in this book. It’s full of grey for everyone. No one is good or bad (okay in this book Brooke really has no real goodness to her aside from her clean aura). It’s almost rare to see that in books. At least someone is pretty two dimensional. So I really applaud Kim Harrison for really playing with the characters and creating so much depth. 

Book 60: Unseen

Unseen by Rachel Caine was enjoyable but at the same time very unfulfilling. Quite simply I wanted it more.  That doesn’t mean the book was dull or poorly written.

Unseen is the third book in the Outcast series and this book does a fair amount of set up for the Weather Wardens books.  I knew Luis and Cassiel from Total Eclipse (the final book in the Weather Wardens series). So it was nice to see a book where they are the main characters.

Luis and Cassiel are ordered to bring Ibby (Isabel) to a school for the children who escaped from the Church/Pearl.  At first they were a bit resistant but then after a trip to an exotic pet store, Ibby realizes it would be good for her to go the school.  Once they arrive at the school, Cassiel and Luis learn that they have to fight Pearl head on to really save the children. Cass decides to leave the school to take on Pearl by herself and that means trying to infiltrate the Church.  On her way to meet up with the church, she realizes that there is a traitor at the school yet she can only warn Luis of the danger.

Cass (Cassiel) is a great character. She’s slightly alien in the fact that she’s a former djinn who is living life as a mortal. She still has access to magic but she does have to rely on Luis to help feed power to her.  Plus this book shows her motherly side. She is highly protective of Ibby (Luis’ niece) and does a great job of trying to do what she thinks the right thing is. Even if that brought up differences between her and Luis.

The book did leave me filling unfilled. The action was mostly wrapped up but at the same time it had a major cliff hanger.  There is a good chance, I will revisit Total Eclipse and man do I want to get my hands on the next Outcast book so I can see what happens next.

Book 59: Poor Little Bitch Girl

Poor Little B itch Girl by Jackie Collins was a great distraction while I rode the train to work. It’s just a light book that was fluffy like cotton-candy and yet really enjoyable like a reality TV show.

I grabbed this book off my bookshelf since it seemed like it would be fun read.  That was exactly what I wanted it to be.  This is one of my first books by Jackie Collins. I will have to say there is a reason she hasn’t been out of print. She hits a lot of reader’s sweet tooth.

Poor Little Bitch Girl in a way combines several of my favorite TV shows into a fun book. It has the personality of Veronica Mars, Diary of a Call Girl, Sex and the City, and any of the Real Housewives shows.  The book has a couple different story lines going on. Annabelle Maestro is a New York madam who just got outted and she just learned her super-star mother has been shot to death. If one disaster wasn’t enough for her, she gets to deal with two and drive everyone nuts around her. Then there is Denver Jones a lawyer hired to defend Annabelle’s father which quickly devolves into an assistant position where she has to fetch Annabelle. Carolyn Henderson has  exciting news to tell her best friend Denver but before she can tell Denver the news, she is kidnapped. To finish it out, there is Bobby Santangelo Stanislopoulos. He’s super rich, friends with Annabelle’s boyfriend and stands a chance to get the club of his dream.

Each chapter would focus on person and would usually give the chapter from their perspective.  I found myself liking Bobby and Denver the most from a personal perspective. They were the most relate-able and likeable. Annabelle was the most interesting by far but she was hardly likeable. She was cold and needy. But it’s like your least favorite Real Housewife, Annabelle provides great entertainment. Carolyn was just sweet but naive, living in her own world. From time to time, I would question why she was in the book so much whenever one else was to together. Living a completely different life and was in DC while everyone else was more together in LA or New York. Fortunately things were tightened together at the end of the book.

Since this book was not a literary piece by any means, I’m not going to talk about it in those terms.  Sure there are moments where the book can go snarky and more editorial. But this is a fun light read. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s quite enjoyable.

Book 58: Operation Kronstadt

Operation Kronstadt by Harry Ferguson tells the world about the early MI6mission in Kronstadt. This mission was an amazing intelligence success and showed real heroism by the men who participated.

Operation Kronstadt was one of the first major attempts to get intelligence in the Soviet Union.  The British would run CMB’s between Terrioki, Finland and Kronstadt which was one of the armed fortresses guarding Petrograd.  This mission was dual prong in the end, to attack the fortresses and to help get Paul Dukes out of Soviet Russia.

Operation Kronstadt was an easy read and it seemed to really have a hold on the history. It realized that the mission was both really successful in areas and had a lot of problems. The problems included many of the classic intelligence problems over the years: trusting the wrong people, betraying your cover, lack of supervision, and etc. The mission successes were very important especially the intelligence that Paul Dukes was able to gather in Soviet Russia and sinking a couple Soviet ships. Plus it allowed the CMBs to really got a lot of work.

It’s not often that you get to see both the operational successes and problems. This book reminds me of Main Enemy by showing intelligence by the intelligence operations in a certain part of the globe and really placing it in time.  It was one of the first books that I’ve seen that showed the immaturity of the MI6 program.  

Book 57: Star Trek Greater Than The Sum

Greater Than the Sum was a book that filled in so many holes in the Star Trek chronology for me.  It was a pretty good book.There was a couple problems but overall it was strong.

This book takes place just prior to the Destiny series.  This book really lays into the place the current Enterprise-E crew.  Picard is ordered into a nebula to prevent alien technology from falling into the Borg’s hands. The Borg were starting to evolve their tactics where they were slightly more deadly than before since they were starting to anticipate people’s attacks. So the last thing the Federation wanted was for potential slip stream technology from the Borg.

Greater Than the Sum also brought back Hugh. It was a fun to see him return with his friends. This brought in the other theme to the book: making babies. The Liberated (Hugh’s resistance fighters) wanted to reproduce.

The book could be dry at sections but that does seem to be expected whenever reading a Christopher L. Bennett.  But he does a great job with the characters for the most part. Tyrs (T’Ryssa) always seemed to act way too immature for a Star Fleet Officer. But it was great seeing the relationship issues between Crusher and Picard. It was also good to see Geordi trying to interact with the crew. Although at times it seemed like the females on the ship were trying to take his friendship for flirtation a little too quickly.  Really liked seeing Guinan again. Her guidance was perfect. I never quite get enough of Guinan.

Overall, I liked this book. It was great to see the set up for Destiny. It really helped to explain some of the gaps with the Borg on why they went much more violent against the Federation in the next few books.

Book 56: Kitty Steals The Show

Kitty Steals the Show was the book I’ve been waiting for all summer.  This book didn’t disappoint either. It was enjoyable and breezy and sets up a major conspiracy.

The Kitty Norville books have been my favorite werewolf series for a long time. Kitty has been a great series and each book release has been highly anticipated. Especially since the book releases are now being spaced out to one a year. Which I will say honestly is a good thing for the series. It’s allowing for better storytelling and less phoning it in. But it kills the fan girl in me since I have to wait a year instead of six months. On the plus side, she’s having more books published throughout the year.

Kitty Steals the Show brings the series to a great crossroads and brings back old favorites while introducing a new character that I would love to see more. The long game is approaching right when the world is at a crossroads of ideologies of those who accept paranormal species and those who do not.

I enjoyed the balance of the book. It had a lot going on and could have easily fallen apart or seem schizophrenic like my last book. Instead it was tightly honed. The biggest problem was the Kitty never seemed to be exhausted from her escapades with the vampires/werewolves and the conference until the last day.  But she had enough adrenaline going through her, it made it easy to keep going.

It was great to see Luis again. He was a fun character. It’s been several books since we last seen the were-jaguar.  It was great to see the way he played with Kitty and she would blush at the thought of them hooking up again even though she was now married.  That was nice character revisit.  Just made it more lifelike.

There was the all necessary pun of an American Werewolf in London. Which made me giggle, especially when the werewolf herself groaned at the pun on her radio show.

Biggest downside, at times I wasn’t fully enthralled with the book. I could pull out of it from time to time. It wasn’t like the first couple books where I pulled all nighters to finish up the book since I couldn’t put it down.