Wild Wild Death by Casey Daniels

I had been anxiously awaiting the latest installment in the Pepper Martin series and it was worth the wait!

Pepper Martin can see and talk to ghosts--in fact, she's a sort of paranormal investigator, helping ghosts settle unfinished business so that they can cross to the other side.  Thus far, she's helped a lot of spirits cross over, but it's wreaked havoc on her social life.  Her opportunity to be with Dr. Dan was thwarted by the ghost of his dead wife and Quinn, well he's seen it and still won't believe it.  Her latest adventure, however, might just change all that.

Dr. Dan is in trouble:  he's been kidnapped and his abductors have contacted Pepper to bring the bones of a Native American buried in Cleveland to New Mexico, supposedly to break a curse on the city that exacts itself on the Cleveland Indians baseball team.  Bringing the bones to New Mexico brings Pepper into a whole new world, one where she doesn't need to hide her abilities.  In fact, her abilities are looked upon as a gift by the Native American community and she is accepted and appreciated for being Pepper.

I really enjoyed this new adventure.  I admit, I get worried when a series reaches more than five books because they can become repetitive, tedious or just plain ridiculous.  However, this is the eighth installment in the Pepper Martin series and the change of scenery was refreshing.  Placing Pepper in a situation where she has the opportunity to explore her gifts and what they mean to her showed growth in her character and bodes well for the future of the series.  While I was a bit disappointed in the ending, I think I understand Casey Daniels' reasons for ending the book as she did and I look forward to the next Pepper Martin mystery.

New Author!

So, as you may know, lately I've been reading more independent authors and I've found another one that I like:  Rose Pressey.  I've read Me and My Ghoulfriends and Ghouls Night Out from the Larue Donovan series and No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells from the Mystic Cafe series and really have enjoyed her characters and her stories.

Larue Donovan can see and speak to the dead.  She uses her abilities to help departed souls find the light and cross over to the other side.  However, during her attempts to help these souls cross, she usually finds herself hosting them as room mates for a while until they are ready to go.  Her side job as a ghost hunter usually brings her into contact with said souls, who then follow her home and hang around until they are ready to cross over.  Her 'friends' make her daily life a little complicated, since only her best friend knows about Larue's abilities (and she'd like to keep it that way). 

In both the books I have read, Larue gets mixed up with other 'supernatural' elements in her hometown that she never knew existed.  She encounters black magic witches, as well as the local white magic coven.  In both books, she is involved in a burgeoning romance with Callahan, the new guy in town, and her abilities make things a little complicated all around.  I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with the plot similarities between the two books and hope that future plots are a little more creative, but I did enjoy the characters involved and hope to see more of this series in the future.

The Mystic Cafe series, however, is definitely my favorite of the two.  When her grandmother retires, Elly Blair finds herself the new owner of the Mystic Cafe, which her grandmother has run for all of Elly's life.  While she is a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of running her own restaurant, her grandmother throws in a surprise--magic.  Elly is skilled with magic, as her grandmother is, and it is now Elly's responsibility to not only feed the people in town, but to also add magic to their food in order to boost self-esteem, relieve pain or whatever the customer may need.  Unfortunately, things do not go smoothly for Elly and she must find a way to correct a spell gone awry before the powers that be close the cafe forever.

I really enjoyed the first installment and look forward to the next one, which is due out soon!  Rose Pressey also has a number of other series that I plan to check out in the near future :)

A Hard Day's Fright by Casey Daniels

I love the Pepper Martin series :)  It's like chick lit wrapped in a mystery with a paranormal bow on top.  Pepper is such an interesting character--a survivor with an impeccable sense of fashion.  After the high society world she was groomed for falls apart, thanks to her father & some Medicare fraud, she picks herself up, dusts herself off and gets a job as a tour guide at the local cemetery.  A mishap at the cemetery leaves Pepper with an interesting gift:  she can communicate with the dead.  She can see, hear and speak to them.  Apparently, she is quite a novelty because after word starts spreading around the afterlife, she keeps getting approached by souls with unfinished business.

A Hard Day's Fright (A Pepper Martin Mystery) is the seventh installment in the Pepper Martin series.  Pepper gets approached by a young girl who was murdered in 1966, the night she attended a Beatles concert with some friends.  She needs Pepper to find her body so she can rest in peace.  Unfortunately, her body was never found and Lucy can not seem to leave the Rapid (train) car that holds her last happy memory, so Pepper is basically on her own.  Until, she discovers that Ella not only knew Lucy, but was with her that fateful night at the Beatles concert.

Casey Daniels really surprised me in this one.  I really thought I had it all figured out about 2/3 of the way through the book and actually wondered how she was going to drag the book out for that much longer without Pepper figuring it out--when I found out that I was wrong.  I had a part of the mystery right, but there was so much more going on.  Not only did she provide an interesting mystery, but the changes to Pepper's personal life were pretty remarkable as well.  Now, I can't wait to read the next book in order to find out how Pepper snaps back.

Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reader's copy of Shift (Shade, Book 2) by Jeri Smith-Ready.  I was thrilled because I absolutely loved Shade (Shade, Book 1), as well as her WVMP series, and I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Shift (Shade, Book 2) since I finished Shade (Shade, Book 1).  If you haven't read Shade (Shade, Book 1), go get it now and read it--it's excellent.

Shift (Shade, Book 2) picks up shortly after Shade (Shade, Book 1).  Aura is still reeling from Logan having gone shade and is desperately trying to bring him back.  She is also trying to deal with her feelings for Zachary, while they work together to uncover the role of Newgrange in the Shift, as well as their place in it.  This second installment, the series will be a trilogy, really focuses on Aura and her feelings.  She is trying to reconcile the loss of her first love, while facing her feelings for Zachary--who may be her destiny.  Aside from the supernatural aspects, the emotional development of Aura is well-written and very true to life.  She is at an age where she is transitioning into a more mature mind-set.  Her priorities are changing and her emotions are maturing.  Her relationships are maturing as well, not just with Zachary but also with her Aunt Gina and her grandmother. Together, Aura and Zachary begin to unravel the mysteries of the Shift, Newgrange and Aura's parents.  They learn about the connection between Zachary's father & Aura's mother and what may have happened to them on that fateful Winter Solstice.

In truth, I started reading Jeri Smith-Ready because she writes about where I am from.  I really enjoy reading about familiar places in my fiction.  However, her books are great, with or without the local connection.  I highly recommend  all of her books, but this series is my favorite of hers.  The concept is original and fascinating.  The relationships are well-developed and, supernatural elements aside, very easy to relate to.  Her WVMP series runs a close second--and if you love vampires, you should get started with Wicked Game.

Review: Halfway Hexed by Kimberly Frost

The third installment in the Southern Witches series brings us back to Duvall, Texas with Tammy Jo Trask, pastry chef and late-blooming witch. Still recovering from battling the fairies and werewolves, she is trying to focus on her 'normal' life and her career while avoiding the oh-so-sexy Bryn Lyons. Of course, ever since her magic started emerging, things rarely turn out like Tammy Jo plans.

Things in Duvall are a bit crazy. It seems that some of the townspeople that Tammy Jo helped during the battle are on a crusade to rid the town of witchcraft. On top of that, WAM is coming to investigate and dole out punishment to both Tammy Jo and Bryn. And, she finally hears of her mother & Aunt Mel: her mother is in fairy and Aunt Mel is trapped in England without her powers. So, who else can she turn to besides the incredibly handsome Bryn?

In Halfway Hexed (A Southern Witch Novel), Frost brings us deeper into Tammy Jo's relationship with Bryn. Tammy Jo really starts to acknowledge the depths of her feelings for Bryn--despite the family prophecy meant to keep them apart. With no one else she can depend on, she really begins to wonder just how bad can the prophecy be?

I enjoyed this installment, although the ending left me wondering if there will be another. While some things are resolved to a point where the story could end, there are still other things left unresolved. Nothing on Kimberly Frost's website gives the indication of future books. None the less, I have enjoyed reading the Southern Witches series and would recommend it to fans of paranormal fiction.

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls (Ghost Hunter Mysteries, No. 5) finds MJ Holliday and the cast of Ghoul Getters in Ireland, investigating a haunted castle.  However, this is no ordinary haunted castle, this castle boasts a phantom and a legend of lost treasure.  Upon their arrival in Ireland, the team finds that several treasure hunters before them have lost either their lives or their sanity trying to locate the lost treasure of Dunlow Castle.

MJ is back, helping lost spirits and busting evil ones.  She's got Gilley, Heath and her television crew with her.  They are in Ireland visiting a very haunted castle--with helpful and harmful spirits.  When a member of her crew goes missing, presumably lost to the phantom, the kinder spirits at the castle charge her with solving the mystery of the phantom and ridding the castle of it.  Only then will they assist her in finding her friend.  MJ finds herself solving several mysteries, including the mystery of her feelings for Heath.

Victoria Laurie provides a fun adventure, mixed with some ghost hunting and a little romance, in this addition to the Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  MJ continues to be her witty, entertaining self, and her relationships with Gilley and Heath add humor and romance to the mix.  Overall, this follows the previous books in the series very nicely and I hope we see more development between MJ and Heath in the future.