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 :)

Another New Series!!

I have found another new series!  The Stacy Justice series by Barbra Annino.  I found this series through the compilation Every Witch Way But Wicked.  As you may know from previous posts, I can not stand to start in the middle of a series, so when I started reading "A Tale of Two Witches" by Christiana Miller and Barbra Annino and realized that the characters mentioned within were established in other series, I immediately stopped reading the story and started the respective series'.  I did enjoy Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christiana Miller (where some of the characters in the story originate) and will post my review soon.  However, I was really drawn in by Annino's Stacy Justice.  Opal Fire is the first book in the series and it introduces us to Stacy Justice, a woman born into a family of witches but does not want to accept her prophesied role as the Seeker.  She has recently moved back to the small town of Amethyst and the lives of her family, including her grandmother Birdie and great-aunts Fiona and Lolly, collectively known as the Geraghty Girls and revered as the local witches.  Stacy believes and understands the magic held by her family but refuses to embrace the magic as a part of her.  However, when her cousin Cinnamon's bar, The Black Opal, burns to the ground under mysterious circumstances, Stacy has to harness everything in her power, including her powers, to prove Cinnamon wrongly accused and bring justice to another lost soul.  In the second book, Bloodstone, Stacy is faced with accepting her role in the family in order to help a long lost sister (?) and protect a centuries old secret.  She must learn to face her own demons regarding magic and find her place within the family hierarchy.

Both books are well-written and contain compelling characters.  The Geraghty Girls alone are worth reading both books, but the other characters are as well-written and likable.  Stacy is real, with real problems, magic aside, and very likable.  She is surrounded by friends and family that are both skeptical about her family and supportive of the craziness.  You want to read about her, her life and the town and you want her to triumph over whatever circumstances she finds herself in.  I thoroughly enjoyed both Opal Fire and Bloodstone and look forward to reading the third Stacy Justice book Tiger's Eye due out in 2012.

WOW: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, highlighting the upcoming releases being eagerly awaited by all of us bibliophiles.

This week's Waiting on Wednesday is:

 

I've just finished the first book in the series, Matched, and I really enjoyed it.  If you haven't read Matched, just stop now & go read it.  Here's the link to my review of Matched and Goodreads description of the book:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Matched, I am eagerly anticipating the November 1st release of Crossed (Matched).  Again, here is the Goodreads synopsis:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

  

Crossed (Matched) is scheduled for release on November 1, 2011.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen writes magic:  her stories are full of strong Southern women, sweetness and secrets.  In The Peach Keeper: A Novel, she once again weaves a wonderful tale of two Southern women, distant in the present but bound together by the past and a powerful secret.  Paxton Osgood has spent her life being the girl and then the woman that everyone seemed to expect her to be.  Willa Jackson is just the opposite.  She defied convention and her grandmother's attempt at a strict upbringing, only to 'lock down' that wild child to become a responsible adult.  Neither woman is truly happy, each wanting some part of who the other is, not realizing that what marks them as different, really makes them so much the same. 

Paxton is in charge of the restoration of the Blue Ridge Madam, a spectacular home formerly owned by Willa's ancestors, but lost during the financial crisis of the Depression.  During the landscaping, a skeleton is dug up from beneath the lone peach tree.  The skeleton brings to light secrets from the past, secrets of a Magic Man who held the town captive under his spell.  Secrets belonging to Willa's grandmother Georgie and Paxton's grandmother Adele.  The secret brings the younger women together, in an attempt to protect the older ones.  Their unlikely alliance leads each woman to discover something special and magical about herself, love and the power of friendship.

I am a huge admirer of Sarah Addison Allen's work.  The Peach Keeper: A Novel tells a wonderful story of love, loss and regrets.  It reminds us that we all need to be who we are, not who we think we should be and that we all need to open some space up in our lives for something good to come in.

Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

Thank you Barnes & Noble Free Fridays for providing me with such a fun read.  Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell is a delightfully funny romance, nothing too risque and having a lot of heart.  Millie finds herself in a bit of a bind--she's without a boyfriend and without a job, making for the perfect situation to be rescued by Orla Hart, romance writer.  Orla is reeling from a scathing review of her last book and is determined to write something better.  She decides to base her next book on real life, Millie's real life.  However, as Millie's life isn't as exciting as Orla would like, Orla decides to bring in some romantic candidates.  What she doesn't know, is that Millie is holding out on her.

As I said, this is a fun read.  The characters are realistic and funny.  Millie is surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast:  Hester, her best friend whose boyfriend is working 500 miles away, Millie's father and his wonderful partner Judy, the polar opposite of Millie's mother, Adele who left for London, looking for a more exciting life, Nat, Hester's perfect and absent boyfriend; Lucas, Hester's lifelong crush who is more than meets the eye; the gorgeous Con Devereaux, incredibly famous movie star with his own secrets.  And Hugh.

I've never read Jill Mansell before, and this book reminded me very much of a Sophie Kinsella/Marian Keyes type story.  Mind you, Mansell definitely has her own style and it's a very nice one, but I was reminded of these other authors, whom I love.  In fact, I'm planning to add plenty of Jill Mansell to my download list.  I was thrilled when I checked her website to see that she has quite an impressive list of books and awards to her credit.   I've been off of "chick lit" for a while, but I think Millie's Fling might just bring me back for a while.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I always thought that this was a romance between young people and so it sat on my shelf until I was in the right mood for that kind of book.  It sat there for quite some time until, recently, I felt the need for a change in genre and decided to pick it up.  I couldn't put it down--it mesmerized me.  The story is a romance between young people, but it's so much more than that.  It's a true love story--not just a story about true love, but a story that defines love, clarifies it and shows the enduring power of it.  This book is about love, faith, trust, hope and miracles.  I loved it.

I don't know that there is anyone out there who hasn't already read this book, but, just in case, I'm going to try and avoid any spoilers.  This story touched me so deeply that I'm more inclined to write about my emotions than the substance of the book itself.  In some places, I felt my heart warm and happiness bloom inside me.  In others, I cried so hard I had to stop reading because I couldn't read the words anymore.  I didn't expect to feel this way over a story--not many stories have touched me this deeply--but I can't say enough about how much I loved it.

The Notebook was, in short, amazing.  It made me feel and believe and wish and hope and dream.  I realize now that I have this love in my life and I can only hope it continues to grow and sustain.  Love won't be denied and it can create miracles.

Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston

Save the world, Save Sonny, Save the theatre, Save yourself.  Tyff's advice pretty much sums up Kelley's role in Tempestuous, the third and final installment in the Wondrous Strange trilogy by Lesley Livingston.  Kelly has lied about not loving Sonny because she feels it is the best way to protect him from the truth and those that would hunt him down for his abilities.  Sonny takes off and finds himself drawn underground to a world inhabited by Lost Fae.  One little lie brings everything together and sets both Kelley and Sonny on the path to not only finding the truth about their enemies, but the truth about themselves.

I really enjoyed the end of this trilogy.  Livingston goes beyond wrapping everything up in a neat package and shows that her characters really have grown during their journey.  Both Kelley and Sonny learn from mistakes made in earlier parts of the their respective stories and even the Fae Royals are able to admit some wrongdoings.  Overall, the entire series was highly entertaining.  I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Shakespeare references/parallels in each story.  Livingston writes her characters as complicated, yet trusting and inexperienced young people.  Kelley really grows from the somewhat insecure young actress into a young woman worthy of being Fae royalty.  Sonny also matures from the blind, trusting young guard into a man who sees beyond the surface of people and begins to understand their natures.  I am sorry to see the story end, but it does end well.  I look forward to see what else this author has to offer in the future.

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The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

The Story Sisters is an incredible tale of love, loss, tragedy and betrayal. It follows the lives of the Story Sisters: Elv, Meg & Claire and how each of their lives is impacted by a single tragedy which places each of them on the path to her destiny. Alice Hoffman's telling leads us into a dark world of sadness, depression, drug abuse and death. It is written so honestly and thoughtfully that the reader is drawn into the world of these sisters and feels their pain right along with them. This is an amazing work.

I absolutely love Alice Hoffman & tend to devour her books rather quickly. This one, however, took me over a week to read. When I started it, the material was a little dark & disturbing, so I put it down, walked away & actually read another book before I came back to it. But, I did come back to it. I really wanted to know what happened to these girls and I cried several times while reading it. But, it was worth working through all the tragedy and heartbreak these girls face in order to see where they end up. As usual, I can't wait for the next Alice Hoffman to show up on my shelf.