Supernatural

I am totally loving these books! Kirsten White has such a great perspective on the whole supernatural thing and it is so refreshing. I love the main characters and the challenges they are faced with. Because they are "real life" issues mingles with that paranormal twist. Even though I don't put much stock into paranormal beliefs, this comes across as "believable" to me. If these things truly did exist I could totally see these trials and things coming to pass. It's just so funny and refreshingly clean that it's such a great recommendation for any age. I would even let my nine year old read it. It's a little beyond her comprehension but I don't have to worry about language, or details, or romance passages getting out of hand. I love this book and can't wait for the third one to come out!

Son of Neptune

This is the second book in Rick Riordan's series "The Heroes of Olympus" series. It had been quite awhile since I had read the first book and so I didn't remember what happened but that was ok. The characters in this book are very likeable and good ol' Percy Jackson is back. It picks up with Percy having amnesia of sorts. He has some fuzzy memories of a past life but can't seem to put them all together. Weird monsters are after him and he's not quite sure why. He finds himself at the Roman camp and learning about the Gods whom he calls by their Greek names. The Romans are a little skeptical of him because they can tell he's Greek and they don't get along with the Greeks very well. The war between the Gods is continuing and Percy and two of his new friends have to go on an impossible quest and make it back before the clock strikes midnight when all hell breaks loose and the world as we know it will be destroyed! Such great reading. I love the way Rick Riordan writes and the mythology that you learn along the way. It ended with such a great twist that I'm mad I have to wait until the fall for the third one to come out!! I very much liked this book!

Midnight at Austenland

Well Shannon Hale has done it again! I absolutely LOVED this book! It has everything in it: humor, murder, intrigue, romance, adventure, and just a hint of actual real life problems. I loved the characters in this book and even though I figured out the mystery it was still so much fun to read and follow. Once again we go to Austenland to escape life's drama and get into some "let's just pretend that we're in one of Jane Austen's books" drama. The chivalry, the culture, the fancy dresses. One thing I liked about this book is that the main characters all had a hard time sticking to their "script" and more of the life behind the actors came out. This heroine was just as hilarious and fantastic as the heroine in the original Austenland. And while I didn't identify with her as much as I had the last character, I still found a soft spot for her in my heart and just cheered her on the entire book. My favorite part that made my husband and I laugh out loud for three solid minutes and then continually chuckle to ourselves for weeks on end was the "...long note from the buttocks bassoon..." You'll have to read the book if you want to find out what it means. Who doesn't love a good Shannon Hale book anyway! Read it. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Lemon Tart- A Culinary Mystery

I read the first book in a culinary mystery series called Lemon Tart. It was very well written and I enjoyed it. I cannot think of who the author is at the moment...wait...it's Josi S. Kilpack. The main character is kind of a Ms. Marple kind of person: she's a widow who likes to look out her window and watch everyone and everything and has it all timed down to the exact minute. I admit that for me, this was a fairly easy book to figure out. There were a few twists and turns, but none that I didn't already see coming. This is one reason why I don't read a lot of mysteries-they are just to easy to figure out. I like Agatha Christie's because I can never figure them out.

Well, in this particular story the murder victim is a young single mom that the main character befriends. She teaches her how to make a lemon tart because her last name is Lemmon. The main character tries to solve the case (against the wishes of the authorities) and happens to unravel a family secret in the process.

It's very well written and it has a good plot and story line. Plus there is an added bonus-the author puts in the recipes of all the food mentioned in the book. I told the ladies at book club that whoever hosts the month we read this has to make all the recipes in the book. They range from not only the infamous lemon tart but anything from homemade alfredo sauce to carrot cookies. I read the first chapter of the next book in line: English Trifle and it was very intriguing. I have to say that one thing Mrs. Kilpack does is get straight to the point. The murder has happened within the first chapter. At first I didn't like that because there was no set-up and as I looked at the thickness of the book I cringed at all the "wild goose-chasing" that had to happen in order for this mystery to be solved and we were only through the first chapter! I noticed that the next book starts out the same-murder happens in the first chapter. Well, I guess I'll have to read it and see what happens. Besides, I absolutely LOVE English Trifle!

If you want to read a mystery that is not scary and won't make you jump at every creak the house makes (and get a few good recipes while you're at it) give Josi S. Kilpack's culinary mysteries a try!