Review: The Shoppe of Spells by Shanon Grey

The Shoppe of Spells (The Gatekeeper Series, Book #1)
by Shanon Grey
Release Date: November 23, 2011
2011 Turquoise Morning Press
Ebook Edition; 244 Pages
ASIN: B0059VU4YC
Genre: Fiction / Paranormal
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
When is a whole more than the sum of its parts? When it has ties to the quaint little town of Ruthorford, GA, as Morgan Briscoe discovers when a cryptic message threatens to change her life forever.


Morgan's relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake, who, despite his riveting good looks, can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner.

Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension. Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.

My Thoughts
The Shoppe of Spells had a very interesting and unique story line to it that I quite enjoyed.  From the moment I was introduced to Morgan and her cat, Mrs. T., I was intrigued by the secrets that were set in motion almost from the beginning of the novel when a letter from a mysterious lawyer arrived for her in the mail.  Secrets, mysteries, old family traditions - all of these things are always a draw for me and often keep me reading until I discover the things I want to know.

Some of these secrets lure Morgan to a charming town where she discovers she is now half-owner of a shop and bounteous gardens, something she has always wanted and longs in her heart to keep forever.  She also discovers the other owner is a sexy male and finds herself completely smitten right from the beginning.  I thought the growing relationship between Dorian and Morgan was cute and fun, although I like the fact that trust was not always forthcoming as it made their relationship seem more real and believable.  There were times I would have liked to have shaken Dorian however, as his habit of withholding information was sometimes annoying and seemed more like it was for the sake of the moving the plot along rather than for relationship purposes.  There was sometimes a false ring to these revelations when he spoke to others and it sometimes drove me crazy.  While the author tried really hard to show the physical attraction between the two of them, there were times when I felt like Ms. Grey was trying a tad too hard to push the believability of the attraction and I didn't buy it.  However, I did enjoy the scene in the grotto, and for those romance lovers out there, who don't want  too much detail, but still want some romance and love, I think you will really enjoy this scene. 

The plot itself, while it had some intriguing twists and turns, was somewhat slow in sections, and the whole villain thing didn't work in my estimation.  While what happened to Jasmine was truly horrible, it felt wrong and out of place in the novel, not because of the incident, but because it didn't really seem to fit in the plotline very well.  I couldn't really grasp Rob's importance in the grand scheme of things, and yes, I know he worked for Iain, but to turn so horrible so quickly made little sense to me.  I also felt the creatures and their purpose was not explained very well, nor were the portals and it left me with far more questions that were not answered; this was sort of frustrating as a reader.  There were quite a few secondary characters involved in the novel, some I am absolutely certain we will see in future novels (hopefully!!!), and I really enjoyed their quirky personalities.  Meadow was a delight and a treat, and I really hope there will be a novel devoted to Morgan's BFF, Jenni, as I adored her character. I was totally surprised by Jasmine as I was prepared to hate her character as the scheming and jealous ex-girlfriend, and she ended up being anything but that.  Love those twists!! These characters also played pivotal roles in this novel, roles which are not totally clear at this point.  Hopefully more answers will be forthcoming in future novels to the many questions I have.

Verdict
The Shoppe of Spells is the first novel in the Gatekeeper Series and is a fun, lighthearted read.  While I thought it was somewhat lacking in regards to suspense and I did find it fairly predictable, there were enough other delights, especially through some of the quirky secondary characters, to keep me interested.  This series is off to an interesting start, and I am looking forward to learning more about Jasmine and her abilities in the next book in this series.

Author Biography

Shanon Grey weaves romance and suspense with threads of the paranormal. THE SHOPPE OF SPELLS is the first in her series, THE GATEKEEPERS. Shanon spent her life on coasts, both the beautiful Atlantic and the balmy Gulf. Hurricane Katrina taught her the fragility of life and the strength of friendship, family and starting over. She currently lives in northern Georgia, trading the familiarity of the coast for the lush beauty and wonder of the mountains, where her husband fulfilled her lifelong dream—to live in a cottage in the woods. There, she garners inspiration from horses grazing on rolling pastures and deer that wander by to tease her beloved dog.

You can join her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShanonGrey, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShanonGrey and visit her website at www.shanongrey.com. Contact her at shanongreybooks@yahoo.com. She would love to hear from you.

Review: Something Witchy This Way Comes by Veronica Blade

Something Witchy This Way Comes (Something Witchy, Book #1)
by Veronica Blade
Release Date: November 30th, 2011
2011 Crush Publishing
Softcover Edition; 394 Pages
ISBN: 978-0979886942
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal
Source: Review Copy from Pump Up Your Book

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her an escape from her self-absorbed parents. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s motives. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other. When the school’s scrumptious delinquent, Hayden Anders, offers Tessa self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, his timing couldn’t be better. Although hanging out with him is a necessary evil in Tessa’s fight to stay alive, resisting a bad-boy she secretly yearns for might be more than she can manage. Together, Tessa and Hayden work to unravel the mysteries behind the two covens to discover why they’ll stop at nothing to lure Tessa to their side. She must form an alliance with one of the covens before it’s too late. But the wrong decision could cost Tessa the lives of all who she holds dear — including Hayden.

My Thoughts
Something Witchy This Way Comes is a fascinating look at two young adults, who also happen to be inbedded full of supernatural talent, deal with mainstream issues such as neglect, abuse, peer pressure, relationship issues, future-plan issues, and bullying, as well as supernatural issues such as power, control, trust, abuse of power, and making right choices.  A novel that is fun and engaging, with a lot of romance thrown into the mixture for those with a romantic soul, Something Witchy This Way Comes has that wonderful blend of everything that makes a novel so intriguing to read.

The spark between Tessa and Hayden is evident almost from the beginning and I really enjoyed watching the fireworks play out between them as the contest of wills was fun to read about. Opposites in personality and every other way possible, Hayden is rich and gorgeous, and girls just throw themselves at him; known as a bully and often in trouble, he carries a huge weight on his shoulders, a weight he will never share with anyone.  Tess is the clean-cut quiet girl who has an enviable GPA, a beauty who is not quite invited to all of the glittering parties and doesn't quite fit in the with the 'in' crowd.  Having Hayden as her protector completely changed her life as she was introduced to a world completely different from her own quiet one, a world she prefers to the wild party life that Hayden lives.  And yet, watching the scenes develop and seeing that element of trust grow was interesting and I've often wondered why the element of opposites attracting always exists in these novels.  While there were some steamy scenes between them, I liked how Tessa held her ground and held to her morals and was very insistent that Hayden follow the ground rules that were laid out.  While not a fan of novels where characters are blindly in love right from the beginning, I'm glad the novel didn't exactly follow that route, and the principal characters had their difficulties and their problems or I wouldn't have bought into their relationship.  As the two worked through their problems however, family secrets that had long been hidden came to light and both Tessa and Hayden discovered things about themselves and their families that have been kept hidden.  I love secrets and finding out hidden things is something I enjoy reading; woven deftly throughout the novel, it grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the end.

One of the things I really enjoyed in this novel were the many themes interwoven among the plot.  Themes such as neglect and abuse flowed throughout the pages and I watched as Tessa had to struggle to make grown-ups decisions, decisions such as staying home rather than going away to college and checking on the babysitter to make sure she was doing her job, in order to give her little sister a semblance of a happy home as her parents didn't shower either of them with love or affection or pay attention to them.  While I was reading these scenes, all I wanted to do was go hug my own children and sit down with them and tell them how much I loved them; it was quite sad at times.  I found myself quite connected to both of the main characters, and the differing POV's certainly helped, as the author switched back and forth between Tessa and Hayden and I enjoyed reading about the two viewpoints.  It also showed the reader how complicated both of these main characters were and how easily things can be misconstrued in a situation if people are not completely honest with each other.   Some of the other themes dealt with in this novel included bullying, peer pressure, sexual relationships, future decisions, and responsibility.

Verdict
Something Witchy This Way Comes is a novel full of twists and turns, and blends the paranormal with suspense and high school angst in such a way that makes it a real page turner.  While some parts can be somewhat predictable, there is so much to enjoy in this novel that it really doesn't matter, and the secondary characters are as fun and interesting as the main characters.  And because I still have some unanswered questions, I am really hoping (please, Ms. Blade!!!) that a sequel is coming soon. 

Check out my giveaway for Something Witchy This Way Comes HERE.

I also apologize for this post not appearing yesterday when it was supposed to post.  I really don't know what went wrong, but my pre-scheduled posting did not work (yet again) and this post, which should have appeared yesterday, did not show up.  Again, my sincerest apologies to Dorothy and her team.

Guest Post: Crystal Connor

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/

Curling Up By The Fire would like to welcome Crystal Connor, author of The Darkness, a science-fiction /  horror novel that is sure to produce some chills. Selected as a two time Award-Winning Finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards in the fiction categories of Cross Genre Fiction and Multicultural Fiction, The Darkness tells the story of two women, one who practices alchemy and one who practices witchcraft, as they each share the responsibility of raising a child with tremendous powers, one who was bred and born for a purpose of which the scientists who created him are aware. 

Artemisia, a scientist who also practices alchemy, is wealthy beyond imagination. She is one of the founding members of the Skyward Group, a privately funded, secret, research facility conducting experiments that erase what tradition has established as the boundaries separating the realm of man from the realm of God. Artemisia has everything she wants – money, fame, knowledge and power – except for a child. Inanna is a powerful and dangerous witch, also wealthy beyond imagination. Her powers are greater and more deadly than any in the long tradition before her. Inanna has everything she wants – money, knowledge and God-like power – except for a child. The Child has nothing. At three months of age, he knows only what he has experienced through the bars of his locked cage. He has nothing. He doesn’t have a mommy. He doesn’t have a daddy. He doesn’t have a name. The scientists who created him do not handle him, because they know The Child is dangerous.

In The Darkness, Two women clash in a vicious battle that has been fought since the days of King Solomon – the fight over a child. One woman unleashes the nightmarish arsenal of modern science while the other dispatches the weaponries of witchcraft. And as The Child grows up, his love for one and resentment for the other will change the fate of both these women, forever.

Early Works of Crystal Connor

by Crystal Connor

The reason I started blogging is because I used to belong to a writing group called Author’s Anonymous. What attracted me to the group was the fact that the founder gave us all writing assignments, and we posted them to our blogs so that other we could read, critique and comment on our fellow members stories. It was an amazing group but as we, as writers, spent more and more time with our own writing goals and deadlines we just didn’t have the time to commit to our group.


I am going to share two of my “early works” that I posted while a member of Author’s Anonymous with you today. I hope you enjoy them.

Coaches instructions: If you had to describe yourself as a color, which would you choose and why?

So I was going to skip this assignment to work on the next one (which seems so kick ass, totally fun with a ton of room to maneuver…and that's right up my alley)

This drill seemed a little challenging and I couldn’t find a way not to incorporate race and clearly that’s not what’s she’s asking, but it’s the 1st thing that came to mind and the only thing that stayed there.

Because I sooo do not want to do this assignment I’ve decided to do it twice…two different stories. If you wanna wear daisy dukes you gotta do your squats & lunges there is just no way around it.

My Story Colors Part 1 follows:
“What color we’re you?”

The little girl asked me what color I was and the question caught me completely off guard and ushered in a flood of memories that I had tried for ten years to forget.

Once I was alone and had more time to think about her question I realized I could no longer remember my native planet. I couldn’t remember what it felt like to breath relatively clean air or enjoy the warmth of the sun beneath the protective barrier of an ozone layer. That was a long time ago and Earth is no longer there.

This planet was different. The landscape was harsh and colorless, the weather was openly hostile and it was as if the sun was trying to use the cleaning power of fire to rid her 5th planet of disease.

It’s surprising how quickly the human body can adapt and evolve but I guess we can thank Monarch Pharmaceuticals for that because God had nothing to do with this.

Out of the 758,459 of us who had won the lottery to escape the Garden of Eden that God had given man in the form of Planet Earth, only twenty-eight of us were still alive. In this sector there were only two of us but that wouldn’t be the count for long because Eric was dying.

This planet already had a population in the billions and the girl who asked the question was a 3rd generation native and that was why she had asked the question in the 1st place.

In just 10 years I had become known as a settler. I was an immigrant, a relic from the “old country,” with an outdated language, ancient customs, and conservative ways and I am only forty.

Thanks to Monarch Pharms, to deal with the combative environment of the brave new world, I no longer had skin but scales. I was still humanoid in form and so were the natives…sort of.

I guess you can say us settlers were like the Cardassian race from Star Trek; and like the lizards of the deserts of our old planet, our genetic manipulation allowed us to live on this one and it was our genetic manipulation that was also killing us.

You could still see that I had once been beautiful and I think that is why the youth of this planet got themselves “scaled” despite the fact that their shinny chromed skin was more than capable of dealing with the proximity of a sun that never set. Like the young of planet earth, who in emulated African body modification by stretching their ears without fully understanding the culture or significance behind the act. Some things never change.

I closed my eyes and let my memory recall the green rolling hills, red desert sands, and canyons carved from lakes, and deep blue-green seas that had once been my home. In my minds eye I saw the girl and heard her question asked and asked again…

“What color we’re you?”

I didn’t answer her question because I couldn’t. Tears breached past my closed reptilian eyes and flowed down my cheeks as I cried myself to sleep. I didn’t answer her question because I couldn’t…because I didn’t remember what color I had been.

http://wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com/2010/01/authors-anonymous.html


And here is my 2nd attempt. It’s not a short story it’s a poem and I was so incredibly blown away by how this piece turned and the amount of feedback that I got from it I used it as the dedication it to my mom in The Darkness

Colors Part 2:
As you know I did not want to do this drill. It’s still just as challenging as when I wrote the 1st Color and I still couldn’t find a way not to incorporate race.

Well like I promised I gave it another shot.

I am the color of the Red Sands of African a land where my roots were 1st planted.

I am the color of Oxidized Iron, from shackles that bound my predecessors in the storage hold.

I am the color of the green, brown, and white cotton fields and I am the color red from the blood that ran down the fingers that picked them.

I am the blue color of the Civil War Union uniform.

I am the white hot color of rage, I am the iridescent color of tears, I am every color on the spectrum from orange to red in outrage and am the bottomless color of black by the betrayal that the Choctaw people felt when being removed from lands that been held since antiquity.

I am the Silver-Blue color of The Rio Grande that “Los Mojado’s”, the wet ones, risked their lives to cross in order to make a better life for their heirs.

I am the color of fire that burned bras in the 60’s.

I am all the bright colors of the arrogant peacock, because I am the color of my ancestors.

http://wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com/2010/01/authors-anonymous-color-part-2.html


Thank you again, for inviting me to your blog!
----------------------------------------------------------------
For anyone interested in finding out more about Crystal Connor or her book The Darkness feel free to hop on over to one of her websites:

Crystal's Website: http://wordsmithcrystalconnor.blogspot.com/


Crystal's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NotesFromTheAuthor


And than you Crystal for being a guest on Curling Up By The Fire today, and sharing your stories with us.  Good luck with the rest of your tour, and with the release of your next novel, Artifical Light.

WOW: Dead Bolt & Ghoul Interrupted

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.  Today I would like to focus on some of the cozy mysteries I am looking forward to reading as I am kind of going through a cozy mystery phase at the moment.  I can't explain it except that reading one of these books makes me want to curl up in front of a fire (pardon the pun!), grab a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle under my blanket, and just read until the wee hours of the morning, like I did when I was a little girl, with no worries or cares to weigh me down. 

Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #2)
by Juliet Blackwell
Release Date: December 6, 2011

Turner Construction's latest restoration project is a historic Queen Anne Victorian in San Francisco. This time general contractor Mel Turner has to work around the owners who insist on sticking around- along with some ghosts that insist in their own way that the work stops...


The ghosts aren't the only ones standing in the way of the renovations. A crotchety neighbor, Emile Blunt, secretly wants this house, and could be behind some of the disturbances. But when Emile is found dead, it's Mel who appears guilty. Now she must restore the building-and her reputation-before it's too late.

Ghoul Interrupted (A Ghost Hunter Mystery, Book 6)
by Victoria Laurie
Release Date: December 27th, 2011

M.J. Holliday and her crew interrupt the frantic schedule of their reality TV show, Ghoul Getters, and hotfoot it to New Mexico, where a dreadful demon is waging tribal warfare. Same Whitefeather- M.J.'s spirit guide-urgently needs her help to stop this evil spirit from wiping out the descendants of his tribe. It doesn't take a psychic to predict that M.J.'s going to have a devil of a time making New Mexico a demon-free zone.

I love this series and can't wait to read this one!!

Review: The Darkness by Crystal Connor

The Darkness
by Crystal Connor
Release Date: December 1st, 2010
2010 Bennett & Hastings Publishing
Softcover Edition; 266 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-934733-37-0
Genre: Fiction / Paranormal / Speculative
Source: Review copy from Pump Up Your Book

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Artemisia, a scientist who also practices alchemy, is wealthy beyond imagination. She is one of the founding members of the Skyward Group, a privately funded, secret, research facility conducting experiments that erase what tradition has established as the boundaries separating the realm of man from the realm of God. Artemisia has everything she wants - money, fame, knowledge and power - except for a child. Inanna is a powerful and dangerous witch, also wealthy beyond imagination. Her powers are greater and more deadly than any in the long tradition before her. Inanna has everything she wants - money, knowledge and God-like power - except for a child.

The Child has nothing. At three months of age, he knows only what he has experienced through the bars of his locked cage. He has nothing. He doesn't have a mommy. He doesn't have a daddy. He doesn't have a name. The scientists who created him do not handle him, because they know The Child is dangerous. 

Two women clash in a vicious battle that has been fought since the days of King Solomon - the fight over a child. One woman unleashes the nightmarish arsenal of modern science while the other dispatches the weaponries of witchcraft. And as The Child grows up, his love for one and resentment for the other will change the fate of both these women, forever.

My Thoughts
The Darkness, Crystal Connor's debut novel, is an intriguing blend of speculative fiction, mixed with horror, suspense, science fiction, mystery, and a bit of urban paranormal; and yet, it really does not fit into any of these traditional genre categories as it tends to eschew the normal trappings of femininity and power in a way that was unique and different.

Even though it took me awhile to get into the rhythm of the story, especially as I didn't grasp the different POV's right away nor did I quite pick up on the different time eras as they jumped around quite a bit, until several chapters in, I found the eerie atmostphere of the story to be intriguing.  There is this grown-up child, already a dangerous character, thrown at you without rhyme or reason, just these delicious tidbits given to you, something that sends deep chills and fear into one of the main characters and sends her world upside down.  And you want to know right then and there what is going on, who this character is, and why this character is spreading such deep fear into a team of scientists known for their audacity and their foray into projects that other scientiest wouldn't dare touch. 

While you have your basic good witch/bad witch story, the twists and turns to it are so amazing that everything you think and everything you believe get turned upside down.  You have Artemesia on one side, an alchemist and very powerful scientist who is addicted to the sight, touch, and feel of gold; she is also someone who will do everything in her power to keep, and get more of, her precious jewels.  And then there is Inanna, an extremely powerful witch who mixes with demons and other dark creatures in order to get what she wants from life.  When I thought I had everything straight in my mind, the two worlds of these women slowly collided and everything I thought I believed got turned upside down, and the ones I thought were evil were not, and the ones I thought were good were actually evil.  And the conclusion?  Can I say I was shocked?  Oh, yes, completely shocked, and it's still reeling through my head.  Wow!  And the best part is the author warns you in the novel how the novel will probably end, but I won't spoil it by telling you how, and I just glossed over it as if it meant nothing.  I have got to stop taking things for granted and start paying attention!!

And Adam, the poor baby who gets rescued twice in this novel, the telekinetic child with amazing capabilities, is manipulated all of his life, but who is really his true mother? I felt sorry for what he was going through, and yet, I even hated him at times for some of the things he did.  I felt sympathy for Artemesia when I should have been paying attention to what was said 'between the lines', and perhaps been more sympathetic towards Adam.  I have to give a lot of credit to Ms. Connor and her writing ability as she was certainly able to manipulate me very well.  (But it won't happen again, I hope?!?!)   Again, I was surprised by what I read as it was not what I was expecting, but that made it so much better.  And I loved Grandee, the modern-day Merlin, and wished I could have learned more about his character as he seemed to interesting and powerful. I felt far more connected to Inanna and Adam than I did to Artemesia and I am not sure if that was done deliberately was an aspect of her colder personality, while Inanna is actually a more loving and more nurturing person.  It's hard to say, but it did leave something wanting for me with regards to Artemesia as I felt like I didn't get to know her or the people in her life as well I as I could have. 

Verdict
The Darkness is an enjoyable novel with many twists and turns.  The blend of genres helped keep the plot suspenseful as it drew on many different aspects such as history, magic, suspense, science fiction, mystery, and even murder.  I am looking forward to reading the sequel to this novel, Artificial Light, when it is released.

Tuesday's First Paragraph Teaser

First Chapter First Paragraph is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where we share the first paragraph of our current reads to see if it grabs anyone else's attention.  For myself, it's not usually the blurb on the back of the book that hooks me in, it's often the first few paragraphs, and if I have trouble putting it down, I buy it.  That would be why I tend to avoid the bookstore!!

I came across Daniel Palmer last year when I was asked to review his debut thriller Delirious, and I enjoyed it so much that I jumped at the chance to review his second thriller, Helpless, when asked.  Let me know what you think!

Helpless
Release Date: February 1st, 2012

Love can make you do surprising things.  Lindsey Wells flashed on that thought as she unbuttoned her black sweater.  Her racing heart knew she was crossing a line she'd never crossed before.  The blond hairs of her arms stood on end, as tough they, too, were anxious about this unfamiliar but exciting experience.  Keep going, Lindsey urged herself.  She smiled and released yet another button from its hole.  There wasn't any little voice inside her head screaming "No" or "Don't".  So Lindsey continued - undeterred, unashamed, and never in her fifteen years feeling more turned on. 

Lindsey, known for her cheerfulness, enviable GPA, and deft tackling skills on the soccer field, tilted her head to the right, pinning her cell phone between her shoulder blade and ear.  Through the phone's compact receiver, Lindsey listened to Tanner Farnsworth's hard breathing.  Her body tingled with these strange feelings.  She knew what she was doing was a little bit crazy.  On occasion, her mind would flash a warning that something wasn't right with this.  Even so, she ignored those nagging worries because that was part of the fun.  It was what made her feel so exhilarated.

Screwing UP and Contest Time!

I don't know how I managed to do it, but I screwed up big time.  Oh, yes, my friends are laughing now, as perfectionistic me, who prides herself on micro-managing, has somehow managed to mess up the dates of a blog tour BIG TIME.  Have I said that enough times yet?  BIG TIME.  At least I am not so small small that I can't admit it.  So, what is a poor girl to do who hates to admit when she messes up to do?  Well, have a giveaway of course.  That way, people will forget about the screw-up and focus only on the gifts at hand, hopefully???

Giveaway:  One lucky reader will receive a print copy of Veronica Blade's Something Witchy This Way Comes.

Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her an escape from her self-absorbed parents. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s motives. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other. When the school’s scrumptious delinquent, Hayden Anders, offers Tessa self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, his timing couldn’t be better. Although hanging out with him is a necessary evil in Tessa’s fight to stay alive, resisting a bad-boy she secretly yearns for might be more than she can manage. Together, Tessa and Hayden work to unravel the mysteries behind the two covens to discover why they’ll stop at nothing to lure Tessa to their side. She must form an alliance with one of the covens before it’s too late. But the wrong decision could cost Tessa the lives of all who she holds dear — including Hayden.


*** Open to residents of Canada and the U.S.
*** Must leave a comment with your email address in order to be entered.
*** Contest runs to 4th December 2011.

Plus, I will throw in one extra book as a surprise for the lucky winner.

Good luck everyone!!

Review: The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis

The Diva Haunts the House (A Domestic Diva Mystery #5)
by Krista Davis
Release Date: September 6, 2011
2011 Berkley Prime Crime
Trade Paperback Edition; 304 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-425-24378-7
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Review Copy from Penguin Canada

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Domestic diva Sophie Winston is getting into the Halloween spirit- her decorations for a community haunted house are so good, it's scary. Not to be outdone, rival domestic diva Natasha is throwing a spooktacular Halloween party at her house. But when Sophie arrives, she discovers one of Natasha's guests dead in a Halloween display, and a pale, fanged partygoer fleeing the scene.

The cause of death is not immediately apparent, but the victim does have two puncture wounds on his neck.  While Sophie's boyfriend, homicide detective Wolf, investigates, rumors start flying faster than witches on broomsticks. Could the killer be a real vampire-the same one rumored to have lived in Sophie's haunted house back when it was a boardinghouse? Good thing a domestic diva never runs out of garlic...

My Thoughts
The Diva Haunts the House, the fifth in the Domestic Diva Series, was a fun, delightful mystery, full of quirky and interesting characters and full of interesting Halloween tidbits and decorating tips that can be useful when planning one's own Halloween party or for upping the decorations on one's house. 

As usual, Sophie is a quirky domestic diva whom I can envy to no end.  Whipping up sumptuous meals and fabulous treats at a moment's notice, she certainly is a diva in the kitchen; under a lot of stress, cooking meals for others is her way of relaxing and de-stressing.  It certainly makes for some entertaining and homey kitchen scenes and I loved the descriptions of her kitchen, especially when the author went to such great pains to contrast Sophie's kitchen with Natasha's.  I laughed hysterically when Sophie left her fingerprints deliberately over Natasha's sparkling clean kitchen just because she could; it would certainly have been something I would have done.  I'm not sure I really enjoyed Natasha as much in this book as in the previous books however, as she seemed more peevish rather than just plain nasty.  I like the nasty Natasha much better and I hope she returns in future books.  What I do like is the constant rivalry between the two women, Sophie and Natasha, more on Natasha's part I think than Sophie's, and the dialogue can be very witty and clever. 

There were a lot of characters in this novel and it took me a while to keep everyone straight.  I took a great liking to Maggie, but I always like the really eccentric ones anyways, and her condition added some pretty interesting moments to the novel.  I also liked the addition of the pre-adolescents to the story as Sophie was babysitting her niece and a friend, which added some twists and turns to the story that were different.  I was not overly impressed with how everyone brushed off the interactions of twelve-year olds kissing however, as something that is common and I didn't like how that was not addressed.  I have a son who is approaching that age-group and I don't think I would have been so laid-back in that situation, seeing twelve-year olds with their lipsticks smudged and knowing what was going on and not really addressing it.  Perhaps it's just me, but really, twelve-year olds?

The plot of this book felt like one big Halloween party after another, and some of the things reminded me of my own childhood pranks and things that I had done and been part of.  I enjoyed the scenes at the haunted house as I love haunted houses and explore them whenever I can, whether they are made up or are houses that have elements of 'hauntings' to them.  The whole setting to the story is an autumnal treat; you can just smell the roasting fires, hear the leaves blowing down the street, see the orange twinkling lights of all the pumpkins, hear the children's screams as they see something spooky, and feel the cold breeze whistling through the air.  Although this series doesn't usually revolve arount the supernatural, I did wonder for a while if that was where this was heading, as there was a lot of talk about vampires and ghosts, and even the addition of a medium in one scene made me wonder what was going on.  And there is Aunt Faye living in Sophie's house too, of course.  Don't get me wrong as I love the supernatural, it's just not an element that is usual in this series.  I found there were enough characters and enough twists and turns to keep me interested, and I really enjoyed the plot.  I did find the ending to be somewhat abrupt, but abrupt in the sense that you know another book is on the way.  And yes, I did enjoy the ending as it made me think, even for a moment, that maybe the supernatural does exist. 

Verdict
The Diva Haunts the House was a worthy addition to the series and introduced a couple of new characters as well.  I found the plot to be interesting; the mystery itself was simple but with enough twists and turns to make it convoluted as the many characters did make it difficult to muddle through, and the addition of Halloween did allow for that 'creep' factor.  I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series and learning more recipes and decorating tips from our favourite domestic diva.