Lowcountry Boil

Review:

This was entertaining. I enjoyed the mystery- there was more than one thing going on and as such more than one mystery! I knew where one was going, but not the other!
I thought most of the characters were likable. Liz was stupid a time or 2 (leaving her purse, keys, gun behind), but hey I understood the rush. I did like adding Colleen to the mix; I love the paranormal, but there really wasn't an explanation why Liz (and only Liz). I would have liked more on Nate. I did like Liz telling Michael no. However, the makings (please no) are there for a love triangle. Michael is a spineless idiot and I absolutely do not want him with Liz!
I think the thing I enjoyed most was the sibling interactions. I also wasn't sure how much Deanna really knew, or if she was an innocent as she seemed.
One thing that really bothered me was I felt at the end Marci (the Schemer) was being forced into a

[spoiler]

pregnancy

[/spoiler]

she didn't want. (She was one of the most unsympathetic, unlikable characters, but I disliked that plot point).

Booklikes Bingo: Murder Most Foul

 

 

 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1796682/lowcountry-boil

Halloween Bingo Update the First

 

Called AND Read:

Relics and Curiosities:  Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews 9/10

Cozy Mystery: Truly Madly by Heather Webber 9/16

New Release: I Am Justice by Diana Munoz Stewart 9/18

Diverse Voices: Black Lace by Beverly Jenkins 9/26

Southern Gothic: Dark Cries of Gray Oaks by Lee Karr 9/15

Modern Masters of Horror: Dead Spots by Rhiannon Frater 9/22

 

Read, not called:

 

Ghost Stories:  The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens 9/29

 

 

 

 

 

 

Currently reading (called):

Murder Most Foul: Lowcountry Boil by Susan Boyer 

 

Called and not read:

Free Space:  Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk

Creepy Carnivals: Wicked Weaves by Joyce and Jim Lavene

Genre: Suspense: Barefoot With a Bodyguard by Roxanne St Clair

Cryptozoologist: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Supernatural: Possessing the Witch by Elle James

 

Terrifying Women: A Girl in Disguise by Greer MacAllister

 

 

List:

Genre: Horror: Dreadful Skin by Cherie Priest

Spellbound:  A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper

Baker Street Irregulars: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

13: She Hulk by Marta Acosta

 

Terror in a Small Town: 

Dead Lands: Once Bitten, Twice Burned by Cynthia Eden

Doomsday:  Married With Zombies by Jesse Peterson

Fear the Drowning Deep: Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams

Country House Mystery: Ghost of a Chance by Katie MacAllister

 

Darkest London: Firelight by Kristin Callihan

Shifters: Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

 

 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1796100/halloween-bingo-update-the-first

The Kingdom

Review:

Wow! So, this book answer the of the questions from The Restorer. Amelia's parentage is answered. This focuses much less on cemetery restoration and more on this creepy, small town. No one likes to talk. There is also a secondary story-line with Ivy. I'm not sure if I would have nixed that or given her more depth. I did like this one a bit better then the first book. 
I did find it annoying Amelia's brooding over Devlin. While he wasn't on the page, he was still very present. I thought Thane could have been a new love interest, but I can't say more other than you get a definitive answer in that possibility!
I can make assumptions about the "Evil." Thus far, no concrete answers were given in regards to let. Like what makes the area vulnerable? What is it exactly? I liked Amelia's new side kick Angus. And on that note, Thane found (I assume) the dog fighting ring. But shortly after, Amelia noted Hugh's face was beat up too. So, did Hugh help Thane? Or was Hugh behind the dog fighting? No answer (that I remember) was given. 
I also wound't label this romance; it's categorized as paranormal romance. I consider this series to be more in line with urban fantasy. The romance takes a back seat. It's more about Amelia, her world, her job, her abilities, and (yes) finding herself and what she is capable off.
Booklikes Bingo: Ghost Stories square.

Major spoilers behind page break

Amelia's parents were Freya and Edward. Her grandmother Tilly, her grandfather (Caleb) was her adoptive father. Both her grandparents and mother had paranormal abilities (Tilly- premonitions, Caleb-ghosts, Freya-ghosts (and I think she had premonitions too if memory is right). Freya was murdered by Luna. But, Hugh, Catrice, Bryn were all complacent in her death. Pell Asher helped cover her death up. He also had a hand in Thane's fiance (or did she?) and Edward's wife deaths. Hugh, Catrice, Bryn, and Pell all perish (I assume) at the end when Pell's mansion slides down the hill after severe rainstorms flood the area.

 

 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1796089/the-kingdom

Black Lace

Review:

Lacy recently moved to Detroit from Atlanta. She is an activist and is focused on cleaning up the environment. She's been married and divorced. 
Drake is a doctor and now mayor of Detroit. Drake is also very attractive. Both are intelligent, driven people with the goal of making things better for the average person.
While I liked both main characters, I hated the "Big Bad" and his henchman, just as I was supposed to. They were awful people. 
I was disappointed with the suspense, I don't think this was suspenseful at all. Suspense-wise, the last quarter was where all the suspense was. A positive- Lacy was not kidnapped nor did she need to be rescued! 

Halloween Bingo (Booklikes) Diverse Voices

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1795518/black-lace

Excuse me?!

"What boy hasn't done this in high school?"

 

Very sad, pathetic, and it pisses me off.  Again.

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1794014/excuse-me

Dead Spots

Review:

Dead Spots= places that are abandoned, but were inhabited, important, and/or loved back in their heyday. A Dead Spot can be manipulated.
Book opens with Mackenzie happily marries to Tanner and 8 months pregnant with their son, Joshua. She loses the baby. My heart broke for her as she grieves and no one really understood her grief. Tanner leaves her. She loses her job. She come to the realization that their friends were really Tanner's friends. Her best friend lives across the country.
Fast forward 6 months later and Mackenzie is freshly divorced and on her way to her mom's. Her mom happens to have OCD, but not not is spend on her mental disorder. What did come across, was her mother was a judgmental bitch. Mackenzie almost hits a deer and stops to explore an bandoned cafe and accidentally gets trapped in a Dead Spot. 
What follows is a nightmare world, fears are given free reign. Nothing and no one is as they seem or first appear. Maybe they are trustworthy.....or not.
Mackenzie was frustrating at first. She did, eventually, morph into someone who kicked ass and took names, but it took the whole book to get there. I did like that there really isn't any romance in this one- it was fitting for the character and setting. Lust yes. Love no. I did like this, I was invested.
I would have liked more at the end. It was a little too abrupt. A little more would have been nice. 

Halloween Bingo:  Modern Masters of Horror

Spoilers behind page break.

How did they explain their absence? How much time went by while they were in the alternate reality? Mackenzie was gone for 5(?) days, Luke- I don't know, and Johnny for decades. 
I liked the Grant story-line. When Luke appeared, I was worried about a love triangle (oh hell no!). 
People are definitely not what they seem. I didn't like the dream-rape sequence, but it fit in with what Grant was- an incubus wraith. 

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1793755/dead-spots

Ante Up

Review:

For the length, this was well paced. I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I kinda remember the first book, Diesel and Sofia were secondary characters who got their story in this one. This was quick and entertaining. Ginger and Luke are next!

Original post: RachelGoodbyeBorders.booklikes.com/post/1793267/ante-up