Teaser Tuesday: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She could decide how she was going to be. She had a choice. Life could be an endless series of joyless chores, or she could get totally pumped and make it fun. There were bad things, and there were good things, but she got to choose which things to focus on. Her mom focused only on the bad things. Abby didn't have to. (10% through on my Kindle)

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix was published May 17th, 2016 by Quirk Books. It's a good read for this time of year. And it won the Goodreads Choice Award for Horror in 2016.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 "Going back" had two distinct meanings at the school, depending on how it was said. It was the best thing in the world. It was also the worst thing that could happen to anybody. It was returning to a place that understood you so well that it reached across realities to find you, claiming you as its own and only; it was being sent to a family that wanted to love you, wanted to keep you safe and sound, but didn't know you well enough to do anything but hurt you. 

(53% on my Kindle)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is the first book in the Wayward Children series. It was published April 5th, 2016 by Tor. 

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Book Review: Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Andrew Yancy used to be a detective. These days he detects things that would shut down restaurants. He also spends some of his time trying to find his way into his previous boss's good graces hoping he will be reinstated to the force.

In this edition of Andrew's life, he has his hands more than full with a variety of characters such as Merry the razor girl who bumps a car into his life while shaving her bikini area. There's also Buck Nance, the star of a "reality" show where he plays at being a redneck raising roosters for their feathers to tie flies. Benny, aka Blister, who idolizes Buck to an extreme. Add in a mafia boss and his girlfriend. And a lawyer addicted to the product of the company he is suing. And more. The characters are wild. The specific combination really makes the book.

While the book might be a little slow in parts, overall it moves at a decent pace. Between the characters and the deft somewhat increasingly complicated plotting, it kept my attention.

I really enjoyed this humorous, offbeat tale. If you're looking for an unusual book with a sense of humor that defies being placed in one genre, this could be a good book for you. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.



View all my reviews

Teaser Tuesday: Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Merry Mansfield told Yancy a version of her life so far-fetched that he bit his lower lip, trying not to laugh. “That’s so rude,” she said.
“You’ve got a charming imagination. I could listen to you go on all day.”
"What did I say that you don’t believe?”
“Basically every word.”
“See, I’m just testing you. So far, so good.”
(p.153)

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen was published September 6, 2016 by Knopf.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: In Crime by Alex A. King

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

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• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"We were wedged inside his Pagani sports car, which was the offspring of the Batmobile and Herbie. Mario was driving at the speed of drying paint. A snail passed us, and a disabled guy on crutches. During a zombie apocalypse, Mario would be the first to die. He'd never be able to outdrive their shambling." (p. 102)

In Crime by Alex A. King is the fourth book in the Kat Makris series. It was published August 15th, 2016 by Citizen A Press.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Clouds in My Coffee by Julie Mulhern

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
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• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Damn. I'd planned my session of questions and answers without taking into account an essential fact. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a widower in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. 

I peeked through the open doorway. Hammie wasn't in the ground yet and already there were three widows circling round Randolph like vultures waiting for some poor animal to gasp its last breath. (61% through on my Kindle) 

Ellison, the main character, is talking in the above quotations. Clouds in My Coffee by Julie Mulhern is the third book in The Country Club Murders series. It was published May 10th, 2016 by Henery Press. 

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

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• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

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• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Bottom line, not only am I not a liar, I'm not even an exaggerator. If anything, I like to dial things down a bit so everything doesn't come off as a drag queen line dance at Mardi Gras. (p. 50)

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher was published November 22nd, 2016 by Blue Rider Press.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: Yea Though I Walk by J.P. Sloan

Yea Though I Walk by J.P. Sloan is what I think of as a weird western. It's a western, but there are paranormal beings and events in the story. Another good example of this sort of story is The Six-Gun Tarot by R.S. Belcher.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Never leave a devil without puttin’ it in the dirt." ~ First Law of the Godpistols. 

Gunning down the heathen monsters of the untamed West is the calling of the Godpistols, and may be Linthicum Odell’s only path to redemption. A Union Army deserter, Odell figures he has plenty of sins to atone for. As he has yet to earn the Godpistols’ trust, they send Odell on a thankless errand to Gold Vein, a mining town with two afflictions: a corrupt local justice named Lars Richterman, and a horde of cannibal wendigo in the surrounding hills. 

Half-dead from a Wendigo attack, Odell is nursed back to life by Denton Folger, a righteous pressman from the East Coast. Intent on settling debts, Odell takes up Folger’s cause against Richterman and his schemes on the land surrounding Gold Vein. Odell soon realizes that Richterman and the Wendigo in the hills are not the only monsters threatening the town. His greatest ally comes in the form of Folger’s ferociously capable wife, Katherina, who holds the secrets to the intrigues of this valley. To save Gold Vein, Odell must pry loose these secrets, though her dark allure may prove too much for Odell’s loyalties… both to his Godpistol dogma and to Folger. 

When Odell discovers the truth of what brought him to this valley, and why Katherina keeps this truth buried, will his virtue fail? Or will a bag of silver bullets be enough to survive this war between devils, virtue be damned?

Lars Richterman, Linthicum Odell, and Denton Folger are three of the most important characters in the book along with Katherina. The story is mostly told from Linthicum's perspective. Not sure one would really call him a hero, even though he has heroic moments. He has plenty of humbling moments as well.

It's a good story with some really interesting twists. In addition to the Wendigo, there are vampires of a sort called Strigoi. There is plenty of suspense. And it kept me turning the pages wanting to know what would happen next. The closer it gets to the end, the faster the pages seem to turn.

If I could tell you anything about this book, it's that as a fan of weird westerns, I enjoyed it and if you are intrigued by the genre, you will most likely enjoy it as well. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. This reads as a standalone. I'd read it again or another like it by the same author.

Yea Though I Walk by J.P. Sloan was published July 11th, 2016 from Curiosity Quills Press.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Teaser Tuesday: Yea Through I walk by J.P. Sloan

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

He continues, "It's a queer kind of life, I suppose. Certainly one the folk in town use to fuel endless rumor, as if it were necessary." (4% through on my Kindle) 

It's a queer kind of life indeed in this paranormal western featuring monsters such as the Strigoi - blood drinkers, and Wendigo - cannibals. In this quotation, Denton Folger is talking to Linthicum Odell regarding life on his homestead where his wife spends her days in the cellar as she has a peculiar affliction where she is sensitive to sunlight.

Yea Though I Walk by J.P. Sloan was published July 11th, 2016 from Curiosity Quills Press. If you're looking for a well-written weird western, this is a good one.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
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• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

The doors close, and once again I'm alone, my heart calms and the ache fades. I turn toward the mirrored wall and slowly lower the handkerchief to inspect my wound. Only there is none. There is no gash, no blood. There is nothing there at all.

I fall back a step, confused and a bit scared. But I saw the blood on the handkerchief - felt the sting of the cut. When I go to check the cloth, it's no longer in my hand. I spin, checking to see if I dropped it, but there is only the burgundy patterned carpet. (p. 137 - Audrey is in an elevator.)

Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young was initially published as Hotel Ruby. This edition was released October 4, 2016 by Simon Pulse. 

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
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• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Instantly I could tell that something wasn't right, in a way I had no immediate name for. The ground was ... maybe sick, infested with something, some kind of parasite or illness. The earth beneath my palm felt cold, icy, not to the touch but to the spirit, which wasn't something I could easily explain to other people. (10% in on my Kindle)

Nell is trying to read the earth and the surrounding woods as part of an investigation. She has an affinity for the earth and wooded areas.

Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter is book #2 in the Soulwood series. It was released November 1, 2016 by Roc. Book #3, Flame in the Dark, is due out December 5, 2017 from Ace Books.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Life was puzzling. Unpredictable. But one thing was sure. The meek didn't inherit the Earth. I wasn't meek. And I had the land. (13% through on my Kindle)

This is Nell thinking in Blood of the Earth, the first of the Soulwood novels,.by Faith Hunter. The book was published August 2, 2016 by ROC. You can find more about Faith and her books on her website: http://www.faithhunter.net/wp/

The third book in the series, Flame in the Dark, is due out this December.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

The title reminds me of a line from the Billy Joel song, The Stranger: "We all have a face that we hide away forever." The only difference is that in the process of the book some of the masks are slowly stripped away.

Billed as "Jane Austen meets the X-men," the book pretty much lives up to its hype. It is a story set in the Victorian era, but with individuals with special powers. There are 3 groups. One is the group that doesn't know that much about their powers and is on the naive side. The second group knows, uses, and sometimes exploits their powers or the powers of others. And then there is a third group with no special powers.

Evelyn has come to London in search of her sister  Rosamund who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. On the way she meets Mr. Kent who arranges for her to stay with his sister and his parents and promises to aid in finding Rose. Evelyn meets Sebastian Braddock. Mr. Braddock claims that Evelyn and her sister both possess special healing powers. And he wants Evelyn to heal someone close to him. In return, he will help seek out Rosamund.

The book is very much a missing person mystery. Rosamund is gone and presumed in danger by Evelyn. After all wouldn't she take her medicine kit with her if she left voluntarily?

There is also a touch of romance. There is not quite a love triangle. The focus though is on finding Rose. There are dangers both mundane and extraordinary in the course of the search.

Evelyn especially is of interest. She doesn't care much for her role in society as a young unmarried woman. And she detests attending balls with her mother trying to set her up with some young man. She argues that there must be more to life. Her sister is milder in manner and appears to go along with her mother's designs at least at the ball in the beginning.

The ending was a surprise to me. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It could be read as a standalone, but it will leave you wanting more. Thank goodness the second book in the trilogy comes out March 14, 2017 from Swoon Reads.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good mystery with a touch of romance and a touch of the gothic. It is a YA book, but I found it enjoyable as an adult as well.

Teaser Tuesday: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Thank you for getting us out," I whispered to him. "I feared that would never end."

"The old bat detests being left out of a conversation. Sometimes when she's summoned me, I've resorted to talking to myself so I might be dismissed."

p.53-54 paperback edition

These Vicious Masks was published in February 2016 by Swoon Books. The sequel, These Ruthless Deeds, is due out March 14, 2017 from Swoon Books.

What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Her rampant paranoia was one of the things that I admired most about her, especially since she was so often justified in her suspicions. 
So I wasn't going to let myself get too fond of Martin... yet.

~ 18% through on my Kindle
That's Silvio thinking first about his boss and secondly about his date.

Would you keep reading? 

Nice Guys Bite by Jennifer Estep falls into the Elemental Assassin series at #15.5 just after Unraveled and right before Snared. There is a spoiler for #15 in this novella, so don't read it until after you've read Unraveled. And it includes a preview of Snared at the end of it.

What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: Dead Sleeping Shaman by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Emily Kincaid settled in what seemed to be a quiet corner of Michigan. There is no lasting peace there as she finds a dead body of a woman who had appeared to be sleeping, a cult-like group descends on the town spouting end of the world rhetoric, and now her best friend and detective Dolly seems to have gone off to join the cult.

Emily is on assignment for the local paper covering ghost towns when she stumbles upon what she takes to be a sleeping woman, but turns out to be a dead woman. She is identified as a shaman from Ohio by her friends. As the mystery progresses, it gets more complicated. Why was this woman here from Ohio? Did she have something to do with the end of the world group? What about her roots in the area? Is that what brought her back?

Emily finds herself smack dab in the middle of the investigation since Dolly has been hanging around at the campground for the "end of the world" group. Add in a politician, a mysterious older woman, and Sister Sally and Brother Righteous from the group and you get quite a  mystery. There are also what seem to be the usual happenings in town. The woman that owns the main restaurant is caught posting someone's family tree without permission. Emily and her dog, Sorrow, romp the land near her home. And the old bachelor nearby to her home seems to have finally found love.

The book starts out good. Then it slows down for a bit. It took persistence to finish it. I wanted to know what was going to happen, but there were times I found myself reading very slowly.

The character of Emily is interesting and is the most fleshed out in the story as the main character. I have the feeling that in the earlier books Dolly is more fleshed out as is their relationship. So, while this book can be read as a standalone, you might get more satisfaction if you've read other books in the series as well. This is the third book in the Emily Kincaid series.

The mysteries themselves have red herrings. You are given everything from Emily's point of view, so you can solve the mysteries along with her, or at least come to similar conclusions.

This book was originally published in May of 2010 by Midnight Ink. This review is of the Kindle edition published December 2016 from Beyond the Page.

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5. Overall I enjoyed it. It was slow in parts, but the events kept me reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen both with the "end of the world" group and with the mystery of the dead sleeping shaman.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Teaser Tuesday: Second Teaser from Dead Sleeping Shaman by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Ambrosia of The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Poor Jackson" - this said with mock pity,  which seemed to please Sorrow; at least his ears stood up - "to think that I, bitch of the universe, wouldn't aid and abet him in his newly chosen career. I wouldn't throw my hopes to the wind in order to place before the world his stupendous talent. Yet another victim of female selfishness."

~ 40% through on my Kindle

Sorrow is her dog. Jackson is her ex-husband. She is a writer and has submitted her first novel to an agent. Jackson was fishing for the agent's phone number.

What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: The Ballad of Elva and Chester by Adrian Archangelo

Elva and Chester are aliens that look like humans and have been sent to Earth to increase our empathy and compassion before humans have interactions with the universe at large. But, things never seem to go quite right for them no matter how hard they try. Now their bosses have come to Earth early and are very unhappy with what's going on. They are ready to deflect an asteroid and wipe out humanity. Elva and Chester appeal to them to change their minds and at least allow them the rest of the 1000 years allotment that they were supposed to have to fix things. What results is a sort of trial with flashbacks to historical disasters like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Easter Island, the Roswell UFO incident, and more. Basically, if something really went haywire in history, it was their fault.

The premise is great. The execution just didn't quite live up to it. I almost DNF'd the book. The chapters were kind of repetitive. Elva and Chester dropped into a situation they wanted to fix. Things went wrong resulting in disaster.

The book finally got good towards the end. I agree with another reviewer who said that the book would have been better if you didn't know ahead of time that they were going to fail in most instances and instead it's revealed as the book progresses. The ending was unexpected, both for the reader and I think every character involved.

I think the book description from the publisher sets some pretty high goals comparing it in parts to Christopher Moore, Douglas Adams, and Ray Bradbury among others. It just never quite attains those heights.

I gave this book 2 stars. Basically, it's okay. I would classify it as humorous Science Fiction. It's just wasn't as funny to me as I expected. It could have been better. The quality of the writing improved towards the end. I probably wouldn't buy it as a gift for someone without reading it yourself first to form your own opinion.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Mistletoe Mysteries collected by Charlotte MacLeod

Mistletoe Mysteries collected by Charlotte MacLeod is an excellent collection of Christmas themed mysteries. There is an interesting variety from paranormal to cozies. I liked the majority of the stories in the collection.

I wasn't familiar with all the authors, but the quality of the writing was there. Peter Lovesey's "The Haunted Crescent" had an interesting twist to the end of it. Sharyn McCrumb's tale had a nice injection of folklore from Scotland. Believe it or not, I haven't really read much Mary Higgins Clark, but her "That's the Ticket" was enjoyable if a little straightforward. Edward D. Hoch's "The Touch of Kolyada" built on folklore from Russia. You can see there is a variety. I've only touched on some of the ones I liked the very most.

This book was originally published in paperback in December of 1990. This is the first Kindle edition from Open Road Integrated Media. I liked the way you could flip back to the table of contents and click on a story to read. If you don't want to read it straight through or read your favorite authors first, this is a bonus.

Overall, I give the collection 4 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed it. If you like holiday-themed mysteries with variety, then this would be a good book for you. Also if you enjoy Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, then you might also enjoy this book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.