Book Twenty-Seven of my 2013 Goal

Chop Suey: A Darby Stansfield Thriller by Ty Hutchinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started to read Chop Suey: A Darby Stansfield Thriller by Ty Hutchinson and put it down because I just couldn't get into it. Months went by and I picked it up again and I am so glad I did. I don't know if it was the mood I was in the first time I tried to read it or what but this imaginative and well written story had me turning page after page.

I admit that I did not find Darby, the main character such a likeable person. To me he appeared lazy and one of those people that don't want to 'work' for a living but wanted things handed to him simply because he was there. I understand he was a bit down because when he did work to get an account another person in the office ended up signing it right from under his nose and then rubs it in his face. Instead of getting over it and plugging away at it, he comes up with this scheme to make a fake company to hide the fact that he is working with organized crime overseas to help make them successful. Not only is he putting himself in risk but others as well. With all that being said, I do know people like this, not people that work with organized crime but I mean people that always looking for some easy way to do something no matter how legal or what it cost them or anyone else. Sorry to say Darby's do exist and although he isn't my favorite character, he certainly is believable and gets himself into some deep water.

The secondary characters were much more likeable. His co-worker/friend really adds the humor and then there is his girlfriend and I use that term loosely. Even the owner of the restaurant was developed nicely but for sake of writing any spoilers I won't say any more about these characters.

The plot is a great one. Not necessarily believable but then again the author never claimed this is a true story. I found some parts very surprising as it twists and turns along the pages while other parts were quite expected. So many elements were included in the story that it never was boring. I found humor, suspense, and of course there were murders. These murders were not only being done by the organized crime overseas (no surprise there but who is doing it and why was) but by a serial killer in CA. I guess you can say this is really a three part plot because there is the Darby trying to save his job and dealing with the organized crime, Darby with his 'girlfriend', and of course this serial killer in Chinatown, San Francisco. All these came together to keep the pace moving forward.

I totally enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next one in the series to see what Darby comes up with next.


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Book Twenty - Six of my 2013 Goal

Demi Chat And The Kent Street Mystery by Toni Brisland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DemiChat and the Kent Street Mystery by Toni Brisland is a very cute story. The main characters are Flannery and DemiChat. Flannery is a beagle who worked with the police department in Scotland Yard. He retires and is sent to live on Kent Street in London. When Lord Flannery arrives in his new home he is greeted by the beautiful DemiChat who is a French cat (loved Sherlock Holmes) and use to work modeling expensive jewelry for a jewelry store until the store was taken over by new owners and one of them was allergic to cats. As DemiChat was showing Flannery around they noticed a mystery right outside their window and off they go to solve it.

This fast paced story is sure to keep the attention of the young readers. The characters were all developed so complete that you can even see in your mind's eye how DemiChat stretches and hear her french accent as well as see Flannery with his big floppy ears. There are illustrations throughout the book to give visual reinforcements of the characters. You can also feel the sadness, excitement and other moods that the characters feel through the writing.

Since DemiChat is French and they come across Italian crooks, there are some French and Italian words used in the story. These words are few and very simple ones. They are either translated at the time of the writing such as DemiChat saying, "Oui, yes" or you can look up what someone saying "Manna mia" means in the list of translations at the beginning of the story.

I recommend this for young readers (my 10 year old granddaughter loved it) who like animals and mysteries.

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Book Twenty-Five of my 2013 Goal

Bobby on a stick by Vasileios Kalampakas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bobby on a Stick by Vasileios Kalampakas starts off innocent enough but be prepared for a jam packed story of demons, shaman, ghosts/spirits, secret places, a gateway, crooks and a case of amnesia. Now throw some mystery and humor in there and you have the blend of this story.

The story opens up with Bobby driving down the road wondering what he was going to do. He has a job to pull off and his 'partner' went and blew himself up with an oxygen tank and blowtorch. He knew he would be killed if he didn't complete the job and as he was driving down the road he hit a rider and horse. The rider is a shaman and then things began to get really 'weird' from this moment on. I mean 'weird' in a good way though. I am a big fan of the supernatural plus mysteries so this fit right up my alley.

The characters were well developed and the story was ever moving. I must admit I did have some confusion while reading it but I am not sure why since I re-read the part I was having problems with and it flowed nicely and complete. I think it was because I had in my mind that the story was going to go one way and it didn't, it went another. That is another thing I can say about this story, don't think you know where it is going and what is going to happen next because chances are, it isn't going to go there. At least it didn't for me. There seemed to be surprises with every turn of the page.

I recommend this fast paced story to those who like supernatural, mystery, end-of-the-world, humor, and just plain 'a fun read'.

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Book Twenty - Four of my 2013 Goal

Rowan Blaize by Jonathan Kieran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rowan Blaize: Book One of the Enchanted Heritage Chronicles by Jonathan Kieran is enchanting indeed. This is the first book I read that is written in epic verse and I loved it. I like poetry but just so much of it and I was afraid at first that I wouldn't like this book because all I can picture is the hard time I had with Shakespeare in school. Because of this I passed by the book a few times but it did sound interesting since I do like the 'magical and mystical' so figured I would give it a try. Once I read the first page, I never put the book down until I was finished. It went from intriguing to captivating that quick.

It is a story with humans, warlocks, witches, faeries, dryads and many other mystical/folklore creatures as characters. These creatures are all struggling to survive in a world where humans are taking over. To be honest with you I couldn't help but think how sad it is in parts....mainly because it is true. No, I don't mean that there are all these mystical creatures living among the trees (Or are there?) but there are deer and other wildlife that live in the woods long before humans came and cut them all down. If they could talk, I bet their story would be much the same as what King Narzell told to Rowan Blaize..

"Where once these forests teemed with faery life and jubilation, we find ourselves the members of a worn and shrunken nation.
Some say we should be grateful for what woodland still remains, for those within the mortal world who've always taken pains
...to see that little forests, here and there, are well-preserved,
that tiny parks and trails for their amusement are reserved.
These 'habitats' of which they speak are stripped of inner-glory.
No longer lives the Magic Wood of ancient song and story!"

There is greed, lies and struggles as well as friendship, kindness and loyalty throughout the story. Speaking of what is throughout the story, much to my delight there are awesome illustrations that only add to the pleasure of this story. The poetry was not hard to understand as you can tell from the partial quote above. The flow and rhythm are excellent and the ending made me smile. I have nothing negative to say about this book at all. I am giving it five stars (because that is as high as they go) and I recommend it everyone.

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Book Twenty-Three of my 2013 Goal

Redwood Violet by Robin Mahle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Redwood Violet by Robin Mahle is one of those books you should not open unless you have time to read it because you won't want to put this book down. From page one I was hooked on this fascinating mystery/crime solving read. The relationships and characters are all well developed and believable. (Although how can anyone really know if they are believable unless they were put in that circumstance but I imagine it is possible for them to act the way they do in the story.) The plot was complete and uncomplicated and the story never strayed away from it. I found the pace very comfortable and always moving toward the climax at the end.

I did notice some reviewers said they hated the ending and feel they wasted their time reading this or it was not a stand alone book but I disagree with both totally. First off, the author does state this is the first of a two part series so there will be another book. The ending as it stands right now leads the imagination to a conclusion without reading the second book. Is it a great ending? No! How can it be when the story hasn't ended? (There is still another book yet.) Does it give the reader some sense of what happens if they read the words, especially the very last sentence? Yes! So that is why I say it is a stand alone book and I can be satisfied with just reading this one story but I enjoyed it so much now I want to know which children were abducted by the same person and see justice served among other things. But isn't the whole purpose of the author writing a series is to get you so hooked on book one that you will want to read book two? I say this author did a fantastic job of that despite that I am a bit disappointed book two isn't out.

Katie Reid is the main character and she is living with her boyfriend (turned fiance) Spencer. She is living the perfect life in CA, the one she always imagined until she started having these nightmares. They weren't like normal dreams, these seemed so real that they started interfering with her life on many levels. When she uncovers the reason for the nightmares it changes her life in many unexpected ways. Her perfect life shatters and she at times even questions her own sanity. The path she chose (although it seems to be more of an obsession) takes her places she isn't sure she wants to be. Now there is a whole lot more to this story but if I tell you, there isn't much sense of you reading it. Lets just say relationships are made and broken, children are disappearing without a trace, and you really need to watch what you wish for.

Although the story involves police work on kidnapped, murdered and abused children and the questioning of sex offenders (adult subjects) there is really no swearing to speak of and no sex/nudity which I found so refreshing. However, as I said it is an adult subject matter so I would only recommend it to adults.

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Book Twenty-Two of my 2013 Goal

Above by Mackie Burt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Above by Mackie Burt is a truly enjoyable fictional read that I wish was on every high school 'to read' list. The plot it is about life after death in a different sort of way. Certain people are so special that they become Guardians and have to go to school only this school is not like high school, the first book here is your life's story or to be more accurate, all the mistakes you made during your life. It is called The Book of Mistakes. Callie, the main character is one such person. She first needed to accept she was dead and then she as well as others in school tell about their lives. Much of the learning here is intense and experience can bring the reader to tears so have a tissue handy. It is extremely interesting about the lives they lived and the mistakes they made as well as the 'looking in' on those they left behind.

The writing style is good, I found it an easy read and even though it is YA read it captivated my attention and I totally enjoyed it. I also find it amazing the author is so young. (I will have to be watching for her on the bestseller list.) It is easy to follow and even though there are multiple people involved, they are all developed nicely. Many of them I couldn't help but feel their pain or sorrow as well as the happiness. It is one of those stories I got emotionally involved in which hadn't happened to this degree since Hunger Games.

This should be on everyone's must read list and I recommend this to everyone although I think females would enjoy it more than males.


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Book Twenty-One of my 2013 Goal

MAGICK IN THE CITY by Zakariyya Ishaq
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Magick in the City by Zakariyya Ishaq starts off with one heck of an opening. It is the formation of a magical ring in London and a ritual murder in New York. Then the story starts three weeks earlier with Locke & Keys Investigations located in Manhattan, NY and tells a bit of history of the company as well as who the employees and partners are. One night when John Locke was in the office finishing up a letter he had a visitor named Walter Lewis who wanted Locke to investigate his father's disappearance twenty- five years earlier. Walter explains that his father went on this hunting trip with four friends and never came back and his friends said he just disappeared. When Walter asked his family, police, other people he got no where. Then Walter told Locke a strange tale about "Magick, Freemasonry, witchcraft, conjuring the devil, the occult, secret wars, old grudges against elite organizations, and other dark secrets".

I like reading before bed to relax but this is a story that I needed to pay close attention to because of the multiple story lines and there are a lot of characters and organizations throughout. In fact, I found I had a difficult time remembering all of them. Although I enjoyed the story I can't help feel I was missing something because of this.

I am not a professional reviewer, I just like reading books so please bear with me at my attempt to explain this. This story was written in a way that I ( as the reader ) was not drawn into the story, I was not part of it in any way but more like on the outside "looking in". I am not sure if that 'disconnection' was purposely done by the author or if it is just me and perhaps this is the part 'I was missing' as I mentioned above. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the story as I said but this was just so odd to me to feel this way since I usually am drawn to characters and really 'get into' a story. Then again, this may have been done purposely by the author because if I had a close connection with a character or into the story I would possibly find this a nightmare and disturbing especially with the praying to and the conjuring of the devil.

The story is not a quick read by any means and there was something going on all of the time however I didn't feel the transition into these places or events were as seamless as they could have been so it was a bit choppy although it did come all together in the end.. The plot is good and stayed on course with the characters being believable for the most part. What I expected to happen and what did happen were usually two different things, the surprise factor was great. There was plenty of suspense, horror, and twists to keep me turning page after page.

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