Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

by Carol3 Comments
I've been having some good luck with light romances lately. Love in a Nutshell is just fun - and guess what, Kate and Matt are actually honest with each other, well more or less. They make a good couple - instant attraction but a few issues keeping them apart, like he's her boss and owns the mortgage on her house, the one he had been planning to foreclose on. Matt is another almost -perfect guy, good business sense, sexy, protective of the people he cares about. Kate is a bit down on herself, but is making a go at starting a new life. Love in a Nutshell has funny moments, a slow courtship between Matt and Kate as far as romances go, and some danger. It's not a wonderful book, but it's enjoyable. It's definitely PG thanks to an overly possessive poodle, one of two dogs who are great characters in and of themselves. The narrator does a good job differentiating the...
Read More

Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy

by Carol4 Comments
Really, really enjoyed this romance. It was sweet, sexy and just nice. There was a happy ending and not too much stress getting there. Tamara wants to take it slow, which is totally understandable and Elec might just be the perfect man. It didn't make me cry, it didn't make me want to yell at the couple to just get their act together. For me, it was what a romance should be. Elec and Tamara are both honestly good people. Tamara did annoy me a little at times, especially her harping on about her stretch marks. Granted, Elec couldn't have cared less about it, he thought she was gorgeous, but I felt like her body issues were a little over the top. Other than that, though, they both felt like people I could enjoy hanging out with. Sometimes audios don't work well for romances with sex scenes, but this one was good. It was sexy, but didn't trip over into cheesy and...
Read More

Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø

by Carol6 Comments
Fictional detectives fall into many categories; the competent police force detective, male or female; the female amateur of so many light cozies, who may or may not have a bit of magic about her; the former professional who still "helps" with the occasional case; and the competent private investigator are just a few. Harry Hole is the anti-hero, a type of detective I'm drawn to. He's competent, but that's almost his downfall. He's so tenacious, like a pit bull with a bone, that even when he's sent on this sensitive case that everyone want to just go away, he digs and digs through all the muck and muddle to get to the truth. He's an alcoholic and develops a taste for opium, he is haunted by memories and by the unsolved rape of his sister who has Downs' syndrome. He's in a bad spot, so the folks in charge send him off to Thailand, figuring the drunk cop has no...
Read More

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

by Carol6 Comments
I really enjoyed Night Film and I have to say that it kept my attention all the way through, which at over 23 hours is pretty impressive. McGrath was not my favorite of the characters. I didn't exactly understand his obsession, but I did like the two young adults who are his side-kicks. Their reasons for caring made more sense to me. He just let a story overtake him, their concerns are more personal. It's a long books and tends toward sprawling in places. It meanders and we follow trail after trail that (maybe) go nowhere. It's not a novel with answers, just more questions. And that's even before McGrath (maybe) loses touch with reality a bit. I have to say I really liked the whole set-up and the way reality mirrored fiction portraying reality - maybe.  I guess it's one of those stories where I just went along for the ride, let Pessl lead me down the alleys she wanted to. I loved her...
Read More

The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle

by Carol1 Comment
Ah, the lives of the rich. Wine and food and wonderful scenery. And a house so marvelous someone is willing to kill you for it. That's about all there is to this mystery. I was never really worried about Reboul, since Sam is clearly too smart to let anything happen to his friend. There's no real question who the bad guy is, but for someone as connected and careful as Vronsky is, his plan is foiled easily. It's a short audiobook and the narrator does an okay job with all the characters and accents, from French to Russian to American to whatever Elena is, but my mind kept wandering. There was a lack of tension, no need for clues. The food sounded delicious, but aside from that there isn't much else to keep my attention. The characters are two-dimensional. The mystery is pretty much non-existent and the solution to the problem is too easy. I started to say it's okay if you just need something...
Read More

Beastly Things by Donna Leon

by Carol3 Comments
I've read several of the Brunetti mysteries, but not necessarily in order. Beastly Things was okay, not the best in the series and there were some things I missed. First and foremost I missed the food, the delicious meals Brunetti has, the desserts and drinks. They're here, but not as tempting as usual. Of course, that probably has to do with the social theme she's tackling in addition to the mystery. We have a look inside the food industry, at the slaughtering of animals and how the meat is deemed "safe for human consumption." I don't mind social issues in mysteries, but at times it can over-shadow the actual mystery plot. And the horrible scene at the slaughterhouse was not as disturbing as I thought it would be, in all honesty. But maybe I've heard too many horror stories before. I like the characters as always and Venice is as a wonderful setting. I will say the plot held few surprises. I guessed...
Read More