Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovitch & Dorien Kelly

one sentence summary
Kate life fell apart and she is looking for a change in pace so moves to her old family summer home which is falling apart around her but she has dreams of making it into a B&B.

review
This story was great! Exactly what one expects from Evanovich, a quirky romance with lovable characters and a dash of drama and adventure. The writing is witty and fast paced with new twists and turns introduced just as you are getting a rhythm in the story which creates a very exciting page turning read. It is very formulaic but it is a formula I like. It you also like predictable love stories with lovable characters read this one too!

8/10

Blood Lite - ed. Kevin J Anderson

one sentence summary
a collection of short, often witty, paranormal stories.

review
these stories range in quality from "why the hell did I waste my time reading that" to "wow, listen to this..." with the majority being in the first category. I was disappointed by most of the stories but Butcher's was really good and Snell's was interesting (if not particularly well executed) but that was pretty much it for good writing. The more I know the author the more disappointed I was in their story.

2/10

Dark Heavens Trilogy - Kylie Chan

one sentence summary
A nanny enters the world of mythology when she agrees to care for the daughter of a god.

review
This is a great series, the mythology is so well researched and described that it is easy to fall under the spell of the story and believe the unbelievable. The series gets stronger as it continues forward, the third book being the most well written. I enjoyed the characters for the most part, the only really weak link is the character of Simone, a little girl wise beyond her years. For the most part she is believable but she is also the only catalyst that dispels the suspension of disbelief that is so crucial to fantasy writing and she does it more than once. Aside from that I look forward to this series continuing.

Sins of the Flesh - Caridad Pineiro

one sentence summary
genetic experiment gone wrong finds love when a mercenary is sent to clean up the scientists mess (with her being the most volatile mess left behind)

review
a strong start to a new series, it has everything, action, adventure, romance and science fiction all well executed and combined to make a great story. The characters are all really well developed and as Cat and Mick's relationship unfolds you will be drawn in to their world. This novel has ups and downs that keep you guessing and interested from beginning to end. A definite page turner.

6/10

Faeries Gone Wild - Mary-Janice Davidson, Michelle Hauf, Lois Greiman, Leandra Logan

one sentence summary
A collection of four short stories all with happy endings and a dash of love.

review
Mary Janice: absolutely hilarious with characters from her other novels flitting about. Well written and witty - the best story in the book for sure.
Michelle: another hilarious story, the tooth fairy is losing her job because the mothers in her district are forcing their kids to stop believing. She has to figure out a way to save her job with the help of a hunky sandman. a story worth reading for sure.
Lois: an author I hadn't read buy will keep an eye out for. Her story was sweet but she was trying to fit too much plot into too few pages. Well written if a bit rushed feeling.
Leandra: the age old story of trying to find your place in the world, well told and entertaining but ultimately forgettable.

8/10

Skylight Confessions - Alice Hoffman

one sentence summary
Follow one family as it shatters and tries to pull itself together.

review:
I really enjoyed this story, I can tell the imagery from it is going to stick with me for a long time. The characters were very well developed, they all had wonderful flaws and were very relatable. Hoffman must have spent longer researching mental illness and drug addiction than she did writing the book because from my perspective it was really well written. I highly recommend anyone interested in drug addictions or anyone who wants to understand how to develop characters without glaring descriptions.

9/10

Triangles - Ellen Hopkins

one sentence summary:
Three women look for love and understanding.

review:
I found this a very interesting read but not particularly well written (it is done in an off putting style IMO) which detracted from the story quite a bit. The three lead characters were all very interesting and realistic and I enjoyed getting into their heads and looking at their worlds through their eyes. Each of them could easily have had an entire book written on their own stories. The connections made and broken between all the characters made me want to have a more adventurous life than my own (but then I thought about it and decided no, I am happy with my mundane, safe life). The highlight of the book for me was how well researched spinal muscle atrophy was.

6/10

Porch Lights - Dorothea Benton Frank

one sentence summary
A woman trying to pull her life back together takes her son moves home to her parents house for the summer.

review: 
not a badly written book, I enjoyed the perspectives that it offered and the detailed descriptions of South Carolina. The romance was a bit forced but the other relationships, mother/daughter, grandmother/grandson, and that of the grandmother/grandfather characters were all very well done. The story starts out from a dark and depressed place and ends with a happy ending. The writing style reminded me of Kristin Hannah / Jodi Picoult.

7/10