The Library - Paranormal Romance MINI Review "Dead Ever After" by Charlaine Harris

Title:  Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Buy it on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart...

Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough...

My Thoughts...

** This review does contain spoilers!**

I decided to do this one as a mini review because, honestly, I don't want to waste much time on this book.  I have spent years on this series now and I feel really let down by how this ended!  I just going to bullet point my thoughts and then be done with it once and for all.

• I hated the switching POV's....why do this now?  Up to this point we have gotten the whole story from Sookie's POV.  The sections of "mysterious" 3rd person weren't fooling anyone, we all knew who the mystery men were.
• Eric is literally in 3 scenes and his part is so insignificant she may as well have just left him out completely.  She did her best to make the readers hate him so that we wouldn't really care when she wrote him out of Sookie's life.
• There was not a huge story in this book.  It's more just plot junk that wraps up the series and tells us what happened with all those long lost characters we wanted to forget about....like Arlene and Steve Newlin.
• Quinn was back...I did like that!
• I have always liked Sam....don't get me wrong.  That said, I do NOT like that Sookie ended up with him at the end.  It's a little too much like Sookie needed to be with someone and she hadn't hooked up with Sam yet so why not?!  I knew this was coming though, it was the only way for Charlaine Harris to end the series and not keep Sookie and Eric together.  It was clear from the way the last couple books went that she wasn't going to go that route.
• Just when we thought it was the end we find out that Ms. Harris has decided to release yet another book After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse.  WHAT THE FRICK?!! I don't think I can do it...I am not giving her MORE money to tell me something that she SHOULD have put in an epilogue chapter!

So....as you can see, I am NOT a fan of how this ended!  I do NOT recommend shelling out $15 for any version of the book.  Wait until it's released in mass market paperback, or get it from the library!

The Library - Cover Reveal "Jane's Melody" by Ryan Winfield

Here is a little sneak peek at a book that I can't wait to read!! 

Jane's Melody by Ryan Winfield

What boundaries would you cross for love?

That’s the question a grieving mother must answer when she takes in her dead daughter’s young boyfriend and finds herself falling for him. A touching love story that will have you equally tantalized and in tears, Jane’s Melody follows a forty-year-old woman on a romantic journey of rediscovery after years of struggling alone.

Sometimes our greatest gifts come from our greatest pain. And now Jane must decide if it’s too late for her to start over, or if true love really knows no age.

So, what do you think?  I know that I am intrigued!  Word from Mr. Winfield is that it will be released on June 18th.  If I get some order links before then I will post them here.

The Library - Adult Romantic Suspense Review "If I Were You" by Lisa Renee Jones

Title:  If I Were You
Author: Lisa Renee Jones

Publisher:  Gallery Books
Publication Date:  September 12, 2012

Genre:  Adult Fiction / Romantic Suspense

Format:  Kindle 896 KB  |  Paperback 384 pages

Buy this book on Amazon:  Kindle Edition  |  Paperback

Author's Website:  http://www.lisareneejones.com/ 

Author's Goodreads Profile:  Lisa Renee Jones

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Sara McMillan finds a stack of journals in a storage unit, she’s shocked and enthralled by the erotic life the writer led. Unable to stop reading, she vicariously lives out dark fantasies through Rebecca, the writer—until the terrifying final entry.

Certain something sinister has happened, Sara sets out to discover the facts, immersing herself in Rebecca’s life. Soon she’s working at the art gallery Rebecca worked at and meeting Rebecca’s friends. Finding herself drawn to two dangerously sexy men, the manager of the gallery and a famed artist, Sara realizes she’s going down the same path Rebecca took. But with the promise of her dark needs being met by a man with confident good looks and a desire for control, she’s not sure anything else matters. Just the burn for more.

My Thoughts...

This was probably one of the better books I have read this year, in fact this rates right up there with the Crossfire books for me!  You know how much I love Gideon Cross!  I loved the suspense and I really liked that at some point I got so caught up in Sara and Chris that I forgot all about Rebecca.  Then suddenly I am at the end and I get hit with a cliffhanger!  Which kinda stunk, but it's not too bad since the next book will be out in just a couple of weeks.

The Library - New Adult Romance Review "This Girl" by Colleen Hoover

Title:  This Girl
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher:  Atria
Publication Date:  April 30, 2013
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Format:  Kindle 811 KB

Buy this book on Amazon:  Kindle Edition
Author's Website:  http://colleenhoover.com/ 
Author's Goodreads Profile:  Colleen Hoover

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

My Thoughts...

I am going to keep this review short and sweet since it's kind of a retelling of Layken and Will's story.  I did review Slammed and Point of Retreat last year, you can read my review of those books here.

The Library - Contemporary Paranormal Review "The Union Street Bakery" by Mary Ellen Taylor

Title:  The Union Street Bakery

Author: Mary Ellen Taylor

Publisher:  Berkley Trade

Publication Date:  February 5, 2013

Genre:  Contemporary Paranormal (Ghost)

Format:  Kindle 677 KB  |  Paperback 352 pages

Buy this book on Amazon:  Kindle Edition  |  Paperback

Author's Website:  http://www.maryellentaylor.com/ 

Author's Goodreads Profile:  Mary Ellen Taylor

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Life can turn on a dime. It’s a common cliché, and I’d heard it often enough. People die or move away. Investments go south. Affairs end. Loved ones betray us...Stuff happens.
Daisy McCrae’s life is in tatters. She’s lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, and has been reduced to living in the attic above her family’s store, the Union Street Bakery, while learning the business. Unfortunately, the bakery is in serious hardship. Making things worse is the constant feeling of not being a “real” McCrae since she was adopted as a child and has a less-than-perfect relationship with her two sisters.

Then a long-standing elderly customer passes away, and for some reason bequeaths Daisy a journal dating back to the 1850s, written by a slave girl named Susie. As she reads, Daisy learns more about her family—and her own heritage—than she ever dreamed. Haunted by dreams of the young Susie, who beckons Daisy to “find her,” she is compelled to look further into the past of the town and her family.

What she finds are the answers she has longed for her entire life, and a chance to begin again with the courage and desire she thought she lost for good.

My Thoughts...
I really enjoyed this book from the very first page.  I have a soft spot for books that center around cooking for some reason!  One of my favorite Nora Roberts trilogies revolves around a girl that cooks for the little coffee shop in a bookstore.  Even though Daisy isn't the baker in this story, this reminded me a little of that series.