Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection: Box Set Books 1-3 by Barbara Venkataraman

Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection: Box Set Books 1-3 by Barbara Venkataraman

My Rating: ★★★★

The Jamie Quinn mysteries follows a reluctant family lawyer who becomes latched to a series of murder mysteries in this box set. Jamie is a funny character who decides to just wing the first time she becomes involved with a murder mystery. The first time she becomes involved is because her dear nephew is accused of murder, and she dives face first into criminal law to make sure he doesn't go down for a crime he didn't commit.

I rather liked the three books in this collection. It took me a little bit to get into the first book, but I found myself engrossed after a couple of chapters. The characters are likable, and some of them are funny and nice to see returning story after story. I feel invested in Jamie's life because it's more than just murder mystery. As the collection goes on, we slowly become involved in her personal mysteries, such as watching her search for her father. It'll be interesting to see how the story will continue to progress because there is a bit of a mixture of personal and work related mysteries in varying degrees. So far, it's an entertaining series and I'm invested in the characters and their stories. I love the friendships that I've seen form and the pre-existing ones, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Venkataraman decides to take us on Jamie's journey.

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher

My Rating: ★★★★

Elizabeth Cole is running away from her problems, mainly her on again off again fiance, and accepts a job on another planet. Ardagh 1 is a strange and formerly uninhabited world that's breathing life into a quickly deteriorating Earth. However, colonists quickly discovered a huge problem upon arriving: there is intelligent life there, and they take the form of the colonist's loved ones. These ghosts attach themselves to their respective human and must remain in relatively close proximity or suffer from extreme pain. Elizabeth is unsure about how to deal with having a ghostly follower when she gets the shock of a lifetime: she's a ghost. She died on route to Ardagh 1.

This is such an interesting book. Knowing that Elizabeth while knowing she was dead and seeing her go through a variety of emotions upon finding out that she is a ghost is such a fascinating way to start the book. It allowed me to follow the perspective of a "ghost," which is actually an alien incarnation of a random deceased person that any person arriving from Earth once knew. I was immediately engrossed by the plot and wondered why this planet is emulating the resources that Earth needs and why it's producing living, breathing people who remember everything from their former lives. In fact, as far as these "ghosts" know, they never died until they shock the living daylights out of whoever they are attached to.

As far as I could tell, there was no signs of any of the ghosts being there to harm anyone. They were the same person that they were in their former life, but alive and healed. I was glued to the pages as Elizabeth fought to be recognized by Murphy and figure out why she was connected to him and how to detach. Their relationship slowly grows as the story progresses, and we see how harshly the other ghosts are being treated thanks to the Ghost Protocol. I was routing for them to finally be recognized as real people and not alien beings there to destroy them. On the way, we learned interesting things about the planet and how it works. We meet a variety of fascinating characters as well as terrifying ones. Elizabeth's path to freedom also holds the answer to why and how she exists, as well as how their planet works. I wish that we got to know some of the supporting characters more than we did, but I'm okay with what we learned. I was so into the story that I almost wished that it continued on for a little longer. It's definitely one that I will be recommending a lot!

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

My Rating: ★★★

There's a curse on Black Spring. Anyone who settles in this town can never leave for long because they've become wrapped up in the curse. Black Spring is haunted by a 17th century witch named Katherine. With her eyes and mouth sewn shut, she appears wherever she wants. She's a forced to be reckoned with because messing with her means you're subject to her wrath, so people throw dish washing cloths and sheets to hide her when she appears in their home or workplace. A small group of teens decide they want to break the town's strict rules regarding her and go viral with her presence and what goes on in their town. Instead, their plan backfires and everyone begins to deteriorate under the power that Katherine holds over them.

There isn't a dull moment throughout this book. We've got a group of teenagers going to their secret blog and planning how to go public with Katherine and the town's curse, and we have various characters that we follow dealing with the curse. At first, Katherine is presented as a dark entity that is seemingly cursed to walk the living world for the sins she committed during her life. People are forbidden to talk or touch her because it could be a death sentence. However, as the story goes on, Katherine is at the bottom of the list of evil entities. She just does her thing and people fear her for it. They fear the day that she brings forth the end of times, so anyone unlucky enough to live in town is stuck planning their lives around the curse and hope they don't live to see her evil eye turn on them.

Katherine's a sad spirit lurking around town. We start to see how people blame her for their actions and the consequences they face. A few of the teens who want to go viral with their town's story become out of control. They begin to become violent, which results in the death of an animal and some people. Some view her as a goddess of sorts and leave her offerings, much to HEX's surprise. As the town starts to deteriorate and turn into an angry mob, we see history begin to repeat itself. The people of Black Spring believe she has turned her evil eye onto them when they begin to turn into the worst version of themselves. It's interesting to watch how Katherine is a solemn entity who doesn't want to cause harm. She is merely stuck in this world with the descendants of those who harmed her during her life.

It's an action packed story that doesn't have a dull moment. I know it kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. I am disappointed with the way it ended. It has an open ending, which left me with many questions about Katherine and the surviving people of the town. I think I really just want Katherine to be able to rest in peace rather than being forced to walk this world.

Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub

Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub

My Rating: ★★★★★

Still Star-Crossed picks up a few weeks after the events that take place in Shakespeare's famous play, Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and Capulets have agreed to make peace after Romeo and Juliet secretly married and died in the midst of both houses ongoing feuds. However, the peace agreement is merely a band-aid that's barely holding on. Tension is high throughout Verona as its citizens are increasingly unable to stick to the agreement. Rather than finding a way to live in peace, they continue the feud to avenge the lost members of their houses. However, Prince Escalus as devised a plan to force everyone to hold the peace. He has ordered Rosaline, a childhood friend who hails from the Capulet house, and Romeo's friend Benvolio Montague to marry. Escalus believes that this marriage will be what cements the peace agreement in place.

Taub brings Rosaline to life as the female protagonist of the story. Unhappy with the cards that life has dealt her, Rosaline plans to enter a nunnery rather than marry. However, fate has other plans for her as her childhood friend Escalus tries to force her into a marriage with a Montague of all people. Rosaline is a stubborn character who has spent most of her life living independently with her sister on her aunt's property after they were orphaned. However, she is also intelligent, caring, and level headed. Her characteristics and overall attitude make her relatable and even funny at times. Benvolio is also brought to life as the male protagonist who compliments Rosaline as a cunning, wise, and intelligent character. The pair detests one another from the beginning, but their witty exchanges left me eagerly awaiting their next meeting.

I love the way that Taub brings this world to life in a new way. These characters, some of which did not show their faces much in the drama, are fleshed out. I found myself identifying with Rosaline and Livia because they are realistic siblings. They may not always agree, but they deeply care for one another and are concerned for each other's well-being. Benvolio is brought to life as a genuinely caring person even for those he does not care for. He's the person that one would describe as all around good fellow even if we did not particular care to get to know him. Squished together, Rosaline and Benvolio face some entertaining drama as they seek to find out who is fueling the fire between their houses in an attempt to nullify their engagement, only to fall in love every step of the way. It's fun to see various characters, such as Father Friar and Paris, come to life in new ways. I found myself glued to the pages, and I am more excited about the upcoming television series than I was before.

Beckoning Darkness (The Damned and The Pure #1) by J.D. Stonebridge

Beckoning Darkness by J.D. Stonebridge

My Rating: ★★★★

After committing a terrible sin against heaven, Ariel spent centuries serving her heavenly prison sentence. She has finally been released and has had her memory swiped so that she will not be tempted to repeat the mistakes of her past. Freshly released, Ariel is selected for a special assignment on Earth, giving her the second chance she needs. However, mankind is not what it once was, which challenges her mission. A demon throws a wrench in her assignment, pushing her to her limits. However, all is not what it seems and she finds herself unwillingly teaming up with the odd demon that messed with her assignment so they can both find answers to their questions.

J.D. Stonebridge has taken the world we live in and added a supernatural and divine spin to it. Rather than following the perspective of a prophet, we follow an angel and a demon. Heaven and Hell meet in the human realm, and we see how these characters view our world. I love that Ariel is kept in the dark. She doesn't remember her sin, nor does she remember her punishment. She believes what the angels have told her, but she has questions that she is urged to keep to herself. It opens the door for more questions, which kept me on the lookout because I knew that all is not what it seems. There has to be more to Ariel's story, as well as her mission.

The story is a balancing act between Ariel and Caelum. Ariel is a devout angel determined to redeem herself, and Caelum is an odd demon who has no memories of anything other than his life as a demon. He is drawn to her because he's never seen an angel before, and she also reminds him of the women in the dreams he believes are his human memories. As the story continues, we see that there seems to be something bigger working against the pair. It ultimately cements the pair together in a seemingly temporary partnership that is interesting to watch. Ariel is so straight and narrow compared to Caelum, who is a fun spirited demon. I enjoyed watching the pair's interactions as well as their interactions with other characters as I was drawn deeper into the story. I knew that I was in for the whole series by the end of the book because it's such a compelling story that kept me glued to its pages.

A Toxic Trousseau (A Witchcraft Mystery #8)

A Toxic Trousseau by Juliet Blackwell

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Lily is served papers detailing a lawsuit involving a certain rogue familiar, she decides to pay Autumn a visit in an attempt to come to a peaceful agreement. Sadly, she stumbles upon Autumn in some of her final moments, leaving her with a new mystery on her hands. Meanwhile, Aidan leaves Lily in charge when he leaves town, allowing her to finally see what his daily job entails.

Blackwell has brought yet another delightful installment into our lives. I like that A Toxic Trousseau takes a different path than previous installments. We see more into Lily and Sailor's day to day relationship with one another, which allows us to become more invested in the pair. We're also given a glimpse of what is to come as Lily tries to figure out Aidan's motive behind leaving her in charge. If anything, learning some of his more popular duties piqued my interest because it allowed Lily to become acquainted with a different side of the magical folk in her city. We now see who Lily and company will be going up against even if we do not know the specifics of what is in store. It was interesting to see the light and dark sides of some of these new characters, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

This installment takes a bit of a different path than previous installments. The mystery itself seems to be a bit in the air while being connected to multiple parts of the story even if we do not see it at first. We have the cursed trousseau, a mystery house, and mysterious death that weigh heavily on Lily's mind. We also continue to see Lily grow as she tries to get to the bottom of these different aspects that are plaguing her. Rather than jumping into these mysteries alone, she asks for help and takes her friends along with her. She has made a family for herself that she trusts and relies on, and I love seeing her realize that she can count on these people as much as they count on her. The story is captivating from beginning to end. I also I found myself wanting to attend any party with Bronwyn and company. The final chapter had me yelling in excitement. I am now eagerly awaiting the ninth book!

The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2)

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

My Rating: ★★★★

The Mime Order picks up right where The Bone Season left off. Like the series opener, this installment is a slow burn. However, the slow pace is worth it because the world building continues as we follow Paige's struggles. She sees the world that she fought so hard to return to differently now that her eyes are open. It's a dark and oppressed world full of lies, hidden agendas, and two-faced people sitting out in the open. One wrong move can end in death, especially for Paige since she's now on the most wanted list. It really allowed us the time to fully understand what Paige is facing at every turn.

It was interesting to get more detail about some of the characters we know from the previous novel, such as Jax and the various big players of the syndicate. Learning the history of The Rephiam as Warden knows it is fascinating, and I'm sure it will play a big part as the series continues. Learning the politics of the syndicate was also interesting, especially as we begin to see how deep the corruption has seeped. The slow pace might be something that won't pull everyone in, but it allows us to see what Paige and company will be facing as they become immersed in the war. The story becomes fast paced toward the end, and we see how Paige's decisions come back to bite her. I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, new and old, every step of the way. I can't wait for the third installment!