Beachcomber by Karen Robards

(Posted for Diann Stark)

When Christy Petrino discovers that her fiance, Michael DePalma, and the law firm where she works are linked to the mob, she breaks her engagement and quits her job. But no one walks away from the DePalma family so easily. While making a “run” for the mob to win back her freedom, her late-night drop-off is only the beginning of a tide of terror. In the shadows of the Outer Banks, Christy senses she is being followed...and suddenly she is a witness in a police investigation of a serial killer known as the "Beachcomber" -- who targets young women who all resemble "her." Handsome surfer Luke Rand offers the best kind of shelter in his strong arms. But as their sensual attraction flares, Christy hears warning bells telling her "if you want to survive a hot and deadly summer, trust no one....”

Audio book 10 hours 25 minutes, 352 pgs.

 

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is bored.  School doesn’t start for another week.  She has explored every inch (she thinks) of the new flat she and her Mother and Father moved into. She has counted the windows (21) and the doors (14). Wait…14? Where does the 14^th door go to? It is locked. Mother gets the key, opens the door, and shows her…a brick wall. The door goes nowhere.  When the house was divided into flats, the door was bricked up.

One day Coraline finds herself alone and bored once more, so she gets the key and unlocks the door. This time, she finds a hallway through the door. She goes through, and finds another flat, with another Mother and another Father, toys that come alive, and a beautiful, pink and green bedroom.  It seems like a wonderful world, but Coraline soon realizes that it is a distorted reality, and she finds herself in danger.   But Coraline remembered what her Dad told her about being brave: Being didn’t mean you weren’t scared, really scared, badly scared, and you did the right thing anyway. So Coraline does the right thing.

A wonderfully scary tale for ages 8 and up.

208 pages

"Cash: Angel, Demon, Rock Star" by Jae T. Jaggart

This unique and interesting novella focused on Cash, the rock star in the title, and the quest for his soul between an angel and a demon.  Zee, a mysterious surfer, and Rosie, the band's main groupie, are in a battle for his attention.  Which will Cash choose, and will his soul suffer for it?  70 pages (Kindle edition).

"Beyond Shame" by Kit Rocha

This dystopian novel is set on Earth after solar storms destroy society.  Noelle Cunningham has been exiled from Eden, the only city where "good" and "righteous" people live.  As a woman, her life there was severely restricted with very little free will.  After being caught with a young man, she is kicked out of Eden with nothing but what she's wearing and ends up in the Sectors, where the "outlaws" live.  Jasper McCray, a cage fighter and bootlegger, takes her to Sector Four where Dallas O'Kane rules.  Tattoos, sex, violence, and alcohol are part of life and, as it turns out, love.  Noelle and Jasper are drawn to each other, but both know little about making relationships work.  Plus, she's the daughter of a councilman, who may want her back or want her dead for selfish and political reasons.

I went out of my comfort zone to read this on the recommendation of a book blogger whose reviews I generally like.  (It's not someone from our blog.)  The author built an interesting world that wasn't overly detailed with minutiae, which is what usually keeps me from reading more dystopian and science fiction stories.  However, I did not like the relationships between the men and women.  Although the women in Sector Four have free will, and the author created a very dominant and assertive female character in Lex, the men still called the shots and dominated the women in certain scenes.  That's just not my cup of tea.  354 pages (Kindle edition).

"Flawless Design" by Alina Popescu

Shamsiel is an angel bound to Earth as punishment for killing another angel and human out of jealousy.  He meets Blake, whom he assumes his human, but does not want to get too close for fear that he will take another life.  I don't want to give away more than that, but I enjoyed the way the author conveyed the characters and their fears of not being good enough for each other.  Short but well written.  35 pages (Kindle edition).

"Christian" by Andria Large

Christian is the youngest of the four Beck brothers.  The three oldest had their own books in which they found their ladies.  However, Christian isn't interested in women and is terrified of how his family will react when he tells them, so he doesn't.  But when the one man he has always wanted steps up and challenges him to stop hiding, Christian must make the most important choice of his life.  I liked Christian's story very much even though one of his brothers could be a real jerk.  There was more than just hiding from family, though.  Two other dramatic events occur, both of which were a bit unbelievable, but they kept me captivated since the author handled them so well.  164 pages (Kindle edition).

Tell Me What It’s Like to be Big by Joyce Dunbar

Willa is a little rabbit who really, really wants to be big. Until she finds out that when you’re big, you don’t have toys…and have to do a lot of things that she isn’t so sure she wants to do. She decides she likes being little just fine!

Preschool up

32 pages