Book Review: Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries Book 1) by Amy Saunders

Title: Cliffhanger
Author: Amy Saunders
Series: Belinda & Bennett Mysteries #1
Pages: 237
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Making her grand re-entry into Portside, Rhode Island, Belinda Kittridge expected fun, sun, and sugar cookies.

Instead, she gets one jilted lover braced for round two, an old rival on the hunt, and the murder of a former classmate and friend. Even worse, Belinda must return to the events surrounding a tragic sailing accident to set things right.

But new possibilities emerge in the form of security expert Bennett Tate. Between her connections and his know-how, they're bound to catch the killer - and kick the skeletons out of the closet for good.

I was enthralled in Belinda and Bennett's story instantly! The scenery sounds beautiful, the characters are super realistic, and the mystery is enthralling!

Cliffhanger is one of those books that is so engrossing and loaded with detail that you feel like its a movie playing in your head. You can perfectly picture the locations and even the expressions on the characters faces. It was truly that great! It definitely felt like a Hallmark movie to me! 😊

Growing up, one of my favorite series to read was Nancy Drew, since that time it has been I don't know how long since I've actually sat down and read a good mystery book. Cliffhanger brought all those good memories back to me! I absolutely love how Saunders weaves in the perfect amount of humor and romance with such a great mystery! I also really enjoyed how as a reader, I didn't know every little thing the characters were thinking, Instead, they were able to surprise me!

I can't wait to get my hands on the second book in this series and see more of Belinda, Bennett, Jonas, Kyle, and Victoria! I really enjoyed getting to know all of them in this book!

Book Review: Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson Book 2) byDarynda Jones

Title: Second Grave on the Left
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #2
Pages: 316
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Complicated is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible.

When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Cookie's friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He's left his body because he's being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can't let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they'll have a portal to heaven...well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Can she keep those she loves out of harm's way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the year: Second Grave on the Left.

In the second installment of the Charley Davidson series, Charley is up to her usual shenanigans. You know, drinking coffee, getting injured, and as always providing some snarky commentary.....the usual. After wrapping up the case she solved in First Grave on the Right, Charley has only a week to recuperate before she is dragged, and I mean literally dragged out of bed...in her bunny slippers, into another case.

With this new case, the stakes are even higher, because the missing person just so happens to be one of Cookie's friends. And she is in some major trouble. I couldn't even keep up with how many different men in suits were involved with this case!

However, if that's not enough, she still has the tall, dark, and mysterious Reyes Farrow to worry about. To put the icing on the cake so to speak, her dad is acting strange (stranger than usual anyway).

The case about Cookie's friend, Reyes Farrow, and a dad exhibiting abnormal behavior all caused Charlie, your favorite grim reaper, a ton (and I mean a TON) of problems. Which, of course made for an action packed story! I actually enjoyed this case a lot more than I did the case from the first book! This case had a few twists that I was definitely not expecting!

I found one quote from the book that just perfectly sums up Charley's attitude, "Is it sexy in here or is it just me?" Charley Davidson lives up to the name (crazy, I know!) and is most definitely my favorite grim reaper. I mean, come on, who knew the grim reaper had a sense of humor?

"Chocolate and coffee? Together? Whoever came up with that combination should have won a Nobel Peace Prize. Or at least a subscription to Reader's Digest."

"You're doing that weird thing you do."

"Sorry. I just can't seem to help myself. My brain is freaking out. Two predawn mornings in a row. It doesn't know what to think, how to act. I'll have a talk with it later. Perhaps get it into counseling."

"Denial really wasn't just a river in Egypt."

"...saying no to coffee would be like saying no to world peace."

"We were venturing into Denialville again, which was not really as fun as Margaritaville."

Book Review: First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson Book 1) by Darynda Jones

Title: First Grave on the Right
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #1
Pages: 310
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual. Or a diagram of some kind. A flow chart would have been nice.

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

Charley Davidson is definitely someone you do not want to mess with, and know I'm not talking about who you think I am. I am referring to Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire. From an early age (a VERY early age) Charley has been able to not only see ghosts, but have actual conversations with them. Although she has yet been forced into an institution, she has made quite the reputation for herself.

Instead of avoiding the police, she works with them. She helps solve murders, kidnappings, you name it! Technically she runs her own private investigation company (consists of her & her best friend Cookie) and works with the police department as a consultant. It makes things easier.

As for the book, I had an absolute blast reading First Grave on the Right! One review I saw explained that stringing a bunch of wise-cracks together does not make a novel. Well I do agree with that review, stringing a bunch of wise-cracks together does not make a novel, it makes a HILARIOUSLY FUN novel!! I laughed my way through the entire book. And, it's not just one character that gets all the good one-liners, instead, quite a few of the characters have an actual sense of humor. In other words, not everyone is severely serious, stoic, and unemotional.

Charley Davidson herself is one of the funniest characters...and she absolutely LOVES coffee. Yay, I found my soul-sister!! I too feel like I need a caffeine drip! This book definitely kept things interesting, it was you usual who-done-it, but with a quirky supernatural twist! I mean grim reaper, come on! I cannot wait to just tackle the rest of the series (It's ten books and counting)! I'm really hoping to see a little more of Garrett, I just think there's a little more to him than what Charley thinks.

"I did that thing where you scratch your eyebrow and flip someone off at the same time. I'm good at multitasking like that."

"Sorry, Uncle Bob, I thought you were someone else."
"I'm often mistaken for Tom Selleck."

"I stood and walked around the desk so I could stand over him. Menacingly. Like Darth Vader, only with better lung capacity." 

Book Review: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Title: Winter's Bone
Author: Daniel Woodrell
Pages: 193
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Ree Dolly's father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks, Ree learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But, as an unsettling revelation lurks, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.

Winter's Bone takes place in the Missouri Ozarks, near the Arkansas line. The story follows a sixteen year old girl named Ree Dolly. Her father is out of prison on bond and if he does not make his court date, Ree and her family will lose both their house, and their land. So, on top of having to take care of her two younger brothers and her pill-popping mom, she must now go out and find her father. The entire story follows Ree along her journey in trying to hunt her father down. She must navigate her way through the Ozark Wilderness and interrogate some extremely shady characters.

To truly appreciate the story, you must have an understanding of Ozark culture. Woodrell grew up in this area, and knows what he is talking about. The residents of the Ozarks believe that blood is thicker than water. They will do anything for their "kin," lie for them, fight for them, and even kill for them. They are also extremely distrustful of both outsiders and law enforcement. They instead settle things their own way. Also, the environment can be tough to live in, not everybody can do it.

Ree Dolly is an extremely strong character. She provides for her family, and does more than just cook for them. She teaches her siblings how to survive also. She knows that there is no way you can survive out in the Ozarks unless you have a certain skill set. Most people would be afraid to just wonder out in the wilderness and ask questions to people that do not want to answer. She leans really quick that finding her father may be tougher than she had originally thought.

This story stays in your head, and thoughts about the story will fill your mind and keep you awake at night. I would never have thought that this book would get to me so much, but it did. I even had to go purchase the film, just so I could see the book come to life. I have to warn you, there are some differences between the film and book (as always). If you have already seen the film and not read the book, you are seriously missing out. The film actually leaves out tiny details that are essential to fully understanding what exactly is going on. Due to the fact that I read the book before I saw the film, I was able to read in-between the lines and pick up on things that others would have never even thought about.

It is really weird to actually say it, but I am glad that I was forced to read and do a report on Winter's Bone. If it was not for this assignment, I would have never picked up this book. I realize now, that I would have been really missing out, and it makes me wonder "What other books have I overlooked?"