AJ’s Review

Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan (Midnight Ink, 2008)

Twisting scrapbooking into a murder mystery is just too delicious! Joanna Campbell Slan takes scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein through the works, growing her from a doormat whose husband is found dead and naked in a hotel room to a mother that discovers she is worth more than she thought. I’m not a scrapbooker, but Joanna superbly describes the joy this hobby brings to folks and had the occasional urge to get glue on my fingers. If you are a scrapbooker, she peppers the book with hints on how to improve your art. The mystery (and romance) move slowly at first, gaining momentum as the suspects begin to pile up. Kiki was a great gal to spend a rainy afternoon with. I can’t wait to see how Kiki’s next scrapbooking adventure works out!

Melanie's Review

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

The whole paranormal romance category was threatening to pass me by, much like most new technology, but fortunately AJ passed me a copy of this book and said, “read this, it’s funny.” I did, and it was.

Lizzie Brown’s orderly world is turned upside down when her Harley riding Grandma shows up and informs her that she will become a powerful demon slayer on her birthday.  When a demon crawls out of Lizzie’s toilet moments after she turns thirty, she makes a snap decision to trust the grandmother she’s just met.

Thus begins a frantic, cross-country odyssey to unite with the rest of the coven and learn the fine art of demon slaying. Lizzie’s adventures and misadventures, with what surely must be one of the most colorful covens around, provide a lot of laughs and some tense moments too.

Aided by her flamboyant dog, Pirate, who she now has the ability to communicate with, and a really hot griffin (who knew?), Lizzie must find a way to travel to hell and defeat the demon Vald. Her grandmother’s life depends on it.
This book was a lot of fun and an easy introduction to the paranormal world. On a personal note, I happened to attend a workshop at The Big Read in St. Louis hosted by Ms. Fox and others, and she is every bit as sparkly in real life as her writing suggests.

Sloan's Review

Unleashing the Storm by Sydney Croft

This is the second book by this duo and I love it.  The books involve people who belong to ACRO, Agency for Covert Rare Operatives dealing in Special Ops of a different kind.  Being a paranormal writer myself, I get into this subject.  ~he he~

Ender is a Delta Force warrior on a retrieval mission for ACRO.  He’s upset because normally he isn’t sent in for these kinds of missions.  He kills people and he likes it that way, but Dev, the leader of ACRO has asked him to go. 

Kira is an animal whisperer and on the run her entire life.  Not only does her special ability let her speak with and understand the animals, but it also sends her into a heat cycle.  This unusual phenomenon creates a need for sex every four hours and she wears men out.  (Oh to have that ability!)

Ender shows up to protect her from ITOR, the rival agency, who doesn’t exactly train and utilize their operatives in a positive way.  Her cycle kicks in and Ender steps up to keep her serviced while also trying to save her life.  Sex has never been a problem for him, but this assignment challenges him, in more ways than one. 

This book, like the first, is an exciting ride from start to finish.  The characters are ones you root for and pray win in the end.  I love their quirks, their abilities, and their tortured hearts and bodies.  Torturing characters is one of my favorite things…Ha! 

My recommendation is that if you love gorgeous, awesome men and independent, stubborn women who don’t take crap from anyone, you will love this book. 

P.S.  The incredible sex scenes don’t hurt either…..Woof!