The Slug Queen Chronicles by S. O. Thomas ~ a Review

by MK French

Cricket Kane discovers that tooth fairies are now kidnapping entire children, not just collecting teeth. Her brother is taken, leaving behind a changeling and a toxic black dust that affects her family. She’s immune to it and follows a mysterious cat to the land where magical creatures are real. Cricket has to harness the power of that dust to rescue her brother and the other missing children, but it might cost her life.

3 Books about Grace Kelly

by Susan Roberts

Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American film actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early- to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.  There are several popular books that have been published in the last year about Grace Kelly and about her wedding dress.  Here are reviews of three that I recently read.

The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne ~ a Review & Excerpt

by MK French

Olivia Harper had worked sixteen-hour days in Seattle and dropped it all as soon as she heard that her mother was injured. They had been estranged for years, and the relationship with her niece has become strained as well. All three generations have secrets they've been keeping from each other, and all three have friends that might be more than that.

The Shape of Family by Shilpi Somaya Gowda ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"There are so many ways to die without actually leaving the world.  You can cut off a piece of yourself or your feelings.  You can stop doing the things you love or lose sight of your dreams and goals.  You can separate yourself from those who love you or you can never be willing to find love at all.  You can withdraw from the world or you can go through life without seeking anything bigger than yourself.  These may all look like ways of living but they're not.  They're ways of dying." (p 324)

Spindle and Dagger by J. Anderson Coats ~ a Review

by MK French

Elen had survived her family's destruction at the hands of Owain ap Cadwgan by claiming that as long as he keeps her safe with him, Saint Elen would prevent his death. In the three years that followed, she had survived. Now it's 1109 in Wales and Owain kidnapped Nest, the wife of a Norman lord, and her three children. This is the start of all-out war, and Elen's careful survival is coming apart. Now she has to figure out who she is truly loyal to: the one that led to the murder of her family and her assault, or to the one person that showed her kindness and wants what's best for her.

The Last Human by Zack Jordan ~ a Review

by MK French

Not so many years ago, Shenya the Widow was a void-cold killer. And as hobbies - no, passions - go, it was extraordinarily fulfilling. Hunt all night, feast at dawn, take one's pick of the choicest males before the long day's sleep... oh yes. She still fantasizes about it - through, sadly, fantasy is all she has left. This is because Shenya the Widow has been conquered, mind and body, by an ancient and terrible force. Sarya the Daughter knew she had to hide her actual identity from neighbors on the station she grew up on. She always hoped to someday change her fate, but not in the way that it actually did. Thrust onto a stolen ship with a ragtag team of other intelligences that have motives of their own, Sarya isn't sure what that fate is actually going to be. But one massive intelligence is working against another, and Sarya is caught right in the middle, along with the fate of the rest of Humanity. (The Last Human, p. 4)

Recap of 3 Author Events

by Susan Roberts

Are you one of the lucky people who live near indie book stores that have author events?  I am within an hour's drive from six fantastic bookstores.  My favorite is McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro, NC.  Along with the wonderful staff who always has time to make reading suggestions, they also have frequent author events.   I have been there 3 Saturdays this year to see three fantastic authors talk about their new books.

The Honey Don't List by Christina Lauren ~ a Review

by MK French

Carey had started working for design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp since she was sixteen, and her entire adult life has been spent as Melissa's assistant. The famous couple had worked on TV shows for HGTV and written books on design principles, banking on their image as a couple as in love as they had been the first day of their marriage. In reality, their marriage has been silently combusting for years. It's up to Carey and Rusty's new assistant/engineer James McCann to keep the couple from going off the rails as they publicize their latest book on marriage advice. They both need the job badly, and the proximity forces Carey and James to get to know each other as they work together.

A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing by Tim Weed ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I know that Father's Day is still a few months away but if you are already looking for gift ideas and your dad likes to read, then A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing by Tim Weed would make an excellent gift.