Shoots to Kill by Kate Collins

Scroll down or click here for some important information on my last contest and for a speed contest. And now, on with it!

*Quick note: This review is done from an ARC, so the BCC or any other mentions may be slightly different from the official book*

Shoots to Kill by Kate Collins
(BCC)

Last I heard, being a five-foot-two, green-eyed redhead wasn't a crime. But that's precisely why I, Abby Knight, was yanked out of my Corvette by a state trooper, handcuffed, and thrown in jail.

This isn't your average case of mistaken identity.

Eight years ago Abby babysat Elizabeth Blume, a teen who seemed intent on making Abby's life miserable. Elizabeth imitated Abby's dress, pored over her diary, and sabotaged her love life. Now Elizabeth is back in New Chapel, and she soon adopts a new look: Abby's. Elizabeth, now going by Libby, copies Abby's entire life - she even drives a bright yellow car and opens a nearly identical shop. But when Libby comes between Abby and her boyfriend, Marco, imitation becomes the sincerest form of trouble, and that's before Abby is accused of murder. Is Abby's devious double the real killer? Or is there a more sinister suspect in town who's using them both to cover his evil crime?

Back in my d&D days, I "reviewed" (can I even say that's what I do?) two of the books in this series. Click here to read those first, and then come back for this! Go ahead. I'll wait.

Do you see a pattern in those posts? Ya know, kind of that I ADORE these books and Abby Knight? Or maybe you could see that I want to live in New Chapel and work in Bloomers? Or perhaps you noticed that I think Kate Collins ROCKS OUT LOUD?! Let me just say, all of that is true and even more so now that I've read the latest in this series!

Kate Collins has truly outdone herself in Shoots! You've all heard about identity theft, right? You know, when some one steals your social security number and ruins your credit while living high on the hog?

Well, forget identity theft. In Shoots, Abby is faced with the extreme version, which I have come to refer to as Life Theft. The last time Abby Knight saw Elizabeth Blume, she was an obnoxious pre-teen with a famous mother and slightly off-kilter wanna-be Army man brother. Elizabeth wasn't just the run-of-the-mill annoying that most of those kids we used to babysit for were. No, Elizabeth wormed her way into dinner at Abby's, Christmas and Birthday presents from the Knights, Abby's brothers refered to her as the other little sister, she read her diary - and wrote entries in it as Abby! - and broke into Abby's locker and humiliated her. Boy, was Abby ever glad to see the last of that brat.

But Elizabeth is back, and she wants a job at Bloomers. But when Abby says "NO Thanks" Elizabeth isn't quite happy. Before Abby can blink, Elizabeth is now Libby, driving a car like Abby's, hiring Marco, charming her dear friends and staff, stealing her mother's "art" from Abby's shop, and out and out making herself into a clone of Abby.

To Abby's dismay, she's the only one who sees it at first! When Abby loses her boyfriend (I nearly CRIED people, that is how close I feel to these characters!) and then gets arrested for murder - of Delphi Blume, Libby's super bitchy, uber famous mother, no less - she doesn't care if anybody believes her, because she knows that things have gone too far and it's time to act!

After all, Abby is great at righting the injustices of the world, it just so happens that this injustice happened to her! But, as Abby digs deeper and faces more danger, the questions mount, and this may just be the first time that justice is not served.

I'm telling you people, this book is by far THE BEST book in the series, and that's saying something, because The Flower Shop Mystery series is stellar. In the review for the last book in the series, I said this - I also don't know if I've just gotten really good, or if this mystery was an easy one to solve. I had it figured out really fast. Collins is good though, she almost had me changing my mind, and that was fun, but I stuck firm to my culprit and I was right. Well, mostly right, my motives were a bit off. - and I think Collins took it as a personal challenge, because I was guessing until the very end.

Filled with laugh out loud moments, an amazing mystery, fantastic sub-plot, and all the great people that live in New Chapel, SHOOTS TO KILL is one book you do not want to miss.

Cozy Mystery Fan? Clear your schedule and get thyself to the book store when they open August 5. You'll want your copy of this great book and you'll want to find a spot where you can read uninterrupted, trust me, this one is a page turner.

Never read cozy mysteries? Get thyself to the book store now so that you can buy the first books in this fabulous series. Then, no one will be able to stop you from waiting at the door on release day.

Take Care

P.S. While blog hopping, be sure to check out Kate's joint blog, The Cozy Chicks: Cozy Up To Some Killer Books , it's a great blog written by some great authors!

UPDATES And A Speed Contest

OY! I have been completely overwhelmed lately! OVERWHELMED! First of all, apparently blogger has declared me public enemy No. 1, because all week-end I could not post. Work has me swamped, but my sitter is sick so I'm squeezing in a full days work into four hours. My alergies are insane right now. It's so flippin' hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. I seriously could go on, but then you'd quit reading.

Anyway, I am still waiting on the Grand Prize winner of the Angie Fox contest to contact me, so I haven't yet gone to the Post Office. Here's why, I am now calling LAST CALL, if I do not hear from the winner by tomorrow night, I will re-draw for the Big Prize. I am keeping the three tee-shirt winners in the draw, so if one of you happens to be drawn for the BIG prize, I'll draw another name for the tee. So, if you are LadyTink_534 , click here and send me your details by tomorrow night, or I have to draw a new name. Why tomorrow night? Simple, I'd like to go to the Post Office after work on Friday, and get ya'll your things! Brandy, I haven't forgotten your box either :)

And although things have been crazy insane lately, we have had some good things. One of which is the little guy at the top. That's Dumas, our newest kitty (that makes two). He's adorable, tiny and a cuddle bug. Some one had been a bit on the mean side to this little guy, because he had one side of his whiskers cut and his tail shaved! He was skin and bones when he found us, and now he's got a belly like you would not believe.

And in the spirit of the happiness Dumas has brought us, I'm offering you a chance to win a signed copy of Fantasyland by Michele Bardsley and some bookmarks. This is a speed contest, because I want to send this one out with the others on Friday.

The Details: The Hubs and I were in silly moods the night Dumas found us. We jokingly said we should name him Dumas after the kids had laid down for bed. The kids heard us say this (they should have been asleep) and the name Dumas stuck.

To WIN: Tell me what Dumas is short for. Remember it was a JOKE meant to be between only The Hubs and myself, and now our poor love-bug of a cat is stuck with it.

I'm also getting ready to post a review, so check back in a few to see if it's up!

Take Care

When Authors Completely Waste Your Time

This post, believe it or not, is not a rant about bad writing. No, this post is about what can happen when you visit one of your favorite author's blog and end up playing away the rest of the afternoon, instead of you know, actually doing something constructive like writing or reading.

Today I got off work a little early because Bear was sick. I ended up blog surfing for a bit, and lo and behold I see this post on Jenny Crusie's Argh Ink blog. Well, what can I say, I had to play too. The next thing I knew, The Hubs was home and it was time to cook dinner (past time actually)! That iVillage Makeover , it is addictive.

First, you start off with a picture or yourself sans make-up and with your hair all slicked/pulled back. Here's mine:
Then the fun begins. You get to choose hairstyles from a selection of celebrity styles or from regular people styles and several shades of color. You also get to do your make-up (lips and eyes), can choose contacts, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and yes, even hats. The following are my three of the day:
and finally, me as a blonde, because everyone always said if I had blonde hair I'd look just like my younger sister (everyone was right):


And then, once we had our family swim, Miss Beautiful wanted in on the action too, here's my darling little diva:
It's amazing what difference hair cut and color make. That picture looks nothing like my beautiful little girl!

If you visit the site, have fun, but don't say I didn't warn ya about it being addicting. More reviewing tomorrow. I'm off to go get a few scenes ready for my crit partner.

Take Care

Midnight Brunch At Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta

Blogger is still giving me pains whenever I try to post. I still have that stupid word verification showing before I hit publish. To solve this problem, they say I merely must hit the '?' beside the letters. There is no '?'. Sigh. Hopefully soon the problem will be fixed or I shall have to go all WordPress on their bottoms. On a better note though, our family has a new member. We found (or shall I say he found us) a new kitty. Just a tiny little thing that some one had obviously not been kind to. His whiskers had been cut on one side and so he walks off balance and part of his tail had been shaved off. However, he is a loving little thing and Mayhem our other kitty is slowly getting used to not being the only one. Good thing, because we all already love our new baby. But enough about me, let's talk books.

I have already reviewed the first book in this series and you can find it here. As you can see, I LOVED it and couldn't wait to read more. Well, Marta was kind enough to send me the book I'm getting ready to review today and an ARC for her third release The Bride of Casa Dracula. I read both in one day. Not one day each mind you. One day. I flippin' love this world that Acosta has created. I love it so much, in fact, that I want to share it. So closer to the release day, probably around the first of September, look forward to a Launch Party here at Novel Reads for The Bride! There will contests! There will be interviews! There will be a review! There will be fun! So mark your calendars and be sure to join in on all the fun.

Midnight Brunch at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
(BCC)

WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO WHEN SHE DISCOVERS SHE'S THE MAIN COURSE ON THE MENU?

Hip, funny Milagro de los Santos thinks she's finally found love and a home at the California ranch of fabulous Oswald Grant and his urbane relatives, who have a rare genetic disorder that some call vapirism. But Milagro is bewildered when she's excluded from an ancient and mysterious midnight ceremony whose participants include Oswald's unfriendly parents, a creepy family elder, and Milagro's ex-lover, the powerful and decadent Ian Ducharme. What skeletons are the vampires keeping in their designer closets?

When Milagro's life is threatened by a rogue family member, she flees to teh desert to hide. Instead of solitude, she encounters an egomaniacal actor, a partying heiress, a sly tabloid reporter, and a lavish spa full of dark secrets - all of which might help her find her way home.

Milagro de los Santos, the miracle of the saints, is back in this second installment of the Casa Dracula series. Things have been going great in her little bit of the world. She's in love with Oswald. She loves his family and they love her. She's a new auntie (well, sort of), life on the ranch is peaceful, she's getting ready to go back to The City to attend her good friends wedding, and see Mercedes her best friend, yep, her life is good. That is until Oswald's parents show up, along with a bunch of other vampire family to celebrate the babies birth with a naming ceremony that she won't be able to attend. Oswald's parent's hate her, but there are some vampires who don't. Oh no, there are other vampires that covet her. Her blood that is. Since she is a rare survivor of the infection, and she came through it new and improved, it appears that Mil has become a target, not of the anti-vampire sect, but of the vampires themselves. There are some that believe her blood holds the answer to all their problems and they will do anything to get their hands, erm, mouths, on it.

Secrets abound, and Mil is sick of it. She wants to be included in the family ceremonies. She wants to know all about the genetic disorder that infected her, giving her strange cravings. But most of all, she wants to completely belong to the world of her new friends. She wants to completely belong with Oswald. But it is this very curiosity of their world that throws Mil into a dark and dangerous fight for her life. Where, if she's not careful, she could lose everything she's trying her hardest to be a part of.

But luck steps in just as Mil needs it and she is offered a job re-writing a script for a new movie. The production company pays for her to stay at an upscale spa in the desert while she works, and since she needs to run far away from those she loves and those that want her dead, Mil jumps at the chance to escape.

Soon, Milagro finds herself living with an aging ex-sex god of an actor, running around with a tabloid reporter/English teacher, partying with her new friend the heiress, and trying to figure out how to survive being drained to death by the vampires who seem to have their hand in everything, including this very upscale spa.

What can I say? This book was over way too fast for my tastes. I absolutely adore Milagro and the people that make up her life. Again, don't let the term vampire fool you. These aint your mamma's vamps. In fact, most of them don't even like to be referred to as such. They are simply people who have a rare genetic disorder.

Midnight Brunch has it all. Laughs, romance, mystery, friendships, and a fantastic fictional world you'll never want to leave. Acosta has found the perfect combination for all of the paranormal fans out there that wanted their vamps but wanted something different too. I'm telling you, I could not put it down, and know that these books will grace my keeper shelf, to be re-read and loved for many years.

Take Care

Tonight! It's tonight! I'm SO excited about tonights movie on Nick! The Avatar: Sozin's Comet is TONIGHT! The whole family is so ready we're doing a countdown!

Novel Chats

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another edition of Novel Chats. Some of the books I've read but not talked about here yet are part of a series, some are not. I hope you that if you've read some, you'll leave me a comment and let me know what you thought as well! Just a note, please forgive the fact that the pics are all over the place, Gooe Ole' Blooger, OOPS, I mean Blogger, won't let me copy and paste now to make them line up!

Real Vampires Live Large by Gerry Bartlett

What can I say? I LOVED this one. Glory is a hoot. Her world is amazingly believabel, and OH Baby does Blade every do it for me. With a great cast of characters, Bartlett is a fresh voice in the genre that will have readers craving more. I know I was left wanting more. And thanks to a great contest over on Darque Reviews, I got to read the next book too. I'll post a full length review on it soon! This one gets an A+

How To Knit A Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway

Another book I adored. I have to admit, this is the first Ridgway I've read and I can't really explain why. Maybe because I'm not a fan of a certain Romance author's work, and I've always associated the two. I don't know why, because I see no evidence that they are even similar, but whatever. It was my loss. Because I absolutely LOVED this book. It made me smile. It made me FEEL. It made me want to learn how to knit! Ridgway has found her way into my TBR list from now on! This one gets an A.

Road To Hell by Jackie Kessler

I just didn't feel this one. I didn't really feel the first book in the series either, but in the end enjoyed the bits that made the whole. I guess I felt the same way about this one. I just don't care much for Jesse. I can't sympathize with her, and that makes the reading hard. It was worth the read because I'd read the first book, and I'll probably even read the next one. Hey, I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to series books, what can I say. All and all, I have to give this one a C.

That's it for Novel Chat today. More next Saturday.

Take Care

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

Sorry for the last few days of silence, but apparently blogger tagged me as a SPAM blog. I noticed the problem a couple of weeks ago, it suddenly was making me do word verification before I could post. And then, I went to log in and was unable to do anything. I've contacted blogger and now I can post, but I still have the stupid word verification. I think it started when I added their stupid blog feed. I've removed it and will do a regular blog roll instead. We'll see if that stops the problem. Until then, I'll continue to jump through their hoops and hope they come to their senses. ARGH! Anyway, Thanks to Random.org I now have the contest winners name to announce!

Three KISS MY ASPHALT t-shirts go to:

HEATHER HIESTAND
WORD VIXEN
LADYVAMPIRE2U

The Grand Prize Winner of a signed copy of THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER and a KISS MY ASPHALT t-shirt is:

LADYTINK_534

If you could all please send me your snail mail addy and t-shirt size, I'll make sure your prizes make it in the mail soon! Send the information to novelreads at gmail dot com. You know the drill. And now that business is taken care of..

(BCC) *Please note, this review is being done from an ARC, changes may have been made by time the actual book lands in your hands.

It's never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet. For Lizzie Brown, that's just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking, and her long-lost biker-witch grandma is hurling Smucker's jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she's seen it all, Lizzie learns she's a demon slayer - and all hell is after her.

Of course, that's not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos, a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin, needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you've never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn't work, how dangerous could a little seduction be...?

"Simple. You're a demon slayer. That means you're attracted to danger, problems, things that need to be fixed."

When I first heard about this book, I was thrilled. It sounded fun. It sounded sexy. It sounded loaded with danger. It sounded right up my alley. And boy, was I right! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed Lizzie and her crazy world.

Imagine you're a pre-school teacher who can't even cuss right. Imagine you plan your life down to every detail. Now imagine you're turning 30. You're getting ready to go out to a great party, and you know it's great because YOU planned it. You'll finally have your shot at the hot guy from the gym, because he'll be there and you know this of course, because you invited him. You're almost ready when a knock at the door comes and low and behold, your long-lost grandma is at the door. You then find yourself locked in the bathroom while said grandma tries to do something, what you have no idea, and a demon shows up on your toilet.

Let's pretend for a moment that you are able to defeat said demon. Of course, then your grandma would want you to jump on her Harley and run for your life. Because you know what? This demon is only the beginning, and you have a bad, bad, fifth level demon on your tail. One who has a grudge against your entire family. One who wants you dead.

Then imagine that you finally meet the biker gang your grandma hangs with and find out that their are actually witches who think you are their only hope of slaying this awful demon once and for all. Then imagine, that you're supposed to be trained, but before that can happen, you make a HUGE mistake, your grandma is trapped in the first level of hell, her biker coven seems to have it out for you, a very sexy griffin that you don't exactly trust offers you his protection, a pack of werewolves you thought were allies turns out to want you dead, and your dog Pirate won't shut up. Oh yeah, and everyone you need to trust won't even tell you the whole story. Everyone has a secret, and the secrets could very well cost you your very safe, very stable life. Well, if you can imagine all of that, you've got a good picture of what Lizzie goes through in TADS.

From page one, Fox takes you on a ride that is non-stop action. I've heard the saying "whirlwind, wild ride" but I don't think I'd ever truly knew what that meant until I read this book. Lizzie is an amazingly real character, thrown into an amazingly believable paranormal world, where curses are kept in jelly jars, roadkill is a delicacy, and demons want your soul. It was refreshing to read a paranormal novel that had a heroine not obsessed with shoes/clothes (not that I don't enjoy those). It was wonderful to read a paranormal that showed real growth in the heroine. I can't wait to see where Lizzie will go from here!

Make sure your day is clear before cracking this one, trust me, once you pick it up you won't want to put it down!

I want to thank Angie for hanging with us this past week. I've had a ball and I hope everyone else has too!

Take Care