Starter Villain by John Scalzi

 

From the blurb:  "Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitue teacher living with his two cats, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle, Jake, dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had a lot of enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie."

My thoughts:   John Scalzi knows how to write inventive novels that will make you laugh out loud. And Starter Villain is uniquely fun. I loved the whole idea of an average guy like Charlie inheriting his uncle's supervillain business. And I loved how he dealt with everything from super smart spy cats to assassination attempts with self-deprecating humor and aplomb. I especially loved his interactions with his cats. (He handled the surprisingly snarky dolphins well, too.) Charlie is smart and nice, and not exactly supervillain material. Which made for some very funny moments. Fast-paced and full of action, this whole book was awesome. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

P.S. I also really enjoyed Scalzi's book The Kaiju Preservation Society.

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS WITH SPRINGY COVERS. And nothing says spring to me more than the first flowers that come up every year. They were my inspiration for this list.

Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Daffodil Season by Melanie Lageschulte

The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown

Amaryllis by Jayne Castle

Her Unexpected Second Chance by Laura Ann

Dinner on Primrose Hill by Jodi Thomas

Happy Reading!

Out of Air by Rachel Reiss

 Five friends.

One last summer diving adventure.

A spectacular hidden underwater sea cave.

And a curse.

My thoughts:  This novel is immersive, unexpected, and compelling. I really liked Phoebe and her four friends--Gabe, Will, Lani and Isabel--who call themselves the Salt Squad, and who love to spend all their free time diving and exploring the ocean. And I quickly got up caught up in their unbreakable friendship and all their underwater adventures. Especially when they discover that cursed cave, and strange and scary things start to happen to Pheobe and Gabe. It made for an unputdownable read. And all the scuba diving parts felt so real! I could tell Reiss has a lot of experience diving herself.  And I loved how Reiss builds tension throughout the story. She kept me guessing about what was going to happen to Phoebe and her friends right up until the end, and I loved that. I'm so glad I won a copy of this book from Goodreads! It's a fast-paced and fun book.  If you're looking for an entertaining summer thriller, grab some popcorn and a beach chair, and check this one out!  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Quick book recommendations...

 

The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro

London, 1855. A disturbing murder of a lovely young woman on All Hallow's Eve, and another suspicious death on All Saint's Day, bring police inspector Sebastian Bell and Crimean nurse, Gemma Tate, together. They're both grieving personal losses; and they're both determined to bring a killer to justice. This Victorian mystery is riveting and intricately crafted. I loved Bell's outrage on behalf of the murdered young women, and his willingness to listen to Gemma and her thoughts on the case. And I loved that she didn't go off doing stupid, reckless things all the time. I also loved the atmospheric setting and all the historical details. It's one of my favorite time periods to read about. And this gripping novel is one of the best mysteries I've read this year.  5 stars! 

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (A Haven's Rock Novel)

Murder. A blizzard. And Casey's risky pregnancy and imminent labor. The stakes are high in the isolated town of Haven Rock as Casey and Eric realize there's a murderer in their small community. Who is it? And who will they target next? Can I just say that I love this series and these characters? This is another fast-paced and suspenseful mystery. Though I didn't love it quite as much as her previous novel, The Boy Who Cried Bear. Maybe because Casey and her pregnancy, and subsequent struggle to still be independent and investigate everything, took center stage, pushing Eric and the other characters to the periphery. (Except for their Newfoundland, Storm, whom I love.) But even with that, this book is a very fun and enjoyable read. 4 stars! 

(Murder at Haven's Rock is the first book in Armstrong's Haven's Rock series, which is actually a continuation of her Rockton series. You can read more about those first books here. )

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

Recently finished reading:  Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

And I'm happy to say that it was just as fun as the first book. Billie, Helen, Mary Alice and Natalie are the best characters! I love their banter and snark, as well as their intelligence, toughness, and unorthodox skills. 

I also saw this amazing must-see movie:  Rule Breakers.

It tells the true story of Roya Mahboob and the robotics team comprised of four young women from Afghanistan that she started. Their struggles and achievements are inspiring. (Though the ongoing plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, and how hard they have to fight for even the most basic of human rights, continues to break my heart!) Everyone should go see this movie. 

My glad things for last month:

• Listening to (and loving!) Disturbed's new song: I WILL NOT BREAK. It's awesome!
• Chickadees singing outside my window every morning. (They're my favorite little bird.)
• New recipes that weren't too hard to make and that tasted really yummy: Pear & Broccoli soup, Pesto Whirls, and Orange Creamcheese Cake. 
• Getting caught up on AJ Pearce's Emmy Lake Chronicles, and finishing Jennifer Estep's Black Blade series. Both of which I can definitely recommend. 
• Watching a murder of crows hopping around the playground like they own it; and watching all the elementary kids' delight at their antics.
• Getting together with friends for a night of playing games (Wingspan) and catching up.
• And my former boss, who's also a good friend, reached out last week to see how I was doing.

The Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith

 

The plot:  October, 1893. Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer, Sherlock Holmes-loving cowboy detective, and his younger brother, Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer, are on another case. Only this time it's personal. Five years ago Gus's sweetheart was murdered, but back then he didn't know how to 'deducify' the truth about what happened to her. Now that he knows Sherlock Holmes' Method for solving crimes, he's hoping to track down  the real killer. Only San Marcos, Texas, is not the same town it once was; and no one there is glad to see the Amlingmeyer brothers. But they're about to stir up some trouble, because Gus isn't going anywhere until he finds out the truth. 

My thoughts:  What a fun read! Otto, who narrates their adventures with amusing sarcasm and homespun humor, and his much more serious, even grumpy, brother, Gus, are the best characters. I loved getting a glimpse into Gus's past in this book. And the way these two get into and out of impossible situations is always entertaining. They're such a great team. And the time period is one of my favorites. Plus, I find the whole premise of these two cowboy sleuths acting like a Western version of Holmes and Watson irresistible. This is the fourth book in this series (though it could easily be read as a standalone), and just as good as all the others. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Other Steve Hockensmith reads:

Holmes on the Range

The White Magic Five and Dime

Haiku reviews...

 

Track Her Down by Melinda Leigh

Dark secrets come out

as Bree investigates the

murder of Claire's parents.

Mystery .... 304 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(This is the 9th Sheriff Bree Taggert mystery and it's another good one, mostly because Bree and her partner, Matt Flynn, are such great characters.)

Only In Your Dreams by Madison Wright

Grey's loved Finley for

years. So when she needs a fake 

boyfriend, he's ALL in!

Romantic comedy .... 351 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(I loved this charming, clean romance! It's as delightfully sweet and fun as her previous novel, Off the Beaten Path.)

The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain

Cousins switch places

during London Season. Each find love.

But will their love survive the truth?

Regency romance .... 257 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Cute and clean romance; a little silly and a bit shallow, but still fun.)

Happy Reading!