Creme Puff Murder

Creme Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke is the next in her Hannah Swensen Mystery series. From the back cover.~

Winter in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is the perfect time to curl up by a cozy fire with something--and someone--sweet. But while bakery owner Hannah Swensen can provide herself with the confections, cuddling will have to take a back seat to sleuthing when her sometime-squeeze becomes a murder suspect...

With the launch party of her mother's novel around the corner, Hannah has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden's new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering a dead body floating in the gym's jacuzzi? Okay, that's worse. Nor does it help that there's a plate of The Cookie Jar's very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. The fact that they were purchased by none other than Hannah's part-time flame, Detective Mike Kingston, is simply the icing on what's shaping up to be one very messy cake...

Mike may be the prime suspect in the murder of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward, but he's by no means the only one. Ronni, a fitness instructor at both the Sheriff's department and Heavenly Bodies, made a nasty habit of throwing her own heavenly body at every man, eligible or not, who crossed her path. Plenty of Lake Eden's ladies won't miss Ronni, including her ex-fiance's former girlfriend, the angry mother of one of her would-be conquests, and even the mayor's wife. Could any of them have wanted her gone badly enough to make it happen? Mike's recruited Hannah to find out, and, as any suspended, suspected detective would, he's micromanaging her every step of the way...

Between trying to narrow the list of Ronni's enemies down to fewer than half the town's female population and resisting the urge to remove Mike from the running by throttling him herself, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is when it comes to cookies-and to murder-there's always room for more...

Cream Puff Murder is another winner by Joanne Fluke. I love her Hannah Swensen mysteries. They are fast and fun reads with lots of yummy recipes. Hannah, her sisters Andrea and Michelle, her other boyfriend Norman, the mothers, and her business partner Lisa, team up to solve yet another mystery in Lake Eden. With the three main detectives on leave from the case, because of personal reasons, Hannah gets advise on how to work the case from all three. Hannah and her mystery solving team work together to clear their friends and family.

Creme Puff Murder is a wonderful read with twist and turns that keeps the reader guessing right up until the end. I look forward to more books in this series and can't wait to try some of the cookie recipes.

Casual Hex

Casual Hex by Vicki Lewis Thompson is the third book in her funny and sexy Big Knob series. From the back cover.~

A hot French kiss...

Gwen Dubois lives in Indiana, but her heart is in France with Marc Chevalier. Now he's come to Big Knob to show Gwen the real meaning of amour and coax her back to Paris. But stiff competition is coming from another part of the world-if not exactly this world. Prince Leo of the Atwood fairy kingdom has is own plans for Gwen.

...and a little hex on the side.

As Marc and Leo battle for Gwen's affections, Big Knob's resident matchmaking witch and wizard move in to help true love triumph in the best way they know how: with a little magic. but when the rivalry puts Gwen in danger, the men in her life are asked to prove their love in ways no one could have imagined.

Casual Hex is another winner by Vicki Lewis Thompson! It was very sexy and at times made me laugh out loud. Gwen has never felt very confident but with the help of Dorcas, the resident witch, a new hair style, and make-up, Gwen feels very good about herself when Marc arrives in Big Knob. Marc and Gwen are attracted to one another at first site, but each tries to fight the attraction to protect Gwen's reputation. When they finally give into their passion, Gwen and Marc burn up the pages. Both must learn to give a little to make their relationship work. Of course, Prince Leo has decided he wants Gwen for himself, after meeting her and spending time with her in her dreams. He can tell that Gwen is attracted and is starting to have feelings for Marc, but doesn't want anything to keep him from who he as picked for his future mate. Gwen and Marc must both find ways to prove their love for one another to make their life together work.

I really loved Casual Hex. It was a very sexy and funny read and I can't wait to go back to Big Knob.

Damien

Damien by Jacquelyn Frank is the next book in her Nightwalker series. From the back cover.~

They are the Nightwalkers, mysterious beings who dwell in the shadows of our world, and Damien, the Vampire Prince, is among the most powerful of them all. But one woman will tempt him with a desire unlike anything he as known, and together they will face a terrifying and relentless foe...

As reigning Vampire Prince, Damien has tasted every pleasure the world has to offer-consorting with kings and queens and delighting in sensual adventure. Now, tired of such pursuits, he devotes his energies to protecting his people. The war between human necromancers and Nightwalkers has escalated, and when the enemy makes a daring move, kidnapping Syreena, a Lycanthroped Princess, Damien boldly follows. He succeeds in rescuing her, but is unprepared for the erotic longing her lush sensuality awakens in him.

Gifted with rare abilities, Syreena grew up in a cloistered setting and was forbidden to form attachments to others, yet the connection Damien feels with her is immediate, intoxicating, and impossible for either to resist. But claiming Syreena as his mate could have shattering repercussions for every Nightwalker-and leave their enemies more dangerous than ever before...

I really enjoyed the continuing story of the Nightwalkers. Damien and Syreena are drawn to one another from their first meeting. Being from different Nightwalker species, they both fight the attraction initially. Once Syreena is kidnapped by a traitor, Damien steps in to save her, not realizing he is saving them both. The passion between Damien and Syreena explodes off the pages. It was fun to watch each of them learn how to trust and love another, as neither had ever had much experience with either of those emotions.

I loved Damien and look forward to reading Noah soon. I believe Noah is the final book in the Nightwalker series, but I will continue to read books by Jacquelyn Frank in the future.

Two Reviews to be Posted

I have finished two really great books over the last week, but haven't had a chance to post either review. I plan to post my review on Damien by Jacquelyn Frank and Casual Hex by Vicki Lewis Thompson either later tonight or early tomorrow. Work has been crazy in the last few weeks, so my blogging has really taken a hit. I haven't really been able to stop by many of my daily blog stops either.

Early Spring in Tennessee

So my reading has really slacked off over the last couple of weeks. Seems like Mother Nature really can't decide what she wants to weather to do right now. Over the last week or so we have had several days in the 70's mixed in with a few days of constant rain in the 50's. While I'm loving our early taste of spring in Tennessee, it is keeping me from reading as much. Thanks to an extended visit from my brother, I'm hitting the gym in the mornings and walking in the wonderful spring-like weather after work. Great for my exercise program, but not so good for my reading goals for the year. So right now I'm going to enjoy my early spring gift for as long as it last and read as much as possible after I come back into the house at night. Of course, we will still get at least one or two days of cold weather before spring sticks around, but that is what spring-time in Tennessee means.

Hope everyone else is having wonderful spring-like weather right now too!