The Wishmakers

I have been wanting to a read a fun story for awhile but have been putting off checking out a middle school book since I have no children and feel a bit out of place reading middle school stories. However The Wishmakers was flat out a fun story.

Ace is shocked beyond belief when he opens up a peanut butter jar and a kid pops out. After gathering his wits about him Ace learns the kid is a genie and going to grant him wishes. Even better Ace is not limited to three wishes he gets as many as he wants for a whole week as long as he accepts the consequences of the wish. Ace and the Genie, Ridge, develop a friendship and both want each other to succeed. I enjoyed reading about their relationship and seeing the two working together to accomplish things. The consequences for a wish was a great twist with the story, some were hilarious and some really made Ace think about things. Ace grew a good deal as the story progressed and learned to balance out his wishes and choices far more carefully as the plot progressed.

The writing was fun, witty, entertaining, and well done. I am already on the waiting list for The Wishbreaker and hope it will not be a long wait. 

Cooking Spirits

If Cooking Spirits had not opened with a murder it is not a book I would have finished. I did not understand the characters, the overall plot of the characters relationships, and the humor was mild at best.

Angie is getting married in a few months and neither of them have housing that works for two. Determined to find the perfect place to live Angie goes house hunting with her realtor sister. After hours of looking Angie sees a listing for the perfect house and quickly convinces her sister to take her there. Oddly enough the house is perfect and the little things like the candy jar moving can be ignored. Soon Angie finds herself enthralled with the house's history while her fiance works to solve a double homicide.

After I finished Cooking Spirits I found out it is a spin off series with the main series having fourteen books which is most likely why I struggled to understand things in Cooking Spirits. Since the writing came off as average with no real character I feel in love with I wont be pursuing the next book or the books in the previous series.

Stay at Home Dead

Stay at Home Dead is a mystery but I would not classify it as a cozy mystery. What intrigued me about Stay at Home Dead is the main character is a male and I have not read a mystery with a male lead before.

Deuce Winters was an interesting character and I did wish for a few more humorous moments. Some of the humor was clearly pushed a bit too much. Being a stay at home dad for his three year old daughter is a dream for Deuce since his wife makes ample money being an attorney. Getting to do pony tails is the hardest part of his day until he find a dead man in his van after a local grocery store trip. Determined to keep his head down becomes impossible for Deuce when it suddenly seems everyone in town is out to get him for every wrong he has committed since senior year of high school. Unsure who to trust and running out of ways to stay out of trouble Deuce comes to the conclusion he will have to solve things himself.

While I liked the change of pace with a male lead I am not sure Stay at home Dead was overall a genre I would read more of. I guess I relate to the humor of things happening to females more. All in all Stay at Home Dead was a fast and easy read.

All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt

All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt is the second book in the Haunted Vintage Mystery Series. I am really glad I gave the second book in the series a chance since Cookie really grew on me.

Having solved a murder mystery and gotten cozy with a local detective Cookie is happy her life is back on track. Eager to continue promoting her vintage clothing store Cookie is beyond excited when a movie being produced locally asked her to provide the costumes Cookie is over the moon. All that is well and great and until the main actress shows up dead in one of Cookie's vintage dresses. Pulled into yet another mystery Cookie has at least learned a few tricks on how to stay out of trouble but get things done.

Roe Pressey's writing really evolved and I felt All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt read a lot smoother then If You've Got It, Haunt It. I do plan on continuing with the series and since I am still in the mood for the cozy mystery genre I am hoping the library has Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore.

Sit! Stay! Speak!

Due to the cover and the story having a dog as a main part of the story I have been putting off sit! stay! speak! since it reminds me too much of my dog I had to put down earlier this year. Thankfully it did not get to me since Felix did not play as big a role as I thought he would.

Addie has inherited her Aunt's house and it eager for a change of pace since her life has been a bit depressing lately. Going for a walk along the river she finds a bag with a badly injured dog inside. Frantic to save the dogs life she rushes him to the vet and decides to adopt the dog when the vet informs her that the human society will tell him to put the dog down.

I am fairly sure this is a debut novel since the writing lacked a polished finish. Transitions were bad and nonexistent. It took a lot of focus to read the story since it jumped around with no notice at all. Also I did not realize the genre of the book until the last couple of chapters which is not the best way to write a story. Addie was totally clueless and everyone wanted to protect her which drove me crazy, she needed to learn to protect herself in some ways. While the part about Addie's bond with Felix was cute I will not seek out this type of story again.

If You've Got It, Haunt It

I was really wanting a nice cozy mystery so I choose If You've Got It, Flaunt It from the library homepage a few nights ago. It was an alright read, I prefer cozy mysteries that have a food focus instead of clothing focus.

Cookie was a fun character though I would have loved to learn why a ghost was choosing to haunt her. That was never explained but it might be later in the series. Just looking for some good deals on clothes for her vintage clothing shop Cookie got more then she bargained for when she picked up a ghost a rummage sale. Not wanting anything to do with Charlotte the recently murdered real estate agent Cookie does her best to ignore her which does not work. Things get more chaotic when a lovely white cat decides its new favorite spot is in Cookie's clothing shop.

For once it was nice to read about a believable main character in a cozy mystery, instead of being eager to solve the murder Cookie just wants to be left alone. In no way shape or form does Cookie want to snoop, ask people questions, search for clues, or even talk to Charlotte. Even though it was not my preferred style I liked If You've Got It, Haunt It enough to download the second book in the series last night.

Scourged

Scourged is the ninth and final book in the Iron Druid series. I am glad I waited to start the Iron Druid after the whole series was released, I prefer to read long series all at once so I do not forget anything. Sadly I did not care for Scourged or for the overall ending of the series.

Atticus knows Loki is coming and most likely coming for him. Out of time and places to run Attiucs starts helping prepare for the battle to determine the fate of the world. Wanting to keep the world safe, his apprentice, archdruid, and all the young druid apprentices Atticus works on calling in favors and balancing things out as well as he can.

I never liked Granuaile, she drove me crazy with her desire for vengeance and ability to not make diplomatic mistakes unlike Atticus who made them every time he opened his mouth. 

I did like Owen and wished it would have touched on Atticus training to be a druid in his memories more since it sounded like lots of stories happened. 

Kevin Hearne did mention writing about the young apprentices possibly but I do not think I will pursue that since I did not care for the overall ending of the series. I am a bit burnt out on fantasy due to the Iron Druid so I intend to find a light hearted read just to relax with.