Best of the Bookshelf - October edition

Here's what we're reading this month.


Smarty Pants is reading WEREWOLF IN THE NORTH WOODS by Vicki Lewis Thompson

There’s nothing I like better than a fun, paranormal romance. Give me a little magic, some sizzling passion, and some laugh out loud moments and you’ve got me hooked. Once again, Vicki Lewis Thompson doesn’t disappoint in her second Wild About You novel. In Werew olf in the North Woods, Abby Maddox goes to Oregon to convince her aging grandfather to move closer to her after he starts claiming to have seen Big Foot. Anthropologist (and werewolf) Roark Wallace steps in to diffuse the situation and discredit the old man before every kook in the country comes to Portland looking for Big Foot and finds the local wolf pack instead. Of course, his job would be easier if he didn’t have to choose between pack loyalty and the sexy redhead distracting him.


Problem Child is reading GARTERS by Pamela Morsi


This is an older book (1992), and a friend’s mom loaned it to me when it was brand-new. The story stuck with me, though, and I went searching for my own copy a couple of months ago. It’s a sweet story (but still sexy), and a real change from historicals filled with Dukes and Ladies and Lairds. Instead i t’s set in the hills of Tennessee, with a barely-literate hillbilly heroine and a fish-raising, non-dashing hero. But it’s a fun story, very real-feeling, and a quick read.


Instigator is reading HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost


I admit I'm a little behind, but I recently discovered Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. The first book, Halfway to the Grave, was on sale on Barnes and Noble and so I thought I'd give it a try. And so far I've devoured three books within a week. A half-vampire kick-ass heroine. A master vampire hero who chains the heroine and threatens to kill her the first time they meet. Yeah, these characters grab you and just won't let go. What I've really enjoyed about the series so far is that while both of the characters quickly admit that they love each other, that doesn't prevent them from having issues they must learn how to deal with together. This series offers a real opportunity to see a relationship as it grows and changes
through more than just that initial meeting and euphoria stage. Set against the backdrop of danger, power and a cleverly built paranormal world, I promise you won't be disappointed if you pick up this series.

Angel is reading MIDNIGHT SINS by Lora Leigh


I’m trying to catch up on reading for next year’s luncheon speaker, Lora Leigh. The concept really intrigued me. This is the start of a new series featuring 3 cousins who have been ostracized by the entire town, including their own family. The hero, Rafer Callahan, lives with the grief that he couldn’t a woman killed during a summer of brutal murders, and the knowledge that many believe he and his cousins committed the murders themselves. Cambria Flannigan lost her sister to the murderer, and now she’s being targeted. She turns to Rafer for protection and the love she’s denied herself all these years. But her connection to the outcasts will test her loyalty and just may cost her her life.

And alas, life took a crazy turn and I'm still reading the book I posted last month: THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS by Barbara O'Neal.

Elena Alvarez always wanted the chance to run her own top-notch restaurant kitchen. And on the day she's fired from one chef's job, she's offered the chance to be executive chef by Julian Listwood who is trying to get his teenage daughter away from Hollywood and hoping to turn his Aspen restaurant into a success like his others. She moves to Aspen with her sister and her dog, calls two old friends to join her kitchen staff and starts anew -- again. Still haunted by an accident that killed everyone but her, she hopes that maybe this new start will reveal the lost recipe for happiness. Elena does share some of her favorite recipes and the one for Mayan Hot Chocolate has me longing for cold weather so I can try it out!

What are YOU reading?