What Else I Read or Listened to in August, 2014

Audio Books:

By its Cover by Donna Leon- A Commissario Guido Brunette

Mystery:  This is the latest Brunette mystery set in Venice.  Something is happening to rare books.  Some are missing. Some have pages cut out.  Brunette in called in to solve the mystery.  Leon has written another good mystery that again hits on the state of politics in Venice and Italy.  I loved that part but felt we in the US has better be careful or we could end up with some of the same.  My only disappointment in By its Cover - there was little about Brunette's family, especially his children.  All in all though it is a very good addition to the series.  I started the series in the middle and have had no trouble keeping up.  Each book does a good job as a stand alone.

Pennies On A Dead Woman's Eyes (A Sharon McCone Mystery)  by Marcia Muller - I listen the the Sharon McCone mysteries in the order my library get them so they are in no particular order.  This one was written in the late 1990. Hi is in this one and it is early in their relationship.  I was surprised by who did what in this story.  It held my attention from the first.

Books:

The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes - The Garden of

Stones is a very complex story. Since this is book one there is a heavy dose of world building, back story and character development. I had to pay particular attention to all the detail or I would have lost out on much of the story. Barnes includes a cast of characters, a glossary of terms and list of cultures in the back of the book. I suggest reading that before you get to the end. Book one just sets the scene and introduces the world and characters. Some problems are solved but much is left hanging. There is a surprise at the end but I had a feeling that someone who was suppose to be dead would show up somewhere in the series. While I like the book I am not sure I will continue with the series. It is not an easy book to get through and did not leave me completely hooked. (I do own book 2 so that fact that I did not immediately pick it up says a lot about the book.)

Behind the Shattered Glass (A Lady Emily Mystery) by Tasha Alexander - I love a good mystery and Behind the Shattered Glass has one.  The Marquess of Montagu comes into Anglemore Park (Colin and Emily's country home) and drops dead at their feet.  He seems to be the perfect gentleman but much happens to show he is not.  Someone killed him and there are so many false trails the actual killer was a real surprise.  A great addition to the Lady Emily series.

Nexus by Nicolas Wilson - Nexus is fast paced.  It is action filled.  

The story is told mainly in dialog.  Saying all of that it should have more than three stars but it just did not make the grade for me.  The dialog just tried to be too cute.  I had trouble tell who was saying what.  The characters did not have names.  They were identified by their position on the ship.  There was little character development and a lot of character bashing.  All of that fast paced action is the set up for the series.  Everything that happened was leading up to a crisis near the end.  I was never really into the story until the last few pages.  I did like Nexus enough that I will try the next book when it is released.  It is fairly good Science Fiction just not great Science Fiction.

The Traitor by Grace Burrowes - Leave it to Burrowes to take the man who was the villain in The Captive and make him the hero in The Traitor.  Sebastian St. Clair is part English and part French.  He was in France when the war happened and he served in the French army.  Captured English soldiers were delivered to him and he used his skills as a interrogator to learn their secrets.  The war is ended and he is back in England where the men he held captive are trying to kill him.  I like the story but did not really warm to Sebastian as much as to Millicent Danforth, his love interest.  A nice story but not as heart warming as some of Burrowes other novels.

It's in His Kiss by Jill Shalvis - It's in His Kiss is the 10^th book in

the Lucky Harbor series and it is another winner.  This is the first of a new trilogy with three very hot guys.  First up is Sam Brody, a very self-contained, self-made guy who thinks he is happiest when he is alone.  That changes when Becca Thorpe arrives in his life and on his dock.  Both are strong characters who are working through things in their past. They are a wonderful couple.  Their journey to a HEA is full of fun, heartbreak, and romance.  While Sam is part one of this trilogy his two partners, Tanner and Cole look like both are ready for their own story.

Mercy (Beartooth Montana #5) by B.J. Daniels – I love B.J. Daniel's suspense novels and with Mercy I think she outdid herself. I got shivers reading it and even though I though I knew the guilty party Daniels has been know plant false clues and fool me. Rourke Kincaid is a new character in the series. He comes to Beartooth from Seattle looking for a serial killer and he thinks Callie Westfield is involved in some way. He is attracted to Callie making his job much harder. Look for high degrees of tension as the past comes back to influence the present. There are visits with characters from the previous Beartooth books. Look for new information about characters and events to be revealed sometimes answering question and sometimes pointing to more mystery and suspense.

From Maverick to Daddy (MontanaMavericks: 20Years in the Saddle #2) by Teresa Southwick - Once

again one of the commitment shy cowboys in Rust Creek Falls bites the dust.  This time it is Caleb Dalton who does not want anything to do with having a family of his own.  That is until he meets eight-year old Lily and her adoptive mom, Mallory Franklin.  Lily just knows that Caleb and Mallory belong together.  Of course she is right but not before there are problems and possible heartbreak.  I am loving all the books in the Montana Mavericks: 20 years in the Saddle series.  There are still plenty of single men up for grabs so I will be looking for the next bachelor to bite the dust.

I Want It That Way
by Ann Aguirre - I read As Long As You Love Me, book #2 in the

2B Trilogy first and loved it so I was excited to see I Want It That Way on Netgalley.  I briefly met Nadia and Ty in  book #2 so I already knew a little about both of them.  What I did not expect was my reaction to their story.  I was bored.  I just never really cared about either one of them.  It was not the writing.  Ann Aguirre turns out well-written stories.  It may have been the setting.  I am a long way from being a college student and I just did not identify with the lifestyle of today’s students.  It may also have been how much I loved Lauren and Rob’s story.  I finished the book but it took an effort not to just put it down.  If you like this type of book don’t let my disappointment keep you from giving the book a try.  It may be a story that you love.  And remember, while I did not like I Want It That Way I love As Long As you Love me and they are books in the same series.