A FEAST OF CROWS (SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BOOK #4) 

by George R.R. Martin

4 stars

The saga continues:

This book concentrates on the happenings at King's Landing, Dorne, and the Riverlands.

Tommen is king but Cersei rules. Margaery Tyrell tries to undermine her. Jaime is waking up to what his sister really is thanks to Brienne and Tyrion. He is even looking inside himself.

Lady Brienne is still on the search for the Stark girls. Meanwhile, Littlefinger controls Sansa (for her sake of coarse). And Arya across the sea learning all kinds of new skills.

This book is great, just as exciting as expected. But I miss Jon Snow, Daenarys, the dragons, and Tyrion. I want to know what is going on with the others and white walkers. We are promised to catch up with them in the next book: A Dance with Dragons.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because of the missing characters.

If you have read this book, I would love to hear your comments on it.

A STORM OF SWORDS (SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BOOK #3) 
by George R.R. Martin
5 stars

Book 3 of Song of Ice and Fire is just as good as the first two. Maybe even a bit more exciting.
The war between the 5 kings continues. Joffrey Baratheon is still in power, with Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon looking to overthrow him. Let's not forget young Daenerys Targaryen coming from across the see for her rightful seat on the throne.
The action and suspense is almost none stop. Once you start reading, you can't put the book down. All the characters take on lives of thier own. What will the wild child Arya do next? When are the white walkers and the others going to be here? Will Brienne find the girls? Then there's Jon Snow, possibly the best character in the book.
And of course, we cannot forget the dragons. I love a good tale about dragons.
If you read this book, I would love to hear your comments.

A CLASH OF KINGS (A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BOOK #2) 
by George R.R. Martin
5 stars

Book 2 of the series is as great as the first.
After the death of King Robert, the realm falls apart. There are now 5 people calling themselves king (or queen in the case of Daenarys). You have everything in this series. War, love, magic, dragons, walking dead, religion, you name it and it's part of the story.
The females are as strong as the males.
I recommend these books to everyone. You can't help but to find something to like.

NO MORE LIES (DOCTOR'S ORDERS BOOK 3) 
by Mona Risk
4 stars

Olivia Crane is a psychiatrist of high standing. She has a good job, good life, wonderful child, and even a nice love life. Except she keeps each part of her life secret from the other parts.
An ex lover Lucien George, who is also a psychiatrist, comes back into her life. He wants to rekindle the relationship and believes that Olivia does too.
He discovers her secret and the reason she keeps pushing him away. Melissa is Olivia's daughter. She hid her when they dated 10 years ago. Olivia is scared that her abusive ex-boyfriend and Melissa's father, Jeremy, will find out about Melissa.
I enjoyed the story and the characters. I didn't care for the sessions Olivia had with her patients. She let her personal life and fears judge her actions and recommendations to her patients.
Overall, I did like the story. Even if Olivia was not as smart with her personal choices that someone if her position should be.

THE FIRST SHOT (DEDICATED TO DEATH SERIES BOOK 1) 
by E.H. Reinhard
3 stars

Homicide Detective Carl Kane is on the hunt for a killer, starting with the murder of 3 gang member/drug dealers and 2 of their mothers.
This feels like it was made for young readers. The dialog is simple and repetitive. Such as the author writes dialog to a phone conversation, then he has Kane repeat the conversation to his partner, and then again the entire conversation is repeated for the squad captain. He could have just said " I told the captain about my phone call with the M.E."
It made me feel as if the author thinks his readers are too dumb to remember what was said a few pages ago.
Also he uses acronyms too often. (DB, GSW, etc.)
The story line was pretty good. I like who dunnit mysteries, this one let you know in the first chapter who was responsible.

HEAT WAVE (NIKKI HEAT SERIES BOOK 1) 
by Richard Castle
4 stars

I love the ABC's series "Castle". The characters in the book are loosely based on the characters of the show. I say loosely because as much as I like the book, the characters pale in comparison to the characters of the show.
When Det. Nikki Heat is called to the murder of Real Estate mogul Matthew Starr, her biggest problem is her tag along reporter. Does she give in to her attraction to Jamison Rook?
Jamison Rook is annoying yet handsome, aggravating yet charming, and funny. Although sometimes his jokes are a little misplaced and bad timed. Detectives Raley and Ochoa are also funny and love having Jamison around.
This whodunit story is pretty compelling and surprising. There are so many suspects but the story flows nicely so you aren't confused or lost by it all.

THE CALL 
by Merrill Gemus
2 stars

This is a short story, about 20 min. to read. It is a teen read about a 9th grade boy, Simon, who falls for an 8th grade girl, Tania. He can't talk to her in person, so he gets her phone number from a friend. Will he be able to call her and strike up a  conversation?
The author has a nice writing style. I have read other works from this author and liked them, but this one falls short for me. There is not enough substance to the story, and not enough time for character development. I will say the author tried to get us to know the 2 main characters but just couldn't pull it off in the short amount of time given.
I recommend this book to young readers and anyone who doesn't want to take a lot of time to read.
This is a cook get through it quick kind of book.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS 
by Sara Gruen
5 stars

90 year old Jacob Jankowski tells his life story. While in his 20s, he joins a circus. And we flash between then and now in the nursing home.
The circus life is fascinating. I wish I could have seen the 1930 circus myself, It seems so much more thrilling and exciting then today's tent shows. Even just the thrill of seeing the colorful train cars pulling into the yard. Then the animals coming off the wagons.
Jacob is so funny and crochety as an old man. Some of his descriptions of himself made me laugh.
I loved the characters. Jacob, Marlena, and Rosie are very likable. You root for them to make it through everything. I found myself wanting either to get revenge for Rosie or to free her myself. You seeth against the 2 villains, Al and August.
The story is gripping from the first page. I didn't want to put the book down. I plan on watching the movie. I really hope they did the story justice.

SAVING GRACE (BEYOND TIME SERIES BOOK 3) 
by Elizabeth Marshall
3 stars

Grace fears for her daughter Jennie, whom she lift behind in a future life, 400 years in the future. She leaves messages for her future/past self and her friends, so that they can save Jennie.

I was again was bored. The writing is good, the characters are good, the plot is good. I just didn't connect with this series for some reason.
All the books are short stories. They each take about 2 hours or less to read. That is why I read them. I wanted something quick and easy to read before bed.

CHANGING GRACE (BEYOND TIME SERIES BOOK 2) 
by Elizabeth Marshall
3  stars

In this installment, Grace sort of accepts her fate. She still believes she has gone insane but feels happier than she has in years.
Even with messages from her future self living in the past. (If that makes any sense to you, if not read the book.)
This one is a little better that the first book but still bored me. It is another short story. About 1 to 2 hours and only 89 pages on my Nook. So if you are looking for something light and quick before bed, this is the book for you.

HAUNTING GRACE (BEYOND TIME SERIES BOOK 1) 
by Elizabeth Marshall
3 stars

Grace leaves her abusive husband. And in the process must leave all she knows and has; including her parents, job and even her daughter.
She comes the city of York, the most haunted city in Britain. Grace finds a nice hotel and a job. She realizes the man in the picture in her room is appearing to her everywhere she goes. He haunts even her dreams.
I found this book slow and boring, Until he last few pages. That is when I got reeled in and want to read book 2 to see where it goes. This is a short story. Only about 1 or 2 hours , 81 pages on my Nook.

3:AM KISSES (BOOK 1) 
by Addison Moore
3 stars

I agree with the review by 'I read way too much', Baya is way too needy and desperate for my taste.
3: AM Kisses starts out pretty good. It's Baya's first day at Whitney Briggs University. She runs into Bryson Edwards, her brothers roommate, and instantly they fall for each other.
It would be a nice little romantic story, except for the fact that the only thing we even hear from either of them is how they want to have sex with the other. Baya needs to be with Bryson so badly, that she begs him for a kiss and throws herself at him over and over. Even when Baya sees another girl coming from Bryson's room naked, she wants him at that moment. She counts the MANY tally marks he keeps on the wall tracking his SCORES, and still she wants to be with him. I couldn't see any woman who values herself acting this way. Especially since Baya is a virgin, and has waited this long for someone special to come along.
If you want sex and a few good laughs (a lot of Baya's remarks about Bryson, her brother Cole, and her roommate Jeannie are hilarious), then this is a fun read. The author has a great writing style.