Beauty Queen by Julia London

Well, I guess I have to take back what I said in my review of American Diva. This book, Beauty Queen, wasn't as formulaic as her other books. The beauty queen (Miss Texas 1990) in question, Rebecca, is freshly divorced and raising her five-year-old son while she tries to figure out what to do with her life now that she's no longer a figure in society in Dallas. She's living in a house in a teeny town near Austin and is searching for some direction. She is approached by a senator who is running for Lieutenant Governor who wants her help with his campaign. There she meets Matt Parrish, a lawyer with District Attorney aspirations. Romance ensues but it's not an easy one. I think this has been my favorite so far of all her books and I am interested to see what happens in the conclusion, Miss Fortune.

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

This is Angie Fox's first book. It's about a woman named Lizzie who becomes a Demon Slayer on her 30th birthday. Hell of a present (pardon the pun) to get just after her biker witch grandma shows up to meet her for the first time ever. Lizzie and her little dog end up having to leave their well-ordered home to go with Grandma on her harley to her coven to keep from letting a demon snatch her up and drag her to hell. Did I mention that her dog starts talking too? And if that wasn't enough, she meets a ridiculously sexy man who is also a griffin who claims he's her protector and will teach her how to use her new powers. This book reminded me a lot of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum. Goofy and funny and sexy, this book was a lot of fun.

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

It is so not fair that we fans of KMM have to wait another whole year to find out what's going to happen to Mac. Loved this book, loved it. I was so caught up in what happens at the end that I turned the last page looking for more, oblivious that I had reached the end. Stupid cliffhangers!

Spoiler alert!

Is Mac going to become pri-ya? Probably. Where the hell was Barrons? I know he was giving in to Mac since he'd been an ass to her and was letting her do what she wanted for a change and all but good grief. He picked a hell of a time to do it. V'lane was AWOL too. They did find the book though. And discovered that neither of them can be around it. Where does that leave them in terms of their working relationship? Their personal relationship takes an interesting turn (really, a birthday cake? What did she think his reaction would be?). I also wonder what kind of history Barrons and V'lane have. What is Barrons anyway? I bet we'll never get an answer to that one. I have too many questions to list them all. I still have a few Highlander books to get through so maybe they'll tide me over until next September. Come on Dreamfever!

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

I actually read this one a while back. I didn't like it. Usually werewolves are right up my alley (in books anyway, ha). I love werewolves written Patricia Briggs, liked Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, and Charlaine Harris among others. I think one of the things that turned me off the most in this book was how much of a wienie her alpha was. I am used to alphas that are totally dominant - Curran the Beast King (Andrews) and Bran (Briggs) are perfect examples. Nobody screws with them, least of all their mates. I didn't like Kitty either. Really, a werewolf called Kitty? Who likes to run her mouth on the radio about the existence of werewolves and vampires and such but is absolutely submissive to her wienie alpha. Vaughn also killed off one of the few characters who I actually did like. After I finished this I went on wikipedia and looked it up and found out the plots for all the other books (just to see where it was going). Great thing, wikipedia. Goodbye Kitty.

American Diva by Julia London

Julia London writes addictive romances. They are also pretty formulaic - a well-to-do woman meets a less-than-well-off man. They fight like cats and dogs for a while and then they succumb to their nuclear level chemistry. The guy falls harder than the woman and she will eventually break his heart in the end before she comes to her senses. Doesn't necessarily make for bad reading, it just gets a little predictable. The first Julia London book I read was Material Girl, the first in the Lear family trilogy. I liked it (not loved) but it obviously didn't turn me off her books. And I'm still not sure why I picked this one up since celebrities aren't my thing but I liked this one too. The ending was happy (of course) and I liked the main characters, Audrey and Jack. I would probably listen to her music if she were real. Right now I'm in the middle of the second book in the Lear trilogy, Beauty Queen. More on that one in the future.