Ghost Town by Rachel Caine

Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires, Book 9)
by Rachel Caine

YA Paranormal
352 pages, hardcover
Target Reader: 14+

NAL
978-0451231611
Release Date: October 26, 2010



From the publisher:

While developing a new system to maintain Morganville's defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she's able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.

But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville...

Read Chapter 1

Series books: Glass Houses (book 1), The Dead Girls' Dance (book 2), Midnight Alley (book 3), Feast of Fools (book 4), Lord of Misrule (book 5), Carpe Corpus (book 6), Fade Out (book 7), Kiss of Death (book 8)

I've been counting down the days until this book was released! I loved it!!

Great plot. Some of the past books have been so twisty with intrigue that the plot and motivations have been hard to follow. This one was twisty enough to be captivating, but not so obscure in places that I got lost trying to follow it.

The characters are so wonderful. Claire is still a brainiac, but she's getting stronger, more confident and more willing to take risks. Shane is settling down somewhat. The interplay between him and his father is great. Michael and Eve have smaller parts in this book, but when they bring it, they bring it! I love Amelie and Oliver. Oliver is so hard to figure out—sometimes he's good, sometimes he's bad. Just when you decide one way or the other, he surprises you—and that's what makes him such a compelling character. Even with the surprises, his behavior is totally believable. And then there's Myrnin. Sometimes he steals the show with his heartbreaking schizophrenia—one moment kind and vulnerable, the next a raging killer vampire. In this book, he's looking for a human brain to hook up to a machine—and Claire's looks pretty good to him.

Loved it.

The only thing I don't love about these books is the "R" rating. There is swearing and a physical relationship between Claire and Shane, and between Michael and Eve. While low level on the description most of the time, it's still very clear that these teenagers are in a physical relationship. For that reason, I can't recommend this series to teenagers. Since it's aimed at them, I have to drop the overall rating stars.


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Cover: They're getting better. I like this one much better than some of the previous covers.



Content Ratings

Language: Some swearing. Drops the "f" bomb once.

Violence: Not as much grisly vampire stuff as in some of the previous books, but still—vampires can be violent.

Drugs/Alcohol: Teens drink beer.

Immorality: The teenagers have an intimate relationship. We don't get a full description but there's some pretty steamy make out scenes. Not recommended for teen readers.

Values/Themes: Well, it's vampires.

Age Appropriate: Due to language and intimate content, I'd recommend 18 and older.

Writing Mechanics: Engrossing! Wonderful!


© 2010 It's a Book Affair

Altared Plans by Rebecca Talley

Altared Plans
byRebecca Talley

LDS Romance
250 pages, 5.5x8.5, softcover
Target reader: LDS Women/Young Adults

Cedar Fort
978-1599552804
Release Date: June 5, 2009



From the publisher:

The perfect day. The perfect marriage. The perfect groom. What could go wrong?

Caitlyn has been preparing for her perfect wedding all her life. But when her fiancé abandons her at the altar, Caitlyn vows she ll never love again.

Going to BYU doesn't make that easy, however, and avoiding all social contact can only last so long. When her bishop calls her to be the mom of her family home evening group, Caitlyn is suddenly thrust into surprising circumstances that leave her flustered the attention of two unwanted suitors.

Travis, the FHE dad, has plans to woo Caitlyn by using his cowboy charms while Chase has his own ideas for dating her. Will Travis or Chase change her mind about love? Or will it be deja vu?

Read Chapter 1.

View book trailer.

Getting stood up for a date is bad. For a wedding, it's even worse. But for a temple wedding? Devastating.

Altared Plans is a fun little romance that takes place mostly at BYU in Provo, Utah. Caitlyn's heart has been broken; she's been hurt and healing slowly. She meets Travis and there's an immediate interest that she tries to deny. Hurt again, she turns to Chase, the safe guy. We've all been there, haven't we? Do we go with what's safe or what's exciting?

A light, clean romance with some comic scenes, this is not the type of book I normally choose to read, but I know Rebecca and I won a copy in a contest, so I gave it a read on a slow Sunday afternoon. I would have liked to see more of a relationship developing over time between Caitlyn and Travis. I felt like it moved too fast, especially after the way she'd been hurt by her previous fiancé. I wasn't fully convinced by some of the other characters.

The plotting and pacing were fine, although, as I said, I felt the romance developed to quickly with little depth to base it on. Dialog was good. Ending was good. Nothing spectacular but it was good. To truly make me love this book, Travis' ex-girlfriend would have had to be a psycho killer who kidnapped Caitlyn and tortured her and... oh wait. Wrong genre. (Sorry)

But for what it is—a light romance—it was okay, a fun afternoon of reading escape—and it didn't make me feel like I had to wash my brain out with soap when I was done. Fine for teens of all ages. Nothing that will embarrass you if your mother reads it.

If you like light clean romance, you'll like this book.


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Cover: I thought it was great!



Content Ratings

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Age Appropriate: Nothing in here I wouldn't let 12+ year olds read.

Writing Mechanics: A few little glitches, but not bad.


© 2010 It's a Book Affair

Key Lime Pie by Josi S. Kilpack

Key Lime Pie (Sadie Hoffmiler, book 4)
by Josi S. Kilpack

Culinary Mystery
320 pages, softcover
Target Reader: Adult

Deseret Book
978-1-60641-813-0
Release Date: August 24, 2010



From the publisher:

When Sadie Hoffmiller's new friend, Eric Burton, receives word that his missing daughter's body may have been found in Florida, he immediately packs his bags, but Sadie is determined to stay home and prove to everyone that she is not a busybody.

But when she senses Eric is hiding something, Sadie is compelled to take action. Before she knows it, she's in the heart of Miami, trying to piece together a trail littered with broken relationships, mysterious strangers, and forged documents that might just provide Eric the answers he's been desperately searching for—or reveal a truth he may not be ready to face.

Sadie must also face a difficult question: Where is her heart leading her? Onward into Eric's adventurous arms? Or back home to the stable and steady Pete Cunningham? If only love was as easy as following a recipe.

Read Chapter 1 here.

Series books: Lemon Tart (book 1), English Trifle (book 2), Devil's Food Cake (book 3)

This is book #4 in the Sadie Hoffmiller series—and while you don't have to read the books in order, I recommend that you do. We meet Sadie in Lemon Tart, when her neighbor is murdered. This is also when Sadie meets handsome Pete Cunningham. In English Trifle, Sadie travels to London with her daughter, only to get caught up in a mystery when one of the help is murdered. In Devil's Food Cake, another mysterious murder catches her attention and introduces her to Eric Burton. In this book, not only is she involved in a fourth mystery, but she must sort out her feelings for Pete and Eric. Not an easy task.

I loved Key Lime Pie. I rarely give 5 full stars to any book, but this one gets it. I loved everything about it. Want to know how much I loved it? I loved it so much that I decided to forgo my Sunday afternoon nap so I could finish it.

Yep. That much!

The characters are interesting, unique, quirky—especially Sadie. She is so determined not to be a busybody, and yet, that's one of the traits that makes her so endearing. I love the way her mind works—and her heart.

In addition to being a fun suspense, Key Lime Pie was also satisfying in the relationship department. At the end of Lemon Tart, I firmly wanted Sadie to end up with Pete. But by the end of Devil's Food Cake, I was really liking Eric. I was in a quandary at the beginning of KLP, not knowing for sure who I wanted her to be with. But by the end of the book, I can honestly say, I liked her choice.

The plot has a lion's share of twists and turns. Several times I thought I had it all figured out, only to have the story spin off into another layer of intrigue and mystery. KLP was a completely engrossing and totally fun mystery!

If you like culinary mysteries like Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Schulz mysteries or Gayle Trent's Daphne Martin series, you'll love Sadie Hoffmiller.

(And for my non-LDS friends, even though this book is published by Deseret Book, there is absolutely no mention of religion whatsoever in the book.)

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Content Ratings

Language: No swearing.

Violence: There's a murder and some mild violence, but it does not occur in "real time".

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Age Appropriate: For adults—the main character is older—but some teens will like it as well.

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© 2010 It's a Book Affair

The Road Show by Braden Bell

The Road Show
by Braden Bell

LDS General Fiction
128 pages, softcover
Target Reader: LDS Adult

Cedar Fort, Inc.
978-1599553566
Release Date: June 8, 2010



From the publisher:

“Brother Jenson, you’ve been called as the ward road show specialist. Would you accept that calling?”

What? The road show? The greatest fear of all Mormon theatre artists. The curse of anyone who does theatre. No, no, no! This isn’t happening. The road show! What can I do? I can’t do this! This is like asking Mack Wilberg to lead the ward choir or Danny Ainge to coach church basketball.

“Sure,” Scott answered quietly.

Scott Jenson hates everything he knows about road shows, especially the cheap costumes, silly songs, and bad acting. So when he finds himself agreeing to be the road show specialist, he wonders how he can do it without becoming the biggest fool in the ward. From miscues to missed practices, Scott directs his crew of amateur actors all while hoping that no one finds out about his secret.

Is there any way that this trivial road show could have a healing effect on those who participate? A pornography addict, a depressed young mother, a sick older sister, a lonely outcast, and a spiritually numb elder’s quorum president are about to find out.

The Road Show is the powerful story of five broken souls, contemporary Mormons struggling with familiar challenges—and their unlikely journey to ultimate healing and hope through the Savior's Atonement.

Read Sample Chapters

This is NOT your standard LDS fiction. The characters deal with real issues that we often try to pretend don't exist in our LDS communities—addiction to pornography, sin, depression, pride, loneliness and isolation, health issues. The characters are realistic, sometimes very familiar. We see the whole person, warts and all, as we follow their paths to resolution—and we come to love, empathize and understand them.

This book may be a little too realistic for some—it's definitely raw in places. Having dealt with some of these issues myself, and with close friends who deal with the others, I felt this book was an honest read. It's a bit depressing at first, but by the time it was done, I thought it was hopeful, without being preachy and unrealistic in its outcomes. It is clear that the Atonement works.

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Values/Themes: Making choices and accepting the consequences.

Age Appropriate: Deals with some mature themes; for adults.

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*received a review copy.


© 2010 It's a Book Affair