This title was not what I was expecting. It was not about Al Capone but rather about a 12 year old boy named Moose who lives on Alcatraz. He has a very special sister who requires a lot of supervision. Moose just wants to be normal, play baseball and stay out of trouble but his friends on the island make that hard to do. Between money making schemes that involve the convicts who run the laundry and all the work to get Natalie into a special school, Moose will have to walk the fine line between being a young man and a boy. A fun and heartwarming read. I can not wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Unlike most urban fantasy novels where there is one world or multiple world that you have to rip through or fall into, Illona Andrews sees the Edge. A wide boundary where halflings live. These are the people who are not just Broken (everyday people) and not just Weird (fully magical), but a bastardized mix of the two and Rose is the most powerful of them all. That has made her very desirable as a brood mare to the nobels of the Weird. All Rose wants is to keep her young brothers safe and clothed and put food on the table. When yet another Weird nobel comes seeking her hand in marriage she gives him three challenges to complete before she will go off beyond the edge with him.

But, darker things are stirring and people are dying. Declan has not come to the edge to seek a bride but to kill Casshorn and stop the black beasts from destroying the Edge and then crossing over to the Weird. Rose must learn to trust someone if she hopes to save her family.

This book gives all it promises and more. While reading it feels like a cross between your favorite fantasy novels like Hitchhikers Guide, movies like the Princess Bride, and Labyrinth all rolled into one, it sets itself out as different, almost a gateway to pure fantasy. The book jacket is no where indicative of how good this book is. The publisher should rethink the cover, but you should not rethinking picking up this title and reading it cover to cover.

Love in flames by N. J. Walters

Ester has a long heritage. In her family's distant past there was another Ester, who lost the love of her life to. Fire. James promised that no matter how long it takes he would find her again. Modern Ester can't keep her mind off Ryan, she she refuses to date a firefighter because they all end up dying tragic deaths. Modern Ester must overcome her fears of losing love to realize that having love is always better then doing without. This title feels very dated and 80's and the cover doesn't help. Verdict: this book tries to be both cozy and steamy but fails on both ends. It's not the worst thing to read, but it goes in the only if desperate category.

Double shot is of course something to do with coffee, which is good because Sadie Long just happens to own a coffee shop with her sister and brother. For years she has been friends with and had a crush on Paul Williams. Paul is an investor in a local sex club called Mavericks. Paul wants Sadie to cater the event but that is just a ploy to get her in the door. When catering for the event is through Paul, Sadie, and Mavericks owner Josh retire to a private area to explore what this club has to offer. This title is an erotic romance with plenty of steam. Its also decently short, which I find worked out just fine. There will be two sequels which I can not wait to get my hands on.

M. Taylor Hamilton is a nose to the grindstone type of woman. She has a ten year plan and will let nothing deter her, not even handsome coworker Adam Kirlilss. She is not given much of a choice in their relationship when Adam handcuffs M to a rail on board a yacht that their boss has booked for a company party. Only by obeying and giving up control will M get off the boat and find someone to whom she can truly belong. This erotic novel is very well written and will fire the imagination of anyone who likes these types of books. The sexual action is inventive and not repetitive which is a good thing.

4 ½ stars

Another Way is the first male/male erotic romance that I have read. It does heavily feature BDSM. I read an article recently that said this type of novel was gaining in popularity especially among strait female readers. So since it is suppose to be a trend I had to give it a try, and I have to say I found this title highly interesting and entertaining. Now, will this type of book become my mainstay of reading, probably not, but it was great for a change of pace. It was really well written, you felt for the characters, and just wanted to know what would happen next. I found it hard to put down. So about the story. Jesse has been in a relationship with a woman for over 5 years, but in secret he has been seeing Will his Master for domination sessions when ever possible. Will has fallen in love with Jesse, but Jesse needs to decide if being Gay is truly who he is, or should things stay as they always have.

2 ½ stars

I love a good Hockey story but this is not it. John Stevenson is a professional hockey player with tons of fans. One such fan is Lucy the goddess of the moon. She can not take her eyes off of him when he plays and the feeling is mutual. John uses all the resources at his disposal to find Lucy and when he does he gets mixed up in a world of wolves, demons, and goddess that he never knew existed. The story is a nice concept, but it drags out forever. The sex scenes are highly repetitive and show little creativity which makes this book a bear to get through. Apparently this is a series but I will not be picking up any of the other titles.