Looking forward to curling up with a good book this weekend? I’m lucky to have enjoyed several good stories recently. The reviews below can be found on Goodreads also. Hope you find a new book to add to your to-read list.

The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

Blurb from Goodreads

Seven girls tied by time.
Five powers that bind.
One curse to lock the horror away.
One attic to keep the monsters at bay.

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal.

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My thoughts:
Best supernatural themed book I’ve read in a long while.

Yes it’s got witches and vampires, but they’re not the run-of-the-mill type you see in a lot of similarly themed paranormal stories. Adele, Mac (her dad), Isaac, Desiree and Nicco were vibrant characters, a gang I’d very much like to hang around with and head out in costume for the Halloween parade.

The background story provided by a diary Adele finds in her house written back in the 18th century adds a nice historical touch to the novel.

It’s obvious the author knows her way around New Orleans well. The imagery of the city a couple of months post Katrina was vivid to me as was the vivacious spirit of the locals in the French Quarter. I loved the sprinkling of the French language throughout. The writer’s heart clearly belongs to the Crescent City and made me want to visit more than ever.

Couldn’t put the book down. Five magical stars.

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Food for Poe by Mae Clair

Blurb from Goodreads

When a blizzard strands Quinn Easterly at a handsome stranger’s house on Christmas Eve, she doesn’t realize her newly adopted cat, Poe, is the catalyst responsible for bringing them together.

Breck Lansing gave up on relationships after his wife, unable to cope with their daughter’s illness, left him. But the pretty blonde he rescues from a snowstorm has him rethinking his stance—especially when Quinn’s arrival coincides with a dramatic change in Sophie’s health.

Unfortunately, that change also attracts something only whispered about in folklore. Together, Quinn and Breck must defeat a sinister creature intent on claiming the ultimate payment.

Warning: A clever black cat, Christmas magic and paranormal trouble

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My thoughts:
Loved it. Five feel good stars. *****

Christmas Eve, snow, a strange black cat, romance, a Christmas miracle and a supernatural twist. What’s not to love!

I thought the creature was unusual and well done. When it first came on the scene, I suspected something else of a ghostly nature, so I was pleasantly surprised.
If Poe ever needs a new home, I’ll take him in in a heartbeat.

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Greywalker by Kat Richardson

Blurb from Goodreads

When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit …strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.But Harper’s not crazy. Her “death” has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.

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My thoughts:
Greywalker has a cool air about it.

I liked Harper. She’s smart, has some wit and sarcasm going on. She’s a tough PI, well able to handle herself. Supporting characters like Mara, Ben and Quinton were all great. Kudos to the author for creating a realistic Irish character in Mara. Her accent and the Irishisms were spot on. I loved the Seattle setting also. I liked that the main character didn’t have a cell phone and used a pager. I checked the publishing date and it was 2006 but maybe this book was written in the 90’s. Anyway, I enjoyed the lack of modern technology. It’s much easier to create suspense when characters can’t get in touch with each other so readily.

The Grey was an interesting concept. I felt the sickness, nausea, pulling and drowning feeling that Harper experienced so good job on the author there for helping me understand the hellish nightmare Harper had been thrust into.The imagery of modern traffic and ghostly traffic (horse drawn carts) mingling together on the same street was striking. I can’t say I was 100% certain I understood exactly what the Grey was or what Harper could do there, but I’m sure that will be delved into in the next books.

The romance element was on the side, rather than front and centre, which I appreciated. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. 4 stars for me.

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A Thousand Yesteryears by Mae Clair

Blurb from Goodreads

Behind a legend lies the truth…

As a child, Eve Parrish lost her father and her best friend, Maggie Flynn, in a tragic bridge collapse. Fifteen years later, she returns to Point Pleasant to settle her deceased aunt’s estate. Though much has changed about the once thriving river community, the ghost of tragedy still weighs heavily on the town, as do rumors and sightings of the Mothman, a local legend. When Eve uncovers startling information about her aunt’s death, that legend is in danger of becoming all too real . . .

Caden Flynn is one of the few lucky survivors of the bridge collapse but blames himself for coercing his younger sister out that night. He’s carried that guilt for fifteen years, unaware of darker currents haunting the town. It isn’t long before Eve’s arrival unravels an old secret—one that places her and Caden in the crosshairs of a deadly killer . . .

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My thoughts:
Enjoyable mingling of mystery, crime and the supernatural genres.

I’ve been interested in the legend of the Mothman ever since watching the movie with Richard Gere. The film wasn’t great but I caught a documentary on the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant soon after that and I was riveted.
This book, in my opinion does the town of Point Pleasant and the mysterious creature justice.
Who are the monsters in this town, the mothman, or the locals?

I did slap my forehead at one point when our heroine Eve made a silly decision that led to her being in a deadly situation. I think Caden should have put her behind bars for a night as punishment. 🙂

There were some beautiful descriptions of the small town and Eve’s aunt’s home, an old house with a large covered porch. I’ve always fancied living in a house like that, but alas wraparound porches don’t do well with awful Irish weather.

Very much looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. 4 stars for me.

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Fancy getting stuck in to any of these? What are you reading at the moment?

I’d love to read something else like The Casquette Girls, so if anyone has any suggestions, please send them my way.

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