Witchful Thinking by H. P. Mallory

This is the third book in the Jolie Wilkins series and the first book in print form, the first two being ebooks only. Ms. Mallory goes over some of the history of the others books in this one, more so than normal, because of readers picking up this series for the first time. I didn't think it was over done though, since it had been awhile since I read book two, I was glad of the reminders. After the huge battle in book two, Jolie has been crowned Queen of the Underworld. She of course doesn't have a clue what she's doing. After Rand asks her to marry him in the past but doesn't remember doing it in the present. Jolie realizes she's going to have to tell him that she's the one who broke his heart and almost broke him in the past but she's afraid she may lose him forever. There are lots of old enemy's in this one and of course there is Sinjin, the hot vampire who wants her no matter what, but could she trust him with her heart when she knows deep down it will always belong to Rand? Right when she thinks she has the whole Queen thing figured out and that she and Rand can work things out she finds out that just because she has the present worked out that doesn't mean she's in control of the past. I enjoyed Witchful Thinking, it was a nice addition to the series and I look forward to the next one. This was an advance copy through Netgalley.com and Random House Publishing Group.

Beyond The Bougainvillea by Dolores Durando

Unforgettable historical fiction novel about a young girl growing up motherless on Dakota farmland, with a drunken father and never ending work and hopelessness. When Marge's father trades her off to a drunken neighbor for acres of farmland Marge's nightmare really begins. After suffering more abuse than she can stand and with the help of a neighboring friend Marge makes her escape, journeying to Los Angeles during the depression. Marge is welcomed into a house of luxury but still sees the stark reality of what the depression has brought to starving farmers across the Midwest. Storytelling at it's best as you feel Marge's embarrassment that she has plenty of food and clothing while seeing starving children and sunken cheeked fathers standing in line for days for one bowl of soup which he takes with him to divide between his whole family. Marge soon learns that things aren't always what they seem though when the happy home that she is staying in is divided when tragedy strikes leaving nothing but bitterness behind. Marge has to learn to make it on her own where jobs and food are scarce. After finding a somewhat friend in a young Native American mother, lost on her own journey through the world, Marge finds courage and a drive to survive. She begins a new life in the wilds of northern California and the building of a new dam on the American River. Will Marge ever find the love she longs for with a Cherokee Engineer, or is she destined to live her life alone? Really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The author grew up on the Dakota plains 90 years ago and this seems to be her first novel, I hope she writes many more, as she is a wonderful storyteller. This was an advanced readers copy through Netgalley.com from Bell Bridge Books.

Bite Me, Try Me, and Fang Me by Parker Blue

Bite Me is the first book in the Underground Demons series and it's a really fun kickass beginning. Val is a part Succubus demon, part human, and a just turning 18 teenager. She battles and kills the vampires in Texas that prey on humans. After kissing a boy almost kills him she has to learn to keep her succubus side, whom she calls Lola, under tight control using lust power as an advantage in her fights with the vamps. After discovering that their daughter, Val's half sister Jen has been following Val and wants to be just like her, Val's mother and Stepfather kick her out of the house on her 18th birthday. Val hits it lucky when she runs into a part demon hellhound named Fang who is full of attitude and can talk telepathically to her and other demons. She also ends up working for the police and the San Antonio Special Crimes Unit with a really hot partner who doesn't make it easy for Val to hold Lola back. It seems there are MAYBE some good Vampires after all who want to set up blood banks where humans can donate blood to the Vamps to keep them from going after humans for their food. Val discovers there are some vampires that don't like that idea at all because they like toying with their food. They are out to stop the good Vampires which means Val and her team are out to stop them. Even without Val being there her half sister Jen still gets involved with the Vampires. When Val goes to get her out she sees that Jen has been influenced by one of the Vampires, which is against the laws of the good vampires and their leader Alejandro. Val and her trusty hellhound Fang set out, with a little help from her friends, to put a stop to it. Lots of fighting with a little mystery and romance on the side.

Try Me by Parker Blue:
The second in the Underground Demon series. In the second installment Val is being ignored by her partner Dan, even though she thought they had a thing going, he obviously can't handle her demon side. Good thing there is her new friend and hot crush Shade, who is a Shadow Demon and more than willing to teach Val how to control her Succubus demon. Val's part demon father had given her some books when she was a child and Val learns that those books are very powerful. After Val learns that the head of the Demon Underground is a cousin of sorts and that they want to help her she agrees to give them the books, however they are stolen at a party. Now it's up to Val and friends to not only find the books but protect the good Vampires when somebody starts poisoning them with something that makes them go crazy and kill anything in their path.

Fang Me by Parker Blue:
The third book in the Underground Demon series. Val is still looking for the magic books when a man shows up proclaiming to be a keeper and wanting to help them find the books that have his father trapped within them by magic. Val doesn't trust him at all and doesn't understand why all but her trusted dog Fang seems to really like him. Val's team on the police force find out that she is part demon and it doesn't go over well. She keeps looking for the books, all the time with her and Shade getting closer and her family coming closer to accepting her as she is. With more Vampires, Demons, Witches, and Magic, this is another exciting addition to this series. My favorite part of this series is Fang, the part hellhound part attitude rolled up in a little dog body. He's funny, he's always loyal to Val, and he's an important part of the series. If you liked the Twilight series but want something with a little more kick to it, you should give these a try. I can't wait till the next book, these definitely left me wanting more.
You can get these books separately or together in one volume. I read them as an advanced readers copy through Netgalley.com and Bell Bridge Books.

Surviving the Angel of Death by Eva Mozes Kor

This book tells the horrific experiences of Eva and Miriam Mozes during their time in the Nazi concentration camps. Eva and Miriam are only 10 years old when their family is arrested and placed in a cattle car with only room to stand, no food, no water, and barbed wire on the tiny windows. At the end of the train ride they are relieved until they see where they've arrived, the Auschwitz concentration camp. They are immediately ripped from the father, mother, and sisters, never to see them again, separated because they are considered special because they are identical twins. They are to be patients under the care of a Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele, who is experimenting with genetics in order to make the perfect Aryan race. What follows is a terrifying story of starvation, fear, desperation, and hope. One twin is often injected with a disease that will kill them so that when they die the other twin is killed so that they can compare the two. They are given different kinds of drugs to see their affects and to try to change their eye color or to try and change girls to boys. The Twin experiments were horrible and sadly, they were considered the lucky ones. Very intense, very heartbreaking, hard to read, because of the horror of it and knowing that these things really happened. This is one of those books that everybody should read. I got this as an advanced readers copy through netgalley.com from Tanglewood publishing. This is already available in hardback format, the release date for the paperback, is 10/11/2011

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

17th century Scotland was not a safe time, nobody knew this better than teenager Maggie Blair. Maggie's parents are both dead and she lives with her grandmother who most people think is strange and walks around talking about the devil and cursing people. The only thing they have that is worth anything is their land and when a wealthy land owner sets his sights on it he sees an easy way to get it. Maggie and her grandmother are soon accused of being witches and made to stand trial in the church. Many of the villagers testify against them because of their dislike for Maggie's grandmother. The land owner has his maid and mistress make up things and testify against them as well. Mostly because of the testimony of the maid, they are sentenced to be hanged and then burned. Maggie escapes with the help of an old family friend. She goes to stay with her Uncle and ends up in even bigger trouble when they arrest him for heresy. Can Maggie save her uncle? And what happens when the maid who testified against her shows up at every turn just to ruin her. Will people ever forget that she was the witch's granddaugther. Very enjoyable, exciting, historical fiction. Great for ages 13 and up. This was an advance readers copy through Netgalley.com from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishing. Just released in hardcover format.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander Mcall Smith

This is number 12 in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. This was another fun read in the series but I was a little disappointed this time around. All the good things were there, the culture, the atmosphere, the Red Bush Tea, but those things weren't concentrated on enough in this outing. I love the fact that Mma Precious Ramotswe is so attached to her white van since I am attached to my jeeps so I understand. The only problem is, we've covered how much she is attached to it in several other books and too much of this book is taken up with her talking about it again. She thinks she sees her old van on the road and spends quite a few pages chasing after it and trying to get it back. Then there is the long awaited wedding between Phuti Radiphuti and Grace Makutsi, and A LOT about wedding shoes, more than I ever cared to know about shoes really. There is a mystery of course, involving cattle being killed and the man being afraid that he will be next. Mma Ramotswe "fixes" it, but doesn't solve the mystery, deciding some mysteries should just be left alone. And don't forget that man stealing hussy, Violet Sephotho, she is running for Parliament now, but won't get very far if Mma Makutsi has anything to say about it. These books are always nice laid back fun reads and the only mysteries I read, but this one just wasn't long enough for me. The van and the shoes shouldn't have taken up so many pages and more pages about Mma Ramotswe and Botswana should have been added. Still, if you're a fan of the series you'll want to read it, to visit with Precious, and have some Red Bush Tea.

A Donkey Reads by Muriel Mandell

This is a very cute Turkish folktale. It's starts out as most folktales do with a poor villager who barely has enough to feed this family. The village has just been captured by the Mongols and when their leader tells everyone they must bring the best thing they have before him as a gift or they will beaten, the poor villager doesn't know what to do. His wife tells him to take their old donkey because it can't even carry the children anymore it is so broken down and old. The Villager takes his poor old donkey in front of the leader and the leader gets very angry at him because his gift is not good enough. He is going to beat the villager until a wiseman steps forward and promises the Mongol leader that he can teach the donkey to read, then he will be worth something. And so the story goes, you get to find out if the wiseman really does teach the donkey to read, and just how he does it. Very cute story that all young children should enjoy. The illustrations are very nice, very classic looking. This was an advance readers copy through Netgalley.com from Star Bright Books.