Kathy's (kmartin802's) Summer Reading 2016

School's out for the summer! Time to turn to my reading stack. Besides assorted review books on my calendar, I'll be digging deep into my TBR mountains for diamonds.

I have 85 days of vacation ahead. I'd like to average a book a day but that might be overly optimistic. Time will tell.

1. A Most Curious Murder by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli (336 p.) -- Jenny comes home to Bear Falls hoping to get her life back in order after a bitter divorce. But trouble is waiting in the form of someone vandalizing her mother's little library and a corpse found in her neighbor's fairy garden. Also awaiting is the boy who dumped her at 18 who has turned into a bitter drunk who runs around on his pregnant wife. Neighbor Zoe is an author, a little person, and obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. The story is whimsical but the murder was the least of the story.

2. Wildefire by Karsten Knight (393 p.) -- Engaging start to paranormal trilogy. Ashline goes across the country to boarding school to get away from the death of a schoolmate at the hands of her sister. There she discovers that she and some of her schoolmates are reincarnated gods from a variety of mythologies as is her sister. Her sister follows her to her new school and is willing to do anything and kill anyone to make Ashline go with her.

3. Dark Road Home by Anna Carlisle (304 p.) -- Gin comes home to her hometown when the body of the sister who disappeared the summer after Gin finished high school is discovered. The disappearance sent Gin running to college, medical school, and a career as a pathologist. She left it all behind - her friends, her boyfriend, and her parents. Now she is back and trying to solve the murder of her sister. She has to untangle tangled relationships and renew acquaintances with those she left behind including her first love Jake who was a suspect in her sister's disappearance. A real page turner for me.

4. What the Dead Want by Norah Olson (320 p.) -- Gretchen visits her great-aunt in the family's upstate New York mansion to discover that it is haunted by vengeful ghosts and that they are escalating. Both her aunt and her mother (before she disappeared) have spent years trying to find the way to lay the ghosts to rest. Gretchen and her new friends Hawk and Hope have to finally find a way to settle the ghosts. This requires lots of research into family history including womens' rights, abolitionists, the Ku Klux Klan, etc. Excepts from a young woman's diary written during the period surrounding the Civil War are interspersed into the story as are historical photographs. Well written and spooky.

Twelve weeks of holidays sounds like heaven Kathy.
I will enjoy seeing you get past 75 just for your holiday period. xx

5. The Sapphire Affair by Lauren Blakely (222 p.) -- This book is half of a mystery. Steph and Jake are tracking down a missing $10 million. Steph wants her stepfather to make things right with her mother who was screwed in the divorce. Jake has been hired by the other shareholders of the hedge fund. When they meet, they are instantly attracted. When they find out who they are and what they represent, suspicion begins. Through this whole story they alternate between distrust and spicy foreplay. I thought the mystery was left hanging for most of the book. Maybe book 2 with resolve things.

6. Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry (427 p.) -- Excellent, intense contemporary romance. Told alternately by Breanna and Razor. She the girl everyone knows but no one sees and he's the boy that everyone sees but no one knows. Breanna is having trouble fitting in as the 5th of 9 children. She also has an unusual brain that is like a photographic memory. She can not pass by a puzzle without trying to solve it. Razor is having trouble fitting in at the motorcycle club because he knows they are keeping secrets about his mother's death. When Razor needs someone to break a code and Breanna needs someone to protect her from being blackmailed into writing papers for another student, the two join forces despite the fact that they come from two different worlds.

7. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (648 p.) -- Aelin and companions return to Rifthold to rescue her cousin, kill the king and the crime lord who raised her, and either kill or free her friend Dorian. Aelin is a master plotter and keeps her plots from even her closest allies. It was fun watching events unfold. It was also good to watch her relationship with Rowan deepen. In another plot thread, Manon Blackbeak is becoming disillusioned with her grandmother's orders and her goals for the witches. This is book four of at least 5.

8. Forgotten Secrets by Robin Perini (370 p.) -- Excellent thriller where Riley, now an FBI profiler, has never given up searching for her sister who was abducted at age 12. She followed a lead to Wyoming, met Thayne, had a whirlwind romance and then left. He's a Navy SEAL so they have kept in touch through weekly phone calls that have given them a chance to get to know each other. When Thayne's sister Cheyenne is also abducted Riley comes back to Wyoming to find her and discovers much more than she could have hoped for and a forever love too.

9. Flying by Carrie Jones (252 p.) -- Science fiction with humor. Mana is a cheerleader with an ordinary mom. Except, she learns that her mom in an alien hunter when her mom disappears. Many groups of aliens and humans want to find the microchip that her mom has hidden and think Mana knows where it is. Mana doesn't know who she can trust except for her best friend Lyle.

10. The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff (295 p.) -- Second in the Magic Emporium trilogy, this one stars Charlie Gale who is a musician and a wild talent. When she goes to play in a music festival in Cape Bretton, she gets involved with selkies who've lost their skins and a greedy oil company who has arranged with Charlie's Aunt Catherine to steal them. To get them back, she has to find a way to outsmart her aunt and come into her own powers. She is assisted by her cousin Jack who is a 14-year-old Gale boy, a dragon, and a sorcerer. I loved all the geek references, the relationship between Jack and Charlie, and all the action and excitement.

11. Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh (479 p.) -- Excellent opportunity to catch up with a host of characters and also movement on a bunch of plot threads: a plot to kidnap Naya, a successful kidnap of a BlackSea scientist, plots from Ming LeBon and the Consortium to destabilize the new Trinity, among others. This one was also about forging relationships across species lines. Love for children also featured strongly in this one.

12. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (522 p.) -- Contemporary fantasy about Simon Snow, a Chosen One, his roommate Baz, a vampire, his friend Penny and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Agatha. Simon is a child of prophecy who is supposed to defeat a great evil that is destroying magic. One problem is that Simon is a terrible magician who is filled with magic that is just barely under his control. He is also an outsider in the magical world that Baz represents. There is a romance between Simon and Baz and all sorts of epic magical stuff.

13. Trapped by S. A. Bodeen (150 p.) -- Book 3 in Shipwreck Island series has Sarah and Marco working together to free his brother and her father from the Curator who is an alien trying to get home. They have half of the device he needs to collect his samples and return to his planet. However, a ruthless treasure hunter also wants the device. Sarah and Marco are becoming reconciled the the idea that their parents' marriage is firm when they learn that Marco's mother is pregnant.

14. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig (385 p.) -- This is Mary Alsworthy and Lord Vaughn's story. He's cynical and she's ambitious. In exchange for paying for her next London season, Vaughn recruits Mary to act as bait to trap the Black Tulip. They fall in love but have all sorts of obstacles to overcome not least of which are a wife returned from the dead and a murderous Black Tulip. Wonderful dialogue in this series.

15. The Ministry of SUITs by Paul Gamble (377 p.) -- This silly middle grade adventure comes complete with footnotes and pages from the Manual of the Ministry of SUITs. Twelve-year-old Jack is recruited and joins school bully Trudy in fighting pirates (and using dinosaurs to do it) in order to rescue odd kids - including Jack's friend David - and figure out what the pirate is trying to accomplish.

16. Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts (338 p.) -- Middle book in the Guardians trilogy. The romance is between Sawyer who can travel in space and time and Annika who is a mermaid. He's reluctant to start anything with her because she is new to human life and she must return to the sea in just a couple of months. She is a woman who knows what she wants and she wants Sawyer. The six are on Capri looking for the second star and Nerezza has recruited a human villain named Andre Malmon to assist her in defeating them and claiming the second star.

17. Seizure: A Virals Novel by Kathy Reichs (491 p.) -- Tory and her fellow Virals have to discover Anne Bonny's hidden pirate treasure or the research center where most of their parents work will be closed and they will all be forced to move away from each other. The story was action-packed as the kids decipher the clues and find the treasure before any of the many other treasure hunters find it.

18. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong (403 p.) -- Great start to new series. Police detective Casey Duncan and her best friend Diana take refuge in a hidden city in the Yukon. Diana to get away from an abusive spouse and Casey because the grandfather of the man she killed at 19 has managed to track her down. Casey is let in on probation because the sheriff Eric Dalton needs a detective. There have been some murders. Investigating in a town where everyone has secrets isn't easy. I liked the way Casey takes to the town and her growing relationship with Eric. Before it's over, there are murders and betrayals aplenty.

19. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig (499 p.) -- Lady Charlotte Lansdowne and Robert, Duke of Dovedale, met as children but then were separated when Robert went to India to join the army. 11 years later they reconnect when he comes home to track down the man who killed his mentor. She thinks of him as her knight in shining armor and falls in love with him. He returns her feelings but spurns her to keep her safe when he learns that the man his is tracking is spying for the French. Charlotte also gets involved when the king is kidnapped and Charlotte has the most clues to get him back.

20. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (440 p.) -- Alternate WWI steampunk has Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy, and Alex as main characters. She is a middie on a Darwinist flying beastie and he is the orphaned son of Archduke Ferdinand and a Clanker. They meet on a glacier and have to work together to defeat both their enemies. This was filled with adventure and a wonderfully creative world was built. Next they are off to the Ottoman Empire in BEHEMOTH.

21. Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle (448 p.) -- Ellie comes to Simpson, Colorado, to search for her mentally ill father who has become involved in the mystery that began in book 1. She hires strong, silent George Holloway to guide her to the remote cabin where she believes her father has taken refuge. They face a grueling hike in winter weather and are being followed by meth dealers who also want to find Ellie's father. Ellie and George fall in love which was a really sweet romance.

22. The Bluebonnet Betrayal by Marty Wingate (294 p.) -- Pru is at it again. This time she finds the body of a Texas gardening club while working on a display for the Chelsea Flower Show. Because she had met the woman briefly and bonded with her, Pru decides to investigate. She has lots of suspects. Twyla had previous relationships with the landscaper, the garden designer, and the garden sponsor. Also prominent is an ex-student of Twyla's who has some deal going with her ex-husband. Throw in a jealous woman who is the landscaper's partner and you have a nice assortment of suspects. This was a fun cozy.

23. The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray (245 p.) -- Very nice Gothic novel. Katherine Randolph who grew up on a farm in Virginia is surprised when she and her older brother inherit wealth and an estate in England from a grandfather they never knew. But almost as soon as they arrive, her brother dies in an "accident" which no one finds suspicious except her. Then, a footman who is her ally dies in a hunting "accident." Katherine doesn't know who she can trust but she is almost certain that she can't trust the cousins who were already living on the estate. Lots of creepy goodness and a nice romance too.

24. A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet (448 p.) -- reat epic fantasy/paranormal romance. Cat has been hiding in a circus until discovered by Griffin, Beta Sinta, who needs the talents she thought she had kept hidden. He forces her to go with him but she is as difficult as she can possibly be. He persists in winning her over using great patience. However, she is afraid of caring for him because all through her childhood, her mother killed anything she loved. Between his enemies - the Magoi he overthrew when taking over the country - and her enemies - Alpha Fisa and those she commands - the two have all sorts of dangerous adventures. I love Cat's snarky voice and the first person narration of this story.

25. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (640 p.) -- When the story begins Feyre is planning her wedding to Tamlin but is having second thoughts because he is stifling her. When he locks her into his home, she is rescued by Rhys and taken to the Night Court. There she learns that Rhys is far different than she had believed and that war is coming with the King of Hybern. As Feyre learns to use the powers given to her by the 7 High Lords when they brought her back to life, she is also learning about the real Rhys and falling in love with him. This book was intensely emotional, intensely romantic, and filled with fast-paced action.

26. The Widower's Wife by Cate Holahan (304 p.) -- Thriller about a couple faking a death to defraud an insurance company. Ryan Monahan is investigating the $5 million claim for the insurance company. Ana Bacon apparently fell overboard while on a cruise in the Bahamas with her husband Tom leaving behind a 3-year-old daughter who is the plans beneficiary. The story is told in flashbacks to when Tom and Ana and planning the crime with Tom being the instigator. He has lost his high paying job and the family is in danger of bankruptcy. Ana's main concern is the future of her child. This was an entertaining and twisted story.

27. The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong (341 p.) -- Great psychological thriller. Riley and Max are both dealing with mental illnesses. Riley suffers from anxiety, depression and PTSD after witnessing the parents of the child she was babysitting being murdered in a home invasion. Max is newly diagnosed with schizophrenia and is currently trying to find the correct dosages of medicine to keep him stable. He also needs to come to terms with his brain betraying him. They are at a weekend therapy session which is interrupted by masked gunmen who want to ransom one of the other kids who has a rich father. Chaos erupts when one of the other kids attacks the gunmen. Max and Riley find themselves playing hide and seed with killers as they try to find a way out of the warehouse. The nightmare doesn't end when they escape either. This book is violent (lots of grisly murders) and scary but it is also hopeful and romantic.

28. A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin (344 p.) -- Alternate history 1814. Georgie has been sent to a school that is supposed to straighten her out and make her a proper upper class miss. Georgie would rather do scientific experiments. Her first look at Stranje House isn't positive but she soon learns that what parents see and what really happens is different. Georgie is given a lab to develop her invisible ink to help the handsome Lord Wyatt - who says he isn't a spy - keep Napoleon from reconquering Europe. Nice romance, filled with action. Georgie finally finds a home where she is accepted as who she is.

29. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig (474 p.) -- After a scandal, Penelope marries Lord Freddy and they are off to India. He is a neglectful husband and she is befriended by Captain Alex Reid. She finds herself in the middle of a number of conspiracies not the least of which has the French trying to oust the British from India. She also falls in love with Alex which is inconvenient given that she already has a husband. I loved getting to know Penelope and getting to know why she was the way she was. Alex was a great hero.

30. The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig (332p.) -- Turnip meets his love. Arabella Dempsey has been the companion of her aunt and an observer on life in the upper classes. When her aunt marries a fortune-hunting younger man, Arabella looks for a position in a school in Bath. The first person she meets there is Turnip whose sister attends. There are hidden messages in Christmas puddings, assorted spies, and other hazards to overcome before they find their happily ever after. The dialog was very witty and Turnip got a chance to shine as hero.

31. Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin (365 p.) -- Tess is the star here. She is worried that her prophetic dreams will lead to madness. She doesn't want to love Lord Ravencross because she doesn't want to burden him. Lady Daneska is back both setting the stage for Napoleon's invasion of England and to capture Tess to bring her and her ability to dream to Napoleon. Also involved here are a nephew of Robert Fulton's who is freed from the French and trying to build a steamship and other weapons to help the British.

32. Altered by Jennifer Rush (323 p.) -- Science fiction thriller. Anna and her father have been doing experiments on 4 boys in their underground lab. When the Branch comes to reclaim them, the boys escape and take Anna along with them at her father's request. The boys have had their memories erased and so need to follow cryptic clues to learn about their pasts while evading the Branch who will do anything to get them back. Anna also learns that her whole life has been a lie. Fast-paced and nice growing romance between Anna and Sam.

33. Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold (160 p.) -- Penric is drafted by an Investigator to locate a shaman who is thought to be a murderer. He learns that the shaman is desperately seeking another shaman to help him send the soul of his murder victim who also happens to be his best friend to its proper afterlife. The shaman he is looking for was killed in a rock slide a couple of months previous to this story. Inglis, the shaman, will have to rediscover his blocked powers to learn how to help his friend. I liked Penric's relationship with his demons and his relationship with his gods.

34. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (326 p.) -- Post-apocalyptic. Nailer works scavenging from the grounded oil tankers. His specialty is crawling through ducts to find copper wire. After a super storm, he and a friend discover a wrecked clipper ship and an almost dead passenger who convinces them to help her find her family. They need to get to Orleans to find ships loyal to her while escaping Nailer's murderous father and the rival interests who want the girl dead. Great world building and interesting characters.

35. Thrill Kill by Brian Thiem (320 p.) -- Matt Sinclair is called in to investigate the death of a call girl he has known for years. She was trying to work her way out of the life by becoming an accountant so that she could regain custody of her young daughter. Her client list would be a great pool of suspects if only Matt could pry it out of the escort service she worked for. However, since lots of her clients were Oakland movers and shakers, he is getting a lot of pressure about getting the list. This one was action packed with more murders, bombs, and school invasions. Matt is also working with a therapist to get to the root of his PTSD and struggling to remain sober. Fast-paced with an intriguing main character.

36. Code (Virals) by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs (408 p.) -- This adventure has the Virals pitted against the Gamemaster who has hidden a series of clues that the kids most solve to save countless lives. Meanwhile, they are learning more about their Viral powers and discover a coded flashdrive left by scientist who caused their change. Tory has to deal with her father's girlfriend who is gradually moving into their home and pressuring her to become a debutante. She is torn between three boys - Chance, Jason and Ben - who all appeal to some part of her and who all have negatives too. The ending occurs during a hurricane in Charleston and adds even more danger to an already very dangerous situation.

37. The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox (240 p.) -- Marley takes over her Cousin Jimmy's pancake house when he has pneumonia and enjoys being back to where she built lots of childhood memories. When Jimmy is killed after getting out of the hospital, Marley determines that she will find his killer. There are lots of suspects and Marley collects a lot of evidence. She also reconnects with a boy she knew when they were children. She isn't TSTL and correctly contacts the police when she finds clues. There were lots of scary bits and some really nice recipes too.

38. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (293 p.) -- Fantasy set on the Biltmore Estate. Serafina was raised secretly in the basement by her Pa who is a maintenance man. She sees a man in a black cloak chase a girl and envelop her in the cloak whereupon she disappears. She meets Braeden Vanderbilt who teams up with her to stop the man in the black cloak from taking more children. Serafina makes herself a target and leads him into the woods that her Pa has told her is filled with mysteries. There she learns more about her mysterious past.

39. Alliance of Equals by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (355 p.) -- (Re-read) This most recent addition to the Liaden Universe takes place mostly in space on the Dutiful Passage following Padi's adventures, following the adventures of Tocohol, Tolly, and Hazenthull Explorer as they try to socialize a new AI, and following Dav and Aelliana aboard the Uncle's ship and going through big changes of their own. I enjoyed this one very much.

>39 kmartin802: Just read this when I received it on Tuesday--yes, very enjoyable!

40. Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton (323 p.) -- Emerson Knight is an eccentric billionaire; Riley Moon is the new bank employee who is sent to placate him when he decides he wants to see his gold. His simple desire leads the two into a deep-seated conspiracy to overthrow the United State Government. The dialogue was very witty and the story filled with all sorts of unlikely action as the pair travels from underground vaults in New York City to Area 51 in Nevada in search of the missing gold.

41. The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall (327 p.) -- Excellent mystery about a girl who has to find out who murdered baseball coach John Johnson because she knows that her autistic and mute brother Jeremy did not. I loved the relationship Hope has with her brother. I really disliked her self-centered, drunk, blackmailing mother. Hope is helped by friend TJ and new friend Chase (who she has a crush on). Both boys played on Johnson's baseball team and TJ is jealous of Chase.

42. The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig (452 p.) -- Governess Laura Gray is set to spy on Andre Jaouen who is in Fouche's police. Both of them have secrets. When enemies get close they are forced to flee across France with a Bourbon Prince, an artist, his two small children, and their nursery maid. They take refuge with traveling players and have to act their way to the coast falling in love along the way.

In the present story, Eloise and Colin travel to Paris for Colin's mother's birthday and Colin gets blindsided by his cousin/stepfather.

43. The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig (388 p.) -- ad poet and spy Augustus Whittlesby meets his match in transplanted New Yorker Emma Delagardie, a young widow and an intimate of Bonaparte's set. They work together to create a masque to be performed in Napoleon's theater while Augustus tries to discover the plans for a secret device the Robert Fulton is trying to sell Napoleon. This was a more fraught romance than usual for this series.

In the present timeline, the movie crew has arrived at Selwick Hall along with Jeremy and Serena's cheating ex. Jeremy is treasure hunting and the ex still wants to scoop Eloise in her hunt for the Pink Carnation. Eloise is also reaching the end of her fellowship and has to decide whether to return to Cambridge and finish her thesis or stay with Colin.

I have to get back to that series!

44. The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig (468 p.) -- Miss Gwen gets to be the heroine when she teams up with Colonel William Reid to find missing girls - Lizzy Reid and Agnes Wooliston. Along the way they run into French spies looking for the missing Jewel of Berar. Gwen is a fascinating character behind the imperious front we've seen in the earlier books and William Reid is just the man for her.

In the current storyline, Eloise and Colin reluctantly team up with Jeremy to find the still missing jewels.

45. The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig (481 p.) -- Episode 11 stars Sally Fitzhugh with appearances by Turnip, Miss Gwen, Lizzy and Agnes. Sally decides to rescue Lucien, Duke of Belliston, when rumor has it that he is a vampire. Actually, he's been away in New Orleans since his parents were murdered. He's back determined to bring the killer to justice. But the killer is still around and Lucien stands in his way.

Colin is visiting Eloise in Cambridge where she has received the devastating news that her advisor thinks her dissertation reads like fiction. She is also wondering if Colin is coming to propose to her or break up with her.

46. The Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig (514 p.) -- The final Pink Carnation stars Jane and Jack Reid. It takes place in Portugal as France is invading and the Portuguese Royal Family is fleeing to Brazil. Somehow, mad Queen Maria is left behind and it is up to Jane and Jack to find her before the French do. The Gardener, who is Jane's spying rival and former lover, represents the French side. The slow growing relationship between Jane and Jack was well-done. The present portion of the story takes place at the festivities surrounding Eloise and Colin's wedding and features the kidnapping of Colin's great aunt. The ceremony was the funniest part of the book since Pammy's phone rings as the vows and being exchanged and she needs to dig it out of her cleavage to answer it.

47. Rock Wedding by Nalini Singh (345 p.) -- Abe and Sarah marry and divorce. He was deeply into his drug and alcohol addiction and she couldn't deal with being the only one in love in the relationship. A year passes, she enters into a new relationship, has a stillborn baby, and throws the abusive guy to the curb. She also builds her own business. But she never stops loving Abe. Meanwhile, Abe has gone through rehab and has been clean for 8 months. He is also coming to terms with his grief at the loss of his little sister. He is determined to win Sarah back. When she finds herself pregnant after a brief encounter with Abe, he uses caring for her to prove to her that he is a changed man. We also get to see all the rest of the band get married.

48. These Honored Dead by Jonathan F. Putnam (297 p.) -- Interesting historical mystery filled with period attitudes and details has Abraham Lincoln defending his client at his first murder trial. The book is narrated by Joshua Speed who is Lincoln's friend and who has a vested interest in the case when first his secret girlfriend is suspected and then becomes a victim herself. Between the descriptions of the medical practices of the day, the depictions of the fate of the insane, and the state of workhouses, this was richly detailed. Speed's attitudes toward slavery nicely contrast with Lincoln's too.

49. The Damascus Threat by Matt Rees (295 p.) -- Fast paced thriller pits ICE Agent Dominic Verrazzano against villains who want to bring the Middle East to outright war. There plan is to unleash a sarin gas attack somewhere in New York. Verrazzano has a very short time to track down clues and stop the villains. He is constantly under attack but, like a Timex watch, he takes a licking but keeps on ticking.

50. Vicarious by Paula Stokes (336 p.) -- Near future science fiction mystery. Winter Kim and her sister Rose were taken from a Korean orphanage to LA where they were sold into the sex trade. Rescued by a client of Rose's they are new in St. Louis where the client has informally adopted them. Both are making ViSE recordings of experiences that are sold to those who want to have the experience without the danger or sweat. When Rose is murdered and Winter sees the ViSE of it, she is determined to find out who killed her sister. Winter in an engaging character who suffers from PTSD, has blackouts, and hallucinations.

51. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (599 p.) -- Epic science fiction told in memos, hacked documents, IM, etc. Kady Grant and Ezra Mason had just broken up and were in class when their planet was invaded. They managed to get rescued but ended up on two different space ships. Ezra gets conscripted into the military and finds himself learning to fly Cyclones. Kady, being less of a team player, finds herself with computer hackers secretly hacking to find out what is going on. The ships are damaged and being pursued by one of the invaders. One of the ships AI named AIDAN has gone insane. The invaders spread a bioweapon on the planet and now it is infecting everyone on the rescue ships. This was a very intense story.

Still going like a speeding train over here. Of the 51 on this thread so far I haven't read a single one of them - so many books such little time.

52. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff (324 p.) -- Steampunk shogunate Japan. Yukiko, who can communicate with animals, goes with her father when he is sent by the shogun to find a legendary storm tiger. After capturing it and clipping its wings, the airship they are traveling on crashes in a storm. Yukiko manages to save the storm tiger which she names Buruu and the two become friends as they try to survive. This one has a severely polluted land, an insane shogun, a war with the gaijin, Guildmasters who are filled with steampunk gadgets, a couple of romances, and a revolution. Book 1 of 3.

53. House Rules by Jodi Picoult (532 p.) -- Jacob Hunt is accused of murdering his tutor Jess Ogilvy. Jacob has Aperger's and is obsessed with forensics. The story is also told by his mother Emma who has rearranged her whole life to become an advocate for Jacob. It is also told by his younger brother Theo who is neglected because he doesn't have special needs and who frequently resents all the attention Jacob gets. Two other viewpoint characters - Rich Matson who is a police detective and Oliver Bond who is a new lawyer hired by Emma when Jacob is arrested - also help round out the story. Even with all the viewpoints, it is still almost the end of the book before we actually learn how Jess died. This story gives a very good introduction to Asperger's as it really gets into Jacob's head.

54. Shadows by Robin McKinley (356 p.) -- Maggie lives in Newworld where magic is outlawed. Her mother marries a man from Oldworld where magic is common. Maggie doesn't like him because he seems to be surrounded by scary shadows. Just because magic is outlawed doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in Newworld. When Maggie and her new friend Casimir, also from Oldworld, get caught in a magical occurrence, Maggie uses origami figures made from her Algebra book to close the hole and end the occurrence. This draws the attention of the military and puts Maggie's friends and family in danger. They leap to the rescue when Maggie's new stepfather is arrested. An important character in this story is Maggie's border collie Mongo.

55. Shadow Falling by Rebecca Zanetti (349 p.) -- Romance in a post-apocalyptic world. After the scorpius virus killed most and drove others insane, humanity is huddling in small enclaves for survival. Vinnie Wellington was a famous FBI profiler before the virus came. She was imprisoned by the new President of the United States who is a sociopath and who believes that she is psychic and can find the hidden bunker that might have the cure before she was rescued by Raze Shadow, former Special Forces soldier. He wants to trade her to a Mercenary organization in exchange for his younger sister. But then he falls in love with her and has to find a way to get his sister back and keep Vinnie too. Interesting worldbuilding and spicy romance.

56. The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton (343 p.) -- Tiki is an orphan surviving on the streets of London by picking pockets. She lives with some other orphans who are her new family. She happens upon a ring that makes her a target. Rogue faeries want it to break the truce between humans and the fae. The Queen's youngest son wants it back because he is the one who lost it. Rieker, a mysterious street person who has been watching over Tiki for a while, wants it for reasons of his own. This was a very engaging fantasy.

57. My Wild Irish Dragon by Ashlyn Chase (356 p.) -- Chloe (a dragon) and Ryan (a phoenix) are competing for an opening on the Boston Fire Department. After both being hired, the begin a romance but keep their paranormal talents from each other. Chloe is also being "courted" by her hated cousin Aiden who wants to marry her so that dragons don't go extinct. I liked Mother Nature's appearances which added humor to the story.

58. Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott (448 p.) -- Second book in Court of Fives. Jes has managed to save her mother, two sisters, and the family servants from being killed by Lord Gargaron but now she has to find a way to keep them safe. She has moved up to the Challenger level at the Fives and gained some fame but doing so lost her the regard of Lord Kalliarkos who was sent off with Jes's father to be a soldier. This is filled with twisty plotting among the Royals for the throne and Jes is caught in the middle with no way to decided which path would be best. She is also torn between the Efeans and and Patrons neither of whom accept her mixed heritage self. This is a story about loyalties that also has battles and romance.

59. Illusion Town by Jayne Castle (340 p.) -- Hannah is a Finder who has made an unusual discovery. Orphaned as a child, she has been raised in the Dark Zone. Her unusual paranormal talent makes her believe that she will never marry. Elias Coppersmith had hired her to find something for him but now he wants to meet her. Their first date consisted of an attack, a psy-burn, and a Marriage of Convenience. Together they need to discover who orchestrated the attack and why. They fall in love along the way.

60. The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker (292 p.) -- Dystopian science fiction. Cody and James are Ones - one percent of the population who have been genetically engineered to make them better. Now the government has passed laws against the Ones because of their "unfair advantages." Cody and James react differently with Cody wanting to fight and James taking a more moderate course. After Cody is taken by the government and tortured for information she does not have, she is freed by James's father but has become certain that violence is the only answer. This one definitely talks about prejudice, discrimination, violence. It was fast-paced, action-packed and filled with things to think about.

61. Roadside Assistance by Marie Harte (384 p.) -- Gritty romance with lots of swearing and crude talk matches Cyn, who is a plus-sized girl with low self-esteem, and Foley, who is a mean-looking tattooed mechanic. He takes a look and her and falls in love; she can't believe that he wants her. She has a toxic mother whose every remark to Cyn is belittling. He has a great mother but a best friend/brother who is jealous of Cyn because he fears he'll be left behind.

62. Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton (368 p.) -- Piper wins a scholarship to an exclusive prep school which she sees as an inside track to winning a scholarship and being able to attend Columbia's journalism school. She decides to write an expose about the abuses of privilege she sees among the students with Diplomatic Immunity. But as she gets to know Raf who is the Spanish ambassador's son, she loses her objectivity and falls in love with him. A friend passes her story on to People and the consequences are pretty heart-shattering for Piper. This was a great story and a great romance.

63. Exposure by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs (418 p.) -- Tory and the Virals are going through some changes. Their powers seem to be getting wilder and harder to control. She and Ben aren't speaking because of his role in events of the previous book. Chance Claybourne is getting closer and closer to learning their secrets. When two of their fellow classmates are kidnapped, they decide to use their powers for good and try to find them. When Tory's new friend Ella goes missing too, they become even more determined. This was action-packed and exciting. I love the relationships between the Virals.

64. Hard to Hold by Katie Rose (200 p.) -- Nice sports romance. Soccer player Logan Hart finds himself the parent of a baby girl when the woman he had a one-night stand with literally drops her off with him and disappears. He hires Isabella Bennett to care for her. She is an experienced nanny and gorgeous. Logan quickly falls in love with both of the new women in his life. But he isn't sure he's the father, the baby's mother has disappeared, and Isabella has a major secret of her own.

65. Project Elfhome by Wen Spencer (480p.) -- This book is a series of interconnected stories that tell about what life is like in Elfhome if you are not one of the main characters in the series. Law is a forager with a hero complex who saves a young elf who has been shunned by the other clans. Jane is the producer for a show about backyard gardens and the dangerous plants that can inhabit them. She is also a native who hasn't given up looking for her young sister who disappeared some years ago. Olivia is an illegal immigrant who arrived pregnant and on the run from her abusive spouse. She takes on responsibility for an insane elf to make a place for herself in Elfhome. All of these characters have a part to play in the on-going war between the elves and the oni with humans caught in the middle.

66. Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (357 p.) -- Cole and Isabel's story told from their viewpoints in alternating chapters. Cole follows Isabel to LA where he signs on to make a reality show about making his next album. Isabel is dealing with grief because of her brother's death and because of the ending of her parents' marriage. She has decided not feeling anything is her best course but Cole who really needs her has other ideas. This was emotional, heart-breaking and I loved it.

67. Invisible Monsters (Talker 25) by Joshua McCune (400 p.) -- Filled with graphic violence, Melissa determines to rescue her young friend Ally when she is captured by the terrorists controlling green dragons. Melissa is both helped and hindered by James and Colin - two young men who have been as abused as she was by the government. There are no heroes here.

68. Terminal (Virals #5) by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs (380 p.) -- Conclusion of Virals series has the kids outwitting a rival pack of Virals and outwitting a secretive government agency that wants to know why they have their powers. Chance plays a big role in this one too. He created the virus that made the other Virals and took it himself. He and Ben are both fighting to be Tory's boyfriend. Kit proposes to Whitney which also causes conflict for Tory. They have to make a really tough decision at the end.

69. The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (368 p.) -- Epic fantasy set in a world that is filled with treacherous spirits. Only the Queen can control them all. Daleina lived in a village that was overrun and destroyed by spirits. She was able to save her family and herself because she could control the spirits. She is sent to the Academy to learn more about controlling spirits in the hopes that one day she might become an Heir or even the Queen. She is the worst in her class and filled with self-doubts. Nonetheless. she is chosen by a Champion for further training. When it is discovered that the Queen is making deals with the spirits, a group decides that she needs to leave the throne. There are consequences that the conspirators hadn't foreseen. Excellent fantasy with great characters and wonderful world building.

70. The Initiation (Lock & Key) by Ridley Pearson (384 p.) -- The Sherlock Homes/James Moriarty story transfers to the current day and has the two of them in high school at Baskerville Academy. The story is told by James's younger sister Moria. The story has secret messages, a secret society, interesting family dynamics, interesting characters, and a fast-paced plot. This is the first of a trilogy.

71. Front Runner by Felix Francis (372 p.) -- Jeff Hinkley begins this investigation when a jockey friend calls him to report he is being blackmailed. When he goes to see the friend, Jeff's locked in a sauna and left to die. Next his jockey friend is found dead in an attempted suicide. Jeff dodges other murder attempts as he investigates this blackmail scheme. He also meets a new girl whose uncle is considering getting into horseracing. I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller which didn't go quite where I expected it to go.

72. Finn's Choice by Darby Karchut (235 p.) -- This concludes the Finn McCullen series. Finn has to complete 4 almost impossible tasks or he will be forced to leave his master Gideon to be trained by a goddess. Since he is just starting to feel like he has found a place to belong, he doesn't want to leave. He and Gideon call in friends and allies to help defeat the goddess. We even get a chance to catch up with Griffin from Karchut's YA series. This episode had less fighting goblins and more teamwork to outwit a goddess. The whole series was great.

73. Trace Evidence by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs (294 p.) -- Four novellas tell the story of the Virals from when Tory first meets Kit to when she and the Virals stop the sabotage at Kit and Whitney's wedding. I especially liked the story that took place at San Diego's ComicCon and also starred Tory's great-aunt Tempe. I love the friendship between the four main characters. These novellas gave each of the kids a chance to be the viewpoint character.

74. Chasing Impossible by Katie McGarry (277 p.) -- Abby and Logan's story. Abby deals drugs because she needs the money. Logan is a major risk taker to help him feel alive and help him forget that he is a Type 1 diabetic. They begin by flirting around with each other and teasing each other but when Abby is shot their relationship gets a lot closer and deeper. What I liked best was the relationships between the characters who are determined to keep Abby their friend even when she tries to distance herself from them to keep them safe. It was all about how families can be built and friendship can solve lots of problems.

75. A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess (416 p.) -- First in new fantasy series. A young girl is discovered and trained as a sorcerer to battle the Ancients who are wreaking havoc on England. She has a secret though. She's really both a magician and a sorcerer and magicians are executed it discovered. Great world building. Nice friendship with Rook. Creepy Ancients.

76. Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima (309 p.) -- Mattie and Robo are on the case of a missing person. Adrienne is a fellow deputy's girlfriend. When an anonymous tip leads to her body the investigation really begins. They begin by looking into Adrienne's rather mysterious past. Meanwhile, Cole is dealing with a sick horse and his older daughter's behavior since abandonment by her mother. A phone call from Mattie's estranged brother also causes her emotional distress. This was an exciting mystery. I especially love Mattie's relationship with her dog Robo.

Congrats on 75!

77. Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron (309 p.) -- Maggie has to cope with being the Maid of Honor to a real bridezilla and solving the mystery who killed a woman that everyone wanted dead. When the bride becomes one of the suspects, she adds keeping the bride out of jail to her to-do list. She is also dealing with the ex-wife of her boyfriend who seems to want him back. Fun mystery.

78. Enemy Games by Marcella Burnard (346 p.) -- Science fiction romance with a large dose of interstellar war and intrigue. Jayleia is a scientist whose father is a spymaster. She is kidnapped by Damen when her father goes missing because he has been assigned to find her father. She is keeping secrets and so is he. Their people are reluctant allies in a war against a insectoid species.

79. Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson (432 p.) -- Lee, Jefferson, and a group of ragtag survivors from their wagon train have made it to California. Lee has found them good places to stake their claims but Uncle Hiram has not forgotten about her. His henchmen burn down their homes and destroy their supplies. Next, they kidnap Lee, Jefferson, and their friend Tom and take them to her uncle's mining camp. He forces her to use her ability to sense gold to help him get rich. Lee is appalled at the way the miners - Indians and Chinese - are treated. They are determined to escape. They do and find their way back home but their problems haven't ended. Book three is coming.

80. The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner (289 p.) -- Alice is a seventh grader attending her eighth school. She has never fit in and, despite wanting them badly, has never made friends. Her parents don't have time for her. Jeremy is the youngest of three brothers and the ordinary one. Brother 1 is a genius; brother 2 is a star athlete. Jeremy is obsessed with tracking down Bigfoot. Millie is a Yare, a Bigfoot, who is fascinated with the no-furs and who wants to be a singer. When Millie is saved from drowning by Alice, the two become friends but when Jeremy takes some pictures of them, he almost ruins it by starting a media frenzy.

81. In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle (416 p.) -- Conclusion to the series. Romance is between Deputy Chris and Daisy who is agoraphobic and hasn't left her home since she saw her mother killed in a robbery 8 years before when she was 16. She keeps track of the world by watching out her bedroom window. One night she sees someone driving a sheriff's SUV haul something that looks like a body out of the house that is for sale across the street. She tells Chris who tells the sheriff who discounts what Daisy saw. Chris also introduces her to the couple from the previous books in the series who become fast friends as they work out in her home gym. The women get together to work on they mystery which started with finding a body in the reservoir and also includes arson and other murders. We know who the killer is, the mystery is how to bring him to justice. Great romance. Nice information about agoraphobia. Great friendships between all the couples.

82. The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia (371 p.) -- After the death of her boyfriend and suffering PTSD, Frankie goes off the rails. She finds herself living in a poor part of town with her undercover cop father. She falls in love with a boy at her new high school who is being watched by her father. Frankie is learning how to stand up for herself and make her own choices even about the boy she will love. Emotionally intense! Reminded me of Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits series.

83. All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris (240 p.) -- 9th Aurora Teagarden finds Aurora recently married by Robin Crusoe and expecting her first child at age 37. If that wasn't stressful enough, her fifteen-year-old half-brother Philip, his friends Joss and Josh, and 11-year-old Liza disappear. The police investigation seems to raise more questions than it answers. When Joss's girlfriend is found dead behind the beauty shop and another boy is reported missing but this time with a ransom demand, the case gets even more confusing. The appearance of Aurora's despised father who brings his own trail of problems with him doesn't help. This was a nice small town cozy that felt a little dated to me.

84. Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig (324 p.) -- Fast-paced thriller. Flynn finds out his girlfriend January is missing when the police come to his door. They think he was the last person who saw her alive. When they were together on Saturday, she got mad at him because he wouldn't have sex with her but Flynn doesn't want to tell that to the police. He begins to investigate what happened to January. He also has to decided whether or not he is gay. Prominent suspects in January's disappearance are her stepfather who is running for the senate and his campaign manager who is sure she is a detriment to the campaign. Or maybe it is the senator's creepy son who is taking a "gap year." Once it is discovered that January was pregnant, the tension ramps up. I enjoyed this one very much and couldn't put it down.

85. Otherworld Chills by Kelley Armstrong (468 p.) -- Final Otherworld anthology contains 7 longer stories. Brazen gives Nick a chance to shine. Chaotic chronicles Hope and Karl's first meeting. Amityville Horrible stars Jaime with a guest appearance by Jeremy. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word stars Zoe Takano and Cassandra DuCharme. Off-Duty Angel has Eve fighting boredom. The Puppy Plan stars Logan and includes also Kate and their parents. Baby Boom stars Paige and Lucas with Savanah and Adam making guest appearances.

86. Embers & Echoes by Karsten Knight (461 p.) -- Middle book in trilogy has Ashline trying to rescue her little sister from a quartet of gods who want to be worshiped again and are sacrificing other gods for publicity. Ash meets Wes and Aurora who are also opposing these gods. She begins to fall for Wes but her ex Colt makes a reappearance and has his own complicated plans. This was filled with violence and Ash learns some surprising facts about herself and her sisters.

87. The Row by J. R. Johansson (343 p.) -- Intense thriller told by the daughter of a serial killer who is determined to prove her father innocent before he can be executed. Riley has been visiting her father in prison for the last eleven years as he filed appeal after appeal. She needs to work fast since his execution date has been set for less than a month away. She and new friend Jordan work together to find out what happened 11 years ago. Jordan's father is he officer who put Riley's father away. Both kids are dealing with grief since Jordan recently lost his mother in a drunk driving accident. This was fast-paced and the clued gradually unraveled to a stunning conclusion.

88. Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead (448 p.) -- Futuristic fantasy of a future world where believing in the gods is outlawed but the gods are trying to work their way back in. Justin is a servitor who debunks religions but is also the target of a god who has made a deal with him that he is weaseling on via a loophole. Mae is a praetorian who is assigned to guard him and who is also, unknown to her, the target of another god. As they investigate a series of murders, they learn more about what the gods are trying to do and more about each other.

89. Friday Barnes Under Suspicion by R. A Spratt (279 p.) -- Humorous middle grade mystery. 11-year-old Friday Barnes is just like Sherlock Holmes - brilliant but socially awkward. She solves mysteries around her boarding school ranging from fraud at a quiche bake-off to a buried treasure. Much of the humor comes from the clueless adults and Friday's tactless remarks.

90. Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong (416 p.) -- Book 4 in Cainsville series. Olivia is working on a case where lamiae are being killed presumably by a rogue huntsman. She is also juggling her relationships with Ricky and Gabriel as all three are determined not to make the same choices as were made in the past. She is getting pressure from both sides to make a decision.

91. Afterglow by Karsten Knight (323 p.) -- Conclusion to the Wildefire trilogy has Ashline coming to a final confrontation with Colt in an epic battle.

With school starting tomorrow, I will be ending this thread and starting a new one. I met my goal of averaging a book a day during my summer vacation. Unfortunately I don't have time to read as much during the school year.