Read Your Way Homewood

Charley Davidson isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper. She's more of a paranormal private eye/grim reaper extraordinaire. However, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. To further complicate matters, Reyes is her main suspect in an arson case. Charley has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth...but then dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason. When it becomes apparent that her own sister, Gemma is the serial killer's next target, Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes's help. Arsonist or not, he's the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return. Charley. All of her, body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay. Charley Davidson is at it again in the sexy, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny fifth ins...

Welcome to the world of grim reaper extraordinaire Charley Davidson. Try as she might, there’s no avoiding her destiny. Sometimes being the grim reaper really is, well,  grim . And since Charley’s last case went so awry, she has taken a couple of months off to wallow in the wonders of self-pity. But when a woman shows up on her doorstep convinced someone is trying to kill her, Charley has to force herself to rise above...or at least get dressed. It becomes clear something is amiss when everyone the woman knows swears she’s insane. But the more they refute the woman’s story, the more Charley believes it. In the meantime, the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, is out of prison and out of Charley’s life, as per her wishes and several perfectly timed death threats. But his absence has put a serious crimp in her sex life. While there are other things to consider, like the fact that the city of Albuquerque has been taken hostage by an arsonist, Charley is having a diffic...

       Paranormal private eye. Grim reaper extraordinaire. Whatever. Charley Davidson is back! And she's drinking copious amounts of caffeine to stay awake because, every time she closes her eyes, she sees him: Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan. Yes, she did imprison him for all eternity, but come on. How is she supposed to solve a missing persons case, deal with an ego-driven doctor, calm her curmudgeonly dad, and take on a motorcycle gang hell-bent on murder when the devil's son just won't give up?

  If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.  Complicated  is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible. When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Cookie's friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall. Can Charley handle hot n...

        This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual. Or a diagram of some kind. A flow chart would have been nice. Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in? With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor,  First Grave on the Right  is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

Title: Vicious by Sara Shepard Summary: The series finale of Pretty Little Liars!!! Pretty Little Liars is a series that follows four girls who are being stalked by a villain known as "A". "A" knows all their secrets, knows all their actions, and knows them well enough to know where to strike for the most collateral damage. In the finale, the girls are awaiting trial for the murder of their one time best friend Alison DiLaurentis. "A" has set them up beautifully and there seems to be no hope for the girls at this point. What keeps fans of the series interested are the relationship of Hanna and her boyfriend Mike, Aria following her art dream and Spencer reconnecting with her first love. As well as a major plot twist that involves Emily and of course, the need to know how it all ends. For fans of the series, it's a must read! There are moments when you feel like you've already read this but Sara Shepard does an amazin...

Title: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones Summary: Charley Davidson is the grim reaper. She uses this "skill" to help catch murderers and other deviants as well as helping the departed finish their "unfinished" business. In this installment, first one in the series, Charley is helping to solve the murder of four lawyers while trying to get an wrongly accused man out of prison. All of that is a piece of cake compared to her need to solve the mystery of the man who has been haunting her dreams as of late. This book is quick paced as well as full of wit and humor.

It's no secret that I am a fan of Sarah Addison Allen's novels.  Her first two were spectacular and then the quality fell down a bit in her other novels. First Frost returns us to the setting and characters of her first novel.  It can be nice to revisit existing characters but I was disappointed in the effort.  Allen's promising start as a novelist hasn't resulted in consistent results. It is worth noting that I will continue reading Allen's novels in the hopes of seeing again her strong writing abilities. Reviewed by Amy

Seventh and final book I had such a nice time re-reading these books. Amy

Ever wonder what it's like to work at the White House?  Well, now you have your answer. The Residence gives readers a behind the scenes look at what life is really like inside the White House.  Spoiler alert: it's busy inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.   Drawing on interviews of White House staff, Brower highlights some of the most pivotal, shocking, and world altering moments in recent history.  Chronicling the years from Kennedy to Obama (approximately), Brower shows a side of the American presidency rarely glimpsed.   White House staff is notoriously protective of the First Family and the Office of the President so there aren't as many negative moments as some might like.  Instead, the staff tends to focus on the sweet interactions the First Families have with each other and with the staff.  Butlers fly fishing with presidents?  Sure!  First Kids having sleepovers at the White House?  Adorable!  The First Family being bill...

The Voice Of The Great Bell by   Margaret Hodges ,  Ed Young ,  Lafcadio Hearn Although this is a picture book, it is not a picture book for children. We (In the U.S.) tend to think of picture books as the sole domain of children, when in reality, the art and format lends itself very well to some more mature storylines. This story about the suicide of a young girl to protect her father is not a tale that Americans tend to think of as child friendly, but there are other cultures that would find this very appropriate as it teaches familial love and responsibility to the extreme. But before people from more european centric countries start to get their undies in a bunch, we have to remember that Cinderellas sisters cut off their toes and heels to fit a shoe, Hansel and Gretel were going to be eaten by a cannibalistic witch, Blue Beard had a vat of body parts from his victims/ex wives, and Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were eaten by a wolf. So... fairy...

Such a treat.  Great writing.  Not sure I understood the ending. reviewed by Amy

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Book Six As satisfying to read as it was the first time around. Reviewed by Amy

A LONG LONG SLEEP by ANNA SHEEHAN Review by Miss Kelly (Youth Services) This was a solid book. The way that "beauty" was abused by her parents - being so casually put in stasis so much and so often was chilling. I saw the major romantic twist right away, but I must admit that I second guessed myself. The no longer human corpseified robot thing was a really really gross idea. But for some reason it felt believable. This is not a book that I would really call a fractured or twisted fairy tale. This was more "inspired" by sleeping beauty than a re-telling of it. So don't go in expecting Maleficent or anything. But it is a really decent book.

Title: Fresh off the Boat by Eddie Huang Pages: 288 Summary: As a huge fan of the television show, I grabbed his memoir to go deeper into his psyche.  After the first few chapters, he takes us into the problems he faced within his family, within his community, and at school and the consequences of them. At the core of the memoir, is the author's love of food and the importance of it in his life. This is a humorous memoir filled with personal growth.

Title: Obsession in Death (Book 40) by J.D. Robb Pages: 416 Summary: Lt. Eve Dallas is back on the case! She's called into a homicide of a lawyer she had faced off against in court.  Believing it to be a "regular" homicide she is stunned to realize that this murder was a gift for her. Eve now has to fight against the clock and guess what person in her life is next on the list. Quick paced, suspenseful, with a villain that keeps Eve and the reader guessing until the end, this is one of the best in this series.