Mischief Maker

 Mischief Maker by Bruce Nesmith

4.5 Stars

Link

I love a Loki who is not the evil trickster but a misunderstood prankster. Which is why I love the Marvel Loki. I sadly do not have cable or streaming so I haven't seen the show Loki. I will probably one day get the DVDs of the show. Until then I just have to dream.

This book is golden. Loki is on midgard(Earth) using slight of hand tricks and props as a magician to make his living here as "real" magic is scant here when two 'elves' come calling. And not for good reasons. This starts him on a journey through the Realms to discover why someone wants him dead that bad. Everything leads to an epic battle reminiscent of Ragnarok but ends in a stalemate(Spoiler). And Loki returns to midgard. 

There is a second book out now. It's on my TBR list. I like this Loki and want to see more of him. 

Anne Perry and The Murder of The Century

 Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham

Link

3.5 Stars

I'm a fan of Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt stories. I've read quite a few and they're on my TBR list when I get them/time to read. So when I saw this I was interested, though I don't read bios usually. 

I would have given it a 4 but it really didn't go into her life after prison. It gave a good accounting of her life just before, during, and after the murder, however I wanted more. If you want an overview of this time of her life this is a good book to read.

I found another book about her that I have put on my TBR list that seems to cover more of her life after prison. I will of course add it here after I have read it.

Ritual Crime Unit

 Ritual Crime Unit series by E. E. Richardson

4 stars for book 2

Under the skin-book 1 link

Another series I've started out of order. Found book 2 at a thrift shop. Liked the cover (no naked people. and a Skull!) and the blurb was good so I got it. 

'Magic' is known but unregarded by most, including the police. The FMC is the head of the understaffed and underfunded Ritual Crime Unit that investigates the 'supernatural' cases. There are no rule books concerning these cases and she has to work by the seat of her pants most of the time. This time she gets a lead on a summoning that could end the world and she only has a few days to stop it. And a new group is determine to keep her from stopping it. There may also be a conspiracy in the police department that could just be as deadly as the crimes she investigates.

I enjoyed book 2 so this series will go on my TBR list. 

Twisted Luck series

 Twisted Luck series by Mel Todd

4.5 Stars

1st Book My Luck

Another First person book

Only read the first book so far but the others are on my TBR list. Loved it.

Cori has the most unusual luck. This time she finds a dead body walking to work. Not the first time she's found one. By now the police and medical know her and don't assume she has anything to do with it. Though this time a variant of her name is found in the dead man's pocket. Thus it begins.

This is an open Urban Fantasy. Mages are common place and preferred. Cori doesn't seem to have any magic but she does have the darndest luck. Things happen around her when her emotions are high. Coffee machines exploded, pictures fall down, etc. 

AS I said I only read the first book, but I plan to read the others as time and money permit. 

Lighthouse Library Mysteries

 Lighthouse Library Mysteries by Eva Gates

By Book or By Crook Book1

4 Stars

Another 1st person POV mystery

The first book was on sale so I got it and it languished in my TBR list for a while. Then one of the other books in the series went on sale and I got it. That renewed my interest so I read the first book. The other book was #6 but I read it anyway. As I said before I don't always read in order or even all the books.

I enjoyed these two books, but the blurbs for the others between didn't grab my attention. So I'll probably not read them. However I'll be on the lookout for new ones in this series since I liked the two I read.

The FMC is a librarian, one of my fav MCs, and she gets to live at the library, another fav. And the library has a resident cat. So three fav things already. Add a dead body in the rare book room during a fundraising party and some rivalry from a fellow librarian and you got a story that grabs my attention.

Bibliophile Mysteries

 The Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlisle

Book 2 If Books could Kill

4 Stars

This is another series that I started out of order. Thank goodness or I'd never have read more if I had started with the first one. I DNF the first book when I got it. I hated it. But I enjoyed the book I had read before so I got the second and it restored my faith.

All the mysteries start with a book. Brooklyn, the FMC, is a book restorer and she gets dragged into a murder mystery when she encounters special rare editions. Books people will kill to get for one reason or another. Lucky for her her Significant Other(the MMC) is a security expert. 

These books are nice easy reads with a touch of danger. 

Antique Bookshop Mysteries

 Murder by the Bookend by Laura Gail Black

Link: Book2

4 Stars

This series is just beginning and just with this one book I can tell I'm going to be a fan.

The MC runs a bookshop and her new boyfriend is a police detective. One of my favorite pairings in cozy mysteries. At the grand opening of her shop, there is a murder which she discovers of course, leading her to want to sleuth out what happened. She's not a typical damsel in distress either when confronted with the killer. She doesn't fall apart and she tries to get herself out of danger. If the writer keeps that up I'll definitely be a fan. 

I ran across the series in the Also Bought area of another cozy series. But was iffy on buying the first book as it is over the price of a used hardback or new paperback and I promised myself I would never buy an ebook for that price instead of just buying the hardcover/paperback. However the second book was reasonable ebook price so I got it.

I am not one to be OCD about reading books in order. When I grew up you went to the used bookstore and got whatever book they had that you liked, whether it was book 1 or book 7. If you never got book 1 you didn't cry or feel you missed out. You were happy you had a book you liked and could read. You used your imagination to fill in the gaps that you couldn't gleam from the books you did read.

So when I say I may never get book 1 of this series unless it reduces price, I'm just stating a fact and am not ranting about anything. I did however pre-ordered book 3 and it was priced at more than Book 1.

At pre-ordering I'm not actually spending the money right now. So I'm not actually buying. Or so I'm telling myself.