This Week's Reads

12 Chinese Mythical Beasts
by Zu-Nasr (DeviantArt)

**Crazy week, son getting ready for exams only to have a snow day due to icy roads. At least he gets time to study over the weekend for history.

Book of Mythicality by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery (Goodreads)
**This is one of my favorite Youtube channels. I've found over the past year whenever I need a break or just a good laugh, these two deliver.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Thursday Next #1 (Goodreads)
**I've read Fforde's The Last Dragonslayer books which prompted this series to show up on a recommended list. It sounded interesting enough with a little bit of everything thrown in that I'm giving it a try.

New Releases ~ week of 10/06/2014

**Beginning of the month = another long list. Links go to Goodreads

A Crafty Christmas by Mollie Cox Bryan (#5 Cumberland Creek)

A Demon Summer by G M Malliet (#4 Max Tudor)
A Highland Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear (#15 Heart of the Wolf)
A Matter of Heart by Tracie Peterson (#3 Lone Star Brides)
A Midwinter's Tale by Sofie Kelly (#6 Magical Cats Mystery)
A Place Called Harmony Jodi Thomas (#8 Harmony)
A Promise to Protect by Patricia Bradley (#2 Logan Point)
Adventures in Flatfrost by Jordan Quinn (#5 Kingdom of Wrenly)
After Midnight by Elle Kennedy (#4.5 Killer Instincts)
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (#2 Imperial Radch)
Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James (#1 Southern Sisters Mystery)
Broken by Laura Wright (#2 The Cavanaugh Brothers)
Broken Promise by Jen Wylie (#3 The Broken Ones)
Broken Soul by Faith Hunter (#8 Jane Yellowrock)

Cinderella - Of Men and Mice by Bill Willingham (#4 Fairest)
Cowboy Boots for Christmas by Carolyn Brown (#1 Burnt Boot)
Dead For A Spell by Raymond Buckland (#2 Bram Stoker Mystery)
Deadline by John Sandford (#8 Virgil Flowers)
Death Of A Blue Blood by Donald Bain (#43Murder She Wrote )
Death of a Christmas Caterer by Lee Hollis (#5 Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mysteries)
Deceived by Irene Hannon (#3 Private Justice)
Desert Rage by Betty Webb (#8 Lena Jones Mystery)
Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young (#5 On Dublin Street)
Emergent by Rachel Cohn (#2 Beta)
Final Lap by Erin McCarthy (#9 Fast Track)

Ghost Phoenix by Corrina Lawson (#3 The Phoenix Institute)
Ghost Wanted by Carolyn Hart (#5 Bailey Ruth)
Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs (#12 Scrapbooking Mysteries)
Hawk by Steven Brust (#14 Vlad Taltos)
Her Secret Husband by Andrea Laurence (#4 Secrets of Eden)
Immortal by J. R. Ward (#6 Fallen Angels)
Imperfect Sword by Jack Campbell (#3 Lost Stars)
Jake's Biggest Risk by Julianna Morris (#3 Those Hollister Boys)
Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks (#1 Slow Burn)
Lailah by Nikki Kelly (#1 The Styclar Saga)
Louisa by Ellie Macdonald (#4 Governess Club)
Loving You Always by Kennedy Ryan (#2 Bennett's)

Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by Steve Hockensmith, Bob Pflugfelder (#4 Nick and Tesla)
Night Sky by Suzanne Brockmann, Melanie Brockmann (#1 Night Sky)
Off Kilter by Hannah Reed (#1 Scottish Highlands Mystery)
One Potion in the Grave by Heather Blake (#2 Magic Potion Mysteries)
Over the Line by Emmy Curtis (#1 Alpha Ops)
Paris Match by Stuart Woods (#31 Stone Barrington)
Picked to Die by Sheila Connolly (#8 Orchard Mystery)
Pink & Green Is the New Black by Lisa Greenwald (#3 Pink and Green)
Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey (#3 Agent of Hel)
Promise Me This by Christina Lee (#4 Between Breaths)
Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts (#2 Promise of Sunrise)

Reaper's Stand by Joanna Wylde (#4 Reapers MC)
Reckoning by S. J. Harper (#2 Fallen Siren)
Ruining Mr. Perfect by Marie Harte (#3 McCauley Brothers)
Rules For A Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley (#7 Highland Pleasures)
Saul's Game by Andrew Kaplan (#2 Homeland)
Season for Desire by Theresa Romain (#4 Holiday Pleasures)
Ship of the Dead by John L Campbell (#2 Omega Days)
Spectrum by Alan Jacobson (#6 Karen Vail)
Stirring Up Trouble by Kimberly Kincaid (#3 Pine Mountain)
Tempted by a Cowboy by Sarah M Anderson (#2 The Beaumont Heirs)
The Billionaire Cowboy by Mandy Baxter (#1 Billionaire's Club: Texas)
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (#5 Heroes of Olympus)
The Christmas Bouquet by Sherryl Woods (#11 Chesapeake Shores)

The Cowboy SEAL by Laura Marie Altom (#7 Operation Family)
The Daughter of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (#2 Edwardian Brides)
The Empire of Night by Robert Olen Butler (#3 Christopher Marlowe Cobb)
The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (#3 The Chronicles of Kazam)
The Legend of Sleepy Harlow by Kylie Logan (#3 League of Literary Ladies)
The Old Deep and Dark by Ellen Hart (#22 Jane Lawless)
The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard (#1 Perfectionists)
The Shell Game by Janet Evanovich (#3.5 Kate O'Hare)
The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason (#02 Stoker & Holmes)
The Texan's Surprise Son by Cathy McDavid (#5 Texas Rodeo Barons)
The Young Elites by Marie Lu (#1 The Young Elites)
Tied by Emma Chase (#4 Tangled)

To Love A King by Shona Husk (#3 Annwyn)
Trick or Deadly Treat by Livia J. Washburn (#9 Fresh Baked Mysteries)
Truth Be Told by Hank Phillippi Ryan (#3 Jane Ryland)
Unbinding by Eileen Wilks (#11 World of the Lupi)
Undead and Unwary by MaryJanice Davidson (#13 Undead)
Unraveled by Gennifer Albin (#3 Crewel World)
Weave Of Absence by Carol Ann Martin (#3 A Weaving Mystery)
What a Lady Needs for Christmas by Grace Burrowes (#4 MacGregor Trilogy)
Whisper the Dead by Alyxandra Harvey (#2 Lovegrove Legacy)
Wicked Ways by Lisa Jackson (#6 Oregon Coast - Wicked)
Zom-B Family by Darren Shan (#9 Zom-B)

Book Review ~ The Last Dragonslayer

The Last Dragonslayer (The Last Dragonslayer #1)
by Jasper Fforde
published by Harcourt's Children Books
genre: Fantasy, MG/YA, 

Summary (Goodreads): In the good old days, magic was indispensable—it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians—but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam—and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.

My Thoughts: This is one of those books that I almost passed on because of the cover. At first glance it looked too much like a contemporary book. I was not familiar with this author but the blurb was interesting enough that I read it anyways. I'm glad I did.
Jennifer Strange was a great character. Her interactions with the temperamental wizards and the last dragon, Maltcassion, were entertaining and humorous. She is definitely a character I would read more about.
Overall this story was a great read with enough action and twists to keep you reading even when the humor wasn't the main focus. I'm not sure where the author would go with this series but I can see myself reading more of his work.

Rating: 4