Mastiff (Beka Cooper #3)

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce is the third book in the Beka Cooper trilogy. Pierce has many book in the land of Tortall. This series takes place two hundred years before the original beginning of the Tortall books with Alanna's story.

Beka Cooper is a Provost's Guard, or police, sworn to uphold the law and hunt down the bad guys. She is partnered with a scent hound, Achoo, who is the best there is at tracking a smell.

Beka is awoken in the night by the Lord of the Provost's Guard and told to pack for a Hunt. She is not given any details of what happened. Her human Guard partner, Tunstall, meets her at a fast ship to begin their case.

Beka, Tunstall, and Achoo will be joined by two others in an attempt to stop a plot to overthrow the rulers of Tortall. Lady Sabine, a knight, and Farmer Cape, a mage, will help them to track down the plotters. They will face terrible odds and have to travel across the whole country in order to save it.

Pierce's books are Tortall are fantastic! Whether you start with Beka (chronologically) or start with Alanna, these books will draw readers into a well-developed world that will keep you hooked for as long as she is writing them.

Pierce, Tamora. (2011). Mastiff. New York: Random House.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling is a collection of the folk tales told to the children of wizards and witches.

Translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger, the book is comprised of five tales that each include commentary by Albus Dumbledor. Each tale has a message to be learned and wisdom to pass on to the next generation.

Stories include:
The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair Fortune
The Warlock's Hairy Heart
Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump
The Tale of the Three Brothers

Rowling has created these stories as a companion to the Harry Potter series. They are beautifully crafted and are fun to read.

Rowling, J.K. (2007). The Tales of Beedle the Bard. New York: Scholastic.

The Warded Man (Demon Cycle #1)

The Warded Man by Peter V Brett is an amazing fantasy book and the first in his Demon Cycle series.

The land in which the series takes place could be our own if you went back to the Middle Ages. People live in small hamlets or small cities and work hard from dawn until dusk. The main difference is that from dusk until dawn demons rise out of the Core and hunt. Magical symbols, or wards, are all that stand between demon and death for the humans and animals.

Legend has it that long ago people fought back against the demons. Today no one really thinks it is possible to kill a demon and most attacked by one do not recover.

Arlen of Tibbet's Brook, a small hamlet far from the cities, has reasons to want to fight back. With the events of one night he goes from an innocent child who cowers inside at night listening to the demons try to break through the wards to a young man who has revenge on his mind. His journey will take him farther than most will ever travel. (Since there are very few who will spend the night outdoors even protected by a warded traveling circle.)

Leesha of Cutter's Hollow is promised to a woodcutter. Once she is old enough she will be married and start a family of her own. But when fire demons burn part of the town, she helps the Herb Gatherer to heal the injured and finds a new path in life.

Finally, Rojer of Riverbridge is on of few survivors of a demon attack. He is thrust into the arms of a jongleur (a performer who travels with a messenger to spread news and entertain) by his mother to save his life with her own.

These three great characters follow their paths as readers fall in love them and learn more about the world in which they live. It is a world full of terror and hope. Peter Brett has created a place that readers will hope he continues to write about for the next twenty years, at least. It will be as well loved as Anne McCaffrey's Pern or Tamora Pierce's Tortall.

If you are at all a fantasy reader read this series. I am going to buy the books to read again and again - and as my 3 fans know that is the highest compliment since I am a librarian and have unlimited access to books at work.

Brett, Peter V. (2009). The Warded Man. New York: Del Rey.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas is a great picture book.

Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob are the dust bunnies who rhyme all of the time.

This is a great read out loud book for kids who are learning rhyming words - but Bob never rhymes. He is the one trying to save the dust bunnies from the cleaning implements.

Thomas has created a fun story with beautiful, brightly colored illustrations.

Thomas, Jan. (2009). Rhyming Dust Bunnies. New York: Beach Lane Books.

Buckhorn Beginnings (Buckhorn #1 and #2)

Buckhorn Beginnings by Lori Foster is a reissue of the first two books (Sawyer and Morgan) in her Buckhorn series about four brothers.

Sawyer Hudson is the oldest of four brothers. He lives with brothers and his son on 50 acres in Kentucky. He is the local doctor.

While mending a fence on the edge of their property, Sawyer and his son Casey see a car fly down the road, through the newly mended fence and into their lake. Inside is Honey Malone. She is on the run from someone chasing her.

Now Sawyer will try to figure out how to help Honey while trying to convince her to stay on the ranch forever.

Morgan Hudson is the second oldest. He is the sheriff because he likes to be in control - or so people think based on his reputation and usual scowl. But Misty Malone sees right through him. He is a big hearted man who cannot stand to see injustice.

But Misty is not looking for any man. She has sworn them off. She is only in Buckhorn to see her sister married. Then she will figure out what to do about the situation she is in - jobless, homeless, and pregnant.

Foster is a romance writer of great talent. She creates characters who readers instantly connect with and her stories develop loyal fans. If you need a quick, fun read with some romance, find yourself a Lori Foster novel.

Foster, Lori. (2011). Buckhorn Beginnings. New York: HQN.

Ganymede (Clockwork Century #4)

Ganymede by Cherie Priest is the fourth book that takes place in her alternate history, steampunk, zombi Civil War era called the Clockwork Century.

Andan Cly is an air pirate. He has made his living by transporting blight gas from Seattle to other places in the US where it is distilled into a drug. But lately he has been thinking of going legit - maybe even setting up an air dock in Seattle.

When he receives a telegram from an old friend he sees his chance to earn the money he needs to settle down. He has been invited to New Orleans to move a ship into the Gulf. It seems like an easy job for the money.

But the Ganymede is not an easy ship to move. In fact, it has killed many crews who have tried. It is basically the first submarine. Josephine Early thinks that Andan will have a better job of it because he is a pilot and those who tried in the past have been sailors.


Also - though the project will be funded by the North once Josephine proves the Ganymede worth it - it is being sought by the Republic of Texas (who control New Orleans) and the South. And the number of Texas soldiers has recently doubled since two officers disappeared.

Priest's vision of the world for this steampunk series is creative and true. She takes history and add machines that were plausible for the time period creating a great fantasy setting for her great characters. Fans will see characters from all of her previous books in this volume.

Priest, Cherie. (2011). Ganymede. New York: TOR.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.

Before Harry, Ron, and Hermione can begin their final year at Hogwarts, the wizarding world is turned upside-down by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Everything is Harry's life has changed and he knows that he is the only one who can defeat Voldemort.

The three friends were given a task by Dumbledor - to find the Horcruxes that Voldemort split his soul into. He cannot be destroyed until they are or he will just find his way back into the world in the future. But Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to figure out where the Horcruxes are and then how to destroy them.

This conclusion to the Harry Potter series is a dark masterpiece. Rowling is on par with J.R.R. Tolkien for her mastery of the fantasy genre. Her world is true to itself and her overall storyline must have been created at the beginning to have so seamlessly come together. The Harry Potter series is one of the most well-written, most exciting series I have read. If you have only seen the movies you are missing out.

Rowling, J.K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic.

Real Men Will (Donovan Brothers Brewery #3)

Real Men Will by Victoria Dahl is the final book in her Donovan Brothers Brewery. The series started in the anthology The Guy Next Door.

The characters featured in the first short story finish their narrative in this novel. Eric Donovan, the oldest of the three Donovan siblings, has been the head of the brewery since the age of 24 when his parents died.

Beth Cantrell is the manager of an adult store. She loves what she does but is starting to feel like people don't see anything past her job title.

Beth and Eric met at a local business expo. They shared one night together. Six months later, Beth is on a date at the brewery when she runs into Eric.

Dahl is a brilliant romance writer. Her stories are full of great characters with whom readers instantly identify. Her plots are interesting and fun. And her dialog is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Read one of her books today!

Dahl, Victoria. (2011). Real Men Will. New York: HQN.

Murphy's Law (Law #2)

Murphy's Law by Lori Foster is her sequel to Jude's Law - the series revolves around two best friends and the met they meet.

Ashley Miles has her life planned. She has worked since she moved out of her parent's house at seventeen. She is now working two jobs plus going to school to become a nurse. She has little time for anything else at the moment.

When her best friend May calls one night while Ashley is at work, she drops what she is doing to rush to May's aid. But on the way out of the office building she cleans each night, she literally runs into Quinton Murphy.

Murphy is the CEO of a company that has offices in the building - and he is instantly smitten by Ashley. Though she tries to blow him off, she can't stop thinking about him. Maybe she could find a little time to hang out with him. Everyone has to eat.

Foster has created instantly likable, quirky characters. Her plot is sweet, suspenseful, and sexy. Romance fans who have not read her are missing out on some great reads.

Foster, Lori. (2006). Murphy's Law. New York: Zebra Books.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling is the sixth book in her Harry Potter series.

Before the beginning of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the evil Lord Voldemort and his band of Death Eaters are beginning to cause more trouble. Due to a prophesy Harry knows that he will have to play a large role in the eventual face off with Voldemort.

This year along with regular classes and Quidditch, headmaster Albus Dumbledor will try to prepare Harry for his future battle. Harry is sure that one of his classmates is working for the Death Eaters but no one seems to believe him.

Rowling's continued narrative keeps illustrating how brilliantly she set up the series. There are clues along the way that prepare characters and readers for what is to come. Harry Potter is the most well written series ever written for young readers.

Rowling, J.K. (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic.

The Affair (Jack Reacher #16)

The Affair by Lee Child is the sixteenth book in his Jack Reacher series. This book takes place just before the first book in the series - The Killing Floor.

It is 1997 and Jack Reacher is still an MP in the US Army. He is assigned to undercover as a second detective in the murder of a woman outside a military base in Mississippi.

From the start the case does not feel right to Reacher. The facts he was given are not what happened - and the woman is the third victim of a similar crime in the small town next to the base.

Though on site as much to cover the military as any other reason, Reacher cannot let a murder go unsolved. Technically, if the murderer in from the town and not the base, it is not his jurisdiction.

Child's flashback into Reacher's past - his last case as an MP - will thrill fans. We finally know why he quit the military. Child's writing and character have just become better over the series. Anyone looking for a good mystery would do well to start the Reacher series.

Child, Lee. (2011). The Affair. New York: Delacorte Press.