Stray Magic by Kelly Meding (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Shiloh Harrison was hoping for a few days off to recover from a particularly nasty assignment, preferably with the help of the talented hands (and, well, the rest of his body too) of her sexy boyfriend, Vincent. But when a group of vampires takes an entire trailer park hostage, there’s nothing to do but make her apologies and get to the scene.

Such is the life of a Federal Marshal in the Paranormal Investigators Unit.

Yet this isn’t like her typical track-and-nab case: something is going on that has vampires scared, and it takes all her strength not to imagine what could frighten such powerful creatures. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have that option. Her boss is MIA, someone is snatching vampires, and there’s a ticking clock that can only end one way: a bloodbath.

Unless she can stop it."

My Thoughts:

As soon as I saw that cover and read the above summary I just knew that I wanted to read this book!  There is not nearly enough new urban fantasy series coming out for my liking so I couldn't help but jump all over this one!  I may be a huge mystery/thriller fan but urban fantasy is a genre that holds a special place in my heart.  I've got to say that this was a really great beginning to this series and I just cannot wait for more!  One of my favorite things about this book was just how easily I was pulled into this world that the author has created.  I found myself reading late into the night because I was just so compelled by this book.  I couldn't stop reading as I had to see what was going to happen next.  I also really liked the cast of characters that Shiloh works with.  They were all characters that I enjoyed reading about and am looking forward to learning more about in future books!  The action was non-stop and one of the reasons that I just couldn't set this book down.  I also enjoyed the unique qualities of this book that made it stand out from others in this genre.  I don't want to give too many specifics as they could be considered spoilers but let me just say that the ending of this book had me crushed and needing more.  I need book two in my life as soon as possible!  But besides the ending - just Shiloh's unique heritage really made this book stand out for me.  I just found that this book really stood out for me in comparison to other books/series I've read in this genre.  I am seriously left so excited about this series and just wishing/pining for more books just like this!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book immensely and cannot wait for more!  Books like this are exactly why I can't get enough of urban fantasy.  It was such a fast paced and wild ride but I loved every minute of it!  I'm not going to lie - I ignored as much as my housework as I possibly could get away with while reading this book.  Ha!  Trying not to think about what that says about me - other than I sure do love my books!  It was a really great beginning to this series and I'm so excited about the characters as well as what may happen next.  The author did a really great job of tying everything up in this book while leaving me absolutely pining for the next book.  I would highly recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy and paranormal.  You certainly won't be disappointed in my opinion!  

Bottom Line:  A book and series that I'm so excited about now!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher. 

Splinter in the Blood by Ashley Dyer (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"After months of hunting a cold-blooded murderer that the press has dubbed the Thorn Killer, Detective Greg Carver is shot in his own home. His trusted partner, Ruth Lake, is alone with him. Yet instead of calling for help, she’s rearranged the crime scene and wiped the room clean of prints.

But Carver isn’t dead.

Awakening in the hospital, Carver has no memory of being shot, but is certain that his assailant is the Thorn Killer. Though there’s no evidence to support his claim, Carver insists the attack is retaliation, an attempt to scare the detective off the psychopath’s scent, because he’s getting too close. Trapped in a hospital bed and still very weak, Carver’s obsession grows. He’s desperate to get back to work and finally nail the bastard, before more innocent blood is spilled.

One person knows the truth and she’s not telling. She’s also now leading the Thorn Killer investigation while Carver recuperates. It doesn’t matter that Carver and the rest of the force are counting on her, and that more victims’ lives at stake. Ruth is keeping a deadly secret, and she’ll cross every line—sacrificing her colleagues, her career, and maybe even her own life—to keep it from surfacing."

My Thoughts:

How could I not want to read this book after that synopsis?  I mean seriously - I felt like this book summary was written with my tastes in mind.  Dark, secretive main character where you don't know their true intentions?  Check.  Possibly unreliable main character with memory issues?  Check.  Page turning mystery where you don't fully know who to trust or what is going on?  Check, check, check.  I was sold on reading this one as soon as I read the above and it was just as good as I had hoped it would be!  This is just the type of thrilling mystery that I can't get enough of!  I was immediately intrigued from the very first page.  What actually happened to Greg Carver that night?  Why did Ruth compromise the crime scene and what is she hiding?  Those questions alone kept me reading and turning the pages as fast as I could.  It was just such a tangled mystery and I couldn't get enough!  Ruth was such a great main character to read about as I'm a sucker for a main character with a secretive nature.  It just always seems to add to the suspense and tension in the book when you don't fully know the motivations behind the main character and their actions.  The mystery portion of this book was very well done and kept me guessing until the very end.  I found the last 100 or so pages made the book unputdownable for me (no that's not a real word but it feels like it should be).  I could not stop reading and really didn't want to!  I'm super excited that this looks to be the beginning a series!  Bring on the next book please!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this book and am left really excited about this being the beginning to a new series!  There was just something so completely immersive about this book and my reading experience with it.  I couldn't stop reading and really didn't want to!  I found myself trying to figure out what was going on and why the entire time that I was reading.  I wasn't successful which made for a very page turning read!  I'm really excited to see what these authors come up with next!  I think that readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers should give this book a try!  I can easily recommend it and really want more book just like this one!  It felt like it was written for me and my reading tastes so what else could I possibly want?  

Bottom Line:  A page turner that left me pining to read more!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.  Thoughts are my own.

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?"

My Thoughts:

When I think of this book the first word that comes to mind is page-turner!  I started reading this book and was finished it with it in a matter of days which doesn't always happen (even though I would like it to).  I just couldn't stop reading as I always felt compelled to see what was going to happen next.  My favorite thing about this book was that feeling that I never knew quite what was going on.  As I was reading I wasn't sure who Leah could trust and who she couldn't.  There were just constant questions and I was never sure of any of the character's motivations which it made it that much more interesting.  It also made it that much harder to put down!  It almost felt like there were two mysteries within this book.  The mystery of what was happening in the present and also the mystery of what had happened in Leah's past.  I enjoyed how we were given parts of Leah's past in pieces throughout the book.  It added to the suspense and had me questioning Leah's motivations as well.  I hit a point in this book where I just knew that I wasn't going to stop reading as I had to see how it would all end.  I will say that it was a pretty satisfying conclusion even though I had started guessing pieces of it.  It ended up being a really solid read for me - an easy four stars!

This is now the second book that I've read and enjoyed by this author.  The first book I read of hers was a young adult novel and I enjoyed that one just as much as this one.  I'm excited that I have other books of hers to look forward to!  This was a really great standalone thriller which is a type of book that I just don't read enough of.  I'm a series girl for the majority of the books I choose but books like this make me want to stretch and read more standalones!  I love a book that keeps me reading late into the night and this one definitely did!  I think that fans of both suspense and thrillers should give this book a try!  I can easily recommend it and am looking forward to reading more by this author because of it!

Bottom Line:  A suspenseful read that I couldn't put down!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.  Thoughts on it are my own.

The Body Counter by Anne Frasier (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Months after discovering the mastermind behind her own kidnapping, Detective Jude Fontaine is dealing with the past the only way she knows how: by returning to every dark corner of it. But it’s a new, escalating series of mass slayings that has become her latest obsession at Homicide.

At first, Jude and her partner, Detective Uriah Ashby, can see no pattern to the seemingly random methods, the crime scenes, or the victims—until they’re approached by a brilliantly compulsive math professor. He believes that the madman’s next move is not incalculable; in fact, it’s all part of a sequential and ingenious numerical riddle. His theory is adding up. The body count is rising.

But when the latest victim is found in Jude’s apartment, the puzzle comes with a personal twist that’s going to test the breaking point of her already-fragile state of mind. For all she knows, her number may be up."

My Thoughts:

I remember finishing The Body Reader two years ago and just wishing that the author would turn that book into a series.  I loved that book so much (which seems really strange to say considering how dark and twisted it was) and I just wanted more!  You can probably imagine how thrilled I was when I then heard about this book and realized that my wish had come true.  I couldn't wait to crack this book open which meant I almost instantly started reading it.  I will tell you here and now that it was just as good as I hoped and knew that it could be.  I loved my time with this book!  Loved it!  And yes it also feels strange to say that still as this book is just as dark as the first book was.  There is just something about Jude's character that is so compelling.  I never know what to expect from her or how she is going to react.  I also really, really like Uriah's character (her partner on the police force).  They compliment each other so well and there is just something so unreachable to both of them.  I don't know how else to explain it but it sure makes for really great reading.  One thing that I did struggle with at the beginning of this book was remembering all of the details from the previous book.  It had been a few years so it wasn't as fresh in my mind as I would have liked.  It didn't effect my enjoyment too much though as I just went back and read my thoughts on the first book.  I will say that this is probably a series best read in order but since there currently only two books that is completely doable.  The mystery portion of this book was both gruesome and compelling.  I couldn't stop reading because I just had to see how everything was going to end.  This was a book that I just found myself so completely immersed within.  It was such a great reading experience and once again I was left wanting more.  More books featuring these characters that I just can't seem to get enough of!  More mysteries that pull me in and don't let me go!  I just want more and that's never a bad thing when it comes to books!

Overall I really, really enjoyed this book so much that it has now cemented the series on to my personal favorites list.  I will basically read everything and anything that this author writes!  But that long wait for book three......luckily it looks like this author has other books that I can check out in the meantime.  I really can't say enough good things about this author and these two books.  This is easily a five star read for me which should say it all right there!  I will say that this series won't be for everyone as it has trigger warnings galore thanks to everything that Jude has gone through in her past.  It's something that she is constantly dealing with and I feel like it comes across so realistically.  She is a character that you can really root for even when you don't know what to expect from her.  I'll say it again here - start with this first book and if your reading tastes are anything like mine then you won't be disappointed.  I would highly recommend this series to readers of mysteries and thrillers!  

Bottom Line:  A book that is most likely going to be on my top reads list for 2018!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  Thoughts on it are my own. 

This book is published today June 12th if you are interested!