from Amazon.com:

From Booklist
Betsy Taylor--former model, newly unemployed secretary, 30, and still single--wakes up after being flattened by a small SUV in a tacky coffin wearing cheap knock-off shoes. Her mother is glad she is back, albeit as a vampire, but her stepmother is enraged that Betsy has reclaimed her designer-shoe collection. With a wealthy best friend and a newly acquired doctor pal who is not susceptible to her formidable allure, she sets out to right wrongs but is abducted by Nostro, a tacky 500-year-old vampire who rules the undead roost. It seems that Betsy is an anomaly: a vampire who doesn't burn in sunlight, can fight the urge to feed, and is not repulsed by religious articles, all of which may make her the prophesied Queen of the Vampires. Teaming up with gorgeous vampire Eric Sinclair, who is in her opinion a major pervert, she takes on Nostro and his minions. Sexy, steamy, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davidson's chick-lit foray into the paranormal is delightful.

~~ Added to my Collection ~~

** although I love Charlaine Harris' Sookie books, I couldn't get into this book. I read it immediately following a book that left me hanging and wanting more and I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but I couldn't get past page 30. Will try to revisit this book some other time.

From Publishers Weekly
In her first mainstream novel, romance writer Swendson puts a Harry Potter–inspired twist on the standard tale of a smalltown girl in the big city, with lively if saccharine sweet results. Fish-out-of-water Katie Chandler suffers in her thankless job as assistant to marketing manager "Evil Mimi," worrying that maybe she just can't hack it in New York City. Will her colleagues ever consider her anything but a hick? For a girl from Texas, the Big Apple is stranger than a foreign country, but she discovers that the weird things she notices are signs of real magic afoot. Her "small-town honesty and common sense" soon land her a new job at Magic, Spells, and Illusion Inc., which traffics in benevolent sorcery. "You... are of the rare breed who can neither do magic nor be influenced by magic. You see the world as it is," an MSI executive explains. With her clear-sightedness—plus business acumen gained working for her family's feed-and-seed store—Katie will play a pivotal role in MSI's magical battle against a malevolent competitor. From sanitized descriptions of New York City life to hunky wizards and fairies on the subway, this book is pure and innocent fantasy, suitable for preteens or readers hungry for a cotton candy read.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Sex and the City meets Harry Potter in this fanciful story about Katie Chandler, 26, who has moved to New York to make her mark in business. Having long viewed herself as an everybody's little sister-type person, she is unprepared for the adventures that await her when MSI, Inc., approaches her with a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Thinking that they fall into the spam category, she ignores the overtures for several days. MSI's persistence wears her down, and, on meeting with the company's representatives, she learns that the initials stand for Magic, Spells, and Illusions, and that the magic community is alive and well in New York City. Katie discovers that her very ordinariness allows her to see this community at work in ways that most others cannot. Her acceptance of the job is the first step in a series of captivating and hilarious adventures. MSI's products may have been on the market for a millennium, but the company's knowledge of modern concepts is sorely lacking, and Swendson uses Katie's business acumen to educate not only the employees, but also her readers in an utterly engaging fashion. A former staffer who has gone over to the darker side of magic has begun marketing spells that will allow magical folks to manipulate the non-magical population, and the race is on to try to stop him. Although the plot stretches credulity in places, the novel cleverly combines fantasy and practicality. Students will appreciate the glimpse into corporate America's strange mix of seriousness and silliness.

~~ Wishlisted off to another reader ~~

from Amazon.com:

From Publishers Weekly
In her first mainstream novel, romance writer Swendson puts a Harry Potter–inspired twist on the standard tale of a smalltown girl in the big city, with lively if saccharine sweet results. Fish-out-of-water Katie Chandler suffers in her thankless job as assistant to marketing manager "Evil Mimi," worrying that maybe she just can't hack it in New York City. Will her colleagues ever consider her anything but a hick? For a girl from Texas, the Big Apple is stranger than a foreign country, but she discovers that the weird things she notices are signs of real magic afoot. Her "small-town honesty and common sense" soon land her a new job at Magic, Spells, and Illusion Inc., which traffics in benevolent sorcery. "You... are of the rare breed who can neither do magic nor be influenced by magic. You see the world as it is," an MSI executive explains. With her clear-sightedness—plus business acumen gained working for her family's feed-and-seed store—Katie will play a pivotal role in MSI's magical battle against a malevolent competitor. From sanitized descriptions of New York City life to hunky wizards and fairies on the subway, this book is pure and innocent fantasy, suitable for preteens or readers hungry for a cotton candy read.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Sex and the City meets Harry Potter in this fanciful story about Katie Chandler, 26, who has moved to New York to make her mark in business. Having long viewed herself as an everybody's little sister-type person, she is unprepared for the adventures that await her when MSI, Inc., approaches her with a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Thinking that they fall into the spam category, she ignores the overtures for several days. MSI's persistence wears her down, and, on meeting with the company's representatives, she learns that the initials stand for Magic, Spells, and Illusions, and that the magic community is alive and well in New York City. Katie discovers that her very ordinariness allows her to see this community at work in ways that most others cannot. Her acceptance of the job is the first step in a series of captivating and hilarious adventures. MSI's products may have been on the market for a millennium, but the company's knowledge of modern concepts is sorely lacking, and Swendson uses Katie's business acumen to educate not only the employees, but also her readers in an utterly engaging fashion. A former staffer who has gone over to the darker side of magic has begun marketing spells that will allow magical folks to manipulate the non-magical population, and the race is on to try to stop him. Although the plot stretches credulity in places, the novel cleverly combines fantasy and practicality. Students will appreciate the glimpse into corporate America's strange mix of seriousness and silliness.

~~ holding onto this one for the time being ~~

Great funny read by a newpaper columnist that writes for the Sun Times in Myrtle Beach, SC. She tells it like it is. If her column is half as funny as this book, then the paper is a hit too!! I read this one first, but I've gotten her first book and it's near the top of my TBR Pile!! Actual laugh out loud moments explaining and justifying the Southern Redneck Way of Life. And, footnote on that, I'm Southern by choice - not by birth - and it's the best move I've ever made!!

from Amazon.com:

From Publishers Weekly
After winning Southern women's hearts with her SEBA bestseller Bless Your Heart, Tramp in 2000, Rivenbark has penned a new-and equally sidesplitting-collection of essays, offering Northern and Southern sisters alike a woman's "take on those irksome little yuks in daily life." Although she warns certain readers (Yankees, namely) that they may need a Southern lexicon to decipher her folksy, down-home prose style, Rivenbark's focus on familiar topics like family, relationships and child rearing should appeal to most females, regardless of geography or age. Marked by a feisty, sarcastic tone and tempered with plenty of cries of "yoo hoo" and "Well, shit," even chapter titles (e.g., "Stop Watching Your Plasma TV and Start Selling Your Plasma: How to Become Honest-to-Jesus White Trash" and "Here Comes the Bride: Let's Just Get 'Em Hitched Sometime Before We See the Head") don't escape the author's wry humor. The most mundane situations become laugh-out-loud scenarios. When, for example, Rivenbark is confronted by the "Pre-School Nazis" and intimidating "granola moms" at her four-year-old's school, she admits asking her daughter to lie about what she had for breakfast (a foil-wrapped breakfast bar instead of the required "scrambled eggs, a bowl of real oatmeal-the kind you have to cook on top of the, uh, you know, stove-two slices of whole wheat toast and a glass of soy milk"). Rivenbark is a hoot, and her book will be best enjoyed while listening to the Allman Brothers Band and eating "a plate of, what else? collards and cornbread."

~~ Wishlisted off to another reader ~~

This was a fun read. The book isn't about a Soccer Mom at all but a Mom of a teenage daughter (to which I can totally relate!). It's definitely a beach read or a long lazy weekend, but it's not a series I will hunt down to read more of. I think that the Mother/Daughter relationship dilema kept me more engrossed than anything else.

from Amazon.com:

As both a Level Four Demon Hunter and a stay-at-home mom, Kate Connor's days are filled with challenges. If Kate isn't dusting off demons with nothing more than a bottle of holy water and a sharp object, then she is trying to not only meet the many different demands of a toddler, a teenager, and a busy husband running for political office but also keep her house dusted. So far Kate has successfully kept her two different "jobs" separate from one another, but when a new demon--but one with the same old goal of ruling the world--shows up in San Diablo and targets her daughter's high school, it starts becoming more and more difficult for Kate to keep her family from finding out she has another calling, namely, ridding the world of evil. Picking up Kate's story from Carpe Demon (2005), Kenner continues to put her fun, fresh twist on mommy-lit with another devilishly clever book.

~~ Wishlisted off to another reader ~~

If you like Stephanie Plum, Grandma Mazur and Morelli, then you'll like these. They are similar, not as graphic but just as much fun to read!

Tressa Jayne Turner, aka Calamity Jayne, was told by her boss, Stan, at the newspaper to goes back to college and get some journalism courses under her belt if she wants to go anywhere with her job. She wasn't a fabulous student the first couple of times around (high school or her other attempts at collegiate advancement) and this time isn't looking any better. In her Investigative Reporting class, she needs to have a final project topic prepared but between three jobs, watching after her animals, taking care of her Gram, being Maid of Honor to her best friend, Kari and managing to find every possible worst place to be at the worst possible time, she’s put it off till the last minute (yet again) and now has to come up with an idea – by 11:59 pm and email the topic to her professor.

Her cousin Frankie and his fiancée, Dixie Daggett, attend college with her – them taking Criminal Justice to her Journalism. Frankie and Dixie share their suspicions with Tressa regarding the recent campus crime spree and their theory on how it relates to their Criminal Justice course. Along with her cousin Frankie and Dixie, Tressa sets out to solve the crime spree that's been going on at Carson College Campus. And, all for different reasons. Tressa wants the scoop of the century to make her grade and “wow” her boss, Stan, while Frankie wants to prove he’s got what it takes to be a Peace Officer and impress his sweetheart, Dixie. And all of this before another dead body turns up.

The crimes that are occurring are happening after each lecture in their Criminal Justice class and Frankie and Dixie suspect a fellow classmate. When the three attempt to bring it to Campus Security, they aren’t taken seriously. They set about trying to nab the person themselves. Through a near hit-and-run mishap, attempted sexual assault, attempted assault, and murder, the trio find themselves in hot water at every turn.

Tressa, on the other hand, finds herself torn between two men – Ranger Rick Townsend and Officer P. D. (Patrick) Dawkins. Ranger Rick Townsend she’s known most of her life as he’s a friend of her brother’s. Growing up, he was the one to dub her with ‘Calamity Jayne’ for all the trouble she got in. He’s told her he thinks he’s falling in love with her only he doesn’t know if he wants too because of all of the trouble she gets into. He has a passion for Tressa and she for him – he kisses like a hot latin lover and he’s on a crusade to change Tressa to keep her safe. Patrick Dawkins on the other hand, claims to like her just the way she is. He’s a kinder soul and in this book he kisses her and she finds his kiss soft and gentle – much like him.

From Amazon.com:

From Publishers Weekly
Amateur detective and aspiring journalist Tressa "Calamity" Jayne Turner returns for her fourth novel (after Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun), in which she goes back to school, hunts for a campus criminal and finds more trouble than a drunk coed with daddy's car. Enrolling in college for the fourth time, Tressa's looking to get a real degree in journalism and just maybe a raise at the Grandville Gazette. Unfortunately, Tressa isn't a great student, just squeaking by in her Carson College classes until the final project in her investigative journalism class, coupled with a string of unsolved campus crimes, lights a fire under her barely passing bum. Thanks to her cousin Frank and his fiancée, Dixie (Tressa's least favorite person and a hilarious foil), she might have her story: Frank's theory points to someone in his criminal law class. Of course, it's not nearly that simple, and Tressa finds that her investigation may lead to a fate worse than failing. Funny and endearing, with enough side characters and plots to keep the pages turning—Tressa's maid-of-honor duties, conflicting crushes and her live-in grandma's hot new beau—Bacus's book is another crowd-pleaser; fans of Janet Evanovich will see shades of Stephanie Plum in this spunky Iowa sleuth.

~~ holding onto this one for the time being ~~