A Potion to Die For (A Magic Potion Mystery #1) By: Heather Blake

Hi res_A_Potion_to_Die_For _jpg

A Potion to Die For (A Magic Potion Mystery #1) By: Heather Blake

Plot:

TROUBLE IS BREWING…

As the owner of Little Shop of Potions, a magic potion shop specializing in love potions, Carly Bell Hartwell finds her product more in demand than ever. A local soothsayer has predicted that a couple in town will soon divorce—and now it seems every married person in Hitching Post, Alabama, wants a little extra matrimonial magic to make sure they stay hitched. But when Carly finds a dead man in her shop, clutching one of her potion bottles, she goes from most popular potion person to public enemy number one. In no time the murder investigation becomes a witch hunt—literally! Now Carly is going to need to brew up some serious sleuthing skills to clear her name and find the real killer—before the whole town becomes convinced her potions really are to die for!

Review:

I missed the fact that this was written by the same author that did the Wishcraft Mysteries. I ended up liking this magic system more, but I wish there was more hocus pocus and paranormal elements.

Carly was an alright character and the supporting cast was pretty good. It was kind of sad, though, that the one person murdered wasn’t a bad guy in any way. Normally in a cozy only eh people die.

I do really wish there was more magic in the world and kept hoping more would show up, but it never happened. It was pretty non-magical to be honest. She made potions that were really just herbal remedies with a “special” ingredient. She also had some empathic abilities that she kept under wraps and a little witchy sense to danger.

I thought her relationship with Delia, her “evil” cousin was well developed and I hope there’s more done there in future books. I actually really liked Delia and Dylan, Carly’s love interest.

All in all, it was a really good mystery, but the magic was a bit lacking for my tastes.

3.5/5

Smiley (New Species #13) By: Laurann Dohner

Smiley

Smiley (New Species #13) By: Laurann Dohner

Plot:

Vanni is furious when her fiancé tricks her into attending a conference where his father’s church is protesting the New Species Organization. She hates everything those vile bigots stand for. Vanni goes to the bar to cool off and ends up seated next to a handsome New Species. Things heat up fast when they are both drugged.

Smiley doesn’t want to believe the sweet human would dose them with the breeding drug. He’s willing to trust her and determined to save her life. He’ll hold her. Protect her. Offer up his body to distract them both from the pain. She is his female, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.

Review:

I really loved Smiley as a character but I did not like this book. First off it started off with the couple getting drugged and if they didn’t have sex they’d be in a lot of pain. There was pretty much no foreplay before the reader was thrown into a lot of explicit sex scenes. Did not like. I ended up skipping a lot of this book.

I liked Smiley but hated Vanni. She was super weak and shy and submissive and just not my type of female lead.

The story was also a lot shorter than a normal new species and I felt like not much happened. They got her to Homeland quickly and she never left. The bad guys were captured behind the scenes and that was pretty much it.

I thought some of the ideas in the book were really good, but they didn’t reach their full potential. They kind of unraveled and became nonsense. I’m also getting tired of all the human males being depicted as horrible. Out of all of the human men in this series I think there might be one nice one. One. Maybe.

I really like the idea behind the New Species series and in the beginning I liked what she was doing with it, but lately there just hasn’t been enough development. The series has kind of stagnated.

3/5

Supergirl (2015-?)

Supergirl

Supergirl (2015-?)

Network:

CBS

Starring:

Melissa Benoist

Mehcad Brooks

Chyler Leigh

Jeremy Jordan

David Harewood

Calista Flockhart

Plot:

The adventures of Superman’s cousin in her own superhero career.

Review:

I’m slipping yet again on my TV pilot reviews. This show has been on for a while now and I just realized I hadn’t written a review. That was partly because I wanted to wait a few episodes before I made my judgement.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for this show. I really like Supergirl, but I think I like her potential more than what’s ever been done with her. Out of all comic book heroes I’ve read more of her comics than anyone else, and while I love her, she rarely has any good story lines.

The show is, to me, just like that. It has potential but Supergirl just kind of screws stuff up or stumbles on the answer or has someone else bail her out. Whether it’s her sister or her aunt or someone else, she’s more of a beat the enemy into submission hero than Superman is. I realize she’s just starting out and she’s going to make mistakes, but I guess I demand more.

I’m also not overly fond of the feel of the show, it’s so bright and girly. Which is weird because I honestly dislike how gritty and dull other superhero shows/movies can be. I’m not sure why it rubs me the wrong way, but it does.

The show has gotten better as its gone on. I like the supporting cast and think the Calista Flockhart is my favorite character. I’ll probably continue to watch it if it gets picked up, but it is definitely not my favorite superhero TV show. That award goes to Agent Carter.

3/5

Oliver and Company (1988)

Oliver and Company

Oliver and Company (1988)

Director:

George Scribner

Starring:

Joey Lawrence

Billy Joel

Cheech Marin

Plot:

A lost and alone kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York.

Review:

I remember seeing this movie in theaters, which is actually kind of crazy since I was only two. Because of that early viewing I had some nostalgia attached to it. I remembered loving the songs and thinking it was a cute, happy movie. When my daughter picked it out to watch, I figured, why not.

Wow, what a shock. The fun happy film that I remembered was not what we watched. I still like the songs, but they are such a smaller part of the movie than I had remembered. When the animation was good it was like 101 Dalmatians and Aristacats in that it was gritty, but I don’t have a problem with that. New York City in the 80s was gritty. However, often times the quality would dip and it would look like something from a TV cartoon, definitely not on par with other Disney animation.

I was saddened and disappointed and almost wish I hadn’t watched it. My daughter liked it, but I’ll probably do my best not to add it to a regular rotation.

3/5

Darkness (New Species #12) By: Laurann Dohner

Darkness

Darkness (New Species #12) By: Laurann Dohner

Plot:

Kat’s boss wants dirt on the NSO. She is sent to Homeland undercover but everything goes wrong as soon as she enters the front gates. She is arrested by a big, powerful, sexy New Species but she is not frightened. He turns her on and things heat up fast between them. Now, she just hopes he does not break her heart.

Darkness admires Kat’s courage but he cannot trust anything she says. He hasn’t been with a female for years because he knows he is too damaged. He is not mate material, despite his desire to possess her in every way. Darkness fears losing control—the one thing that defines his life. He doesn’t think he can tear down the protective walls he’s built, even for her.

Inside Scoop: Kat never realized how much fun handcuffs and dominant males could be until she discovered her kinky side through Darkness’ need for control.

Review:

It’s been a while since I read a New Species novel and once again I can’t really explain why I like these books.

Kat is a strong willed kick-ass woman that handles a very violent scene in the first few pages. It was a pretty awesome introduction and I started to wonder if we were finally going to get a woman that goes toe to toe with a New Species. Well, we kind of did. Kind of.

She didn’t back down as quickly as others and really held out, but in the end she succumbed. It’s a romance, I knew it was going to happen, but one time I’d like to see the New Species do more of the submitting. The woman has to completely give up her entire life and live on a compound. I get that a lot of the world hates the New Species, but I wish there was more development in that area.

Darkness was a good male lead. He was tortured, like them all, too jealous for my liking (which is normal in this series), and he can’t resist Kat.

One of my favorite parts was Missy, Kat’s best friend, and I really hope she gets her own New Species hunk, but we’ll see.

4/5