Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7) By: Jenn McKinlay

Dark Chocolate Demise

Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7) By: Jenn McKinlay

Plot:

Scottsdale, Arizona, may not be the liveliest place on earth, but it’s never been as dead as this. Hundreds of fans have gathered together for the first annual Old Town Zombie Walk, and Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew are donning their best undead attire to sell some horror-themed desserts to the hungry hordes. But the fun turns to fright when Mel finds a real dead body in a prop casket outside of the bakery’s truck—and the corpse looks alarmingly like a zombie of their own. Knowing that Joe, Angie’s brother and Mel’s former flame, has been working on a dangerous mob case, Mel worries that the murder is a hit gone wrong and that someone near and dear was the real target. To keep any of her friends from winding up six feet under, Mel will do whatever it takes to find a killer—no matter how scary things get…

Review:

Lots of relationship stuff with this one, which I loved. In fact it was most of the book. There was, of course, a mystery but it wasn’t like the others. It had more to do with what’s going on with Joe and his case against a mob boss.

I love the relationships and characters in this series. The side characters bring as much to the story as the main character.

Lots of sugar and I find myself wondering how these people don’t have diabetes the amount of cupcakes they eat. Anytime something happens let’s eat two cupcakes. Ummm… I’d love to do that but I’d be the size of a house and shooting up insulin. Oh to live in a book world.

Anyway, I’m caught up with the series and now must wait like everyone else. Waiting sucks, but at least the cliff hanger on this one isn’t as big a deal to me. I mean it’s a big deal, but I can set it aside and not die a little bit everyday while waiting.

4.5/5

Limitless (2015-?)

limitless-tv-show-cbs

Limitless (2015-?)

Network:

CBS

Starring:

Jake McDorman

Jennifer Carpenter

Hill Harper

Plot:

A man gains the ability to use the full extent of his brain’s capabilities. A television adaptation of the 2011 film, ‘Limitless’.

Review:

I haven’t seen the movie this is a spinoff of, so the appearance of Bradley Coopers character didn’t mean more than, “Oh that’s nice it’s Bradley Cooper.” From what I’ve read he might make a few more appearances, we’ll see.

Anyway, this is the first pilot I’ve seen this season that I actually liked. I’m hoping that they do more than just make this some kind of procedural show, though they probably won’t, but I think there’s some potential.

I like the casting. I enjoyed McDorman in last season’s failed Manhattan Love Story, so it’s nice to see him getting work. He’s funny but not the point where this is a comedy, just enough to lighten it up in places. I saw the first two seasons of Dexter back in the day so I recognize Carpenter but she isn’t locked in my brain as someone who drops the f-bomb all the time. I even like Harper from his CSI New York days.

It will interesting to see what happens to this show. If it becomes just another crime solving drama or if it becomes something more.

4/5

The Muppets (2015-?)

The Muppets

The Muppets (2015-?)

Network:

ABC

Starring:

Steve Whitmire

Bill Barretta

Dave Goelz

Eric Jacobson

Plot:

Jim Henson’s loveable puppets return to the small screen in this mockumentary-style series that follows their personal and professional lives.

Review:

I’ve only seen a couple episodes of the original series and honestly don’t remember much about them, so my thoughts on the episode are based purely on the pilot and how it compares to the most recent movies.

There’s a lot more adult material and themes in the TV series. Not to the point where you wouldn’t want kids to watch, but they aren’t going to catch on to everything. Fozzy is dating a human which causes problems between him and her family. Kermit and Miss Piggy have broken up and he’s dating a new pig. I never understood why Kermit was with Miss Piggy but whatever floats his boat. He’s apparently into pigs since his new woman is one too. I’m not sure how I feel about the new girl. We’ll see.

The show wasn’t awesome and it wasn’t bad. I’m really noticing a theme with these new shows. Nothing has really blown me away or made me excited to see more. It’s kind of sad.

3/5

 

Minority Report (2015-?)

Minority Report

Minority Report (2015-?)

Network:

Fox

Starring:

Stark Sands

Meagon Good

Nick Zano

Plot:

10 years after the end of Precrime in Washington DC one of the three PreCogs attempts to lead on a normal life while still suffering from visions of the future. Will they be able to hold it together or mentally breakdown and give up?

Review:

It doesn’t make sense for someone with uncontrollable precognitive abilities to live in a large city where violent crime occurs frequently. Big cities are nice, but they aren’t worth what he goes through. He gave a kind of explanation, but you don’t have to live in isolation, there is a middle ground.

The tech was cool looking with moments of me rolling my eyes. I don’t know how they can keep that budget up past the first episode, though.

Honestly the show just makes me bitter that it isn’t Almost Human. It has some potential, but I’m close to my cap on cop shows so I’m not sure if I’ll continue watching past the next couple episodes.

3/5

The Burning Man (Fringe #2) By: Christa Faust

The Burning Man

The Burning Man (Fringe #2) By: Christa Faust

Plot:

The critically acclaimed Fringe television series explores the dramatic and grotesque as impossible crimes are investigated by the government’s shadowy Fringe Division, established when Special Agent Olivia Dunham enlisted institutionalized “fringe” scientist Walter Bishop and his globe-trotting son, Peter, to help in investigations that defy all human logic – and the laws of nature. Author Christa Faust (Choke Hold, Supernatural) is working hand-in-hand with the television writers to create new adventures uncovering the secrets of the series. The first novel revealed how Walter Bishop and William Bell discovered the drug Cortexiphan–and the alternate universe! Book two will explore how Olivia Dunham first was subjected to Cortexiphan experiments, with catastrophic results.

Review:

There were some really horrific moments in this book. Lots of unnecessary death, though, I guess it wasn’t technically unnecessary because it did a great job of making the bad guy seem unhinged.

The last part of the book was lots of gore and disgusting Sci-Fi stuff. Not what I normally like to read to be honest, though it’s normal for the Fringe universe.

I didn’t find this book as interesting as the first one. It was well written and seemed in character, but it was somehow more graphic. I felt helpless a lot of the time while reading, there was so much bad going on and none of it was being resolved.

The epilogue brought closure and picked up shortly before the TV show started. I’m curious to see what happens in Peter’s book, but I’m not in a hurry to read it.

3.5/5