Book 76: Grim

M. K. Eidem's Grim is the first of three books about an alien race known as Tornians.  After the emperor discovered a female human aboard a slave vessel and she became pregnant with his child, Grim was ordered to find the empress' home planet and retrieve twelve unprotected females to bring back to Tornian.  Lisa Miller, a widowed mother of two girls, was visiting her husband's grave when kidnapped.  Upon awakening she immediately demanded to be returned to her children.  The other warriors on the ship, assuming the children would be male, refused her request; but Grim, whose scars made him unwanted by the few females on his world, offered to retrieve her offspring if she would agree to join with only him.  Arriving on Earth, he is shocked to discover that her offspring are female; and it does not take long for one of the others on board to order his men to take Lisa and the girls away from Grim.  Grim must find a way to keep his new family safe both from those who would take them by force and those who would declare him legally unfit.

The children were a bit too well behaved to be believable and the relationship between Grim and Lisa a bit rushed despite their misunderstandings, but the overall tale was still entertaining and enjoyable with plenty of humor and romance throughout.  4 stars.

Book 75: Filthy Witch and Dead Famous

Pearl Goodfellow's Filthy Witch and Dead Famous is the first installment in the Hattie Jenkins and the Infiniti cozy mystery series.  Hattie is an herbalist and reluctant witch with eight immortal cats.  One evening, she flies to a wealthy client's home to delivery an anti-aging remedy, discovers the client's golem motionless in the kitchen, and the owner's dead body in the bedroom.  Hattie agrees to act as a consultant for the murder investigation, and her nosy cats take turns pitching in with their own unique abilities.

An entertaining mystery made more enjoyable by the delightful feline characters.  4 stars.

Book 74: Midnight Riot

Ben Aaronovitch's Midnight Riot introduces probationary constable Peter Grant.  After putting in his first two years in the streets, he's dreading being shunted into a job of nothing but paperwork until he gets an eyewitness account of a murder from a ghost.  This brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightengale, who specializes in crimes involving magic and the supernatural.  With magic on the increase, a wave of random murders by people with no police records, and a disagreement between Father and Mother Thames, Peter has little time to get up to speed on an entirely new reality.

A well written police procedural with an interesting premise.  4 stars.

Book 73: Equal Rites

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett is the third installment in the Discworld series and the beginning of thread of witches novels.  A dying wizard attempts to pass his magic on to the eighth son of the eighth son, but he turns out to be a she instead.  When her magic begins to show, Granny Weatherwax attempts to train her as a witch but the magic is simply too different.  So the two set off to enroll Esk in the Unseen University.

This one had an exorbitant amount of nonsense and not nearly enough humor.  It's definitely my least favorite book this far.  3 stars.

Book 72: Hexed

After defeating his long time nemesis, Atticus O'Sullivan may wish to turn his attention to his shop, his new initiate, and a large patch of land in need of healing; but killing a god and half of the local coven has attracted all kinds of supernatural attention.  A larger witch coven is trying to take over the area, and Atticus and all of his friends are on their hit list.  Coyote insists Atticus deal with the demon still running loose in the area, and it turns out to be a much more dangerous fallen angel instead.  The Bacchans go crazy in a nightclub killing several people including two cops; and Atticus, who was trying to prevent the deaths, is the prime suspect in the police's investigation.  The pack is mad about losing two members, and his vampiric lawyer refuses to speak to him unless he promises to help kill Thor.  His life was certainly much easier when he maintained a low profile.

Hexed by Kevin Hearne is an action-packed, hilarious continuation of the Iron Druid Chronicles.  5 stars.

Book 71: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

In honor of the twentieth anniversary of the release of the first Harry Potter book, I decided to re-read the original series this month.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rawling, eleven year old Harry has managed to survive the last ten years living with the Dursley family.  After his Uncle Vernon refuses to allow him to open his invitation from Hogwarts, Hagrid being him the letter personally and takes him shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley.  Then it's off to school, making friends, studying all kinds of subjects, becoming the Gryffindor seeker, and trying to solve the mystery of what Hagrid removed from Gringotts and who is trying to steal it.

A entertaining tale for all ages. 5 stars.

Book 70: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Joanne Fluke's The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first Hannah Swensen mystery.  Hannah owns a coffee and cookie store called The Cookie Jar in the small town of Lake Eden.  One morning the dairy delivery is late; and when she steps out back to check for the driver, she finds him shot in his truck.  Hannah's brother-in-law Boyd is assigned the case, and Hannah agrees to help him so he can be promoted to detective.  Of course, when she offered to help, she didn't realize that she would find the owner of the dairy company murdered as well.

A delightful cozy mystery with several tempting cookie recipes included.  4 stars.