Book 100: Ghost of a Chance

Emerald O'Brien is a single divorced mother of two who run a China and tea shop and also does tarot card readings. One night she is awakened by Susan Mitchell's ghost and asked to help prove that she was murdered by her husband. At the same time, Susan's family comes under attack from an evil spirit leaving her at a loss of how to identify the spirit, explain his fixation on her family, or even begin to figure out how to banish him.  Stacked all that on top of normal life and a busy holiday season, she would have been completely overwhelmed if not for the help of friends both old and new.

Ghost of a Chance by Yasmine Galenorn was an entertaining cozy but not one I would read again. I felt like their were so many things going on that sometimes the mystery got lost in the shuffle, and it seemed like they made absolutely no progress for year-round of the novel until it wrapped up in a flurry in the final chapters.  3 stars.

Book 99: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is the beginning of his best selling Percy Jackson series, which remains my favorite Riordan set.  Twelve year old Percy is just trying to survive his sixth grade year without getting kicked out of school and without failing despite his ADHD and dyslexia. Then his math teacher sprouts wings and claws and tries to kill him on a school trip.  His best friend turns out to be a satyr, and the minotaur chases them to the Greek demigod camp at Half Blood Hill and his mom disappears in a flash of light.  Within days Percy is claimed as a child of Poseidon and sent on a quest to find and return Zeus' master bolt before war erupts between the gods.  With monsters at every turn, Percy and his friends Grover and Annabeth travel west to the Underworld in hopes that Hades is in possession of the bolt only to find that the situation is far more complex than it seems.

Fantastic series.  5 stars.

Book 98: Tripwire

Tripwire by Child is the third installment in the Jack Reacher series.  Jack has run out of money and is digging pools by day and bouncing by night to improve his finances.  When a detective from New York comes looking for him, Jack refuses to admit his identity; but after finding the detective dead from a brutal interrogation, Jack decided to find out who sent him and why.  His search leads him to a funeral of his old army CO; and when a pair of thugs come after Garber's daughter, Jack decided to not only to protect her but also to uncover and finish whatever her father's final project was to ensure her safety.

Another entertaining read although not quite as good as the previous book.  4 stars.

Book 97: Of Ice and Snow

Fourth son of a clan leader, Otec is often overlooked by those in his village, and he prefers to spend his time tending sheep in the mountains and whittling wooden figures for the village children.  Returning to the village as winter approaches, Otec discovers that all the men have left to fight the Raiders; and the village is full of strangers taking refuge.  To pass the time and earn some money, he agrees to take Matka, one of the visitors, to the mountains in search of a rare flower.  On their second day out, they are smoke rising from the village.  With Maria's help Otec, the overlooked fourth son, must become the leader he never expected to be if he is to save his people.

4 stars for Of Ice and Snow by Argyle.

Book 96: Die Trying

Die Trying is the second tale in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.  Walking down the streets of Chicago, Jack stops to help a woman in front of a dry cleaning shop, who has dropped her crutch.  Turning around he finds himself faced with two gunman and no good options to diffuse the situation without incurring civilian casualties, so he allows himself to be kidnapped and waits for a better opportunity. Holly, the intended victim, is an FBI agent, daughter of a high ranking general, and goddaughter of the sitting US president.  Taken to a remote location in Montana by a crazy militia group, Reacher has one goal, get Holly out safely; and he is definitely the best man for the job.

The book read like an action movie and better in both plot and writing style than Killing Floor.  5 stars.

Book 95: Brilliant Starlight

Brilliant Starlight by Anna Carven is the final installment in her Dark Warriors series.  The empress is dead, and the empire is falling as Tarek and his allies attempt to maintain peace and order while Prince Xal sets up a new government for Kythia.  Abby becomes ill as the nanobots in her body begin to mutate.  To save his mate Tarek must find the scientist who started the experiments that created the First Division and return to the one place he never wished to see again.

An excellent ending to the series.  4 stars.

Note: To read the series in chronological order follow this sequence: 1, 4, 5, 7, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, and then 8.

Book 94: Mercy Blade

In Mercy Blade, Jane Yellowrock returns to New Orleans to provide security for the vampires when a pair of were-cats arrive to make a treaty.  Jane goes out to meet an unspecified enemy of Leo that she assumes is a vampire only to be attacked by a pack of wolves and rescued by the supernatural she was supposed to meet.  Rick goes missing, and Bruiser is under investigation for murder while the wolves plot to eliminate Leo.  Once again Jane struggles to put together the puzzle with lots of missing pieces while fighting to stay alive and protect those around her.  4 stars.