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This is a continuation of my earlier blog tour post of Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti.

The blurb:
Being an Amazon ruler just became a royal pain.

Amazon queen Zery Kostovska has never questioned tribe traditions.  After all, these rules have kept the tribe strong for millennia and enabled them to live undetected, even in modern-day America.  Zery is tough, fair, commanding -- the perfect Amazon leader.

At least, she was.  A new high priestess with a penchant for secrecy and technology is threatening Zery's rule.  Plus, with the discovery of Amazon sons, males with the same skills as their female counterparts, even Zery can't deny that the tribe must change.  But how?  Some want to cooperate with the sons.  Others believe brutal new leadership is needed -- and are willing to kill to make it happen.

Once, Zery's word was law.  Now, she has no idea who to trust, especially with one powerful Amazon son making her question all her instincts.  For Zery, tribe comes first, but the battle drawing near is unlike any she's faced before. . . and losing might cost her both the tribe and her life.

Review:
Amazon Queen gives us a story with an unambiguous heroine and her quest.  Told from the point of view of Zery, the head of an Amazon camp, Amazon Queen is about how a superior force handles the need to adapt.  The Amazons had been willing to kill or mutilate their male children to prevent them from being a threat; a humanist faction advocated that the children be abandoned but left unharmed.  These abandoned male children have grown up and harbor their own grudges against the Amazons for the violence perpetuated on their gender and for the Amazons' callous treatment of "ordinary humans."  The Amazons in Zery's camp find themselves under attack by these sons  of Amazons. When the Sons steal a baby, Zery's investigation leads her to question whether the Amazon council still has the community's interests at heart.

Though Zery may be too trusting and a little distant as a leader, but the reserve is understandable since she's led a camp of migrating women warriors for nearly a hundred years.   More than anything, it is clear that Zery has a deep sense of honor and responsibility.   Like the Amazons befo

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Gloria Sterling and Jamie Barnett were pretty much a package deal. Newly weds, joined at the hip. Or so it seemed at times. Jamie was Gloria's third run at matrimony, clearly the trophy husband. Gloria, the iconic cougar, wasn't coy about it. "I've put in my time with men my age. This is dessert," she'd told them one night.

The blurb:
Gloria Sterling had it all - money, looks, and a new sexy young husband. So when she's found floating face down in her own swimming pool, shock waves ripple through tiny Plum Harbor. At the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, Maggie Messina and her circle are devastated to lose their dear friend - a woman as colorful as her fabulous yarn creations.

The police are quick to call it an accident, but sorting out Gloria's final hours leaves too many loose ends to satisfy her friends. The vivacious, fifty something cougar had her French manicured tips in more than a few pots, and the threads of some inside deals stashed in her chic knitting tote.

Who was the last person to see Gloria alive on that quiet summer night? Two empty wine glasses suggest she wasn't home alone knitting the entire evening...The Black Sheep need to know the truth and set out to unravel - stitch by stitch - the weighty secrets that pulled poor Gloria under.

Review:
Anne Canadeo's Knit, Purl, Die, the second of the Black Sheep Knitting mystery series, is a witty, fun escape of a detective cozy. Set in the imaginary town of Plum Harbor on the North Shore of Massachusetts, Knit, Purl, Die treats us to the warm camaraderie of women in secure and set in their lives who are united in friendship, their love of knitting and sleuthing.

There is Lucy, the freelance writer. Dana is a psychiatrist married to a successful lawyer named Jack. Between the two of them, Dana and Jack are privy to many of the town's secrets and are careful not to violate privileged conversations. Suzanne is a successful real estate broker and married to a contractor who specializes in restoring old homes. Maggie, the widow and independent business owner, owns and runs the Black Sheep Knitting Shop where the women congregate.

The story is told from Lucy's point of view. Lucy has built a satisfying and independent life for herself. Lucy incorporates several miles of exercise into her day when she walks her dog into Plum Harbor's Main Street to run errands and socialize at the Black Sheep Knitting Shop. Part of the fun in Knit, Purl, Die is reading how the members of the Black Sheep live. They try to eat healthy, live well, and take care of each other. As they share meals, recipes, and knitting patterns, they build their lives together. When the women sense that their friend Gloria died under suspicious circumstances, they take it upon themselves to investigate in their own special way.

Knit, Purl, Die is a fun and light detective cozy. If you're looking for a detective cozy with strong undertones of chicklit, join the Black Sheep for this sleuthing adventure.

ISBN-10: 141659812X - trade paperback $14.00
Publisher: Pocket; Original edition (December 29, 2009), 288 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Anne Canadeo began her Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series with While My Pr

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Welcome to the Book Blog Tour of Dark Stranger: Book One of the Vampire Book Club by Susan Sizemore!
Summary:
Dark Stranger: Book One of the Vampire Book Club is set in a future world populated by a variety of intelligent species that originate from and inhabit different planets at a time when interplanetary travel is a reality. Descendants of man from planet Terra co-exist with various "suprahumans" that include werewolves and vampires. There are many other species as well and the different life forms trade, forge alliances and compete with each other. On the one side is the Byzant Empire (the "Empire") which has a royal family that originated from Terra. The most powerful enemy of the Byzant Empire are the Hajim.

In the course of a diplomatic mission on behalf of the Byzant Empire, Zoe Pappas and her bodyguard are caught in the middle of a surprise attack. Aside from being highly skilled and with expensive and rare technological implants, Zoe Pappas is somehow of great significance. While she is able to escape the attack, Zoe is among the prisoners brought to a Hajim underground outpost.

Zoe spars with the head of the human delegation, General Raven, but they quickly read each others' strengths and work together. General Raven's main goal is to protect the humans and help them survive captivity. Zoe wants to form alliances with the other captive species and nations and arrange an escape. While they work together to smooth volatile relations with the other captives and deal with Hajim, their mutual attraction spills over. Both Zoe and General Raven hold deep secrets. Will they trust each other and combat the increasing demands of the Hajim?

Review:
Dark Stranger: Book One of the Vampire Book Club is my first exposure to Susan Sizemore and her Prime novels. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The world that she created with the peaceful coexistence of the different intergalactic species reminded me of Star Trek in a good way. The Byzant Empire with its commitment to equality and fairness was not too different from the Federation. The main characters of Zoe Pappas and General Raven, the suprahumans (vampires and werewolves), and the romance took this book away from the Star Trek model.

In Zoe Pappas, Susan Sizemore created a strong, sympathetic and interesting action lead. I was engrossed in the book and very much look forward to the next in the series.

I highly recommend Dark Stranger to anyone looking for fun escapist fiction with fantasy, science fiction and romance.
Publisher: Pocket Star (October 27, 2009), 384 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

Thanks so much Sarah and Pocket Books for this review opportunity!

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Welcome to the Book Blog Tour of The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate!




The blurb:
Is the half sister that Rebecca Strand has never met short? Tall? Rich? Poor? Pretty? Funny? Married? Lonely? Happy?. .

Rebecca is about to find out. The New York City paralegal thought nothing could shake her life off its fast track-which includes her handsome lawyer boyfriend and their extravagant condo. The shocking revelation that she even has a half sister comes from her dying father, in a hospital bed confession of a long-past summer affair. . . and now the dad she adores has one last wish: would Rebecca deliver a cache of letters he never sent to his other daughter, Joy Jayhawk, in a tiny coastal Maine town?

But when Rebecca arrives in Wiscasset, with the life-changing letters stashed in a leather box, nothing goes as she imagined-and Joy Jayhawk is less than thrilled to meet her. Joy already has her own life, her own family, and her own business: she runs a bus tour for singles, a matchmaking excursion that's brought lovers together, healed broken hearts, and changed lives. Rebecca joins the singles tour in the hopes of unlocking a door into Joy's life and forming a relationship with the only family she has left. But as she spends more and more time with Joy and the women who dub themselves The Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset-and starts a flirtation with a seriously hunky local carpenter-Rebecca realizes it's her life and heart that are ready for healing and change. . .and that sometimes, you just have to go along for the ride.

Review:
It's hard to describe The Secret of Joy without emphasizing that Rebecca Strand is absolutely winsome. Even as she screws up at work and is about to do something crazy, like give away half of her inheritance to a stranger, you find yourself rooting for her and hoping that things work out.

I loved Rebecca's closeness to her father, Daniel Strand. The letters that Daniel left for Joy seem to be written for Rebecca as well. As Rebecca reaches out to her sister Joy and works through her own needs and wants, she discovers her own strengths as a mediator. The discussions of love and monogamy, marriage, separation and divorce are interesting and make The Secret of Joy a little different from the usual women's fiction. The book's strength comes from the closeness and friendship that surrounds Rebecca throughout the book. The Secret of Joy is fun, touching, and a great read!

Publisher: Downtown Press (November 17, 2009), 352 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
Melissa Senate is the author of eight novels, including the worldwide bestseller See Jane Date, which became an ABC Family television movie. Her essays and stories appear in Everything I've Always Wanted to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume and other anthologies. She lives on the coast of Maine with her son and their menagerie of pets.

Participating Sites Include:
Books, Movies & Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Booking Mama: http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
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