Blooms on Sunday - 2 June 2013

 Jupiter's Beard

 Baptisia/False Indigo

 Cranesbill

 Aquiligea/Columbine

Shasta Daisty

Blooms on Sunday - 26 May 2013

BUCK FEVER: A Blanco County Mystery - Ben Rehder

Blanco County, Texas: It's the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Red O'Brien and Billy Don Craddock aren't the only good ol' boys out at night spotlighting deer from their pickups, trying to get a jump on the hundreds of hunters that will be out come Saturday. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck deer prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy.

Marlin's seen a lot in his years, but this is wilder than he could have imagined: the man in the deer suit is a good friend, and the whacked-out whitetail isn't exactly a stranger either. It's the beginning of a mad, frantic weekend in Blanco County, one that will see a few more men shot, an invasion by Colombians with more than hunting on their minds, and damn near the end of Marlin's life. Newcomer Ben Rehder serves it all up with a huge helping of humor in this comic mystery that will firmly establish him as the funniest crime writer in Texas.
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Not sure how I heard about this book, but so glad I did. I look forward to reading or listening to more of this series.
It's funny and suspenseful. The main character is a game warden in Blanco County, Texas. It's the week before deer season. There's a rich guy who has a huge ranch he's using for deer hunting....and running drugs.....
There are Colombians, rednecks, best friends, a hot nurse....a lot of action and plenty of grins throughout the story. I enjoyed my time with the characters and the tale.
More please...

THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER - Angie Fox

I have no idea what took me so long to get to this series! So very glad I did though. Paranormal is my main genre and I love finding a character like Lizzie. She is prone to prim and proper, making lists even for her 30th birthday party.

 

Then her grandmother roars in on her Harley and changes Lizzie's life for the very different.

 

Apparently Lizzie is a demon slayer and she didn't even know it....but the Red Skull witch coven definitely do....and so does a demon who wants Lizzie's powers.

 

But Lizzie has her now talking dog and a hottie shape-shifting griffin to help  and take care of her.

 

Full of action and very funny with a tweak of romance thrown in, I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH - Ariana Franklin

Such a superb suspense mystery, medieval or otherwise, this was to read.
It was more than a superb mystery, it was a well-told history lesson. An aspect I didn't know, women could be doctors in Italy when nowhere else allowed it. I loved reading the forays into forensic medicine and seeing the depths of prejudice against both religion and the sex of a person.
I look forward to reading more of this author and this series. Highly recommendable.

CITY OF SOULS: Fourth Sign of the Zodiac - Vicki Pettersson

SO GOOD! I very rarely read a series book after book, but making a big ol' exception here. I love this series and I discovered after reading the third  one, THE TOUCH OF TWILIGHT, that I kind of needed to read the series back to back. I have them on the Nook and I want, no, I need to find out what is going to happen and I don't want to forget what's gone on before.
Joanna/Olivia (Jolivia as her team calls her) needs to find a cure for the little girl she inadvertently hurt. To do this, Joanna has to go to a parallel universe called Midheaven. The trip only costs a piece of her soul.
Action-packed and emotionally charged and highly recommendable.

UNEARTHLY - Cynthia Hand

 I love paranormal and I am so glad that angels have been having such a good run of books and storylines. And I am pleased that Young Adult books can be written so that YA and Older A can enjoy them.
UNEARTHLY is one of those. It has as much to do with the travails and angst of a young person going through life as much as it does as this young person coming to terms with being an angel on Earth.
Clara keeps having the same dream, that of saving a young man from a fire. Her mother tells her that this is her purpose on Earth and nothing can cause her to stray from this path.
But there's this boy......