Wicked Ways by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush

Title: Wicked Ways
Author: Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush
Series: The Colony #4
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp  (October 7, 2014)
Source: NetGalley eArc
Rating: ☕☕

Elizabeth Gaines Ellis is an ordinary suburban wife and mother. That's what she tells herself as she flits between her realtor job, yoga class, and caring for her daughter, Chloe. But for months now, Elizabeth has worried that she's far from normal…that she's somehow the cause of a series of brutal, horrible deaths.
Her mean-spirited boss. A bullying traffic cop. Her cheating husband. Elizabeth had reason to be angry with them all. She didn't mean for them to die. No one will take her fears seriously—except the private investigator prying into her past.…
The more scared and angry Elizabeth becomes, the higher the death toll grows. But those who wrong her aren't the only ones in danger. Because others have secrets too, and a relentless urge to kill without mercy or remorse.

My Thoughts: This is my first book by both Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush and I am wondering whose writing style this book falls under. To me it was long and tedious. So many pages with nothing happening!

Let's start with the biggest issue in the book. Elizabeth. We spent so much time in her head I really wanted to gouge my eyes out with a dull pencil. #1)This woman apparently spends a lot of time wishing bad things to happen to a lot of people. Not just bad things but death. What kind of person wishes evil things onto people? Not a good one in my eyes. Which leads us to #2) She thinks she has a psychic ability to actually make people die if she wishes it so we spend a lot of time reading about how guilty she feels because she made it happen. What kind of person truly believes they can wish someone to death? Oh wait...she believes it because #3)When she was a child she could see bad things happen before they actually did. Oh wait...she really didn't remember that for the most part so I guess she's just a nutball. #4) After a week trying to get used to her husband being dead she falls in lust with someone else. #5) Her well meaning friends worked hard to engage Elizabeth to get out of the house and have some fun. Once Elizabeth accepted the invites we then had to read her internal musing on how much she hated it and couldn't wait to ditch her friends. Yes I hated Elizabeth.

Let's talk plot: Well, the secondary storyline with Elizabeth's cousin Ravinia going on a journey to find Elizabeth was actually better than the one with Elizabeth, herself. The hunt for Elizabeth (who had been adopted as a baby) was faster paced than the primary mystery. Not a whole lot faster but some. However, the addition of a romantic interest for Elizabeth 2/3 into the book was a mistake as there wasn't enough time to see a relationship form let alone something as complex as love. Especially since Rex and Elizabeth do not spend more than a few minutes together over the course of several days. The ending seemed rushed as it finally wrapped up the plot thread introduced in the prologue in what felt like an afterthought. Seriously, the beginning is not mentioned in any way for over 400 pages other then we readers could speculate if Elizabeth was that stolen baby or not. Who the stolen baby was seemed a total stretch even factoring in the paranormal psychic stuff into the equation.

In a Nutshell: I didn't like this book at all. I'm character driven and I just didn't like many of the enormous cast of characters in this book. To tell the truth the only character I was intrigued by was more of a ghost of a character as they are mentioned within the book but no one is really sure if they were actually there or not. When coming up with my 2 star/cup of coffee rating I factored in whether or not this book could be read as a standalone or not. This is the only book I have read to date in this series. I do not think that I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read the first three. To tell the truth if the first 3 are similar to this one I probably would have quit the series after book 2 and never got to book 4 to begin with. I think there probably is some background on the Colony and the women who live there that may be of interest to readers, in addition to some plot details of earlier books that had been mentioned in this one briefly but I'm really not interested in going back and reading the first three. Except I also have the 3rd book (Something Wicked) from NetGalley which I feel obligated to read and review, which I will do....someday.

A Vision of Murder by Victoria Laurie

Synopsis: Professional psychic Abby Cooper is planning to fix up an old house and make a killing in the real estate market--until she encounters a killing of another kind....

This Old Haunted House
When Abby gets roped into investing in a fixer-upper, she has no idea she'll go from real estate mogul to real-life ghostbuster. After the deal is closed, phantom inhabitants of the house replay a violent night from long ago that ended in the murder of a beautiful blonde. The only way to evict the house's spectral tenants -- and save Abby's handyman from flying drills -- is to uncover the dead woman's identity and solve her murder.
Aided by her boyfriend, sexy FBI agent Dutch Rivers, Abby discovers the key to the puzzle is a hidden treasure lost since World War II. Unfortunately, Abby's not the only one intent on finding it. As she gets closer to the truth, a madman shadows her every move. Now a race is on to find the treasure and solve the mystery -- and only the winner will survive. ...

My Thoughts: A disappointing cozy despite the addition of paranormal elements that I adore.

What Worked: I very much enjoy books featuring psychic phenomena. I love Jayne Ann Krentz's Arcane Society books. I love Christine Feehan's GhostWalker series. I will even read non-fiction books that talk about the subject! So, thank goodness for Psychic intuition and all things woo-woo because otherwise this book might have turned out to be a complete dud for me. Abby is a professional psychic and her abilities are pretty fascinating. I love her on board lie detector that sing songs the words "Liar Liar pants on fire!" In addition to the enjoyable woo-woo factor I liked the secondary cast of characters even though most of them were over the top caricatures of real people. I especially liked the inclusion of MJ Holliday, who is the star of Laurie's other series. Also, the added history about WWII, Jewish precious gem dealers from the 40s and priceless treasure were all very interesting.

What Didn't work: Abby. Period. She was one of the most, without a doubt, TSTL women I've read about. You'd think she would have a special insight when it comes to avoiding trouble but NOOOOOOO. Abby not only finds herself in trouble repeatedly but she purposely avoids listening to her intuition. She's a freakin' PSYCHIC here people! So why would she go barreling into her home knowing that the person who broke in is STILL THERE? Because she's Too Stupid To Live! Why would she, not only ignore her boyfriend's, (who is an FBI agent) insistence on having someone with her at all times, but purposely sneaks away to be on her own after being assaulted on two different occasions? Because She's Too Stupid To Live!!!!! Now, throw in a large amount of whining, a slur against her boyfriend's mother, vindictive behavior with the sole purpose of causing her boyfriend pain and childish argumental rebuttals (similar to "I know you are but what am I?") and you've got a big reason this book did not work. Now on a side note I did read the first 2 books in the series ages ago and liked them enough to get all the rest of the books in the series.

The Abby Issue aside, the plot also didn't work quite well in this book. Granted the background story about the gems and Nazi's and stolen treasure was all fun but the mystery aspect of who was causing Abby harm was pathetically obvious. There was only one suspect. Not even a red herring was thrown in to mix it up a bit. Not to mention the haunted house subplot that was wrapped up very quickly with no fanfare. In addition to that, I'm wondering if the business that Abby, her sister and her handyman went into together will continue into the next books or if it's sole purpose was to bring in the haunted house as a catalyst to the pathetic mystery within this book.

In A Nutshell: Despite my love of all things woo-woo I just couldn't like this book much more than 2 stars. I'm very character driven in my reading so a TSTL female lead just kills the book for me. BUT even if I were more plot driven this book would still fail. With all that said, I do plan to continue on with the series because I'm really hoping this was just one rotten nut in the mix.

Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

Synopsis:  Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets.

It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries.
During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case!
Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.”Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style.       
Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad.

My Thoughts: A book with an interesting idea but a less than polished execution.

The Good: The idea of a family of psychics and one "norm" (aka no woo-woo powers) investigating mysteries has excellent potential. Daisy, the "norm", seems a typical teenage who just doesn't feel as if she fits in with her powerful psychic sisters and mom. Feeling like an outcast is a good theme for a YA novel even if it has been done over and over again.

The Bad: Touting this book as a paranormal mystery is misleading. The mystery is very underdeveloped and has no depth. There were only a few viable suspects and Daisy jumps to conclusions to the point of suspecting each of them at one time or another based on nothing more than their attitude and her teenage intuition. Also, the world building is poorly constructed with no real rules to Perez's Nightshade world. Daisy's acceptance in werewolves and vampires is instantaneous with no explanation as is her Frenemy, Samantha's acceptance of the same thing. Readers have to conclude that because Daisy and Samantha live in a world of psychics there must be other things out there too.

And The Ugly:  Because this book is quite short (less than 200 pages) one would expect that the author would make every page count. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. The storyline feels scattered and is full of unnecessary tangents. A lot of time is spent on Daisy's culinary expertise yet she spends very little time investigating the "deaths". I put deaths in quotes because the dead girls seem to come back to life with no explanation only to have everything wrapped up very quickly in a happily ever after bow where no one actually died. Maybe. I'm still not clear on that issue nor am I 100% clear why so much time was wasted on Samantha's "Dead" look when it had no impact on the story.

In a Nutshell: Overall I didn't completely hate this book. As I mentioned first, it did have potential. I'll continue on to the second book in the series to see if Perez can reign in some of her ideas and create a more cohesive storyline. Even though I will continue on to the second book in this series I don't think I would recommend this book to my friends. I'd go as far as saying "Read at your own risk."

Dancing With the Devil by Keri Arthur

Synopsis: Private Investigator Nikki James grew up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst and believes there's nothing left to surprise her. All that changes the night she follows teenager Monica Trevgard into the shadows-and becomes a pawn caught in a war between two very different men. One fills her mind with his madness, the other pushes his way into her life-and her heart. Nikki knows how dangerous love can be, but if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in a man who could easily destroy her. Michael Kelly has come to Lyndhurst determined to end the war between himself and another brother of the night. For 300 years he has existed in life's shadows, gradually learning to control the life from death cravings of a vampire. Nikki not only breaches his formidable barriers with her psychic abilities, but makes Michael believe he may finally have found a woman strong enough to walk by his side and ease the loneliness in his heart. But will his love be enough to protect her from a madman hell-bent on revenge? Or will it drive her into his enemy's deadly trap? Only together can they overcome the evil threatening to destroy them both. But the secrets they keep from each other might prove to be the greatest threat of all.

My Thoughts: While the concept of this book was actually to my liking, a psychically gifted PI being caught in the sights of an evil vampire and a vampire hero comes to her rescue, I found the execution was a bit off. Finding the positives to point out has been difficult for me because every instance had both pro and con to it.

What Worked: Our heroine, Nikki, is both determined and strong....yet flawed. This will allow for future character development....and believe me, this character needs some because although I've listed Nikki as a plus she was also the biggest disappointment I had in this book. (more on that later)

In addition to the character of Nikki, her boss, Jake, although completely human with no special abilities is actually the glue that holds Nikki together and essentially the book itself. He lent a calmness and logic to the story that it truly needed it as Nikki seemed to go off half cocked most of the time.

What Didn't Work: The World Building. The addition of the Damask Circle was woefully under-explained. If not for Michael mentioning a few times that he worked for them I'd never know it existed. This was just one example of the lack of world building. Arthur has also failed to provide rules to her world. Nikki has telekinesis but apparently also has psychometry and precognitive skills too. I've never read a book where one person had so many different types of psychic skills. Usually a person is only gifted with one. In addition it is mentioned so many times that while battling vampires or the zombies Nikki had depleted her psychic gift yet a moment later she is pooling more energy to attack or defend again. It is not explained where her reserve is coming from two, sometimes three times after it's mentioned she's essentially empty of her gifts. In addition to this it appears Arthur's vampires have even greater psychic gifts than Nikki as they have telepathy and can control anyone with their minds in addition to having telekinesis. They also can raise the dead and become invisible by blending into the shadows. And can someone tell me how a vampire 1/3 of the age of our hero could be continually best our hero? In every vampire romance I've read, the older the vampire the greater the strength and the speed and the everything....not so much in Dancing With the Devil.

The romance between Nikki and Michael didn't work either as it rang false by basing itself on a psychic connection that readers had to believe in without any actual romantic gestures from either character. When all was said and done I was still wondering how the characters fancied themselves in love.

The biggest flaw of the book would have to be Nikki herself. She came across angry with the world and self sacrificing to the point I really was rooting for the bad guy to kill her and get it over with. I have a hard time liking a character who completely ignores all of her own instincts, runs headlong into danger every other page knowing it was probably not a good idea and practically gift wraps herself for the bad guy to kidnap her (after already having been kidnapped by him once.) She was BTSTL (Beyond Too Stupid to Live!)

In a Nutshell: Despite the numerous negatives I did give this book 3 stars because it has potential and room to grow. Jake was a very interesting secondary character and I'm interested in seeing what the Damask Circle is all about.

Cold Sight by Leslie Parrish

Synopsis: After being made a scapegoat in a botched investigation that led to a child's death, Aidan McConnell became a recluse. Still, as a favor to an old friend, Aidan will help on the occasional ESA (Extra Sensory Agency) case.

Reporter Lexie Nolan has a nose for news-and she believes a serial killer has been targeting teen girls around Savannah, but no one believes her. So she turns to the new paranormal detective agency and the sexy, mysterious Aidan for help. But just as the two begin forging a relationship, the case turns eerily personal for Lexie-and Aidan discovers that maybe he hasn't lost the ability to feel after all.

My Thoughts: This romantic suspense book has everything I could want. A mysterious hero with baggage. A snarky intelligent woman who represents everything our hero detests. A deviously twisted sociopath who has kidnapped yet another teenage girl in a town that has put up blinders to what is happening in its poorer section. Sizzling attraction between our H/h. And Psychics. 

I seriously love a psychic twist on the paranormal genre. With so many vampire and werewolf stories it is refreshing and somehow more realistic than the others. Probably because our friendly neighborhood psychics are still basically human.

The romance aspect of this novel was well done but didn't necessarily wow me. To tell the truth I was so caught up in the serial killer/kidnapper aspect I anxiously continued on, biting my nails the entire time just to see if our heroes would save the girl in time. The mystery part really did shine and the deep dark town secret was a bit shocking. 

This isn't necessarily a book for everyone as there are some situations involved that are hot buttons for some and I feel I need to include a warning. Although many of the graphic scenes are glossed over there is mention of the killing and torturing in addition to rape and prostitution of teenage girls.

Not sure what it says about me that I loved every minute of this book but there you are. LOL.

When I picked up this book and it's follow up, I took a chance on an author I'd never heard of before and ended up being very surprised and happy with my choice. I will definitely read book 2 in this series and I really hope Parrish plans on writing many more.

Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu

The first book in the Dirk & Steele series by Marjorie M. Liu is a wonderful book. Delilah Reese is a special woman with special psychic abilities who is on vacation in Beijing. During a shopping expedition to the local Dirt Market she is sold a riddle box by a persistent old woman. Once back to her hotel room she works to open the box. To her surprise out pops Hari.

To some this might seem like a cheesy attempt at a twisted genie in a bottle story but it truly isn't. Hari has been cursed to the box for over 2000 years having to do the bidding of whomever owns the box. His life is nothing but that of a slave to do whatever tasks he is commanded to do. He has been a killer for kings and a concubine for women over the millennia never doing what he would like but only things that his masters want.

Dela and Hari find that breaking his curse isn't the only thing going on. Dela's life is also in jeopardy. On the day that Hari is released from the box Dela is attacked twice. By two different parties even. Hari means to use all his years as a trained warrior to keep her safe.

I found this book very enjoyable enough to forgo sleep in order to read every word. The book takes place in only a matter of days but somehow Liu manages to weave her tale of romance into an extremely believable story. Well, if you believe in shapeshifters and wizards that is.

I normally take issue with books that have a relationship bloom so quickly. The thought of "love at first sight" makes me roll my eyes and want to throw the book against a wall. Dela and Hari do fall in love and happen to do it within a very short time period and somehow Ms. Liu made me a believer of their love.