Favorite Lines: “But what stunned me into stillness was the god-like being lying on the hospital bed secured in a series of straps. He was male, a red-haired throwback to the time of Viking warriors. A being so perfect he could be no other than Adonai, an Elysian divinity.” (p. 124)  

Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim — but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined? 

Read my review of The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay at Scooper Speaks!

Favorite Lines: “There were nights when I let no one near me, when I knew that the boys who came to try their luck were just taking an opportunity, and I’d fight them, kick and scratch in a silent battle under the harsh fabric coverings. There were nights when I hadn’t the strength to fight and would reach down, moving my hands fast to get the encounter over with as quickly as I could. There were nights when I’d lie unresisting and close my eyes, slipping my fingers under boys’ clothing in case I might find succor there…Fewer friendships come out of the creches. We do too much to one another within them.” (p. 170-71)

Read the review of Benighted by Kit Whitfield at Scooper Speaks. This story isn’t one that you’ll want to read while you eat or immediately following, so before reading Benighted make Potato and Sausage Hash with Moroccan Flavors.

Juliet Blackwell is the author of  Secondhand Spirits, book one in the Witchcraft Mystery series. Set in San Francisco the book is about Lily Ivory, a witch who owns a vintage clothing shop and becomes embroiled in murder and kidnappings. She tries to keep her witch abilities secret, but with a couple of men sniffing around her it may not be possible.

Read my review at Scooper Speaks for more about Secondhand Spirits. After you’ve read the review, go get the book and make a breakfast trifle to enjoy while you read Secondhand Spirits.

Favorite Lines: “One human hand, black and rough, tipped in claws and backed in feathers, snaked up and grasped the wire mesh. Then came another, curving with yellow talons on the fingertips. Two silver wings unfolded to fill the whole space of the cage with feathers. An androgynous, human face rose from the shadows: a great crown of plumes above; a thick ruff of down beneath. It stared at her with an eagle’s unblinking gaze.” (p. 90)

Read Scooper Speaks’ review of  Ghost Ocean by S.M. Peters. Then if you decide to buy this book visit.

Make sure you’re eating some fried chicken. In the book Te’s aunts serve it cold, but that’s up to you.

Favorite Lines: “Through each punishment, she had been taught a proper lesson, correcting her behavior for one infraction or the other. The lessons had been well learned and well deserved. Only after apologizing and begging for forgiveness was she once again favored with an injection. she worked hard never to disappoint her master again and not force him to punish her.

“Take your clothes off.” ” (p. 16)

Visit Scooper Speaks to read my review of Christy Reece’s romantic suspense, Run to Me.

As usual you need to eat, so why not chew on some chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables while you read.

Favorite Lines: “Her father was dead, really dead and long before he’d died he’d sold her to a demon. Given her up, tried to get rid of her, traded her life for whatever success he’d had in some podunk town that nobody else gave a fuck about. His only daughter. the little girl he’d once read bedtime stories to.” (p. 271)

Hanging out with demons can be hell….

It’s been three months since psychologist Megan Chase made the stunning discovery that the world is filled with demons, and once more the situation is too hot to handle.

Ironically, Megan — the only person in the world without a little personal demon sitting on her shoulder — has become the leader of a demon “family,” but now some unknown arcane power is offing her demons in a particularly unpleasant fashion. And while her demon lover Greyson Dante is still driving her wild with desire, he’s also acting strangely evasive. Then there’s the truth about Megan’s past — the truth she’s never known.

Caught between personal problems and personal demons, Megan is having one hell of a hard time. Will the help of her Cockney guard demons and her witch friend Tera be enough so that Megan can finally resolve the past, survive the present, and face the future?

Read my review of Stacia Kane’s Demon Inside and be like Greyson in Demon Inside by sticking your fork into a pie plate of apple crisp. Check out Rhodes website for the recipe for this plate of yummy cinnamon roll apple crisp.

“Hermod watched mournfully as she plucked away at his muffin.” (p. 105)

Before you pick up Greg van Eekhout’s Norse Code and read about a Valkyrie and a Norse God’s attempt to change fate and save the world, check out Scooper Speaks and read my review.

You’ll want to have some muffins and tea while you read the story.

“I hope you like General Tso’s Chicken!” (p. 81) Me too, because that’s what you’ll be eating while you read Linda Robertson’s Vicious Circle, a story about a witch involved in werewolf business who is targeted by vampires. You can read my review of it at Scooper Speaks.

Favorite Lines: “I lay naked and filthy on the ground, panting, trembling like I’d been struck by lightning. A spider crawled across my foot and I shook it off.” (p. 70)

A year ago Jane nearly lost her life taking down an entire blood family of deadly rogue vampires that preyed on the helpless local populace of an Appalachian town. Now, after months of recuperation, she’s back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she’s hired by those she’s trained to kill—vampires…

Check out Faith Hunter’s newest release Skinwalker for a steady paced and well crafted novel about shifters and vampires. You won’t be sorry.

While you’re at it, visit Scooper Speaks to read my review.

Food and Skinwalker:  Beef Kabobs With Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Favorite Lines: “His body was carted off while I was still passed out, buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the Northern Illinois woods.” (p. 48)

Meet Mel: Business owner. Dedicated mom. Natural-born Amazon.

It’s been ten years since Melanippe Saka left the Amazon tribe in order to create a normal life for her daughter, Harmony. True, running a tattoo parlor in Madison, Wisconsin while living with your Amazon warrior mother and priestess grandmother is not everyone’s idea of normal, but Mel thinks she’s succeeded at blending in as human.

Turns out she’s wrong. Someone knows all about her, someone who’s targeting young Amazon girls, and no way is Mel is going to let Harmony become tangled in this deadly web. With her mother love in overdrive, Ms. Melanippe Saka is quite a force . . . even when she’s facing a barrage of distractions—including a persistent detective whose interest in Mel goes beyond professional, a sexy tattoo artist with secrets of his own, and a seriously angry Amazon queen who views her as a prime suspect. To find answers, Mel will have to do the one thing she swore she’d never do: embrace her powers and admit that you can take the girl out of the tribe . . . but you can’t take the tribe out of the girl.

Check out my review of Amazon  Ink at Scooper Speaks. Then while you’re reading Lori Devoti’s Amazon Ink, have some pie. There’s nothing like eating a traditional pie while reading a story that is all about fighting tradition to make a better world. Do something different. Make a pie. Get the recipe from Delia Online.