V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

A mob leader, a shoplifter, a questionable suicide, a murder, a gambler, a dirty cop; many characters and events are a part of this book which seem unconnected until private detective Kinsey Millhone starts investigating the suicide of a woman she catches shoplifting. Though I needed to go back and forth in this book at times to get all the characters straight it eventually all comes together. It's fun to get it all figured out. This is an entertaining, enjoyable read with suspense and humor. I always look forward to reading another book in this authors alphabet mystery series.

The Future Of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

It is hard to remember a time when there was no Facebook, let alone no internet. The Future of Us is set in 1996, when Josh and Emma are juniors in high school and Emma has just gotten her first computer. With help from Josh, Emma is connected to the internet with 100 free hours from AOL. When she logs on she sees her Facebook page 15 years in the future! Not knowing if this is a prank or if it is a virus, she asks Josh for help.
Through status updates and pictures they begin to “see” their future and their friends, whether it be good or bad.

I had great expectations for the second book by Asher. His first, Thirteen Reasons Why, was a page-turner until the end. I thought this was a good book and an interesting plot, but it left me wanting more. As I was reading, I found myself laughing and traveling down memory lane as I was in school at the same time and I could relate to the social references. Although I liked this part of the book, I am not sure some teens will get the references.

Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee

First of all, bravo to whoever decided not to put the fact that Emily's husband is reincarnated as a dog on the front jacket of the book. I am not sure I would have read it if I had known this up front. The author of the book went all out in creating Sandy. She really made you hate this guy. However, because he was such a selfish, arrogant, cheating ungrateful husband his change at the end was much more rewarding. Emily had her own faults which prevents her from truly realizing her true potential. Lee was even able to get the reader to loath Victoria, a supporting character. When Emily "discovers" all of Sandy's journals which chronicles all of his extracurricular activities a person can really feel for her. Something that I particularly loved was Sandy's canine impulses. You have this snobbish character that still has the uncontrollable urges to gobble dog treats and sniff the trees and the ground during walks. The only thing I didn't like about the book was how the two of them didn't end up together at the end.

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

The Rook is an inventive thriller about a young woman who happens to be a high ranking member of a secret government agency that battles the supernatural in Great Britain. Someone or something is trying to kill her and she’s at a bit of a disadvantage because she has completely lost her memory. Fortunately, she knew her memory loss was coming and prepared herself with extensive notes. I enjoyed this fast-paced, funny book.

Now You See Her By James Patterson

For those one or two of you that might remember, last month I reviewed Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson. It did not live up to my expectations. This months review Now You See Her also by Patterson grabbed my interest right away and didn't let go. I listened to the book on CD. This story is what I have come to expect from Patterson.
Nina Bloom has built a good life for herself and her daughter, the only problem, it is built on lies. Would you walk back into the "lions' den" and possibly destroy your life and your child's to save an innocent man. This question is answered in Now You See Her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

Elana Klovis is tired of waiting for her prince to come. She decides to leave her evil step-family and go find herself a job. Really, how much worse could it be? She ends up the new Fairy Godmother of the land. Talk about a whole new lot on life. But can a Fairy Godmother do her job and fall in love? This is something Elana has to wrestle with along with trolls, pixies, and evil witches and warlocks. This was a fun read and I really enjoyed the beginning of this series and can't wait to read more.

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook Feasting With Your Slow Cooker by Dawn J. Ranck

Here it is the month of January, so I decided I should try some new recipes. This slow cooker cookbook looked interesting, and yes, I tried 4 recipes from the book. The first one was Hamburger Vegetable Soup on pg. 32. The soup turned out well. It was tasty and it was a big recipe so the family could have soup a couple times that week. It was not fast to make as I had to chop all the vegetables and brown the hamburger first, but once it was in the pot I could go to work for the day and forget it.
I noticed that this book included desserts that could be made in the slow cooker. I tried 2 desserts. Hot Fudge Cake took 3 hours in the cooker and was immediately devoured with a scoop of vanilla ice cream(pg. 249). Cherry Delight was also easy and delicious with a 3 hour cooking time (pg. 248).
The last thing I tried was the Wild Rice on page 227. I added slender pork shops and had a good meal for the family.
So I had some fun cooking in January. If you didn't know, we have dozens of beautiful cookbooks at the library. Come and try one out!