Heart Of Light (Sarah A. Hoyt)

On a luxury magic carpetship in 1889, an English couple travel to Cairo for their honeymoon. Except for a brush with a dragon, the voyage is uneventful. But for Nigel Oldhall and his beautiful Indian-born bride, Emily, the holiday hides another purpose. Within hours of arriving in the teeming city, they are plunged into an extraordinary struggle among demons, murderers, and magic.

In Cairo, Nigel can no longer hide his secret from his wife: he is on a mission to rescue a ruby that will ensure Queen Victoria's hold on Africa forever. The search has already swallowed up Nigel's older brother-and now it has put his own Emily in mortal danger. But is she the innocent Nigel imagines? Soon the two set off for the heart of the continent among conspirators and traitors-all seeking the ruby and the gifts and curses it offers them...and all of humankind.

This one was a hard one to get involved with. About a third of the way, I gave up and skimmed through the rest of the book to see how it ends.

Dont recommend this one. I'm not even gonna try the rest of the series.

Heroes Adrift (Moira J. Moore)

Long-suffering Shield Lee Mallorough and her all-too-charming Source Shintaro Karish are summoned to court by the Empress, who asks the fractious Pair to undertake a mission of utmost importance and secrecy: locate the descendants of her illegitimate, exiled sister.

As their recent chaotic exploits have proven, Lee and Taro are completely ill suited to such a task, but they are in no position to refuse. So, in search of lost royalty, they travel to the Southern Islands, where the heat is unbearable, the clothing is just short of optional - and the less-than-friendly locals could care less that Lee and Taro are working for the Empress...

This was my least favorite of the series so far but it was still a good read. I liked seeing how these characters reacted to situations that were so reversed from their normal life.

Looking forward to the next in the series being released in August.

The Hero Strikes Back (Moira J. Moore)

The weather in the city of High Scape is off the charts. It's snowing in the middle of summer, and the townsfolk are desperate for Shield Lee Mallorough and Source Shintaro Karish to fix it - which they can't do. But try explaining that to an angry mob...

Meanwhile, there's a crazed killer targeting aristocrats. Karish has forfeited the Dukedom of Westsea to continue working as a Source, but Lee fears that technicality won't matter to the murderer. It certainly doesn't matter to Karish's mother, who's bound and determined that he take the title.

Only by working together will Lee and Karish be able to figure out the weather, catch the killer before it's too late, and most importantly...get rid of Karish's mother.

This one was even better than the first!

Resenting the Hero (Moira J. Moore)

Since she was a child, Dunleavy Mallorough has been nurturing her talents as a Shield, preparing for her day of bonding. Unfortunately, fate decrees Lee's partner to be the legendary, handsome, and unbearably self-assured Lord Shintaro Karish. Sure, he cuts a fine figure with his aristocratic airs and undeniable courage. But Karish's popularity and notoriety- in bed and out- make him the last Source Lee ever wanted to be stuck with.

The duo is assigned to High Scape, a city so besieged by disaster that seven bonded Pairs are needed to combat it. But when an inexplicable force strikes down every other Source and Shield, Karish and Lee must put aside their differences in order to defeat something even more unnatural than their reluctant affections of each other.

I liked this one much more than I expected. I loved Karish's character. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between the Pair developed.

Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels (Mindy Starns Clark)

Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels follows Callie to her home on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where she volunteers in her spare time at a clothing boutique for indigent women as she waits for her next work assignment. There's plenty to keep her busy as she waits. One of Callie's favorite clients is out of drug rehab and is just starting to turn her life around when her boyfriend disappears. When the boyfriend turns up dead in the trunk of the girl's car, it's up to Callie to clear her client's name and get her out of jail by finding the real killer. But can Callie find the killer before the killer finds her?

I am really enjoying this series. I love murder mysteries. This is book 2 in "The Million Dollar Mystery" Series.

Burning Water, A Diana Tregarde Investigation (Mercedes Lackey)

Dallas Police Detective Mark Valdez isn't just any cop - he's a psychic who knows that the cattle mutilations and torture murders he's been investigating are somehow tied together. He also knows that his meager psychic abilities aren't enough to identify the killers, much less stop them.
Luckily, Mark has an ace up his sleeve: an attractive young romance novelist who happens to be a practicing witch. And not just any witch, either - Diana Tregarde is a Guardian, charged with protecting the Earth and all its creatures.
Using modern science and ancient magics, Diana and Mark discover that they are tailing no ordinary serial killer but the awakened avatar of an Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca and his four beautiful hand-maidens are preparing for a great sacrifice that will transform North America into a new Aztec realm.
Diana isn't sure her powers are strong enough to take on those of a risen Aztec god, but she has no choice. As a Guardian, she is sworn to protect mankind, even at the cost of her own life. Luckily, she does not stand alone. Mark Valdez is more than just a cop. And Tezcatlipoca is not the only Aztec god walking in the world.
This one was a tough one! It was very gruesome and bloody. There are quite a few places in the book that the story lags and you find yourself yelling at the book to just get on with it.

A Penny for Your Thoughts (Mindy Starns Clark)

The first book of the series introduces sleuth Callie Webber, a private investigator and attorney who works for a mysterious philanthropist named Tom. Callie's job is to investigate charities and, if they are on the up and up, donate money on behalf of her employer's J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation. In A Penny for Your Thoughts, Tom sends Callie to Philadelphia to deliver a grant to an old friend of his. But before Callie can even hand over the money, she's face to face with a dead body—and a lot of unanswered questions!