Okay, at this point, I have no idea if this was a book from Mom or a book I received as a gift. It was on my stack of books to read. It is no longer on my stack, as I have read it.

This is book one of the Stacey Justice series. Stacey has recently returned to her hometown from elsewhere. Her family is a family of witches. Her cousin owns a bar in downtown. She has a dog and a cat. Her dad died when she was younger, her mom disappeared soon after that. And her family believes she is a chosen one.

No pressure.

The book opens with her cousin's bar in flames, Stacey trying to get her dog out of the bar. His collar is stuck on something, preventing him from escaping the burning building. Stacey manages to free the dog with the help of her cop boyfriend, they all escape. The bar burning is considered arson, with the rest of the book a saga on figuring out how the flames were really started, and what the hell, whose bones were discovered in the basement after the fire?

There are a few "not fair" scenes, with people abusing their power, a few close calls, and a run of emotion in the book. Everything turns out okay, the good guys (girls?) win, and a new mystery presents itself at the end of the book.

The book was a quick read. Again, not really my style. Unsure why, because Dresden is my style. This one, not so much. I likely won't continue the series, though the first book was a quick fun read. And yes, that 2am "finished reading" timestamp is accurate.

Ugh, do you know how much of a pain it is to write a review when you've read two more books since you finished this one? You don't? Okay, here's a suggestion: write the review when you finish the book so that you have it fresh in your head.

This is another one of the books my mom bought and added to my stack. I swear that pile is becoming smaller, but only because I'm stalled on a couple other books, one at least I know I should be focussing on instead of these books in Mom's stack.

This is book one of three (? maybe? I think) currently published about Cliff St. James, an ex-cop turned private investigator in New Orleans after Katrina. He is asked to solve a murder that happened just as the hurricane was about to hit, so all the evidence is pretty much washed away.

In investigating the murder, St. James is beaten up, has a lot of sex (not related to the being beaten up), torched (well, his stuff anyway), and has another couple people die before he solves the mystery. I have no idea just how plausible any of the book would be. I'm pretty sure if I have a large gun pointed at my face, I'm not coming back with wise-cracks. Though, that's likely part of the training / world that happens if you're exposed to it. I prefer not to be exposed to that, but recognize that the fictional world portrayed likely exists.

The book is a modern day, crime mystery, set in New Orleans. It was a fun read. I likely won't continue in the series, as the premise isn't one that captivates me.

During

Okay, sure, this is the first HPLovecraft I have ever read, and I had no idea what to expect, but really, a pilot and a geologist stumble into a strange 500 million year old cave with a series of carvings and suddenly know an entire culture's history?

WTF?

Let's just skip the story set up and just go straight to the Old Ones history, instead, shall we?

Right.

After

Okay, having never read Lovecraft, I had no idea what to expect. I enjoyed the history lesson, though seriously doubted one could come up with such an elaborately detailed history by walking through hallways adorned with statues and frescoes for a couple hours. That part was a little absurd. Okay, a lot absurd.

The full text is available online. It's a quick read if you're curious about Lovecraft. Having not read anything else by him, I am unable to compare this to his other works. This one was fine for me.