A Review of Larceny and Lace by Annette Blair

Five Fangs for Larceny and Lace by Annette Blair

Annette Blair's whimsical and witty writing style is true magic on the page. She never disappoints.

Madeira Cutler is back in Larceny and Lace the second book in Vintage Magic Mysteries. She's preparing to open her new vintage clothing store, which is an old renovated morgue/mortuary, when an old bag of bones is found in the old storage room then stolen from the place while the playhouse next door is burned down-and the owner killed.

It's another complicated murder case that Maddie finds herself wrapped up in. And the vintage clothes are speaking to her again as her powers keep developing. But how is it all tied together? The bones, the murder (both past and present) and Maddie's shop.

Maddie gets duped, banged up and knocked down but in the end it all makes sense as everything comes together for a clear picture.

It's a fast paced read you will not want to put down until the book is done and then you'll be left longing for more.

I love that the mystery has just a hint of romance in it. Will she end up with Werner or will Nick end up playing a stronger roll in upcoming books?

Detective Werner, the guy Maddie dubbed the wiener back in third grade) is always hot on Maddie's heels catching her in precarious situations and often saving her butt from more disastrous outcomes.

But Maddie's on again, off again boy toy Nick is hardly ever around since he's busy being a hot shot FBI guy.

Honestly I hope Maddie and Werner end up together, it's so obvious they have a thing for each other even if Maddie can only realize it unconsciously. He's there and into her while Nick is never around-in Maddie's life or the book. That has to be some serious foreshadowing there that the love interest doesn't even get much ink in the books.

I love Blair's use of words and the way she blends magic and vintage clothing into the stories like they are characters themselves, especially the clothes. I really like that even if I don't know jack about fashion, vintage or otherwise. It just adds another element, another layer to the story cake that makes it that much more interesting.

I fell in love with Blair's writing when I found her accidental and triplet witch trilogies, such sexy works. This new series with it's blend of magic and mystery really has me hooked. I can't wait to read more Vintage Magic Mysteries.

Monday Musings September 28

Another Monday is upon us. Yay. I say that in the most sarcastic of tones.

It's a cold, stormy day here in Michigan and I think the weather is playing with my mood. Plus there's not enough caffeine in my body yet and I didn't sleep good last night or the previous three nights. I go through these phases where I don't sleep well and I guess I am in one now. I hope it passes soon because my nerves are about shot.

Anyway I am not thinking too clearly so my random Monday Musings are truly a bunch of ramblings today. I don't really have a whole lot of news or interesting tidbits to share today.

My weekend was OK, caught up on all the new episodes of shows that started last week-House, CSI, Grey's, Smallville, and all those. I can't say I am overly thrilled with any. Grey's was good. Smallville, while I love drooling over Tom Welling, didn't thrill me at all. I am not liking where they've been taking Smallville, I just continue watching to drool over Tom (my dream man made flesh, he's just sooo beautiful)

And I'm still undecided on Vampire Diaries. I watch because it's vampires but I am not "into" it, you know. After the first episode Being Human hooked me, Vampire Diaries not so much. I find it all a little too cliched. We'll see where it goes.

I am reading a fab book, Larceny and Lace by Annette Blair. I really love Annette Blair's books, so witty and fun. Quick reads you do not want to put down. I had to pry it out of my own hands last night to go to bed. The way I tossed and turned I would have been better off finishing the book instead of trying to sleep. Oh well.

This week at Fang-tastic Books Kiki Howell will be guest blogging on Thursday and on Friday-another awesome giveaway for Free Book Friday where I might just be giving away more than one book to kick off a spooktacular October.

Hopefully my usual glee over October will soon be upon me because I am an Autumn child and I love October and have loads planned for a scare-tastic month.

Right now though...just not feeling it. :-(

Off to refill my giant coffee mug. Maybe I really need this Blood Energy Potion.

A Review of A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair

.5
Four 1/2 Fangs for A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair

I love Annette Blair's books. Her wit and charm really shine though. The wording and dialogue are so quick and snappy, the interaction between characters is hilarious and I just love her creative usage of "swear" words that fit right in with the character and overall theme of the story. In this book all the swear words were sewing terms like scrap insteak of crap along creative usage of plucking and tucking and the like. In her magic books it was always something very funny or magical.

Another similarity is the vintage clothing, I love the way vintage clothing is almost a character or theme by itself in Blair's books. The clothing with sexy statements is also a great addition to her books. In this it was very mild, just a Kiss My Sass pair of underwear and some words on a few other lucky panties.

In A Veiled Deception we are introduced to Madeira Cutler, fashion designer in New York City, coming home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut for her sister Sherry's wedding. However on her first night home the impromptu engagement party is cut short...by a murder.

The victim is Sherry's fiance's ex who has been a thorn in Sherry's side since she arrived. Automatically Sherry is the number one suspect on the list. Maddie decides she must make sure her sister doesn't go to jail instead of walking down the aisle. Their mother died when Sherry was just a toddler and Maddie being the oldest became a surrogate mama to her, so she feels very protective of her baby sister, who is more like her own baby.

Throughout the story the character interaction is great and there are so many characters that it is amazing that Blair can keep the story so sharp and smooth while blending the diverse characters and plots and subplots. Everything is so streamlined it makes for a quick and easy, and highly entertaining read that keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is and why.

While Maddie investigates the murder, much to the dismay of local Detective Werner who Maddie dubbed Weiner in school and he's never forgiven her, she discovers a lot about the people around her including her "aunt" Fiona, her father, her sister's soon to be in laws, her mother, and even about herself.

The past is always present and Maddie, who has always been able to see ghosts, discovers she has acquired a new talent since coming home. One that allows her to see the past through the vintage item of clothing she touches. This helps her solve the murder but leaves her feeling odd because she's afraid of what other talents she might have.

In the end Maddie solves the crime with the help of her "visions", town gossip, her friends, family, Detective Werner, and her FBI on again-off again boyfriend, Nick.

She also decides what to do about her unhappiness in New York, her love of vintage clothes and the old carriage house funeral home that has called to her since she was a child. News sure travels fast in a small town and many people knew what Maddie was going to do before she did.

A Veiled Deception is a fun book even if it is a crime solving murder investigation, the characters are upbeat, interesting and snappy. It's a quick read because it is a book you won't want to put down until you're done. My mom read it in one night. I read it in two.

I just can't get enough of Blair's witty writing. I missed some of the sexy sizzle that prevailed in her witch books but where the sexy sizzle wasn't in this book there was drama and mystery and some of that steam lie in the background just waiting to erupt like a geyser, though it never did. Shame but I can see where the sizzle had to be left out to fulfil the storyline in this book.

The next book in the Vintage Magic series, Larceny and Lace, hits stores in August. I can't wait to see what Maddie does and if her currently off relationship with Nick gets turned on again.