What I've Been Reading - Stanley, Nasty and Morgan

First of all, because it was the cutest and most surprising thing I've read lately, Stanley Moves In by Jack Rosse, (otherwise known as Bill Kirton or crime fiction fame).

Stanley is not just another fairy; well he is, but even though Stanley's story was inspired by and written for kids, he is surprisingly cantankerous, lovingly so. There's a vulnerability to him that we love, like a hero we think we can fix or the underdog we want to see come out on top.  Don't take my word for it. Let Stanley tell you.

During the Christmas hiatus from writing I read several paranormals and young adult authors but got hooked instantly on Cate Tiernan's series, Sweep, about a young doesn't-wanna-be-a witch, Morgan, who learns of her powers as she fends off the forces of darkness, attends high school and falls in love.  I couldn't put them down, all 15 of them.  Her newest book is not YA but the series holds a lot of promise. Just out is Immortal Beloved.

Pulled from my 'library' in the office closet where it had been buried on the TBR shelf was Susan Wittig Albert's mystery series, the first one, Thyme of Death. China Bayles is a forty something ex-defense lawyer who has moved from the rat race of Houston, to the tiny town of Pecan Springs where she runs an herb shop called Thyme & Seasons, solves murders with her sidekick Ruby who runs the New Age shop next door, and battles her attraction to ex-cop now criminology professor and hunkahunka burnin'love, Mike McQuaid. Lots of great description and community in this 16 book series (so far). An instant success with me.

What was the last thing you read? What genres do you read?