Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson

Author: Suzanne Johnson
Title:Royal Street Sentinels of New Orleans #1

Publication: April 10, 2012

Publisher: Tor Books

Genre: Adult, Paranormal, Mystery

Pages: 336

Audience: 18 and up

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):
As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

My thoughts:

 I thoroughly enjoyed this book . I had a tough time starting the novel, but once I got into it, I really had fun reading it. The characters were perfect southerners. I could replace the characters with people I know, except for the paranormal/fantasy part. I really liked DJ. She is a skilled wizard who loves New Orleans and Cheetos. I could relate to her- on the Cheetos part. Haha! Anyway, her relationship with her partner, Alex is hilarious and frustrating. At one point I was laughing so hard I snorted, fell over in the bed and died laughing. It took me a full two to three minutes to regain my composure to continue the story. There is enough spooky elements, hilarious moments, and realistic, and sad moments to keep the book entertaining and easy to relate to. The book really painted an image of New Orleans and made me want to visit NOLA more than ever. So if you're into the fantasy/paranormal genre or not- give it a try! There are two more books that are out in the series. The library I use does not have them, but I hope to get my hands them on it soon!

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot

Author: Meg Cabot

Title: The Mediator
Publication: December 28th, 2004
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5 out 5

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Synopsis: Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

Thoughts:  I love you Meg. Will you marry me?

Nah, just kidding (mostly). Everything she writes, I love. All of her adult and young adult books are addicting. I haven't read her kid/tween selections yet, but I'll get there sooner or later. For now, let's start on her series The Mediator. The main character Suze is a kick ass character that can see ghosts that need help passing over to the afterlife. She's strong willed, quick on her feet, street smart, real, and good with weapons. Not like swords or hammers will do anything to a ghost, but they'll for sure slow one down. On her first day in her moms new house, she finds a hot ghost named Jesse and tries to get him to leave. His argument? I was here first. Pretty legit reason, so Suze copes with a really attractive spanish speaking ghost that not only wont leave her alone, but protects her when other spirits try to harm her... which is so adorable. They become a really good team, and feelings start to grow.

Her mother remarried when her father died (a father she still sees from time to time *wink wink*) and now she's stuck with three brothers. Suze names them after Snow Whites dwarfs because their personality matches. There's Sleepy (the oldest and I believe to be written like he does marijuana), Dopey (same age as her and attractive but not too bright), and Doc (because he's really smart). Doc sometimes helps Suze on her adventures, and he figures out about Jesse pretty quickly. There's lots of humor in it as well, so you'll find yourself laughing in some of the situations she puts herself in.

The series is action packed and written very well. The character development progression is great, I didn't think there were any slow parts in any of the books, her friends are likable, and the cutesy romance doesn't disappoint. You'll get addicted fast, and you're welcome for recommending such a great book. *pats self on back*

Kiss & Hell by Dakota Cassidy

Author: Dakota Cassidy

Title: Kiss & Hell
Publication: June 2nd, 2009
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out 5

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Synopsis: 
Delaney Markham doesn't just see dead people, she hears them too. And FYI-communicating with tortured souls all day can really wreak havoc on your love life. Sans boyfriend, Delaney makes the best of her gift by holding séances to make ends meet—that is until one incredibly annoying ghost just won't go away.

Besides being sinfully hot-in a college professor sort of way-all signs point to Clyde Atwell being much more than the ordinary spirit. In fact, he's a newbie demon whose first assignment is to take Delaney back down to hell with him. Yeah, like that's going to happen on the first date.

Thoughts: Delaney has had one hell of a life. She can see spirits that always want things from her, and there isn't an off switch. Instead of having a family she's always wanted, she adopts unwanted dogs and treats them like children. Now, let's meet Clyde. Mr. sexy, nice, caring, and all around good person demon that wants to drag her to Lucifer. This wacky adventure leads these two characters learning about life that they haven't found pleasure in. Delaney always had to live with her demons, and Clyde... you have to read that part. They feed off each others energy, and it's super cute. The characters definitely have spark, and they're addicting to read. Clyde is super adorable, and Delaney is just like "Yeah, sure, you're cute, but you'll be cuter if you don't try to bring me down to hell." (which is completely understandable).

The only part that bothers me -- and why I'm taking away one star -- is the language Delaney uses. In almost every sentence she throws the f-bomb, or swears for no reason but to just be crude. Now, I'm all for swear words... you can use them. Whatever, right? This book overuses it, and I felt like I had to skip some parts when she got off on rants. I understand she's pissed off sometimes, but it would be nice if the author toned it down.

Otherwise it's a very nice storyline. If you're a big reader it can definitely be finished in a few hours. You're also introduced to a few other characters that bring comic relief, which balances out the book. The adult content is more steamy than sweet, so be aware of that.