Agatha H. And The Airship City

Title: Agatha H. And The Airship City
Authors: Phil & Kaja Foglio
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Agatha Clay is a lab assistant at the Transylvania Polygnostic University. But her life goes completely topsy-turvy (sp?) when Baron Klaus Wulfenbach takes over her hometown of Beetleburg. Something happens that gets Agatha captured and brought aboard the tyrant's airship city, Castle Wulfenbach. There, she is to discover many things... and not all are safe...

Rockin' Review:
Okay, that's not my best summary when compared to the ton of stuff in the book, but that's a basic outline.
This was an extremely good book. It was wonderfully well-written, though I think that the cast is a little big. I lost track of what name belonged to who pretty commonly. And I saw the "Agatha-really-a-Heterodyne" bit from a long way off. Hey, the "H" in the title is a major pointer at it. And I have a good feeling that I've got an idea about her and the Other. There were some awkward and uncomfortable moments, so that's the reason for the lost half-Guitar. But most of the book was very good... especially near the end, when Life has to rip you from it.
This was a very rockin' book. You may have to brace yourself, but go ahead and get this book! It's rockin'!

The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare

Title: The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Three Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Qwill takes his friend Junior Down Below to a party. But Qwill has to yank them out of it and back to Moose County, because an accident has claimed the life of Junior's father, the publisher of the local newspaper! But when things start moving too fast afterwards, Qwill suspects that Jr.'s father may have been murdered... and Koko has developed a thing for knocking off Shakespeare books off of his shelves...
Qwill may have to look in the most unlikely spot for this murderer... and try to save the local paper as well... Can he accomplish both?

Rockin' Review:
This was only an average book. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It did answer a few questions about what's mentioned in some of the books afterwards, however.
This was only an average book.

A Timely Vision

Title: A Timely Vision
Author: Joyce and Jim Lavene
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Dae O' Donell runs the thrift store Missing Pieces in the small town of Duck, North Carolina. And her special gift of seeing visions of lost things lets her help people. Her life's gotten busy since she became mayor.
But her life's going to get busier when she discovers the dead body of an important person in Duck. Dae's friend, Miss Mildred, is blamed for the murder of her sister, but Dae knows that the elderly Miss Mildred is no killer. With the help of the new innkeeper of the Blue Whale Inn, new Duck resident, and former FBI agent Kevin Brickman, Dae sets out to prove Miss Mildred's innocence...

Rockin' Review:
These two authors have gotten better since their Renaissance Faire book! This book was actually enjoyable, and the characters made more sense. They did heap too many problems at once during one point of the book. And there were some glitches... but this was a pretty good book anyway.
Overall, this was a pretty good book.

Copycat Killing

Title: Copycat Killing
Author: Sofie Kelly
Rating: Five Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
It's been raining, it's been pouring, in Mayville Heights. But soon, rain won't be Kathleen's only problem. An accident at Wisteria Hill uncovers a mystery of the past. But then Kathleen and her friend Maggie discover a drowned artist in the flooded basement of the artists' co-op building... one with suspicious backgrounds!
Kathleen's going to need the help of her magical cats Hercules and Owen to solve both mysteries...

Rockin' Review:
I love this series! Once again, the author did a wonderful job... and she handled two mysteries at once! Nice! The book was wonderfully written, the characters were pretty believable, and the twist of minor romance was nice. The book had a surprising end, but it was very good. There were only a few glitches, but they were very tiny and minor... even the slightly bigger ones. But it was so good, there were times when you couldn't leave the book! In fact, you hated it when life made you put it down, and went back as soon you as you could!
It looks like that this is the last book of the series, but I'm so hoping that's wrong.
This was a wonderful book! Definitely get it! It's a TOTALLY ROCKIN' BOOK!

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

Title: The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Author: Tamora Pierce
Rating: Three Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Now that she has her shield, Alanna's gone adventuring. She heads for the desert, where she ends up joining a desert tribe. Adventures are coming for Alanna, some in love as well as magical...

Rockin' Review:
Sorry for that bad summary. But it does show a major problem... there was no one major problem to fix, no one major story.
The first part of the book was good. But then it was like Mrs. Pierce started putting in "half-hour shows", and "mini-stories" into it. There was no one major conflict. That didn't make it very enjoyable. It was still pretty well-written, but this book was more like a scrapbook stuck together.
This is not the best Alanna book. I wouldn't suggest it unless you were going through the series. This book was only okay overall (though the first part of the book was enjoyable).

The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts

Title: The Cat Who Talked To Ghosts
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Three Guitar

Sizzilin' Summary:
Qwilleran gets a desperate call for help from his former housekeeper Iris Cobb. But when he gets to Mrs. Cobb's home, a farmhouse turned museum, he finds her dead! It seems that she was frightened to death, but the circumstances are suspicious...
Qwill agrees to move into the museum until a new manager can be found. But Koko starts acting strange. There are rumors of a ghost living there. But is it really a ghost freaking Koko out, or is it a mystery...?

Rockin' Review:
Okay, after The Cat Who Sniffed Glue, this was a bit of a disappointment. I expected at least a four-Guitar! I so didn't get that.
This book wasn't bad. It was well-written, and had average-level enjoyment. But there wasn't much mystery attention. It was more like seeing into the life of Qwill, which makes for more of a relaxing read. And there was at least one thing that ticked me off... one thing seemed like an answer, but then it turned out to be something else! The new answer made sense, but it was still annoying!
So this book made a good relaxing read. But it wasn't bad, nor was it great. It was a good relaxing read, and that was that.
This book was neither good nor bad, but a good relaxer-read (though there is some excitement, to warn you!).

The Cat Who Sniffed Glue

Title: The Cat Who Sniffed Glue
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Vandalism is becoming a problem in Pickaxe. But that's nothing when a member (son of rich banker and in banking himself) of Qwilleran's Theatre Club is murdered, along with his wife. The police thinks it was a robbery, but the owners of the house happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But Qwilleran doesn't believe it. And Koko's developed a thing for sniffing glue and stuff like glue.
Qwill and Koko are going to have a time trying to fix this "sticky" situation...

Rockin' Review:
How funny that "glue" is in the name... because you stick to this book like glue! True, there were some parts that you couldn't stick to, and some glitches, but the rest was amazing! It was very well-written, and it was very enjoyable. You hated it when life forced you to put the book down. And you went back to the book when it was a good time, just to find out what to happened! Awesome or what?
This book was so totally awesome, that if you find it... definitely get it!