Agatha H. And The Clockwork Princess

Title: Agatha H. And The Clockwork Princess
Authors: Phil and Kaia Foglio
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
With the secret of her family discovered and the escape from Klaus Wulfenback's airship complete, Agatha and Krosp are on the run. After some complications, they end up joining a circus going through the circus on the way to Mechancisburg. But there's going to be trouble along the way... and not all from Klaus! Some of it is going to be from the past too...

Rockin' Review:
Okay, did not see who the Other was! That was a surprising tibbit!
But to reviewing. This one was not as good as the other book. It was still good and well-done, just not as enjoyable. The first part (and the last bit) kept you in, but the middle... not as often.
And there was a bit of a problem. Agatha was possessed and wasn't there for a bit! Not a good bit! Basically, the whole bit with the "Storm King's" town and castle weren't as good. Though it was amusing how one of the authors put himself in the book (and admitted to it being an usually-bad move, which made it amusing!).
So, all in all, this was a good book... just not as good as the first one in the series.

The Cat Who Robbed a Bank

Title: The Cat Who Robbed a Bank
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Three and a Half Guitar

Sizzlin' Summary:
Two major things are coming to Pickaxe. One is the Highland Games with traditional Scottish stuff and games, and the other thing is a big-time jewel dealer with a mysterious cash-only policy and a hot niece/helper is coming to Pickaxe. But then things crash when the dealer is found murdered and the niece/helper is missing!
Koko is doing his usual, and Qwill's got to figure out the murder...

Rockin' Review:
This was not the greatest Cat Who book. Except for a spurt near the end, which earned it the last half-Guitar, it was only an average book. It was average writing, and average enjoyment. It wasn't bad or overly good. And we know who the murderer was for a long time. Too long!
All in all, it was only an average book... not bad, but not great either.

Daniel X: Game Over

Title: Daniel X: Game Over
Authors: James Patterson and Ned Rust
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
This time, Daniel is going after two aliens... Numbers 7 & 8 on the List. This married alien couple is disguised as big-time video-game makers. And they're about to release a new game... which will brainwash people and kids, making them into killers and hunters, and make them destroy humanity! And they love hunting down last of species, and having the hunted creatures for lunch. There's also another old enemy in town to boot...
Daniel's going to have a lot of trouble this time around...

Rockin' Review:
Daniel X has always been one of my fave series. This one was inspired by the graphic novel of the same series... that's what it says on the cover... and I had actually read that graphic novel, and could see the crossovers. It was cool.
The book was well-done. It was pretty well-written. It could have been done better. While there were parts that kept me stuck in the book (about 90% of the time), there were parts I could leave. There were some awkward and uncomfy moments. It's not my fave Daniel X. But it was mostly an enjoyable book.
All in all, this was a very good book, just not my top fave.

The Cat Who Saw Stars

Title: The Cat Who Saw Stars
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Polly's on vacation, so Qwilleran is going on vacation too... to the ever-popular Mouseville! And he's bringing his cats Koko and Yum Yum along.
But this summer vacation's not going to be peaceful for long. First a backpacker disappears, and then Koko detects the dead body in Qwill's yard! Talk about UFOs starts spreading rapidly, and that's an usual topic around the Pickaxe area anyway! Qwill and his friend Arch Riker scoffs at it.
But Koko's watching the stars, and a new mystery soon pops up. Of course there's more than meets the eye... and that's not the only new thing in Mouseville. There's a new resteraunt (sp?), and a new knitting club... a lot of news...
So who knows what "new"s will show up this time? LOL!

Rockin' Review:
It's great to have a rockin' book again!
The story was well-done. It was highly enjoyable. And it made you keep coming back for even more!
The only glitches? The Backpacker Mystery seemed to only start things off, and was never really explained. And, while it was good at the beginning, it wasn't always come-back material. However, the former element disappeared very quickly.
If you spot this book, get it! It's TOTALLY ROCKIN'!!!

A Sheetcake Named Desire

Title: A Sheetcake Named Desire
Author: Jacklyn Brady
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Rita Lucero is in New Orleans to force her husband to sign the divorce papers, after a long two years trying to get him to do so. But when she goes to his bakery, Zydeco Cakes, not only does she discover areas that are from her dreams, a ruined cake with high stakes attached, and many old friends who stuck with Philippe (the husband), but a murder mystery... Philippe has been murdered!
Rita is a primary suspect, as well as an old friend of hers named Ox... whom she knows didn't commit the murder! Miss Frankie, Rita' mother-in-law, soon has Rita staying around to search for the killer. Another reason is that Rita has been given Zydeco and Philippe's things... because she's still technically his wife!
But there's more trouble at Zydeco than a murder... will Rita figure things out?

Rockin' Review:
Admittedly, the actual writing of the book was four-Guitar material. And there were parts that kept you stuck, but not for long. The enjoyment level was only about three Guitars after the beginning.
And I wasn't really satisfied with the ending. There were no real clues leading up to the whodunit. It was like the author randomly picked someone at the end, stuck them there, and stuck the remaining facts into the back story to make sense. It still feels randomly picked. And there were a few facts that didn't add up.
All in all, there was good writing, but the book only had average enjoyment.

Pretty Poison

Title: Pretty Poison
Author: Joyce and Jim Lavene
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
It's an exciting day for widow (of a police detective), professor, and botanist Peggy Lee. First, she accidentally crashes into a vet's Saturn on her bike. Then she discovers a dead body in her gardening shop, the Potting Shed. The body is of Mark Warner, one of the most important people in the city of Charlotte. The police pin the murder on a local homeless man, Mr. Cheever.
But Peggy knows that he's not the suspect, and starts tackling a very tricky mystery... and she's already trying to help figure out a poisoning in a nearby town! To make things harder, there's a lost dog, a Great Dane, who wants to stick with her. The good news is that the Saturn driver, named Steve and who lives near her, is a vet. Peggy's falling for him, despite being widowed for only two years. And Peggy's got an online stalker named Nightflyer who's mysterious...
Peggy's got a lot of work ahead of her... especially when a friend of her gets pinned for this as well!

Rockin' Review:
Now, a good deal of the book was 4-Guitar material. But then, near the end, it gets boring! It takes too long, and it's way too stretched out. It's only near the very end does it start getting enjoyable again. Like, last two chapters, or chapter and a half. But it was so boring for a good long bit! It was just too long, and too stretched out.
I would not suggest this book. It's good for a lot of it, but not worth that boring and long-stretched area.

The Cat Who Sang for the Birds

Title: The Cat Who Sang for the Birds
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Spring decided to spring early to Mouse County, but so did a new mystery... a weird case of vandalism that soon becomes a case of death. Qwill suspects foul play. He's also got a new closed gazebo, where he takes the cats to view a bird-garden. And Koko sings with and for the birds! But even with this new hobby, Koko will be trying to help solve this mystery, which is larger than one might think...
Will they be able to crack the case this time?

Rockin' Review:
Hmm... this was pretty much just an okay book. It was better than average, but not by much. You could stay in the book for long times, but Life didn't have much trouble getting you away from the book. The only exception is the end of the book, when you're reading just to get it over with. It was the last book in the cozy-reading challenge, however, so that helped with that streak.
The story needs tweaking. It was only an above-average book. It was a more relaxing read.
This was only a slightly-above-average book overall.