The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

Halloween is almost here.  When we were kids we had the best time trick-treating.  Our neighborhood was extremely safe and kind of off on it's own, so my parents let us go out with friends.  We visited so many houses for candy.  During this time kids wore plastic masks that had elastic around the back.  I remember one year, I went as Dracula.  I carried a tape recorder that played spooky music, which I tried to hide under my cape.  I'm certain nobody knew where it was coming from.  I was obviously being followed by my own personal orchestra.  I also remember it being cold.  Nothing wrecks a well planned Halloween costume like your mom yelling to wear your winter coat as you head out the door.  One year it even snowed, I don't mean flurries, I mean snow on the ground.  Yep, when the tv tray was set by our front door with a huge bowl filled with candy, you knew fun was on the way, cavities too.

I recently read The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling.  I am consistent, if nothing else.  I just thought this book sounded like a cute romantic comedy and would be a nice break from thrillers.  Turns out Erin Sterling is the pen name of Rachel Hawkins, author of the thriller The Wife Upstairs, which I enjoyed.  The Ex Hex is the story of Vivienne and Rhys.  Vivi and her cousin accidently put a curse on Rhys, which messes up everything.  Life in their small Georgia town was picturesque but as Halloween approaches odd things are beginning to happen.  

This book is fun, not rocket science, just plain old fun.  It's not too long, at just over 300 pages, and is a breeze to read.  The dialog is quite funny.  Some of it spattered with profanity, so if that offends you steer clear.  I promise, this book may not have you on the edge of your seat like my beloved thrillers, but it will have you laughing until the very last page.

Next time you buy yourself a six dollar pumpkin latte, pair it with this book for the full fall treatment.  FYI, the book is a far better bargain.

A Slow Fire Burning by Paul Hawkins

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

Have you ever been on a boat?  Don't look at me that way, lots of people in land locked areas haven't had the opportunity to do their best Gilligan impersonation.  Despite living on the coast, my experiences are limited. My in-laws had a boat for a short time.  The one time hubby and I went out on the water with them and a terrible thunder storm started.  With lightening striking all around us, my mother-in-law made a break for it trying to get us to safety.  If you've never sat on the back of a boat, going way too fast, over other people's wakes, bouncing off of the ledge your sitting on and realizing at that very moment that you're positioned exactly over the propeller....well, let's just say....don't!  Also, when we were kids, going to the Jersey shore, we took the Cape May Lewis Ferry.  It was their last trip of the night because of a storm rolling in.  The water was rough and our seats, though inside, looked out over the ocean.  First there is no ocean, then lots of ocean, then no ocean.  Yeah, we were bobbing up and down like one of those glass woodpecker things old people used to put on their desks for relaxation.  Relaxation my fanny, I almost puked my guts out! Boats and I obviously don't get along.

I recently read A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins.  Sound familiar?  Yep, this is the author that wrote the famous book which inspired the subsequent movie The Girl on a Train.  I loved that book.  It had such suspense.  Not only was the scene the main character observed unreliable but so was the woman watching from the train.  It was well played, keeping up the tension and constantly pointing the eye of guilt in different directions.  I wish the same were true of the new book A Slow Fire Burning.  The title certainly does this novel justice, it's slow and sadly, disappointing.  Had it been another writer, it might have been okay...and just okay.  However, given what we know what Paul Hawkins is capable of, I feel let down.  This is the story of a man who is murdered on the houseboat that he lives on.  There are several characters that could be involved. The problem is none of them are likable...which matters to many readers.  For me, not so much in a thriller so I could be okay with that if they were the slightest bit interesting...which they aren't.  Then the story evolves way too slowly and there are just no big twists.  No suspense, no tension, no twists.  How is this a thriller?  

Now, as always, I remind you that I am a housewife that hasn't sold any books so take my opinion with a grain of salt, half an onion, a dash of pepper and call me in the morning.  Seriously, this book is rated four starts and editors pick on Amazon so you may love it.  For me, reading lots of thrilling thrillers, this was slow, boring and just disappointing all around, it is a hard no.  Pass completely. 

All this talk of getting sea sick is making me need a distraction.  Book anyone?