Hello, and welcome back! May is off to a lovely start here in the northeastern part of the country. We're having a beautiful stretch of weather, good for all sorts of outdoor activities, like baseball and gardening, both standard spring things for our household. And, after I get some other chores taken care of, I'll get to spend some of my day off outside with a book, hopefully a good one.

This time out, I have Hotter After Midnight (Brava) by Cynthia Eden. Dr. Emily Drake, aka the Monster Doctor, gets called in to help the police with a murder case. Detective Colin Gyth, a shifter, is her partner. He's kept his ability a secret as he's working mostly with humans who have no concept of the creatures that walk among them. Emily is one of the rare humans who does know, which makes her assistance valuable to this investigation. Emily and Colin have to track down a killer among vampires, demons, and various other types of critters that populate the story, while they also get to explore the attraction running between them. Sadly, I didn't love this one as I've enjoyed other, similar stories lately. This world that Emily and Colin live in wasn't nearly as enjoyable or gripping as Kresley Cole's Lore, or even Shelley Laurenston's shifters. Emily carries with her baggage, though through most of the story, she seems to have moved beyond her past and uses her ability to help others. Colin has his share of issues as well, but neither seems particularly believable to me. As for hotter, well, even there, I found this one lacking. Maybe it's unfair to compare this to the two stories above, but if a reader enjoys this particular subgenre, then it's safe to assume they may pick up other books in the store that seem to be the same. For me, there's a vast difference between this one and the previous two. This one was just okay, where I enjoyed the Laurenston and flat-out love Cole. I'm giving this one two and a half of Cupid's five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!