It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly blog meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey where you list the books you read last week and the ones you hope to read this week.

Read Last Week:

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel:  I stopped reading the book around page 200 or so.  I was completely bored and felt like I only made it that far because I couldn't believe that nothing was happening in the book.  It was like being on a very long phone conversation with someone you didn't want to talk to as they filled you in on every detail of their everyday life.  Two things I learned that were cool from the book though however- Stiltsville really did exist, and that oranges explode when orange groves freeze.  I am sure that this is a good book, it is just not one for me.

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman:  As always, I felt Carol Goodman delivered a fantastic book.  I fell right into this isolated world of academia, with its rituals and traditions and secrets.  

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham:  I liked this book, it was an easy fun read.  There were some aspects of the book I thought lacked a little, but for the most part I enjoyed it.  I am about to read the second in this series for netGalley, and I am interested to compare the two.

Vixen by Jillian Larkin:  This is our book club book for July.  I did enjoy this book, although every so often the reader is reminded that the characters are only 17 years old, and that was hard for me to wrap my head around.  Since this is a book club book, I won't post my review on it until after we meet.  

Currently Reading:

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich:  So excited to read this one! I won this in a giveaway hosted by Book Belle - if you haven't visited her blog, check it out.  She has well written reviews on a variety of books! 

Honolulu by Alan Brennert:  I recently read Molokai and loved it - I have hopes that I enjoy this one just as much.  

Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank:  I am a sucker for a book set in the Lowcountry!

Phantom Evil - Review

Title: Phantom Evil

Author: Heather Graham

Publisher: Mira

Goodreads Summary:

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he’s gathered know a little of the otherworldly — each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can’t tell if Adam’s demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he’s well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson’s careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam’s call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house — once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives... and their immortal souls.

My thoughts:

This book reminded me it has been too long since I have visited New Orleans- the sights, sounds, restaurants described all make me want to go back right this second. As for the book itself, I felt it was just ok.

The supernatural plot lines were the best - I felt that they were well written, and told a good story. Everything dealing with the house being haunted, the ghosts, the serial killer Newton- all were well done. I wish the rest of the book had been as good. However, there was just too much going on to be believable. The Aryans, the creepy church, just too much. I also did not like how the main characters, Angela and Jackson, kept referring to their teammates as "kids". Angela and Jack are in their thirties, while the rest of their crew were in their twenties. It drove me crazy, they just were not old enough to refer to them as kids- and it happened alot. It was a small thing that grated on my nerves. I am in my thirties, and have friends in their twenties, and I don't think of them as children.

I read this book because I am about to read the second in the series, Heart of Evil, for netGalley, and felt the need to read the first one before I did. I am anxious to compare the two.