Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein and December Reads

I thought I would do a combined post of what I read this month as well as my reivew of Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein. Here is my review:

Christopher Miller has a pleasant life working at a desk at the F.B.I. even though he would rather be on the field. He has a wonderful wife and a daughter he adores when he gets mixed up in a crazy game that he isn’t sure how it is going to come out. Scott Wilkerson is about to live out his worst nightmare. He is on the way to the airport headed out of town for an important meeting and his limo driver is awful. So he calls to complain about him and the driver loses his job. Little does Scott know that his driver Nikolai is not someone you want to mess with at all. Nikolai is so pissed not only at Scott for getting fired but at Christopher Miller that he takes things too far. But will everyone survive and how far will Nikolai take things?

This is the first book I have read by Chris Grabenstein. It was certainly not what I was expecting but I enjoyed it. I have never read any Christmas thrillers but this is one I would highly recommend. A friend of mine had read it and it peaked my interest. The writing is well done. Reading books about the FBI is one of my favorite things to do and this story really was amazing.

Deciding between Christopher Miller and Scott Wilkerson is not possible. Not only were they strong men, but also I like them both as main characters because one was the one who would save while the other one needed saving. They both had roles to play and I felt bad for Scott because of what he had to go through. I personally have never been in that type of situation so just reading the words on the page I could only imagine the agony. I felt awful for Melissa who is Scott’s wife never knowing what was going to happen next. It takes a lot of team effort to make something work and to pull it off. I was impressed with even the minor characters because they also had roles to play.

I hope to read more by Chris Grabenstein. I enjoyed how he put the characters together and weaved one thrill ride of a story. It was a wonderful Christmas book, but not really one who can’t stand some swearing. I give it a 5/5 cause I enjoyed something different for once and maybe I will find more out there like it.

Here are the books I read in December:
1.The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox B
2. The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messund C
3. Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp A+
4. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield A+
5. She’s Got Issues by Stephanie Lessing B
6. Miss Understanding by Stephanie Lessing A
7.Controversy Creates Cash by Eric Bischoff with Jeremy Roberts B
8. Christmas on Conrad Street by Marcia Evanick A+
9.Little Children by Tom Perotta C
10.Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich A+
11. Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich A
12.The Secret Heiress by Judith Gould B
13. The Little Matchmakers by Debbie Macomber, Barbara Bretton, and Muriel Jenson A+
14. Tough Choices by Carly Fiorina A
15.Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen A+
16.Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica A+
17.The Dragon’s Eye by Dugald Steer A+
18. Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andres A+
19.Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein A

Tomorrow I will post my books for the year. :)

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

I just finished this book, then I emailed the author and then wrote my review. So here it is!

Weezie Foley is doing her best to celebrate the holidays but her boyfriend Daniel is quite the grumpy Gus about the whole thing. Weezie hopes this is the year he pops the question but nothing seems to be happening since Daniel is so busy with his restaurant. Bebe to the rescue! Weezie’s best friend Bebe helps her out with decorating for the annual Christmas contest between the stores. Weezie’s original design flops and then she is inspired but is it enough to get her the winning ribbon? And will her family behave around the surprise that she has for Daniel? Or is it all going to come crashing around her feet?

I felt like I was coming home with these characters since this is the third book in the series but well worth it. I had planned to finish it in one day but decided to space things out a bit. It wasn’t easy either because I completely fell in love with the book. But you must read Savannah Blues then Savannah Breeze then this one; it won’t make any sense any other way. The writing is fabulous and I would love to go to Antique Sales like Weezie does but for now I’ll stick to the stores. This story will have you laughing and crying. It is a wonderful story.

Of course I loved all the main characters like Weezie, Bebe, Harry and Daniel, but I loved the new additions of Mickey and Cookie. They are Weezie’s gay neighbors and they cracked me up constantly. The other part that cracked me up was the family dinner that Weezie held. Poor dear didn’t know if she was coming or going. I think all things considered that Weezie handled everything well with all the surprises that came along her way.

This was a delightful Christmas story but I have one more to go. I really enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews writing and bringing back my favorite characters. I hope to read the other books that she has written in the New Year. I recommend this book and the entire series because they are good light hearted books that will leave you with a smile on your face. I give this particular book a 5/5 cause I enjoyed being back in Savannah with all the antics of the characters. It was truly a wonderful book!

Now onto my last Christmas book Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein. :)