Finished Burn Notice: The Fix by Tod Goldberg. This book is a tie-in based on the TV show of the same name. I really enjoy the show, so when I heard there were going to be some companion books, I snapped this one up.

Note: I’ve got to give a shout-out to HelenKay Dimon for first posting about the book on her blog. Otherwise, I don’t know that I would have found out about it (or the others that are planned). So thanks, HelenKay! 😎

In true Burn Notice fashion, this book finds Michael reluctantly agreeing to help a wealthy socialite find her wayward husband, who turns out to be a con man who’s stealing all her money. Michael also has to deal with a deadly Russian spy who thinks Michael is a drug dealer and responsible for some of her problems. She demands that Michael come up with $3 million for her to pay off her bosses — or else.

If you like the TV show, you’ll love this book. Goldberg really nailed Michael’s voice and the overall tone of the TV show. I could almost hear Jeffrey Donovan doing his usual sardonic voice-overs in many places. The voice was definitely the best part of the book and really made you feel like you were reading an episode of the show.

I also enjoyed getting a little more insight into and background on Michael’s relationship with Fiona, his spy missions with Sam, and his memories of his father.

The only thing I didn’t quite get was the ending. The con man husband has been impresonating a real hardcore, black-ops military type. Michael deals with the husband, then he gets the black-ops guy involved in his own deal with the Russian spy. Michael takes the black-ops guy down with the Russian spy. But I didn’t really understand why Michael needed to do anything with the black-ops guy. The con man husband was the one using the black-ops guy’s name/identity, making him the victim of identity theft. I think I missed something when I was reading. (And I hope this paragraph wasn’t too confusing).

But overall, if you love the TV show or you’re just looking for a fun, breezey afternoon read, pick up The Fix. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to the other books in the series. Thumbs up.

Up next: Swine Not? by Jimmy Buffett

Books in my TBR pile: About 17 or so.

Finished What Would Wonder Woman Do?: An Amazon’s Guide to the Working World by Jennifer Traig and Suzan Colon. Wheezly saw this one in a comic book store while we were in West Virginia and bought it for me.

This book is basically a spoof of all things related to work. From interviews to dating the cute guy in the next cubicle, Wonder Woman pops up to offer you some advice. The book is also illustrated with lots of Wonder Woman comics from a variety of time periods.

If you’re a Wonder Woman fan, I’d get this to add to your collection just for the cool art. For everyone else, it’s just a fun, lightweight read. Thumbs up.

Up next: Burn Notice: The Fix by Tod Goldberg (based on the TV show).

Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

Finished The Paris Option by Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds. This thriller is part of a series of books about Covert-One agents who stop terrorism and other bad stuff from happening.

This book is about agent Jon Smith, who travels to Paris to find out what happened to a scientist who was working on a revolutionary DNA computer. The scientist’s lab was bombed, and one of Jon’s friends was hurt in the process. Jon soon finds himself trying to stop a deadly conspiracy that will have global ramifications — including a nuclear attack on the United States.

This book follows your standard thriller plotline. A new, dangerous technology is stolen, and it’s up to one guy to get it back before bad things happen. There are villains and sidekicks and double-crosses galore. Pretty typical stuff. Folks interested in computers will probably enjoy the descriptions of the DNA computer and how it works. Also, I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris and the other European locales. 

Overall, though, I’m giving this one a thumbs down just because there are much better Ludlum books out there. I’d suggest reading his original Bourne series or even the new ones penned by Eric Van Lustbader (I just bought the second one in that series for Wheezly).

Up next: What Would Wonder Woman Do? An Amazon’s Guide to the Working World by Jennifer Traig and Suzan Colon.

Books in my TBR pile: About 20. (What can I say? I went to the bookstore this weekend).

Finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I bought this book for Wheezley a while back (he’s loves Gaiman and Pratchett), and he gave it to me to read.

This one’s about the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale, who team up to stop the end of the world. That’s really all I can say in the way of plot summary, because there are so many characters doing so many different things in this book. You’ve got the four horsemen, a young witch, a ragtag bunch of kids, a witchfinder, demons and more.

Gaiman and Pratchett may have written this book together, but it seemed like much more of a Pratchett book to me. It definitely had his brand of mad-cap, zany humor and kooky characters doing kooky things. This could easily have been one of Pratchett’s Discworld novels. If you’d told me Gaiman wrote this, I would have been surprised. It’s pretty far afield from the seriousness of Gaiman in something like American Gods.

All that aside, there’s a lot to like about Good Omens. Crowley and Aziraphale are a hoot and are often compared to spies who have more in common with each other than they do with their superiors. Plus, there are a lot of funny gags and clever lines throughout the book.

The book dragged a bit in the middle, as the focus shifted from Crowley and Aziraphale to other characters, including 11-year-old Adam Young, aka the Antichrist. To me, Crowley and Aziraphale were much more interesting and entertaining than Adam and his friends. I also thought the ending was a little weak in that the world didn’t end just because Adam decided he didn’t want it to. That was a bit of a letdown.

But overall, this is a fun fantasy read. Pratchett fans will especially like it. Thumbs up.

Up next: Something from the TBR pile.

Books in my TBR pile: About 12.

Finished Fire and Ice by Anne Stuart. This is the fifth and last (for now) book in her Ice romantic suspense series.

This one’s about Reno, a former member of the yakuza (Japanese mob) who works for the Committee, a spy group that fights terrorists and more. Reno is dispatched to Japan to intercept Jilly Lovitz, the younger sister of Summer, who is married to Reno’s cousin Taka (who also works for the Committee).

Summer and Taka are in hiding from some Russian mercenaries, who turn their attention to Jilly when she shows up in Japan. Jilly and Reno met before and were immediately attracted to each other. All of which means they have a hard time keeping their hands off each other as they dodge the mercenaries and uncover a plot by another yakuza member to dethrone Reno’s grandfather as head of the organization.

This book follows the general formula Stuart has established in the Ice series. Tough guy meets innocent girl, saves her from bad guys, is supposed to kill/keep his distance from her, but can’t help himself and falls in love with her anyway. But Stuart’s writing is so smooth you hardly notice the formula. I just really like her writing style. She’s great at keeping the suspense part of the plot going while developing the romance.

I thought Reno was one of her better heroes for the simple fact he’s not quite as much of a jerk as the other guys. All of Stuart’s heroes in the Ice series are stone-cold killers who use sex as a weapon against women. They’re not very nice guys (certainly no one I’d want to know in real life), but they’re interesting to read about. Even if I do want the heroines to beat them with baseball bats for being such jerks.

But Jilly, well, like most of Stuart’s other heroines. she’s just no match for the hero and is completely overwhelmed by Reno. Jilly is supposed to be this freakishly smart woman, but she never shows it. I kept expecting her to bust out some MacGuyver moves and save the day, but it never happens. She’s just kind of there for much of the story.

I had high hopes for Reno and Jilly’s story, and I have to say I’m a little disappointed, especially with Jilly. There were parts of the story I liked (the Japanese setting especially), but I’m going to have to go thumbs down on this one.  

But overall, this is a solid romantic suspense series, especially the first two books, Black Ice and Cold as Ice. So if you’re looking to read some more RS, then I’d definitely recommend this series. Thumbs up to it.

Up next: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Books in my TBR pile: About 12.