#BookReview The Ninja's Illusion by Gigi Pandian (@GigiPandian) @HeneryPress

The Ninja's Illusion by Gigi Pandian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fabled illusion performed by a stage magician who claims to possess real supernatural powers. A treasure from the colonial era in India when international supremacies vied for power. A phantom trading ship lost over 200 years ago. And a ninja whose murderous intentions in present-day Japan connect the deeds of a long-dead trader who was much more than he seemed…

When Jaya travels from San Francisco to Japan with her stage magician best friend Sanjay—a.k.a. The Hindi Houdini—for his Japanese debut, she jumps at the chance to pursue her own research that could solve a tantalizing centuries-old mystery.

With the colorful autumn leaves of historic Kyoto falling around her, Jaya soon loses sight of what’s real and what’s a deception. A mysterious ninja attempts sabotage on Sanjay’s trick, along with Japan’s most controversial magician, Akira. Ancient folklore blurs the lines between illusion and reality when a magician’s assistant appears to be a kitsune, a mythical fox spirit. As tricks escalate to murder, Jaya and her friends must unravel secrets hidden in the ancient capital of Japan, before one of their own becomes the next victim.

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The Ninja's Illusion is the latest book in the Jaya Jones series and this is a series that I truly love to read since I love reading adventures mystery books in exotic settings. This time Jaya travels to Japan where here best friend Sanjay a.k.a. The Hindi Houdini is working with the controversial magician, Akira who is said to be able to do magic for real. However, something is wrong, Sanjay seems to want Jaya to stay home, but that just makes her more eager to travel to Japan. And, when she gets there doesn't it take long for Jaya to realize that something is definitely wrong when Sanjay and she discovers a man dressed as a Ninja in a Buddhist temple watching them...

The Ninja's Illusion is an entertaining book to read, just as the previous I have read has been. It can without any problems be read as stand-alone. The story is intriguing, and I love the easy-going banter between Jaya, Sanjay, and Tamarind. However, to be honest, was there a moment around half the book when I felt that the story just didn't have the same thrilling feeling as the previous did like the pacing was a bit off and I wanted something to happen to get the book back on track. It could be all the Jaya, Sanjay and Lane (Jaya's ex) drama. I have never liked the whole triangle drama thing and as much as I like Sanjay wasn't I that interested in this new development. Thankfully it was resolved in a good way. Also, Tamarind showing up around the time of the BIG drama thing helped put the book back on track. Man, it's hard sometimes to write about things in books without spoiling it...

The Jaya Jones series is fabulous, and I recommend it warmly!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

The Elusive Elixir by Gigi Pandian Blog Tour

Gigi Pandian

on Tour January 9-20 with

The Elusive Elixir

(mystery / paranormal mystery) 

Release date: January 8, 2017 at Midnight Ink 

ISBN: 978-0738742366 336 pages

Author’s website Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

Dorian Robert-Houdin, the three-and-a-half-foot gargoyle chef who fancies himself a modern-day Poirot, is slowly turning into stone, and it’s up to Zoe Faust to unravel the alchemical secrets that can save him. When they discover that a long-lost stone gargoyle with a connection to Dorian has reappeared in Europe, the stakes are even higher. From Portland to Paris, Zoe searches for the hidden knowledge she needs, but a cold case that harkens back to 1942 throws her off course. With an ailing friend desperately trying to discover his own elixir of life and a new romantic interest offering the first chance at love she’s had in nearly a century, Zoe is torn between a dangerous form of alchemy and her desire for a safer life.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian spent her childhood being dragged around the world by her cultural anthropologist parents, and now lives outside San Francisco with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the garden. Gigi writes the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries, Accidental Alchemist mysteries, and locked-room mystery short stories. Gigi’s fiction has been awarded the Malice Domestic Grant and Lefty Awards, and been nominated for Macavity and Agatha Awards.

Visit her website.

Follow her on Facebook, Twitter Subscribe to her newsletter Visit her Gargoyle photography blog: http://www.gargoylegirl.com Pre-order the book: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Midnight Ink

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You can enter the global giveaway here or on any other book blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, they are listed in the entry form below.

Enter here

Entry-Form

Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form] Global giveaway open to all: 1 winner of a Grand prize: the first two books in the series (The Accidental Alchemist and The Masquerading Magician) plus a set of gorgeous 7 book-themed recipe cards

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CLICK ON THE BANNER TO READ REVIEWS AND EXCERPTS

 

#BookReview Michelangelo's Ghost by Gigi Pandian

Michelangelo's Ghost by Gigi Pandian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Can treasure-hunting historian Jaya Jones unmask a killer ghost?

A lost work of art linking India to the Italian Renaissance. A killer hiding behind a centuries-old ghost story. And a hidden treasure in Italy’s macabre sculpture garden known as the Park of Monsters…

Filled with the unexpected twists, vivid historical details, and cross-cultural connections Pandian is known for, Michelangelo’s Ghost is the most fast-paced and spellbinding Jaya Jones novel to date.

When Jaya’s old professor dies under eerie circumstances shortly after discovering manuscripts that point to a treasure in Italy’s Park of Monsters, Jaya and her brother pick up the trail. From San Francisco to the heart of Italy, Jaya is haunted by a ghost story inexorably linked to the masterpieces of a long-dead artist and the deeds of a modern-day murderer. Untrustworthy colleagues, disappearing boyfriends, and old enemies—who can Jaya trust when the ghost wails?

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I adore the Jaya Jones series. True, I have only read the previous book in the series, but I loved it. It was such an easy-going adventurous story and I'm glad to say that this book was just as good as the previous one. Jaya Jones old professor contacts her with a tantalizing discovery. A manuscript that could show the way to some hidden masterpieces by a disgraced Renaissance artist. However, Jaya wonders if there someone out there who is after the masterpieces when the professor suspiciously dies. Someone that doesn't hesitate to kill to get to them...

In this book is Jaya Jones teaming up with her brother Mahilan and his girlfriend Ava in searching for clues to where the artist Lazzaro Allegri's masterpieces can be hidden. Of course, Jaya's boyfriend Lane Peters is also in the book, even though he is not traveling with her to Italy since they can really have an open relationship because of his past. And, he has another "job". I was a bit sad that my favorite character Henry North didn't seem to be in the story, but I got myself a surprise when he did have a cameo later on in the book. It's so typical of me to like the "bad guy" the most!

The story was wonderfully engaging and interesting, sure I did see some twist coming, but I enjoyed the book immensely. Pandian sure knows how to write a great adventure story with interesting and likable characters. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have the first two books in the series, but I have yet not read them.

I want to thank Henery Press for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! 

Weekly Update!

Weekly Update!

A whole new week has almost gone by and I worked this Friday my last 4 hour a day for at least 4 weeks. Tomorrow it's time to work 8 hours a day instead. And weirdly, I look forward to it. Not just earning more money, but listening to audiobooks is something I begone to enjoy quite a lot while working and just think how much I can listen during an 8-hour shift. 

I've gotten a whole lot of ARC's this week, which booth great and a bit daunting. But, I feel that my reading slump has passed and now I'm almost back to normal. I also had some great news this week from S:t Martin Press with two widgets sent to me for books I've been declined. A Terribly Beauty by Tasha Alexander  and Night and Day by Iris Johansen. I had already gotten Iris Johansen's book from Fresh Fiction, but still, it made me very happy. It's always a bit sad when you get rejected for books that you really want.

Currently reading:

Last week's posts:

The Eden Tree Blog Tour (Author Spotlight)

5 Best Books Read In June

Book review: And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

Book review: Play Dead by Angela Marsons

Cover Crush: A Terrible Beauty by Tasha Alexander

Book review: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (SWE/ENG)

As Death Draws Near Book Blast & Giveaway

Book review: The Forgotten Holocaust by Scott Mariani (SWE/ENG)

New ARC's

New Ebooks bought:

NEW books to read and review:

Quicksand by Gigi Pandian

Quicksand by Gigi Pandian
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Historian Jaya Jones has settled in San Francisco when she gets a letter from Lane Peters, an old fling, with a ticket to Paris. She has her doubts about going, she has a great job and leaving at the start of the term isn't the best thing, but in the end thanks to a little help from a friend she is able to leave her job for a week to see Lane again. But of course, nothing goes as planned...

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I had no problems getting into the story even though this is the third book in the series and the first one that I read. This is a wonderful cozy mystery book with a fantastic main character; Jaya Jones. Actually a lot of fantastic characters. We have her friends Tamarind and Sanjay back in San Francisco. Tamarind is a librarian and Sanjay magician. Then, of course, there is Lane Peters, he just happens to be a very good thief and now someone needs his help and they think leverage in the form of blackmail against Jaya is a perfect idea. So Lane and Jaya must help the criminal North with a theft. Finally, have we Sébastien an old magician that helps Lane and Jaya when they are in France.

The story was wonderful and a page turner and I found it amusing to read about Mont Saint Michel again. Never read about the place before, but this is the second book this year I read about when the story takes place on the island.

The story was wonderful and a page turner and I found it amusing to read about Mont Saint Michel again. Never read about the place before this year, but this is the second book that brings up the place and where much of the story takes place. Also, even though I enjoyed all the characters I must admit that I found North to do the most intriguing, yes I know he is the baddie, but he was such a wonderful character and I do have a bit of a weakness for great baddies. So, I like him and I hope to read about him more in future books.

In the end, I want to say that Gigi Pandian has written a book that really suited me and if you like I like cozy mystery books, then I would recommend checking out this book and the rest of the books in the series. I'm lucky, I already own the first two books!

I received a copy from the publisher and France book tours in return for an honest review!