The Little Lady Agency, by Hester Browne

Type: Humor, Chick Lit
Note: Book 1 in The Little Lady Agency series
Other books in the series:
The Little Lady Agency in the Big Apple (Book 2)
The Little Lady Agency and the Prince (Book 3)

The Little Lady Agency is a witty example of British chick lit at its finest -- innovative yet meek heroine, dashing but reluctant hero, and hilarious supporting cast. This story also features the provocative idea of the transformative power of sexy lingerie. This is one of the props which help the heroine transform into Honey, her alter ego.

Reviews:
"Brown's charming debut finds Melissa -Romney--Jones losing yet another job, this time to layoffs due to a company merger. Out on the town with friends, Melissa runs into an old school acquaintance who is working for their old etiquette teacher as a companion for wealthy men. Melissa looks up the teacher and begins to schedule dates, but she's horrified to discover her old teacher is in fact running an escort service. Melissa quickly gets out of the business, but she's taken with the idea of a chaste version of it, and starts the Little Lady Agency to help socially clueless men and those merely in need of dates. Using the name Honey, Melissa accompanies one man to a family party, and helps another dump his girlfriend. She lands her biggest client in handsome American Jonathan, who just happens to be running the company she used to work for; but Melissa starts to wonder if she's losing her objectivity when she finds herself falling for Jonathan. A warm, winning tale."

- Kristine Huntley, Booklist

Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs

Type: Fantasy, Urban
Note: Book 4 in the Mercedes Thompson series
Other books in the series:
Moon Called (Book 1)
Blood Bound (Book 2)
Iron Kissed (Book 3)

Review:
"Briggs makes a well-deserved move into hardcover with the rousing fourth adventure for kick-ass were-coyote auto mechanic Mercedes Thompson. Healing in body and spirit after the events of 2008's Iron Kissed, Mercy is preparing to marry alpha werewolf Adam Hauptman when an old friend asks her to help fend off a nasty ghost. It's a good time for Mercy to leave Portland, Ore.: vampire queen Marsilia is after her and her vampire friend Stefan for successfully hunting down a monster that should have killed them. Mercy leaves Adam to negotiate peace with Marsilia and heads to Spokane, Wash., to investigate the ghost, an unexpectedly complicated task. Though action supersedes characterization, the preternatural culture of vampire seethes and wolf pack politics is deeply intriguing. Briggs provides plenty of detail about Mercy's complex world without boring info-dumps, satisfying both new and longtime readers."

- Publishers Weekly

Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs

Type: Fantasy, Urban
Note: Book 3 of the Mercedes Thompson series
Other books featuring Mercedes Thompson:
Moon Called (Book 1)
Blood Bound (Book 2)
Bone Crossed (Book 4)

Review:
"Shape-shifter Mercy Thompson has a complex life, juggling two werewolf lovers and a job working for a fae mechanic; things get even more hectic when her boss and mentor is arrested for killing a citizen of the fae reservation. As the fae seem content to let him rot, Thompson takes it on herself to clear her friend's name, beginning a lone-wolf investigation that may cost her life. Briggs's third novel featuring Thompson (after Blood Bound) is another top-notch paranormal mystery; her well-balanced contemporary world, where humans live uneasily among werewolves and fae, is still a believably lived-in world; the ever-present threat of government legislation against nonhumans (though familiar to X-Men fans) adds weight to her paranormal elements, and thoughtfully researched mythology adds rich detail. Thompson is a sharp, strong heroine and her lycanthropic love triangle is honest and steamy. Briggs never shies from difficult material, and she moves effortlessly from werewolf pack psychology to human legal proceedings, making this a tense, nimble, crowd-pleasing page-turner."

- Publishers Weekly

Blood Bound, by Patricia Briggs

Type: Fantasy, Urban
Note: Book 2 in the Mercedes Thompson series
Other books featuring Mercedes Thompson:
Moon Called (Book 1)
Iron Kissed (Book 3)
Bone Crossed (Book 4)

Review:
"Jalopy mechanic Mercedes Thompson may not be a were-creature, ruled by phases of the moon, but she can change into a coyote whenever she wants to. Because she owes him a favor, Mercedes agrees to back up vampire friend Stefan when he confronts another of his kind. But, being demon-possessed, that vampire proves deadlier than most. Before she can so much as bark, Mercedes is up to her ears in vampires fighting vampires, werewolves fighting vampires, and humans in the middle. She aims to off the demon-possessed vampire before any more killings, but she can't count on everyone who ought to be her ally because the local top vampire has schemes of her own. Briggs' world in which witches, vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters live beside ordinary people is plausibly constructed; the characters are excellent; and the plot keeps the pages flapping. Those who haven't read the first Mercedes Thompson tale, Moon Called (2006), may well want to after reading the second."

Frieda Murray, Booklist

Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs

Type: Fantasy, Urban
Note: Book 1 of the Mercedes Thompson series
Other books featuring Mercedes Thompson:
Blood Bound (Book 2)
Iron Kissed (Book 3)
Bone Crossed (Book 4)

From the back of the book:
Werewolves can be dangerous if you get in their way, but they'll leave you alone if you are careful. They are very good at hiding their natures from the human population, but I'm not human. I know them when I meet them, and they know me, too.

Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neighbor is a werewolf.

She's tinkering with a VW bus at her mechanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.

But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself...and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.