Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.

Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger, and sinister intrigue combine in the penultimate volume of Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series.

Sorcha is mourning Seth’s absence. She’s the unchanging queen and she isn’t supposed to mourn, but still Sorcha does. She frets for Seth’s safety and agonizes that she cannot see him when he is in the mortal world. So Sorcha sends Devlin, her brother and loyal servant, to Huntsdale to check on him, to stay with him in case he should need anything. Little does she know that upon his arrival in Huntsdale, an event takes place that will change Devlin’s path for the rest of eternity.

When Devlin sees Ani in the club, his heart stops short. He’s seen that face before, and as magnificent and beautiful as she is, he knows things about her past that could break her innocent little heart. Not that knowing that stops him in the slightest. When Ani lays her eyes on Devlin, and decides that she wants him for herself, Devlin realizes that although he’s lived a lifetime of loneliness, his future doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. The only problem is, they can’t really be intimate, if you know what I mean, or they risk the possibility of Ani sucking the life right out of Devlin. Who wants to kill the one they love?

Ani is reckless and restless. That would be the hound in her, though, and is to be expected. She’s got spunk and just the right amount of attitude, but that’s not all she’s got. Even though she doesn’t realize it yet, Ani is special. So special that Bananach – Sorcha’s crazy (and evil) sister – wants her blood all for herself. As we all well know, Melissa Marr doesn’t write happily ever after fairy tales, and things don’t play out smoothly for Ani. Hearts are broken, loves are lost, relationships are forged, bruised and battered, and truths will shatter the Earth from the inside out.

Although I found it a little slow on the uptake, I now see that those chapters were necessary to lay the foundations for what shaped up to be a spectacular, gut-wrenching read. Radiant Shadows is exceptional in every way, and I’ve come to expect nothing less from this phenomenal story-teller. Marr’s characters are deep, tortured, and believable in every possible way. Their faces are burned to the insides of my eyelids, their voices ring out loudly through my ears. It’s as if they’re really my friends, instead of a bunch of fictional people that I obsessively follow in their pursuits.

The Wicked Lovely world is definitely one of my favorite places to visit. Radiant Shadows does not disappoint.

Pages: 340

Publication Date: April 20, 2010

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Teaser Quote:

“Go upstairs Ani.” Irial swung his feet to the floor. He didn’t glance her way. His attention was all for the Dark King now. “Tell me what you think I should have done differently, Niall. I spent the night talking and giving her a safe place to rest. I gave her the nourishment she can’t find elsewhere without compromising her already absent virtue.”

The Dark King didn’t respond.

Some nightmares never end.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open – but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability – and its bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d feared…

Janie has slotted into her new life as an undercover detective well. It seems to give her a sense of purpose, that her gift is being used for the greater good. But it does have its downsides – like not being able to be seen publicly with Cabe. They’ve been an item for a while now and they’ve never even been on a real date. Janie’s friends don’t know that she’s even involved with someone. That part really sucks.

But it’s necessary, and they both know it. That doesn’t make it any easier, though. Especially when Janie gets assigned to a case that entails Janie trying to seduce a teacher. Someone at Fieldridge High is doing the dirty with students, and Captain wants Janie to find out exactly who it is.

And Cabel hates every single second of the assignment. When Janie gets herself into a bit of trouble, Cabel does something that only adds to her already big pit of bad.

As if having to seduce her teacher wasn’t enough, Janie starts noticing that stuff with her body isn’t working quite right either. She does some digging and stumbles across a piece of information that breaks her already busted heart.

Although it’s only 248 pages long, a whole lot happens in this novel. Janie and Cabel take their relationship to several places of unchartered territory. I’m sure girls all over the country will swoon, scream in despair, sigh in relief, and throw their books against bedroom walls as the events unfold before their eyes.

McMann has mastered the art of ‘less is more’ and crafts her tale in surprisingly few words. Her writing style is unique, enjoyable, and more than a little addictive. The narrative moves along at an engaging pace and never once did I find myself wanting to skip over paragraphs, sentences, or even single words.

With just the right amount of romance, heartache and suspense, Fade is a real page-turner. I recommend that you set aside a block of time before beginning this one, though,  because once you start, there will be no stopping till you hit the end.

Janie and Cabel’s world is one that I love to lose myself in. I am one hundred per cent invested in their story and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Publication year: 2009

Pages: 248

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Teaser Quote:

“Are you familiar with these?”

Janie smiles, reaches inside her bag, and pulls out an identical package.

“Excellent.” Captain nods. “Cabel. What’s your job?”

“Watching in agony, sir.”

Captain supresses a smile.

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicentre of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought.

Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Ethan has lived his whole live in Gatlin. He knows everything, what is expected of him, where he can go and his exact place in town. A place that Ethan desperately wants to break out off. Each day is the same. School, basketball practice, dinner, sleep. A routine that Ethan could repeat in his sleep, that is, if he got any sleep. Ethan has been plagued by dreams. Dreams so real that Ethan wakes up covered in dirt and water, dirt and water that can’t be explained away. Something is happening in Gatlin, and Ethan is at the centre.

Enter Lena. If being an outsider isn’t bad enough, Lena is the niece of Macon Ravenwood, commonly referred to as Old Man Ravenwood by the people of Gatlin, and living out at the old Ravenwood plantation, which superstitions has it is haunted. To top it all off, Lena isn’t what you would call ‘normal’ for Gatlin. For one, she has no interest in being a cheerleader, instead plays the viola, wears more black than the average person and sits at the front of the English class. To top it off, strange things seem to happen around Lena – windows exploding, thunderstorms appearing and changing room arrangements are just the beginning.

Ethan is drawn to Lena in a way that can’t be explained. Something about Lena reminds Ethan of the presences felt in his dreams. Suddenly, Lena becomes the centre of Ethan’s world. As everyone at Jackson High is doing everything they can to make Lena a nothing, Ethan is absorbing as much of her world as possible. Ethan is the only one who has noticed the sharpie-drawn number on her hand, and while his classmates are quick to blame Lena for the strange occurrences, Ethan tries to get Lena to open up and give her a chance to explain why they are happening. With Ethan not taking no for an answer, Lena eventually lowers her guard, slowly by slowly letting Ethan into her life.

And as more strange events occur, even Lena can’t deny that she feels the same connection that Ethan feels for her. Ethan is thrown headfirst into the world of the Casters and discovering an ancient connection to the past, along with Lena, they are pitted against the universe. As Lena’s 16^th birthday draws closer, Ethan and Lena must discover the key that could change Lena’s future.

Beautiful Creatures is one of those books that don’t happen very often. Fresh and new, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl have woven an urban fantasy novel that gives the often over-done young adult romance genre something different. A love story told from the male perspective. Seeing the story and reading through Ethan’s perspective was something that I loved about this book. Too many romance books have the female character constantly fawning over the male lead. This didn’t occur, and it was the differences that made reading from Ethan’s point of view work. Ethan didn’t overtly say that he was in love with Lena, yet it was his attention to the small details surrounding Lena that allowed me as a reader to see the true depth of his love before Ethan would even admit it to himself. The material of the Caster’s was also something that I enjoyed immensely. Their whole world was this rich culture that was thought out and developed in fine detail, yet at all stages seemed plausible and read, especially the way that Lena and her family moved around the topic of their special abilities with people not of their family. Linked in with this was Ethan’s aunt Amma, a character that I fell in love with by the end of the novel. Along with the many members of Lena’s family and Ethan’s friends at school, there were many a variety of characters that made the world of Beautiful Creatures enriching and enjoyable to read about.

Beautiful Creatures is one fantasy world that I would like to visit.

Pages: 626

Publication date: Australia - 2010, USA - Dec. 2009

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*Beautiful Creatures is also our Book Club read for the month of January.  Join the discussion here.

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

When Luce wound up at Swords & Crosses, a reform school for disturbed kids, she never thought she’d meet anyone worth knowing. I mean, it’s a school for kids with problems – naughty, psycho, crazy and messed kids. The place even looked and felt like a jail. But this is life, and things never turn out the way we expect, do they?

Meet Daniel. The moment Luce lays her eyes on him she feels it. This thing. A connection. Like she’s met him before or something. All this in one little glance. But if he felt it, he certainly isn’t showing it. Daniel makes it more than clear that he’s not interested in Luce, that she should stop stalking him, stop harassing him. He doesn’t want her, so why can’t she stay away from him? Why can’t she get him out of her head? She knows there is something off about him and she’s determined to figure out what it is. Only then will she be able to shake her heavy heart.

I hate the way Daniel treats Luce. He’s more than just a little rude. Even more than that, I hate the way Luce shamelessly keeps going back for more. I kept asking myself where this girl’s self-respect was, and how she could let a boy treat her so badly. I’ve read enough books like this to know by now that often, my initial reaction to characters like Daniel is wrong and that much more lays beneath the surface. Even though I was aware of this, as I was reading, I couldn’t help but feel ticked off by him. The question is you should be asking yourself is, did I stay this way, or did he win me over in the end?

Enter Cam. He’s the guy you love to hate. He’s charming, he’s beautiful, and he’s definitely interested in Luce. He flocks to her immediately, stepping on anyone else’s chances of even attempting to score with her. And Luce likes him back, she does. That’s why she’s not backing away from his advances. But there’s just something … missing, and she can’t quite figure out what it is. Maybe it’s that everything with him is just so easy. There isn’t any inner emotional struggle, no deep pain caused from simply being around him. But is easy what she’s even looking for?

Like all good complex characters, there is more to Cam than meets the eye. Just when you think you’ve got him figured, he turns around and does something that will totally throw you off course. Cam is surprising, in many ways.

Actions speak much louder than words, so if you want to know the truth about these boys, watch what they do, rather than what they say.

This is the kind of book where not a lot happens, yet everything happens. It takes a while to get going, but it’s definitely worth the wait. This is one of those character-intensive kinds of reads that focuses a lot on relationships and friendships, but there is a bit of action too. It’s right at the end, though, so make sure you stick it out.

Fallen is an effortless, engrossing read. This is an excellent first book in what I expect is going to be a mind-blowing series. Hold onto you shorts, folks, this one is going to be big.

Pages: 452

Publication date: 2009

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Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

On Meridian’s sixteenth birthday, life takes an unexpected change. Imagine waking up only to be told that you’re not normal – not even human, in fact. Fenestra is not a word that she’s familiar with, but when she learns what they are, things suddenly start making a whole lot of sense. She’s like the window to the other world, people (and things) need the Fenestra in order to pass from this life into the next.

So that’s why things have always died around her… she’d always thought that there was something cosmically wrong with her, that they were dying because of her. It is comforting for Meridian (in a creepy kind of way) to learn that they don’t die because of her, but because they need her. Helping people cross to the other side is dangerous stuff, though, and Meridian must learn how to harness and control her powers. Nothing would suck more than getting dragged into the other world by a soul who doesn’t know how to let go…

And now, more than ever, Meridian has reasons to stay in this world.

Meet Tens. He’s Meridian’s assigned protector. It’s his destiny, his purpose in life, but what he doesn’t tell Meridian is that if he dies trying to protect her, she dies too. This is a relationship of an entirely different calibre. They’re going to be spending their entire lives together, trying to keep each other alive, so it’s a good thing they seem to be falling deeply in love with each other, too. I can’t imagine having to spend my whole life with someone that I didn’t love… can you? It’s not all roses and candy, though, and learning to trust someone with your life doesn’t come so easily.

How will Meridian cope with her new responsibilities as a Fenestra, and will she be able to carry the torch after her mentor is dead and gone?

Upon arriving at her Aunts house, considering her circumstances, I thought she learned to trust her new friends all too quickly. While I understand that Auntie is the kind of character that makes people feel comfortable immediately, I thought Meridian could have spent a little more time questioning her motives. She was, after all, ripped from her family and told she may never see them again. Her relationship with Tens develops at a nice pace, though. Readers are kept waiting just long enough to incite a bit of a frenzy within.

Meridian has all the elements of a good supernatural story. Readers both young and old will love this one! I’m interested to hear what you guys think about this one!

Rating::

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf–her wolf–is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human–or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

When Grace’s community decides that they need to do something about the ‘wolf problem’ in the woods, Grace flips. Her wolf is in those woods. She has to stop them before its too late. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much of a commotion to get the hunters to pull back. A little screaming about her friends being in the woods here, a little pleading helplessly there, and its done. But when Grace goes home, she almost can’t believe what she’s seeing. There’s a boy on her door stoop, bleeding half to death, and instantly she knows instantly who it is. She’d know those eyes anywhere. She’s been looking into them for the last six years, wistfully hoping – wishing – that things were different. Well, it seems that life is about to give her what she wants for a change, even if it is for a short time only.

Sam can’t believe it’s her. He can’t believe she’s here, seeing him, looking at him like that. He can’t believe that he was shot and it brought on a change. A few minutes ago he was a wolf, and now … well, now he was human, but unless he did something about the bleeding he wasn’t going to be anything soon.

And so starts the snapshot in time that is Grace and Sam. It seems that there isn’t even a question of whether they’re together or not. Sam and Grace, although hesitant to assume the other’s intention initially, are instantly an item. They’ve been watching each other – falling in love with each other – from a distance for six years now. The time for formalities has long passed, especially considering they have so little time together in the first place. Sam knows it in himself, he can feel the end coming – this is the last year that he’ll change back to a human. Ever. The problem is, it’s the middle of winter. The cold is what makes him change in the first place. In order to keep Sam in his human form for a long as they can, Sam and Grace do everything they can to keep Sam warm. But Minnesota winters are tough, and sometimes, nature is unbelievably unpredictable. Will their race against the weather be all in vain, or will they get their happily ever after?

As far as paranormal romances go, this is, hands down, the best one I’ve read in a long while. Grace is a formidably strong character that will go to great lengths to protect her own. When it comes to her heart, there’s no messing around. I reckon girls everywhere are going love Grace; they’ll love who she is and what she has.

Sam is more than just the lust-worthy teenage heartthrob that we see in YA fiction so often these days. He’s got the emotional maturity of someone who far surpasses his years and seems to understand the ins and outs of love entirely. He loves Grace – completely and absolutely – and he knows exactly how to treat a girl. It doesn’t get better than this, girls. Sam is, without a doubt, the Edward Cullen of 2009.

Maggie Stiefvater totally steps up to the plate with Shiver. I’ve been a fan of hers right from the beginning, but I have to say, Shiver completely blew my mind. Once I started reading, there was positively no stopping. I felt drunk – love drunk! Too much Sam and Grace will do that to you.

Watch out for the ending, though. As I’m sure it will leave some ambling around despairingly. I know I was! As angsty as it was, the ending was totally appropriate and totally necessary. I commend Maggie for taking the path she did – this one is definitely an example of the road less travelled in YA lit, and is a breath of fresh air! I am totally in love with Shiver, and I plan on telling absolutely everyone I meet about this one.

Rating::

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.

He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

If there is one thing Rose is good for, it’s a promise.  And she made Dimitri – her trainer, mentor, and the love of her life – the promise of a lifetime. When Dimitri is taken by enemy Strigoi at the end of the last book, Rose knows that she owes it to him to make good on her promise, no matter how much it will destroy her to do so. After all, he’d do it for her if the situation were reversed. But what would you do to preserve the honor of someone you loved? How far could you go to carry out their last wish? If it meant destroying a part of yourself, would you be able to follow through?

So Rose sets off on a mission from which she knows she may never return. Fighting Strigoi is deadly stuff – especially when that Strigoi has the man of your dreams. He knows your every move, your every weakness.  Rose has no idea what exactly happened to Dimitri, but she knows that whatever it is, it can’t be good. There is no good anywhere where Strigoi are concerned.

Blood Promise finds Rose in Russia, searching for her once beloved – dead, alive, or turned. Russia is everything Dimitri ever said it was, and then some. Its beautiful, crazy, and feels much more like ‘home’ than she ever thought possible. When she stumbles upon Dimitri’s family, though, she doesn’t expect the greeting she’s given. Will they welcome her with open arms as she delivers them the worst news possible, or will they cast her away with cold and darkened eyes? I don’t know about you, but if a strange girl showed up on my doorstep with the same news that Rose has, I know how I’d react…

Interestingly enough, as Rose travels across Russia, it seems that Vladimir Academy is never too far away. Adrian pays Rose a dreamy visit or two, and Rose can’t help but check in on Lissa now and then. It seems that Lissa is a bit lost without Rose and lands herself in all kinds of trouble. Is she woman enough to pull herself together, or will she need her best friend to fix everything once more? My initial feelings towards Lissa were all confirmed three times over in this novel: she’s weak, fragile, and freaking annoying! Again, I disliked reading her through Rose’s thoughts and I thanked my lucky stars that she wasn’t the focalising character.

Meanwhile, back in Russia someone reminds Rose exactly why she came in the first place, and she realises that its time to move on and being her search once more. Just when she thinks she’s never going to find what she came looking for, something off-the-charts kind of crazy happens and Rose’s world is thrown completely and absolutely freaking upside down. Although I’m not going to disclose exactly what this is, I was supremely thrown by these turns of events. I was very uncomfortable as I read through this section of the narrative, always hoping and praying that what was happening would right itself once more. When I realised that this wasn’t going to happen any time soon I became incredibly frustrated. Rose’s character takes an entirely new form in Blood Promise, and I can’t say that I’m altogether happy with her transformation. She loses her edge, and although I understand that the circumstances are pretty much out of her control, I kept waiting for her to get her groove back together. I’m happy to report that she eventually did, but it took way too long for her to shizzle her way back into the Rose Hathaway we all know and love.

Cryptic much? Well, you’re just going to have to read to find out what I’m talking about…

Now I know you’re all wanting to know: Is he, or isn’t he? I could tell you but I’m feeling particularly evil right now and I think I’ll keep that particular spoiler to myself. If you want to find out whether Dimitri is Strigoi, alive, dead, or whatever, then I suggest you run out to your local bookstore as fast as you possibly can and get hold of a copy. I will, however, leave you with this piece of information….

Dimitri DOES make an appearance in this novel. Your questions will be answered and you wont have to wait too long to find out what the hell happened to him. Will you be surprised? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends what you’re hoping for!

While Blood Promise is not my favourite Vampire Academy novel to date, I did read this one in a single sitting. Once I started reading I was desperate to find out what happened. I reckon this one has a little bit of everything for everyone: love, lust, hate, anger, sympathy, empathy, envy, desire, action, skill, and the edge that we’ve all come to expect from the Vampire Academy novels.

I reckon the fans are going to lose it over this one. I can’t wait for the discussion to start.

P.S There’s a new player in town whom I think we’re going to see much more of in the future. While her presence was necessary in Blood Promise, I don’t think we were treated to everything she has to offer. Watch this space…

Rating::

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Dru’s world is very different to yours and mine. See, in her world there are many, many things that go bump in the night. Zombies, vampires and werewulfs are just the start of it. Dru’s dad is a professional monster fighter and has taught Dru how to take care of herself, but being the daughter of a demon hunter has its downsides. Dru has to be ready to pack up her entire life at a moments notice and hit the road. Life for Dru has been kind of lonely…

Then her dad comes home from some kind of demon killing mission one night all zombie-fied. Dru is no idiot, she knows that thing that looks like her dad isn’t really him, and she knows that unless she does something fast, she too could find herself six feet under. Without thinking twice, Dru slaughters her zombie-dad right in her very own living room.

More alone than ever, Dru decides that she can’t stay in her house for a minute longer, and takes off.

Meet Graves. He lives at the mall in some kind of backroom but that’s all we really learn about him. He’s hell bent on finishing high school with spectacular grades, but has that whole bad-boy allure about him. He’s completely mysterious and something tells me that we’re definitely going to learn more about him in the coming novels, but for now, all I can say is that I’m pretty certain he’s jonesing for Dru. Dru shacks up with him for a while (in the sleeping in the same room sense, not the romantic sense) and they develop and odd kind of friendship. Then they’re attacked by a stack of demon beaties and Dru realises that she’s not safe.

Enter Christophe. He’s a djampire and pisses Dru off instantly. He’s got information about her dad’s death – information which, he’s not readily giving up – and that makes Dru instantly suspicious of him. But he’s here to help, apparently, and Dru is faced with some pretty tough decisions. Does she let this half demon guy into her life for the sake of safety, or should she trust her instincts and run like hell – away from him, away from everything. It becomes pretty clear that Dru isn’t going to be able to help herself, but is Chris going to be the savior she’s looking for?

Dru is one of those tough-as-nails characters that has the potential to be a real girl power kind of role model for female teen readers. At the moment, though, I find her rock hard exterior a little frustrating. I wanted her to grieve the death of her father properly – I mean, she did slay his zombie butt, after all – and maybe she did, in her own rock hard way, but for me, she moved on from his death way too easily. Although I completely understand why she’s like this, I hate that she is so untrusting. I can forgive her for this, though, because she’s spent her whole life running from, and fighting big bad beasties. Can’t imagine you’d see too much humanity in anything like a demon, that’s for sure.

Strange Angels is all about the tension. From the first chapter right till the very end, each page is full of nail-biting tension. Unusually, though, I didn’t actually find myself compelled to keep reading. Strange Angels is full of unanswered questions, which frustrated me to no end. I can see, however, that having so many unanswered questions in the story is a bit of an aphrodisiac for some and will drive the kiddies wild.

The one thing I absolutely loved about this book was Lili St. Crow’s writing style. She manipulates the English language brilliantly and her imagery is outstanding. It was very easy to picture just what was happening in the story and my imagination came alive with all kinds of mental images. Even though I found many other aspects of this story frustrating, the fact that I loved Lili’s writing style so much made reading Strange Angels an enjoyable experience.

Rating: :

I’ve been trying to write my review of this novel for a few days now. Trying, and failing. So, I’ve decided to take an approach that I don’t normally follow. Instead of launching into a detailed description of plot and character, I’m going to post the blurb as shown on the back of the novel (so you at least get a little insight into what it’s all about), and then I want to discuss a few key literary devices that I thought worked well. This isn’t something I normally do, but I don’t think I can say what I want any other way. So here goes…

A lonely gay teen bides his time with trips to strangers’ funerals and Ouija board sessions, desperately searching for someone to love–and a reason to live following a suicide attempt.

Walking an empty stretch of New Jersey highway on an autumn night, he meets a strange and beautiful boy who looks like he stepped out of a dream. But the vision becomes into a nightmare when the boy turns out to be the local urban legend, the ghost of a star athlete killed in 1957–a ghost with a deadly secret and a dangerous obsession.

Vintage: A Ghost Story is an intense thriller that looks at the dark side of gay urban fantasy, where the dead can never rest and trapped spirits never find peace.

Although this novel is narrated in first person, the narrator has no name. Actually, that might not be entirely true, but if he does have a name, readers never find out what it is. The first time I read Vintage through, I felt that by not giving him a name, the author robbed the narrator of authority. Because he was nameless (and also gay), I felt like the author was trying to tell me that his identity didn’t matter, that being gay meant that he wasn’t worthy of a title like a name. I found myself getting all ticked off about the kinds of impressions that would leave on potential queer teens. However, I was so intrigued by this concept of a nameless narrator that as soon as I finished reading Vintage, I went back to the beginning and started again. I very quickly changed my mind over how I felt about this character. I realised that by not giving him a name, the author was actually empowering the character and inviting you, the reader, to assume his identity and really place yourself in the story. This, then, made the story more powerful and a whole lot more engaging than the first time I read it. This gave me the opportunity to step into his shoes, to not be myself for a few hours and really immerse myself in his world. I now saw that this gave the narrator loads of authority, unlike my previous assumptions.

I also enjoyed the fact that, while not necessarily ‘out’, and although the narrator had certainly encountered adversity because of his sexuality in the past, he seemed more than comfortable as a queer teen. He was not struggling to comes to terms with his sexuality, which was very refreshing. I thought that Vintage highlighted a really clear distinction between comfortably keeping one’s sexuality to himself, and fearfully doing so. Coming out should be the choice of the individual, and just because you’re comfortable with your sexuality doesn’t automatically mean that you have to come out. I really enjoyed this aspect of this novel.

Vintage is a quirky queer teen read that I’m almost certain would be enjoyed by readers both gay and straight. There’s something about a good old ghost story that has a real universal appeal. Watch out for the supernatural sexual encounter!
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Lucius opened his mouth slightly, and I felt the faintest touch of his fangs touching my skin just above the spot where my blood pulsed strongest.

His fangs…

I didn’t care it if was irrational. I didn’t care if it was impossible. I just wanted to feel them. I needed them, like I’ve never needed anything in my whole life. In my mouth, my own teeth began to ache. That delicious, delirious agony of something struggling so hard to be born.

When Lucius rocks into town, declaring that he’s a vampire and Jessica is his betrothed (and also a vampire), Jessica tells the big tall Romanian guy to take a hike. I mean, come on, vampires? Insert big, loud snorting noise here. Jessica isn’t buying it, not even when her parents encourage her to listen to Lucius’s story, especially the part about the whole betrothed stuff.

But vampires aren’t real. Right? Right. So that means that her parents must have gone crazy, and the guy with the hypnotizing stare and ancient disposition must be some kind of crack pot. And Jess can’t be a vamp. She’s lived in her body her whole life. She’d know about something like that, right? But then Jess’s parents invite him to stay with them for as long as he needs, and Jessica thinks that maybe her parents have gone a little mad too.

Lucius enrols at her school and wins everyone over. Well, everyone with ovaries, anyway. He follows Jess everywhere, holds the door open for her, buys her lunch, defends her honor – gah! It’s just so frustrating and Jess wonders why he just can’t leave her alone?

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what the hell Jessica’s problem is. If a really hot, European guy ambled into town and told me that he wanted me to be his princess, my reaction would be the exact opposite of Jess’s. But Jess has her reasons, or reason, rather, and his name is Jake.

Jake isn’t anything like Lucius. He’s American, for one. He doesn’t have any of that European allure that Lucius has, but he’s nice. And he likes Jess. Enter love triangle here.

In terms of character, I found Jess annoying. I found being inside her head incredibly frustrating and I almost wished – no, I definitely wished – that this story had been told through Lucius’s perspective. I hated her naivety. Sure, if someone told me that they were a vampire I wouldn’t believe them either. But when the proof is presented in front of you and you just keep denying and denying and denying on the surface when deep down you really believe, well, that just gets annoying. And I really hated that Jess decided she wanted Lucius when she realized he no longer wanted her. Even though I hated all these things about her, I was compelled to keep reading.

I did, however, love Lucius. Not at first – I needed some convincing – but after a hundred pages or so, I was sold. I loved his rebellious streak; I loved his old manner. I loved how he chose the one girl he knew Jessica would hate him to fraternize with.

The cover is beautiful, although the guy who is obviously supposed to be Lucius reminds me a little of the Count from Sesame Street. What do you think?

I’m pretty sure fans of teen vampire books will want to give this one a go. Make sure you tell us what you think!

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Superpowers are awesome – unless you actually have them, as Avery does. There’s only so much he can pass off as “adrenaline” before people start to get suspicious. Probably it’s best to lie low so guys in white lab coats don’t come and carry him away, to find out what makes his freakish body tick. Who wants to be vivisected? But flying under the radar is a whole lot harder when you can actually fly. It’s dangerous to be different, so for now he’ll pretend to be normal, unremarkable Avery – a dull boy – anything to keep his secret safe.

It’s not every day you wake up and realise that you can fly, wake up and realise that you’re actually a whole lot more ‘special’ than you first thought you were. Avery isn’t stupid; he knows that he has to hide his powers from the world. Hiding his true self is something Avery becomes an expert at and soon learns that constantly having to cover for yourself can be the most isolating thing in the world.

Enter Cherchette. She’s the keeper of secrets – everyone’s secrets. She knows about Avery, and she wants to help. Suddenly Avery finds himself surrounded by people like him, people who are miraculously gifted in ways similar to his own talents. Suddenly, being special doesn’t feel so lonely anymore. But can Avery trust Cherchette? And what about his new friends? He’s not stupid, he’s seen the superhero movies a thousand times over: revealing one’s secret identity always lands the hero in trouble. Always.

This is one of those novels where I feel like I can’t say too much, or I’ll give the whole thing away. What I can tell you, though, is that Dull Boy has all the elements of a good superhero tale.

A nerdy kid turned superpro? Check!
Superpower? Check!
Secret Identity? Check!
Crazy costume? Check (sort of!)
A secret mission or desire to save the world? Check!

Avery displays all the qualities audiences expect of hero tales. He’s kind and passionate, just like Clark Kent. He harbours a thirst for justice, just like Batman. And deep down he’s just your average, run of the mill American kid, just like Peter Parker. I’m almost certain that readers will be able to relate to Avery on many levels, and I’m even more certain that you’ll become invested in his story. I mean, if someone like Avery can be ‘super’, why can’t someone like you?

A true superhero tale in all its glory! A must read for ‘super’ fans everywhere.

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Carpe Corpus is the sixth book in Rachel Caine’s popular Morganville Vampires series.

For Bishop, it seemed easy.
“No,” said Shane. “No, stop.’”
Right there, right in front of them Frank Collins coughed, choked, and came back to life. It looked painful, and it seemed to take forever for the thrashing and the screaming to stop.
When it did, he wasn’t Frank Collins. Not anymore.

Morganville has always been a pretty shady place to live. But that was before Bishop rolled into town; now it’s something much worse. Boys and girls, welcome to hell.

Carpe Corpus finds Claire Danvers in more trouble than ever before. Her boyfriend is locked up in jail, Eve isn’t talking to her, Amelie appears to have lost her nerve (and control of the town) and Michael has switched teams, preferring to ride with Bishop and his bad boys. Things couldn’t get much worse than that, right?

Wrong.

Bishop is out for blood – anyone’s blood. Morganville is headed for a full-scale war, and poor little Claire is right in the thick of it. With Amelie out of action, Claire now works for Bishop – a fact that she utterly despises. But things don’t stay that way for long, and before she even realises what’s happening she’s back at the Glass House, Shane is out of prison, and they’re all fighting for their lives. Again.

People die. Vampires die. Tears are shed. Bonds are broken, and eternity is stolen from a few worthy contenders. But there is also hope, too. Claire learns that love can heal even the deepest wounds. Oh boy, can it ever. Love is perfect, even if ‘perfect’ isn’t what everyone always said it was.

Carpe Corpus taught me not to underestimate the underdog – which I suppose is the whole point of an underdog anyway. It’s those sneaky characters that lurk in the shadows that really take you by surprise. In more freaking ways than one. There were so many things that were right under our noses, so many things that I should have anticipated, that I just didn’t. I suppose Rachel has done her job well, as I was so distracted by what was right in front of my face, so caught up in the now, that I forgot to ask those questions like “hey, what’s he doing here?”

Carpe Corpus stays true to the Morganville way of things. I guarantee that you’ll be on the edge of your seat while you read. I guarantee that there are at leat two scenes that you’ll re-read – over and over and over. And I guarantee that when you get to the last page, and you realise that you’re going to get at least some closure this time, that Rachel isn’t going to leave you mid-scene with your mouth hanging wide open in shock, you’ll be smiling for days. I was. In fact, I think I still am!

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Check out our review of the previous Morganville book, Lord of Misrule, here

For Ever, life at Laguna Beach is anything but sun, fun and living the Californian dream. Ever hides her slimline figure and pretty face under baggy jeans and hooded sweatshirts so she doesn’t attract any unwanted attention, or any attention at all, in fact. You see, Ever is in mourning. She lost her entire family in a car accident the year before and doesn’t think she deserves the second chance she was offered. Why not her? Why them? Why did they have to leave her behind like this?

To make things even more traumatic, Ever is seeing the ghost of her dead sister everywhere. They’re even having conversations. It’s a comfort for Ever, though, because it almost feels like Riley is still alive – even if she is in the whispy, non-corporeal sense. Something else is happening to Ever, too. She’s developed a kind of psychic power where she can see into people’s minds. But Ever knows it’s not polite to wade through people’s privacy like that so she does very little with her gift.

But then Damon comes along and things start to change. For one, she can’t see inside his mind at all, which is very strange indeed. But it’s more than that. Something about Damon is off. Ever notices this straight away but can’t seem to put her finger on it. The more time she spends with him, the more her imagination gets carried away and suddenly she finds herself contemplating all kinds of crazy things about him.

Damon is totally not what he seems. Or at least, he’s not what Noel wants you to think he is. He’s old – very old, in fact – he drinks a red substance straight from a glass at dinner, he keeps disappearing, he’s got loads of money, and he’s got books signed by authors that died a century ago. Sounds familiar, huh?

Well sorry to disappoint, but Damon is no vampire. He’s just a guy that has lived for a helluva long time. And apart from the mind reading stuff, his tricks are limited and fairly unimpressive. He’s not running from a big bad (not really) and he’s not a threat to Ever in any way. Where oh where is the conflict, I ask? This is no forbidden romance guys, so don’t go into it thinking it’s going to be all hopeless like Romeo and Juliet. It’s not. Not even close.

I know that there are hoards of girls out there that really got into this novel, but I found Ever so irrational and so whiny that being inside her head was just annoying. As I sit here and type this, I’m strapping on my protective armour and picking up my sword, because I know I’m going to offend masses of readers when I say that this book was average. In fact, I think the best thing about it is the beautiful cover art. I put it down three times before I forced myself to pick it up and keep reading. It took foooooorreeeeevvveerrrrrrrr to get started.

Having said that, I didn’t hate it, but I most certainly didn’t love it. I’m not even quite sure I liked it. If someone handed me the second one, I’d read it (or I’d at least give it a chance) out of sheer curiosity. But I’m hoping someone I know has a copy because I’m not forking out my hard earned dollars to acquire it.

On a final note I would like to ask why everyone is comparing this to Twilight? Why are people comparing every single novel that comes out these days to Twilight? There are no vampires present within the pages of Evermore, and the love story that plays out between Damon and Ever bares no resemblance to that of Bella and Edward. So I ask you, why oh why is this being compared to Twilight? In my personal opinion, the two don’t even really belong in the same genre. My two cents, though, and I’m sure others will have much to say about the issue.

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Seth wasn’t trying to pretend things were all right.

“I don’t know what happened between you two before tonight but I can probably guess…”

The look Keenan gave him confirmed Seth’s fears.

“Right. Here’s the thing. If she chooses to give you more than her friendship, it’ll suck for me. Probably how you feel now.”

Keenan was motionless, but it was much the same way that caged lions became motionless – sizing you up for weakness. For all their feigning humanity, faeries were something Other. Aislinn was Other, and the longer she was with them, the further away from mortal normalcy she would be.

And from me.

If you liked Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange then you’re going to love this.

Aislinn is Seth’s world. Before Ash came along, Seth never pegged himself for the couple-type. He’d always been happy to cruise along and engage in a little no-strings-attached kind of fun when it suited him. But Ash changed all that. Changed him. Now Ash is Seth’s whole world. She is his everything and he can’t bear the thought of losing her. But as Ash falls further into her role as queen of the Summer Court, it’s a thought that he’s entertained more than once. He can see the connection between his girlfriend and the king of the Summer Court – Keenan – growing stronger the more summer approaches.

And Keenan has noticed, too. Keenan notices nothing but Ash. He watches her every move, doesn’t miss a single bat of her eyelid. The fact that Ash is still with Seth is killing Keenan. He swears his romantic interest in Ash is for the betterment of the court only, but that doesn’t exactly make it any easier for Seth. If Keenan keeps pushing Ash, keeps testing the boundaries with her, will she give into his charming ways? Seth, being the smart, savvy guy that he is, knows all too well that if he doesn’t act now, he’s going to lose his girl.

You won’t believe what he does…

And what about Donia? Poor Don and Keenan have been trying to work things out for ages. Are they ever going to get their stuff sorted, or will Ash and the whole court rivalry thing going to keep them apart always? Donia is one feisty chick that you don’t want to put off side. Is Keenan smart enough to see that, or will he put himself, his queen and his entire court in danger because of his blindness?

I couldn’t possibly write a review of Fragile Eternity without throwing a shout out to Niall. Although his role is sort of secondary, he still manages to throw his bad ass self around, making sure that everyone knows that he’s one fey not to be messed with. Niall’s protectiveness over Seth is more than a little endearing and I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the strength of their relationship that we saw in this novel is a taste of wicked things to come…

Niall, ruler of the Dark Court, you rock my socks off. I can’t wait for more action from you in the future.

Melissa Marr’s faery world is one I love to get lost in. Seth, Aislinn and Keenan are all so alive and real in my heart that I can feel Keenan’s jealousy pulling at my insides, hear Ash’s tears as she weeps for her lost love, and see the desperation painted on Seth’s face as he watches his lover engage with another. The words flow effortlessly across the page and paint a picture so beautiful that its hard to believe they’re just words. There’s not one single part of Fragile Eternity that I didn’t love. The character development is mind blowing, the twists and turns are both tiny and ginormous (and totally surprising, let me add) and even though nothing goes the way I want it to, as I turned the last page I still had a huge smile on my face.

I think the divide between Team Seth fans and Team Keenan devotees will become clearer than ever now. While Melissa Marr lays out a pretty solid case for both her boys, if you were sitting on the fence before Fragile Eternity, I’m willing to lay money on it that you wont be at the end. And I reckon it will be a pretty easy choice, too.

Totally and absolutely brilliant in every possible way!

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She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows that she doesn’t fit in.

At Evernight Academy nothing is as it seems. The description on the back of the book calls Evernight Academy gothic. I think that’s a little misleading and the writer of the blurb should have told potential readers the truth about Evernight Academy – that it’s not just a school, but is in fact a school for vampires. But Evernight is shaking things up this year and they’ve allowed human enrollments for the first time, too. The humans, of course, are entirely unaware that more than half the school’s population are actually undead Americans. There are strict rules about exposing yourself to a human, though, and vampires are forbidden from biting the human students. But honestly, how cruel is that? Dangling humans under vampire noses is like putting chow in front a dog and telling him that he’s not allowed to have it. How long would poor puppy be able to resist something like that? Not very long, I’d imagine. And it’s the same with the vampires. Put them in living quarters with humans and there are bound to be problems. Problems of the bloodsucking kind.

Meet Bianca – the newest enrollment at Evernight Academy. She’s shy, smart and a bit of a loner. But she gets housed with Patrice, who is more poised and beautiful than anyone Bianca has ever met. She’s so full of confidence that just being in the same room as Patrice makes Bianca feel more than a little uncomfortable. Can an outsider like Bianca and an It Girl like Patrice be friends? Who knows….

Perhaps Lucas knows. Lucas is also a new arrival at Evernight and is instantly drawn to Bianca. And lucky for Bianca because the moment she sees Lucas she knows she’s in love. Life would totally suck if her first true love didn’t return her affections, don’t you think? But there is more to Lucas than meets the eye. He seems well informed about Evernight and its history, and he really, really doesn’t like Patrice and her friends. In fact, he dislikes them so much that he does everything in his power to isolate Bianca and himself away from their prying eyes. Then one night during a hot and heavy make out session, Bianca does something so unbelievably weird and wrong that it changes everything between her and Lucas. This event works as a sort of catalyst for the downward spiral of everything in Bianca’s life, and suddenly Bianca’s world becomes a regular Jerry Springer episode.

I don’t want to give anything crucial away, but I will say this…

- Someone flees Evernight, fearing for their life.

- Someone breaks the Evernight code and bites a human.

- Someone unexpectedly becomes a vampire.

- Someone has an evil, ulterior motive which shakes the foundations of Evernight through history.

- Love is made, trust is lost, hearts are broken and unexpected friendships are formed.
I decided to read Evernight because a lot of people had told me it had a similar Bella and Edward kind of love story happening. I can safely say, with complete and total conviction, that this is not true. For me, Bella and Edward were so real and so alive that I had to remind myself repeatedly that they were fictional and that their connection was fabricated. Not real in any way. Lucas and Bianca’s connection isn’t so intense. Not even half as much, in fact. I felt like Claudia Gray was telling us they had a connection, rather than showing us they did. And just because she was telling me that Lucas loved Bianca and Bianca loved Lucas doesn’t for one second mean that I’m going to believe that. I just wasn’t feeling it with these guys.

Will I read the second novel? Yes, simply because I want to know what happens. Will I loose sleep if I don’t get my hands on it right away? No, I wont.

Evernight is a solid read, but nothing to write home about.

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Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decisions to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?

As City of Glass opens Clary, Jace and the other Shadowhunters are on their way to Idris. Valentine is up to no good again and the very foundation of the Shadowhunting community is at risk. He’s waging a war and he’s asking all Shadowhunters, old and young, to pick a side: fight with him, or feel his all mighty wrath. But the Shadowhunters know that they can’t face Valentine alone – there aren’t enough of them and they would surely loose. Then someone has a genius idea: maybe the Downworlders will fight alongside the Nephilim. Their army would unquestionably increase in size, and with a bigger army, the Clave has a better chance of defeating Valentine. But will the Nephilim and the Downworlders be able to put aside their differences to fight for their lives?

Meanwhile, Clary and Jace are struggling with more than the evil actions of their father. Jace decides that being in love with Clary is just too hard, and he sets about finding himself a distraction. Aline doesn’t know about Jace and Clary’s history and when she makes a play for Jace, he doesn’t exactly stop her. Clary has tried distracting herself before with Simon, and that didn’t work. But seeing Jace with Aline hurts – a lot – and maybe its time for Clary to try the whole distraction thing again…

Enter Sebastian. He’s sexy, smart, charming, and seems totally interested in Clary. The question on everyone’s lips, however, should be, interested in what? Clary decides that she’d like to at least try and figure that out. Sebastian is a multi-layered character that provides a whole lot of entertainment for fans. Reading Sebastian is like riding an emotional rollercoaster. I sighed and cooed with delight, laughed at him, cheered for him, screamed at him and seethed as my blood curdled furiously at one point, too.

But Jace and Clary realise that watching each other cavorting with other people is just too hard. It hurts way too much…

“And I’m supposed to sit by while you date boys, fall in love with someone else, get married…?” His voice tightened. “And meanwhile, I’ll die a little bit more everyday, watching.”

Society says that Jace and Clary can’t be together, right? Maybe, just maybe, Jace and Clary don’t care what society says anymore. Jace and Clary, however, aren’t the only ones having romantic issues. Magnus and Alec seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, too.

“I’m tired of you only wanting me around when you need something. I’m tired of watching you be in love with someone else – someone, incidentally, who will never love you back. Not the way I do.”

Magnus has been avoiding Alec – big time. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and being away from Magnus forces Alec to deal with some of his inner demons. Can he let his feelings for Jace go and save his relationship with Magnus? And what about his parents… Alec has worked so hard to hide his sexuality from his parents and the Clave. Does he have the courage to open up to them and be true to himself? Its time for Alec to decide what kind of life he wants to lead. Will he chose a lonely life buried in the confines of the closet, or will he sacrifice everything he’s ever known for love?

There’s a whole lot more going on, too. Simon gets himself locked up, Izzy falls for someone very unexpected, Clary turns out to be a whole lot more talented than anyone expected she ever would, old friends return, and one of our beloved Shadowhunters will leave us forever…

But I’m sure you all want to know about Valentine, right? Is he really Jace and Clary’s dad? And for the love of the angel, are they going to take him down already? Everybody loves a good fight, and a good fight you shall get. Who will make it out alive, and whose lives will be shattered for all of eternity? I have the answers but I don’t feel like sharing right now… I suppose you’ll just have to grab yourself a copy of the book and find out for yourself.

There’s a whole lot of action, a little smooching, and one huge bombshell surprise after the other. I recommend coffee – lots of it – snacks, and a super comfy reading spot because this is one of those books that you wont be able to put down. Not for anything.

Cassandra Clare is a force to be reckoned with. Her use of imagery to create a real and vivid picture of her world is commendable. There was not one scene in the entire novel that didn’t appear in front of me like I was watching a film. Not only can she unpack an awesome story, but she writes beautifully, too. This is one of those rare, high-quality young adult reads that you don’t come by too often. The literary world should be thankful Miss Clare decided to grace us with her amazing talent.

A perfect ending to a perfect trilogy. If it were possible to award it a six star rating, I would.

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Stay tuned - we’ve got an interview with Cassandra Clare coming your way tomorrow.

Love a good scandal? Then you’re going to love this. The Luxe is like Jane Austen meets Gossip Girl, and there is not one part of that combination that I don’t adore. Set in the 1900’s, this tale is overflowing with love, betrayal, deceit, and all those other juicy things that made the books we love so perfect. With New York as its backdrop, The Luxe follows the lives of five individuals whose lives are more intertwined than one could possibly imagine.

Elizabeth is the eldest of the Holland daughters and is now of marriageable age. Since her father died, the Holland family has been suffering financial difficulty and Lizzie’s mother thinks its time she married her daughter off to a nice rich family who can provide a life of security and wealth for the Holland’s once more. When her mother arranges for her to be married off to Henry Schoonmaker – the most eligible (and wealthiest) bachelor in all of New York – despair clutches at Elizabeth more than one could possibly imagine. You see, Elizabeth has been having a secret affair with someone else – someone that, if her mother ever found out, she would be forbidden from seeing ever again…

Lina knows Elizabeth’s secret, however. She’s a servant in the Holland household, and Elizabeth’s own personal maid. Lina sees Lizzie sneaking out of Will’s room one night and her heart shatters into a thousand tiny pieces. Lina always wanted Will to herself and is horrified to learn that Lizzie – the perfect girl who has everything – has the one thing in the world she wants more than anything. Lina is a vindictive girl who will stop at nothing to attain her glory, or her man.

Lina is a bit like Penelope in that sense, which is why is it entirely unsurprising that their paths eventually meet. In a moment of fury, Elizabeth fires Lina and within the hour, Lina finds herself homeless. As she’s walking on the sidewalk, Penelope’s carriage trots alongside her and the two get chatting. Lina knows exactly who Penelope is and strikes a deal with the malicious woman in red that can only lead to Elizabeth’s demise. You see, Penelope has it bad for Henry and is horrified to learn of his engagement to her friend, Elizabeth. But with Lina’s help, Penelope orchestrates a plan to put a stop to their engagement and steal the bachelor for herself.

Henry, however, isn’t interested in Penelope in that way. Sure, they’ve had many a night together and they’ve done things that unmarried people simply should not do, but Penelope isn’t the kind of girl he could ever see himself marrying. But neither is Elizabeth. Henry – like Elizabeth – is forced into the arrangement by his parents. Then one day whilst calling on his fiancé, Henry is introduced properly to her sister, Diana, and is immediately taken by her brash persona. She’s beautiful, in an artistic way, and is everything he wants in a woman. Henry embarks on the pursuit of his life – to make Diana fall in love with him.

And she does. Diana is not a flip person and is taken by surprise that her feelings for Henry are so strong. He’s rude, unapologetic and ridiculously over-confident. But she wants him – badly. But he is destined to marry her sister, who is in love with someone else altogether. The whole thing is a bit of a mess and Diana finds herself in the stickiest of situations.

As the lives of New York’s elite become more and more tangled, you’ll be unable to put the book down. Anna Godbersen writes with a beauty so rich it is as if she actually lived in New York during the nineteen century.

Godbersen’s characters are dynamic and successfully incited emotions in me so powerful that I actually had to get up off the couch and pace while I read. I fell in love, learned the true power of what it feels like to hate, and became a complete slave to the pages the further I got into the novel.

Each page oozes with elegance, and like most guilty pleasures in life, is positively addictive. Watch out for the cliffhanger ending, though, as it will leave you breathless beyond your wildest dreams. Thankfully the second novel, Rumours, is in stores as we speak, with the third installment on the way…

Girls everywhere will love this novel. Jane Austen, eat your heart out!

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P.S - We’re actually reading The Luxe for our bookclub choice this month. Click here to join the discussion.

The heat is on. Rose is entering the final stages of her guardian training and before she can graduate into a fully qualified guardian, she is required to undergo six weeks of field experience first. After spending two years of her life guarding Lissa from real attacks, Rose thinks that the field experience will be a piece of cake. But the Academy throws her a curve ball and assigns her to guard Christian – Lissa’s boyfriend and the very same Christian that Rose doesn’t exactly like. Rose finds herself suddenly confronted with a whole stack of new challenges that have absolutely nothing to do with guarding and protecting the life of a royal.

As if spending six days a week with Christian isn’t enough drama for Rose to deal with, something weird is going on with her. She’s been seeing Mason, like really seeing him, and she thinks that maybe she’s going a little crazy. But Mason died, she saw him slip away with her own two eyes. So what, or who, is she seeing now? Ghosts aren’t real, right? Maybe not, but maybe they are… Rose desperately wants to talk to someone about ghost-Mason, or whatever it is that she is seeing, but she knows that sharing her story would lead to no good. No good at all.

Then there is Dimitri. Even though she’s tried, Rose just can’t shake her feelings for him. How could she, when he’s everything she’s ever wanted? How many girls can say they found their dream guy, their soul mate, during their adolescence? Not too many, I would assume. Rose however, has found her soul mate, it doesn’t take a genius to figure this out – she just can’t have him. It’s a cruel twist of fate, but soul mates or not, Dimitri and Rose know that guardian/guardian relationships are strictly forbidden. Will that be enough to keep them away from each other, or can love really conquer all? Loving Dimitri is the scariest thing in Rose’s life, and she knows that if anyone found out, both their lives could be ruined forever. Rose and Dimitri face some very interesting challenges indeed. Will they walk away from their guardian destiny to be with each other, or will they continue to deny themselves, deny each other?

Just when Rose thinks that her life couldn’t possibly get anymore complicated, the Strigoi launch a surprise attack on the Academy and suddenly everyone Rose ever cared about is unsafe. This time, the Strigoi fight dirtier than ever before and take something of Rose’s that will change her life forever.

“I ran. I didn’t look back. I didn’t ask what he was going to do because I already knew. He was going to stop as many Strigoi as he could so that I could get help. And a moment later I heard grunts and hits that told me he’d found another. For only a heartbeat, I let myself worry about him. If he died, I was certain I would too.”

Prepare yourself for a monstrous cliffhanger ending that will leave you gasping for breath.

Rose learns a lot in this installment and watching her develop as a person is a humbling experience. In all the loss, through all her trials, Rose never loses sight of who she is, or what she stands for. She is stubborn and fierce but she’s also selfless and loyal – qualities that are a rarity in today’s society.

Richelle Mead has outdone herself with this installment. Fabulously written, full of action and nail-biting suspense, Shadow Kiss is an unputdownable read.

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Zachary is an angel – literally. He’s had many charges over the years but being Miranda’s guardian angel is his toughest gig yet. See, he’s in love with her and love just complicates everything. Deep down Zachary knows that he would do anything to keep her safe – he’d even risk his own position in heaven. When Miranda heads out one night with her friend, Zachary sees trouble coming a mile off – trouble of the vampire kind. In the process of trying to protect Miranda from becoming a meal, Zachary breaks the one rule guardian angels are never allowed to bend, under any circumstances, and he reveals himself in human form.

As punishment, Zachary is cast out of heaven and sentenced to life on earth, as a human. Knowing he failed the love of his life, Zachary begins on a downward spiral of destruction. Someone upstairs, however, thinks that Zachary deserves a second chance and the heavens assign him a task – to kill Dracul, the most bad ass vamp around. If he succeeds, he’ll win back his place in heaven and his guardian powers will be returned to him. When he gets to the Dracul castle, however, he doesn’t expect to find Miranda all vamped out and running the show. This complicates things, just a little. See, even though she’s now a vampire, Zachary can’t shake his feelings for her and embarks on a mission to not only eliminate her master, but save her soul from her vampire self.

Miranda is a lousy vampire. She’s not evil enough, nor scary enough to throw her authority around like her master expects her to. Some of the servants even like her a little. Then, Zachary arrives at the castle and she’s drawn to him immediately. He makes her want to be a better person – if its possible for a vampire to live like a person at all. She stops drinking human blood, opting for animal blood instead, and helps Zachary orchestrate his plan to eliminate the master. But the question remains – can Zachary save Miranda, or is she destined for a life of eternal damnation?

Eternal is narrated through both Zachary and Miranda’s points of view. I love this technique of dual narration because it allows the reader to really get both sides of the story. Zachary is an adorable character whose strength and conviction is admirable, at the very least. I found Miranda’s failed attempts at being evil humorous at first, but towards the end her self-pity was a little on the annoying side. Even so, I was compelled to keep reading. You know the author has some serious talent when you’re interested in reading about a character you don’t like very much. For Zachary’s sake I found myself hoping for the best. Does he get his girl and his place in heaven back? Or does the Dracul master ruin his life forever?

Only the pages of Eternal have the answers…

Set in the same world as Smith’s previous novel Tantalize, Eternal will draw you in - fangs, angel wings and all!

Available February, 2009

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Granna drummed her fingers on the table. “You’re about the right age for Them to start making trouble. Shallow things. I don’t think they have much use for anything old or not beautiful. They’re only interested in brand new toys.” She shrugged, as if she were talking about an ant problem or something equally mundane. “So I gave you the ring.”

Dee is not a normal girl. She can do things with her mind that no one else can. Unbeknownst to her, she’s caught the attention of a very powerful woman, and her life takes a weird, weird turn.

The fey are following Dee. Only Dee doesn’t know they’re fey, not at first. But then she meets Luke at a recital and she knows that something isn’t quite right about him. What she does know, however, is that she is drawn to him beyond belief. Dee has never had a boyfriend before, never even been interested in a boy before, but there is something really special about Luke that draws her in. And she can’t walk away from him, regardless what the consequences might be.

But Luke can touch iron. In fact, Luke gives her an iron key for protection against the fey. So if he can touch the one thing that they can’t, what does that make him? She knows he isn’t a normal human, but now she’s not so sure he’s fey either. So, what is he, then?

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. All I’m going to say folks, is be afraid. Be very afraid.

Against her better judgement, however, Dee is unable to feel the fear she should in his presence. And so starts a love affair destined for doom even before it gets off the ground.

Nevertheless, Luke does everything in his power to keep the fey away from Dee, but the fey are smarter than they look and suddenly Dee finds herself in the worst situation imaginable. Conniving and vindictive, the fey blindside Dee and come at her from behind – if they can’t have her, they’ll take the two things she loves the most, instead.

Lament is one helluva tense read. From the moment Dee starts hurling at the recital in the first chapter, right through to the very last full stop, I had to remind myself to breathe. Once the action pops it just doesn’t stop.

Dee is an inspiring character who never forgets what being a decent person is all about. Even when the going gets tougher than one could ever imagine, Dee never forgets who she is and what matters most. Reading Dee’s journey was more like watching a movie and Stiefvater masterfully navigates the English language, bringing her characters to life with colour and a three-dimensional aspect that is so often missing from young adult novels.

Lament is the first novel in an ongoing series, and is also Stiefvater’s debut novel. We here at yaReads think its a pretty sensational effort, too. We can’t wait to see what else she’s got coming. Whatever it is, we know its going to be big!

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