When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

ADORABLE. Days after finishing Destined, I can’t stop thinking about it. And every time I do, I get this warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach. After a slew of contemporary and dystopian novels, Destined was exactly what I needed. This book retells the classic myth of Psyche and Eros, otherwise known as Cupid. It takes place in ancient Greece and while the story is set in the past, it’s given a current spin. The dialogue, mannerisms, and ways of thinking all reflect the present. This gives Destined a unique, incredibly fun flair. It’s also hard to put down and easy to love.

Destined reminds me of a mix between three of my favorite movies: Hercules, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle. I think it’d be pretty hard to read this book and not make the Hercules connection. I mean, that’s where my basic knowledge of Greek mythology comes from. Harrell portrays all the gods and goddesses in a comedic and distinct light. At no point does it feel like she’s just relying on the reader’s preconceived notions of how these immortals should act. Harrell takes the time to characterize each god or goddess, bringing them to life in a refreshing manner. She doesn’t just accept that you already know who Aphrodite is, but instead shows you the real Aphrodite. I loved all the mythology and traditions present in Destined. I also loved the fantastical and sometimes frightening/creepy elements that reminded me of Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. It wasn’t super creepy or anything, but just imagining myself in Psyche’s shoes as she faced the creature that “even the gods feared” allowed me to sympathize completely with how freaked out she was. Honestly, in her place, I would’ve been freaking out ten times more.

The relationship between Psyche and Eros is perfectly swoon-worthy. This is one of the few instances where I don’t want the amazing love interest for myself, but only because he and Psyche are so perfect together. I was rooting for their relationship from the moment they met. Harrell provides the benefit of switching between each of their points of view, which gives Eros dimension and substance, so that he doesn’t just come across as a physically flawless, yet empty shell. The only problem with seeing his point of view is that it’ll make you fall even more in love with him — and then silently beg Psyche to do the same. Even as I think of it now, I just want to read it again.

If you’re looking for the world’s most heartwarming and heart-achingly romantic love story, do yourself a favor and read Destined. Harrell’s writing style is succinct and elegant. She engages all five senses and paints amazingly vivid scenes. I’d also recommend listening to “Crack the Shutters” by Snow Patrol — Harrell’s “signature song” for Psyche and Eros — before, during, and after you read it. The song fits their story perfectly. And it’s also just plain beautiful, kind of like Destined.

Pages: 209
Publication Date: November 2011
Publisher: Mae Day Publishing
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating :

Teaser Quote: Her touch sank into me like a sun-warmed stone. “This is what I’ve been waiting for. This day. I learned from my mistakes with Helen. But you?” She shook her head and smiled. “Oh, Psyche, you’re going to make me proud.”

“Think I could turn that boy bad?”

My two best friends–my only two friends, really–follow my gaze and laugh.

“Trevor Hoffman?” Beth scoffs. “No way, Jen.”

“I bet I could,” I say, shrugging.

“Why him?” Beth asks. “Why not any of the other nerds sitting there with him?”

“Because,” I say slowly, “he isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill geek. Trevor Hoffman is different. He would be a little more difficult to take down–more of a challenge, you know?”

Jen’s teenage life of rebelling and sneaking out is growing stale. In an effort to combat her boredom, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a nice geek, into a “bad boy.” Unexpectedly, she is pulled into Trevor’s world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even–ugh!–bowling. Jen discovers that hanging out with Trevor isn’t so bad after all.

But when Trevor finds out about the wager, all bets are off.

There aren’t many “first love” stories that I think are spot-on, but Geek Girl truly captures the rollercoaster of emotions that not only constitute first love, but also first heartbreak. It’s also utterly un-put-downable. It’s impossible not to immerse yourself in Jen’s life, to feel every emotion right along with her. This book will make you laugh out loud, give you butterflies, bring you to the verge of tears, and quite possibly curl your toes as often as Jen does.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Jen is what you might call a “bad girl.” She’s been bounced around from who knows how many foster homes and she’s developed a pretty tough exterior. On a whim, she decides she needs a project and that project becomes turning Trevor, King of the Geeks, into a “bad boy.” But Trevor’s not as malleable as Jen first assumed and, after awhile, she realizes she doesn’t even want to change him. Instead, she might just want to change for him.

So begins the whirlwind romance of Jen and Trevor. Oddly enough, I found Jen to be one of the most relatable and likable characters I’ve ever read about. She’s charming, endearing, and ridiculously witty, though she’d probably only take the latter as a compliment. She also knows how to get exactly what she wants from guys – at least, when they’re playing by her rules. But Trevor’s different. He’s polite to a fault, honest, and genuinely good. He’s intrigued by Jen, but not intimidated. In essence, they’re perfect for each other.

Cindy Bennett is clearly a master at character development. Every time Jen and Trevor are together I feel as if I’m there with them. In fact, I feel as if I’m one of Trevor’s lame friends, joining the game for a sci-fi movie marathon. Bennett perfectly and accurately captures the high school experience, including the awkwardness that comes along with befriending those outside your “clique” and dealing with the backlash of the typical teenage drama. Bennett forges relationships with realistic, snappy dialogue and common interests (something many authors forget is one of the most important aspects of any relationship). Each secondary character is sufficiently explored, creating an entirely three-dimensional world.

In addition, Jen embarks on a rigorous journey of self-discovery that leaves the reader fascinated, empathetic, and rooting for her the entire way; I can’t imagine anyone failing to fall in love with her. Or Trevor, for that matter. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is filled with powerful emotions, both good and bad. And yes, it appeals to the geek in all of us, whether that part of you is big or small. I’ll admit I was more than a little proud of myself for recognizing almost all of the sci-fi references. Star Trek humor, anyone?

Pages: 271
Publication Date: December 2011
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “I look back at him and he’s smiling at my (very) little jokes. He has dimples, which I haven’t noticed before. Pretty cute—though they don’t cover his dorkiness.”

 Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Bianca Piper is pretty content with her life. She’s smart, scathingly honest, has two best friends she cares about more than anything, and a secret crush on the perfect and adorable Toby Tucker. Sometimes she feels out-shadowed by her model-gorgeous friends, Casey and Jessica, but that’s okay because Bianca isn’t trying to attract anyone’s attention because high schooler’s aren’t capable of falling in love. Not real love, anyway. Enter Wesley Rush, who changes Bianca’s entire opinion of herself by calling her “the Duff,” the designated ugly fat friend. But as much as she wants to hate him—no, wait, she does hate him—she’s also incredibly drawn to him…for all the wrong reasons. But Wesley turns out to be much more than he appears.

The DUFF closely examines the insecurities that all girls, and even boys, face. Throughout the book, Bianca struggles with what it means to be the Duff. She doesn’t want the comment to bother her. After all, why should she care what anyone, much less the school man-whore, thinks? Yet…she can’t help but see the truth in his words. How can she compare to her tall, thin, blonde best friends? It isn’t until she voices her concerns to Casey and Jessica and they insist they’re the Duffs (I’m not sure what Jessica’s flaws are, but at more than six feet tall, Casey feels like a giant) that Bianca realizes every girl will consider herself a Duff at some point or another and that maybe being a Duff isn’t such a bad thing.

Unfortunately, I didn’t fall in love with this book. I wanted to and I tried so hard. After all, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and I can see why. Usually, I’m a sucker for witty, sarcastic narrators, but something about Bianca made it hard for me to relate to her. She reminded me of one of my best friends, except with about fifty percent of my friend’s likeability. Maybe I thought she crossed the line of being too cynical and perpetually angry. Also, I wasn’t really a fan of the way she treated Casey and Jessica throughout a majority of the book. Bianca could be really hard to put up with sometimes, but Casey was always there for her, always loyal. I felt like she deserved more from Bianca. Also, I didn’t entirely believe that Wesley was truly falling for Bianca until the very end, which made it hard for me to really emotionally invest in their relationship. That being said, I still think their relationship was fascinating and provides a breath of fresh air to the YA community. In fact, the entire book is a breath of fresh air. It shows a grittier, less everything-is-sunshine-and-rainbows and infinitely more real look at teenage relationships (from friendships to casual acquaintances to dysfunctional families).

Keplinger does an excellent job of capturing the essence of teenage dynamics and friendships. The dialogue is snappy and fast-paced. The high school experiences seem real instead of clichéd and my guess is that most readers won’t be able to put it down. Kody Keplinger is definitely an author to look out for.

Pages: 280
Publication Date: September 2010
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “Wesley Rush doesn’t chase girls, but I’m chasing you.”