Posts Tagged "Teen Romance"

Myra McEntire is the debut author of Hourglass, which will be available in May. Without spoiling anything, Myra took the time to answer a few questions and open up about what went into writing Hourglass.

How does it feel to publish your first novel? Is the publishing process everything you expected?

Emerson is a very sarcastic and witty person. Are you or is someone you know that sarcastic?

Read Kiona’s review of Hourglass.

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great enough power against evil?

When Beth arrives on Earth, she’s got just one thing on her mind – the mission. It’s her first time on Earth, and her first assignment as an angel. She wants to impress. As she gets used to her earthly body and the things that come along with being human, such as the need to eat, sleep, use the restroom etc… Beth realizes she actually quite enjoys human life. Apart from having to keep her wings folded up inside her clothing, being human has many perks.

Then she starts attending classes at the local high school and life takes an unexpected turn. She meets Xavier – the guy everyone wants, but no one can have. After Xavier’s girlfriend died in a house fire a couple of years ago, he’s pretty much kept to himself. He doesn’t date anymore, and although he still participates in school life, he’s pretty much detached himself from social circles.

Until now.

Something about Beth catches Xavier’s attention and he’s drawn to her immediately. Fortunately for him, Beth is also taken with the boy and finds herself experiencing all these weird emotions and attachments that Angels just don’t feel. Before she even understands what’s happening, Beth has completely fallen in love with Xavier and can’t stay away from him – a big no no as far as the Angels are concerned.

Will Beth’s new human feelings for Xavier stand in the way of her mission? Now that she has Xavier, does the mission even matter anymore? Does anything even matter anymore?

Alexandra Adornetto was only fourteen when she published her first noel in Australia, and now at eighteen, Halo is her American debut. Her writing style is phenomenal, especially for someone so young. Her knowledge of the world shines through her writing and her prose is an absolute pleasure to read.

Although it’s not completely riveting, Adornetto has worked out the intricacies of her plot well. Unfortunately, her characters fall a little short. Although I liked both Xavier and Beth, their connection and their romance seemed a little flat. I didn’t feel their passion or their desire like I’d hoped to and they didn’t step off of the page like strong characters should. Having said that, I’m supremely interested to see how her writing develops so I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series. I suspect we will be seeing outstanding things from this author in the years to come.

Publication date: 2010

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (US)

Pages: 484

Challenge: n/a

Rating::

At the start of her senior year in high school, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love.Tobey also wants two things for his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. However, a popular jock named Dave moves in on Sara first. But Tobey’s quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her. Can a slacker rock-star wannabe win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?

Hilariously and movingly told through Tobey and Sara’s authentic voices, Susane Colasanti’s debut novel sizzles in its portrayal of two young people searching for The One.

Sara has two goals this year: get into her college of choice and score herself a very hot boyfriend. The first one should be pretty easy, since she’s super smart and has been working her booty off. When it comes to the second goal, though, Sara isn’t totally sure she can pull it off.

Enter Dave – new kid at school and totally hot property. When he starts casting his eye Sara’s way, she can’t believe her luck.

Tobey, also can’t believe his – his bad luck, that is. His two goals this year are to take his band to the next professional level, and score Sara as his girl. So when Dave beats him to the punch, Tobey enters serious boy moping mode. Tobey doesn’t understand why such a cool chick like Sara would be interested in a douche like Dave, but he doesn’t have the guts to ask her. He doesn’t have the guts to really even talk to her, which is probably why he missed out on dating her in the first place.

But then something changes. He watches Sara and Dave incessantly, and Tobey knows that Sara isn’t really happy dating Dave. He enlists the help of Sara’s friend, and before you know it, Tobey has Sara falling all over the place for him.

Being with Dave really isn’t all Sara thought it would be anyway. He’s boring, and really, she just doesn’t feel that spark. All of a sudden, Tobey is everywhere she is, and he’s all she can think about. Everything about Tobey feels right and everything about Dave feels wrong.

Tobey and Sara both feel the same way: they just can’t pass up the chance to feel something real, something honest. But is being with each other worth it? When you think you’ve found your soul mate, shouldn’t it be easy?

As Tobey and Sara learn, nothing about love is easy. Especially the real, honest-to-God kind.

I’ve read a couple of Susan Colosanti books before and absolutely adored them, and while Tobey and Sara’s story is indeed high up there on the cute meter, When It Happens wasn’t a real page turner for me. I just wasn’t feeling their love in the way I wanted to. I do, however, thing the younger YA readers will really dig this one. Sara’s innocence and drive to be a good person is inspiring, and she’s really a great role model for young girls. Tobey’s honesty and silly teenage lust is adorable, and the girls will really dig him.

If you’re looking for heart breaking romance, then this isn’t the book for you, but if you’re looking for something light and entertaining, then it sure might be. I’ll let you decide…

Pages: 310

Publication date: 2006

Rating::

Teaser quote: “Then Sara looks right at me, catching me off guard. I am instantaneously transformed into this sweating, heart-pounding freak. I am no longer Tobey Beller. It’s weird that I am still able to speak in this condition.”

While developing a new system to maintain Morganville’s defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she’s able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.

But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town’s little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville…

As Ghost Town opens, life looks like its actually going well for the inhabitants of the Glass House for once. Michael and Eve are good, Claire is attending classes danger free these days, and things with Shane are … well, pretty darned great. But of course, this is Morganville, and the Glass House was kidding itself if they thought life would go along all peachy keen for long.

Enter dangerous situation number one. Eve attends a rave with a new friend of hers only to have it crashed by vampires on the hunt, and they want fresh blood. Claire and Shane rush to Eve’s rescue, of course, but Claire manages to land herself in a little hot water when she stakes a vampire. According to Amelie’s new rules, that’s strictly forbidden in Morganville these days, and Claire’s up for murder – of a vampire. She lands herself with an unusual sentence though, and finds herself hauled up in Myrnin’s lab slaving away at a project Amelie and Myrnin insist must be completed. Claire can’t leave, eat, sleep, or do anything until she gets it done. She does, of course, and life settles back down – for a few hours, at least.

Enter dangerous situation number two. Everyone starts forgetting things, and it’s like the last three years didn’t even happen. That means no one even knows who Claire is, because she hasn’t been in Morganville that long, and everything is crazy weird. Fortunately, no one in the Glass House seems to be affected, until of course they do become affected, and it’s up to Claire to fix this one all on her own. Without the help of her friends, Claire’s chances of fixing this seem bleak. That is, until she gets the help of a very unlikely person…

Ghost Town is rocking in every which way. Caine is totally on point with this one, giving readers the right amount of action, drama, romance and suspense to keep us turning the pages obsessively. In a true act of genius, we get to re-live the first moments of the Shane/Claire, Michael/Eve romance all over again, without losing the intensity and connection between the characters that the series has worked so hard on developing.

Caine’s prose is tight, witty, and absolutely perfect in every way. Her narrator is more lively and real than ever before. After reading Ghost Town I can see why the Morganville Vampires is now a major force to be reckoned with. Vampire enthusiasts, eat your heart out.

Pages: 335

Publication date: 2010 (available now)

Rating::

Teaser quote: “Go way, Lyss,” he moaned, and opened his eyes, and blinked, and finally focused on her. And then he completely and totally freaked out.

“After getting kicked out of school and sent to live with her grandmother, Sabine Rose is determined to become a normal teenage girl. That’s why she hides her psychic gift from everyone at her new school, pretending that the predictions she helps write for the school newspaper are just fun nonsense.

But when she starts having deadly visions of a girl with a dragonfly tattoo, she’s afraid everyone will think she’s a freak, or worse – that no one will believe her until someone dies. Just like at her last school.

Framed for a crime she didn’t commit, Sabine must find a way to prove her innocence – and warn the girl with the dragonfly tattoo before it’s too late.”

Don’t Die, Dragonfly is the first book in the Seer series by Linda Joy Singleton. Sabine Rose is a teenage psychic. When she predicts a schoolmate’s death in a car crash, her town and family turn against her, believing she caused the accident. She is sent to live with her grandmother, also a psychic, and she begins a new life at a new school. She vows to keep her gift a secret, but with another life on the line, she’s not sure she can.

Singleton establishes a rich, believable cast in Dragonfly. Though sometimes the characters fit into cliché moulds, I still love them. Penny-Love, Sabine’s popular cheerleading best friend, is relatable and funny. She adds normalcy to Sabine’s otherwise abnormal life and, in doing so, grounds Sabine. Sabine also makes friends with her school newspaper editor, Mannie, and the resident Goth-girl, Thorn. These quirky characters bring out different sides of Sabine, allowing her to become a more well-rounded character.

One of the major appeals to Singleton’s story is the love triangle. Josh is popular, kind, and sweet – everything Sabine is looking for. The only thing is, she can’t tell him her secret and his best friend, Evan, will do anything to see the two ripped apart. Then there’s Dominic, the quiet, sexy, and frustrating farmhand Sabine’s grandmother has hired. He has a way of getting underneath Sabine’s skin, yet he’s one of the only people she can truly be herself around. These relationships only grow more interesting as the series progresses.

But though Singleton has provided us with an exciting cast, her main character is lacking. Sabine is, at times, difficult to relate to. She is obsessed with doing the right thing, but always makes the obvious mistake. Therefore, her actions become predictable. Also, Sabine doesn’t seem to understand herself, which makes it hard for us to understand her. She’s not always sure what she wants or how she feels. Plus, she takes everything so seriously. We rarely see Sabine really having fun because she’s always worrying. Still, with such great friends, she’s bound to open up further along in the series and grow into herself.

Singleton establishes some key plot points in Dragonfly, ensuring that the series will have a specific direction. The subplots are interesting and allow Sabine a chance to grow and fully realize her powers before she is faced with her biggest obstacles. For those who enjoy plot-driven fantasy books, this series will be a fast read. Singleton intertwines suspense, action, romance, and magic in a realistic world. The story isn’t complicated or dense. In fact, it flies by due to the small pages and abundance of dialogue. Though it’s a simple read, the series is satisfying, especially to those looking to quench their thirst for the paranormal. This soon to be six-book series allows you to grow close to the characters and live in their world for awhile.

Pages: 288
Publication Date: September 2004
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “There was no controlling my gift, only learning to live with it — which I didn’t want to do. The more I used my sixth sense, the stronger it would become. Then I’d never be free of other worlds.”

Hey guys! Ivy here.  Some of you might be wondering about the author of this review.   Nope, it’s not Nikki nor Christina.  So who is Kiona?  Kiona Highbridge is a college student from Connecticut who also happens to be our new American reviewer!  Without further ado, here is a short Q&A with our lovely new reviewer to get to know her little better.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a sophomore at Emerson College in Boston, MA majoring in Writing, Literature, and Publishing. Writing has always been my passion, along with playing softball, riding horses, and making people laugh. I like to read and write stories about intricate relationships because I’m fascinated by human nature.

Fave YA book and fave author?
My favorite book of all time would have to be Alanna the Lioness: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. I just can’t get enough of Tortall, the world Pierce has created. In fact, she is my all time favorite author. However, currently, I am enamored with Cassandra Clare and The Infernal Devices series.

Who is your fave YA couple?
That’s difficult; there are so many I love. The first that springs to mind is Rose Hathaway and Adrian Ivashkov from the Vampire Academy Series. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rose and Dimitri, but Adrian amuses me to no end.

What is your fave YA genre?
Definitely fantasy. I appreciate how much world-building the authors put into their stories and I love that they take me to a different place. Plus, I like the twists in the fantasy genre – so many unexpected things can happen that I’m always on my toes.

Fave movie?
I’m a movie fanatic and I love so many different genres. But my two favorites have always been V for Vendetta and A Walk to Remember. I have to say two because they’re so different and it’s impossible to choose between them. I love the action and message of V for Vendetta, while I love the exploration of the relationship in A Walk to Remember.

Finish this sentence: “On a Saturday night, you’ll find me…”

“…sitting in my room catching up on TV shows I’ve missed, hanging out with my sister, or visiting my friends at their colleges.”

Welcome to the family Kiona!