Lin Ryals's Blog, page 18
June 11, 2019
Teen Tuesday: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Genre: Dystopian, sci-fi, young adult
Publishing Information: July 2014 (2nd Edition) by Candlewick
Synopsis (Goodreads): Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.
Teen Review by Collin:
I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m on the third one in the series now because I had to know what happened. This author isn’t afraid to kill off characters and rip your heart out. Also, both the first and second books end on a cliff hanger, so be ready to start the next book.
My favorite part occurs in book 1, when Viola reads Todd’s mother’s journal. This is a turning point for the story because a very important background is revealed. It’s also a sweet part for Todd to find out information about his mother he doesn’t remember.
Todd was very relatable. I feel I would react in similar ways as he did in the situations he was put in. However, I’ve never been in those situations, so I can’t be 100% sure of that.
The Mayor’s motivation was logical, malicious, but still logical. I can’t say too much or I may give out spoilers.
Along with hearing what men think, the thoughts of animals could also be heard. The funniest parts to me were when the animals thoughts were written in the text. They made me laugh.
Overall, this was a fun book to read. It does have more cussing than I’m used to, so parents should check it first. I give it five stars.
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My Top Ten Unpopular Bookish Opinions
Young Adult books are enjoyable for adults.
I enjoy reading young adult books. I’m a mom and constantly interrupted in life. I don’t have time to focus on life altering grown up books. I have time to read a page here, a chapter there, maybe a paragraph around the corner. LOL! So, it has to be stuff that doesn’t require a lot of focus. I also don’t like a lot of cussing or steamy bedroom scenes. I think books can be very entertaining without sex.
Life of Pi is a boring book.
This book was so popular and my husband LOVED it!!! I tried. I really did. But I just couldn’t get into it.
Listening to an audio-book counts as reading.
I prefer to read an actual book/ebook. However, sometimes audiobooks are great as well – when doing chores, walking or running around my neighborhood. When my hands and eyes are busy, but my mind needs somewhere to focus, I love audio books. I also like to use them when teaching children. A lot of children are better auditory learners and have trouble comprehending when they read. They still need to practice reading, but if they’re listening to books for fun, that totally counts! It’s better than a lot of other things they could be doing. They’re also still improving many skills. I talk about it in The Reluctant Reader post. It’s my third point.
I don’t like when authors write a lot of details.
My husband loves details, especially the poetic ones. An example is The Last Unicorn. It’s a classic and the words are beautifully written. It’s just, I get bored waiting for the point of the paragraph. LOL! Just get to it already!
If I can’t get into a book, I don’t finish it.
There are a lot of people out there who say that you MUST finish the book. No. Reading should be enjoyable. If it’s not, don’t continue reading that book. Move on to a different one.
I love reading ebooks.
Yes, I know, paper books are more popular. However, I love reading in bed before going to sleep. My husband has to get up at 5:30am and I don’t, so he goes to sleep before me. If I’m reading an actual paper book, I have to use a flashlight which wakes up my husband. The ebook is perfect. I can set it on “bed mode” and turn the light way down and it doesn’t wake my husband. I can read all night if I want.
There are many chapters in classics that I feel are unnecessary (such as Les Miserables).
Read it. Tell me how many paragraphs they take to get through the candlestick scene. Oh. My. Goodness!! I’ve never made it through there.
Books are better without sex scenes.
I really don’t want to read about these details. Cool. They had sex. I don’t want to know everything they did. Keep that in your own bedroom, please. It adds nothing to the story and is completely unnecessary.
Book snobs are annoying. If someone is reading a book then they’re doing better than the majority of the population.
I’ve heard a lot of people judging readers. “That’s a trash book. It’s not worth reading.” Oh my gosh! Be grateful they’re reading a book! Do you know how many adults have never even been to their library? What?! Let them read whatever freakin’ book they want to read, please. 
Top Ten Unpopular Bookish Opinions
Young Adult books are enjoyable for adults.
I enjoy reading young adult books. I’m a mom and constantly interrupted in life. I don’t have time to focus on life altering grown up books. I have time to read a page here, a chapter there, maybe a paragraph around the corner. LOL! So, it has to be stuff that doesn’t require a lot of focus. I also don’t like a lot of cussing or steamy bedroom scenes. I think books can be very entertaining without sex.
Life of Pi is a boring book.
This book was so popular and my husband LOVED it!!! I tried. I really did. But I just couldn’t get into it.
Listening to an audio-book counts as reading.
I prefer to read an actual book/ebook. However, sometimes audiobooks are great as well – when doing chores, walking or running around my neighborhood. When my hands and eyes are busy, but my mind needs somewhere to focus, I love audio books. I also like to use them when teaching children. A lot of children are better auditory learners and have trouble comprehending when they read. They still need to practice reading, but if they’re listening to books for fun, that totally counts! It’s better than a lot of other things they could be doing. They’re also still improving many skills. I talk about it in The Reluctant Reader post. It’s my third point.
I don’t like when authors write a lot of details.
My husband loves details, especially the poetic ones. An example is The Last Unicorn. It’s a classic and the words are beautifully written. It’s just, I get bored waiting for the point of the paragraph. LOL! Just get to it already!
If I can’t get into a book, I don’t finish it.
There are a lot of people out there who say that you MUST finish the book. No. Reading should be enjoyable. If it’s not, don’t continue reading that book. Move on to a different one.
I love reading ebooks.
Yes, I know, paper books are more popular. However, I love reading in bed before going to sleep. My husband has to get up at 5:30am and I don’t, so he goes to sleep before me. If I’m reading an actual paper book, I have to use a flashlight which wakes up my husband. The ebook is perfect. I can set it on “bed mode” and turn the light way down and it doesn’t wake my husband. I can read all night if I want.
There are many chapters in classics that I feel are unnecessary (such as Les Miserables).
Read it. Tell me how many paragraphs they take to get through the candlestick scene. Oh. My. Goodness!! I’ve never made it through there.
Books are better without sex scenes.
I really don’t want to read about these details. Cool. They had sex. I don’t want to know everything they did. Keep that in your own bedroom, please. It adds nothing to the story and is completely unnecessary.
Book snobs are annoying. If someone is reading a book then they’re doing better than the majority of the population.
I’ve heard a lot of people judging readers. “That’s a trash book. It’s not worth reading.” Oh my gosh! Be grateful they’re reading a book! Do you know how many adults have never even been to their library? What?! Let them read whatever freakin’ book they want to read, please.
June 9, 2019
Weekly Wrap-Up: 6/9/19
This is a blog hop hosted by the Caffeinated Reviewer.
This has been an incredibly busy week, but full of monotony. So, I have nothing exciting to share about my week. Right now I’m sitting at the computer, listening to the storm outside with all the windows open. I love the scent of rain and the stormy skies (as long as it doesn’t last for days). Really, that’s about as exciting as my week has gotten.
Books I read this week:
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Books that entered my home this week:
I am behind in my book reviews, so I have been turning down a lot of books until I catch up.
Books I am currently reading:
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On the blog this week:
Dealing with Negative Reviews
Top Ten Favorite YA Urban Fantasy
Teen Tuesday: The Elyrian
Book Tour/Review/Playlist/Giveaway for Wandering in Wonderland
Guest Post by Victoria Corva: Turning Horror into Humour and Hope
Friday Blog Hops: Hook and Crown
Down the TBR Hole #8
Art accomplishments:
Writing accomplishments:
June 8, 2019
Down the TBR Hole #8
Do you ever look at the TBR list on Goodreads and feel completely overwhelmed? I do!! That’s exactly why I LOVE this idea!!!
Down the TBR Hole was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story to help decrease the size of our TBRs.
HOW IT WORKS:
Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.Order on ascending date added.Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) booksRead the synopses of the booksDecide: keep it or should it go?
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1984 by George Orwell
The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of “negative utopia”—a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions—a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.
My husband feels everyone should read this book, but I’m worried it will scare me. However, I should probably read it.
Final Verdict: Keep
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.
Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.
It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers.
The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.
This story looks amazing, but I think it may be too emotional for me. I really like to read to escape and I just kept one serious book on the list. I don’t think I need another one.
Final Verdict: GO
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
For Joanna, her husband, Walter, and their children, the move to beautiful Stepford seems almost too good to be true. It is. For behind the town’s idyllic facade lies a terrible secret—a secret so shattering that no one who encounters it will ever be the same.
At once a masterpiece of psychological suspense and a savage commentary on a media-driven society that values the pursuit of youth and beauty at all costs, The Stepford Wives is a novel so frightening in its final implications that the title itself has earned a place in the American lexicon.
I put this on my list when the movie came out, but I’m not really interested enough to read it.
Final Verdict: GO
Tithe by Holly Black
Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother’s rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms – a struggle that could very well mean her death.
I like Holly Black and do really want to read this series.
Final Verdict: KEEP
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Hariet Beecher Stowe
The narrative drive of Stowe’s classic novel is often overlooked in the heat of the controversies surrounding its anti-slavery sentiments. In fact, it is a compelling adventure story with richly drawn characters and has earned a place in both literary and American history. Stowe’s puritanical religious beliefs show up in the novel’s final, overarching theme—the exploration of the nature of Christianity and how Christian theology is fundamentally incompatible with slavery.
I have always wanted to read this story ever since I saw The King and I as a little girl. LOL!
Final Verdict: Keep
Down to 639 books in my Goodreads TBR list. Woohoo!
June 7, 2019
Friday Blog Hops: Hook and Crown
Synopsis (Goodreads):
You’ve heard of Neverland and its inhabitants… Fairies, pirates, mermaids and a boy who didn’t want to grow up. But you can’t always believe the stories.
Elena Hart arrives in London, bound for a new boarding school operated by her estranged uncle. A fresh start is exactly what she needs. But when strange things begin happening, things she can’t explain, she begins to wonder if she has lost her mind.
Until the night a strange girl appears in her room, claiming to be a fairy from Neverland, come to take her to the fantasy world at the request of its ruler.
Skeptical, Elena refuses. But the following night, a young man with strange green eyes appears, and though she tries to resist his charms, something about him draws her in and Elena is whisked away from the world she knows, to a world she always thought was make believe.
But when she arrives in Neverland, it is nothing like the stories and Elena realizes that she must figure out for herself who the true heroes and villains are.
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“Good. I don’t want to see him or talk to him anyways. What I want, what I need, to do is figure out how to get the h*** out of Neverland and back to my own world. There’s a tiny part of my brain that disagrees with me, showing me images of Will’s stunning face, of the memories I’ve made with him on this ship. I shove it down, willing away any good thoughts about this place and the people who inhabit it.
The Friday 56 Blog Hop at Freda’s Voice.
[image error] Book Beginnings Blog Hop with Rose City Readers.
“High above London, a boy with strange green eyes perches on a throne of deep grey rainclouds, twirling a stunning jeweled dagger in his hands. He scans the ground until a familiar girl walks out of the busy airport. He perks up, the dagger forgotten, and watches her. The gusting wind catches her auburn hair, whipping it around her face. Even from the height of the clouds, he can tell that she is beautiful. But he already knows that, of course. This isn’t the first time he’s laid eyes on her.
Book Blogger Hop
What is the oldest work you’ve read?
Beowulf
June 6, 2019
Guest Post by Victoria Corva: Turning Horror Into Humour and Hope
I am walking with a
friend through a local village. ‘The shops are this way,’ they say, pointing
across an old churchyard.
I stop.
They raise their
eyebrows at me. ‘What is it?’ they ask, not entirely surprised that I am being
weird.
‘Could we go around?’
I say. I lower my voice. ‘There’re dead people in there.’
‘And?’
‘And I don’t want to
walk on dead people! They died.’
‘Afraid they’re gonna
bust up out of their graves?’
‘No — well, I mean I
would freak out if they did, but no. I just … don’t like being around dead
things.’
They shake their head,
but they’re smiling. ‘Sure, Victoria. We’ll go around.’
I relax a bit.
‘Isn’t it a bit
ironic? You’re the necromancer person. You wrote a whole book about them. And
you won’t even walk through a graveyard?’
‘It’s not ironic at
all,’ I say. ‘If I could walk through a graveyard without cringing, I would
never have written my book.’
I really wouldn’t have. Things I would normally choose to
write about: ornery dragons, weird undersea creatures, unhappy mages, witches
who really love their cats. I love nature and magic and unconventional beauty.
I love writing about monsters and outcasts and how they’re worthy of love.
And that was my
first mistake. My second was that, in a moment of desperation while searching
for a new book idea, I let my partner choose the concept.
‘Write a book about a
necromancer,’ he said.
I wrinkled my nose.
‘Ew, no!’
‘Think about it. A
lonely lich in a cave somewhere, raising the dead.’
‘I hate necromancers,
if you’ve forgotten.’
‘I haven’t.’
‘And I’m afraid of –’
I lowered my voice ‘–death, for your
information.’
‘I’m aware.’
‘I can’t even look at
a fake skull without getting squicked out!’
‘That’ll just make it
better! You have a unique perspective!’ He grinned. ‘Besides, you said I got to
choose.’
A unique perspective.
I paused, then: ‘Well, for starters, it can’t be about a lone necromancer. Who
are his neighbours, who are his people? What does necromancer society look
like?’
And like that, it
began.
I was sure it would be a disaster. In the beginning, anyway.
The more I planned and wrote, the more real the world became to me. And the
less frightening it became. Zombies became bumbling minions, their necromancer
masters became outcasts with sad pasts and delusions of grandeur. They had town
meetings where they argued about the noxious fumes coming from this person’s
garden, or complained that that person’s experiments had caused it to rain blood
again and it was messing with people’s spells.
Necromancers became funny, in an awkward way. Cute, in an
ugly way. Lovable, in a sad way. I focused less on the things that disgusted me
and more on what fascinated me — their obsessiveness, their outcast status,
what kind of families they would raise. Parents raising their children loyal
undead dogs. Pregnant people going through necromancy cravings as they
abstained during pregnancy. Little girls finding dead animals by the side of
the road and bringing them home: ‘Can I keep it?’
They were like us and not like us. They would need privacy
and books and time to pursue their passions. They were artists and engineers.
They were people.
The more familiar they became to me, the more real they
seemed.
It even helped me get over my fear of death, just a little.
I’m no longer grossed-out by necromancers, at least. And I’ve incorporated a
lot more skulls into my wardrobe.
I’ll never stop writing about dragons and witches and magic
cats, but I don’t think I’ll stop writing about necromancers either. Writing
about what scared and disgusted me taught me that I could write humour, that I
could write cuteness, and that I have wells of empathy deeper than I knew. I
also now find that the whole sub-genre of necromancy fiction is open to me, and
I quite enjoy it.
If you’re a writer, I encourage you to try it. Write about
something scary, but with kindness. Or disgusting, but with love.
And if you’re a reader, I definitely encourage you to pick
up something unexpected. A romance, if you think it’ll make you roll your eyes.
A sci-fi, if you think space isn’t for you.
Or maybe a spooky-sweet story of librarians-and-necromancy,
such as the one I have out now.
But that’s just me.
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Victoria Corva writes things and reads things and reads things out loud, and sometimes she gets paid for that, which is nice because it means she can feed her cat.
She lives in Wiltshire with her partner and her furry familiar and as many books as she could fit in her small flat.
She is anxious and autistic and doing just fine.
To find out more about her and read more of her work, visit https://victoriacorva.xyz
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A
Librarians-and-Necromancy Fantasy with Small Town Charm in a City of the Dead
The others believe in blood and bone. Ree believes in books.
She manages the libraries and draws maps for the denizens of her hometown, a
secret society of necromancers hiding in a sprawling underground crypt. Though
they look down on her for not practicing their craft, Ree has bigger ambitions
than raising the dead. She’s going to resurrect therianthropy, the ancient
magic of shapeshifting. Or at least — she’ll do it if it really exists. And if
she can find the books that prove it.
But Smythe, a chatty historian from the world above, stumbles into the crypt
and takes a curse meant for Ree. Now she has to find a way to save him, keep
the townsfolk off her back, and convince her necromancer parents that
shapeshifting is a viable career path.
Ree is certain that if she and Smythe combine their scholarly skill sets, they’ll
find the right books to solve their problems. But Ree’s search for power might
put the entire town in danger, and her father and the other townsfolk want
Smythe dead lest he reveal their home to a world that hates them.
Buy it in eBook or paperback: Amazon
US | Amazon
UK | Smashwords
| Kobo
| Barnes
& Noble | Waterstones
| Book
Depository | and most bookstores and online
booksellers.
You can also read
the first three chapters for free here.
June 5, 2019
Book Review and Playlist: Wandering in Wonderland
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling
Publishing info: June 4, 2019 by Parliament House
Synopsis (Goodreads):
“Lewis Carroll didn’t get it right?”
“No, my dear. I don’t think anyone truly will.”
Far away and down a rabbit hole sits the magical world known as Wonderland. A safe haven for the souls who lived less than ideal lives in the waking world get to experience peace in their afterlife. Jessica is the newest member of this enchanted land, but after eating a cookie that took away her memories of who she was, she doubts herself at every turn.
Jessica participates in The Looking Glass Ceremony to find her new role in the afterlife, but fate has different plans. As the Queen of Hearts takes Jessica under her royal wing, plots of regicide bubble up from the depths of Wonderland. With the help of new and eccentric friends, Jessica might be able to stop the treasonous threats and bring true peace to Wonderland. But only if she heeds the cryptic words of the Caterpillar.
Familiar faces take on new roles in this fantasy retelling with a dark and romantic LGBT twist This isn’t the Wonderland you’ve experienced before, and you definitely don’t want to be late for it.
Review:
Plot: This was such a fun story to read. It gave one of our favorite childhood novels and gave it fresh life. It isn’t the story retold, exactly, but more of a continuation of where the original one was left off. It all wasn’t just a dream, but so much more!
Characters: LOVE THEM! The characters are awesome. They all have their quirks and distinct personalities.
Writing: This is the only part that I had a hard time with. There is so much to this story. So many details. It’s wonderful. The world is well developed. The problem I had was the fact that there is so much of the story that is told and not shown. Parts of it feel rushed, very rushed and I wish I could experience more of it instead of just brushing by it all.
Mom’s note: Romantic scenes and cussing.
Overall: I really enjoyed this book! I’m a huge fan of retellings, and this one was not a disappointment. I give it four stars.
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Giveaway!!!
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If you would like to enter the tour wide Giveaway, the rules are on my Instagram account!
Prizes:
– US ONLY Winner – Signed copy of Wandering in Wonderland and a Alice in Wonderland inspired spiral notebook.
-International Winner – Wandering in Wonderland E-Book!
About the Author:
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Aislinn Honeycutt was born and raised in Northern California. Throughout their early teens to young adulthood, Aislinn could often be found writing and creating characters. During college, they found themself more attracted to theater arts than any other study and was proud to be apart of several plays and film projects produced by their peers. Their love for writing came from creating deeper backgrounds for characters they played on the stage and from the constant encouragements from strangers on the Internet.
In 2015 they discovered their love for working with exotic animals in zoos and went back to school to earn certificates towards Zoo and Aquarium Sciences through the Animal Behavior Institute. When not writing or working, Aislinn can often be found playing video games and making digital art.
If interested in this book, here’s the link to Amazon.
Book Playlist:
We all want music to listen to, so here is a playlist put together specifically for Wandering in Wonderland. Enjoy!
June 4, 2019
Teen Tuesday: The Elyrian
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publishing Info: Nov 8, 2018
Synopsis (Amazon):
A witch’s most powerful tool isn’t magic, it’s deception.
Witches haven taken the land of Yutara. Only no one knows yet.
No one but the Emerson Stone.
These witches aren’t the sickly green, wart-faced witches from bedtime stories. They hide in plain sight. And they’re everywhere.
When Ace Halder discovers a mysterious stone on his grandfather’s ancient Earth ship, he learns of a power he can neither contain nor understand. Now he’s faced with a choice. Run and hide? Or risk everything to save Yutara.
Review by Jade:
The Sixth Realm is full of magic and the way the author describes it makes me feel as though I’m there.
I totally wasn’t expecting a twist ending. I love the way the author writes and builds up his characters. The only problem I had with The Elyrian is that the storyline moved too slow for me, so it made it difficult to read. However, I would still enjoy reading the rest of the series.
I loved how many adventures the author took me on, so I rate this book four stars.
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About the Author:
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I’m a scifi/fantasy author and a South Carolina native. My passion for creative endeavors developed at a young age when I learned how to play the guitar. After years of songwriting, a move to Austin, TX to pursue music, and a series of different creative pursuits, I decided to commit to finishing a book I’d had an idea for when I was a teenager. And this did it. After I finished the book, It made me realize the thing I loved most about writing music all along wasn’t just the music itself, but the ability to tell stories and communicate. Music was simply an avenue to pursue my true passion: storytelling. Since then, I’ve written many more books and published my first one in November, 2018. Now if I’m not writing books, I’m writing songs. But I’m always telling stories.
Top Ten Favorite YA Urban Fantasy
Confession. My favorite books to read are young adult urban fantasy. Yeah, I know. I’m a grown woman, but yeah. I love me a good young adult urban fantasy novel. These are not in any order, they are just my top ten. This was hard enough to narrow it down to 10, but to put them in sequential order from there… nope! So, here’s a list of my top 10, not order from best to least best or whatever.
1 – Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
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In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Timesbestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…
2 – Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
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Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies . . .
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires – the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.
After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger . . . and the Strigoi are always close by.
Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever . . .
3 – The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
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My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.
All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost – and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House… before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
4 – Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
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Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through supernatural glamours.
She’s also about to find out that she may be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal.
5 – The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
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An epic battle between good and evil…
Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great – until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game – a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.
As if his bizarre heritage isn’t enough, Jack finds out that he’s not just another member of Weirlind – he’s one of the last of the warriors – at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.
6 – Switched by Amanda Hocking
[image error]If you’ve read this, you’ll realize this is the old cover. Amanda Hocking originally self published through CreateSpace when she was picked up by a traditional publisher. I have an ecopy and reviewed it back when she was an indie author, so that’s the cover I used. .
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