100 Books in 2012: book 100 Days of Blood and Starlight

I love Laini Taylor.  Seriously, guilty of some major fangirl moments.  So I was waiting for this book with hot anticipation.  After Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I was hooked.

Taylor takes us back to Karou and Akiva's haunting story in this sequel, which is, as the title suggests, filled with conflict.  I saw one person mention on Twitter that it was more blood than starlight, and I'd have to agree.  Still, the world is magnificent, the characters are sparkling, and it's a wonderful story to sink your teeth into.

Be warned, however: gone are the warm fuzzies from Smoke and Bone.  Be prepared to be shocked in many ways, but I think you'll enjoy this elegant novel!

Whew.  I did it!  One hundred books this year!!  I think I'll take a blog break now...see you in 2013!

What books do I need to read next year?  Help me build my TBR list back up!

100 Books in 2012: books 98 and 99 THIS DARK ENDEAVOR and SUCH WICKED INTENT

A good friend met Kenneth Oppel recently, and snagged signed copies of the first two books in the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series, and last week, I hunkered down on the couch with these dark, enticing tales.

In This Dark Endeavor, Oppel paints a believable portrait of young Victor; the youngest of a pair of twins, he both worships and envies his older brother.  But when his brother falls ill, Victor is willing to put his faith in the outlawed art of alchemy if it means the chance to save him.  Becoming a hero doesn't hurt, either, and Victor is pulled into dark acts by his own ego and his love for his twin, Konrad.  With a dash of romance, a hearty dose of danger, and an action-packed plot, it's no wonder this novel has been optioned for a motion picture!

In Such Wicked Intent, Victor's ego takes him away from science and into the dark occult world of his famous ancestor, the man who compiled the mysterious dark library, claimed to have mastered death, and disappeared one day, leaving his family behind without a glance.  In his quest to save Konrad and at the same time to outshine him, Victor unwittingly awakens a powerful malicious spirit.  Can Victor and his friends set aside their differences to save the Frankenstein family, or will everything crumble in the wake of Victor's ambitions?

Now I just need to go read Shelly's ACTUAL masterpiece that inspired this exciting, dark YA series.

100 Books in 2012: Book 97 THE NIGHT CIRCUS

Wow.

Just, wow.

This was a book that I wanted to live in for a long time after finishing (maybe that's why it's taken me months to get around to this review).  Erin Morgenstern has crafted an elegant, magical story of deception, power, and, most of all, love.

The characters are flawed and vibrant, and I'd love to slip into most of their skins and live a day in this tale, but the one I love most is Bailey.  Sweet, normal, vital Bailey.  He's the character I would most like to be; the boy who gets to live a dream grander than he'd ever hoped.

If you haven't stumbled into this enchanting novel yet, I just saw it in paperback at the bookstore this weekend: snag it soon and hang a do not disturb sign on your door until you are done.

100 Books in 2012: Book 96 THE SELKIE SPELL

Writer Sophie Moss has crafted a truly modern fairy tale that is impossible to put down.  I tumbled into The Selkie Spell this weekend, and I am thrilled to note that it's only the first in a trilogy.  I was only disappointed when I realized that this is currently just available as an ebook: I wanted to buy paperbacks for my pals for the holidays!

Tara is running from a dark, abusive past, and when she reaches Seal Island, an out of the way chunk of land in Ireland, she's sure she's found a good place to hide.  But she didn't take into consideration Dom, the handsome pub owner, or her own mysterious connection to the island.

The romance that builds between Tara and Dom is steamy and soft, and the secrets that threaten to topple Tara are painful to unravel.  I couldn't stop reading this until I reached the end of the tale, and I have to say that my favorite part is the way Moss deftly weaves a magical Irish legend into the fabric of this very real story.  Brava!

100 Books in 2012: Book 95 TREASON

I had forgotten how much I like the dark, deadly world of Ourea.  After reading Lichgates (the first in this series last year) I filed it away as a series to watch.  With the release of Treason (book 2) this October, I was ready to dive through the lichgate once more.

Kara is becoming more comfortable in her role as the Vagabond, but as soon as she starts to relax and believe in peace (and, just maybe, love), Ourea explodes in chaos and betrayal once more. Although there are a few people she can trust, Braeden fills her heart, but their forbidden relationship may be the undoing of everything they've worked for.

The setting is crisp, the characters are vibrant, and Kara and Braeden are growing ever more real as the story progresses.  Fans of high fantasy will gobble up this fast-paced read and beg for more!

What's the best series you've read lately?

100 Books in 2012: Book 94 THE MARK OF ATHENA

Rick Riordan's next installment in the Heroes of Olympus series doesn't disappoint!  These familiar characters are back and mashed together in a new quest.   But now the world doesn't just depend on a handful of demigods: to save the world, the crew must unite Greece and Rome and heal a centuries-old wound.  Is that even possible?  Even the heroes seem to have their doubts; Leo never passes up an opportunity to badmouth the Romans, and Percy and Jason struggle with their respective leadership roles while trying to forge an uneasy friendship.

And then there's Annabeth.  She's got a special job to do, a quest from Athena that she has to handle on her own.  Her instructions will bring division to the group, and Annabeth will have to face her worst fears alone if she has any hope of helping her mother.

The odds are impossible, the stakes are tremendous, and the characters are as vibrant as ever.  Fans of Percy Jackson will cheer for this book, although it ended a bit differently than Riordan's other works. 

Now, there's only one question left: are you Camp Half-Blood, or Camp Jupiter?

100 Books in 2012: Book 93 BRAINS FOR LUNCH

Last month, I met K.A. Holt at the Highlight's Foundation Novels in Verse workshop.  She's a great lady with a sharp sense of humor and a quirky personality, and that shines through in her zombie novel-in-verse Brains for Lunch.

Told in Haiku, this is the short, sassy story of Loeb, a depressed zombie at an integrated school.  He deals with the scorn of the Lifers every day, not to mention his sometimes disgusting zombie peers.  But a pretty girl and a librarian might be just the ones to break Loeb out of his undead shell!

Fans of poetry, young and old, will adore this book.  Holt's use of Haiku is unique and ideal: I'm convinced that zombies really would speak 5-7-5.

I'm always looking for other great novels-in-verse.  Any suggestions?

100 Books in 2012: Book 92 BROTHERS IN BETRAYAL

If you're looking for a fast-paced, high-stakes read that will keep you up at night, you'll love Hedi Sutherlin's novel Brothers in Betrayal.

Grace Mason is a computer whiz with a complicated past.  Because she loves a challenge and never leaves a project unfinished, Grace has been singled out by a criminal mastermind intent on stealing weapons and technology from the government.  At first, Grace falls under suspicion, but the handsome agent sent to investigate her, Noah Jeffries, falls under her spell almost instantly.  The two of them begin a tension-filled dance towards romance in the midst of the dangerous intrigue.  Will Noah be the one who saves the day, or will he lose both Grace and the case?

I don't usually read much in the thriller/adventure genre, but this kept me hooked.  The relationship between Grace and Noah is sultry and the danger is impossibly high, but those weren't the only reasons I loved this.  Grace is a phenomenally cool character, and she was a heroine I could really cheer for.

What are you reading this week?

100 Books in 2012: Book 91 INTO YOU

Riley J. Ford has crafted a young adult novel that is impossible to put down, and almost as impossible to classify.  Is it paranormal?  Is it comedy? Is it mystery?  Is it romance?  I think it’s all these things and more: it’s amazing!

Winter has a strange superpower: when she kisses people, she can hear their thoughts.  At first, this looks like a fun way to get Winter to experiment with her sexuality, but when one of her friends winds up murdered at a track meet, Winter’s superpower suddenly carries great responsibility: if she can kiss the killer, she can bring about justice.  But where should she start? And what if people are able to protect their thoughts from her somehow?

Winter embarks on a sometimes hilarious, often emotional quest for justice, becoming a kissing bandit as a matter of course.  This book will keep you turning the pages, hoping that Winter doesn’t wind up in hot water.

100 Books in 2012: Book 90 VAEMPIRES: ZOMBIE RISING

The latest installment in the Vaempires series doesn’t disappoint.  Following Linq and Ray through the decimated city of Orion, this book happens almost simultaneously with the events in Vaempires: Revolution.  The different perspective is fresh, and Linq’s POV engaged me much more than Daniel’s, the hero of the first two books in this action-packed series.
Linq’s a genius and Ray’s a well-trained warrior, but even they may not be any match for the strange Vaempires that threaten the world, especially when it becomes clear that the Vaempires just won’t stay dead.  Overlaying the story of the two friends are gruesome snapshots of the fate of the spunky princess, Cassandra.
Winship has built a world of action, terror, and intrigue, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!  Be warned: this series is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart, but the heroes are flawed, the villains are chilling, and the futuristic view of our world is properly horrifying.  A great, quick read!

100 Books in 2012: 88 and 89 GODDESS GIRLS

In September, I spent a blissful weekend at my regional SCBWI conference.  While I was there, I heard Joan Holub speak.  She's one half of the writing team responsible for the charming middle grades series Goddess Girls, and I couldn't wait to dig into a few of these books by Holub and Suzanne Williams.

In book one, Athena the Brain, the world of the Goddess Girls is established.  What a great take on Greek mythology: the goddess girls go to Mount Olympus academy where Zeus is the principal, Mr. Cyclops teaches hero-ology, and the god boys are too cute for their own good.  When Athena finds out she's actually the daughter of Zeus, she's whisked to Mount Olympus academy to begin her training as a goddess.  The goddess girls inadvertently set off the Trojan war in hero-ology,  and Athena finds herself competing for the favor of mortals (and her godly father) as she puts her smarts to use to invent something really useful.  I loved this mythic romp, and Holub and Williams have done an excellent job opening up mythology to young female readers.  Rock on, ladies!

In book six, Aphrodite the Diva, Aphrodite finds herself in a slump.  Because of that pesky Trojan incident, she's failing hero-ology.  On top of that, she gets word from earth that there's another goddess girl parading around, pretending to be the goddess of love and beauty: some chick named Isis.  With her three best friends (Persephone, Athena, and Artemis), Aphrodite sets out to prove to the mortals once and for all that she's the real goddess of love.  But when she meets Isis, it's hard for Aphrodite to hate her, especially as the goddess girls compete for the heart of one very annoying mortal named Pygmalion.  As with the rest of the series, this is a fresh, modern take on mythology that young readers will adore.

What are you reading with the extra hour today?

100 Books in 2012: 85, 86, and 87 the MAKE LEMONADE trilogy

For years, I've intended to read these three novels in verse by Virginia Euwer Wolff, and after spending a week at the Highlights Foundation Workshop with Virginia as one of my instructors, I finally took the time to dive in.

Wow.

I wish I'd read these books when I was still teaching middle school!

Make Lemonade tells the tale of fourteen-year-old Verna LaVaughn.  Since LaVaughn is saving money for college (to be the first in her entire apartment building to go to college), she finds a babysitting job on the jobs board at school.  But sitting for Jilly and Jeremy becomes more than just a job, and LaVaughn finds herself both becoming friends with Jolly, the seventeen-year-old mom, and looking for ways to take care of her.  Even when Jolly can't pay her anymore, LaVaughn can't bring herself to abandon the family.  This book is filled with harsh reality and hope, making it a powerful read you won't want to miss.

True Believer picks up a year after Make Lemonade, when LaVaughn is fifteen.  She's started to realize just how hard it will be to get into college, and she's committed to her classes.  She hasn't been sitting for Jilly and Jeremy for awhile, but she still tries to stay in touch with the little family.  But everything is changing for LaVaughn, and she's not sure she can keep up.  From the tingles of her first crush to the sudden presence of a man in her mother's life to the fractured relationship with her best friends that LaVaughn doesn't know how to repair, fifteen is her hardest year.  This book is deep and true, and one that all young women should read: it taps into some very powerful, universal places, and you're certain to feel everything right along with LaVaughn.

The final book in the Make Lemonade trilogy is This Full House.  We've jumped a few years, and LaVaughn is now in her senior year of high school.  She's working at the children's hospital, and her science grades are good enough for her to get into a special Women in Medical Science program that is run for girls from at-risk schools.  LaVaughn is well on her way to making her dreams come true, but an instinctive guess that proves correct could jeopardize everything.  This is a haunting, complex finale to a beautiful series, and you don't want to miss it!

What are you reading this weekend?

100 Books in 2012: Book 84 "Obsidian" by Kayla Curry

Obsidian by Kayla Curry


Ava has the worst taste in men. She hasn't been on a date in years, but Tom, the charming business mogul she knows from work, chips away at her defenses. It turns out that Tom is taking over not only Ava's company, but the world: he's a vampire, and he's dying to have Ava join him.

Sensibly, Ava goes on the run: Tom's not the sparkly kind of vampire, and it's obvious that despite their emotional attachment, he's predatory and dangerous. The vampires have zapped all satellite communication as part of their world domination plan, so Ava and her friends escape from Hawaii via boat. In California, they team up with some mortals and immortals who aren't willing to succumb to the vampires and begin fortifying themselves. Ava is distracted from the fight by Jesse, the aloof, rich man with a secret who funds the rebellion, and the reader is left wondering when the bottom will fall out of Ava's next relationship.

Curry weaves a tale of myth, magic, and danger. I can't wait to see what she does with the rest of the series!

View all my reviews

100 Books in 2012: Book 83 SHADOW OF THE SUN

This is another book I've discovered thank to Twitter.  I connected with Merrie P. Wycoff last month online, and during her Twitter party, I ended up winning a signed copy of Shadow of the Sun, her first novel.  As you know, I love all things Egyptian, so I couldn't wait to read her novelization of the brief reign of Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to rewrite Egyptian myth and is still sometimes referred to as the "heretic pharaoh".

Told from the point of view of Merit-Aten, the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, this novel spans the first handful of years of Akhenaten's rule.

Although it was sometimes hard to believe the narrative voice (Merit-Aten is an old soul, but there are some things even the most enlightened four year old won't know), the story is complex and it's easy to get lost among the pages.  The characters are vibrant, especially Pentu, the royal physician, and this story casts an interesting light on the rise and fall of the Aten in the context of other Egyptian religious traditions.  Fans of all things Egyptian will enjoy this novel, and Wycoff leaves readers hanging at the end.  Even though the resolution of this tale is historically attested, I can't wait to see what Wycoff does with it in future books.

What are you reading this week?

100 Books in 2012: Book 82 LIVE THROUGH THIS

So, I won a signed ARC of Mindi Scott's newest novel online a few weeks ago, and I just finished reading it.

Wow.

Just...wow.  This book has power.

Coley Sterling looks perfect.  Perfect family, perfect grades, perfectly in line to be the dance team captain next year.  She's even on the verge of having her first boyfriend, Reece.  But nothing is as it seems, and Coley's facade is unraveling.  Beneath the layers of perfection and ease, she carries the shame and fear of sexual abuse.  She's been a victim for years, and she can't quit bring herself to tell her attacker "no".  Because here's the problem:

She loves him.

She doesn't love the abuse, but she is unwilling to do anything to hurt her attacker.  And, her body whispers traitorously, maybe it's all her fault, anyway.  But something's got to change, or Coley will break once and for all.

The fear and shame that Coley feels pierced my heart, and I couldn't stop reading this book.  Scott hooks her readers and manipulates their emotions skillfully: this a book that every teen girl should read.  It's up there with powerful, gut-wrenching books like Speak  and Thirteen Reasons Why.

What powerful books have you read recently?

100 Books in 2012: Book 81 (and a half) "Vaempires" by Thomas Winship

I recently connected with author Thomas Winship, and last week, I dove into his new YA series.

Set in a far-future dystopian world, after the humans have caused a nuclear winter, three separate races populate the earth.  The humans who survived the devastation of World War III were happy to hand over the reins of power to the Vampires, but after a few hundred years of peace, nature throws a monkey wrench into the world. Some Vampires begin to mutate into Vaempires: they can no longer drink human or Synth-blood, but now crave Vampire blood.  Aside from their eating habits, Vaempires are stronger, faster, and more fierce than their Vampire counterparts, and they're ready for a revolution.

Fighting his way through unspeakable gore, Daniel, the teen son of the captain of the royal Vampire guards, is torn between loyalty to his race and the burning desire to find his girlfriend, Princess Cassandra.  Although he wants to search for her, he tries to help other Vampires escape the Vaempire slaughter, but eventually, Cassie is all he can think about.  But finding her is the easy part, especially when it becomes clear that the Vaempires have dangerous abilities that no one has talked about.

Fans of fast-paced, action-packed adventure will enjoy this series.  Personally, I preferred "White Christmas", the short prequel to "Revolution", but that's just because I'm not much of an adventure reader.  This is certainly a series to get your blood racing!

100 Books in 2012: Book 80 "Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb"

Recently, I connected with author Ally Malinenko.  Her debut, Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb, is a MG romp with a literary twist.  You'll have fun reading this one!

Lizzy's life changes on her twelfth birthday.  First, she's kidnapped.  Then, she finds out that a)her captor isn't a captor, but a protector, b) he's a muse: a real one, and c) she's the last living descendant of William Shakespeare.  Reeling, Lizzy plunges into a world filled with myth, magic, and literary demons.  Magical as everything is, it's dangerous, too: the last of Kit Marlowe's descendents has a centuries-old score to settle with poor Lizzy.

Weaving literary allusions with Greek mythology, this tale is a fast-paced ride from beginning to end.  Every single character is worth knowing, and Lizzy is an easy character to root for: bookish, filled with dreams, and sweetly gullible. 

Phew!  80 books down, only 20 to go!  I think I'm ahead of schedule :)  Check in with the other 100 Books participants and cheer them on as we near the end of our challenge.

100 Books in 2012: Book 79 "The Serpent and the Rainbow"

I don't usually read non-fiction, but I stumbled upon this book while doing research for my upcoming NaNo idea (hint: there will be zombis, sort of).  While the first part of Wade Davis's book is written more like a thriller than a research tome, the author's tone shifts dramatically towards the end, and it becomes hard to trust his assessment.

In the 1980s, Davis traveled to Haiti in search of the truth behind the zombi phenomenon.  Two cases in particular interested him and his backers, and Davis tried to ingratiate himself into the vodoun world of rural Haiti.  Sifting through the myths and the falsehoods, Davis eventually determines that zombis are not actually the living dead: they have been poisoned and ceremoniously resurrected.  His friendship with two vodoun clergy leads to a breakthrough in his research, keeping the reader riveted.

Somewhere in the course of his work, however, Davis gets enamored with the idea of cracking the secret societies which are even darker and less known than traditional vodoun: he feels that this will answer all facets of the zombi question.  From that point in the book, he loses some of his scholarly distance, speaking of these "societies of night" in almost fairy-tale esque terms.  It's hard to believe that something that Haitian children are trained to fear at all costs can be as friendly as Davis claims.  Despite his shifted view, the book is, overall, an interesting exploration of the culture in Haiti, not to mention a scientific explanation of the horror genre staple, the zombi.

What's the best work of non-fiction you've ever read?

100 Books in 2012: Book 78 "Red is for Remembrance"

When I used to work at Barnes and Noble, I was drawn to this series by Laurie Stolarz.  I kept meaning to read it, but somewhere in between work and school, that never happened.  I finally picked this one up, and I wish I'd read it sooner!  Again, I started at the backwards end of a series (woops), but it was easy to get into the world, and I loved it.

Stacey is in mourning.  She delayed her college admittance by a semester, but she still isn't over the death of her first love Jacob.  To make matters worse, his body was never found, so Stacy clings to the fragile hope that he is still alive somewhere.  But eventually, she'll have to move on, and when she meets with the college president, she learns why she's really there.

Her scholarship is a sham: the president has a young daughter who sees things.  Her dreams and visions upset her, but the president has heard about Stacey, and knows that she's in a similar boat.  He wants her to help Porsha, his daughter, deal with her own budding telepathy.  But Porsha and Stacey may have more in common than he realizes, and together the girls work to prevent a murder from happening.  Their quest for justice will lead them far from the campus, to a cult-esque commune in the woods.

I loved everything about this story.  It's well-paced, the characters are resonate, and Stacey presents a thoughtful portrayal of a Wiccan protagonist that's hard to find.  All in all, this is an excellent read, and I have no doubt the rest of the series would be just as captivating.

What book did you finally read after meaning to for a long time?  Were you surprised?

100 Books in 2012: Book 77 "Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops"

I used to work in a bookstore, so when I won Jen Campbell's "Weird Things" in a Twitter giveaway last month, I was thrilled.

This book didn't disappoint.  It's a light little morsel, easily gobbled up in one sitting, and anyone who's worked retail will hear the truth of the anecdotes.  Prepare to laugh, sigh, and resolve to never be "that customer".

Makes me wish I'd started writing down some of the weird things I heard while working at Barnes and Noble!

What's the strangest thing you ever heard or saw at work?