Demon in My View

By Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Book two of the Den  Of Shadows quartet

Seventeen year-old Jessica Allodola doesn't fit in at her high school, and she doesn't really care. She has a secret, however: she writes vampire fiction under the pen name Ash Night. What she doesn't know is that the characters in her books are real, and that some of them don't like what she's writing. When a new student shows up at her school, she immediately recognises him as the vampire Aubrey from her books. But he doesn't exist outside of her imagination, right? Jessica is about to find out just how real her vampires and their world are. This is one of my favorite stories by this author, and is, in my opinion at least, better written than the first book in this series. Interestingly, "Tiger, Tiger", Jessica's first book, has the same plot as In the Forests of the Night. I wish I could read Jessica's book Dark Flame, but I am pretty sure it only exists in this book.  Demon in My View is a great story, and the series, author, world, and characters are just amazing. I loved Jessica, Aubrey, Caryn, and even liked Fala. SUCH an awesome book!

Meridian

By Amber Kizer

Meridian Sozu has lived with death for her entire life. Dead and dying animals find their way into her room at night and follow her at school. She has always accepted that she is strange, a freak, but after witnessing a bad car accident on her sixteenth birthday, Meridian's world is about to change. Suddenly she it sent to live with her aunt in Revelation, Colorado and told that she is in danger. Her aunt tells her that she is a Fenestra, a half angel, half human link between the living and the dead. Now she must learn to open the "window" between this world and the afterlife, through which the souls of the dead pass. And Meridian must learn quickly: the Acternocti, the enemies of the Fenestra, are hunting her. The Acternocti are also links between the living and the dead, but with a difference: they are evil. They carry souls to hell, rather than heaven. Meridian also has do deal with the charismatic new preacher in Revelation, who is taking over the town and  is likely an Acternocti. And if she has time--and can accept herself and her sworn protector, Tens, for who they are--maybe even fall in love. Dark, thrilling, romantic, and beautifully dramatic, Meridan is a simply delicious book. I don't know if there is a sequel, but I hope so. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. As always, LOVED IT! I adore Meridian, both the book and the character. Purrrrr.

So You Want to Be a Wizard

By Diane Duane

Book One of the Young Wizards Series

Fifty or sixty eons ago, when life brought itself about, it also brought about to accompany it many Powers and Potentialities to manage the business of creation. One of the greatest of these Powers held aloof for a long time, watching its companions work, not wishing to enter into Creation until it could contribute something unlike anything the other Powers had made, something completely new and original. Finally the Lone Power found what it was looking for. Others had invented planets, light, gravity, space. The Lone Power invented death, and bound it irrevocably into the worlds. Shortly thereafter the other Powers joined forces and cast the Lone One out.
Many versions of this story are related among the many worlds, assigning blame or praise to one party or another. However, none of the stories change the fact that entropy and its symptom, death, are here now. To attempt to halt or remove them is as futile as attempting to ignore them.
Therefore there are wizards--to handle them. 

                                                     ---- The Manual, exerpt

When thirteen year-old Nita Callahan finds a book titled So You Want to Be a Wizard at the library, she thinks it's a joke--or is it? The book is actually a manual--for wizardry, and it says that Nita herself could be a wizard if she wants. She takes the Oath, and begins her Ordeal. All new wizards, once they take the Oath, embark on an ordeal, a test of aptidude. If they survive, they become full-fledged wizards. Nita soon meets Kit, another new wizard on Ordeal, and they become friends. When they are accidentaly thrown into an alternate Manhattan, they must work together to survive, find a way home, and save the Universe. I (of course) loved this book, this series, and this author. Nita and Kit are awesome, the Lone Power is a great villain, and Peach is hilarious. As always, great writing, great chrarcters, great plot. LOVED IT! The writing is fairly simple, rather than the somewhat complex books I sometimes read, but sophisticated enough that IT IS A GREAT BOOK! It was funny, interesting, and engrossing, with a great take on magic, fun characters, and AWESOME epic battles. The quote at the top is from Nita's Manual in the prologue of So You Want to Be a Wizard. I don't usually put quotes in my posts, but I thought it was the best way to explain why there are wizards in this book. This is a nice long series, with about nine books already out and more to come. YAY!

Psyche in a Dress

By Francesca Lia Block

Psyche loved Love himself, and lost him. She became Echo, who disappeared, became only a voice, Eurydice, who faded when Orpheus looked back, Persephone, stolen, a queen only in darkness, and Demeter, a goddess, a mother, Psyche still. Psyche, which means soul. A modern blending of several lovely myths, and a great story about a young woman's quest to find herself, Psyche in a Dress is a gorgeous book, poetic and well written. Not one of those books that make you want to give the main character a good shaking and some advice, while you're reading it at least. Once you finish the book and think about it for a minute you might want to, but the book is told in such a dreamlike fashion that you just go with it. Doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat, but the beautiful storytelling more than makes up for it in my opinon. Greek myths make great stories and this book is no exeption. Psyche in a Dress is one of my favorite books, as much as I have them. I love this author. Her books have beautiful imagery, great characters, and tend to blur the line between reality and fantasy a lot, which I love. Psyche in a Dress is, in my opinion, one of her best books. Lovely, simply lovely. Purr.

Eyes Like Stars

Lisa Mantchev

Welcome to the Theatre Illuminata, where the actors backstage and the characters onstage are one and the same, where you can find Ophelia, Macbeth, Tatania, Peter Pan, and many others, where The Book holds the characters and the Theatre together, and where seventeen year-old Beatrice Shakespear Smith lives. Bertie has lived at the Theatre Illumiata for her entire life, painting the stage which is her bedroom, dying her hair all the colors of the rainbow, playing with fairies, pirates, and all the other characters, and causing mischief and mayhem. Now, if she doesn't do something, Bertie may lose her home and friends forever. I, as always, loved Bertie and her fairy sidekicks, Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom, adored the Theatre Illuminata, and devoured Eyes Like Stars. Gorgeous, funny, and simply wonderful, Eyes Like Stars is such a good book. Fans of Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange will love Lisa Mantchev's debut novel.

Monstrous Regiment

By Terry Pratchett

A Novel of Discworld

On the Discworld, the small country of Borogravia is at war. Again. Borogravia has a long history of making war on pretty much everyone around it, a ruler who no one is sure is even alive, and a god who has Abominated practically everything and who may be either insane or dead.Polly Perks has decided to disguise herself as a boy and join the army to find her brother, who joined up and then disappeared. She joins the Ins-and-Outs, and quickly discovers not only does her regiment include a vampire, an Igor, and a troll, along with humans, but she may not be the only one with a secret. They are shipped out to the front immediately with no training and bad, secondhand weapons and armor. Now they must rely on each other, the fat, famous, and possibly insane or demonic Sargent Jackrum, and sheer luck to survive. SUCH a good book. SOOO funny. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! I laughed hysterically right through it. I absolutly love Terry Pratchett's books, and this one is no exeption.

Bad Kitty

By Michelle Jaffe

All Jasmine Callihan wants to do on her family vacation in Las Vegas is relax by the pool, avoid her cousin Alyson and Alyson's Evil Hench Twin, Veronique, work on her Meaningful Reflections journal and Little Life Lessons for school, and maybe meet the cute guy Jas has been eyeing from across the pool. Is that really so much to ask? Apparently yes. After wreaking a wedding and subsequently getting out of trouble and being given a limo, Jas decides to become a Model Daughter. This causes her friends Polly, Roxy, and Tom to come to Vegas to "deprogram" her using magazines and dog collar restraints. Yes, I mean that. Yes, dog collar restraints, as in real dog collars to be used as restraints. Dog collars with rhinestones. No, her friends never used them. Yes, her friends are nuts, wacko, and insane, except maybe Tom. Before they get there, though, Jas meets Jack (the guy from across the pool), discovers that he is (probably) evil, receives a threatening note, steals a limo by accident, and bids Model Daughter Jas goodbye, thereby eliminating the necessity of reprogramming. Soon Jas and her friends are embroiled in a mystery involving murder, possible murder, theft,  and an orange cat. And it's all the cats' fault. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this book, which frequently has both me and my sister rolling on the floor laughing. Hilarious! Everyone in it is completely insane, though. Oh, wait, that's a good thing. At least from my point of view. LOVE JAS LOVE POLLY LOVE ROXY LOVE TOM! Much purring.

So This Is How It Ends

By Tui T. Sutherland

Avatars: Book One

What if the world ended? What if there were no more children and humanity was dying out? What if crystal monsters and strange, dangerous animal hybrids took this world over? And what if you were suddenly transported into that future? For Kali, Tigre, Gus, Diana, and Amon, this is exactly what happens. Now, trapped in a desperate, strange world and drawn together by otherworldly forces, the five teenagers must work together to survive and to figure out what has happened to them and to the earth.  I absolutely love this series, So This Is How It Ends is a great book. What a cool title, "So This Is How It Ends" purrrrrr. JUST my kind of thing. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! Come on people! How can you not want to read a book about the end of the world? It's such an interesting subject!

Brightly Woven

By Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle Mirabil lives in Cliffton, where there has been a ten-year drought. On the very day the rains come again, wizard Wayland North comes and takes Sydelle with him as his assistant. She is eager to escape her small town, but doesn't trust the wizard, who has secrets and a powerful enemy who appears very interested in Sydelle. As North and Sydelle make their way to Provincia, the capital, with information on the recent death of the king, secrets and danger surround them. A wonderful story and very well written. Just my kind of thing, though a little less violent that a lot of things I read. Lovely, just lovely. Sydelle makes a great heroine. I am REALLY hoping for a sequel, but not expecting one soon since Brightly Woven just came out this year.

Magic Burns

By Ilona Andrews

The Kate Daniels Series, Book Two

Mercenary Kate Daniels has plenty of problems, but her latest one is a bit more complex than normal. Every seven years the magic waves hit a flare. This means that magic controls the world, and for Kate this means that the magical problems she deals with are that much worse. Gods, goddesses, and monsters run rampant. When Atlanta's shapeshifter Pack asks her to recover a set of stolen maps, and Kate agrees to help Julie, a young girl whose mother has dissapeared and who is being targeted by monsters, Kate's life becomes more dangerous and complex than ever. Soon she is embroiled in a fight between two gods battling to be reborn, and if she can't stop them both, she won't survive and the city will be destroyed. I loved this book. Dark, violent, complex, and funny, though the humor does tend towards the dark and bloody. Go Kate! Love the series, love the book, love the author.