The Summoning by Kelley Arstrong, Doubleday Canada, 2008

To say Kelley Armstrong is my favorite supernatural writer would be like saying chocolate tastes ok. I love Kelley and was thrilled beyond to discover that she has embarked on a YA trilogy called The Darkest Powers. The first book, The Summoning, was everything I have come to expect from Armstrong: well written with great characters, wonderful elements of the supernatural and only a touch of romance.

The book takes place in a home for mentality unstable teens and Chloe Saunders is sent there after she starts seeing dead people. But all is not quite what it seems and maybe the teens at Lyle House aren't all that crazy.

This book has all the typical elements of a good YA book. There is the good girl protagonist, the bad girl antagonist, a potential love interest and distrustful adults. But Armstrong writes in a slightly darker and more ominous tone than some of her contemporaries and that makes The Summoning stand out. Also, Chloe does not come off as a “Why me?” constantly whining lead as some other heroines in other series, which is one of the many reasons that I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Twilight by Stephenie Myers

Okay people, hate me if you want to, but I really don't see all the hype surrounding this book. Maybe it's because I'm not a big romance fan and it basically oozes from this book, but I wasn't really all that impressed with Twilight.

I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong. But as far as the genre goes, I've read books that I have enjoyed better. I honestly think it's because I'm not a big epic, chest heaving, I have to have you kinda gal. I would much rather cozy up with Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires series or Kelley Armstrong's amazing Darkest Powers trilogy.

The characters in Twilight were okay, well developed as was the plot. There really isn't anything I can rip into about the book. I just have no idea why it hit big the way it did.

I have New Moon, I just haven't read it yet. I will one day I'm sure.

Will I watch the movie based on Twilight? Probably. Although I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be all bedroom eyes and kissing too. I'll probably wait until it comes out on DVD.

Candy Everybody Wants by Josh Kilmer-Purcell Harper Perennial

This was a cool book. You know that kid in high school who was even too cool to hangout with the popular kids? Well, that's this book. It was a great read with wacky characters, wacky plots lines, but every single thing was written in a way that made it totally believable.

Jayson Blocher wants to be a movie star. With his two best friends he's filming Dallasty!, a film project he is sure will get pick up by one of the big studios and will turn him into an instant star. As with most things in life, things don't turn out quite the way Jayson pictures them and he slowly comes to realize that maybe stardom isn't everything it's cracked up to be.

His journey leads him from his mother's house in the Midwest to the wild and wacky world of early 80s LA and New York where Jayson might not find the stardom he was seeking but through his interactions with an eccentric cast of characters he does find himself.

This book was fun to read. Form Jayson getting to meet his teen idol to his best friends Tara's life changing moments, this book played out like one of the soap scripts Jayson was always writing. It also spoke about the key themes of acceptance and living life the way you want to without being preachy about it.

A surprising character study with a plot to back it up, Candy Everybody Wants is a book to please all.

I am not dead, just buried beneath a pile of books......

I am still here. I am still reading. And I promise I will start writing about books again.

Tomorrow, though. ER is on tonight :P

Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast St. Martin’s Griffin

Sixteen year old Zoey Redbird is having a bad day. She has been marked as a fledgling vampyre and as a result has to leave behind everything she knows to move into the House of Night, a sort of private training school for vampyres. Once there she makes friends, and enemies, and discoveres she has unbelievable powers and may very well be the strongest vampyre, ever. She also struggles with the fact that not everyone makes it through the Change.

I found the writing in the first few pages a bit choppy, but after that I really enjoyed this book, devouring in a night. Geared toward teens, this adult still thought it was a well written story with a solid plot. Part of a series, I am about to start the second book, Betrayed.

I only had two issues with Marked. The first one is the extensive sexual content that I feel may not be appropriate for the age group that this book is geared towards. This would have been the type of book I gravitated towards at eleven and I don’t think that someone that age should be reading about some of the sexual stuff that takes place in the halls of the House of Night.

My second issue may very well take care of itself in the second book, but right now, I ‘m pretty sure I have the big twist figured out, and that’s a bit disappointing for me. I appreciate a good twist and turn in a book, and just because this is a teen book doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t contain mysteries that are hard to figure out.

Over all, though, I did really enjoy this book and I look forward to reading others in the series.

I'm baaaaaack

I kinda let this blog slide, but for a good reason: I was getting paid to blog about books elsewhere. At 5 bucks a post, it was pretty easy money until they lowered the rate to 1 buck a post. So I figured I'd rather yak here for free then sell my soul for a dollar a post. Because while I may not be the world's best writer, I know I'm worth more than that.

I'm going to try to change things up a bit here. Instead of just straight book reviews I'll be yakking about all things books. So stayed tune for all kinds of fun!

Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson Berkley Mass Market

I adore this series. While raunchy, I always find it laugh out loud funny. In the latest installment, Betsy (Queen of the Vampires) finds herself all alone two weeks before her wedding. And I mean all alone. Friends, family, and fiance have all skedaddled.
I have to say, I was a bit dissapointed with this book. First of all, it almost felt like I had walked in on chapter three. I found myself right in the middle of a story I wasn't sure about. And the plot, for me anyway, kind of fell flat. I like Betsy as a character, but can only take so much of her without all her sidekicks for her to play off of.
This book just didn't have the same smack you in the face feel that other books have. But if you are a fan of this series, you have to read this book for some serious developments, none of which I am going to give away.