There are not too many books that I read that I do not thoughly enjoy. So for this posting, I am going to list the top 10 books I enjoyed the second half of 2011.
- Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (Infernal Devices book 2)
- Stephanie Perkins. I adored both Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. I cannot wait to see what she does with Isla in 2012!
- The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima. Han and Raisa, enough said.
- Eve by Anna Carey. I really hope this one becomes a television show.
- The Pledge by Kimberly Derting. Excellent start to a new trilogy.
- Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendrae Blake. Horror at it's best and a BIG thanks to Shelburne for turning me on to it.
- Crave by Melissa Darnell. Love the Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance.
- The Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel. Hope to see this one on the Big Screen.
- Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer. Desperately hanging on the cliff for Bloodrose in January. Team Ren all the way!
And watch for these in 2012 that I have already got a sneak peak at.
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer
- Everneath by Brodi Ashton
- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
SPOLIER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, Clockwork Angel, STOP! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you!
In Victorian England, Tessa Gray has found safety from the Magiater within the confinds of the Institute and the Shadowhunters who have become her friends. Her safety is in jeopardy when Benedict Lightwood goes before Counsel Wayland in an attempt to remove Charlotte Branwell as head of the London Institute. If Charlotte is replaced, Tessa will be out on the streets and easy prey for the Magister.
In an attempt to find out why the Magister’s war against the Shadowhunters is personal, Tessa travels to York with the fiercely loyal James Carstairs and the brooding William Herondale. There, a shocking discovery is made that sends one member of the trio into a tailspin. Back in London, the Shadowhunters realize that Mortmain’s web reaches further than they ever imagined and that one of their own has betrayed them.
As questions are answered, even more secrets come to light and the mystery surrounding not only Tessa and the Magister, but Will deepens. Tessa is soon caught up in not only finding out what she is but torn between two boys. Even though her rejected her at the end of Clockwork Angel, Tessa still finds herself longing for Will while at the same time discovering her burgeoning feelings for Jem, who is more than willing to reciprocate.
Join Tessa and the London Shadowhunters as they race against the clock to uncover the Magister’s evil plan.
The Infernal Devices trilogy will conclude with the publication of Clockwork Princess in the fall of 2012.
Visit Cassandra Clare's website.
Visit the Infernal Devices website.
“I don’t believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be the same person every day.”
Seventeen-year-old Lola Nolan has three simple wishes in life. She wants to dress as Marie Antoinette for her winter formal, complete with the extra wide dress and elaborate wig. Beneath the dress will be platform combat boots “so everyone can see underneath the frills,” she is punk-rock tough. Lola wishes her parents would approve of her boyfriend. Twenty-two-year-old Max is in a band and has no aspirations of college. Lastly, she never wants to see her former neighbors, The Bell twins, ever again.
For Lola, life is good. She has a part-time job at a movie theater and she knows her boyfriend Max is the one. Life could be better. Her parents could accept Max instead of continuing their weekly Sunday brunch plans that involve an interrogation session. But things go quickly from good to bad when Lola’s birth mother comes back into her life. Just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse, they do. The Bells move back into their house and the twins, Calliope and Cricket come with them. Calliope, a hopeful Olympic ice skater returns to her old coach and Cricket starts college at Berkeley. Lola still carries a grudge about the time Cricket, whom she had a huge crush on, rejects her and then moves away.
Running into the Bell twins is inevitable, especially since Lola’s bedroom window looks out at Cricket’s. Still hurt from his rejection two years earlier, Lola is shocked when Cricket asks her out for a date every night for the rest of their lives. It doesn’t help when Max overhears and becomes jealous. Lola soon finds her heart and mind pulled in two different directions; the boy she thinks is the one and the boy who was her first love. Join Lola on her heart wrenching journey of self-discovery as she learns just what it truly means to be in love.
Lola is a companion book to Anna and the French Kiss. Anna and Etienne make several appearances as Lola and Anna are coworkers at the movie theater and Etienne and Cricket live in the same dorm at Berkeley. Etienne imparts some of his relationship wisdom to a struggling Lola. Perkins gives a little insight into Anna and Etienne’s relationship for those readers who fell in love with these two characters as I did.
Isla and the Happily Ever After will be published in the Fall of 2012.
Visit Stephanie Perkins' website.
At recess in the fourth grade, Savannah Colbert pretended to marry Tristan Coleman in a mock ceremony on the school playground. The next day, Tristan and all of the other Clann kids turn their backs on her and refuse to have anything to do with her. For the past five years, Savannah has tried to ignore the bullying by the Clann kids and make new friends. Even though Savannah’s mother and grandmother warn Savannah to stay away from Tristan, she finds herself inexplicitly drawn to him.
Tristan, the son of the ruling head of the Clann, is strictly forbidden to even speak to Savannah. When she becomes ill in their Algebra class, Tristan fights to stay away from her. Savannah’s absence from school for the week nearly drives him insane with worry. When Savannah is well enough to return to school, Tristan finds that he is not the only person to notice the physical changes in her. Boys begin to swarm around her whether she wants them to or not and Tristan cannot help but be near and protect her.
Sick for the first time in her life, Savannah is shocked to awaken after five days of being unconscious to find not only her mother and grandmother standing over her but her father who has been out of the picture most of her life. Even more unsettling to Savannah is when her parents fill her in on her true heritage and why it has been kept a secret from her until now. Her father is a vampire who wasn’t supposed to be able to father children and her mother a witch who use to be a member of the Clann. Savannah realizes she really is a freak and both the Vampire Council and the Clann fear that she will join the opposite side. She will not be trained in magic and must watch for any blood lust she might have.
Nervous about returning to school, Savannah’s physical changes immediately cause problems. When she unwittingly meets the eyes of three boys from her Algebra class, they are struck by her “gaze daze” and become enamored with her. Unfortunately they literally become stalkers. Savannah is no longer able to trust the feelings of any boy she encounters. When Tristan can no longer fight his attraction to her, despite the Clann’s ruling of no contact with Savannah. She is not sure whether or not to trust his feelings. Is he under her “gaze daze” spell like the others or are his feelings genuine?
Which side will win out in Savannah; vampire or witch? Will she be able to trust Tristan’s feelings and finally be able to reciprocate? What is the connection between Savannah and Tristan? What happens when the Clann and Vampire Council discover Savannah and Tristan’s true feelings for one another? And what will happen when Tristan discovers the truth about Savannah?
Told in alternating viewpoints between Savannah and Tristan, readers are not kept in the dark about the true feelings simmering between this Romeo and Juliet pairing. Darnell leaves quite a cliffhanger at the end to set up the next book, Covet, in the trilogy that will wrap up in 2013 with Consume.
Nikki Beckett was at the depths of despair last spring. Her mother was dead at the hands of a drunk driver and she had broken up with her boyfriend, Jack Caputo, the starting quarterback of the football team. So when she meets Cole and he offers to take all of her pain away, she is grateful not to feel anything anymore. To her friends and family, Nikki just vanishes one day. In reality, Cole, an immortal who feeds on human emotions, has taken Nikki to the Everneath. After Cole feeds on Nikki’s despairing emotions for six months, a century in Everneath time, he offers to make Nikki an immortal as well. Only she cannot get a boy’s face from her mind. She asks to go back to the mortal world. She will have six months to make things right with those she left behind before returning to Everneath permanently.
Everyone is stunned when Nikki returns home. Her father and most of her classmates assume she was strung out on drugs. Her little brother Tommy just wants his old sister back, but Nikki is physically weakened by her ordeal. Upon returning to school, she runs into her best friend Jules and her former boyfriend and the love of her life, Jack. Nikki cannot help but be drawn back towards Jack but she knows she won’t be able to stay it’s not fair to him to become involved again. Nikki is searching for the words to say goodbye and find redemption if it exists.Jack is determined not to let Nikki slip away again if he can help it and reaches out to her. Nikki finds her resolve slowly slipping away until Cole comes back into her life. Even though Nikki must return to Everneath, Cole offers to make Nikki his queen so that she can escape the dreaded existence in the Tunnels. Nikki is unwilling to feed off the emotional pain of others and steadfastly refuses. But when Cole puts pressure on her by hurting those she loves, Nikki is determined to uncover the secrets of Everneath, Cole and possibly find a way to remain in the mortal world.
Nikki’s father, the town mayor, decides she can volunteer at the local soup kitchen. She agrees thinking it may be a way to redemption. It is there that she meets Mary, a homeless woman who sees to have dementia. Mary is said to be looking for the Daughters of Persephone and Nikki starts to believe that Mary may hold the key to getting her life back.
Can Nikki find a way to keep from returning to Everneath? What secrets is Cole hiding? Will Nikki find her way back to Jack? And is redemption a possibility for Nikki?
Nikki’s story is told in alternating timelines of what happened in her life to allow Cole to Feed from her and what occurs in the six months she has left on Earth before returning to the Everneath forever. This modern day retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth is interspersed with other myths about the underworld. Ashton sets up a great beginning to her Everneath trilogy.
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read Unearthly yet, STOP! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.
Hallowed picks up five days after the events in the conclusion of Unearthly with Clara and Tucker back at the sight of the first forest fire looking for signs of his horse, Midas. Clara is becoming increasingly torn between her love for Tucker and her growing feelings for Christian, who is not who she originally thought he was. To add to her complicated feelings, she realizes that her purpose on Earth is not straightforward like she thought. Soon Clara begins to have a new vision and someone important in her life is not there, it seems to be their funeral.
Join Clara on her continuing journey of self-discovery that is filled with shocking twists and provides some much needed background information for her to make some major decisions and her purpose on Earth and the future.
Reverie is the enclosed pod city that is home to Aria and her geneticist mother, Lumina. Like most Dwellers, Aria enjoys spending all of her time with friends in the Realms, virtual environments that are accessed through devices that fit over the left eye known as Smarteyes. When Aria’s mother takes a work assignment at another pod called Bliss, they are separated and keep in touch by meeting in the Realms. When one week goes by without any word from Bliss, Aria becomes desperate. She and her friend Paisley agree to meet up with the ever popular Soren and two of his friends for a night of fun. Soren’s father, Counsel Hess, is a ruling member of Reverie and Aria hopes to get Soren alone to pump him for information about Bliss. Unfortunately, Soren’s night of fun involves breaking numerous laws. They turn off their Smarteyes and go into the Unknown. When Soren decides to create fire, Aria knows she is in over her head. She and Paisley fail to escape and the fire is soon out of control, just like the boys. When all hope is lost, a stranger from the Outside comes to Aria’s aid.
Aria awakes in a medical unit where she learns Paisley has died. Soon she is brought before Counsel Hess to testify about the fire. He thanks her for her testimony and is promised to be reunited with her mother in Bliss. She quickly boards a hover but soon finds that she is dumped in the outside world, known as The Death Shop. She is being punished for a crime she did not commit. Alone, Aria knows her death is imminent. She begins to walk across the desert.
Perry takes his nephew Talon hunting and to give him the apple. While out, two hovers approach. Perry easily takes out one but men from the second soon overpower him. They demand he give them the Smarteye. He resists but only until they threaten Talon. While attacking one man, another grabs Talon, takes him to the hover and leaves. Perry is devastated. After a confrontation with Vale and the tribe, Perry leaves. He is crossing the desert when he senses a Dweller in danger and realizes it is the same girl from the pod, Aria. Neither trusts the other but an unlikely alliance is waged when each realizes they need the other. Aria needs Percy’s help if she is going to survive and Percy needs Aria’s assistance if he hopes to rescue Talon.
Can Aria and Perry bridge their uneasy alliance in order to work together? What has really happened to Aria’s mother? Will Aria find her way back to reverie and regain acceptance? Can Perry rescue Talon from the Dwellers and why did they want him in the first place? And what happens when opposites attract?
Told in alteranting points of view between Aria and Perry, readers gain insight into each main character. The book does start off slow at first but the reader will be quickly sucked in.
