About the book
Overjoyed at Mary Ann's engagement, amateur sleuth Sophie Katz can't wait for the wedding vows and party toasts to begin. But then Dena—best friend, bridesmaid and all-around vixen—is mysteriously shot just after the announcement. Leave this to the authorities? No way. Dena may never walk again, and Sophie vows to marry her fists with the shooter's face.

Problem is, the number of suspects is off the charts—from jaded lovers to anti-free-lovers to just plain old haters. Dena's made plenty of enemies thanks to her popular sex shop—and, yes, she's no saint—but really, who deserves to be shot?

With an überlogical almost boyfriend condemning her vigilante quest, and a wedding planner going vicariously bridezilla over the dream princess wedding, Sophie's barely thinking straight. But if she can keep her cool (and avoid all errant taffeta), she just might nab her man and save the (wedding) day.

Big if.

My Take
I have reviewed the 4 previous novels here and loved them all! This most likely final installment in the Sophie Katz series does not disappoint. The only disappointment is that the author was not contracted by her publisher for any more Sophie novels! She is considering self publication, fingers and toes crossed that it works out!

Kyra Davis kicks the suspense up a notch in the 5th book in the series. The opening pages launch the reader into the story right away, solidifying this book as a page turner. As per usual the characters are well written and interesting in their quirkiness. The story is impossible to figure out, not predictable at all. Davis leaves out the cliche romance scenes and keeps this real, and real exciting. This series is a must read.

My sweet boy has sprouted his first tooth at only 3 months old. This has been quite the adventure as he is too young to hold onto teething toys, and needs to spend a lot of time gnawing on Mama's fingers.

He loves to march his feet, and get especially excited when "Forget You" comes on the radio. He is an excellent sleeper and when I lay him in his crib he talks and plays until he falls asleep, no tears in sight for this little guy!

I love him more with each passing day, and cannot imagine that I lived so long without him!

About the book
From the shadowy banks of the River Thames to the wild and windswept coast of Yorkshire, the quintessential Victorian virgin Mina Murray vividly recounts in the pages of her private diary the intimate details of what transpired between her and Count Dracula—the joys and terrors of a pas sionate affair and her rebellion against a force of evil that has pursued her through time.

Mina’s version of this timeless gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into the dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and locked asylum chambers where she led a secret life, far from the chaste and polite lifestyle the defenders of her purity, and even her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, expected of her.

Bram Stoker’s classic novel was only one side of the story. Now, for the first time, Dracula’s eternal muse reveals all. What she has to say is more sensual, more devious, and more enthralling than ever imagined. The result is a scintillating gothic novel that reinvents the tragic heroine Mina as a modern woman tor tured by desire.

My take
I found this book to be rather dull, yet another vampire re-vamped story that just didn't hold its weight. Taking on the task of rewriting a classic seems to be popular these days, yet rarely pans out in a good way.

Essex did her historical research, there is no doubt about that. She paints a scene that is gritty and excruciatingly real for the time period. If she had taken that scene and created her own unique story I might have liked this book. Instead she takes a powerful vampire and makes him into a shell of his former self.

Read the original Dracula and skip this one.

About the book
Sick of vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . .

If she even has one.

My Take
Author of the Princess Diaries goes vamp? I had to check it out! Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Meg Cabot's vamp fiction debut.

One of the most important thing about writing books filled with lore is to do your research. This type of book isn't very convincing unless there is solid backstory and convincing histories. Cabot dropped the ball and focused more on the character interactions than the backstory and that made the book seem to be a haphazard excuse for supernatural romance.

I did not find myself very invested in the story or the characters, and it took me a very long time to finish the book as I had no interest in continuing to read it. In general I think the bones of an interesting story are here, but it wasn't fleshed out well enough.

About the book
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 paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

My take
This book is different, a breath of fresh air in the paranormal romance genre. I liked the element of humor in this book. You wouldn't be able to tell by its cover, but this book is quite funny at times. It is not lacking in suspense and action either. A couple of moments had me on the edge of my seat dying to find out what would happen.The author writes the teenage character Evie very well. Even though Evie is not your average teen, she still has the gambit of emotions that come with the territory. The book is well paced and kept me entertained from start to finish.

I look forward to seeing where the author takes this series.

The synopsis:

HE NEEDED A KILLER WOMAN

Blaine Underhill was one lucky man. Having recently escaped a century and a half of imprisonment at the hands of an evil witch, he's determined to save his still-enslaved friend. But in order to do so, he'll need the help of one of the world's most lethal women.

SHE WAS DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, LITERALLY

Trinity Harpswell is sick and tired of being a Black Widow. Having managed to go three years without accidentally killing anyone she loves, she's one short week away from freeing herself from this killer curse forever. When Blaine tracks her down and convinces her to help him, little does Trinity know that the next seven days are going to be murder!

My thoughts: I'm adding Stephanie Rowe to my always look for a new novel list. Never a dull moment in this book, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out the ending to come, which was worth the wait itself!

Gina is convinced that he is either gay... or her perfect match

He might be too good to be true...

Ben Walsh should be single. Handsome and wealthy, Ben is equally at home in Idaho where he grew up and in Manhattan where he's now an art dealer. Suave and successful with impeccable taste, he normally has women beating down his door. But the one woman he wants can't be convinced that he's for real...

And she doesn't have the luxury of believing in fairy tales...

Gina Reyez has fought for every bit of her success, and it's about time for things to start going her way. So when Ben makes a proposal that will allow her to take care of her family the way she wants to, she agrees. Besides, a guy this perfect would never be interested in her...right?

By the time Gina figures out that she's read Ben all wrong, their lives have become intertwined, and seriously complicated...

My thoughts:
Once again, I can't say enough that Robin Kaye is one of my favorite romance novelists. I shied away from romance a few years back for the schmaltz factor, and she has brought me back as a bona fide lover of romance (no pun intended). Punchy, fun characters jump off the page, and the her descriptions of the settings make me want to jump on Priceline and book a ticket to the locations. There is never any zest missing from her characters, plot, or scenarios. This one moved away from Brooklyn for a good part of the novel, and if any of these men exist in Oregon, I'm taking a trip soon.

The synopsis:
Tessa Reynolds is finishing up her junior year of high school. She's just had a humiliating experience at the prom, and she's constantly struggling with her weight and her perfectionist mother.
When she sees a dodgeball zooming toward her head in gym class, she doesn't bother to duck. As she falls to the gym floor, she floats up to what seems to be heaven while examining the scene beneath her. When she arrives, she finds that heaven looks a lot like the mall, where she's spent most of her free time over the years.

After initially rebelling at having to relive what are often painful memories, she slowly begins to gain a better perspective of her life, her friends, and her family. She sees the decisions she made, and now, with hindsight, she can learn from them. She is given the choice to return to her life, and she takes it, armed with a new self-esteem and big hopes for her future. After all, high school doesn't last forever.

My thoughts: I had a really hard time getting into this book. The protagonist is just not likable in any way, shape, or form for me. The thoughts she had regarding her self awareness rang true, but it's really hard to like someone who willingly says she's not a good person by any stretch, but doesn't think she's a bad person per se either. Quick moving, I finished this book , but I was looking forward to putting it down than finding out the ending. I ended up returning it to Borders because I knew that I just couldn't get into it. A shame because I love books that focus on the afterlife. Earthly Pleasures was one of my favorites

The synopsis:
Bridget Duke is the uncontested ruler of her school. The meanest girl with the biggest secret insecurities. And when new girl Anna Judge arrives, things start to fall apart for Bridget: friends don't worship as attentively, teachers don't fall for her wide-eyed "who me?" look, expulsion looms ahead and the one boy she's always loved—Liam Ward—can barely even look at her anymore.
When a desperate Bridget drives too fast and crashes her car, she ends up in limbo, facing everyone she's wronged and walking a few uncomfortable miles in their shoes. Now she has only one chance to make a last impression. Though she might end up dead, she has one last shot at redemption and the chance to right the wrongs she's inflicted on the people who mean the most to her.

And Bridget's about to learn that, sometimes, saying you're sorry just isn't enough….


My thoughts: For all that Bridget has, there's one thing she doesn't have - kindness. It's sometimes hard to get into a story with a bratty main character such as Bridget, but Harbison winds her way around that by showing that try as she might to hide it, there is a part of Bridget that wishes she could be a better person, a nicer friend, a kinder daughter and stepdaughter. She doesn't know how, and eventually I found myself rooting for her. Again, a fast paced read, with a backstory that evokes both sympathy and empathy for Bridget. A good read for teens (and really, everyone) to make them think about how they treat others.

The synopsis:
"My life was close to perfect-until my brother Alex got killed and my mother started drinking and my father starting having sex with Donna, my best friend's stepmother, who's not even thirty years old."

Thirteen-year-old Andi St. James' privileged life in Atlanta is interrupted one fall, to say the least. With an equal mix of joy and sorrow, All That's True follows Andi's poignant-and sometimes laugh-out-loud-journey to young adulthood, where she struggles with the elusive nature of truth and the devastating consequences of deception.

My thoughts: At times familiar, others foreign, always endearing, Andi's voice will undoubtedly hit home for many people, young adult or not. People who struggled with the divorce of their parents, the departure of the family unit they knew, or the unexpected loss of a sibling will feel a bond form with Andi, as she struggles to find her way in the aftermath of all of the above. Even if you've not experienced any of those occurrences, everyone has experienced the awkwardness of being a teen. Not to be missed, a quick read that stays with you after the last page has been read.

About the book
Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run.

Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

My take
The cover of this book is beautiful, I was instantly drawn to the book because of the artwork. I think "Once in a  Full Moon" was a bit too juvenile for me. I read a lot of young adult books that appeal to adults as much as teens, but this book I would say is strictly for the teen and pre-teen set. A romance novel with a supernatural theme, this book shows young love in a high school setting. A young girl Celeste falls in love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and battles with deciding if she should listen to her heart or her head. Fans of the "Wolves of Mercy Falls" series by Maggie Stiefvater will enjoy this book.

About the book
I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin.

My take
I haven't read anything by Sara Shepard before so her storytelling style was all new to me. While I flipped pages like a madwoman looking for the resolution, I soon came to realize that there wouldn't be one, not in this book anyway. I assume this will be similar to the Pretty Little Liars series in the sense that we won't  truly know the answers until the series is over. This isn't my favorite type of book, as I seek gratification in the end and am not a fan of cliffhangers.

That being said, I found "The Lying Game" to be well-written, innovative and very exciting! I enjoyed the characters. They have an edge to them that will keep you guessing. I believe this series would be great for teens. I will never forget when my 12 year old sister asked me to help find her a book about murder. She wanted something suspenseful to read, and this book would totally fit the bill.

I'm sure fans of the Pretty Little Liars series will be all over this book. I know I will be waiting for the next in the series to come out, because I just need to find out what happens!

My little Benjamin Button look-a-like has been a total ham this last month. He is still a big fan of kicking his feet, only now he does so on his fancy activity gym mat. There are tons of jungle themed animals dangling from overhead that he can swipe at and this gives him quite the thrill. He smiles all the time now, so much so that milk spills out of his mouth while he drinks his bottles. FInally he is showing some interest in books! I cannot tell you how thrilled this makes me. His Daddy likes to read to him before bed, right after I have greased him up like a christmas turkey.

About the book
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love - the deliria - blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
Book to be released Feb 1, 2011.

My take
First of all the cover of the book is really well done. I moved this book to the top of my TBR pile based solely on how much I liked the cover.

I was also anxious to read Delirium because of how much I liked Lauren Oliver's writing style in Before I Fall. I was expecting her to break he mold and surprise me in some way, and she did not disappoint! I was blown away by the ending of this book and left eagerly awaiting the rest of the series. The beginning of the book seemed to be quite predictable but that is in no way an indicator as to the rest of the books nature. Lena has a Katniss Everdeen spark to her, so fans of the Hunger Games series will most likely enjoy this book.

If you take the time to read between the lines with this book you will gain insight into some of the innermost feelings of teenagers. Lauren Oliver has written a very relatable character in Lena, I think this book will be a hit come February.