Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater: Grace and Sam have a connection. They’ve watched each other for years, but have never met. Grace and Sam are in love, but can never be together because of one thrilling secret…Sam is a wolf. Enter the mysterious and wonderful world of Shiver, where two people, one cursed to live a life he wasn’t born to, come together to overcome the greatest of odds. This is a great book, a combination of romance, mystery, drama, and the paranormal that literally kept me enthralled. This up-and-coming series by Maggie Stiefvater just plain rocks. If you were really a fan of this genre, Shiver would be on your bookshelf showing signs of wear and tear despite the fact that it only came out in August. Out of the list I’m posting today, this is my number one pick!
The Evernight series by Claudia Grey: This series so far consists of two books, Evernight and Stargazer. The series surrounds a young woman, born to vampires and attending Evernight Academy, an exclusive boarding school open to “special humans” and vampires. This is a fantastic series! Both books are fast-paced, dramatic, and romance laced stories that absolutely captivated me. The storylines are unique, and I eagerly looked forward to the third installment. Adult fans of this genre, why aren’t you reading the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning? Seriously! The central characters are strong, sexy, and sarcastic. The dark, dangerous streets of Dublin are entrancing, and the mystery at the heart of this series is fantastic, dramatic, and heart wrenching. Read book one in the series, Darkfever and you will be hooked. I have personally introduced this addictive series to several eager readers and have received glowing reviews. The fourth book in the series, Dreamfever, has just been released in hardcover, I brought it on a plane with me to Dublin, thinking it would take the whole flight, and finished it in hours…I just couldn’t stop reading! Check it out and thank me later!
For space sake I’ll write briefly on the “okay” titles.
The Hollow by Jessica Verday has an interesting premise and likable characters, but doesn’t quite cut it in the end. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy reading this, I just was enthralled enough to spend the time to write a recommendation.
Immortal by Gillian Shields: I don’t know if the author was just trying too hard with this one, or if I was hearing too many echoes of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, but this book didn’t quite click. I’ll read the sequels, but I won’t be in any hurry.Now, I’m having a moral dilemma. I respect just about anyone who puts pen to paper and is actually able to get the results published by a major publishing house. So, it is difficult for me to write negatively about their work, but really, this needs to be done! So here they are…the ugly:
Now, this will be difficult for many to swallow, particularly since Stephenie Meyer wrote that the following book was “…a remarkable debut; the ingenuity of the mythology is matched only by the startling loveliness with which the story unfolds.” Now, as a Meyer fan I’m sorry to say this, but Aprilynne Pike’s Wings, was dull, predictable, and just plain bad. I mean a story where a girl finds out she’s really some sort of faerie with flower petals that grow out of her back, sounds kind of cool, but in reality the unremarkable prose, and annoying, unintelligent characters creates a book that you just want to put down.
Carrie Jones’ Need is one of the few books that it was painful for me to read. Why anyone would think that main character Zara, with her over emphasized interest in the ACLU, Amnesty International, and a penchant for writing letters to various political organizations is interesting I just don’t know. I’m all for a politically and environmentally conscious character, I think it’s great to see one in a teen novel, but the extreme attention paid to this character trait is ridiculous and becomes tedious quickly. The writing is just plain uninspired. Let us hope that the upcoming sequel is a little less clichéd, and a little more original.
Heather is one of our fine, well-read booksellers and the assistant to our Event Coordinator. She has been at Warwick's since 2005.
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