Laini Taylor. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

"You were true to her, even if she was not to you. Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of strength."

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE is one of the best fantasies I've read in a while. Laini Taylor is truly a gifted writer. Let me tell you right up front that my review won't even come close to doing it justice. But I'll forge ahead anyway.

Karou is a mystery to those around her. She attends art school, most of the time. But she tends to disappear from time to time, and she returns from these trips with injuries or illnesses. Her best friend has learned not to ask her about the details of her mysterious personal life.

What her friends at school don't know is that Karou was adopted as a baby into a family of chimaera, or what one might call monsters. Her father figure, Brimstone, is an interesting combination of lion, ram and dragon.

Although Karou has already moved out to her own apartment, she still visits Brimstone and his chimaera friends often at his shop. When she disappears on those mysterious trips, she is collecting odd items for Brimstone, who needs them for his sorcery. He's not forthcoming about what he does with these rare items. In fact, he's not forthcoming about a lot of things. Karou's own history is a mystery that she wonders about often. Then Karou meets an intriguing, beautiful angel named Akiva, who nearly kills her.

Karou discovers that she and Akiva are enemies on the opposite sides of a war between the chimaera and the angels. But Karou also feels an unusual connection to Akiva. Perhaps he can help unlock the mysteries of her past.

This is an original fantasy complete with fascinating characters, epic battles, and a fiery romance. The writing is exquisite. Laini Taylor has created a rich world that is pure perfection down to the tiniest detail. I was so delighted to see that this will be a trilogy!

You won't be able to put this one down!

Check out the author's website here.

And one of the trailers:

Erin Morgenstern. THE NIGHT CIRCUS

"Someone needs to tell those tales...There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words."

Wow, truer words were never spoken! Isn't that why we read? And before books, isn't that why we listened to stories? Clearly, it's my favorite quote from THE NIGHT CIRCUS, and I highlighted quite a few.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS is more of an experience, than a story. Although it does have a story, otherwise you wouldn't keep reading. In fact, as evidenced above - even the characters realize the significance of storytelling.

The Night Circus arrives without warning or promotion. It opens every day at nightfall. It is like no other circus you've ever seen. When you enter, you experience the grandest of adventures, the dreamiest of dreams, and you will want to come back again and again.

The circus began as one man's dream. Then he gathered the most amazing entertainers, illusionists and creators in the world. It became a world-wide phenomenon. But lurking behind the circus are secrets and illusions even bigger than those going on in the performances. How long will the secrets remain hidden?

As I mentioned, this book is an experience! You will enjoy every minute of the circus, the intrigue, as well as the mystery and romance. It's so well written. The characters are unforgettable. I loved spending time in this fantastical, completely original world.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS won an ALEX award at this year's ALA Book Awards. Go here for the author's website.
Also, check out the trailer below:

Ellen Booraem. SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS

This book is SO MUCH FUN!! I really adore it! It's creative and truly one of a kind.

Mellie Turpin spends her early years with a fairy named Fidius. She enjoyed Fidius, especially when he turned her squash into candy corn and flicked his wrist to clean up her room. She thought her friends in Kindergarten would enjoy him too, but when she shared her idea to bring him to school, Fidius disappeared. The only thing she had to remember him by was a porcelain look-alike fairy. Unfortunately, Mellie had already promised to bring Fidius to school, so reneging caused a lot of name-calling from the kids at school. They dreamed up the nickname "Fairy Fat."

After hours with the school counselor and her parents convincing Mellie that there really is no such thing as fairies, Mellie finally went on with her life. She convinced herself that Fidius must have been in her imagination.

Years later, when Mellie's grandfather dies, they inherit his small inn and pub. The family decides to move there and fix it up. Mellie is glad to start over in a new town and lose the "Fairy Fat" moniker. However, when investigating the basement pub, she discovers something that she though she left in her crazy past for good. Small persons with wings (don't call them fairies). A bunch of them. They are real and her parents knew it! Not only are they real, but her family has a complicated relationship with them. Furthermore, they have some tough decisions to make about their future.

I loved this for so many reasons. First of all the characters are wonderful! The fairies (I'm just going to call them that here because it's quicker to type & easier to use in sentences than small persons with wings, although after typing all of this, I guess it would've been quicker to just..) anyway, the fairies have such great personalities. Durindana is a riot with her attitude coupled with her sweetness underneath. OMG, I love when she yells "Ai-yi-yi!" Maybe I can start using that on the kids at school. The fairies really are entertaining. They are obsessed with fine things, fancy clothing and high drama. Since they are about 1300 years old, their speech is part English, with Latin and French intermingled.

Melllie is witty and smart, yet still self conscious and afraid to make friends. It's believable that she would resist her neighbor Timmo's friendship. I love the way Mellie's mom tells her that she will "grow into her grandeur." That is one line I will always remember. It's beautiful. Mellie's parents, her grandfather and her friend Timmo are all original, interesting characters that you will adore. (That grandfather - what a sharp tongue. And so funny!)

The plot is unexpected, suspenseful and fast paced. Overall, this is clever and brilliantly executed. I was so sad it was over. I enjoyed spending time in Mellie's world.

Check out the author here - she must be so much fun, since she's written such an entertaining book!

Sarah Mlynowski. BRAS & BROOMSTICKS

Fun, sassy and a wild ride! This story begins when freshman Rachel Weinstein discovers the new shoes on her feet. They are the exact green suede designer sneakers she begged her mom for the other day. But they were too expensive. She wonders how in the world they ended up on her feet! Then she’s called home for an important meeting with her mom & sister where they break the news. Her mom & sister are witches. (that explains the new shoes.) After the initial shock, Rachel realizes that her sister Miri now has power. The power to grant her all the things she wants: popularity, a cute boyfriend, etc. Miri really isn’t supposed to cast any spells until she gets through all of her training. But even Miri agrees that something must be done about the awful woman their dad is planning to marry. They must find a way to cancel it before she becomes their evil stepmonster. Of course, both girls quickly forget that the most important thing to remember when casting spells is that every spell has a consequence – usually an unintended one!
This was fun and totally relatable. Rachel’s teenage desperation and suffering was completely realistic. I enjoyed the sister bond between Rachel & Miri.
Loved it! The sequel is on my list!


The first book I read by Sarah Mlynowski was HOW TO BE BAD (review here). I’m glad I’ve discovered her other books. There are four total in this BRAS & BROOMSTICKS series. Click here for her website.

Holly Black & Ted Naifeh. THE GOOD NEIGHBORS.

What an awesome graphic novel! I got this one totally on the reputation of the wonderful Holly Black. She’s well known for SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, TITHE, VALIANT and IRONSIDE. I was not disappointed!
Rue Silver’s mom disappeared a while back and her father is being blamed for her death. At the same time, Rue has begun to see strange things things all around her – weird looking creatures. She begins remembering how “crazy” she thought her mom was and wonders is she is now going crazy herself. After digging around in her past, she discovers some unusual truths about herself and her kin. Her mom is a faerie and she's in danger.
Wow! This was suspenseful, mysterious, wonderful world of faeries, friendship and family. The artwork is spectacular! The illustrator is Ted Naifeh. This is a perfect example of how the artwork in a graphic novel is such an essential part of the story. For example, on the bottom of page 99, Rue is standing with her back to us, alone in a pile of feathers with three small boxes of text. It is stunning! It’s is like a mini-movie. But while reading a graphic novel, you have time to process & enjoy each page – while a movie flies quickly across the screen. I did enjoy, actually I cherished each page! I wish I could show the artwork here, but if you go to Amazon, you can take a peek inside the book. Although, you have to see it in person – you must! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I anxiously await the sequel!

More on Holly Black

More on the illustrator Ted Naifeh

Libba Bray. REBEL ANGELS

REBEL ANGELS is a worthy sequel to THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY. It’s the holiday season at Spence Academy. The girls are getting ready to go home to London to stay with their families. Also, the replacement teacher for Miss Moore begins teaching. Gemma and her friends become suspicious of her after finding some interesting items in her room. Gemma begins to think that this teacher is Circe, the leader of the dark spirits from the realms. In the midst of all the festivities of the holidays (dances, tea at the club, etc.), there is trouble in the realms. Gemma is charged with finding the temple to bind the magic, but she isn’t sure who she can trust to help her. This sequel has even more going on than the first book. There’s romance, mystery, magic and plot twists. I may even like this one more than the first!

Libba Bray. A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY

Gemma Doyle just lost her mother in an unexplainable situation. Gemma foresees her mother’s death in a vision that becomes true only a few minutes later. With her mother gone, her father sends her to a boarding school in London. After having grown up in India, the boarding school is quite a change. It’s 1895 and The Spence academy prepares girls to be proper wives, who know their place. One night Gemma is led to a secret diary written by a Spence girl about 20 years earlier. She shares it with her friends and they become entranced by the stories of magic and the mystical order of women. They decide they’ll be the next “order” of women and attempt to enter this other realm. Then when Gemma discovers that she can enter this realm and see her mother there, she takes the other girls there. Each of them is enamored by the power they have in the realms. Gemma wants nothing more than to continue to spend time with her mother. Pippa enjoys the company of a handsome knight, while Ann becomes beautiful and Felicity becomes a huntress. Things get a little tricky when the girls try to take the magic out of the realms into the school. They may have inadvertently brought back dark spirits into the world. And when one of the girls’ lives is threatened, Gemma must find way to save her, if she can.
This one is difficult to describe in a paragraph, because there is so much depth and dimension to this book. There’s adventure, magic, mystery, and danger. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it and will be reading parts 2 and 3 soon. And did I mention the author is originally from Texas? (that always scores points with me).

More about the author, Libba Bray http://www.libbabray.com/

Her blog http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/

Part 2 and 3 of the trilogy:

Meg Cabot. JINX

Even though Jean isn’t crazy about her name, she’s even less enthusiastic about her nickname, Jinx. But, she has been called Jinx for a reason. Bad luck seems to follow her everywhere. It even follows her from her small hometown in Iowa to New York, where she has escaped some “events” that she doesn’t like to talk about. Her parents arranged for her to live with her cousins, aunt and uncle in the big city. Unfortunately, she thought she could leave her luck and nickname back in Iowa, but her cousin Tory is all too happy to tell everyone about her nickname. Then her cousin begins to plot against her. She accuses Jinx of stealing her best friend & boyfriend with such an evil look in her eyes that it really worries Jinx. Especially since Tory has a very dark side. Maybe Iowa wasn’t so bad after all.
Since I was already familiar with Meg Cabot, (who isn’t) I knew I’d enjoy this one. The woman is so prolific. Every time I turn around, she’s written another book. This one was a fun, satisfying read, with a little bit of mystery and a little bit of love.

If you’ve been living under a rock & aren’t already familiar with Meg Cabot, here’s her website:
http://www.megcabot.com/

Her blog: http://www.megcabot.com/diary/

I love the Princess Diaries series, again- who doesn’t. But, my two favorite series by her are:



The 1-800-Where-R-U Series begins with WHEN LIGHNING STRIKES
and has FOUR more books after that. Jessica Mastriani is one of the most enjoyable main characters I’ve encountered. Cabot has written her with such humor and wit. I just really love this series.






The Mediator Series begins with SHADOWLAND and has FIVE more books after that. In this series, the main character, Suze, communicates with ghosts. The ghosts won’t leave her alone until she helps them with their unfinished business.

Pseudonymous Bosch. THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET

This is probably the first book I’ve read where the first few pages are dedicated to the author trying to persuade you away from reading the book for “your own good.”
But when/if you do brave ahead and read the book, you’ll meet Cass and Max-Ernest. Cass is a survivalist, who carries a backpack filled with items she might need in an emergency: flashlight, maps, ropes, etc. Max-Ernest has 2 names because his parents literally could not agree on which name to give him, so they gave him both. He is good at breaking codes, but not so good at making friends, because he’s weird and talks too much. They end up collaborating together to investigate the disappearance of a magician in town. They sneak in his house and find a secret room with an unusual box called the symphony of smells. Then they find a trail of codes and clues about some mysterious things going on at a nearby “spa” that are linked with a missing boy at school. And that’s about all I can tell you, since the book is “secret” and all! But, I will recommend you check out the author’s website just to tempt you into reading this really cool book.
The website for the book: TheNameOfThisWebsiteIsSecret.com
Author's site:
http://www.pseudonymousbosch.com/